Concept Unit Lesson Plan 1 Unit Working Title: Life Isnt Fair: Overcoming Adversity in Literature Unit Big

Idea (Concept/Theme): Adversity Unit Primary Skill focus: narrative writing Week 1 of 4; Plan #1 of 12; [90 mins.] Plan type: Full-Detail Content Requirement Satisfied: N/A Critical Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Unit Preface], followed by Specific Learnings (bulleted) being taught in this lesson: SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document] Communication 7.1 The student will participate in and contribute to conversations, group discussions, and oral presentations. a) Communicate ideas and information orally in an organized and succinct manner. SWBAT: Cognitive (know/understand): 1. Students will know the classroom expectations for the entire year. Affective (feel/value): 2. Students will feel that their input is valued. 3. Students will value the input of others. 4. Students will value the ability to work collaboratively with others. 5. Students will know how they are expected to behave in an academic setting. Performance (do): 6. Students will be able to develop a list of expectations. 7. Students will be able to complete a Student Interest Survey. 8. Students will be able to engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions. Procedures/Instructional Strategies [Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.] Beginning Room Arrangement: Desks are set in a large circle. Each desk has a notecard on it.

A Declaration for Students: I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. Ill be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go. -Rita Pierson When the students enter the room, I will have the above saying projected on the board. This saying will begin our day every day for the first week of class. I dont plan to play the video that the saying originates from until halfway through the lesson, so if students ask, I will let them know that I will explain everything by the end of the lesson.

1. [15 mins] Introduction Hello, everyone! My name is Ms. Heriford. Im looking forward to getting to know you this year. Today our focus will be getting to know our classmates. Its important that everyone learns the names of their classmates. So think of an adjective that describes you that also starts with the first letter of your name. For example, my name is Ms. Heriford, so I will choose Helpful Ms. Heriford because I hope to be a helpful teacher. As we go around the room, youll need to remember all the names that have gone before you with their descriptive words. Lets start to my right. Ill finish the circle. [Students go around the circle sharing their names and adjectives. When students are stumped, I will encourage their classmates to help them out. If adjectives seem unusual, I may ask the students to elaborate on their answer. At the end of the circle, I will ask students to make a name card using notecards and markers on their desks.] 2. [15 mins] Student Interest Survey [Pass out Student Interest Surveys. Students remain in their desks in the circle arrangement for this activity.] Now that weve shared our names, Id like to get to know more about your interests. Knowing your interests will help me get to know you as a person beyond the student. It will also help me plan lessons that will interest you. Here is a survey Id like for you to fill out. When you are done, turn your paper over and look around. If the people around you are still working on the survey, follow the directions on the back of the survey. When I call time, put the paper in the basket in the front of the room that is labeled Turn In. This is where you will be turning in many of your papers this year. [While students are working on the survey, pull up the Rita Pierson Ted Talk on the smart board.] 3. [10 min] Introducing A Declaration for Students

Thanks for turning those surveys in. You probably noticed a saying on the board when you came in today. I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. Ill be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go.-Rita Pierson Rita Pierson was a teacher who did a TED talk last year. Does anyone know what a TED talk is? [Pause for student responses. When they have responded, click on the About page on the TED website.] Heres the formal answer: TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics from science to business to global issues in more than 100 languages. TED talks are awesome. Today we will watch an excerpt of a TED talk that I got the Declaration for Students from: Every Kid Needs a Champion. It focused on fostering student-teacher relationships. [Click on the back button to go back to Ritas talk.] Here is something I want you to look for if you check out a TED talk: subtitles. Once you click the play button on a TED talk video, it has a little conversation box in the bottom right that allows you to turn on subtitles in tons of popular languages. For today, lets do Spanish subtitles so you can see how it works. Now Im going to play the video. I hope it will help you understand why we will be spending a good deal of time getting to know each other in this class. [Watch from 1:07 to 5:10] Ms. Pierson believes that relationships are important in learning. In order to learn best, I think we should spend time getting to know each other to help foster learning, which is why we filled out a survey today and will be doing some more activities tomorrow to build relationships. 4. [25 mins] Think-Square-Share a. [10 min] Think: Setting Expectations I love Ritas pointthat we need relationships in order to learn. But I think its important that students be able to have a voice in the purpose of their class and to have input regarding the expectations and consequences of their class. Today we will be focusing on the purpose and expectations for our classroom. Tomorrow we will focus on the consequences. Please open the composition notebooks youve brought with you today. If you didnt bring one in, take one of mine today and bring a new one in the next week or so to replace the one you take today. [Hand out notebooks; write down names.]

