Date:

Home Connection

Highlights of Unit 1: Generations

Dear Family,

In this unit, students will investigate what one generation can learn from another. They will consider how knowledge flows between age groups. Students will read a variety of texts, watch videos, and view media as they discuss the Essential Question for the unit.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

As a class, in small groups, and independently, students will work to answer this question: What can one generation learn from another? Give your student the opportunity to continue the discussion of generations at home.

TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR STUDENT
•What are some of the ways you could answer the question What can one generation learn from another?
•When is experience important? How can someone teach the essence of their experience?
•Why do you think stories about a character learning are so compelling?

UNIT 1 SELECTION TITLES, AUTHORS, GENRES

Whole-Class Learning

“Two Kinds” from The Joy Luck Club / Amy Tan / nonfiction narrative
“A Simple Act” / Tyler Jackson / news blog
from An Invisible Thread / Laura Scroff and Alex Tresniowski / memoir
“Maurice’s Toast” / media connection: video

SMALL-GROUP Learning

“Tutors Teach Seniors New High-Tech Tricks” / Jennifer Ludden / news article
Cyber-Seniors / media connection: video
from Mom & Me & Mom / Maya Angelou / memoir
“Maya Angelou: Learning to Love My Mother” / Michael Maher / media: video
“Mother-Daughter Drawings” / Mica and Myla Hendricks / media: image gallery
“Mother to Son” / Langston Hughes / poetry
“To James” / Frank Horne / poetry

INDEPENDENT Learning

Your student will choose one of the following to read independently. You may want to read it as well so that you can discuss it as a family.

“Lineage” / Margaret Walker / poetry
“Family” / Grace Paley / poetry
“Gotcha Day’ Isn’t a Cause for Celebration” / Sophie Johnson / opinion piece
“The Grandfather and the Little Grandson” / Leo Tolstoy / short story
“Bridging the Generational Divide Between a Football Father and a Soccer Son” / John McCormick / blog post
“Water Names” / Lan Samantha Chang / short story
“An Hour With Abuelo” / Judith Ortiz Cofer / short story
TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR STUDENT
•How did you choose which selection to read?
•What is the most interesting aspect of generations that you learned from your reading?

PERFORMANCE TASKS AND PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT

What is an example of an insight passed between members of different generations?

In order to take a position on this question and write a nonfiction narrative supporting that position, students will draw on what they learned from the selections they studied in this unit as well as the Performance Tasks they completed.

Whole-Class Learning Performance Task

After completing the Whole Class section of the unit, students will learn how to write a nonfiction narrative. They will then write a nonfiction narrative answering this question: What surprising event showed you how one person can influence a person from another generation?

Small-Group Learning Performance Task

After completing the Small Group section of the unit, your student will work with his or her group to write a nonfiction narrative that teaches the same lesson as one of the texts they read.

End-of-Unit Performance-Based Assessment

At the end of the unit, your student will pull together his or her learning by completing a Performance-Based Assessment answering this question: What is an example of an insight passed between members of different generations? In response to that question, students will prepare a nonfiction narrative, and then share it with the class.

Activities and assignments in Unit 1 will help your child meet the following Common Core State Standards for reading literature, informational texts, writing, and speaking and listening. Here are some key standards students will work toward in this unit.

TKReading Literature
TK• Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text
TK• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
Reading Informational Texts
• Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
• Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
Writing
• Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
TKWriting
• Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/ or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
• Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
• Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
• Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.TK
• Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.TK
• Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. / • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
TKSpeaking and Listening
TK•• Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
• Present claims and findings (e.g. argument, narrative, summary presentations), emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
• Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
• Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
• Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.
• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
• Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on- one, in groups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
TK
TK
TKReading Informational Texts
TK• Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
• Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
• Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
• Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
• Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
• Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).

Thank you for your continuing support!