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The Beauty of EvolutionAn LDC/Paideia Module

Information Sheet for Argumentation ModuleModule title: The Beauty of EvolutionModule description (overview):

This is the second module of the fourth quarter of a middle school science/English course, and it examines the concept of evolution from a scientific and humanistic perspective. This module celebrates students’ work in learning to view the world as a scientist and as an artist.

NOTE: This module is designed to teach and assess the Core Content College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for “Speaking and Listening” including a formal and rigorous dialogue about concepts and ideas. Common Core “Reading” and “Writing” standards are practiced and assessed around the Paideia Seminar discussion. NOTE: if you are not trained in leading Paideia (Socratic) Seminars, you can still teach this module by replacing the Seminar in Cluster 3 with another discussion-based strategy.

Template task (include number, type, level):

Task 10 Template: [Insert question] After reading ________ (literature or informational texts) on ________ (content), write a/an ________ (essay or substitute) that argues the causes of ________ (content) and explains the effects ________ (content). What ________ (conclusions or implications) can you draw? Support your discussion with evidence from the texts. (Argumentation/Cause-Effect)

Teaching task: Does Eiseley’s explanation of how evolution in nature affects us make scientific sense? After reading “How Flowers Changed the World” by Loren Eiseley on evolution, write an essay that argues the causes of natural beauty and explains the effects on the human psyche from the author’s point of view and address the question. What implications can you draw? Support your discussion with evidence from the text.

Big Ideas, Values

Cause, Effect, Beauty, Time

Grade(s)/Level: Middle School or High SchoolDiscipline: (e.g., ELA, science, history, other?)

Science

Course: ScienceAuthor(s): Laura Billings, National Paideia CenterContact information:

National Paideia Center (www.paideia.org)

LDC Argumentation Module Template | © Literacy Design Collaborative, September 2011 1

Section 1: What Task?TEACHING TASKTeaching task:

Does Eiseley’s explanation of how evolution in nature affects us make scientific sense? After reading “How Flowers Changed the World” by Loren Eiseley on evolution, write an essay that argues the causes of natural beauty and explains the effects on the human psyche from the author’s point of view and address the question. What implications can you draw? Support your discussion with evidence from the text.

Reading texts:

How Flowers Changed the World” by Loren Eiseley (See Appendix.)

Background to share with students:

This module is a culmination of your work throughout the year in science. Although the central text is relatively long, you will apply the analytical reading skills you learned throughout previous modules. It supports critical thinking about the concept of evolution in relation to beauty. Considering these two ideas in relation is meant to challenge you to extend your understanding of what science illustrates about evolution into contemporary perceptions of beauty and self-image. In this way, the module is designed to help you develop a broad perspective on scientific thinking and the less rational human sense of beauty.

Extension (optional):

(Mandatory in a Paideia module):Students compile their finished essays into a collection titled The Beauty of Evolution. Webpages and powerpoint slides may be developed to show story boards and images to illuminate the key essay points.

CONTENT STANDARDS FROM STATE OR DISTRICTStandards source:NUMBER CONTENT STANDARDS


COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDSREADING STANDARDS FOR ARGUMENTATION

“Built-in” Reading Standards “When Appropriate” Reading Standards1- Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the test.

3- Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

2- Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

5- Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

4- Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

6- Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

10- Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

7- Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.8- Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.9- Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

WRITING STANDARDS FOR ARGUMENTATION“Built-in” Writing Standards “When Appropriate” Writing Standards

1- Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

2- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

4- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

3- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

5- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

6- Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

9- Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

7- Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

10- Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, 8- Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital


reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audience.

sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.


SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS FOR LDC/PAIDEIA MODULES“Built In” Speaking and Listening Standards “When Appropriate” Standards

1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English whenindicated or appropriate.

5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understandingof presentations.


TEACHING TASK RUBRIC (ARGUMENTATION)Scoring

ElementsNot Yet Approaches Expectations Meets Expectations Advanced

1 1.5 2 2.

5 3 3.5

4

FocusAttempts to address

prompt, but lacks focus or is off-task.

Addresses prompt appropriately and

establishes a position, but focus is uneven.

Addresses prompt appropriately and maintains a clear, steady focus. Provides a generally convincing position.

Addresses all aspects of prompt appropriately with a consistently

strong focus and convincing position.

Controlling Idea

Attempts to establish a claim, but lacks a clear purpose. (L2) Makes no

mention of counter claims.

Establishes a claim. (L2) Makes note of counter

claims.

Establishes a credible claim. (L2) Develops claim and

counter claims fairly.

Establishes and maintains a substantive and credible claim or

proposal. (L2) Develops claims and counter claims fairly and

thoroughly.

Reading/ Research

Attempts to reference reading materials to

develop response, but lacks connections or

relevance to the purpose of the prompt.

Presents information from reading materials

relevant to the purpose of the prompt with minor lapses in accuracy or

completeness.

Accurately presents details from reading materials

relevant to the purpose of the prompt to develop argument

or claim.

Accurately and effectively presents important details from

reading materials to develop argument or claim.

Development

Attempts to provide details in response to the

prompt, but lacks sufficient development or relevance to the purpose of the prompt. (L3) Makes

no connections or a connection that is

irrelevant to argument or claim.

Presents appropriate details to support and

develop the focus, controlling idea, or claim, with minor lapses in the reasoning, examples, or explanations. (L3) Makes a connection with a weak or unclear relationship to

argument or claim.

Presents appropriate and sufficient details to support

and develop the focus, controlling idea, or claim. (L3)

Makes a relevant connection to clarify argument or claim.

Presents thorough and detailed information to effectively support

and develop the focus, controlling idea, or claim. (L3)

Makes a clarifying connection(s) that illuminates argument and

adds depth to reasoning.

Organization

Attempts to organize ideas, but lacks control of

structure.

Uses an appropriate organizational structure

for development of reasoning and logic, with minor lapses in structure

and/or coherence.

Maintains an appropriate organizational structure to

address specific requirements of the prompt. Structure

reveals the reasoning and logic of the argument.

Maintains an organizational structure that intentionally and

effectively enhances the presentation of information as

required by the specific prompt. Structure enhances development of the reasoning and logic of the

argument.Conventions Attempts to demonstrate

standard English conventions, but lacks cohesion and control of grammar, usage, and

mechanics. Sources are used without citation.

Demonstrates an uneven command of standard

English conventions and cohesion.

Uses language and tone with some inaccurate,

inappropriate, or uneven features. Inconsistently

cites sources.

Demonstrates a command of standard English conventions and cohesion, with few errors. Response includes language and tone appropriate to the

audience, purpose, and specific requirements of the prompt. Cites sources using appropriate format with only

Demonstrates and maintains a well-developed command of standard English conventions and cohesion, with few errors.

Response includes language and tone consistently appropriate to

the audience, purpose, and specific requirements of the prompt. Consistently cites


minor errors. sources using appropriate format.

Content Understanding

Attempts to include disciplinary content in

argument, but understanding of content

is weak; content is irrelevant, inappropriate,

or inaccurate.

Briefly notes disciplinary content relevant to the prompt; shows basic or

uneven understanding of content; minor errors in

explanation.

Accurately presents disciplinary content relevant to

the prompt with sufficient explanations that demonstrate

understanding.

Integrates relevant and accurate disciplinary content with

thorough explanations that demonstrate in-depth

understanding.


Section 2: What Skills?

SKILL DEFINITION

SKILLS CLUSTER 1: PREPARING FOR SEMINAR AND TASK1. Task engagement Ability to recognize the curricular concepts and ideas.

Ability to comprehend factual information related to the concepts, ideas, and seminar text.SKILLS CLUSTER 2: READING PROCESS FOR PAIDEIA SEMINAR1. Inspectional reading Ability to identify structural components of the seminar text.

2. Essential vocabulary Ability to identify and master terms essential to understanding a text.

3. Analytical Reading & Note-taking

Ability to read purposefully and compare information for relevance; to summarize, paraphrase, and evaluate.