On the front, write Response and Reflection Journal. Also include your name. Now open up to the first page. Write Purposes at the top. What do you want to learn in this class? [Write Purposes on board to model what they should be doing in the notebook. Brainstorm with students and list them on the board. Remind students to add the things I list on the board to their notebooks.] Now, on the second page of your notebooks, writeExpectations at the top. Id like for you to come up with as many expectations for this class that you can in the time allotted. How are you best able to learn? What do you need to be able to achieve the purposes weve set for this class? Think of these questions to give you an idea what sort of expectations you want. I find it difficult to learn when there is a lot of noise in the background, so I might write down, Attempt to be quiet during independent work. But there are many other expectations to focus on. Take a few minutes to write down the expectations that are important to you. [I monitor the students while they write and redirect them if they are off-track.] b. [10 min] Square: Revising Expectations Now that you have finished writing your expectations, count off to 5. [Point to start them off] 1, 2, 3, 4Get into a group with your number. Group your desks together. Then talk about your expectations. Look for expectations that might not work together in harmony. Discuss solutions and revise your expectations as necessary. Pull out a piece of paper and write down expectations that your group can agree upon. You will be sharing these with the class. [Groups should have roughly 5 people. I will monitor during discussions.] c. [5 min] Share: Sharing Class Expectations Lets talk about what you have discussed. Ill be typing the expectations to show on the board so we can remember the expectations. I type and allow students to present their expectations. 5. [15 mins] Step 3: Developing Class Expectations Now that everything is on the board, lets start working on what we think we really need to have on our classroom expectations list. Is anything redundant? Well look at each bullet point, and decide whether its a good classroom expectation for us. If we decide it is a necessary expectation, Ill make a note of it so that we can put it on a big Classroom Expectations poster later this week. If not, I will scratch through it. We go through each bullet point, deciding if and why each expectation should be included. 6. [10 mins] Closure: Exit Slip

For an exit slip, Id like for you to write down some consequences for the expectations listed on the board. How will we make sure the expectations are implemented? Turn these slips into the basket on your way out. Ill type the consequences up tonight so they will be ready for a discussion tomorrow. Please turn in your name cards and composition notebooks as well. Methods of Assessment: [How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] Formative: o Think-Square-Share Class brainstorm for purposes (2, 3) Free write for expectations (2) Participation in group discussion (2, 3, 4, 8) Class discussion of expectations (2, 3) Summative: o Student Interest Surveys (2, 7) o Class Expectations List (1, 5, 6) Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students: (This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name) Dmitri sometimes struggles to participate in discussions because he is unable to translate his thoughts from his native language to English quickly enough. The Think-Square-Share format allows Dmitri, my ELL student, to have time to gather his thoughts. This will be helpful for introverted students, as well. In addition, I added Spanish subtitles to the TED talk to make it easier for Dmitri to understand. Materials Needed: Students will need composition books and pencils/pensI will have backup Smart Board Student Interest Survey Turn In basket http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion#t-299281 Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers, handouts, etc.)

Name: _____________________________ Student Interest Survey I would like to get to know each of you a bit better, so please answer the following questions to the best of your ability. 1. What is your favorite book from childhood and/or your favorite book now? Why? 5

2. Circle the expression which most closely reflects your own view. a. b. c. d. e. I love to read and often read for pleasure. I like to read when I have the time, and I can find something I like. I dont often read on my own, but sometimes I enjoy the books teachers assign. I dont read on my own and dont usually understand the books I get assigned. I hate reading and get bored when I have to sit and read.

