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GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON Quarter 2, Weeks 15 & 16: 11/26/12 – 12/07/12

GRADE 6 ELA EXEMPLAR LESSON – Teacher Copy Quarter 2, Weeks 15 & 16: 11/26/12 – 12/07/12

Learning ObjectivesThe goal of this exemplar lesson is to provide students an opportunity to explore targeted passages of complex text. Through teacher Read Alouds, audio listening, careful student independent reading and rereading, and scaffolded discussion of text-dependent questions, students will analyze characters’ point of view and development. Vocabulary is learned from context and writing aids deeper understanding of text. The lesson culminates in an evidentiary writing activity. Teachers may need to further scaffold activities to address individual students’ needs depending on the intent of the lesson and specific learners’ needs.

Rationale: This lesson explores analyzing character development and character point of view in “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. Through the use of first-person point of view, Cisneros explores what it means to grow older. Students will conduct a close, analytic reading to explore characters, their development and point of view.

Text Title: “Eleven” - Sandra CisnerosMcDougal Littell Literature, pp. 182-189.Genre/Text Structure: Short Story

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)RL.6.1-3, RL.6.6, W.6.1, W.6.4-5, SL.6.1, L.6.1-3

http://www.corestandards.org/

Lesson SequencePERFORMANCE TASK/CULMINATING INDEPENDENT WRITING ASSESSMENT:This lesson guides students through the process of analyzing character development in Cisneros’ short story, “Eleven.” It culminates in the generation of a response to literature in which students trace Rachel’s changing feelings throughout the story. Students will explain how the incident with the red sweater affects Rachel. They will describe how she feels before, during, and after the incident by using specific details from the story to support their statements.

Activity 1:GUIDING QUESTION(S):1. The teacher/students will read “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros McDougal Littell textbook; pages 182-189. The opening sections of the piece may be read aloud or played on audio at www.classzone.com. Rereading on day one is embedded in the text-dependent questions and discussion activities.2. Students will independently read lines 1-13 on page 184, lines 44-62 on page 186, and lines 83-95 on page 187.3. Students should discuss and write about the initial meaning they have made from reading lines 1-13, lines 44-62, and lines 83-95.

Activities 2, 3 and 4:GUIDING QUESTION(S):Returning to the text, the teacher asks students a small set of guiding questions about lines 1-13 on page 184, lines 44-62 on page 186, and lines 83-95 on page 187.1. The targeted text should be in front of the students as they engage in their discussions.2. Graphic organizers or Reader Response Journals serve as a means to organize thoughts for prewriting activities.

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http://www.classzone.com/

http://www.corestandards.org/


3. Respond in writingActivity 1: AbstractionThink about how Rachel reacts when Mrs. Price orders her to put on the red sweater. Did you understand her reaction or did it surprise you? Sometimes people are overwhelmed by their emotions. Do they always know why they react so strongly? Create a story about a character’s strong emotional reaction to something—words or an event—that might not bother someone else. Does the character react with tears, anger, jealousy, or sadness? In your story, have the character suggest or explain why he or she reacted so strongly.Activity 2: Examining PerspectivesIn “Eleven,” what was supposed to be a good day for Rachel turns into a bad day. Do you think Rachel’s experience is typical of how young people feel about growing up? Is growing up always difficult, or can it be fun, too? Examine the issue of growing up from two sides—the good and the bad.

List what is positive about growing up and entering adolescence. What do you gain? List the negatives associated with growing up. Are there times when you just wish you could be a kid forever? Why? Write an opinion essay about getting older. What are the appealing and unappealing aspects of it? How do you think Rachel felt about

growing up? Do you think she always felt the same way?

Activity 3: Make InferencesExplain to students that characters’ words and actions offer important clues to their thoughts and feelings. As students read, have them create a chart listing details from the story in one column. In the other column, they should record the inference about Rachel’s thoughts or feelings they draw from each detail.

