NCDPI – AIG Instructional Resource: Background Information

Resource Title: Networking: A Job Fair for Fireflies Task 10
Subject Area/Grade Level (s): English Language Arts / Grade 3 / Time Frame: Two to three 45-minute class periods
Common Core/Essential Standard Addressed:
RL.3.4 Determine the meaning of words/phrases as they’re used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.
W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
W.3.6 With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
SL.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on other’s ideas and expressing their own clearly.
a.  Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information
b.  known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
c.  Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
d.  Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic and link their comments to the remarks of others.
e.  Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
L.3.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade three reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
d.  Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.
L.3.5 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
a.  Distinguish between the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context
Additional Standards Addressed: NA
Brief Description of Lesson/Task/Activity: This activity for gifted learners might serve as part of a larger poetry unit. Students will take part in close readings of a variety of poems throughout the unit. The whole-group reading of the poems should include independent reading, read aloud, literature circle groups, teacher conferences regarding comprehension, and other activities designed to engage all learners in high-level thinking about the poems. Instruction regarding figurative/nonliteral language (similes, metaphors, personification) must be explicitly taught, as well, through the reading & analysis of various texts containing nonliteral language, modeling the process for creating figurative language, group work deciphering nonliteral language in context, and the creation of students’ own figurative language. In this activity, gifted learners would work individually to close read “Fireflies” by Paul Fleischman. They will then work to decipher the poem and it’s meaning, resulting in a new “Firefly Job Posting” (created in verse) to complement their knowledge/understanding of the poem. They will then participate in a “Networking Event for Fireflies” with their peers and listen to others’ “firefly job posting” ideas, share their own ideas, and give/receive feedback regarding their ideas, word choice, metaphors, etc, which will culminate in a “Classified Ad” page for fireflies…. a compilation of the students’ work / poetic reinterpretations of “Fireflies.”
Type of Differentiation for AIGs (include all that apply): x Enrichment x Extension Acceleration
Adaptations for AIGs: Content x Process x Product
Explanation of How Resource is Appropriate for AIGs: Advanced students often perceive subtlety and nuance more readily than their peers, which ties in well with distinguishing nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context. Because this activity deals with ambiguity and multiple meanings, its complexity is automatically increased. In advanced experiences, tangential thinking is often invited, which dovetails nicely with the students’ participation in a “Networking Event for Fireflies,” where students are able to listen to the ideas of their gifted peers, share their own ideas, and give & receive feedback, which they can then use to jumpstart new ideas, edit their original ideas, etc. Finally, through the creation of their own metaphors/job descriptions for fireflies in verse, they’ll be synthesizing two or more unrelated concepts or topics to create something new, which requires higher-order thinking.
Needed Resources/Materials:
·  Copy of “Fireflies” by Paul Fleischman
·  Classified Ads or Job Postings (optional)
·  Copies of dictionaries
·  Copies of thesauruses
·  Internet access
·  Word processing software
Sources: NA
TEACHER NOTES: This activity is an effective and efficient way to challenge learners at higher levels of thinking and assess students’ comprehension of literal and nonliteral meaning. In addition to directly teaching figurative/nonliteral language, dictionary and thesaurus skills must be directly taught, as well. Students need to be taught when and how to efficiently & effectively use a dictionary and thesaurus, the purpose of guidewords, how to utilize indexes & abbreviation charts found in dictionaries and thesauruses, how to paraphrase the information they find, etc. A variety of research tasks throughout the unit should provide students the experience they need to develop as dictionary and thesaurus experts. Finally, group discussion rules and expectations must be explicitly taught and practiced regularly so that students are prepared, respectful, and able to constructively question, offer feedback, and accept other points-of-view, as well as, present their own.

