Thomas Peters: a Remarkable
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LESSON 14 TEACHER’S GUIDE Thomas Peters: A Remarkable Man by Susannah Flaherty Fountas-Pinnell Level U Narrative Nonfiction Selection Summary Thomas Peters was an enslaved black man who lived in North Carolina and fought with the British against the Americans in the Revolutionary War. After the war, he went to Canada, and from there Number of Words: 2,255 he and other formerly enslaved people went to Africa. Characteristics of the Text Genre • Narrative nonfi ction Text Structure • Third-person narrative organized in ten short chapters • Chapter headings signal key periods in Peters’s life. Content • Black Pioneers and black Patriots in the Revolution • Black Loyalists struggle for survival in Canada • The successful resettlement of Freetown in Africa Themes and Ideas • African Americans fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War. • A powerful leader and group solidarity can bring about change. Language and • Sequence signal words Literary Features • Historic heroic fi gure Sentence Complexity • Longer, more complex sentence structures • Multiple items in series Vocabulary • Some terms associated with the subject’s historical era, some of which might not be familiar to English language learners, such as Loyalist and Patriot. Words • Many multisyllable words, some of them challenging, such as dexterity, proclamation, apprentice Illustrations • Color maps and historic paintings aid understanding the history of the time period. • Captions for illustrations Book and Print Features • Fifteen pages of text, chapter headings, many maps and illustrations © 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. 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Printed in the U.S.A. 978-0-547-31020-6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format. 5_310206_ELL_LRTG_L14_thomaspeters.indd 1 11/4/09 9:46:49 AM Thomas Peters: A Remarkable Man by Susannah Flaherty Build Background Help students use their knowledge about American history to visualize the selection. Build interest by asking questions such as the following: What do you know about the Revolutionary War? Explain that the institution of slavery already existed at the time of that war. Read the title and author’s name and talk about the cover illustration. Note the ten chapter heads. Tell students that this selection is narrative nonfi ction so the events and information will be factual. Frontload Vocabulary Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English learners. Before reading, check understanding of the following words: descendant, enslaved, rumor, master, surrendered, risky, jury. Page 2: Have students read the table of contents and explain that the selection tells about Peters’s life and times. Pages 6–7: Read the chapter heading. Explain that Thomas Peters lived as an enslaved African American in North Carolina. Suggested language: What does it mean to be enslaved? What might a promise of freedom mean to an enslaved person? Read the caption under the illustration. Ask: What else do you know about George Washington? Make sure that students are aware that General George Washington, shown in the picture, became the fi rst president of the United States. Page 8: Read the sentences: The Pioneers did not fi ght. But they still made major contributions to the Loyalist cause. Ask: What are some ways members of a group can make contributions or offer support in helping the group reach its goals? Pages 12–13: Read the captions under the map and the illustration of a ship. The map shows the starting point and ending point of the Peters family’s trip. Find New York City and Nova Scotia on the map. What might it be like to make such a trip on a ship like the one shown on page 13? Page 15: Read the caption under the illustration. Make sure that students understand the term abolitionists. Now turn back to the beginning of the book and read to fi nd out how Thomas Peters used his skills as a leader to help black Loyalists fi nd a new home. Expand Your Vocabulary apprentice – a person who works bondage – a state in which infl uential – having the power with a skilled worker, p. 5 people are made to work to affect people, things, or aspects – various parts of a against their will, p. 8 events, p. 9 whole, p. 14 contributions – things given persuade – convince someone to authorities – people who are in toward a common purpose, p. 8 do or believe something, p. 13 charge, p. 8 dexterity – fl exibility and skillful provisions – food and supplies, movement, p. 8 p. 12 tentative – uncertain, p. 7 Grade 5 2 Lesson 14: Thomas Peters: A Remarkable Man © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 5_310206_ELL_LRTG_L14_thomaspeters.indd 2 1/11/10 10:08:42 PM Read Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their understanding of the text as needed. Remind students to use the Summarize Strategy as they read. Tell them to think about important experiences and events in the life of Thomas Peters as they read. Discuss and Revisit the Text Personal Response Invite students to share their personal responses to the selection. Suggested language: Do you think Peters was a good choice for a leader? Why or why not? Ways of Thinking As you discuss the text, help students understand these points: Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text • Peters’s leadership abilities • Working together as a group • The illustrations, maps, and earned him the rank of sergeant is one way to get grievances sidebars offer additional details in the Black Pioneers. Later he righted. about Peters’s struggle to used his abilities to petition gain freedom for his group of • A strong leader can spur change both the Nova Scotia and British formerly enslaved people. and a better future for the next government for freedom, equal generation. • The timeline of important dates rights, and land for formerly summarizes key events. enslaved black Loyalists. • The narrative tells about Peters’s • Despite many obstacles and struggle for human rights, and frustrations, Peters helped has a beginning, middle, and establish Freetown in Sierra end. Leone, Africa, with other black Loyalists. © 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. Choices for Further Support • Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to act out or use for readers’ theater. Remind them to try to read as if they were speaking naturally and to emphasize important ideas. Provide assistance as needed for proper pronunciation of multisyllable words. • Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas. • Phonics/Word Work Explain that the root for the word authorities on page 8 means “creator.” Other words that share the root include author and authorize. Grade 5 3 Lesson 14: Thomas Peters: A Remarkable Man © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 5_310206_ELL_LRTG_L14_thomaspeters.indd 3 11/4/09 9:47:00 AM Writing about Reading Critical Thinking Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 14.10. Responding Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill. Target Comprehension Skill Sequence of Events Have students recognize the sequence of events in the text and use them to summarize important information. Remind them that they can use the dates given in the text to help list the events in the chronological order. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below. Think Aloud Peters was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Then Peters heard about Lord Dunmore’s proclamation. These two events can be listed as happening in sequence. Practice the Skill Encourage students to share their examples of another book that tells about an important change in history through the order of events that occurred. Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings. Assessment Prompts • What was the author’s purpose in writing this text? • What is the meaning of provisions on page 12? • Choose one of the sidebars and explain how the information in the sidebar helped you understand the selection. Grade 5 4 Lesson 14: Thomas Peters: A Remarkable Man © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 5_310206_ELL_LRTG_L14_thomaspeters.indd 4 11/4/09 9:33:20 AM English Language Development Reading Support Check regularly on students’ oral reading to determine accuracy, fl uency, and comprehension.