nonfiction article of the week...anastasia spoke well. anna refused to speak russian because , she...

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Nonfiction Article of the Week7-12: The Mystery of Anastasia Romanov

Table of Contents

Terms of Use 2

Table of Contents 3

List of Activities, Difficulty Levels, Common Core Alignment, & TEKS 4

Digital Components/Google Classroom Guide 5

Teaching Guide, Rationale, Lesson Plans, Links, and Procedures: EVERYTHING 6-9

Article: The Mystery of Anastasia Romanov 10-11

*Modified Article: The Mystery of Anastasia Romanov 12-13

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice w/Key 14-15

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions w/Key 16-17

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article 18-20

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity & Answer Bank w/Key 21-23

Activity 5: Skill Focus – Review of RI.7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 w/Key 24-29

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip & Questions w/Key 30-31

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key 32-37

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key 38-43

List of Activities & Standards Difficulty Level: *Easy **Moderate ***Challenge

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice*

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions*

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article**

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity w/Answer Bank**

Activity 5: Skill Focus – Review of RI.7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 ***

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip & Questions***

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key**

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key**

List of Activities & Standards Difficulty Level: *Easy **Moderate ***Challenge

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice*

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions*

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article**

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity w/Answer Bank**

Activity 5: Skill Focus – Review of RI.7.4, 7.5, and 7.6***

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip & Questions***

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key**

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key**

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)(E)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)(E)

ELAR.9(A)(B)(G)

ELAR.6(B) 12(F)

ELAR.5(C)(F) 9(A)(B)(G)

ELAR.5(C)(F) 9(A)(B)(G)

RI.7.1

RI.7.1

RI.7.1

RI.7.1

RI.7.1, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6

RI.7.9

RI.7.1, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6

RI.7.1, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6



Teacher’s Guide

Activities, Difficulty Levels, and Common Core Alignment

Activities, Difficulty Levels, and TEKS Alignment



Teacher’s Guide

Instructions for Google Classroom Digital ComponentsAll student activities are available in digital format compatible with Google Classroom. They are available in two formats: Google Slides and Google Forms.

Google SlidesFirst, I have made all student pages (excluding assessments) in Google Slides format. Students can simply add text boxes to any area they wish to type on. To access the Google Slides for this article, copy and paste the link below into your browser. *Note that you’ll need to make a copy of the folder or slide before you can use it.*

link omitted in preview file

Google FormsI have made the assessments available in Google Forms. Here, they are self-grading, and I have set them all up with answer keys so they are ready to go for you. You’ll need to find these two files in your download folder to use Google Forms. The first file contains the links to the Forms, and the second file is explicit instructions for use. Look inside the Google Forms folder.



Teacher’s Guide

A Couple of Options for Teaching Article of the Week UnitsHere are my favorite suggestions for organizing these units with your schedule.*Please note that thumbnails show article 6-1 and activities.

Option A: Quickie UnitSimply complete all lesson activities in order OR pickand choose the activities you want to complete in order.

Time Needed: 2-3 fifty-minute class periodsPros: Super flexible; perfect filler around your other units; makes it easy to assign easier components for homework; ideal no prep sub plans if you have to be out for 2-3 days in a row.Cons: Fitting them all in around everything else you’ve got to do.

Option B: Daily ModelUse as a class starter or specific routine in yourclassroom everyday at the same time.

Time Needed: 15-20 minutes/day, 5 days/weekPros: IDEAL for block scheduling when you need to always change it up; Great way to fit nonfiction articles in with what you’re already doing.Cons: There are 25 total articles for each grade level, so some weeks you’ll need to skip the articles (I’d skip when doing projects, novels, during short weeks, and plan to finish up right before testing); May be difficult to commit to something rigid like this if you’re a type B teacher like myself ;)

Here’s how the daily model works:

Monday: Read article & complete basic comprehension activityTuesday: Text evidence activityWednesday: Skills focus activity (based on one key skill for each article)Thursday: Integrate information (other sources)Friday: Assessment

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday



Teacher’s Guide

WalkthroughI have discussed here how I use each activity and included hints and links to help you, too. Feel free to take or leave what you like. Even if you don’t plan to do every activity, I still recommend reading through this section to get the most out of these activities. Looking for a schedule to follow? Check the previous page for two suggested scheduling options.