3. Rate the following descriptions of books using these codes: 0 = no way would I read this = I might like this book + = This sounds like a perfect book for me _____ a book about two teenagers who get stuck in the woods during a tornado _____ a book about a teen who is being abused by a parent and runs away _____ a book about a teen who moves to a farm and gets to raise horses _____ a book about how rockets work _____ a book about a teen who plays basketball/baseball/football and faces difficulty when a new kid joins the team. _____ a book about a teen who finds love but has to choose between keeping a friendship and dating _____ a book about an international spy who must conceal an evil past to keep the US from going to war. _____ a book about three friends who help each other through difficult problems at home and at school when they can get along with each other. _____ a book that makes fun of all of the silly things people do and makes me laugh _____ a book about gang members who try to stick together when one member is killed. _____ a book about a teen who moves into a castle that was build in the 1500s after discovering that a mysterious curse has plagued her family for generations.

4. What are your favorite formats of reading? __Poetry __Newspapers __Short Stories __Comics __Novels __Graphic Novels __Essays __Plays

__Magazines __Online Articles __Other (please specify below)

__Blogs and social media sites

5. What is your favorite movie, and what did you like about it?

6. What is your favorite place to be? Please provide two reasons why.

7. Describe the best class youve ever had (please dont use names!). What made this class so great?

8. Who is your favorite character? This character can be from a book, movie, or television show.

9. Complete this sentence: When I am not in class, I like to.

10. Name someone you admire and explain why.

11. If there were something you could change today about the community or society you live in, what would it be?

12. What question do you wish I had asked you on this survey? What would your answer be?

[on back of survey] Soyou finished the survey early. Draw a picture of yourself to help me get to know you. This could be a simple sketch, or you could include some of your favorite things. If you still have time, draw a picture of the character from #6.

Concept Unit Lesson Plan 2 Unit Working Title: Life Isnt Fair: Overcoming Adversity in Literature Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Adversity Unit Primary Skill focus: narrative writing Week 1 of 4; Plan #2 of 12; [90 mins.] Plan type: Summary Content Requirement Satisfied: N/A Critical Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Unit Preface], followed by Specific Learnings (bulleted) being taught in this lesson: SWBAT: Cognitive (know/understand): 1) Students will understand that effective collaboration relies on adhering to a set of agreedupon expectations and consequences. 2) Students will know more about their peers. Affective (feel/value): 3) Students will feel valued knowing that their input is important. 4) Students will feel that their non-academic interests/lives are important. Performance (do): 5) Students will be able to create class consequences that align with the expectations. 6) Students will be able to converse with a variety students. 7) Students will be able to provide supporting evidence. 8) Students will be able to question the reliability of a narrator. 9) Students will be able to choose a book for sustained silent reading. SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document] Communication 7.1 The student will participate in and contribute to conversations, group discussions, and oral presentations. a) Communicate ideas and information orally in an organized and succinct manner. Procedures/Instructional Strategies [Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.] Beginning Room Arrangement: Desks will be arranged in a circle. Name cards from yesterday will already be on the desks. A Declaration for Students:

I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. Ill be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go. -Rita Pierson When the students enter the room, I will have the above saying projected on the board. This saying will begin our day every day for the first week of class. 1. [35 mins.] Two Truths and a Lie I will point out the declaration on the board and remind them of the TED talk we watched in the last class. I will explain that although the talk focused on student-teacher relationships, it is just as important to have relationships and get to know their peers. Students will be asked to write down two truths and a lie. An example of my own is given (without revealing the lie). Make sure students understand that their statements will be shared with the class. After students are done writing, I will present my statements and have students ask me questions to try to figure out the lie. Example: One of my statements might have been that I met Hilary Clinton in a train station in Philadelphia. Students would ask, why were you in Philadelphia? Why was Hilary in the train station? What year was this? The idea is that they try to catch the person in their lie by asking for details. Have students write down my name and the truth of mine they found most interesting in their notebooks. Encourage them to do this for at least five classmates. Go around the class. This is somewhat time consuming but extremely fun and it gets the students talking. 2. [15 min] Appointment Clocks Students will be doing Steinkes Appointment Clocks so that we will have a list of partners at the ready for later in the year. Students are encouraged to take notes about their classmates. 3. [ 20 mins.] Guided Group Discussion We will talk about the consequences students turned in as exit slips. We will revise them and assign them to appropriate expectations. 4. [25 min] Read Dating I show my students our class library and show them the checkout log. I introduce the concept of Read Datingits like speed dating with books. I let students know that they

