Students Should Understand and Be Able To

Curricular Plan for Reading Workshop Third Grade Unit 4: Learning Through Reading: Countries Around the World How can I use all that I know about nonfiction reading and about writing to learn, in order to research the factors that shape life in another country—starting with China and then going to another country of my choice? When I’m doing this and I find different texts address the same topic differently, can I try to puzzle over why that would be? Students should understand and be able to:  Apply skills from earlier nonfiction unit to texts on specific  Research with significant independence countries  Produce a product (character sketch) with limited involvement from  Participate in research groups/group projects adult(s)  Synthesize and interpret while providing relevant text evidence

Tips for Getting Started:

It is STRONGLY recommended that teachers read the 2014-2015 Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project Reading Curricular Calendar (located on the CMS Literacy Wiki) prior to planning each unit. These calendars provide teachers with the vision, structure, and language to implement Reader’s Workshop within a Balanced Literacy Framework.

 Ensure Students have at least a basic orientation to the country to be studied o This unit was written to match with the content calendar in New York. If your students do not have a basic background of China, try to integrate information on Chinese geography, culture, and history into your social studies units prior to beginning this unit in Reading Workshop.  Gather Resources on China (for Bend one) o Students will not be reading entire books cover to cover, but instead they will pursue a subtopic across different texts (maps, books, articles, etc.) o While students will be looking at photographs, maps, etc., ensure that the bulk of their time is still spent reading so their stamina and volume does not begin to slip.  Form research teams prior to the unit starting o While some work will be independent, students will also be collaborating. o Groups may be formed by character interest (students “living” in rural China in one group, students “living” in Beijing in another group, etc.) o Another possibility is to have only a few persona cards and have multiple students with each persona (e.g. 5 students who are rice farmers in rural China, etc.)  Gather resources on other countries (for Bend two) o It is generally most practical to allow students to choose from countries for which you already have significant texts. o However, keep in mind that student choice will likely increase engagement and focus.  Choose read aloud(s) o Bobbie Kalman’s series on China: The Land, The People, The Culture (Level T) o To model the work for the students, do not read the books cover to cover, instead purposefully choose sections based on your interest and research area. o The Great Wall of China by Fisher (Level Q) o You Wouldn’t Want to Build the Great Wall of China by Morely (Level W)

 Additional Resources: o The appendix on the Curricular Calendar has the persona cards needed for this unit. o The appendix for this unit has an extensive list of books and texts that will be helpful for students in this unit. o Fountas and Pinnell Prompting Guides 1 & 2

o Assessments: o Continue running records/progress monitoring to track progress up the gradient of text difficulty o Your summative assessment from the previous nonfiction unit can serve as your formative assessment for this unit. Use this to determine nonfiction skills your students still need and what they are bringing to this unit. o If you gave the TCRWP Performance Assessment in Nonfiction Reading and Opinion Writing prior to the start of your first nonfiction unit, you’ll want to give it again at the end of this unit. o Confer regularly with individuals and small groups (including research groups).

Bend One: Learning About China Through Reading (RI.3.5, RI.3.9, RI.3.1, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, with some fourth grade work in RI.4.7 and RI.4.8) How can I learn all I can about China—and especially about the factors that affect life there—and then apply that research to help me understand the person I am studying? Possible Mentor Texts: o Bobbie Kalman’s series on China: The Land, The People, The Culture (Level T) o The Great Wall of China by Fisher (Level Q) o You Wouldn’t Want to Build the Great Wall of China by Morely (Level W)

Possible Teaching Points: . If you want to really understand what life is like for a person, you have to walk around in that person’s shoes o We are each going to try to understand one person who lives in China very deeply and walk around in that person’s shoes for a while (model reading the description of your own community member)  We can do research to learn more about our person’s life o Use the table of contents to find areas of interest in multiple books o Determine which portions of the books would be most helpful (e.g. topics on rural farming for a rice farmer, chapters on city transportation for someone living in Beijing) o Active Engagements can include students using their own persona cards to look through tables of contents and determine what will matter for their person  Readers write down important research in their notebooks so they don’t forget! o Include citations and page numbers o Good researchers only write down the important information; they don’t copy the entire text! o Students may take notes on index cards so they can categorize them later  Great researchers make connections from small details! o Does that remind you of anything you’ve already learned? o What might be a result of ____? o What might that lead to? o What do you think caused ____?  Great research partners discuss their findings: o That fits with what I’m learning because ____ o That’s different from what I’ve read because______o What you just said is making me realize ______o Now I’m starting to have a new idea: _____ o This is helping me understand why ______o This connects to what we learned in social studies because _____ o Now, I’m wondering ______ Good readers notice when different texts say different things on the same topic!  This text says….but this other text says…  This text says …and this text adds on…

 At the end of this bend, make sure your students have a day or two to consolidate their notes and be able to use their research to answer the following questions about their persona: o What type of place do you live in? o How do you make a living? Or how do you spend your time? o How does the environment affect you? o What traditions do you follow? o What are the challenges you face?

Bend Two: Researching a Different Country (RI.3.5, RI.3.9, RI.3.1, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, with some fourth grade work in RI.4.7 and RI.4.8) Can I research a second country, doing this work with greater independence, and then apply what I learn to create my own character sketch of an imaginary person living in that country? Possible Mentor Texts: o Bobbie Kalman’s series on China: The Land, The People, The Culture (Level T) o The Great Wall of China by Fisher (Level Q) o You Wouldn’t Want to Build the Great Wall of China by Morely (Level W)

Possible Teaching Points:  Research team members have a work plan! (After splitting students into groups with each group studying a country and developing their own character sketches). o Look over the texts, decide which parts to read to get some basic background o Read the easier texts first o Take notes on what seems most important o Make categories of my notes o Teach my team what I’m learning so far o Start focusing—in this case deciding who I am, where I live, and what I do  My created character should be able to answer these basic questions: o Where in the country do you live? o How old are you? o How do you spend your time? o Who are the people in your life?

**Other teaching points will be repeated from Bend One based on what you are seeing as you meet with students and research teams. For example, you may need to review using the Table of Contents, taking notes v. writing out the entire text, how to categorize your notes, etc. There should not be any NEW teaching points during Bend Two other than those listed above.

**End the unit with a celebration! You could do a fair where students dress in character, present visuals and talk about their life and homeland. Or initiate pen pal relationships with students from their chosen country.