These lessons and activities were designed to meet the needs of seventh graders during the middle part of the school year. The articles, activities, questions, and assessments will become increasingly rigorous and challenging as we progress through the year.

Activities 1-2• *There are no higher order thinking questions

included here – only basic, literal comprehension.• These activities are designed to be completed on

an either/or basis, meaning your students should only complete one of them, not both.

• Use Activity 1 for a quick cold-read assessment or after you’ve read the article together. I use these to hold students accountable for reading carefully. I recommend having students complete activity 1 without the article as long as they’ve just read the article (so not the next day), unless you’re providing a testing accommodation. Answer key included but not shown.

• Use Activity 2 for an open-ended option for the same exact questions. Students may have a harder time answering this one without the article, so choose this one if you want students to use the article but still prove that they’ve understood the content.

ArticleModified Article

Activity 1

Activity 2



Teacher’s Guide

Activities 3-4• Again, these activities are either/or, so choose

one or the other but not both.• Activity 3 requires students to annotate text

evidence in the article and includes an article annotation key.

• Activity 4 requires students to choose text evidence from a bank at the bottom. This format prepares students to choose from and distinguish between pieces of text evidence on a state assessment. I recommend mixing it up and going back and forth between these among units until your students are proficient at both methods.

Activity 5

Activity 6• This activity requires students to integrate

information from another source or media. • Here, students view a short video clip and answer

questions that force students to integrate information from multiple sources.

• Youtube: https://youtu.be/8b2catDZsq8• Backup: https://goo.gl/gjepkx

• This activity reviews all 3 of the skills covered in this review unit – RI.7.4, RI.7.5, and RI.7.6. There’s one page of review for each skill.

• Complete answer keys included, as always.

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5

Activity 6



Teacher’s Guide

Activities 7-8• *Final assessments are always designed to be

taken with access to the article.• What’s the best way to make sure your students

are prepared for the state assessment? Assess them regularly with that format. I always let my students practice for the first few before I start counting them for a grade, and I always use the basic comprehension assessment (activity 1 or 2) as an easy grade so it levels the playing field.

• Activity 7 is the regular assessment.• Activity 8 is the modified assessment. The

modified assessment offer students only two answer choices instead of four. Note that only the multiple choice portion of the modified test is different from the original. Simply put, only page one is different. Complete keys included as always (not shown).

• In a hurry? I always include multiple choice questions on separate pages in case you’re in a hurry and need to skip the open-ended portion of the test. I don’t recommend skipping regularly but every now and then, I need a grading break. (On this test, the multiple choice questions are 1-10 – pages 1-2 - and extended response is on page 3 of the test.)

Activity 7

Activity 8


During Anna Anderson’s life, scientists didn’t have the technology needed to test the DNA, or genetic information, from different people to see if they were related. By the 1980s, DNA testing had proven successful. Soon, investigators set about using it to solve the mystery of the Romanovs. In 1991, remains were found at place in Russia thought to be the Romanov’s burial site. Testing the DNA of the nine bodies was the first step toward solving the mystery. Scientists compared the results with DNA from Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and the grand-nephew of Alexandra Romanov. The scientists were able to determine that five of the bodies belonged to the Romanov family. There was a mother and father, along with three daughters. This meant the bodies of the

Romanov’s son, Alexei, and one of their

Anastasia spoke well. Anna refused to speakRussian because, she said, it was the language spoken by her family’s murderers. Her detractors found that suspicious as well.

