Lesson#1

LessonIdea:Researchaweatherobservationandreportyourfindings.
LearningObjective(s):Identifyweatherorclimateobservation;lookatmapsanddiagramsof
weatherorclimateobservationonline;chartandwriteaboutyourfindings.
Problem(s)thatcouldbesolvedwiththisdata:Yourbossattheweatherstationwantsyouto
giveherareportaboutaparticularweathertopic.Thereportmusthaveachartorgraph
summarizingyourfindingsonthetopicandaparagraphexpandinguponyourfindings.Youare
tochooseaweatherorclimaterelatedtopic,researchit,analyzeyourresearch,andcreatea
report.
Topic:EnglishasaSecondLanguage
Class:Grade7
ContentStandardsaddressed:
CommonCore:CommonCoreReadingStandardsforLiteracyinHistory/SocialStudies,
IntegrationofKnowledge&Ideas#7:Integratevisualinformation(e.g.,incharts,graphs,
photographs,videos,ormaps)withotherinformationinprintanddigitaltexts.
WIDA:ELDStandard5:TheLanguageofSocialStudies,Grade7:Studentsatalllevelsof
Englishlanguageproficiencyinteractwithgradelevelwordsandexpressions.
TechnologyStandardsaddressed:
3.Researchandinformationfluency
Studentsapplydigitaltoolstogather,evaluate,anduseinformation.
b.Locate,organize,analyze,evaluate,synthesize,andethicallyuse
informationfromavarietyofsourcesandmedia
c.Evaluateandselectinformationsourcesanddigitaltoolsbasedonthe
appropriatenesstospecifictasks
d.Processdataandreportresults
ObjectivesandCurriculum:
Lessonwillbeginbydiscussinganoverviewofcontentrelatedmaterialaboutclimate,the
weather,andlandformswhileintroducinggradeandEnglishproficiencylevelvocabulary.
Studentswillbeshownsomeexamplesofweathermapsandsimplechartssuchasofhighest
temperatureindifferentyearsoramountofrainfallannually,etc.,andgivenabrief
demonstrationofhowtocreatesuchsimplechartsandgraphicsinMicrosoftWord.Examplesof
weatherrelatedwebsitesandsuggestionsforhowtofindmorewillbeprovided.Studentswill
thenbeguidedandmonitoredthroughtheprocessofchoosingalocation(e.g.theirhometown,
somewheretheywouldliketovisit)andtopic(e.g.anexampleofglobalwarming,thepossibility
ofVenicesinking)thatsuitstheirEnglishproficiencylevel,andspendclasstimeresearching
theirlocationortopiconline.Teacherwillremainavailablethroughouttoprovidehelp

understandingandifnecessarysimplifyingthereadings,maps,anddiagramsthestudents
discoverintheirresearch.Studentsusetheirresearchto,inaWorddocument,chartorsimilarly
visuallydepicttheresultsoftheirfindings,withaoneparagraphsummaryexpandinguponwhat
theydiscovered.
ProblemStatement:
Youareaclimatologistandmustgiveareporttoyourbossaboutaparticularweather
observationoranomaly.Usingtheinternet,Iwantyoutochoosealocationandatopiclikethose
discussedearlierinclass,andconductresearchaboutthattrendbyreadingmaps,lookingat
charts,andfindingstatementsabouttheweather/climatetopicinyourchosenlocation.Collect
enoughinformationtocreatechartorgraphofyourfindingsforaparticulartimeperiod(e.g.six
months,oneyear,tenyears,acentury).Useawordprocessortomakeyourchartorgraph.Once
yourvisualiscomplete,writeabriefparagraphdiscussingyourfindingsandhowyourchartor
graphrelatestothem,thenprintoutandhandinyourcompletedweatherreport.
Assessment:
Thestudents'reportswillbegradedon(a)inclusionofavisualrepresentingtheirfindingsinthe
formofachart,graph,orsimilar,(b)accuracyoftheirvisualinrelationtotheirchosentopic,(c)
inclusionofaparagraphexpandingupontheirvisual,and(d)demonstrationinthatparagraphof
EnglishproficiencyequivocaltotheirEnglishspeakinglevel,includinggradeandcontent
appropriatevocabulary.QualitywillbemeasuredusingarubricassessingallfourpointsA
throughDonascaleofinadequate,poor,good,andexceptional.