SKILLS CLUSTER 3: DIALOGUE PROCESS (PAIDEIA SEMINAR) 1. Pre-Seminar Process

Ability to reflect on personal communication habits and select appropriate speaking and listening goals.

2. Seminar Ability to think critically and collaboratively in a group about concepts and ideas of a text through a structured Paideia seminar or other discussion-based strategy.

3. Post-Seminar Process

Ability to self-assess on speaking and listening skills practiced in the seminar and note relevant communication goals for future discussions.

SKILLS CLUSTER 4: TRANISITION TO WRITING1. Transition to Writing: Ability to connect seminar to writing a composition.

SKILLS CLUSTER 5: WRITING PROCESS1. Task Analysis Ability to comprehend the focus of the task.

2. Initiating the task Ability to establish a claim and consolidate information relevant to task.

3. Planning Ability to develop a line of thought and text structure appropriate to an argumentation task.

4. Development Ability to construct an initial draft with an emerging line of thought and structure.

5. Revision Ability to refine text, including line of thought, language usage, and tone as appropriate to audience and purpose.

6. Editing Ability to proofread and format a piece to make it more effective.

7. Completion Ability to submit final piece that meets expectations.


Section 3: What Instruction?

PACING SKILL AND DEFINITION

PRODUCT AND PROMPT SCORING (PRODUCT “MEETS EXPECTATIONS” IF IT…)

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

SKILLS CLUSTER 1: PREPARING FOR SEMINAR AND TASKDay 1 1. Task Engagement

Ability to recognize the curricular concepts and ideas.

Mini-task: Read the following quotes and respond to the following question in a journal entry: What is beauty?

“Art is the tree of life. Science is the tree of death.” William Blake

“A beautiful thing is never perfect.” Egyptian proverb

Students complete a short journal entry.

Note: This mini-task serves as a pre-test and provides some information to teachers as to students’ understandings and writing skills.Preparation: Clarify the objectives for the Seminar.

See pp. 23-24 in Teaching Thinking Through Dialogue.

Identify ideas and values. See pp. 25-26

Select text(s) for Seminar. See pp. 27-31.

Day 1 2. Task EngagementAbility to comprehend factual information related to the concepts, ideas, and seminar text.

Mini-task: As you watch the video and discuss what you see with other students, take notes in your note journal.

Notes are accurate and identify relevant facts, concepts, ideas in the video.

See Teacher Notes for Instructional Strategies (p. 16)

SKILLS CLUSTER 2: READING PROCESS FOR PAIDEIA SEMINARDay 2 1. Inspectional

readingAbility to identify structural components of the seminar text.

See Adler & Van Doren, pp. 31-44.

Mini-Task: Label the parts of the text by numbering the paragraphs of the text.

Structural features of the text are marked.

Each student has a copy of the printed text. Have students number the paragraphs (1-38) in the right margin of the text.


Day 2-32. Essential vocabularyAbility to identify and master terms essential to understanding a text.

Vocabulary listIn your notebook, add the list words from “How Flowers Changed the World.” Note definitions/synonyms.

List of Content and Frequently used words has definition or synonym.

Give list of words from “How Flowers Changed the World.” (See Appendix). Talk with students about the different categories of words. Assign student teams to equal number of content and frequently used words. Direct them to find words in the text and draft a definition based on context clues. Then have students compare their draft definition with an on-line dictionary to determine a short definition and synonym for each vocabulary word. Create jig saw groups (one member from each definition group) and direct students to share definitions/synonyms. Add, subtract or reorganize words to best meet your students’ needs. At the end, all students should have a brief definition/ synonym for each vocabulary word.


Days 3- 4-5

3. Analytical Reading & Note-takingAbility to read purposefully and compare information for relevance; to summarize, paraphrase, and evaluate.See Adler & Van Doren, pp. 59-188,

Mini-task: What three phrases, sentences, or images in this text remind you of something else we have studied?

Graphic organizer is completely filled in with three examples.

Post and discuss timeline-background information:

The “Age of Reptiles” was probably 300-200 mya.

The “Dinosaur Age” (the Mesozoic Era) was approximately 250-65 mya.

Cretaceous times (paragraph 14) refers to the third and most recent period of the Mesozoic Era (cretaceous means “of chalk”). Roughly 250-65 mya.

Assign student pairs and divide up the text so that each pair is responsible for reading equal portions of the text. Have read their portion of the text paragraph by paragraph-either aloud with each other or silently. Direct students to use their vocabulary list while reading. Have student pairs draft a summary statement for each paragraph they’ve read. Have students share summary statement for each paragraph in order. Invite students to take notes or post the summary statements. Direct students to then read the text to themselves silently—allow class time in appropriate chunks. Teacher coaching and support should be available and most of the individual reading should be done in class.After reading to themselves, students should then make notes on the Graphic Organizer (in Appendix)

SKILLS CLUSTER 3: DIALOGUE PROCESS (PAIDEIA SEMINAR)


Day 6 1. Pre-Seminar ProcessAbility to reflect on personal communication habits and select appropriate speaking and listening goals.

Mini-Task Based on the list of Speaking and Listening behaviors, note in writing a goal for your personal participation in the upcoming dialogue.

Chooses appropriate individual process goal based on past seminar performance

Teachers should be familiar with the Process step of Paideia Seminar including: definition and purpose for having the dialogue, role and responsibility of facilitator and participants, steps to guide personal and group process goals. See Teaching Thinking Through Dialogue for examples of pre- and post-seminar process “scripts” embedded in sample seminar plans.

See Speaking and Listening Rubric and “Seminar Process Assessment” (see Appendix) and use tool of your choice.

Teacher should identify a collection of appropriate speaking and listening goals for the group. Students select what they will work on individually and note it in writing on the Seminar Process Assessment sheet included in the Appendices (either B or D) to this module. The group participation goal is discussed and posted where all can see.


Day 6 2. SeminarAbility to think critically and collaboratively in a group about concepts and ideas of a text through a structured Paideia seminar or other discussion-based strategy.

Conduct Seminar. Scoring is based on students’ self- assessment in post-seminar process.

Seminar Plan:

Reiterate that our purpose is to discuss cause, effect, beauty, time.

Ask participants to take a few minutes to look back at their notes on their text and/or graphic organizer. Acknowledge that we will use both page numbers and paragraph numbers for referring to the text.

Opening Question – (Identify main ideas from the text):What aspect of this text-- land, plants, and animals-- was most interesting to you? (round robin; Read a short passage that illustrates your answer and explain.)

Core Questions – (Focus/analyze textual details):When Eiseley writes in paragraph 3 that “there is nothing very ‘normal’ about Nature,” what do you think he means? Do you agree?

How would you explain the relationship between the ideas in paragraph 13 (“simple, primitive seeds”) and paragraph 25 (“true, flowering plants”)?

(Ask someone read paragraph 21 aloud.) Why do you think Eiseley uses the terms “chosen” and “devised” to describe what plants are doing?

What do you think Eiseley means by geologic time? Why does he keep referring to it?

Take a look at paragraph 34. Consider the sentences: “Nature had not done well by him. It was as if she had hesitated and never quite made up her mind.” What do you think of this description?


Closing Question – (Personalize and apply the textual ideas):

What does this essay/discussion teach you about your relationship to the natural world?

Day 6 3. Post-SeminarAbility to self-assess on speaking and listening skills practiced in the seminar and note relevant communication goals for future discussions.

Mini-Task: Reflect back on your participation goal, then finish filling out the Seminar Process Assessment form; write a short reflective work on your seminar performance in detail.

Answers task by filing in form completely.

Writes in detail about seminar participation

Have students go back to their personal goal (With tool from Appendix) and write a short self-assessment of their participation in Seminar. Invite a few representative students share their goal and how they did. Likewise, ask the entire goal to reflect on the entire dialogue process, i.e. the group effort.

