lesson 10 teacher’s guide hero of the poorforms.hmhco.com/.../grade/l10_hero_of_the_poor_w.pdf ·...

Number of Words: 2,410

L E S S O N 1 0 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Hero of the Poorby Alexa Murphy

Fountas-Pinnell Level WInformational TextSelection SummaryAfter the 1974 famine in Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus created the Grameen Bank. It unprecedentedly granted small loans to poverty-stricken business people there. Since then, the unusual lending policies of Yunus and Grameen Bank have helped people around the world.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Informational text

Text Structure • Ten chapters• Third-person narrator

Content • History, geography, and economics of Bangladesh• Basic economics of loans• Descriptions of Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Bank, and individuals who have

benefi ted from the bank’s policiesThemes and Ideas • Many poor people are hard-working and highly motivated.

• Peer pressure can be used to achieve positive results.• Poor people can help themselves.

Language and Literary Features

• Conversational tone• Descriptive language important to understanding background

Sentence Complexity • Some long sentences spanning three full lines of text• Complex sentences

Vocabulary • Terms related to fi nance and banking: interest, fair rates, micro loan, collateral, co-sign• Proper names

Words • 4- and 5-syllable words: sophisticated, illiteracy, economics• Compound words such as moneylender, livestock, heartbreaking• Multiple-meaning words: interest, goal

Illustrations • Graphics including photographs, map, numbered listBook and Print Features • Sixteen pages of text

• Table of Contents© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Target Vocabulary

abundance – a lot or more than enough of something, p. 5

altered – changed or adjusted, p. 15

concept – a basic or general notion, idea, or thought, p. 8

cultural – having to do with a group’s beliefs, practices, arts, laws, and ways of living, p. 11

heritage – all of the things people inherit from their families, including traditions and objects, p. 5

lore – the collected knowledge, traditions, and beliefs of a person or group of people, p. 11

lush – thick with greenery and plant life, p. 5

retains – holds onto or keeps something, p. 8

sophisticated – complex or having many details or pieces, p. 3

teeming – to be full of things, often living things, p. 3

Hero of the Poor by Alexa Murphy

Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge about Bangladesh or India to visualize the text. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What are some of the challenges that poor countries face? Read the title and author and talk about the cover photograph. Tell students that this text is informational, so they will read many facts about a special kind of bank in Bangladesh.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Page 3: Explain that this text is about a man who created a special bank that lends money to poor people. Suggested language: Turn to page 3. The man shown here is Muhammad Yunus. Look at the pronunciation guide on the second line. Say Yunus’s name with the students.

Page 5: Draw students’ attention to the map on page 5. Ask: What information can you draw from this map? What countries and bodies of water border Bangladesh?

Page 7: Point out the woman in the photograph and read the caption aloud. Suggested language: Small business owners and craftspeople, like the woman shown here, are the kinds of people that Muhammad Yunus wants to help. He created a bank that gives them small loans at a fair interest rate. Ask: Why do fair interest rates help people retain their money?

Page 13: Direct students’ attention to the numbered list. Ask: Why is this a good format in which to present the 16 Decisions of Grameen Bank?

Now go back to the beginning of the text and learn how Muhammad Yunus and his bank improved the lives of many people around the world.

2 Lesson 10: Hero of the PoorGrade 6© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company


ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their understanding of the text as needed.

Remind students to use the Question Strategy and to think of questions to ask themselves as they read.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the text.Suggested language: What kinds of information in this book surprised you? Why?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Muhammad Yunus created the Grameen Bank for poor people who wanted to improve their lives.

• Instead of collateral, borrowers form groups of fi ve people. The ability to borrow is dependent on the success of individuals in the group.

• One individual can impact the lives of millions of people.

• Peer pressure can be a positive infl uence.

• Moneylenders prey on the poor. Fair interest rates make it possible for people to escape poverty.

• The numbered list of 16 Decisions of Grameen Bank is an effective way of presenting this information.

• The stories of the three women at the end of the text serve to prove how the concept of the Grameen Bank is successful.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to participate in choral reading. Remind them that the

presence of many challenging concepts and facts will require them to read at a slow, yet steady, rate.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with Greek root words, using the word micro from page 3. Point out that Yunus had a concept for a micro loan program. Explain that the word micro comes from the same Greek word, meaning “small.” Micro is the root for words such as microscope and microphone.



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 10.8.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillCompare and Contrast

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that when they compare and

contrast elements in a text, they think about how the items are similar and different. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

Grameen Bank doesn’t ask borrowers for collateral. That detail is already in the chart. Instead of collateral, the Grameen Bank uses positive peer pressure. Add “positive peer pressure” to the chart under “Grameen Bank.” Under “How They Are Alike,” write that Grameen Bank and regular banks both lend money. Under “Other Banks,” write that other banks require collateral and don’t like to loan money to poor people. Now, the Venn diagram compares and contrasts Grameen Bank with regular banks.