Activity 4: Explore SymbolismThe red sweater plays an important role in this story. To help students understand this role, ask them to work with a partner and discuss the following questions:

What objects in everyday life are red? What might the color red in this story symbolize? What might the sweater stand for?

Activity 5: QuickwriteTo help students understand Rachel’s reactions to the incident with the red sweater, have them complete the following quickwrite:

Imagine you are Rachel. Explain your thoughts and feelings about the incident to Mrs. Price.

4. Use Communication, Information and Media connections at www.classzone.com , www.discoveryeducation.com, or other online resources to for lesson extensions. Author Study— Sandra Cisneros—Author Online at www.classzone.com .

Targeted Text Selection -Page 184, Lines 1-13

Vocabulary Teacher Activities and TechniquesText-Dependent Questions

What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t. You open your eyes and everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today. And you don’t feel eleven at all. You feel like you’re still ten.And you are—underneath the year that makes you eleven. Like some days you might say something stupid, and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five.And maybe one day when you’re all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you’re three, and that’s okay. That’s what I tell Mama when she’s sad and needs to cry. Maybe she’s feeling three.

Grammar Focus: contractions

Don’t—do not

You’re—you are

It’s—it is

That’s—that is

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

(Q1) The narrator shares her feelings and thoughts about her birthday. Have you ever felt like this?

Possible answer.Students’ answers will vary but should be supported with examples from their own experiences. Some students may agree with Rachel that birthdays don’t make them feel any different. Others may say that they always feel special and older on their birthday.


Not mine, not mine, not mine, but Mrs. Price is

Vocabulary

Squeeze—to press forcibly together;

Teacher Activities and TechniquesText-Dependent Questions

(Q2) In lines 44-62 how does the author describe Rachel’s attitude toward Ms. Price and the red sweater?

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http://www.discoveryeducation.com/



already turning to page thirty-two, and math problem number four. I don’t know why but all of a sudden I’m feeling sick inside, like the part of me that’s three wants to come out of my eyes, only I squeeze them shut tight and bite down on my teeth real hard and try to remember today I am eleven, eleven. Mama is making a cake for me for tonight, and when Papa comes home everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you. But when the sick feeling goes away and I open my eyes, the red sweater’s still sitting there like a big red mountain. I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and books and eraser as far from it as possible. I even move my chair a little to the right. Not mine, not mine, not mine. In my head I’m thinking how long till lunchtime, how long till I can take the red sweater and throw it over the schoolyard fence, or leave it hanging on a parking meter, or bunch it up into a little ball and toss it in the alley. Except when math period ends Mrs. Price says loud and in front of everybody, “Now, Rachel, that’s enough,” because she sees I’ve shoved the red sweater to the tippy-tip corner of my desk and it’s hanging all over the edge like a waterfall, but I don’t care.

compress

I’m—I am

Schoolyard—a playground or sports field near a school

Parking Meter—a mechanical device for registering and collecting payment for the length of time that a vehicle occupies a parking space

Alley—a narrow back street

Except—but, however

I’ve—I have

Waterfall—a steep fall or flow of water

Possible answer.Rachel is upset with Ms. Price, but unable to articulate how she feels. Rachel thinks the sweater is ugly and does not want any of her classmates to think the sweater is hers.

(Q3) Why does Ms. Price appear to be annoyed with Rachel?

Possible answer.Ms. Price thinks Rachel is acting immature.

(Q4) Why does Rachel compare the red sweater to a waterfall?

Possible answer.Like a waterfall spilling over a large area; the red sweater is spilling all over desk and she cannot control it.

Targeted Text Selection -Page 187, Lines 83-95.

But the worst part is right before the bell rings for lunch. That stupid Phyllis Lopez, who is even dumber than Sylvia Saldívar, says she remembers the red sweater is hers! I take it off right away and give it to her, only Mrs. Price pretends like everything’s okay. e Today I’m eleven. There’s a cake Mama’s making for tonight, and when Papa comes home from work we’ll eat it. There’ll be candles and presents and everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you, Rachel, only it’s too late. I’m eleven today. I’m eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one, but I wish I was one hundred and two. I wish I was anything but eleven, because I want today to be far away already, far away like a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in the sky, so tiny-tiny you have to close your eyes to see it.