In whatever format is preferred, both individual and group reflections should be archived for reference at the beginning of the next Seminar.

See Teaching Thinking through Dialogue: See pages 44-48.

SKILLS CLUSTER 4: TRANSITION TO WRITINGDay 7 1. Transition to

Writing Ability to connect seminar to writing a composition.

Mini-Task:See below.

No scoring


Ask participants to take up to 30 minutes outside and walk about alone. While outside, they should choose at least one attribute of the natural world to consider in detail—preferably something they’ve never really studied before. They should take paper and a pen or pencil so that they can sketch and/or take notes. Ask that they share their discoveries with others (including any reflections about how this text/discussion changed the way they looked at nature) next class.

Mini-Task: Create a Geometric FlowerWith a ruler and compass, draw a vertical and horizontal line to make x and y axis with intersection in middle of page. From the central point, make a circle with a radius of 1”.

Next, you will be making 4 half circles in this way:

1. Take your compass point to the where the right side of the circle touches the x axis, make a half circle by holding the pencil straight above the x and take it around until it is directly below the x axis.

2. Now take your compass point to where the bottom of the circle touches the y axis, make a half circle by holding the pencil to the right and horizontal, start the mark beginning at the half circle you just made, and then taking around to intersection and then to the left and horizontal from your starting point.

3. Take your compass point to where the left side of the circle touches the x axis, make a half circle by holding the pencil straight above the x and take it around until it is directly below the x axis.

4. Take your compass point to where the top of the circle touches the y axis, make a half circle by holding the pencil to the right and horizontal, start the mark at the other half circles, and take around to the intersection with final petal of flower.

Inscribe the flower and circle by making lines connecting the tips of the pedals.

Add some color and a few your favorite words—from life, from the text, from our discussion.

SKILLS CLUSTER 5: WRITING PROCESSDay 8 1. Task Analysis

Ability to comprehend the focus of the task.

Short responseIn a quick write, write your first reaction to the task prompt. Add some notes of things you know about this issue.

Drafts a sentence to display their initial response to the task.

Exhibit Teaching Task and Rubric to discuss with students.


Day 8 2. Initiating the taskAbility to establish a claim and consolidate information relevant to task.

Opening paragraphRead “Symmetry, beauty, and evolution.” Take notes on the idea of evolution in relation to beauty. Compose a claim and summarize what you now think about evolution and beauty.

Exhibits a complete set of notes Composes a clear, coherent claim.

Introduce and explain note-taking. Explain that students will learn more about the discipline of science by reading three different scientists and the approaches they took. Distribute readings about evolution, art, and conservation. Lead whole-class reading and note-taking about Georgia O’Keeffe or Ansel Adams, modeling for students how to cite evidence. Students work independently, or with a partner, to complete the readings about John Muir, Rachel Carson as well as the graphic organizer. Teacher walks around class and works with individual students to help with the reading and note-taking. Students compose first draft of their thesis statements.

Day 9 3. PlanningAbility to develop a line of thought and text structure appropriate to an argumentation task.

Outline/organizerPrepare a blue-print (draft outline) for a four to six paragraph essay.

Develops a blueprint that is on-task and includes key points for cause-effect essay.

Model blueprint method Display model for reference Discuss function of each paragraph in

template and distribute Blueprinting graphic organizer (See Appendix).

Days 10

4. DevelopmentAbility to construct an initial draft with an emerging line of thought and structure.

Initial draftWrite an initial draft of 4-6 paragraphs complete with opening, development, and closing; insert and cite textual evidence.

Not scored – self and peer review and assessment according to exercises.

See Teacher Work Section


Days 10 through 12

5. RevisionAbility to refine text, including line of thought, language usage, and tone as appropriate to audience and purpose.

Multiple draftsRefine composition’s analysis, logic, and organization of ideas/points. Use textual evidence carefully, with accurate citations. Decide what to include and what not to include.

Provides complete draft with all parts. Supports the opening in the later sections with evidence and citations. Improves earlier edition.

See Teacher Work Section

Day 13 6. EditingAbility to proofread and format a piece to make it more effective.

Correct DraftRevise draft to have sound spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Adjust formatting as needed to provide clear, appealing text.

Provides draft free from distracting surface errors. Uses format that supports purpose.

Briefly review selected skills that many students need to improve. Teach a short list of proofreading marks. Assign students to proofread each other’s texts a second time.

Day 14 7. CompletionAbility to submit final piece that meets expectations.

Final workTurn in your complete set of drafts, plus the final version of your work.

Demonstrates that composition is on task and ready for evaluation

Celebrate!

MATERIALS, REFERENCES, AND SUPPORTSFOR TEACHERS FOR STUDENTS

Adler, Mortimer J. and Charles Van Doren. (1972). How to Read a Book. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Davis, Judy and Sharon Hill. (2003). The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing: Strategies, Structures, and Solutions. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

National Paideia Center (2010). Teaching Thinking Through Dialogue. 2nd Edition.

Video: The Evolution of Beauty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knEIM16NuPg&noredirect= 1

Seminar Text: Eiseley, Loren. “How Flowers Changed the World” (See Appendix)

Enquist, Magnus and Anthony Arak. “Symmetry, beauty and evolution”


Roberts, Terry and Laura Billings. (2011). Teaching Critical Thinking: Using Seminars for 21st Century Literacy. New York: Eye on Education.


Section 4: What Results? STUDENT WORK SAMPLES[Include at least two samples of student work at each scoring level.]

CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT TASK (OPTIONAL: MAY BE USED AS PRE-TEST OR POST-TEST)Classroom assessment task

Background to share with students (optional):Reading texts:

ARGUMENTATION CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT RUBRICLDC Argumentation Classroom Assessment Rubric

MEETS EXPECTATIONSFocus Addresses the prompt and stays on task; provides a generally convincing response.Reading/Research Demonstrates generally effective use of reading material to develop an argument.Controlling Idea Establishes a credible claim and supports an argument that is logical and generally convincing.

(L2) Acknowledges competing arguments while defending the claim.Development Develops reasoning to support claim; provides evidence from text(s) in the form of examples or

explanations relevant to the argument (L3) Makes a relevant connection(s) that supports argument.

Organization Applies an appropriate text structure to address specific requirements of the prompt.Conventions Demonstrates a command of standard English conventions and cohesion; employs language and

tone appropriate to audience and purpose.

NOT YETFocus Attempts to address prompt but lacks focus or is off-task.Reading/Research Demonstrates weak use of reading material to develop argument.Controlling Idea Establishes a claim and attempts to support an argument but is not convincing;

(L2) Attempts to acknowledge competing arguments.Development Reasoning is not clear; examples or explanations are weak or irrelevant. (L3) Connection is

weak or not relevant.Organization Provides an ineffective structure; composition does not address requirements of the prompt.Conventions Demonstrates a weak command of standard English conventions; lacks cohesion; language and


tone are not appropriate to audience and purpose.


Teacher Work SectionHere are added thoughts about teaching this module.

Each LDC-Paideia module includes a selection of short texts on the same Essential Question and these are listed above in the “for students” section. These texts are used to provide students with ongoing reading practice during the implementation of the module. In addition to the Seminar text, the LDC-Paideia module includes a collection of supplementary reading selections to support students understanding of the background and context of the feature text.

This module is packed with vocabulary and taking time to help students find definitions, synonyms and see word relationships is encouraged.

Feel free to revise (and improve)the graphic organizers.

Given that this module includes a Paideia Seminar, the Speaking and Listening Rubric is included to help guide the dialogue. This module would be better used early in the school year, so allow ample time for the pre- and post-seminar process work to help students understand how the seminar will take place in the classroom.

Later in the year, the pre-seminar will shift to include more rigorous content and the process steps will be adjusted based on students’ participation habits.

If you have no experience with the Paideia Seminar, a good place to start is with the Paideia Seminar Manual referenced throughout this module: Teaching Thinking Through Dialogue (2nd ed. 2010). This manual and other materials can be ordered from the National Paideia Center via their web site at www.paideia.org.