Lesson#2
LessonIdea:Createatableofthreethemesfromawork,withsupportingevidenceand
reasoning.
LearningObjective(s):Identifythreetofivethemes;findevidencefromtexttosupportthese
themes;describerelevanceofthemesinparticularwork.
Problem(s)thatcouldbesolvedwiththisdata:Youandyourfriendswanttoresearchhow
otherauthorsdepictthemes,ideas,orthesesintheirwriting.Youdecidetodrawupatable
analyzingthethemesinawork,suchaswhattheauthorusestosuggestathemeorhowitis
relevanttothestoryoressay.Youaretociteatleastthreethemes,providequotesorlinesfrom
thetextsupportingthistheme,andthendescribehowthethemeisrelevanttotheworkasa
whole.
Topic:EnglishasaSecondLanguage
Class:Grade7
ContentStandardsaddressed:
CommonCore:CommonCoreStateSpeakingandListeningStandards,Comprehensionand
Collaboration#2(Grade7):Analyzethemainideasandsupportingdetailspresentedindiverse
mediaandformats(e.g.,visually,quantitatively,orally)andexplainhowtheideasclarifyatopic,

text,orissueunderstudy.
WIDA:ELDStandard2:TheLanguageofLanguageArts,Grade7:Studentsatalllevelsof
Englishlanguageproficiencyinteractwithgradelevelwordsandexpressions.
TechnologyStandardsaddressed:
4.Criticalthinking,problemsolving,anddecisionmaking
Studentsusecriticalthinkingskillstoplanandconductresearch,manageprojects,solve
problems,andmakeinformeddecisionsusingappropriatedigitaltoolsandresources.

Planandmanageactivitiestodevelopasolutionorcompleteaproject

Collectandanalyzedatatoidentifysolutionsand/ormakeinformed
decisions

Usemultipleprocessesanddiverseperspectivestoexplorealternative
solutions
ObjectivesandCurriculum:
Lessonwouldbeginwithadiscussionofcontentrelatedmaterialregardingashortstoryoressay
thattheyhavereadforclassorforpleasure.Discussionwillreinforceandintroducegradeand
Englishproficiencylevelvocabularysuchastheme,supportingdetails,andthesis.Studentswill
begivenamorelanguagelevelappropriateoverviewofhowtodeterminethethemesorideasof
aworkandhowtosummarizeordepicttheseideas.Anexampletableofvariousthemesina
particularworkandsomeexamplesofthesethemesfromtheworkwillbeprovidedandan
explanationofhowtocreateasimilartableinMicrosoftWordwillbegiven.Studentswillthen
bebrokenintogroupsorgivenpartners,andinthesegroupsstudentswillchooseashortstoryor
essay(oroptionally,andparticularlyformoreproficientEnglishlanguagestudents,anovel)and
discussthethemes,ideas,andthesespresentinthework.Studentsareallowedtobringincopies
oftheworkinquestionor,ifitisavailableonline,usetheinternettoreferencebacktothework
astheydiscussit,andtheteachershouldbeonhandforanystudentthatrequiresmorehelpin
understandingthereading.Ifthestudentshavecoveredtheworkinclassbefore,theymaydraw
onwhattheyrememberfrompastlessonsintheirdiscussion.Thegroup/partnerswillthen
choosethreetofiveofthemostimportantthemesorideasfromthework,andcreateathree
columntableinWordlistingthesethemes.
ProblemStatement:
Youandyourfriendsareaspiringwritersgatheringinformationonhowother,publishedauthors
presenttheirideasandthemesinwriting.Youwanttomakenoteofwhatkindsofthemesthese
authorsaddress,andwhatmethodstheyusetoaddressthem.Inagrouporwithapartner,Iwant
youtochooseashortstory,essay,oroptionallyanovel,andinyourgroupdiscusstheworkyou
choseinclass.Whatkindofthemesorideasdoesithave?Whatisitsthesis?Whatevidence
doesthewriterpresentforthese?Aretheredirectquotesfromthecharacters,doesthesettingor
atmosphereconveythethemessomehow,doestheauthorusesymbolismandmetaphortoget
theirideasacross,etc.Finally,discusshowthesethemesrelatetotheworkasawhole,e.g.,does
acharactergoingonadifficultjourneymetaphoricallyrelatetotheirjourneyfromadolescence

toadulthood,andwhatevidencedoestheauthorgiveforthisidea?InMicrosoftWord,createa
threecolumntablechartingthethemes/ideasyoudiscussed(columnone),theevidencethe
authorprovidesforthesethemes/ideas(columntwo),andhowthesethemesrelatetotheworkas
awhole(columnthree).Feelfreetouseeitherparagraphsorbulletpointswhendiscussing
evidenceorhowthethemerelatestothework.Eachgroupmembershouldprintoutandhandin
theirowncopyofthetable.
Assessment:
Thestudents'tableswillbegradedon(a)identificationofatleastthreethemesorideasina
particularwork,(b)supportingevidencefromthetextforthesethemesorideas,(c)indicationof
therelevanceofthethesethemestothework,(d)presentationofthethemes,evidence,and
relevanceinacorrectlyformattedtable,(e)demonstrationinthewritingofEnglishproficiency
equivocaltotheirEnglishspeakinglevel,includinggradeandcontentappropriatevocabulary,
and(f)contributingequallyintheirgrouptothediscussion,writing,andcreationofthetable.
Qualitywillbemeasuredusinga10pointscale,with10showingexceptional,fullycompleted
workand1showingpoorworkandlittleeffort.