GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy Quarter 3, Weeks 23 & 24: 02/04/13 – 02/15/13

Learning ObjectivesThe goal of this lesson is to give students an opportunity to explore targeted passages of complex texts. Through teacher reading, student independent reading and re-reading, and scaffolded discussion of text-dependent questions, students will recognize how a theme is developed with figurative language and literacy devices. Vocabulary is learned from context and writing aids deeper understanding of text. The lesson culminates in an evidentiary writing activity. Teachers may further scaffold activities to address individual students’ needs.

Rationale: This lesson explores theme. By analyzing two Langston Hughes poems, students will conduct a close, analytic reading to identify and compare/contrast theme and how it is conveyed through the use of figurative language and other literary devices.

Text Title(s): “Words Like Freedom” and “Dreams” by Langston HughesMcDougal Littell (p.384-389)Genre/Text Structure: Poetry

Common Core Standards (CCSS)RL.6.1-2, RL.6.4-6, RL.6.7 &9, W.6.1-2, W.6.4-6, SL.6.1-6, L.6.1-6, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.6

http://www.corestandards.org/

Lesson SequencePERFORMANCE TASK /CULIMINATING INDEPENDENT WRITING ASSESSMENT:Essay—How does Langston Hughes use various literary devices to convey theme in the two poems: Words Like Freedom and Dreams?

Activities 1-3:1. Watch one of the following video to place the Harlem Renaissance in historical context: http://www.history.com/videos/the-harlem

renaissance-an-artistic-explosion#mankind-in-2-minutes orhttp://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=231518&title=The_Harlem_Renaissance . Ask students to note the main ideas of the video. What have they learned about the Harlem Renaissance?

2. The teacher/students will read Words Like Freedom and Dreams on pages 386 and 388. The opening sections of the piece may be read aloud or played on audio at www.classzone.com in its entirety. Rereading on day one is embedded in the text-dependent questions and discussion activities.3. Students will independently read pages 386 and 388.4. Students should discuss and write about the initial meaning they have made from reading the two poems.

Activities 4 and 5:1. Returning to the text, the teacher asks students a small set of guiding questions about the two poems.2. The targeted text should be in front of the students as they engage in their discussions.3. Graphic organizers or reader response journals serve as a means to organize thoughts for prewriting activities.

4. Students will use the above to help them produce a response to the culminating writing activity.

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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLSCurriculum and Instruction

Division of Language Arts/ReadingEnglish Language Arts (ELA) Exemplar Lesson

GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON Quarter 3, Week(s): 23 & 24 - 02/04/13 – 02/15/13

Activity 6: Analyze Visuals (individual or group activity) Sandra Dionisi, the illustrator of Birds Flying Over Barbed Wire, lives in Toronto, Canada. Some of her works include images of trapped or

endangered birds. Have students discuss what the artwork implies about the risks of freedom. Then students will create another design that communicates a similar theme.

The Surrealist painter Rene’ Magritte (1898-1967) was a contemporary of Langston Hughes. Surrealism celebrated the mystical and the miraculous, as is seen here in the image of the cloud-filled bird rising from the sea—like a dream (388). How does the mood of the painting compare to the mood of the poem?

Activity 7: A Found Poetry Exercise1. Students read the poetry individually and highlight/underline key words or phrases (2-3 words) that are most powerful.2. Students meet in small groups (2-4 students) and share their powerful words.3. Students agree on a list of powerful words/phrases.4. Students reorganize their words/phrases in such a way that embellishes on Hughes’ poem without reproducing.5. Students read their poems orally to the class at the conclusion.

Activity 8: Research Extension - Use Communication, Information and Media connections at www.classzone.com ,www.discoveryeducation.com, or other online resources to conduct research on Langston Hughes—Author Online at classzone.com.

Targeted Text Selection -Page 386

Vocabulary Teacher Activities and TechniquesText-Dependent Questions

Words Like Freedom

There are words like FreedomSweet and wonderful to say.On my heartstrings freedom sings All day everyday.

5 There are words like LibertyThat almost make me cry.If you had known what I knowYou would know why.

On my heartstrings freedom sings—someone singing out ‘freedom’ with great feeling

Heartstrings—the deepest feelings; the strongest affections

Liberty—freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control

Return to the text, and ask students a small set of guiding questions about the targeted section.

(Q1) Why does the speaker choose to repeat the words in lines 1 and 5?

Possible answer.The speaker might want to emphasize the importance of the words “Freedom” and “Liberty”. The speaker might also want to compare or contrast the concepts of freedom and liberty.

(Q2) Freedom and liberty are synonyms, but they do not mean the same thing. How is liberty is different from freedom?

Possible answer.Freedom is natural; it lives in the hearts of all living creatures. Liberty is a political idea—it is something that people can grant or deny each other.

(Q3) The speaker says that the word liberty “almost make(s) me cry.” Why might this be true?

Possible answer.The idea of liberty reminds the speaker of the many people who are not free.

(Q4) What might the sad feelings in the second stanza say about the possibilities and the reality of liberty for the speaker?Possible answer.The speaker is sad because the possibility of liberty has not yet become a reality for everyone.

Targeted Text Selection -Page 388Dreams

Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.

VocabularyHold fast—grasp

tightly, stick firmlyBarren—

unproductive; unfruitful

(Q5) How does the mental picture of “barren field frozen with snow” add to your understanding of the poem?

Possible answer.The mental picture created by lines 7-8 give readers a sense of just how empty and cold a life without dreams could be.

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GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON Quarter 3, Week(s): 23 & 24 - 02/04/13 – 02/15/13

5 Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.

(Q6) Theme in Poetry—Repeated Words and Phrases-Locate the words and/or phrases that are repeated in both poems. How do the words/phrases contribute to the theme of the two poems?