And: Teach to the rubrics. Instruction should attend to the demands and qualities of performances embedded in rubrics, particularly the proficient level. As students acquire the fundamental skills to demonstrate proficient work, teachers should focus instruction on Levels 2 and 3. A key strategy embedded in the Instructional Ladder involves keeping students on task and addressing the prompt.

Teach responsively. LDC Modules are designed for teaching students to reach proficiency or advanced levels of performances aligned to the CCSR and Common Core Standards. To assist students in reaching this goal, teachers should employ direct and indirect instructional strategies, whether they question, demonstrate, intervene, guide or lecture. They should give students multiple opportunities over the course of a year to learn at Level 1 or the foundational literacy skills and thinking embedded in LDC Modules. If students become adept at this level, they are then poised to “upgrade” their skills to Levels 2 and 3 and to combine text structures. By scaffolding the LDC Modules, teachers can ensure that students become increasingly at ease with writing situations and demands. In this way, students progress from dependent readers and writers to independent ones.


A. Possible variations. Add ideas for enrichment activities or extensions to the module.

Consider the following options for extending the work done in this module (this in addition to the essay collection already described!):

Read The Immense Journey in its entirety; Select an additional artist that you identify with to research in more detail; Identify another literary selection to support your stance, e.g. Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Identify key scientists associated with certain perspective on evolution and explore the relationship of theories (e.g.

Darwin).

Instructional Strategies – Additional Notes

Task Engagement Instructional Strategies for #2: Have participants view the video (The Evolution of Beauty) at least twice.

Have students make a 4 square Story Board. Simply take piece of paper and fold twice to get 4 squares. Have students label the squares: frame 1, frame 2, frame 3, frame 4.

Explain that they will watch the video again and this time they are to take notes about what happens in each frame. Encourage them to make a stick figure drawing of the girl and label what changes they see.

Watch the video one more time to allow students more time to capture details. Also encourage them to write words they see onto their graphic organizer (story board of the video). Help them see when 25 seconds passes so they can move to the next frame.

Have students work in pairs for about 4-5 minutes sharing what they have on their story board. Students should add to their notes if their partner catches something that they didn’t.

Development Instructional Strategies Notes:

Distribute the Qualities of Good Writing and Editing Checklist (Davis and Hill, The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing, 2003 Heinemann). Read through the qualities with the class, discuss, and provide time for students to ask questions. Students first read their own drafts, going through the Editing Checklist to check for errors. Students also looked for the writing qualities in their own writing.


Students then traded drafts with another student and each wrote two positive comments (things they liked) and one suggestion for improvement.

Feedback in small groups.

a. Form heterogeneous groups of 3 students

b. Provide each group with multiple copies of each group member’s first draft

c. Each member of the group reads his or her paper out loud in turn while the other members follow along, writing edits, suggestions, questions as they go

d. The first member of the group then listens while the other members offer feedback especially to the structure—how the points are logically organized and connect together

e. Repeat the process with each of the other group members

f. Group members give each member all the copies of his or her draft to use in revision

Revision Instructional Strategies

Instructional Strategies: Based on feedback, students make revisions with a focus on content:

Clarity of Thesis StatementClarity each Topic SentenceRelationship of Topic Sentences to ThesisEffectiveness of Conclusion

Peer feedback:

a. Break class up in to same heterogeneous groups of 3 students (as in Revision 1)

b. Provide each group with multiple copies of each group member’s second draft


c. Each member of the group reads his or her paper out loud slowly, pausing after each paragraph in turn, while the other members follow along, writing comments and questions as they go

d. The first member of the group then listens while the other members offer warm and cool feedback to the paper—on each of the following topics in turn

e. Repeat the process with each of the other group members


Module AppendixThe attached materials support teaching this module.

In this Appendix:

Seminar text: “How Flowers Changed the World”

Vocabulary from “How Flowers Changed the World”

Graphic Organizer for reading “How Flowers Changed the World”

Graphic Organizer for writing

Paideia Seminar Speaking and Listening Skills Self Assessment

Speaking and Listening Rubric

Seminar Process Assessment

Seminar Reflection Questions

Seminar Reflection Guide

Supplementary Texts:

Symmetry, beauty and evolution

“Evolution”

LDC Argumentation Module Template | © Literacy Design Collaborative, September 2011 (Appendix © Paideia) 25

“HOW FLOWERS CHANGED THE WORLD”1

by Loren Eiseley

If it had been possible to observe the Earth from the far side of the solar system over the long course of geological epochs, the watchers might have been able to discern a subtle change in the light emanating from our planet. That world of long ago would, like the red deserts of Mars, have reflected light from vast drifts of stone and gravel, the sands of wandering wastes, the blackness of naked basalt, the yellow dust of endlessly moving storms. Only the ceaseless marching of the clouds and the intermittent flashes from the restless surface of the sea would have told a different story, but still essentially a barren one. Then, as the millennia rolled away and age followed age, a new and greener light would, by degrees, have come to twinkle across those endless miles.

This is the only difference those far watchers, by the use of subtle instruments, might have perceived in the whole history of the planet Earth. Yet that slowly growing green twinkle would have contained the epic march of life from the tidal oozes upward across the raw and unclothed continents. Out of the vast chemical bath of the sea--not from the deeps, but from the element-rich, light- exposed platforms of the continental shelves--wandering fingers of green had crept upward along the meanderings of river systems and fringed the gravels of forgotten lakes.

In those first ages plants clung of necessity to swamps and watercourses. Their reproductive processes demanded direct access to water. Beyond the primitive ferns and mosses that enclosed the borders of swamps and streams the rocks still lay vast and bare, the winds still swirled the dust of a naked planet. The grass cover that holds our world secure in place was still millions of years in the future. The green marchers had gained a soggy foothold upon the land, but that was all. They did not reproduce by seeds but by microscopic swimming sperm that had to wriggle their way through water to fertilize the female cell. Such plants in their higher forms had clever adaptations for the use of rain water in their sexual phases, and survived with increasing success in a wet land environment. They now seem part of man's normal environment. The truth is, however, that there is nothing very "normal" about Nature. Once upon a time there were no flowers at all.

A little while ago--about one hundred million years, as the geologist estimates time in the history of our four-billion-year-old planet--flowers were not to be found anywhere on the five continents. Wherever one might have looked, from the poles to the equator, one would have seen only the cold dark monotonous green of a world whose plant life possessed no other color.

1 First published in book form in The Immense Journey (1946). Used only for instructional purposes under the Fair Use exception to the U.S. Copyright Act.LDC Argumentation Module Template | © Literacy Design Collaborative, September 2011 (Appendix © Paideia) 26

Somewhere, just a short time before the close of the Age of Reptiles, there occurred a soundless, violent explosion. It lasted millions of years, but it was an explosion, nevertheless. It marked the emergence of the angiosperms--the flowering plants. Even the great evolutionist, Charles Darwin, called them "an abominable mystery," because they appeared so suddenly and spread so fast.

Flowers changed the face of the planet. Without them, the world we know--even man himself--would never have existed. Francis Thompson, the English poet, once wrote that one could not pluck a flower without troubling a star. Intuitively he had sensed like a naturalist the enormous interlinked complexity of life. Today we know that the appearance of the flowers contained also the equally mystifying emergence of man.

If we were to go back into the Age of Reptiles, its drowned swamps and birdless forests would reveal to us a warmer but, on the whole, a sleepier world than that of today. Here and there, it is true, the serpent heads of bottom-feeding dinosaurs might be upreared in suspicion of their huge flesh-eating compatriots. Tyrannosaurs, enormous bipedal caricatures of men, would stalk mindlessly across the sites of future cities and go their slow way down into the dark of geologic time.