Anna began a legal fight to gain recognition as Anastasia. This would give her access to all Romanov riches outside of Russia. Her efforts were opposed by Anastasia’s uncle. He hired an investigator to discredit her. The investigator claimed Anna’s real identity was Franziska Schanzkowska, a missing Polish factory worker. He had no absolute proof of his claim, however, and many people could not believe that a lowly factory worker could fake Anna’s regal air. By 1970, Anna’s final legal challenge was denied. The court ruled that she could not definitively prove she was Anastasia. This was despite the fact that experts who had studied photographs insisted that Anna and Anastasia were either one and the same or identical twins.

Anna married and moved to the United States in 1968. She died in 1984. At the time of Anna Anderson’s death, there was worldwide speculation about whether she was, in fact, the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Even relatives of Anastasia were divided over the issue. The intrigue was so great that it inspired a French play and a Hollywood movie. Yet, no one could prove Anna’s true identity one way or another—that is, until DNA technology became available.

Finding the Truth

daughters were missing. It seemed like perhaps Anna Anderson was telling the truth.

In 1994, more advanced DNA testing methods finally showed that Anna Anderson was Franziska Schanzkowska, the Polish factory worker who some people long suspected was Anderson’s real identity. However, a question remained: What happened to the remains of the missing Romanov daughter? In 2007, that question was finally answered as well when two bodies were discovered not far from the first Romanov burial site. DNA testing proved that these were indeed the missing Romanovs. The scientists had proven that, despite the rumors, none of the Romanov children had escaped the Bolshevik firing squad in 1918.

Eugenia Smith was another one of several Romanov imposters who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. She even authored “Anastasia: The Autobiography of HIH The Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaevna of Russia.” Smith re-fused to submit toa blood DNA test in1994. She died in 1997.

The Romanov family in 1913 (left to right): Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana.



Informational Text

For items 1-4, you’ll be citing textual evidence to support what the text says explicitly.

1. Find the sentence that reveals who first suggested that Anderson was a missing

Romanov. Highlight it in blue.

2. Find the sentence that explains why the mysterious woman wanted to be called Anna

Anderson. Highlight it in green.

3. Find the sentence that reveals why Anderson wanted to win the legal fight proving she

was Anastasia Romanov. Highlight it in purple.

4. Find the ONE sentence that best explains whether or not Anastasia’s relatives believed

that Anna Anderson was Anastasia. Highlight them in gray.

Finding Text EvidenceFind each piece of text evidence in the article and highlight OR underline it with the color specified.

Skill: Text Evidence

For items 5-8, you’ll be citing one piece or multiple pieces of textual evidence to support

inferences drawn from the text.

5. Find one piece of evidence that supports the idea that DNA technology was evolving

rapidly in the 1990s. Highlight it in orange.

6. Find five pieces of evidence from the article that supported Anderson’s claims that she

was Anastasia Romanov. Highlight them in yellow.

7. Find four pieces of evidence from the article that refute Anderson’s claims that she was

Anastasia Romanov. Highlight them in pink.

8. Find text evidence from the article that support this statement:

None of the imposters were telling the truth, as Anastasia Romanov died with the rest of her family

in 1918. Highlight it in red.

Activity 3



Informational TextSkill: Text Evidence

Activity 3



Informational Text

Text Evidence BankFor each item, find the appropriate piece(s) of text evidence and highlight or underline in the requested color.

Skill: Text Evidence

Activity 4

A cousin and a childhood friend were among those convinced that Anna was Anastasia.

Clara believed the mysterious woman was the child who had gotten away—Tatiana Romanov.

In 2007, that question was finally answered as well when two bodies were discovered not far from the first Romanov burial site. DNA testing proved that these were indeed the missing Romanovs.

Her haughty manner was most certainly that of royalty, they said.

Others who doubted Anna’s story pointed to her shaky grasp of English and French, two languages Anastasia spoke well.

Google Satellite footage also shows some communities moving their villages further and further from encroaching development in an attempt to remain safe. The court ruled that she could not definitively prove she was Anastasia.

Even relatives of Anastasia were divided over the issue.

She also had the same malformation on her foot.

By some accounts, she was afraid that the Bolsheviks would come after her if they knew she was Anastasia, so she was reluctant to reveal her identity.

Anastasia’s closest living relative, her mother’s sister, believed Anna was lying.