Vocabulary

We’ll—we will

Runaway—having run away

Teacher Activities and TechniquesText-Dependent Questions

(Q5) Reread lines 83-86. How does the first-person point of view affect what you know about Sylvia and Phyllis?

Possible answer.Readers see the story from Rachel’s perspective only. All Rachel says about Sylvia and Phyllis is that they are ‘stupid’, but clearly this is not all there is to know about them.

(Q6) Minor characters help carry out the action of a story. Mrs. Price is a minor character in “Eleven,” but she plays an important part in the story. How do you think Mrs. Price would describe the incident with the sweater? Use details from the story to support your answer.

Possible answer.Mrs. Price might say that she just wanted students to behave so that she could continue teaching. She might feel that Rachel overreacted to the sweater issue.(Q7) As the narrator of the story, Rachel shares many of her thoughts and feelings. However, she is not able to tell us the thoughts and feelings of the other characters. With a partner or in a small group discuss what you learned through the story’s first-person point of view.

Possible answer.Students’ answers will vary but should be supported with examples from their own experiences.

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Summative Assessment/Culminating Independent Writing Task

Carol Booth Olson lesson plan found at www.classzone.com

Writing SituationFor many people, a birthday is an exciting, festive event. In the story “Eleven” by Cisneros, Rachel struggles with a troubling incident on her 11th birthday, during which she grows not only in years, but as a character.

Writing DirectionsWrite a response to literature in which you explain how the incident with the red sweater affects Rachel. Describe how she feels before, during, and after the incident, using specific details from the story to support your statements about the changes she undergoes.

Keep the following traits in mind as you compose your response to literature:Key TraitsIdeas

Presents a thesis statement that claims how the incident with the red sweater affects Rachel

Makes inferences about Rachel’s thoughts, feelings, words, and actions Explains how Rachel’s thoughts and feelings change as the story progresses

Organization Contains an engaging introduction that describes Rachel and her feelings on

her eleventh birthday Has a well-developed body that logically advances the writer’s analysis Supports statements with evidence from the text Contains a conclusion that goes beyond restating the introduction to deepen

the interpretationVoice

Writes authoritatively with a tone that is appropriate for the writer’s audience and purpose

Shows the writer’s investment in and commitment to his/her analysisWord Choice

Uses precise, apt, and descriptive language to interpret the literary workSentence Fluency

Varies sentence structure and length to help the paper flowConventions

Correctly follows the conventions of written English

RESPONDING TO THE PROMPTAfter students have read the prompt, have them complete these activities to help them prepare their responses.

1. Create a Thesis StatementExplain to students that their thesis statement should summarize their ideas about how Rachel changes as a result of the incident with the red sweater. Have them use their inference charts and quickwrites as the basis for creating their thesis statements.

2. Organize the InformationTo help students track the changes in Rachel’s thoughts and feelings, suggest that they group information about her changing feelings into three categories—before, during, and after the incident. Remind them to back up each statement with a relevant quotation or detail from the story.

3. Maintain a Consistent Point of ViewAs students develop and revise their drafts, remind them that they should write about Rachel from the third-person point of view—using the pronouns she and her. Instruct them to maintain this point of view throughout their response, making any necessary changes during revision.

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

Graphic Organizers at www.classzone.com

English Language Learner (ELL) Resources and StrategiesContent Knowledge

Key Academic Vocabulary

Role Play

Writing Task

Use the following Discovery Education media link to build content background knowledge on how the rings inside a tree trunk show the plant’s age.

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=6965A34A- 7CBB-429E-A9BE-CEF38D52C860

Have students use Best Practices Toolkit – Word Questioning Transparency E32 (see below) to study the academic vocabulary from the selection:

finally (lines 40,74) period (line 59) invisible (line 75)

Have students work in pairs, in order to check their definitions, by looking up the words in a dictionary.