In all that world of living things nothing saw save with the intense concentration of the hunt, nothing moved except with the grave sleepwalking intentness of the instinct-driven brain. Judged by modern standards, it was a world in slow motion, a cold-blooded world whose occupants were most active at noonday but torpid on chill nights, their brains damped by a slower metabolism than any known to even the most primitive of warm-blooded animals today.

A high metabolic rate and the maintenance of a constant body temperature are supreme achievements in the evolution of life. They enable an animal to escape, within broad limits, from the overheating or the chilling of its immediate surroundings, and at the same time to maintain a peak mental efficiency. Creatures without a high metabolic rate are slaves to weather. Insects in the first frosts of autumn all run down like little clocks. Yet if you pick one up and breathe warmly upon it, it will begin to move about once more.

In a sheltered spot such creatures may sleep away the winter, but they are hopelessly immobilized. Though a few warm-blooded mammals, such as the woodchuck of our day, have evolved a way of reducing their metabolic rate in order to undergo winter hibernation, it is a survival mechanism with drawbacks, for it leaves the animal helplessly exposed if enemies discover him during his period of suspended animation. Thus bear or woodchuck, big animal or small, must seek, in this time of descending sleep, a safe refuge in some hidden den or burrow. Hibernation is, therefore, primarily a winter refuge of small, easily concealed animals rather than of large ones.


A high metabolic rate, however, means a heavy intake of energy in order to sustain body warmth and efficiency. It is for this reason that even some of these later warm-blooded mammals existing in our day have learned to descend into a slower, unconscious rate of living during the winter months when food may be difficult to obtain. On a slightly higher plane they are following the procedure of the cold-blooded frog sleeping in the mud at the bottom of a frozen pond.

The agile brain of the warm-blooded birds and mammals demands a high oxygen consumption and food in concentrated forms, or the creatures cannot long sustain themselves. It was the rise of the flowering plants that provided that energy and changed the nature of the living world. Their appearance parallels in a quite surprising manner the rise of the birds and mammals.

Slowly, toward the dawn of the Age of Reptiles, something over two hundred and fifty million years ago, the little naked sperm cells wriggling their way through dew and raindrops had given way to a kind of pollen carried by the wind. Our present-day pine forests represent plants of a pollen-disseminating variety. Once fertilization was no longer dependent on exterior water, the march over drier regions could be extended. Instead of spores, simple primitive seeds carrying some nourishment for the young plant had developed, but true flowers were still scores of millions of years away. After a long period of hesitant evolutionary groping, they exploded upon the world with truly revolutionary violence.

The event occurred in Cretaceous times in the close of the Age of Reptiles. Before the coming of the flowering plants our own ancestral stock, the warm-blooded mammals, consisted of a few mousy little creatures hidden in trees and underbrush. A few lizard-like birds with carnivorous teeth flapped awkwardly on ill-aimed flights among archaic shrubbery. None of these insignificant creatures gave evidence of any remarkable talents. The mammals in particular had been around for some millions of years, but had remained well lost in the shadow of the mighty reptiles. Truth to tell, man was still, like the genie in the bottle, encased in the body of a creature about the size of a rat.

As for the birds, their reptilian cousins the Pterodactyls, flew farther and better. There was just one thing about the birds that paralleled the physiology of the mammals. They, too, had evolved warm blood and its accompanying temperature control. Nevertheless, if one had been seen stripped of his feathers, he would still have seemed a slightly uncanny and unsightly lizard.

Neither the birds nor the mammals, however, were quite what they seemed. They were waiting for the Age of Flowers. They were waiting for what flowers, and with them the true encased seed, would bring. Fish-eating, gigantic leather-winged reptiles, twenty-eight feet from wing tip to wing tip, hovered over the coasts that one day would be swarming with gulls.


Inland the monotonous green of the pine and spruce forests with their primitive wooden cone flowers stretched everywhere. No grass hindered the fall of the naked seeds to earth. Great sequoias towered to the skies. The world of that time has a certain appeal but it is a giant's world, a world moving slowly like the reptiles who stalked magnificently among the boles of its trees.

The trees themselves are ancient, slow-growing and immense, like the redwood groves that have survived to our day on the California coast. All is stiff, formal, upright and green, monotonously green. There is no grass as yet; there are no wide plains rolling in the sun, no tiny daisies dotting the meadows underfoot. There is little versatility about this scene; it is, in truth, a giant's world.

A few nights ago it was brought home vividly to me that the world has changed since that far epoch. I was awakened out of sleep by an unknown sound in my living room. Not a small sound--not a creaking timber or a mouse's scurry--but a sharp, rending explosion as though an unwary foot had been put down upon a wine glass. I had come instantly out of sleep and lay tense, unbreathing. I listened for another step. There was none.

Unable to stand the suspense any longer, I turned on the light and passed from room to room glancing uneasily behind chairs and into closets. Nothing seemed disturbed, and I stood puzzled in the center of the living room floor. Then a small button-shaped object upon the rug caught my eye. It was hard and polished and glistening. Scattered over the length of the room were several more shining up at me like wary little eyes. A pine cone that had been lying in a dish had been blown the length of the coffee table. The dish itself could hardly have been the source of the explosion. Beside it I found two ribbon-like strips of a velvety green. I tried to place the two strips together to make a pod. They twisted resolutely away from each other and would no longer fit.

I relaxed in a chair, then, for I had reached a solution of the midnight disturbance. The twisted strips were wisteria pods that I had brought in a day or two previously and placed in the dish. They had chosen midnight to explode and distribute their multiplying fund of life down the length of the room. A plant, a fixed, rooted thing, immobilized in a single spot, had devised a way of propelling its offspring across open space. Immediately there passed before my eyes the million airy troopers of the milkweed pod and the clutching hooks of the sandburs. Seeds on the coyote's tail, seeds on the hunter's coat, thistledown mounting on the winds--all were somehow triumphing over life's limitations. Yet the ability to do this had not been with them at the beginning. It was the product of endless effort and experiment.

The seeds on my carpet were not going to lie stiffly where they had dropped like their antiquated cousins, the naked seeds on the pine-cone scales. They were travelers. Struck by the thought, I went out next day and collected several other varieties. I line them up now in a row on my desk--so many little capsules of life, winged, hooked or spiked. Everyone is an angiosperm, a LDC Argumentation Module Template | © Literacy Design Collaborative, September 2011 (Appendix © Paideia) 29

product of the true flowering plants. Contained in these little boxes is the secret of that far-off Cretaceous explosion of a hundred million years ago that changed the face of the planet. And somewhere in here, I think, as I poke seriously at one particularly resistant seedcase of a wild grass, was once man himself.

When the first simple flower bloomed on some raw upland late in the Dinosaur Age, it was wind pollinated, just like its early pine-cone relatives. It was a very inconspicuous flower because it had not yet evolved the ideal of using the surer attraction of birds and insects to achieve the transportation of pollen. It sowed its own pollen and received the pollen of other flowers by the simple vagaries of the wind. Many plants in regions where insect life is scant still follow this principle today. Nevertheless, the true flower--and the seed that it produced--was a profound innovation in the world of life.

In a way, this event parallels, in the plant world, what happened among animals. Consider the relative chance for survival of the exteriorly deposited egg of a fish in contrast with the fertilized egg of a mammal, carefully retained for months in the mother's body until the young animal (or human being) is developed to a point where it may survive. The biological wastage is less--and so it is with the flowering plants. The primitive spore, a single cell fertilized in the beginning by a swimming sperm, did not promote rapid distribution, and the young plant, moreover, had to struggle up from nothing. No one had left it any food except what it could get by its own unaided efforts.

By contrast, the true flowering plants (angiosperm itself means "encased seed") grew a seed in the heart of a flower, a seed whose development was initiated by a fertilizing pollen grain independent of outside moisture. But the seed, unlike the developing spore, is already a fully equipped embryonic plant packed in a little enclosed box stuffed full of nutritious food. Moreover, by featherdown attachments, as in dandelion or milkweed seed, it can be wafted upward on gusts and ride the wind for miles; or with hooks it can cling to a bear's or a rabbit's hide; or like some of the berries, it can be covered with a juicy attractive fruit to lure birds, pass undigested through their intestinal tracts and be voided miles away.