She had scars on her body that matched Anastasia’s.

Anna refused to speak Russian because, she said, it was the language spoken by her family’s murderers.

…experts who had studied photographs insisted that Anna and Anastasia were either one and the same or identical twins.

This would give her access to all Romanov riches outside of Russia.

In 1994, more advanced DNA testing methods finally showed that Anna Anderson was Franziska Schanzkowska, the Polish factory worker who some people long suspected was Anderson’s real identity.



Informational TextSkill: Connotative and Technical Meaning

Activity 5

A. Analyze Words & Phrases: ConnotationUse the article to sort these vocabulary words and phrases into categories based on connotation. To do this, you’ll need to study each word in context in the article. Then, answer the questions that follow.

positive

mental hospital executed haughty malformation

speculation intrigue divided remains

neutral negative

1. Read this sentence from the article: She was taken to a mental hospital. In this sentence, what is the connotation of mental hospital? __________________________Find a synonym for mental hospital in the first paragraph of the subsection Is She or Isn’t She? and identify it below. Then, identify the connotation of the synonym and explain how it compares to the original phrase, mental hospital.

2. Read this sentence from the article:At the time of Anna Anderson’s death, there was worldwide speculation about whether she was,

in fact, the Grand Duchess Anastasia. How does the use of the word speculation here impact the tone of this sentence? Suggest a word to use in its place to lighten the tone.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________


Nonfiction Article of the Week Informational TextSkill: Analyze Text Structure

Activity 5

B. Analyze Text StructureRe-read each paragraph indicated below. In the left side of the space provided, identify the central idea of that paragraph. On the right, explain how that paragraph contributes to the structure of the entire article as a whole. The first one is done for you.

3. Paragraph 2

4. Paragraph 5

5. Paragraph 6

7-12: The Mystery of Anastasia Romanov

6. How to paragraphs 6 and 8 connect to each other?

7. The final subsection, Finding the Truth, outlines a problem and how it was solved. Complete the graphic organizer below with details from this subsection.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________



Informational Text

C. Analyze Author’s Point of View & Purpose Read each text excerpt from the article in the left column. Then, read the inferences made about the author’s point of view in the right column. Circle the two inferences for each excerpt that can be made about the author’s point of view based on the text excerpt in the left column only.

Skill: Analyze Point of View & Purpose

Activity 5

Text From Article Inferences Made About Author’s POV

8. In 1918, Russia was in the throws of revolution. Tsar Nicholas II, the former tsar of Russia, had been forced to abdicate the previous year. His family, including his wife Alexandra and five children, were placed under house arrest and moved to a hidden location. There, under order of the new Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, the entire Romanov family (including the tsar, his wife, five children, and four servants) was executed by a squad of Hungarian soldiers.

A. It is likely that one of the Romanov children could have managed to escape the execution.

B. It is unlikely that one of the Romanov children could have managed to escape the execution.

C. Tsar Nicholas II was an ineffective leader.

D. The Bolsheviks were responsible for the deaths of the Romanovs, including the deaths of the children.

9. Of those who met Anna, some believed without a doubt that she was Anastasia. Her haughty manner was most certainly that of royalty, they said. She had scars on her body that matched Anastasia’s. She also had the same malformation on her foot. A cousin and a childhood friend were among those convinced that Anna was Anastasia. However, Anastasia’s closest living relative, her mother’s sister, believed Anna was lying. Others who doubted Anna’s story pointed to her shaky grasp of English and French, two languages Anastasia spoke well. Anna refused to speakRussian because, she said, it was the language spoken by her family’s murderers. Her detractors found that suspicious as well.

A. Some of the evidence indicated that Anna Anderson was in fact Anastasia Romanov.

B. All of Anastasia’s relatives did not believe Anna Anderson was telling the truth.

C. A major problem in Anna Anderson’s story was in which languages she seemed able to speak.

D. Anna Anderson had the exact same confident attitude as the real Anastasia Romanov had.

10. What is the author’s purpose in showing a photo of Anastasia Romanov and a photo of Anna Anderson on the same page?

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________


Nonfiction Article of the Week Informational TextSkill: Analyze Text Structure

Activity 5

B. Analyze Text StructureRe-read each paragraph indicated below. In the left side of the space provided, identify the central idea of that paragraph. On the right, explain how that paragraph contributes to the structure of the entire article as a whole. The first one is done for you.