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will be doing a Read Dating project later in the semester similar to what I am about to do so they will want to pay attention. I pull out a timer, and speak for 1 minute each on 5 books from different genres. I then have students write rankings of the books. I will explain that in the real Read Dating project, everyone will turn in their rankings because we will have enough books for everyone to choose something they really want to read. But for today, I want students to only turn in their rankings if they want to read the book for SSR. I explain that by tomorrow they will need a book for Sustained Silent Reading and that if they dont want to read any of the books I introduced, they will still need to pick a book for tomorrow. I will use their rankings in a drawing to see who gets the book. After the drawing, I will allow students to mill about and chose books for tomorrows SSR. Students are supposed to read that book until everyone has picked a book. During this time I draw the rankings from a bowl, drawing until I get a name for each bowl. I ask the student whose name was drawn if theyd like to read the book or something from the library instead. This goes on until each book is distributed. 7. [5 mins] Closure: Exit Slip Have the students write down new information they got about at least two of their peers. This can be from Two Truths or the clock activity. [This will also help me learn about my students]. Ask students to turn in slips, name cards, and composition notebooks in the Turn In basket. Students will also write down the name of the book they have chosen for SSR. Methods of Assessment: [How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] Formative: o Group Discussion (1, 3, 6) o Two Truths (2, 4, 6, 7, 8) o Appointment Clocks (2, 4, 6) Summative: o Exit Slip (2, 9) o List of consequences (3, 5) Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students: (This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name) Todays activities are very interactive which is great for Eli, who doesnt like focusing for long periods of time. Since Eli likes to talk to his classmates, the Lies, Clock, and discussion activities should help keep his attention focused while allowing him to share his thoughts. Materials Needed: SmartBoard Appointment clocks Paper Pens/pencils

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5 1-minute book talks with the physical books 5 labeled bowls

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Concept Unit Lesson Plan 3 Unit Working Title: Life Isnt Fair: Overcoming Adversity in Literature Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Adversity Unit Primary Skill focus: narrative writing Week 1 of 4; Plan #3 of 12; [90 mins.] Plan type: Summary (Ive included appendix and extra details to help myself visualize the lesson) Content Requirement Satisfied: N/A Critical Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Unit Preface], followed by Specific Learnings (bulleted) being taught in this lesson: SWBAT: Cognitive (know/understand): 1. Students will know how to use supportive details/evidence in a journal entry. 2. Students will know the definition of poetry. Affective (feel/value): 3. Students will feel that their opinions and choices matter. Performance (do): 4. Students will be able sustain silent reading. 5. Students will be able to write a journal response to their SSR. 6. Students will be able to discuss in small and large groups. SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document] Communication 7.1 The student will participate in and contribute to conversations, group discussions, and oral presentations. a) Communicate ideas and information orally in an organized and succinct manner. 7.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction, and poetry. c) Identify conventional elements and characteristics of a variety of genres. [for this lesson, poetry]

Procedures/Instructional Strategies [Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.] Beginning Room Arrangement:

