What Role Do Characters Play in a Story?
In this unit, students will identify key details and make connections as to how events develop over the course of a text. Students will describe how an author uses reasons to support his points. Students will compare and contrast two versions of a story and informational texts to identify key details. At the end of the unit, students will be able to write an informative/explanatory piece that includes facts and definitions to make points and have a concluding statement that can be created digitally.
Structured Reading Protocol 90 Minutes Structured Reading Protocol 120 Minutes
Suggested Essential Questions to Choose From
- What role do characters play in a story?
- How do characters react to story elements?
- How do we identify the point of view of characters in the text?
- What can illustrations tell me about the story?
- What can illustrations tell me about story elements?
- How can you compare and contrast characters in similar stories?
Reading Learning Goals
Students will be able to use key details to make connections as to how and why individuals, events or ideas develop and interact over the course of the text.
RL.1.3 Scale RI.1.3 Scale
Students will be able to describe how the author uses reasons to support the points made in the text. RI.3.8 Scale
Students will be able to compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures. RL.3.9 Scale
Students will be able to compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic. RI.3.9 Scale / Writing Learning Goals
Students will be able to write an explanatory piece using facts to support their topic. W.1.2 Scale
Focus Reading Standard
LAFS.2.RL.1.3 (DOK 2) Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
LAFS.2.RI.1.3 (DOK 3) Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
LAFS.2.RI.3.8 (DOK 3) Describe how an author uses reasons to support specific points in a text
LAFS.2.RL.3.9 (DOK 3) Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
LAFS.2.RI.3.9 (DOK 3) Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic / Focus Writing Standard
LAFS.2.W.1.2 (DOK 3) Write informative/explanatory text in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
LAFS.2.W.2.6 (DOK2) With guidance and support form adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
LAFS.2.W.3.7 (DOK 4) Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g. read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations.
LAFS.2.W.3.8 (DOK 2) Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
No Published Product – model expectations
Recursive Standards
English Language Development
ELD.K12.ELL.LA.1 English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts.
ELD.K12.ELL.SI.1 English language learners communicate for social and instructional purposes within the school setting.
Reading Foundational Skills
2. RF.3.3 (DOK 1) Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
a. Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
b. Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
c. Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
d. Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
e. Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
f. Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words
2. RF.4.4 (DOK 2) Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
a. Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.
b. Read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Speaking and Listening
2. SL.1.1 (DOK 3) Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
a. 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).
b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
c. Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.
2. SL.1.2 (DOK 2) Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
2. SL.2.6 (DOK 1) Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 2 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
Reading Literature and Informational
2. R.1.1 (DOK 2) Ask and answer questions as to who, what, when, where, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details.
2. RL.2.4 (DOK 2) Describe how words and phrases (e.g. regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
2. RI.2.4 (DOK 2) Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
2. RI.3.7 (DOK 2)Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
a. Identify images in an informational text.
b. Understand the terms explain contribute, and clarify.
c. Discuss how specific images add to and clarify informational text.
2.RL.4.10 (DOK 2) By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of2.
RI.4.10 (DOK 2) By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Writing
2. W.2.5 (DOK 3) With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
2. W.2.6 (DOK 2) With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
2. W.3.7 Participate in shared research project and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).
2. W.3.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sourcesto answer a question.
Language
2. L.1.1 (DOK 2) Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Demonstrate legible printing skills.
2. L. 1.2 (DOK 1) Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
d. Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage-badge; boy-boil)
e. Consult reference materials including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.
2. L. 2.3 (DOK 3) Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading or listening.
a. Compare formal and informal uses of English.
2.L.3.4 (DOK 2) Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
e. Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.
2.L.3.6 (DOK 1) Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe(e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
Phonics
Teach Spelling in a developmentally appropriate way based on the needs of your students. Listed below is a suggested sequence. / High Frequency/Vocabulary
Since you have a variety of texts to choose from, preview and select vocabulary words within the text.
DOLCH LINK
FRY LINK
Occasionally, encourage, disapprove, approve
Ruckus, victory, risky, glee / Grammar/Language
Week 28 – helping verbs
Week 29– linking verbs
Week 30 – irregular verbs
Week 31 – quotation marks
Deconstructed ReadingStandards
LAFS.2.RL.1.3 (DOK 2) Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
- Define character.
- Define major events.
- Identify major events or challenges of story.
- Describe how characters respond to major events and challenges.
3rd:Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
LAFS.2.RI.1.3 (DOK 3) Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
- Identify the historical events that occurred in a text.
- Identify scientific ideas or concepts that occur in a text.
- Identify the steps in a procedure.
- Describe the connection between a series of historical events.
- Describe the connection between a series of scientific ideas or concepts.
- Describe the connection between a series of steps from a procedure.
3rd: Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
LAFS.2.RI.3.8 (DOK 3) Describe how an author uses reasons to support specific points in a text.
- Identify the key points in a text
- Identify details that support key points.
- Describe how reasons support the author’s specific points.
3rd: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).
LAFS.2.RL.3.9 (DOK 3) Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
- Recall details and events from two or more versions of the same story written by different authors.
- Identify characters of two or more versions of the same story written by different authors.
- Compare/contrast two or more versions of the same story told from different cultures.
3rd:Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).
LAFS.2.RI.3.9 (DOK 3) Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
•Identify the important points presented in two informational texts on the same topic.
•Compare the important points in two informational texts on the same topic.
•Contrast the important points in two informational texts on the same topic.