NCDPI AIG Curriculum Resource Outline

STAGE ONE: ENGAGE
Day 1
·  Teacher asks students… What do you want to be when you grow up? Students share their answers & teacher asks them…Why? What makes you want to do/be that? Why do you think you’ll enjoy that? Why do you think you’d be good at it? Discussion then goes to the idea of characteristics we have, physically, mentally, and emotionally that make us who we are and also often inform what we want to do with our lives & how successful we might be in that pursuit.
·  Teacher then brings up the idea of personification & class reviews what it is…
·  Teacher then asks students: What if I asked the same question I just asked you all to a class of owls? What do you think they might say? Before we can answer that question, we need to consider physical, mental, and emotional characteristics associated with owls.
·  Teacher pulls a variety of fiction books and informational texts regarding owls for students to read such as (Owl Moon, Owl Babies, Snow Moon, White Owl Barn Owl, Adopted by an Owl, Guardians of Ga’Hoole; Owls by Gail Gibbons, Owls Animal Predators, etc.)
·  As students read their owl book, they brainstorm physical (able to fly, predators, amazing vision, etc.), mental (very wise, nocturnal, predatory, etc.), and emotional (proper, nurturing, thoughtful, etc.), characteristics related to the owls in the book…placing post-it notes on where they refer to the text for evidence.
·  Class shares their individual brainstorms regarding physical, mental, and emotional characteristics of owls into a large bank of characteristics. Students must support their submissions with evidence from the text.
·  Class then begins an owl job brainstorm based on these characteristics: ex. night watchman, professor of evening classes at university, late night FedEx delivery driver, advice d.j. on evening radio show, etc., again going back to the text as to why they think it would be an appropriate job for an owl.
·  Teacher then reviews what a metaphor is and asks students to pick their favorite owl job from the brainstorm and write it as a metaphor, giving a brief description of what the owl would do, look like, etc. in verse.
Example – “Night watchman of the forest,
swooping down with flashlight eyes.
It’s shriek is the warning alarm,
before it brings it’s prey to justice…”
·  Students are given 5 – 7 minutes to come up with a metaphor & accompanying description of their own & then they’re given the opportunity to share their work.
·  Class then attempts to put the verses together into an “Owl” poem.
·  Teacher tells the students this is what they’ll be doing tomorrow, but instead they’ll be using the work of poet Paul Fleischman as their inspiration.
STAGE TWO: ELABORATE
Day 2
·  Teacher briefly reviews what was covered yesterday and gives students direction regarding what to expect today…
PART I (20 min)
·  Students closely read “Fireflies” by Paul Fleischman independently …thinking about what the poem means, noting the form, phrasing, any repetition, the use of nonliteral language such as personification, metaphors, etc., and looking up unknown words with a dictionary/thesaurus
·  Students will then brainstorm physical, mental, and emotional characteristics they associate with fireflies & accompanying jobs that might be well suited for a firefly based on those characteristics.
·  Students will then turn their favorite firefly job ideas into poetic metaphors, giving a brief description of the what the firefly does, looks like, feels, etc. in that role/job, using words and phrases for effect – similar to Fleischman’s “Fireflies.”
PART II (20 min)
·  Students will then gather together with their peers in a “Firefly Networking Event” to share and discuss their ideas, gain new, offer advice, ask questions, accept feedback, etc. in an effort to come up with new ideas, gain new perspectives, and edit their own
work. Students will take notes on their sloppy copy throughout the discussion to be used tomorrow to edit their current work or
change direction.

Day 3

·  Using the feedback & ideas they recorded while meeting with peers in the “Networking Event” yesterday, students will edit their work, and put the final touches on their own “Firefly” job description/poem.
·  Students will then work with the teacher to type up their poem, which will be saved to a shared document and compiled into a “Classified Ads for Fireflies” book, inspired by Paul Fleischman’s “Fireflies.”
·  Students will then gather together again to read and share their work/contribution to the book.
STAGE THREE: EVALUATE
The students’ effective engagement in the collaborative discussion process during the “Firefly Networking Event” should be evaluated based on the following criteria using either a rubric or a checklist. Students can also complete a self-evaluation of their work using the same criteria.
·  Student came to the discussion prepared, having read & studied “Fireflies”…prepared with their own poetic firefly job metaphor and reasoning from the text to back up their idea(s)
·  Student followed agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
·  Student asked questions to check understanding of information presented (other students’ firefly job metaphors) , stayed on topic and linked their comments to the remarks of others.
·  Students explained their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion regarding firefly characteristics, possible metaphors based on those characteristics, etc.
The students’ writing should be evaluated based on the following criteria using either a rubric or a checklist. Students can also complete a self-evaluation of their work using the same criteria.
·  Narrative focus: The poem is clearly focused and maintained throughout…effectively establishes a setting, narrator &/or characters (fireflies) and point-of-view (job listing).
·  Organization: The poem has an effective plot helping create unity/completeness…logical sequence of events from beginning to end and effective opening/closing for audience/purpose. (Students were able to capture the clear event sequence of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” in their reframed version of the poem.)
·  Elaboration of Narrative: The poem provides thorough and effective elaboration using details, dialogue &/or description. (Students give a brief description of the what the firefly does, looks like, feels, etc. in that role/job, using words and phrases for effect – similar to Fleischman’s “Fireflies.”)
·  Language and Vocabulary: The poem clearly and effectively expresses experiences or events...using sensory, concrete &/or figurative language to advance the purpose of the poem. (Student includes job related metaphors related to firefly characteristics,)
·  Conventions: The poem demonstrates a strong command of conventions…few errors in usage & sentence formation and effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization and spelling throughout….as it fits within the realm of poetry and Fleischman’s original usage of such in “Fireflies.”
·  The student took into account the ideas, feedback of peers in relation to their own ideas regarding the metaphor/poem and edited their work accordingly. (As evidenced by their sloppy copy notes, teacher observation regarding their participation and acceptance of feedback during “networking event”, and final copy of poem.)
·  Piece shows creativity in thinking and effort/students best work.
TEACHER NOTES: NA

PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project