Possible answer.“Words Like Freedom”: ‘There are words like;’“Dreams”: ‘Hold fast to dream’ and ‘For if (when) dreams die (go)’.Themes: “Words Like Freedom”: Don’t take freedom and liberty for granted; “Dreams”: Don’t let your dreams die.

Cross Genre Connections: (Q7) Research the civil rights movement to create a timeline of the important civil rights rulings and events that happened during Langston Hughes’s lifetime (1902-1967). How might have these events have affected Hughes’s view of his possibilities?

Possible answer.Research Center at Classzone.com

(Q8) Research the Harlem Renaissance and how Langston Hughes poetry added to the cultural revolution for African-Americans.

Possible answer.Research Center at Classzone.com

Summative Assessment/ Culminating Independent Writing Task

Essay—How does Langston Hughes use various literary devices to convey theme in the two poems: Words Like Freedom and Dreams?

Students should include textual evidence to support their responses. Responses should include:

Key TraitsIdeas

Makes inferences about the character’s personality traits and motivation for behavior and actions

Focuses only on the experience Re-creates the experience using vivid and relevant details Uses specific examples to support ideas

Organization Follows the format of writing a letter including the greeting, body, and

closing Uses transitional words and phrases Clearly shows the order in which the events occurred

Voice Uses a tone that is appropriate for the audience and purpose Maintains a consistent perspective

Word Choice Addresses the audience directly and uses language effectively Uses descriptive language to help readers visualize the action Uses pronouns appropriately

Sentence Fluency Varies sentence length and structure to help the paper flow

Conventions Uses correct grammar

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GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON Quarter 3, Week(s): 23 & 24 - 02/04/13 – 02/15/13

Extension Activities/Further Resources Technology:www.discoveryeducation.com – (see links embedded in pacing guide)www.classzone.com

Graphic Organizers at www.classzone.com

Interdisciplinary Connections: Social Studies—Harlem Renaissance, Great Migration, ‘Civil Rights’ during the time. Music—Jazz and Blues

English Language Learner (ELL) Resources and Strategies

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GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON Quarter 3, Week(s): 23 & 24 - 02/04/13 – 02/15/13

Key Academic Vocabulary

Content Knowledge/Media Connections:

Picture found on Discovery Education

Writing Task

Use McDougal Littell online resources found at: www.classzone.com under the Writing and Grammar tab, graphic organizers. Use the organizer definition mapping to work with the vocabulary presented in the lesson plan. Emphasis the word sweet (line2) and the word cry (line6)

Introduce the author found on page 385 in the Literature book. Use www.classzone.com under author online to establish background knowledge. Watch the video following video clip Langston Hughes, grades 9-12, on Discovery Education (on your employee portal by searching English/Language Arts, full video. “The History of American Literature”, select the piece “Harlem Renaissance”.

Read and analyze Key Ideas found on page 384 in the Literature book under WEB IT. Have the students, with the use of the graphic organizer found in www.classzone.com under Writing and Grammar Graphic Organizers - “Cluster Diagram”, write two paragraphs.

Watch the video clip from Discovery Education titled “Writing the Declaration of Independence”. Use Cause-and-Effect Diagram,

Transparency B38 (Easy Planner) in order to better enable the students in answering the following question in a paragraph form.How could a weak Declaration of Independence have affected the outcome of the Revolutionary War?

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm? guidAssetId=8E409D29-64D5-4796-9440-AF5FD987ED16

This graphic organizer is found at www.classzone.com or McDougal Littell EASY Planner.

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GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON Quarter 3, Week(s): 23 & 24 - 02/04/13 – 02/15/13

Student Copy

Text Title(s): McDougal Littell (p.384-389)--Words Like Freedom and Dreams by Langston HughesGenre/Text Structure: Poetry

Targeted Text Selection -Page 386 & 388

Vocabulary Text-Dependent Questions

Words Like Freedom

There are words like FreedomSweet and wonderful to say.On my heartstrings freedom sings All day everyday.

5 There are words like LibertyThat almost make me cry.If you had known what I knowYou would know why.

On my heartstrings freedom sings—someone singing out ‘freedom’ with great feeling

Heartstrings—the deepest feelings; the strongest affections

Liberty—freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control

Hold fast—grasp tightly, stick firmly

Barren—unproductive; unfruitful

(Q1) Why does the speaker choose to repeat the words in lines 1 and 5?

(Q2) Freedom and liberty are synonyms, but they do not mean the same thing. How is liberty is different from freedom?

(Q3) The speaker says that the word liberty “almost make(s) me cry.” Why might this be true?

(Q4) What might the sad feelings in the second stanza say about the possibilities and the reality of liberty for the speaker?

Dreams

Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.

5 Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.

(Q5) How does the mental picture of “barren field frozen with snow” add to your understanding of the poem?

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GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON Quarter 3, Week(s): 23 & 24 - 02/04/13 – 02/15/13

(Q6) Theme in Poetry—Repeated Words and Phrases-Locate the words and/or phrases that are repeated in both poems. How do the words/phrases contribute to the theme of the two poems?

(Q7) Research the civil rights movement to create a timeline of the important civil rights rulings and events that happened during Langston Hughes’s lifetime (1902-1967). How might have these events have affected Hughes’s view of his possibilities?

(Q8) Research the Harlem Renaissance and how Langston Hughes poetry added to the cultural revolution for African-Americans.

Write a SUMMARIZATION:

For further information regarding this document contact the Department of Language Arts/Reading, Secondary District Instructional Supervisors, Dr. Erin Cuartas, Ms. Laurie Kaplan or Dr. Sharon Scruggs-Williams, 305-995-3122; for ELL questions, contact the Division of Bilingual Education and World Languages District Supervisor, Ms. Caridad Perez, 305-995-1962.

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