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Section 5: Overview

Culminating Task

We will write an expository essay that evaluates which text is the most compelling in relating the story of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells. We will begin by completing a few quick-writes and gathering notes from our Author Craft Note-Taking Tool and other material from the unit. We will complete rough drafts, read peers’ essays, revise and proofread our drafts, then complete final drafts for publication.

  • Lesson 1:

    We deconstruct the Culminating Task by reviewing and unpacking the prompt. We use guiding questions and our Author Craft Note-Taking Tools to determine which text we will use as the comparison piece in our Culminating Task.

  • Lesson 2:

    We begin planning and drafting the rough draft for the Culminating Task.

  • Lesson 3:

    We will complete a draft of the interior paragraphs and get feedback from a partner. We will then complete a draft of the concluding paragraph and print a copy of our draft as homework to prepare for a class read activity.

  • Lesson 4:

    We will trade drafts with a partner to obtain and provide feedback for how we can improve our writing. We will use the feedback to revise our essays.

  • Lesson 5:

    We will work with a partner to review our essays for grammar and clarity. We will use our partner’s feedback to make final edits to our work.

  • Lesson 6:

    We will finish the unit by engaging in a whole-class discussion about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. We also will discuss Culminating Task topics that relate to the unit and identify possible pathways to explore for the Application Unit.

  • Lesson 7:

    In a culminating activity, we share the knowledge we have gained and the connections we have made by reading our independent reading texts.