Understanding By Design Unit Plan

4.1 Writing Dialogues

Subject: ESL Length: 5 weeks Stage 1 - Desired Results Unit Summary In this introductory unit, students are introduced to the idea that reading is thinking. They will explore strategies for understanding and decoding new vocabulary words with a focus on homophones, increase their reading comprehension by exploring character traits in fictional texts and learn the art of writing dialogue. Content Standards and Learning Expectations Listening and Speaking L/S.4.1 Listens and responds during a read aloud from a variety of narrative texts to comprehend and identify main character and setting. L/S.4.2 Recognizes simple homophones and figurative language. L/S.4.3 Listens and responds to complex instructions, complete statements, and answers and formulates the 5 W-Questions as well as how questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how) in formal and informal discussions. Reading R.4.3 Uses context clues and resources to build vocabulary, verify meaning, determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, and transfer meaning into a variety of narrative and expository texts. R.4.4 Identifies the main character(s), compares and contrasts character traits, and identifies setting within narrative and expository text. Writing W.4.1 Arranges words in alphabetical order using first, second, and third letter criteria. Expectations that appear in other Curriculum Maps L/S.3.2 Applies phonemic awareness and auditory discrimination and distinguishes between singular/plural forms as well as past/present tense of regular verbs. Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings: Essential Questions:  Reading is thinking (we are always making  What do good readers do while they are connections, asking questions and making reading? inferences as we read).  Who would I be without my family?  Making connections to what we read helps  What parts in a word help me understand it? us understand who we are.  How do I know that I don’t know a word?  Readers identify unknown words using  What do I do with an unknown word? context clues and reference tools.  What words do good writers use?  Writers use words in many different ways. Content (Students will know…) Skills (Students will be able to…)  Simple homophones (see/sea, bee/bee,  Listen and respond during a read aloud from a hi/high, their/they’re/there, which/witch, variety of narrative texts to comprehend and are/our, to/two/too) identify main character and setting  Character traits (i.e. bossy, brave, kind,  Listen and respond to complex instructions friendly, curious, determined)  Complete statements  5 W questions (who, what, where, when,  Answer and formulate the 5 W-Questions as why and how) well as how questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how) in formal and informal

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Subject: ESL Length: 5 weeks Content Vocabulary discussions  Define  Use context clues and resources to build  Alphabetical order vocabulary, verify meaning, determine the  Homophone meaning of unfamiliar words, and transfer  Main character meaning into a variety of narrative and  Connection expository texts   Character trait Identify the main character(s)   Context clues Compare and contrasts character traits  Arrange words in alphabetical order using first, second, and third letter criteria Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence Performance Tasks: Other Evidence: About Me Posters  Homophones picture chart (draw examples of  Create an “About Me” poster about yourself homophones and use in sentences; can turn that has a paragraph description about these into a class book on homophones and add yourself that lets your classmates know who to it during the year) you are  Alphabetical order chart of vocabulary o Discuss “Who would I be without my  Inference chart (See Attachment: 4.1 Other family?” by filling out the “About me” Evidence – Vocabulary Inference Chart) organizer (See Attachment: 4.1 Graphic  Use a word square (See Attachment: 4.1 Other Organizer - About Me) Evidence – Word Square) for each vocabulary o Describe themselves to a partner. word from the reading Partner can use 5W’s questions to learn  Homophones assessment (See Attachment: 4.1 more about their classmate Other Evidence – Homophones Assessment) o Draft, Peer revise and edit paragraph  Vocabulary assessment (See Attachment: 4.1 Peer Edit: Use paragraph check list (See Other Evidence – Vocabulary Assessment) Attachment: 4.1 Writing Tool –  Character Map: group poster of character Paragraph Checklist) actions, feelings, traits (See Attachment: 4.1 o Publish with an illustration Graphic Organizer – About Me) Funny Dialogues  5W’s organizer from read aloud  Write and present a funny dialogue with a (See Attachment: 4.1 Graphic Organizer – 5 W’s partner that will use three or four pairs of Chart) homophones (See Attachment: 4.1  Fluency running records and paired fluency Performance Task – Write a Dialogue) checks (See Attachment: 4.1 Other Evidence – o Dialogue uses homophones correctly in Paired Fluency Check) their two contexts (example: “I will be  Dialogue Journal entries of connections made there soon, unless I get a bee sting.” during read aloud (See Attachments: 4.1 Other o Students can use homophones from Evidence – Dialogue Journal and 4.1 Other readings or self-select four pairs Evidence – Dialogue Journal Rubric) Stage 3 - Learning Plan

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Subject: ESL Length: 5 weeks Learning Activities Homophones  Have students act out in pairs the difference between homophones  Create a homophones list in the classroom as homophones are discovered in reading and class discussion  Students create a drawing and write a sentence for each homophone pair or trio to illustrate their different meanings  Students will compare and contrast homophones, discuss in a small group: why do words that are spelled differently sound the same? Vocabulary & Word Work  Model “What do I do with an unknown word?” using a picture book where the main character has shows that he/she is shaped by his/her family. Use an inference chart (See Attachment: 4.1 Other Evidence – Vocabulary Inference Chart) as a way of modeling your strategy of using context clues to infer an unknown word (See Sample Lessons).  Create a word web with the class, or as pairs on all the connections they can make with a vocabulary word using: (See Attachment: 4.1 Graphic Organizer – Word Web). Have students classify words in a vocabulary inventory chart (See Attachment: 4.1 Graphic Organizer – Vocabulary Inventory Chart) (I understand and can use this word, I have heard of this word, I don’t know this word) and then in pairs look up the vocabulary words in a Spanish-English dictionary.  Create a word wall of the vocabulary and spelling covered from the readings and use for vocabulary building activities (See Attachment 4.1 Learning Activities – Word Wall Ideas).  Practice alphabetizing by organizing students in the room in ABC order by first name and by last name (can also alphabetize other items, places, or people as practice).  Practice inferring unknown words using “Grandma Torrelli Makes Soup” by Sharon Creech (See Attachment: 4.1 Text – Grandma Torrelli Makes Soup). Reading  Model making connections to text, self, and world using a read loud with a focus on connecting to the character. Students will use a cue card to refer to connections made while reading (See Attachment: 4.1 Reading Tool – Cue Card) and chronicle their connections using a dialogue journal (See Attachment: 4.1 Other Evidence – Dialogue Journal).  Create a character map from a character in a read aloud. In a small group, create a poster of the main character (See Attachment: 4.1 Graphic Organizer – About Me). Create a 5W’s chart to summarize a read aloud by using questions. Teacher models examples how to turn a question into a statement: Who is the main character  the main character is… (See Attachment: 4.1 Graphic Organizer – 5 W’s Chart). Sample Lessons  Poetry Lesson on “ To Be a Butterfly” (See Attachment: 4.1 Sample Lesson – To Be A Butterfly)  Vocabulary Lesson: Making inferences to understand unknown words Essential Question: What do I do with an unknown word? Good readers treat unknown words like a mystery. They don’t skip over a word but they dig in to the book like a detective and use clues from the text to solve the mystery word. Good readers: o Identify words they do not know (See Attachment: 4.1 Graphic Organizer - Vocabulary Inventory Chart) o Use clues from the text to make a good guess (to infer) the meaning of the word June 2011 3 4.1 Writing Dialogues

Subject: ESL Length: 5 weeks

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