Practice the SkillHave students share other examples of informational text in which two elements could be compared and contrasted.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

Assessment Prompts• What is the fi rst paragraph on page 11 mostly about?

• Why is the information on page 5 important to the text?

• What does the word retain mean on the third line of page 8?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What event encouraged Muhammad Yunus to

begin his crusade against poverty?

2. Think within the text Why were banks unwilling to support Yunus’s

idea of giving small loans with reasonable interest rates to the poor?

3. Think beyond the text What do you think Muhammad Yunus meant

by this statement: “I needed to run away from these theories and

from my textbooks and discover the real-life economics of a poor

person’s existence”?

4. Think about the text Do you think a compare/contrast model is the

best structure for this type of informational text? Give an example.

Making Connections Yunus identified a serious problem in his country and figured out a creative way to solve it. Think of a problem in your area that needs a solution. Then describe steps that could be taken to solve the problem.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Hero of the PoorCritical Thinking

Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lesson 10B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 0 . 8

Grade 6, Unit 2: Common Ground10

Yunus witnessed suffering and famine.

They thought the poor people would not repay loans.

I believe Yunus was saying he needed to witness how economics

really works. Studying people’s actual problems would help him

develop plans to erase poverty.

I believe the compare/contrast model works very well. It allows the

reader to see many changes. For example, it shows how a woman

named Maria Francois was able to turn her life around because of

a micro loan.

Possible responses shown.

10.08_6_246260RNLEAN_Crtl Thk.in10 10 12/11/09 11:26:40 AM

First Pass

English Language DevelopmentReading Support Pair advanced and intermediate readers to read the selection softly, or have students listen to the audio or online recordings. Remind students that this selection is about a man who helps poor people to help themselves.

Vocabulary Support The text includes some key vocabulary that is specifi c to banking and fi nance. Discuss the meaning of terms such as interest rates, collateral, loan, and micro loan.

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: What did Muhammad Yunus start to help poor people?

Speaker 2: the Grameen Bank

Speaker 1: Where was the fi rst Grameen Bank?

Speaker 2: in Bangladesh

Speaker 1: What did the Grameen Bank give people?

Speaker 2: small loans

Speaker 1: Why did poor people need to get loans from moneylenders?

Speaker 2: Regular banks would not give them loans.

Speaker 1: Who did Muhammad Yunus create Grameen Bank for?

Speaker 2: He created it for poor people who wanted better lives.

Speaker 1: Grameen Bank asks several things of its members. What are two things they are asked to do?

Speaker 2: They have to work to improve sanitation in their village. They have to send their children to school.



Name Date

Hero of the PoorThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two paragraphs.

Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

Georgina Gutierrez is one of the people helped by the Grameen Bank. In what ways has her life and the life of her family improved because of the loans she received? What do you think she might like to say to Muhammad Yunus if she had the opportunity to meet him in person?


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Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What event encouraged Muhammad Yunus to

begin his crusade against poverty?

2. Think within the text Why were banks unwilling to support Yunus’s

idea of giving small loans with reasonable interest rates to the poor?

3. Think beyond the text What do you think Muhammad Yunus meant

by this statement: “I needed to run away from these theories and

from my textbooks and discover the real-life economics of a poor

person’s existence”?

4. Think about the text Do you think a compare/contrast model is the

best structure for this type of informational text? Give an example.

Making Connections Yunus identified a serious problem in his country and figured out a creative way to solve it. Think of a problem in your area that needs a solution. Then describe steps that could be taken to solve the problem.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.


Name Date

Hero of the PoorCritical Thinking

Lesson 10B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 0 . 8


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Student Date Lesson 10

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 0 . 1 2

Hero of the PoorRunning Record Form

Hero of the Poor • LEVEL W

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

6 When Yunus and his students visited a village, they tried to

find ways to help the people. To do this, they had to gather

information.

They noticed that many villagers were craftspeople who sold

their wares in the village market. But they hardly made any

profit on their sales. This made Yunus curious. So he

interviewed a woman named Sophia who made bamboo stools

and chairs. She told Yunus she only earned about two pennies

a day. Yunus was shocked. How could a woman who made

such beautiful furniture make so little money?

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read

correctly/93 × 100)

%

Total Self- Corrections


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lesson 10 teacher’s guide hero of the poorforms.hmhco.com/.../grade/l10_hero_of_the_poor_w.pdf ·...

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