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Lesson 11

We will analyze a portion of Anna Quindlen’s text to determine how she defines the national character. We will write an annotated bibliography of the article.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use a variety of strategies (e.g., context clues, word study, and vocabulary resources) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in “A Quilt of a Country”?

  • Can I write an objective summary of “A Quilt of a Country”?

  • Can I determine how Quindlen defines the national character through analyzing details in the text?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • “A Quilt of a Country,” Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 2001
    • “The 14th Amendment and the History of Birthright Citizenship in the U.S.,” Ari Shapiro and Martha Jones, National Public Radio, Inc., October 30, 2018

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will define Unknown vocabulary words using context clues or another strategy.

Scan the text for these words: tenuous, abet, fracture, coalesce.

Discuss the following questions with a partner:

  1. Is there enough context to determine the meaning of the word using the text alone?

  2. If so, what does the word mean?

  3. If there is not enough context, what other strategy, such as a dictionary or Google search, should I use to determine the meaning of the word?

Use that strategy and define the word. You might use the Vocabulary in Context Tool to assist you. Write the words and the definitions in your Vocabulary Journal.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will respond to the following question: what does this article tell us about what it means to be an American?

Reread Paragraphs 6 and 7 of “Quilt of a Country.”

Respond to the questions from “A Quilt of a Country,” Paragraphs 6 and 7 Handout in your Learning Log.

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will write an annotated bibliography of the text.

You are going to write an annotated bibliography that summarizes “A Quilt of a Country.” Read your teacher’s model annotated bibliography for “The 14th Amendment and the History of Birthright Citizenship in the U.S.,” and notice the relevant features: the citation in the beginning, the organization, and the length.

A summary is used to highlight the main points of a text. Summaries do not contain a lot of specific facts or trivial information, but they do detail the author’s main claims and important support for those claims. Summaries are written in the writer’s own words and are objective, that is, they provide the information from the text without agreement or disagreement from the summarizer. One of the most effective ways to summarize an informational text is to follow a summarization process.

Work with a partner or in a small group to summarize Anna Quindlen’s article. Make sure you do the following:

  • First, scan each paragraph, and identify the key ideas.

  • Next, answer this question: Who or what is this paragraph mainly about?

  • Finally, identify two to three important pieces of information linked to the “who” or “what.”

With a partner or in a small group, write two or three of Anna Quindlen’s main claims of the entire essay. Then, determine one to two key supports for each claim, but not minor details.

Use the notes you and your partner created to write your own annotated bibliography that summarizes “A Quilt of a Country.”