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[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan] Desks will be arranged in small groups of four each. Name cards will already be on the desks. A Declaration for Students: I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. Ill be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go. -Rita Pierson When the students enter the room, I will have the above saying projected on the board. This saying will be projected every day for the first week of class to emphasize its importance. Today, there is another note on the board. SSR: 15 min 1. [10 min] Introduction Today the students composition journals are in the Pick Up basket at the front of the room. As they come in, I ask that they pick them up. I ask students if they brought in their book for SSR, as mentioned yesterday. For those who havent, I explain that they need to bring in books of their choice for SSR. Every day, I explain, we will read in class for 10-25 minutes daily and write about what we read. When they enter the classroom, they will look at the board to know how long they will be reading. They dont need to worry about the time; its something I will be monitoring. They must have your SSR book with you every day. If they are between books or have lost or forgot your book, they should get a book from the shelf when they enter, and either return it to the shelf or check it out before they leave. They must be finishing books on a regular basis to be successful. They should remain seated and read quietly until the end of SSR time. SSR is a graded activity. I will record a total of two book chats each six weeksone per 3 weeks. Students may take as many book chats as they wish per six weeks. I will count their highest two as test grades. I will also grade their Journal responses. When they finish reading a book, they should sign up for a Conference/Book Chat. While book chats will normally be before/after school, during breaks/lunch, and during planned extra class time, this first book chat will happen on the last day of this planned unit to show students how the book chats will work. Unless otherwise stated, students should read 15 minutes of their SSR choice book every night for homework. I ask students to add a note of this to their assignment pads. I hand out a homework log for them to fill out and let them know they will need a parents signature to sign off on the log. Students are allowed to abandon a book, so long as they fill out a Book Abandon Form. When they complete a book, they will need to fill out a Book Completion Response (note: the completion sheet will become more detailed and complex as the students learn more through lessons throughout the semesterfor now it is very basic). There is also a Continuation Form for students who have not yet finished reading their book by the book chat. I hand out some questions students might be asked at a book chat. Now, its time for the actual reading and journaling.

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3. [20 mins.] Sustained Silent Reading (with 5 minute explanation of task) I ask students to pull out their composition notebooks and turn to a new page. On this page they are to write: SSR Response Entry Date: Book Title: Pages read: I model this on the board. I hand out a list of ideas for journal entries. They can choice any question to respond to from the list. I give them a minute to read through the list. I explain that during their reading today, they will need to pick a question from the idea list and think about it while reading. They can pick a different idea to respond to while reading if they change their minds. After they finish reading they will be writing a short entry in their journal about idea. Ill let them know when it is time to stop reading and start writing. 4. [10 min] SSR Response: Discussion About Journaling I let students know its time to stop reading. I hand out rubrics for the grading of journals, pointing out that I will be grading on complete sentences and supporting evidence. I ask the students what they think supporting evidence means, and we take a minute to discuss this. I ask a student to volunteer what question they are planning to respond to. When I have a volunteer, I ask how they will support their response. How will they prove that what they are saying is true? We work through the question to make sure everyone knows what kind of supportive details should be in the journals. If necessary, I ask for one more example. 5. [10 min] Journaling Students are told to begin writing. They are to write until they feel they have fully answered the prompt. I let students know I will be reading their responses over the weekend and that I will respond to them, both to their actual thoughts and letting them know what kind of grade they would achieve normally (since this is the first response, the grade is suggestiveevery one will get full credit). If students finish early, they are asked to read some more, although this reading does not need to be logged or journaled. 5. [5 min] Quick Write While their journals are out I ask students to do a quick write to the prompt What is poetry? I instruct them to brainstorm any words, phrases, feelings, or associations that come to mind when thinking about poetry. Then I ask them to fill out the three talking points on the group discussion worksheet Ive just handed out. I tell students they these worksheet will be graded for completion. There are no right or wrong answers. 6. [15 min] Small Group Discussion Students discuss and fill out group discussion worksheets. 7. [15 min] Large Group Discussion We discuss what students have talked about. We correct any misconceptions. Then I ask students to take a moment to think about a quote from W.H. Auden, For poetry makes

