Stories of Change

86 Pages·2015·3.97 MB·English

UNIT
1
Stories of Change
Visual Prompt: A butterfly goes through several changes
in its life. It starts as an egg, becomes a caterpillar, then a
chrysalis, and finally emerges as a beautiful butterfly. In what
ways do people change as they move through the stages of
their lives?
ed. Unit Overview
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d. analyzing, and creating texts, you will examine
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© 2 change is threaded through all of our lives and
is something we can tell stories about.
Unit 1 • Stories of Change 1
Stories of Change
UNIT
1
Contents
GoaLS:
• To understand how change
Activities
can be significant
1.1 Previewing the Unit .....................................................................4
• To analyze key ideas and
Introducing the Strategy: QHT
details in addition to craft
and structure in print and
1.2 Understanding Change ................................................................5
non-print texts
Poetry: “On Turning Ten” from The Art of Drowning,
• To use narrative techniques
by Billy Collins
such as sequencing,
dialogue, and descriptive
1.3 Planning for Independent Reading .............................................10
language
• To write narratives to develop 1.4 What Makes a Good Narrative? ..................................................11
real or imagined events
1.5 Personal Narrative: Incident-Response-Reflection ....................13
• To understand pronouns
and the conventions of Introducing the Strategy: Close Reading and Marking the Text
punctuating dialogue Personal Narrative: My Superpowers, by Dan Greenburg
1.6 He Said, She Said: Characterization ...........................................17
aCademIC voCabULary Novel: Excerpt from Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen
paraphrase
1.7 Analyzing Narratives ..................................................................26
summarize
synonym Personal Narrative: “The Jacket,” by Gary Soto
antonym Novel: Excerpt from Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata
sequence
cause and effect 1.8 Creating a Narrative ..................................................................34
analyze
1.9 Creating a Narrative: Prewriting and Drafting ...........................36
transitions
coherence
1.10 Creating a Narrative: Revising ....................................................41
Introducing the Strategy: Adding
Literary Terms Embedded Assessment 1: Writing a Personal Narrative .....................45 d.
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genre er
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point of view 1.11 Previewing Embedded Assessment 2 and s re
diction Preparing to Write a Short Story ................................................47 ght
narrative All ri
characterization 1.12 What’s in a Short Story? .............................................................49 d.
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setting Short Story: “Thank You, M’am,” by Langston Hughes Bo
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conflict (internal/external) g
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personal narrative 1.13 Plot Elements ............................................................................54 Coll
dialogue 14
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connotation 1.14 Thinking Figuratively .................................................................58 © 2
denotation Novel: Excerpts from Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
metaphor
sensory language 1.15 In the Beginning ........................................................................60
short story
Myth: “In the Beginning and Pandora’s Box,” from Greek Myths
theme
by Geraldine McCaughrean
plot
figurative language
simile
personification
foreshadowing
science fiction
2 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6
Language Writer’s
1.16 A Day of Change: Developing the Story ......................................65 Craft
Short Story: “Eleven,” from Woman Hollering Creek and Other • Pronouns (1.6)
Stories, by Sandra Cisneros • Transitions (1.9)
• Revising for Transitions
1.17 In the End .................................................................................70 (1.10)
• Vivid Verbs (1.14)
Short Story: “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” by Walter Dean
• Varied Sentence Patterns
Myers
(1.15)
1.18 Analyzing a Story ......................................................................79
Short Story: “The Fun They Had,” by Isaac Asimov
1.19 Sparking Ideas ..........................................................................83
*Picture Books: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick or other picture
books by Chris Van Allsburg
Embedded Assessment 2: Writing a Short Story ................................85
*Texts not included in these materials.
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Unit 1 • Stories of Change 3
Previewing the Unit
aCTIvITy
1.1

