point if it leads to deeper understanding
As students discuss, the teacher eavesdrops, nudging students when necessary or asking if they’d like to share their thinking with the whole group after partner time is finished.
Jose: It’s pretty obvious that the Wolf is telling the story and he thinks it’s not his fault, right?
A productive, successful conversation. The boys are following the class expectation of restating what they’ve heard before continuing the conversation. Doing so prevents students from just throwing out lots of thoughts without analysis. This type of back and forth takes time and practice.
Carson: I agree—remember when the Wolf said, “Would I lie to you?” And that the old woman started it? He’s like totally trying to change the story and blame her.
Jose: Yeah. I like the part about toffee. I get that it’s a candy, but what is it?
Carson: I’ve never had it either, but it’s got to be sticky, right? Cuz it made Grandma’s teeth stick together and it was actually pretty important to the story. Remember at the end when the Wolf thought Red was going to put toffee in his mouth and he jumped out of bed and she thought he was going to eat her and that he’d eaten the Grandma? That really showed his point of view, that he didn’t do anything wrong, but she thought he did.
Jose: And she started screaming and the woodsman came in. Maybe we could ask Ms. B what toffee is?
Notice how Jose and Carson are really listening to each other. When they get to “toffee” they use context clues to get the gist. Both boys have the word written on one of their sticky notes. Readers need to pay attention to vocabulary—and words they don’t know. The boys wave me over (even though I’ve been listening) and ask what toffee is. I explain and ask them how that helps them understand the text better. They tell me and then I ask if they will share with the whole group how even though they not only deduced its meaning, but its importance to the plot.
Carson: This book was funny. It was like the Wolf talked like us—and like he talked right to us. He used “you” to talk to us and made it funny. Like the part where he was trying to help Grandma get her dress and she fell and knocked herself out and he said something like “Not everybody trusts a wolf and he thought they might blame him for doing something bad to Grandma and he said ME?” that was funny and showed that he thought he was innocent.
Now the boys have turned their attention to the language and style of the text. This book is written in an informal way with a lot of humor, which makes it a good text for teaching POV. Also notice how the boys are questioning the Wolf, but not the point of view. While the focus of this lesson was Reading Standard 6, the boys are working on numerous reading standards simultaneously!
Jose: Yeah, but was he? Or was he like making excuses and trying to persuade us that it’s not his fault?
Carson: Maybe. You could be right. Now I want to read the book again. But I still say his point of view was that it was not his fault and that he didn’t hurt anybody.
Core Practices
Turn and Talk
Student Ownership
Time Crunched?
Haven’t had practice setting up turn-and-talk expectations? Take one day and set up charts and introduce prompts to students and make sure to post these so students can easily reference them. Have students practice, turning and talking for a specific purpose. “Fishbowl” around students who are talking effectively. Or show video clips to students to demonstrate what effective turn and talk looks and sounds like. Remember, this takes time—and more than one day. Model and practice!
Booster Reading Lesson: Co-Constructing and Close Reading
Getting Ready
The materials:
Text sets—original fairy tales (can be copied from anthologies or found online) and complementary fractured fairy tales for each student or partners.
Context of This Lesson
After reading both Red Riding Hood stories and co-constructing a Venn diagram in the previous lesson, we do a deeper dive into understanding text and text structure by co-constructing a compare/contrast piece on the two tales. The piece we draft together serves as a mentor text they can refer to when they go to write their own. Honestly, it’s one of the very few times I use the structure of a five-paragraph essay, because when it’s used routinely, it gives students the unfortunate impression that this is the best and only way to present their thinking. But at this juncture, I find it a useful way to give students who are still finding their way with writing a framework to lean on for a short time.
The Lesson
I hook up my computer to the projector so students can help me compose quickly and then I can print copies of the co-constructed example for each student. We discuss the structure of compare/contrast—that we need to begin with an introductory paragraph, move to the similarities (compare) and then write either one or two paragraphs contrasting. In addition, we need to “lift examples” from the text (cite evidence) to show why we think as we do. Finally we end with a conclusion. As we work, we refer to our Venn diagram. I want students to see how important note-taking is, and that as writers, we refer back to our notes.
After co-constructing our compare/contrast piece (see www.corwin.com/thecommoncorecompanion for an example), I hand out text sets or allow students to select a fairy tale—the original and the fractured fairy tale. I also let them choose a graphic organizer—a Venn diagram or a different organizer (see www.corwin.com/thecommoncorecompanion). As I said, some students lean heavily on the structure of the co-constructed text and develop a five-paragraph piece. Others draft longer pieces and are able to state their reasons and develop them using different structures.
Expectations for Independent Work
1 Read the original fairy tale.
2 Determine first person or third person. Annotate and highlight or mark what in the text helps you know that.
3 Determine who is telling the story. Annotate or mark.
4 As you read, highlight or mark specific examples in the text that help you understand point of view. Annotate.
Time Crunched?
If students finish and there is additional time in the writing workshop, move on to the fractured fairy tale, doing the same coding and at this point starting to record similarities and differences on graphic organizers. But if you are pressed for time, students can work on the fractured fairy tale on another day.
Companion Writing Lesson: Determine Structure and Essential Elements
Getting Ready
The materials:
Real-world examples of persuasion