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nothing happen I tell them that Auden was a poet, and that, in fact, this quote is from one of his poems. They are given a minute of silence to collect their thoughts. Do they agree? Disagree? What kind of things can poetry make happen if any? Why do they think Auden wrote such a thing in a poem? 8. [5 min] Closure: Exit Slip Weve just completed our first week together! What have students liked? What have they disliked? Do they have any questions? Students turn in exit slips and group discussion worksheets. I let students know that we will be listening to and reading some poems on Monday. I hand out a syllabus that includes the expectations and consequences students came up with earlier in the week. I tell students to add, read syllabus, have parent/guardian sign to their assignment pads. I explain that we will be going over the syllabus in detail on Monday. Methods of Assessment: [How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] Formative: o Discussion about journaling (1) o Quick Write (2, 3) o SSR (3, 4) Summative: o SSR Journal Entry (3, 4) o Small Group Discussion (2, 3, 5) o Large Group Discussion (2, 3, 5) Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students: (This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in order to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name) Paris, who is usually outspoken, has many chances for her voice to be heard in todays lesson. There is a lot of choice, support, and multiple chances to voice opinions. The journaling focuses on complete sentences and detailed support but not grammar. Paris has trouble with grammar so this gives her an opportunity to write freely and without frustration. Because she has the choice of what book to read for SSR, she can pick a book that isnt above her reading level. If she picks something too difficult, she has an opportunity to abandon it with the abandonment worksheet. Materials Needed: Paper Pens/pencils Composition notebooks Smartboard SSR books (for kids) Assignment pad Reading log worksheet (A) Abandon form (B) Completion form (C) Continuation form (D) Book chat questions (E) Journal response ideas (F) 16

 Rubrics for journals (G) Journal grading sheet (H) Group discussion worksheet (I) Syllabus Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers, handouts, etc.) Rubrics A-H were obtained and modified from: http://cms.pflugervilleisd.net/Page/3583 A: Reading Log NAME _________________ Date F/S/S_____ M _____ T _____ W _____ Reading Material __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ Minutes ______ ______ ______ ______ Period __________ Pages read ______ - _______ ______ - _______ ______ - ________ ______ - _______

Th _____ __________________ ______ ______ - _______ My Child has read a total of ________ minutes this week. ____________________ (Parent Signature) Date F/S/S_____ M _____ T _____ W _____ Reading Material __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ Minutes ______ ______ ______ ______ Pages read ______ - _______ ______ - _______ ______ - ________ ______ - _______

Th _____ __________________ ______ ______ - _______ My Child has read a total of ________ minutes this week. ____________________ (Parent Signature) Date F/S/S_____ M _____ T _____ Reading Material __________________ __________________ __________________ Minutes ______ ______ ______ Pages read ______ - _______ ______ - _______ ______ - ________

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W _____

__________________

______

______ - _______

Th _____ __________________ ______ ______ - _______ My Child has read a total of ________ minutes this week. ____________________ (Parent Signature) B: Book Abandon Form

I decided to quit reading __________________________________ By ________________________________ I started it on (date) _________ and have read through page ________ It is about __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ I have decided not to finish it because (be very specific) ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ I need to find a book that __________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Some things I can do to make sure I get the right book for me are __________________ _______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

One book I have read on my own and liked before is ___________________________

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by _____________________________.

C: Book Completion Response

I finished reading __________________________________ By ________________________________ It was about __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ My favorite passage was on page (s) _______________ I liked this part because _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ This part was important to the book because __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ I recommend this book to people who _______________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ The author made the story **__________________________ by __________________ _______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ **Ideas for the blank: realistic, exciting, suspenseful, sad, hopeful, engaging, humorous, scary, adventurous, believable, etc D: Book Continuation Response

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I have been reading _____________________ by ______________________________ and am on page ___. I am not finished because _________________________________________________. It is about (be very specific) _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ My favorite part so far is on page _____ In this scene (give details about what was happening) _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________. This part is important to the story because ___________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________. Right now I am in chapter ________. Here is what is going on right now in the story ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ . One prediction I have for what might happen later is _________________________ I think this because ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________. I should be finished reading this by ____________________. My goal for the next three weeks in reading is ____________________________________ E: Questions for First Semester Book Chats General: 1. Were there any difficulties you had reading the book? 2. Is there a part you'd like to share? 3. What is your opinion of the book? Skills:

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1. What is the author's point of view? 2. What was the author's purpose in writing the book? 3. What is the problem in the story? 4. How was the problem solved? 5. Who are the characters in the book? 6. What is the plot of the story? 7. What is the setting of the book? 8. What sparkle words did you find used in the book? Opinion: 1. Who is your favorite character and how would you describe him/her? 2. Why did you choose this book? 3. How could you change the ending? 4. Which character would you like to play? 5. What kinds of books do you like to read? 6. Why did you choose this book? F: Journal Response Ideas 1. What are your first impressions? Look at the cover, title, number of pages, the back of the book, the first chapter, etc. Describe what you see. Make some inferences and predictions. 2. What made you laugh, cry, get angry, sigh, sit on the edge of your seat, etc? 3. What words stood out for your? Were they pretty, big, strange, new, funny, silly, confusing? Explain. 4. Which character(s) do you relate to? Does she or he remind you of someone? How does the author develop the character so you really feel like you know that person? 5. Which character(s) do you really dislike? How does the author develop the character so you will really hate/fear him or her? Does he or she change? How? 6. What important events are happening or happened to change the direction (plot) of the story? What led up to this? Why was this important to the story? What do you think will happen next? 7. Is there something you dont understand or are confused by? Do you think the author is purposely leaving out information to keep you guessing? What questions do you have? 8. Is there something you think is going on that has not been stated yet? What clues has the author given you to help you make this inference? 9. If you were writing the story, how would you change it? Why?

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10. Who should read this book? Why? 11. Did you find the end (conclusion) satisfying? Why/why not? Would you change anything? 12. What connections can you make between this book and your own life? Can this author relate to teens today? Explain. 13. What have you learned from this book? Did you find yourself saying, I never realized that? Explain. 14. What truth about life (theme) is the book revealing? For example, is it showing that love conquers all or that people often hurt those they love most? Do you agree with the theme? 15. What is the overall feeling (tone) you get from the book? How does the author achieve this? What details help to create this tone? G: Rubrics for Journals ________________________________________________________________________. Great: 10 Good: 9 Fair: 8 Needs Work: 7 Thoughtful ideas are Good ideas are given in Some good ideas. Incomplete entries given in complete mostly complete Some support. and sentences. Little sentences and supported sentences and somewhat Some incomplete or no support for with accurate details. supported with accurate sentences. ideas. details.

H: Journal Grade Name____________________ Per. ________ Date________ Journals _______ - _________ Number done 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Quality score 7 8 9 10 Number x Quality = _________
I: Small Group Discussion

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Worksheet
Instructions: 1. Before breaking into small groups, you will EACH record three talking points here (questions, insights, or ideas that the text prompted). These talking points will be the foundation from which your discussion will build. 2. During the discussion, jot down significant aspects of the text, ideas that come from the text, etc. 3. Each week, after the discussion, you will spend 5 minutes evaluating your discussion using the rubric included.

Talking Points: 1.

2.

3.

Group Evaluation: 1. Today, our discussion focused mainly on

2. Come to a consensus as to how well your group accomplished the following goals. Please dont just put an X in the box; add brief notes to support your rating.
note: This will be blown up to be full-paper sized.
4 3 2 1

We used specific aspects of the text from this weeks reading to make points, to contrast ideas, to prompt questions, etc. In doing so, we frequently pointed to specific passages, words, pages. All members of the group participated thoughtfully and critically in the discussion. This would also indicate that everyone had their texts handy for close consideration.

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When our discussion took a turn that went perhaps a bit too far out of the context of what we felt was relevant, we were able to recognize this and bring it back easily. We followed the norms set by our class

3. In our next discussion, our group will work on (Note an area related to your group discussion where you feel you would like to improve together)

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