Learning Targets
LearNING STraTeGIeS:
• Preview the big ideas and vocabulary for the unit.
Activating Prior Knowledge,
• Identify and analyze the skills and knowledge needed to complete Embedded
Skimming/Scanning, QHT,
Assessment 1 successfully.
Marking the Text, Summarizing/
Paraphrasing
Making Connections
When you think about change, what thoughts come to your mind? Have you
perhaps changed schools? Have you made new friends? Has an old friend moved
my Notes away? Change is a part of life. In this unit, you will examine stories and poems
about change, as well as write your own ideas and stories about change.
Essential Questions
Based on your current knowledge, how would you answer these questions?
1. How can change be significant?
2. What makes a good story?
Introducing the Strategy: QHT
QHT is a strategy for thinking about your own understanding of vocabulary words.
The letters stand for Questions, Heard, and Teach:
Q: words you may have seen but you are not sure about their meaning
H: words you have heard before but may not know them well
T: words you know so well you could teach them to someone else
To use QHT, think about how well you know each term, and label each term
with a letter.
Developing Vocabulary
Look at the Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms on the Contents page. Apply
the QHT strategy to see which words you may already know and which you will ed.
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need to learn more about. ser
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Unpacking Embedded Assessment 1 All rig
Read the assignment for Embedded Assessment 1: Writing a Personal Narrative. d.
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Your assignment is to write a personal narrative that includes a well-told B
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incident, a response to the incident, and a reflection about the significance of eg
the incident. Coll
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In your own words, paraphrase the assignment and then summarize what you will © 2
need to know to complete this assessment successfully. With your class, create a
aCademIC voCabULary graphic organizer to represent the skills and knowledge you will need to complete
When you paraphrase, you the tasks identified in the embedded assessment.
reword written or spoken text
using words that help you clarify
and understand the text. When
you summarize, you create a
statement of the main ideas or
essential information in the text.
4 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6
Understanding Change
aCTIvITy
1.2
Learning Targets
LearNING STraTeGIeS:
• Define the concept of change.
Freewriting, Graphic
• Write about changes using a graphic organizer and a frame poem.
Organizer, Brainstorming,
Prewriting, Sketching
Before Reading
1. Select one quote, explain what it means, and discuss its connections to your life.
“Change in all things is sweet.”
—Aristotle, Greek philosopher my Notes
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.”
—Gail Sheehy, American author
“Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.”
—Hugh Prather, American writer
In the remainder of this activity, you will listen to a poem by Billy Collins and think
about how it conveys this Unit’s theme of change. Poetry is one of the many genres
Literary Terms
you encounter in Grade 6. Poetry is written in lines and stanzas, whereas, prose
is written in sentences and paragraphs. In Unit 4, you will learn more about the Poetry is a genre, or style,
elements of poetry. of literature. Within the
poetry genre are different
ed. During Reading types of poems that can
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es 2. Listen to the poem on the next page being read aloud. As you listen, think about
s r schemes or no rhyming
ght the “change” in the speaker. Summarize each stanza in one sentence, and write at all.
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oll Billy Collins (b. 1941 ) Born in 1941 in New York City, Billy Collins earned
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4 a BA from the College of the Holy Cross, and both an MA and PhD from the
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2 University of California-Riverside. Collins served two terms as the US Poet
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Laureate, from 2001–2003 and was New York State Poet Laureate from
2004–2006. Critics have noted that Collins’s style mixes humor and insight
and helps his readers feel the “mystery of being alive.”
Unit 1 • Stories of Change 5
Understanding Change
aCTIvITy 1.2
continued
Poetry
my Notes

Turning Ten
On
by Billy Collins
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I’m coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light—
5 a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.
You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
10 the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
Literary Terms
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
Point of view is the
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
perspective from which a story
or poem is told. In first-person I could make myself invisible
point of view, the narrator is
15 by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
a character in the story using
first-person pronouns such At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.
as I and we to tell what he d.
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or she sees and knows. In v
But now I am mostly at the window er
third-person point of view, the es
narrator is someone outside watching the late afternoon light. hts r
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the story using third-person Back then it never fell so solemnly All ri
pronouns such as he, she, or d.
they to tell the story. 20 against the side of my tree house, oar
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and my bicycle never leaned against the garage ge
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as it does today, Coll
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all the dark blue speed drained out of it. 20
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This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
25 as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.

