Emily Meyer Differentiated Lesson Plan 11/2/2011 6th Grade Literacy

Standards
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RL.6.1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Students will understand the concept of inference through this article. They will understand the importance of supporting their inference through textual evidence/support.

Goals y y

Resources y y y http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/08/25/cnnheroes.patri ce.millet/index.html (video) Will make copies of the text. Need projector, computer, speakers

Details: y y Topic: A Hero in Haiti Learning Objectives o Students will be able to use inference to determine things about a text. o Students will understand the importance of using textual evidence to support their inference. o Students will be able to apply the essential unit question after making inferences about Mr. Millet (the Haiti hero). Assessment Objectives o Students will complete the double entry journal with a total of five facts/inferences about Mr. Millet. o Students will work successfully both collaboratively and independently. o Students will respond to the essential question in paragraph form in their writing journals. They will includes textual support to explain their opinions on Mr. Millet.

Lesson Procedures o Introduction: Today we are going to learn about the process of inferencing. As we have talked about before, inferencing is taking clues from the text and background knowledge we have about a text to better understand what a text is trying to tell us. The cool thing about inferencing is that we do it in our daily lives all the time! For example, what did you guys infer when you saw the desks had been grouped in pair of twos today? (Have someone respond) Exactly, we ll be working in pairs for part of this lesson. You probably did this without even realizing it! Your background of knowing how the desks are usually set up in the classroom, plus the clue that they are now set up in pairs helped you determine what we might be doing today. (5 minutes) o Model Demonstrate (I do): Okay, so I m going to hand out a text that I found while I was scoping out the news the other day. We are going to go through this partially together and partially on your own- and we are going to make inferences about the main character. This will help us determine what this article is trying to say about the main character, Mr. Millet. Everyone please take out a piece of paper and copy the Double Entry Journal on the board. On one side, I want you to write textual evidence and on the other I want you to write my inference. Let s begin with us reading the first paragraph together. (I will then read the first paragraph and demonstrate OUT LOUD one fact about Mr. Millet and what I can infer about that fact. It will be important to do this process orally so that I demonstrate this metacognitive thinking.) (5-7 minutes) o Guided Practice (We do): Okay, does that make sense? (Check for questions!) Now we are going to read the next paragraph together. (Will then read the paragraph together and PROVIDE a fact about Mr. Millet for the class. Then ask for volunteers about what we might infer about Mr. Millet based on that fact. If students seem to grasp this we will move on to the next step. If they don t, we will do another together!) (5-7 minutes)

o Collaborative Learning (You Do Together) Now that you guys seem to be getting the hang of it- I m going to let you do it without me. As you noticed, you are in pairs today. In your pairs, read the next two paragraphs together. I want you both to come up with two facts/textual evidence and then make two inferences about Mr. Millet. When you are done, put your pencils down and we will have groups share out their favorite fact/inference with the class. (Do this, again I will make sure they seem to be grasping the concept. If we need to go back to guided

practice or continue collaborative learning I will do so before moving on. (5-7 minutes)

o Independent Practice (You Do): For the remainder of the article you will read and come up with two more facts and two more inferences about Mr. Millet on your own. Please put your desks back in the normal rows. If you have any questions or need help please don t hesitate to raise your hand. There are lots of facts in these final paragraphs, but you only need to write down two in your double entry journal. (10-12 minutes)

o Conclusion: It looks like most of your are finished with your double entry journal. Tomorrow, we will work more with inference, but for right now I want you to pull out your writing journals. I am going to show you a video that CNN made about Mr. Millet. Your ticket out of class today will be to write a paragraph about Mr. Millet based on what you have learned about him today. I want you to think about our essential unit question: Where do values and beliefs come from? Where do you think Mr. Millet s values and beliefs come from? Why? Be sure to support your answer. It might help to look back at your double entry journal for textual evidence. There are no wrong answers here! Just make sure you write three or four complete sentences. (7-10 minutes)

Differentiation: o English Language Learners: I will differentiae the process for ELL students based on their readiness. I will keep the beginning on the lesson (the I do & We Do) the same. However, when we get to the You Do Together portion I will pair with this student. I will read the text with them, stopping at words that are difficult or new to the student. I will help with the reading portion of this- but I will still request that the student comes up with the fact and inference. In order for the student to be able to do this, we might need to talk about the text a little bit. I will have the students ask questions, etc. I will also do this for the Independent Practice as well. It will be a fine line of making sure they understand the text to making sure I m not handing over answers. o Special Education: Assuming that I have a student that has a behavioral disorder in my classroom, I will again change the process due to their learning profile. I will be sure to specifically pair this student with another student that they trust and are able to work with. I will also be sure not to agitate this student by calling on him to

share unless he is prepared to do so. I will constantly be checking up on the student, because not understanding can definitely trigger behavioral issues. During the collaborative and group practice I will definitely be careful to watch this student and make sure they are understanding and feeling confident about the lesson. If not, I will work with them during independent practice time. o Gifted and Talented: I will change the content due to learning profile for a gifted and talented student. This article was pulled from a text specifically written for students. To keep the concepts the same, I will still have them work on inferencing but give them a more difficult current event article to read. I will discuss this with them in the beginning of class and have them follow along with the I do instruction by giving them the article everyone is using as well. However, when other students are working collaboratively, I will have them begin with their own more difficult text. If there is more than one student at this level I can have them do the same thing as the other students just with the different text. It will just depend on the make up of the class. However, above everything, I want to make sure that this student still gets the modeling that their classmates do. Thinking Strategies o Obviously, we are learning about inference. However, in my last request of them (writing in their journal about the essential question), I am challenging them to make meaning out of the concept of inferencing. They are being requested to apply this lesson to the unit, but also to use inferencing to answer a question. Using this critical thinking process will help students to find purpose in this lesson. Assignment: o No homework will be sent home, but they will be responsible to complete the double entry journal on their own. The paragraph in their writing journal is their ticket out of class . If a student does not complete these two assignments in class, they will be given the opportunity to meet with me after class, after school, etc. If they are not able to complete these things within the allotted amount of time, this might indicate they are struggling to grasp inferencing concepts.