Assign the roles of Rachel and Mrs. Prince to some students in your class. Ask them to act out what happened in class the day Rachel became eleven years old. Provide opportunities for students to change the ending of the story if they wish.

Have students discuss how growing up, or growing older, could be complicated andoften difficult. Ask them to write a paragraph, where students narrate an incident in their lives that had made them mature.

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http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=6965A34A-7CBB-429E-A9BE-CEF38D52C860

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=6965A34A-7CBB-429E-A9BE-CEF38D52C860



http://www.discoveryeducation.com/


Student Copy

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Text Title: Eleven by Sandra CisnerosGenre/Text Structure: Short Story

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Vocabulary Text-Dependent Questions

What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t. You open your eyes and everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today. And you don’t feel eleven at all. You feel like you’re still ten.And you are—underneath the year that makes you eleven. Like some days you might say something stupid, and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five.And maybe one day when you’re all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you’re three, and that’s okay. That’s what I tell Mama when she’s sad and needs to cry. Maybe she’s feeling three.

Don’t—do not

You’re—you are

It’s—it is

That’s—that is

(Q1) The narrator shares her feelings and thoughts about her birthday. Have you ever felt like this?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________


Not mine, not mine, not mine, but Mrs. Price is already turning to page thirty-two, and math problem number four. I don’t know why but all of a sudden I’m feeling sick inside, like the part of me that’s three wants to come out of my eyes, only I squeeze them shut tight and bite down on my teeth real hard and try to remember today I am eleven, eleven. Mama is making a cake for me for tonight, and when Papa comes home everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you. But when the sick feeling goes away and I open my eyes, the red sweater’s still sitting there like a big red mountain. I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and books and eraser as far from it as possible. I even move my chair a little to the right. Not mine, not mine, not mine. In my head I’m thinking how long till lunchtime, how long till I can take the red sweater and throw it over the schoolyard fence, or leave it hanging on a parking meter, or bunch it up into a little ball and toss it in the alley. Except when math period ends Mrs. Price says loud and in front of everybody, “Now, Rachel, that’s enough,” because she sees I’ve shoved the red sweater to the tippy-tip corner of my desk and it’s hanging all over the edge like a waterfall, but I don’t care.

(Q2) In lines 44-62 how does the author describe Rachel’s attitude toward Ms. Price and the red sweater?________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

(Q3) Why does Ms. Price appear to be annoyed with Rachel?________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

(Q4) Why does Rachel compare the red sweater to a waterfall?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Targeted Text Selection -Page 187, Lines 83-95.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

But the worst part is right before the bell

Vocabulary

________________

We’ll—we will

(Q5) Reread lines 83-86. How does the first-person point of view affect what you know about Sylvia and Phyllis?

________________________________________________________

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rings for lunch. That stupid Phyllis Lopez, who is even dumber than Sylvia Saldívar, says she remembers the red sweater is hers! I take it off right away and give it to her, only Mrs. Price pretends like everything’s okay. e Today I’m eleven. There’s a cake Mama’s making for tonight, and when Papa comes home from work we’ll eat it. There’ll be candles and presents and everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you, Rachel, only it’s too late. I’m eleven today. I’m eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one, but I wish I was one hundred and two. I wish I was anything but eleven, because I want today to be far away already, far away like a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in the sky, so tiny-tiny you have to close your eyes to see it.

Runaway—having run away

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

(Q6) Minor characters help carry out the action of a story. Mrs. Price is a minor character in “Eleven,” but she plays an important part in the story. How do you think Mrs. Price would describe the incident with the sweater? Use details from the story to support your answer.

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

(Q7) As the narrator of the story, Rachel shares many of her thoughts and feelings. However, she is not able to tell us the thoughts and feelings of the other characters. With a partner or in a small group discuss what you learned through the story’s first-person point of view.________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Write a SUMMARIZATION:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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