6 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6
aCTIvITy 1.2
continued
It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
30 If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.
After Reading
aCademIC voCabULary
3. Describe the change the speaker of the poem experiences. Provide evidence You may already know that
from the text that supports your conclusion. antonyms are words that
have opposite meanings,
while synonyms are words
that mean the same thing.
4. What point of view is being used in this poem? How can you tell? If you say that something
is synonymous, you are
saying that it means the
same thing. For instance,
“Some people say that
good sleeping habits are
synonymous with good
5. Use a word map graphic organizer to explore the concept of change. Brainstorm
health.”
words that are related to change or are synonyms or antonyms for change.
Word Map
What the Word Means A Picture
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Example Example Example Word in Context
Synonym Synonym Antonym
Unit 1 • Stories of Change 7
Understanding Change
aCTIvITy 1.2
continued
6. Prewriting: Write about changes that have happened in your life and changes
that could occur in the future.
In what ways has your life changed In what ways has your life changed
since first grade? since last year?
How might your life change What types of changes might occur
during the current school year? when you become a teenager?
7. What words, phrases, and images show the kinds of changes you and your
classmates have faced? Interview your classmates, and make a list for each of
the five areas shown below.
Hobbies Beliefs Appearance School Responsibilities
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8 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6
ACTIVITY 1.2
continued
Writing a Frame Poem
My Notes
Write a poem about changes you have experienced. Finish the sentences with ideas
and thoughts about changes in your life. You do not need to make the lines rhyme,
but pay attention to your diction, so you choose just the right word. Make every
word count! Be sure to remain focused on you: your experience and your feelings.
1. That was me then; this is me now.
2. Last year I was ;
now I am .
3. I used to enjoy ; Literary Terms
Diction refers to a writer’s
now I .
or speaker’s word choice.
4. I used to believe ;
now I .
5. I used to be confused by ;
now I .
6. Last year I felt ;
now I .
7. Last year I hoped ;
now I .
8. Last year I wanted to be ;
now I .
9. This year I am .
10. That was me then; this is me now.
d. Creating a Reader/Writer Notebook and Portfolio
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es With your teacher’s guidance, create a Reader/Writer Notebook and Portfolio. You
hts r will add artifacts, or examples of your work, to your portfolio throughout the year.
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All ri When you see Academic Vocabulary, Literary Terms, or Language and Writer’s Craft
d. boxes, record the words in your Reader/Writer Notebook. You may want to use a
oar graphic organizer such as a word map to explore the meaning of the new words
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Semicolons
Notice the use of semicolons
in the poem. A semicolon is
most commonly used to link
two complete thoughts into
a compound sentence. Use
a semicolon to add interest
to your writing by linking
balanced, short statements
that have a powerful effect.
Unit 1 • Stories of Change 9
Planning for Independent reading
aCTIvITy
1.3
Learning Targets
INdePeNdeNT
• Examine ways to choose a text for independent reading.
readING LINk
As you read, think like a writer • Set goals in an independent reading plan.
by noticing the way writers
create characters, construct Planning Independent Reading
plots, use details to create a
The focus of this unit is on narratives. In previewing Embedded Assessment 1, you
setting, include transitions
have seen that you will be writing your own narrative about a change in your life.
to move the story forward
Reading other types of narrative—a fictional novel, a memoir, a graphic novel, a
and indicate a change in time
biography, or a collection of short stories—will help you see how writers create
or place, and use dialogue
narratives. Think about these questions to help you choose books to read outside
to enhance the readers’
of class.
understanding of what is
happening. Use your Reader/
1. What have you enjoyed reading in the past? What is your favorite book or
Writer Notebook to create your
favorite type of book? Who is your favorite author?
reading plan and respond to
2. Preview the book you have selected: What do the front and back covers show
any questions, comments, or
you? What type of visual is shown? What types of fonts and colors are used? Are
reactions you might have to
there awards or brags that tell you about the book?
your reading. Your teacher
may ask questions about your 3. Read the first few pages. Are they interesting? How does the author try to
text, and making notes in your hook you to keep reading? What can you tell about the characters and setting
Reader/Writer Notebook will (location and time) so far? Does this seem too hard, too easy, or just right?
help you answer them.
Reading Discussion Groups
Your teacher will guide you in a book pass. Practice previewing each book, looking
at the covers and reading the first few pages.
my Notes
4. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, record each book’s title and author, something
from your previewing that stands out to you, and your rating of the book.
5. After previewing each book and thinking about the goals of this unit, do
you want to continue reading the book you brought to the group or choose
something else?
6. Create an Independent Reading Plan to help you set personal reading goals. d.
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Keep this plan in your Reader/Writer Notebook. erv
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I should finish this text by (date)
10 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6