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Lesson 2

We will work in our research teams to continue reading, analyzing, and evaluating a common seed text from the Foundation Unit Pathway Texts. We will evaluate the credibility of the text, and reflect on how prepared we are for the Culminating Task.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I build an understanding of my pathway topic?

  • Can I work productively with my research team to evaluate the usefulness of research, as well as select relevant, accurate, and credible sources?

  • Can I write a concise, objective summary of the text?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • Foundation Unit Pathway Texts

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read a new pathway text, determine the central ideas, and discuss its relevance to our research.

Step 1

In your pathway groups, choose a new common text to read from the Foundation Unit Pathway Texts Handout.

Read and annotate the common text. As a group, complete a copy of the Attending to DetailsTool in response to the following question:

  1. What are the central ideas of the text?

Step 2

To begin assessing sources, review the Explore Source Usefulness subsection of the Foundation Unit Research and Presentation Guide.

As a group, discuss the relevance and richness of the text. Respond to the following questions:

  1. What information does the text provide on our pathway?

  2. How does the text help us respond to our inquiry questions or achieve our research goals?

  3. How extensive and supported is the information it provides?

  4. How does the information in the text relate to other texts?

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will evaluate the ideas presented in the new pathway text to determine its credibility.

Step 1

Your group will now determine the credibility of the text by using an Evaluating Ideas Tool to deepen your understanding of the text.

The Evaluating Ideas Tool supports and guides a process for evaluating a text, and it focuses on the author’s purpose, perspective, and credibility. It can help you think about and analyze relationships among details in the text, how those details suggest the author’s motivation for writing the text, and how the author views the topic. This tool focuses on a guiding question related to the author’s purpose or perspective and helps you make an observation or conclusion about the overall ideas, believability, and relevance of the text.

As a group, complete an Evaluating Ideas Tool in response to the following question:

  1. How do the author’s language choices indicate his or her perspective?

Step 2

As a team, discuss the following questions:

  1. How do we know this text is credible?

  2. How do we know it provides accurate, factual, and honest information?

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

We will reflect on the relevance of the pathway text and how prepared we are for the Culminating Task.

Step 1

As a team, discuss the following questions:

  1. How might we use this text in our presentation?

  2. What new inquiry questions emerged for us during this activity?

  3. How might the text cause us to change our inquiry?

Step 2

Respond to the following questions on your Culminating Task Progress Tracker with your group:

  1. Did we meet the goals we set at the beginning of the period? How do we know we met our goals? Provide evidence.

  2. How did we, individually, contribute to our group during this lesson?

  3. On a scale from one to four, how well do we understand _____ (the topic, our research, the texts we read during this lesson, the presentation plan)?