The entire Romanov family was executed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution.

This paragraph provides details about the death (or supposed death) of the real Anastasia Romanov to help the reader understand the context of the claims of Anna Anderson.

Anna Anderson attempted to legally establish herself as the missing Romanov, Anastasia, in order to collect wealth, but she was unable to prove her identity.

This paragraph provides a possible motive to Anderson’s claims as she did try to obtain the Romanov wealth when she tried to obtain legal recognition as a Romanov.

3. Paragraph 2

4. Paragraph 5

5. Paragraph 6Anna Anderson died in 1984 when her claims were still controversial and many were still divided over the issue.

This paragraph shows the reader that the mystery was never officially solved during Anderson’s lifetime.

7-12: The Mystery of Anastasia Romanov

6. How to paragraphs 6 and 8 connect to each other?

7. The final subsection, Finding the Truth, outlines a problem and how it was solved. Complete the graphic organizer below with details from this subsection.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 6 reveals that Anderson died before her claims could be proven or

disproven and hints at DNA technology in the final sentence. Then, paragraph 8

outlines the final outcome of the mystery that is available due to DNA..

Bodies of the Romanov son and one daughter were

found to be missing from the mass grave when the DNA of the Romanov family remains was analyzed, making it stilla possibility that Anastasiahad survived.

More advanced DNA testing conclusively identified Anna Anderson as Franziska Schanzkowska, the Polish factory worker. Two bodies discovered near the rest of the family were identified as the missing Romanov children.



Informational Text

6. How does the information in the subsection What Happened to the Romanovs? develop the idea from the introduction that rumors existed about one of the Romanov children escaping?

a. The information in this subsection explains what happened to the Romanov family, according to official historical accounts.

b. The information in this subsection explains what was rumored to have happened to the Romanov family.

c. The information in this subsection explains how one of the Romanov children might have survived the execution of the Romanov family.

d. The information in this subsection explains what happened to the Romanov family, according to close relatives of the Romanovs.

7. The author’s main purpose in this article is to…a. entertain the reader with a historical fiction story about a royal family, a lost duchess, and a

brutal execution.b. expose Anna Anderson and Eugenia Smith as liars.c. recreate the mystery of whether or not Anna Anderson was Anastasia Romanov and then show

the reader how the mystery was solved.d. convince the reader that Anna Anderson might have been the real missing Romanov daughter.

8. The paragraphs were included to present the evidence for both sides of this mystery?a. paragraphs 3-4 c. paragraphs 4-5b. paragraphs 5-6 d. paragraphs 6-7

9. Which statement below about DNA technology is the author most likely to agree with?a. DNA technology is useful, but it is not always necessary in cases of mistaken identity.b. Because of advancements in DNA technology, similar cases of mysterious identities would be

solved rather quickly today instead of dragging on for decades.c. DNA technology should be used for solving crimes instead of busting popular urban legends.d. DNA technology is so accurate and so advanced that it can be used to solve virtually all

mysteries in some way or another.

10. Which excerpt from the article most strongly supports your answer to the previous question?a. However, a question remained: What happened to the remains of the missing Romanov

daughter?b. Scientists compared the results with DNA from Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and the

grand-nephew of Alexandra Romanov.c. The intrigue was so great that it inspired a French play and a Hollywood movie.d. In 1994, more advanced DNA testing methods finally showed that Anna Anderson was

Franziska Schanzkowska, the Polish factory worker who some people long suspected was Anderson’s real identity.

Skills Test

Activity 7

RI.7.5

RI.7.6

RI.7.6

RI.7.6

RI.7.6

nonfiction article of the week...anastasia spoke well. anna refused to speak russian because , she...

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