The ramifications of this biological invention were endless. Plants traveled as they had never traveled before. They got into strange environments heretofore never entered by the old spore plants or stiff pine-cone-seed plants. The well-fed, carefully cherished little embryos raised their heads everywhere. Many of the older plants with more primitive reproductive mechanisms began to fade away under this unequal contest. They contracted their range into secluded environments. Some, like the giant redwoods, lingered on as relics; many vanished entirely.

The world of the giants was a dying world. These fantastic little seeds skipping and hopping and flying about the woods and valleys brought with them an amazing adaptability. If our whole lives had not been spent in the midst of it, it would astound us. The old, stiff, sky-reaching wooden world had changed into something that glowed here and there with strange colors, put out LDC Argumentation Module Template | © Literacy Design Collaborative, September 2011 (Appendix © Paideia) 30

queer, unheard-of fruits and little intricately carved seed cases, and, most important of all, produced concentrated foods in a way that the land had never seen before, or dreamed of back in the fish-eating, leaf-crunching days of the dinosaurs.

That food came from three sources, all produced by the reproductive system of the flowering plants. There were the tantalizing nectars and pollens intended to draw insects for pollenizing purposes, and which are responsible also for that wonderful jeweled creation, the hummingbird. There were the juicy and enticing fruits to attract larger animals, and in which tough-coated seeds were concealed, as in the tomato, for example. Then, as if this were not enough, there was the food in the actual seed itself, the food intended to nourish the embryo. All over the world, like hot corn in a popper, these incredible elaborations of the flowering plants kept exploding. In a movement that was almost instantaneous, geologically speaking, the angiosperms had taken over the world. Grass was beginning to cover the bare earth until, today, there are over six thousand species. All kinds of vines and bushes squirmed and writhed under new trees with flying seeds.

The explosion was having its effect on animal life also. Specialized groups of insects were arising to feed on the new sources of food and, incidentally and unknowingly, to pollinate the plant. The flowers bloomed and bloomed in ever larger and more spectacular varieties. Some were pale unearthly night flowers intended to lure moths in the evening twilight, some among the orchids even took the shape of female spiders in order to attract wandering males, some flamed redly in the light of noon or twinkled modestly in the meadow grasses. Intricate mechanisms splashed pollen on the breasts of hummingbirds, or stamped it on the bellies of black, grumbling bees droning assiduously from blossom to blossom. Honey ran, insects multiplied, and even the descendants of that toothed and ancient lizard-bird had become strangely altered. Equipped with prodding beaks instead of biting teeth they pecked the seeds and gobbled the insects that were really converted nectar.

Across the planet grasslands were now spreading. A slow continental upthrust which had been a part of the early Age of Flowers had cooled the world's climates. The stalking reptiles and the leather-winged black imps of the seashore cliffs had vanished. Only birds roamed the air now, hot-blooded and high-speed metabolic machines.

The mammals, too, had survived and were venturing into new domains, staring about perhaps a bit bewildered at their sudden eminence now that the thunder lizards were gone. Many of them, beginning as small browsers upon leaves in the forest, began to venture out upon this new sunlit world of the grass. Grass has a high silica content and demands a new type of very tough and resistant tooth enamel, but the seeds taken incidentally in the cropping of the grass are highly nutritious. A new world had opened out for the warm-blooded mammals. Great herbivores like the mammoths, horses and bisons appeared. Skulking about them had arisen savage flesh-feeding carnivores like the now extinct dire wolves and the saber- toothed tiger.


Flesh eaters though these creatures were, they were being sustained on nutritious grasses one step removed. Their fierce energy was being maintained on a high, effective level, through hot days and frosty nights, by the concentrated energy of the angiosperms. That energy, thirty per cent or more of the weight of the entire plant among some of the cereal grasses, was being accumulated and concentrated in the rich proteins and fats of the enormous game herds of the grasslands.

On the edge of the forest, a strange, old-fashioned animal still hesitated. His body was the body of a tree dweller, and though tough and knotty by human standards, he was, in terms of that world into which he gazed, a weakling. His teeth, though strong for chewing on the tough fruits of the forest, or for crunching an occasional unwary bird caught with his prehensile hands, were not the tearing sabers of the great cats. He had a passion for lifting himself up to see about, in his restless, roving curiosity. He would run a little stiffly and uncertainly, perhaps, on his hind legs, but only in those rare moments when he ventured out upon the ground. All this was the legacy of his climbing days; he had a hand with flexible fingers and no fine specialized hoofs upon which to gallop like the wind.

If he had any idea of competing in that new world, he had better forget it; teeth or hooves, he was much too late for either. He was a ne'er-do-well, an in-betweener. Nature had not done well by him. It was as if she had hesitated and never quite made up her mind. Perhaps as a consequence he had a malicious gleam in his eye, the gleam of an outcast who has been left nothing and knows he is going to have to take what he gets. One day a little band of these odd apes--for apes they were--shambled out upon the grass; the human story had begun.

Apes were to become men, in the inscrutable wisdom of nature, because flowers had produced seeds and fruits in such tremendous quantities that a new and totally different store of energy had become available in concentrated form. Impressive as the slow-moving, dim-brained dinosaurs had been, it is doubtful if their age had supported anything like the diversity of life that now rioted across the planet or flashed in and out among the trees. Down on the grass by a streamside, one of those apes with inquisitive fingers turned over a stone and hefted it vaguely. The group clucked together in a throaty tongue and moved off through the tall grass foraging for seeds and insects. The one still held, sniffed, and hefted the stone he had found. He liked the feel of it in his fingers. The attack on the animal world was about to begin.

If one could run the story of that first human group like a speeded-up motion picture through a million years of time, one might see the stone in the hand change to the flint ax and the torch. All that swarming grassland world with its giant bison and trumpeting mammoths would go down in ruin to feed the insatiable and growing numbers of a carnivore who, like the great cats before him, was taking his energy indirectly from the grass. Later he found fire and it altered the tough meats and drained their energy even faster into a stomach ill adapted for the ferocious turn man's habits had taken.


His limbs grew longer, he strode more purposefully over the grass. The stolen energy that would take man across the continents would fail him at last. The Great Ice Age herds were destined to vanish. When they did so, another hand like the hand that grasped the stone by the river long ago would pluck a handful of grass seed and hold it contemplatively.

In that moment, the golden towers of man, his swarming millions, his turning wheels, the vast learning of his packed libraries, would glimmer dimly there in the ancestor of wheat, a few seeds held in a muddy hand. Without the gift of flowers and the infinite diversity of their fruits, man and bird, if they had continued to exist at all, would be today unrecognizable. Archaeopteryx, the lizard-bird, might still be snapping at beetles on a sequoia limb; man might still be a nocturnal insectivore gnawing a roach in the dark. The weight of a petal has changed the face of the world and made it ours.