1st:Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
3rd:Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Deconstructed Writing Standard
LAFS.2.W.1.2 (DOK 3) Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
- Recognize an informative text.
- Recognize explanatory text.
- Identify topic sentences.
- Identify facts.
- Identify definitions.
- Identify concluding statements.
- Use facts and definitions to develop points.
- Determine an appropriate concluding statement or section.
- Write informative/explanatory texts that focus on a specific topic.
- Write informative/explanatory texts that use facts and definitions to develop the topic.
SuggestedLiterary Texts
*Depending on readability of text, Interactive Read-Alouds may be utilized (refer to Higher Order Questions to ensure deeper comprehension)
Paired Text
Eat My Dust!
Henry Ford (Readworks)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Beatrix Potter
Week 29
Pick a famous American
Tools and Resources for Finding Optional Texts
Document-Based Questions (DBQs)
When applicable
ebscohost
Under this link, use “Searchasaurus”
Login/Password is lakecounty
NEWSELA
Current events, good resource for informational text. You will have to set up an account, it is free
EPIC – Books for Kids
Free e-books
lexile.com
lexile.com serves as a tool to assist teachers with verifying reading sources for curriculum support.
Tools to measure text complexity (Vetting a text)
*Students should interact with the suggested/optional texts multiple times to master the three focus reading standards within this unit. PLC’s should collaborate to determine the order of instruction and strategies that support the learning goal. / Literary Tasks(Teach and Model)
Choose at least 1 task per standardthat will support and scaffold learning for the published product. Can be used in whole group, small group, and journal responses.
LAFS.RL.1.3 (DOK 2) Part A: After the first reading ______,students will create a circle map to define the main characters in the story.
Part B: After the second reading, students will create another circle map to define major events in the story. Then students can use their circle maps to discuss, in a collaborative group, the major events or challenges of the story. Part C: After the third reading, students can work in pairs to create a bubble map to describe how characters respond to major events in the story.
LAFS.RI.1.3 (DOK2)Part A: After reading,______, students will create a flow map to identify the scientific concept – life cycle of plant. Part B: As students watch and listen to,______,have them create a flow map to identify the life cycle of pumpkin. Part C: Students will discuss collaboratively the connections between the series of steps. Use the flow maps to help facilitate discussion.
LAFS.RL.3.9 (DOK 3)Part A: While listening to and watching ______and ______,students will create a flow map to recall details of the stories.
Part B: After watching the stories a second time, students will create a tree map to identify the characters from each story.
Part C: Using their flow and tree maps, students can work with a partner to create a double bubble map to compare/contrast the different versions.
Part D: Students will use their maps to write a paragraph describing the similarities and differences in the two stories.
LAFS.R.I 3.8 & 3.9 (DOK 3) Part A: While listening to and watching Pumpkin Circle, students will use T-chart to identify the important points from the digital text. Part B: Use the same T- chart to identify the important points as students read Giant Pumpkins take Over Front Yards. Part C: After a second reading of the two pieces of texts students will use their T-chart to create a double bubble map comparing and contrasting the important points of both texts. Part D: Students can use their maps to have a collaborative conversation to describe reasons the authors use to support their points in the texts.
*The tasks provided are a sampling therefore additional tasks would be required to ensure adequate practice and deepening of knowledge to ensure mastery of the focus standards.
Use to create your own tasks – starting on pg.7
LDC 2-3 Template Tasks
Published Product for Unit 8
*The purpose of the Published Product is to allow for students to go through the writing process with modeling. See Literary Tasks to scaffold learning and prepare students for the Published Product.
This Published Product is be modeled. After reading the informational texts within the unit, students will create a digital presentation that details the life of a famous american. Students will use facts and definitions to develop their topic, and have a concluding statement.
Higher Order Questions Link to Webb’s DOK Guide
*Question stems should be utilized to create text dependent questions to encourage close reading, speaking, listening, and writing throughout the unit.
LAFS.2.RL.1.3 (DOK 2)
- How did the event/challenge impact the character?
- What traits would best describe __? What from the text supports your inference?
- How does __ (character) feel about __? How is that different from __ (character)?
- What connections exist between __?
- According to the text, how are __ and __ related?
- What does the writer think about the problem?
- Explain in your own words the reasons that support the author’s main purpose.
- Why do you think the author wrote __?
- What details did the author use to support his/her main purpose?
- Did the author justify his/her ideas?
- Why did the author write this piece?
- Why does the author use the word __?
- What clues/details/examples does the author provide to help us understand the term __?
- Why do you think the authors created their own version of the same story?
- What are some of the differences you notice in the two stories?
- Did the authors change the main ideas in their versions of the story?
- Compare and contrast the differences in the authors’ interpretation.
- Which culture (country) is represented in this story?
- What is the relationship between the two stories?
- Read both texts. What is the difference between them? (contrast)
- How are the two pieces alike/ different?
Additional Resources & Links
Marzano Proficiency Scales Bank
Link to Webb’s DOK Guide
LDC K-1 Template Tasks
Recursive Standards
Structured Reading Protocol 90 Minutes
Structured Reading Protocol 120 Minutes
Writing Rubric - Technology Presentation /Informational/Explanatory
FSA Test Item Specifications 3rd Grade ELA Test Item Specifications 4th Grade ELA Test Item Specifications 5th Grade ELA Test Item Specifications
Revised 5/11/2016