Functional Texts

1. Learning from Tragedies Unit Title: Major Work: The Big Waveby Pearl S. Buck Functional Texts Informational Texts Literary Text Gelman, Rita Golden, Mount St. Helens, The Big Blast Billings, Billings and Dramer, Critical Reading Series: Disasters Billings, Billings and Dramer, Critical Reading Series: Calamities Planet Earth: Continents in Collision Time Life Books Planet Earth: Earthquake, Time Life Books Planet Earth: Volcano Time Life Books A simply written explanation of the grief process. Buck, Pearl S., The Big Wave Blank, Joseph P., “The Town That Disappeared,” Reader’s Digest, August, 1989 Claiborne, Robert, “Can There Be a Good Forest Fire?” Reader’s Digest, October, 1972 Henley, William E., England, My England “A Treasury of the Familiar” London, Jack, “The Story of an Eyewitness,” Adventures for Readers, Book One Payne, John H., “Home, Sweet Home!”, Voices of America Science text illustrations of faults. Map showing placement of volcanoes. Timetables indicating frequency of natural disasters.

2. Identify Desired Results Disasters and catastrophes will unpredictably occur; however, positive outcomes can happen. Life is stronger than death. What the scientific basis is for earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. What one should do in the face of disaster and its aftermath. What positive outcomes can result from tragedy? In order to survive, what must I know and do? How are the people around you important in critical situations? Why do groups of people remain living in places where disasters commonly occur? That families and communities are important, especially in critical situations. The scientific basis for earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Some of the skills necessary to survive. That grief is a process toward healing. What the earthquake hazards of living in Utah are, and ways to enhance survival chances. How to write a paragraph composed spatially, chronologically, and by order of importance. How to write an essay. What positive results can come from tragedies? What is the scientific basis for earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis? How are the people around you important to your survival? Why do groups of people remain living in hazardous places?

3. Presentation of personal heritage connections - collage Answering chapter questions Literary response journals Group survival campaign project Quizzes on readings Essay on importance of family and community to survival Writing paragraphs Other Evidence, e.g., Observations Work Samples, Dialogues Student Self-Assessment Self-assessment guides on each written work and project Group evaluation on collaboration and finished project Class Discussions

4. Plan Learning Experience and Instruction Students will be able to: Students will need to know: Use a graphic organizer to find main and subordinate ideas and supporting details.Write a paragraph with a topic sentence and use spatial, chronological, and order of importance methods of sequencing information (also in an essay). Use KWL, predicting, strategic reading, and post-reading synthesis. Present a collage showing self and heritage to class. Also, create a campaign to teach younger children about disaster preparation. How to take notes while viewing and listening. How to write a paragraph and an essay. Reading strategies for before, during, and after reading. How to make a presentation. Using KWL before investigating the scientific basis for earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Preparing questions to interview parent/grandparent/adult from same cultural background, and use that information in presenting self and heritage to class. Teaching paragraph structure. Teaching essay structure. Teaching methods for taking notes. Working on word choice and organization in writing through creating word banks and composing poetry, paragraphs, and an essay. Giving a presentation of self to class and working with a group creating a campaign to teach younger children about disaster preparation.

5. Cross-Curricular Connections What are they learning in Science? What are they learning in language arts? Biology Cell structure -Genes -Ecology -Plant life -Animal life Geology -Land structure -Types of rocks Earth structuring -Tectonic plates -Continental drift theory -Effects of volcanoes and earthquakes on earth structure and ecology Sociology -Family heritage -Adoption -Death -Occupations Land structures Rocks Ecology

6. Reading informative texts. Reading narrative texts. Reading functional texts. Using pre-reading strategies: KWL, anticipation guides. During reading strategies: strategic questioning, literature response journal. Post-reading strategies: writing paragraphs, writing an essay, and giving two presentations. Demonstrate and help students with their interviewing process to do a presentation of themselves and their heritages. Prepare a campaign in groups for the purpose of teaching younger children. View videos on volcanoes and earthquakes while using note -taking guides. Summarize the main ideas presented in the video in journals. Core Curriculum Journal entries. Descriptive paragraphs – using spatial, chronological and order of importance methods. Essay on the importance of families and communities. Creating poetry from word banks. Through note-taking guides and graphic organizers, students will demonstrate that careful listening has occurred. Presentation of self and heritage to class with the help of a collage. Possibly in the group – presentation on survival preparedness. Class discussions.

7. An EXPOSITORY Writing Assignment With a Six Trait Component Writing poems about volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis (paying particular attention to word choice). Writing an essay about the importance of family and community. Prompt: Reading about the subject. Watching videos portraying the subject. Creating word lists. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reading about the subject. Journal writing. Viewing photographs. Peer and self-assessment of poems. Reading poems and comparing positive and negative aspects. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Presenting guidelines for revision. Peer assessment paying attention to organization and word choice. Adult assessment other than teacher. Writing phrases using word banks. Writing poems. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Composing thesis – listing supporting criteria. Organizing paragraphs. Summarizing.

8. Strand: Word Choice Class creates lists of words that describe earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Divide lists into categories of adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. Students may use thesauruses to build the lists. Lists are posted on a bulletin board. Students pair descriptive and active words to create an image. Discuss the use of “dead” words and the avoidance of using them. Students use words and phrases to create poems. Present the 1-5 point rating scale (1994 Spandel and Culham) to students to rate their writing. In small groups, students read each other’s poems. At the suggestions of the students in the groups, the author circles unnaturally forced and dead words. Students rewrite their poems. Members of groups rate the poems for word choice using the 1-5 scale. The best poem of each group is presented to the class.

9. Detailed Revision of Activity Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, or Sentence Fluency (Choose One) Presenting Personal demonstration of student’s family connections and heritage and how they have been important to their survival and success in life. Students compose lists of questions for interviewing parent/grandparent/significant adult in their lives about heritage and cultural background. Students conduct the interview (encourage the use of audiotapes and videotapes). Students create a poster collage connecting themselves to their heritage. Students show and explain their collages to the class. Posters are displayed along with student’s photos where available. ___________________________________________________________________ Group campaign for teaching survival preparedness to younger children. Group lists important criteria about subject – what to know about a disaster and how to survive it. Group makes up a skit, composes a song/chant/rap, and makes a poster. Group presents it for the class (if connections can be established, presentations may be made to local elementary schools). Trait:

10. Reading Activity to Teach Text Structure Other Than Narrative Text Type: Using an overhead, show a series of graphs and diagrams to students. Point out the use of color, symbols, arrows, and other devices used to facilitate understanding. Have students discuss the meaning of each one. Also using the overhead, show transparencies of photographs and pictures. Have students make guesses about the subject mater. After they think they have the message figured out, show author/artist/photographer information. Compare student’s assumptions with reality. Help the students make the leap to understanding that the overheads exercise is similar to their Science, Social Studies, and other texts.