Vocabulary for “How Flowers Changed the World”Content WordsMarsBasaltEarthcontinental shelvesswampswatercoursesprimitive fernsmossesmicroscopicspermadaptationswet landNaturegeologistequatorAge of ReptilesangiospermsEvolutionistCharles Darwin

Frequently Used Wordssubtleemanatingintermittentmillenniaepicoozesmeanderingsfringedclungvastmonotonousemergenceintuitivelynaturalistenormouscaricaturescompatriotsgraveconcentration


Francis Thompsontyrannosaursbipedalgeologic timemetabolismprimitivemetabolic ratehibernationmammalssporesCretaceouscarnivorousreptilespterodactylsphysiologyAge of Flowerscone flowersgreat sequoiasCaliforniawisteriamilkweed podcoyote’s tailhunter’s coatthistledownDinosaur Agepollinated

undigestedintestinal tractsadaptabilityreproductive systemembryogeologicallypollinatedescendantssilica

immobilizedrefugeagileconsumptionparallelsdisseminatinghesitategropingrevolutionaryancestralawkwardlyarchaicuncannyencasedmonotonousprimitiveversatilityvividlyscurryunwaryantiquatedinconspicuousvagariesscantprofoundwastageprimitivewaftedvoidedramificationssecludedrelicsintricatelyconcentratedtantalizingnectar


herbivoresmammothsbisoncarnivoresextinctsustained

proteinfatsgrasslandstree dwellerprehensile

The Great Ice Age

Ancestor

Archaeopteryxinsectivore

nourishelaborationinstantaneouswrithedincidentallyspectacularluremodestlyintricatemechanismsdroningalteredproddingconvertedstalkingvanishedventuringdomaineminenceincidentallycroppingnutritiousskulkingdireaccumulatedconcentratedenormousweaklingunwarylegacycompetingventuredmaliciousshambledinscrutablequantities


impressiveinquisitiveheftedflintinsatiableferociouscontemplativelyglimmerunrecognizablenocturnal


Rare/ Formal

Epochsuprearedintentnessheretoforeredlyassiduouslytoothedupthrustimpsarisenne’er-do-wellin-betweenerdim-brained

Animals subcategory

Bisonwolvessaber-toothed tiger


Graphic Organizer for “How Flowers Changed the World”

HOW FLOWERS CHANGED THE WORLDClimate

p.#Land

p.#Plants

p.#Animals

p.#


Graphic Organizer for writing

Essay Blueprint for: _____________________________Student Name: Planning Partner(s):Introductory Paragraph:

Background Information:

Thesis Statement:

Preview of Main Body:

Main Body Paragraph One:

Topic Sentence:

Supporting Details:

Main Body Paragraph Two:

Topic Sentence:


Supporting Details:

Essay Blueprint for: Page 2Student Name:Main Body Paragraph Three:

Topic Sentence:

Supporting Details:

Main Body Paragraph Four:

Topic Sentence:

Supporting Details:


Main Body Paragraph Five:

Topic Sentence:

Supporting Details:

Essay Blueprint for: Page 3Student Name:Main Body Paragraph Six:

Topic Sentence:

Supporting Details:

Main Body Paragraph Seven:


Topic Sentence:

Supporting Details:

Conclusion:

Thesis Statement Revisited:

Summary of Support:

Closing Statement:


Name___________________________ Teacher_________________________

Paideia Seminar Speaking and Listening SkillsSelf Assessment

Please rate your current Paideia Seminar skills by circling a number in each category.

0 = I do not ever do this during Paideia seminar. 10 = I regularly do this during Paideia seminar.

Skills Rating

AttentionI look at the person speaking during the discussion.I do not talk while another is speaking.

EngagementI take notes related to the ideas being discussed.I give way to others as a way of sharing the talk time.

ArticulationI make clear and accurate statements.I speak at appropriate pace & volume.I use relevant vocabulary and grammar.

Explanation (Justification)I provide insight about the discussion topic.I refer to the text or another relevant source.

ExpansionI consider another point of view.I add to a previous statement by offering a more

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


global/holistic interpretation.

ConnectionI refer to another comment.I consider multiple points of view.I ask thought-provoking, open-ended questions.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


LDC/Paideia Speaking and Listening Rubric



Demands and Qualities

Not Yet

Attention

Engagement

Articulation

Explanation

Expansion

Connection

Does not look at the person speaking Occasionally turns and talks to person sitting nearby while another person is

speaking

Does not take notes related to the ideas being discussed

Makes barely audible statements

Makes simple, somewhat unrelated or repetitive points/ statements

Draws conclusions based on a single perspective

Does not ask questions Does not refer to what else has been said


Meets Expectation

Attention

Engagement

Articulation

Explanation

Expansion

Connection

Looks at the person speaking during most of the discussion Rarely talks while another is speaking

Occasionally takes notes related to the ideas being discussed Gives way to another as a way of sharing the talk time

Makes clear and accurate statements; generally speaks at appropriate pace, volume; uses relevant vocabulary and grammar

Provides points/ statements about the discussion topic noting details related to sequence, category, purpose, or point of view.

Refers to the text or another relevant source

Considers another point of view and acknowledges personal bias

Asks authentic questions Paraphrases what else has been said


Advanced

Attention

Engagement

Articulation

Looks at the person speaking during the discussion Does not talk while another is speaking

Consistently takes notes related to the ideas being discussed Gives way to another as a way of sharing the talk time

Makes clear and accurate statements; consistently speaks at appropriate pace, volume; uses relevant vocabulary and grammar

Seminar Process Assessment

Name: _________________________________________________________Date: _________________________________________________________Seminar Title: _________________________________________________Ideas/Values: _________________________________________________

My goal for today’s seminar is to (check one):

___ Give way to another in order to share talk time

___Refer to the text in detail

___Consider multiple points of view

___Speak out of uncertainty

On a scale of one to five (one being not so good and five being excellent), I would rate myself as a _____ in relationship to my seminar goal because…


Reflection Questions

What did I think about this subject prior to the seminar?

How did the seminar change my thinking about this subject?

What was the most important thing I learned about my classmates during the seminar?

What was the most important thing I learned about myself during this seminar?


Seminar Reflection Guide

Teacher Name: Date:Subject: Grade level:Text: (title, genre)Teacher Facilitation goal selected:Student Participation goal selected:

Part 1I have led ______ (approximate number) of seminars this year with this class.Were there any special circumstances that should be considered while reflecting on this seminar?

How did this seminar text2 address the curriculum?

What did you do to prepare the students for this seminar?

What follow-up activities were planned for the students?

2 Throughout this document the word “text” is defined as a primary source material such as an essay, short story, poem, sculpture, painting, play, etc.LDC Argumentation Module Template | © Literacy Design Collaborative, September 2011 (Appendix © Paideia) 49

How did you determine student understanding of the ideas and values?

Reflecting on your growth as a facilitator, choose a goal for the next seminar.

Additional Comments


Symmetry, beauty and evolutionMAGNUS ENQUIST* & ANTHONY ARAK†

*Department of Zoology, University of Stockholm, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden†Archway Engineering (UK) Ltd, Ainleys industrial Estate, Elland HX5 9JP, UK

HUMANS and certain other species find symmetrical patterns more attractive than asymmetrical ones. These preferences may appear in response

to biological signals, or in situations where there is no obvious signaling context, such as exploratory behavior and human aesthetic response to

pattern. It has been proposed that preferences for symmetry have evolved in animals because the degree of symmetry in signals indicates the

signaler's quality. By contrast, we show here that symmetry preferences may arise as a by-product of the need to recognize objects irrespective of

their position and orientation in the visual field. The existence of sensory biases for symmetry may have been exploited independently by natural

selection acting on biological signals and by human artistic innovation. This may account for the observed convergence on symmetrical forms in

nature and decorative art.


Evolution

Was it dissatisfaction or hopethat beckoned some of the monkeysdown from the trees and onto the damp forbidden musk of the forest floor?

Which one tested his thumbsagainst the twigand awkwardly dug a grub from the soil?

What did the tribe above thinkas it leaned on the slender brancheswatching the othersfrustrated, embarrassed,but pinching grubswith leathery fingersinto their mouths?

The moral is movementis awkward. The lesson is fumble.

by Eliza Griswold, from Wideawake Field. © Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.


LDC Task/Module Scoring GuidesLDC Task/Module Scoring Guide

InformationModule/Task Title Evolution of BeautyAuthor (s) Laura Billings, National Paideia CenterDistrict NACourse/ School Middle or High School Science or Integrated StudiesDate Evaluated 1/4/2013Evaluator(s) LDCEvaluator Summative Comments

This module has a clear purpose and precise elements overall. It is appropriate for middle school students, particularly those who have studied the principles of evolution. The module presents opportunities for students to explore a central scientific topic in humanistic terms while engaging in multiple literacy skills, including speaking and listening since a seminar is a key component of the module. The text is challenging in that the author employs an essayist style to think about evolution as he sees it in a flower. As a result, students must use multiple modes of thought to understand the text and respond to it by evaluating the credibility of the author’s explanation. All components are tightly aligned to the reading, writing, speaking and listening standards. Students must not only “read explicitly” but also infer from what they know from their science studies and apply higher order, complex thinking skills specific to the discipline. The instructional plan addresses “when appropriate” standards in structure (5) and argument (8), two important standards for analyzing texts. Overall, the module is relevant to the discipline or course and has broad applicability as an approach to teaching complex texts in any subject.

LDC Scoring Guides Autumn 2012 Field Trial Version

LDC Task/Module Scoring GuidesLDC Teaching Task Scoring Guide

Category Work in Progress Good to Go Exemplar

Task

Cla

rity

& C

oher

ence

Template type (writing mode) may be mis-matched to the intended purpose of the prompt (e.g., use of an Argumentation template when an Explanatory template would be a better fit; selecting a "definition" template when a "description" template would be appropriate)

Question/prompt may be posed in a way that biases students toward a particular response.

Question/prompt may be answerable without the use of text or instructional scaffolding (through Module), i.e., texts and instruction are dispensable.

Template task is filled in correctly (in the correct mode-Argumentation, Explanatory, Narrative) without modification and task is worded clearly.

Prompt wording follows through on answering the essential question (if posed) and is aligned with content, texts, and student product (a "good fit").

Question and prompt are unbiased and leave room for diverse responses.

Task is text dependent (hardwires the use of evidence of text in response).

Background creates a frame for teaching task.

("Good to Go" characteristics and...) Teaching task is worded precisely to

provide a clear purpose for writing and unambiguous directions to students.

Prompt, texts, content, and student product are tightly aligned (are close to a "perfect fit").

Note: The teaching task is unambiguous and engages students in addressing several skill sets in the CCSS.

Cont

ent

May have a weak connection to or skim the surface of content central to the discipline

May address content/topic from a framework that is not relevant to the discipline (e.g., for a history task, focusing on a moral issue rather than an historical question.)

May oversimplify a topic, or may not require students to engage in analytic reading and thinking skills central to the discipline.

Addresses substantive content central to the discipline, requires students to build strong content knowledge.

Engages students in a range of analytic reading and thinking skills, e.g., analysis, comparison, synthesis, evaluation, cause-effect, problem-solution.

("Good to Go" characteristics and...) Addresses "big ideas" or enduring

understandings central to the discipline. Engages students in complex, higher order

thinking skills specific to the discipline. Task pattern has broad applicability for

addressing particular CCSS.Note: The task could be applied to other text about science.


LDC Task/Module Scoring GuidesTe

xt/s

May be loosely aligned or misaligned to the purpose of the task, e.g., use of literary fiction for a research task.

May not provide textual evidence for supporting a counterclaim or alternate view (especially for Argumentation tasks).

May allow for student selection of texts when assigning one common foundational text on a difficult/esoteric topic (e.g., existentialism) would be helpful for supporting literacy through instructional scaffolding.

May be overly difficult/demanding OR may be too easy (not requiring the use of literacy strategies) for the range of student ability.

Is (are) intellectually challenging but accessible to all students.

Require students to apply literacy skills to comprehend and analyze content.

Are useful for providing content and evidence to be used in addressing the task.

Do not bias students toward a particular response (support competing views).

("Good to Go" characteristics and...) Are engaging, tightly relevant

(indispensable), and authentic. Are tightly aligned to the task purpose Represent central modes of discourse in

the discipline. Are carefully selected/excerpted/ modified

to provide appropriate text complexity (using either quantitative or qualitative measures) for the range of student reading ability.

Note: Text is not textbook scientific article, so students have to discern the science as well as the humanistic elements.

Stud

ent P

rodu

ct

May be inappropriate to the rhetorical mode or content and challenge of the task (e.g., asking students to write a blog entry when a formal essay is more appropriate).

Is aligned to rhetorical mode and appropriate for content and challenge of the task.

Provides sufficient opportunity for diverse students to demonstrate their achievement.

("Good to Go" characteristics and...) Authentically engages students in

rhetorical modes and types of writing central to the discipline.

Note: Task is clearly argumentative and asks students to take a position.

Holistic Score for LDC Teaching TaskRating (check one) Description

X Exemplar Task is coherent, all components are tightly aligned. Has clear purpose and precise elements overall; addresses content (including big ideas and enduring understandings) central to the discipline; engages students in applying higher order, complex thinking skills specific to the discipline; carefully selects and customizes appropriate and relevant text(s); creates academic contexts for engaging in reading and writing skills and tasks aligned to CCSS. Teaching task topic or issue is relevant to the discipline or course and has broad applicability.

Good to Go Task is coherent, all components are aligned. Has clear, specific and detailed elements overall; addresses relevant content (topic, theme, concept, issue, or idea); employs relevant text(s); creates academic contexts for engaging in reading and writing skills and tasks aligned to CCSS.

Needs Revision See comments.Not scored Does not meet basic criteria of LDC Framework.


LDC Task/Module Scoring Guides

LDC Module Scoring GuideCategory Good to Go Exemplar

Wha

t Ski

lls?

Skills list may miss significant demands of the task, e.g., students' ability to select and evaluate appropriate texts for a research task

Skills list is relevant to teaching task. Skills are clustered and sequenced to

support the teaching task.

("Good to Go" characteristics and...) Task, texts, and skills list are tightly aligned. Skills are clustered and sequenced to

support access to the texts and completion of the teaching task product.Note: Skills list is modified to fit this text, task, and seminar.

Wha

t Ins

truc

tion?

Mini-tasks may be rely on general engagement strategies (e.g., brainstorming, list-making) with little customization to the Teaching Task.

Mini-tasks and instructional strategies may be loosely connected to and may not provide scaffolding for completing the Teaching Task.

Mini-tasks and scoring guides relate to skills list.

Instructional strategies support the mini-tasks and move students on the pathway to success on the teaching task.

Ladder is realistically paced. Lists materials, references and supports

students and teachers will need to complete the instruction.

The skills, mini-tasks, and instructional strategies are coherent and tightly aligned are well designed to support students to successfully complete teaching task.

Mini-tasks are well placed to provide formative feedback and give evidence about student progress.

Instructional strategies are sufficiently specified to be replicated (but not over-described).

Scoring guides for mini-tasks have clear scoring criteria tightly aligned to skills list.

Supports, materials, and references students and teachers will need to complete the instruction are of high quality, relevant, aligned.

Note: Detailed instructional notes are specific and additional materials provided in the module for seminar.


LDC Task/Module Scoring GuidesW

hat R

esul

ts? Optional classroom assessment may have

loose connection to teaching task, or be unrealistic as an on-demand task

Scored student work samples (2 samples per level if available) and annotated scoring rubrics are included (once the module is taught).

If included, the optional classroom assessment is connected to teaching task.

If included, the optional classroom assessment provides targeted information about student progress toward meeting one or more goals of the module; is realistic and do-able in on-demand setting.Note: NA

Teac

her

Wor

k

Module is annotated with some detail in the Teacher’s Notes section.

Module is annotated with sufficient detail so others can use it. Annotation helps make module clear and easy to use.

Holistic Score for LDC ModuleRating (check one) Description

X Exemplar Module is highly coherent, strategic, and tightly aligned to the teaching task and appropriate in rigor to the course. Strong relevance to the discipline. Universal and broadly applicability. Is polished with attention to the needs of a wide educator audience.

Good to Go Module is coherent and aligned. Supports teaching task with a well-planned instructional sequence in which mini-tasks lead to the final product’s completion. Provides sufficient detail so that others might use it.

Needs Revision See comments.Not scored Does not meet criteria of LDC Framework.


web viewldc task/module scoring guides. ldc scoring guides. autumn 2012 field trial version. ldc...

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