Overview

Lesson Procedure

55-65 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction15 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes
5. Closure5 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Project the prompt. The instructions were written for this page. Give students two minutes, with a ruler if they want to try it.

   Warm-Up Prompt

   Instructions: (1) Lay the ruler flat on the desk. (2) Spread your hand on it with the tip of your thumb at the 0 cm mark. (3) Read the ruler at the tip of your little finger, to the nearest half centimeter. (4) Do this three times and record the largest reading. Sam spread his hand three times, read 17 cm, 18 cm and 17.5 cm, and recorded their average, 17.5 cm. Which step did Sam not follow, and what should he have recorded?

   Take answers. Sam did steps 1-3 correctly, and his average is right, but step 4 says to record the largest reading, so his hand span is 18 cm. A sensible number is not the same as the number the procedure asks for. Name the skill: RST.6-8.3 asks students to follow precisely a multistep procedure. A procedure is a set of steps for doing a task; multistep means it has several steps that depend on each other; precisely means exactly as written, with nothing added, skipped or changed. The standard names three kinds of tasks: carrying out experiments, taking measurements and performing technical tasks (jobs done with tools or equipment, such as focusing a microscope).

2. Direct Instruction15 minutes

   Part 1: What to look for in a procedure. Keep this table up for the whole lesson. Tell students to read a procedure all the way through before starting, then to follow it one step at a time, checking the text after each step.

   The parts of a procedure

   Part	What it tells you	Example from today's passages
   Purpose and materials	What the procedure is for, and what you need before you start	"a ten-foot pole" (Passage 1, paragraph 1)
   Order words	Which step comes next: first, then, now, next, after	"Then mark the spot" (Passage 1, paragraph 4)
   Amounts and units	How much, how far, how long and how exact	"a hundred or more feet" (Passage 1, paragraph 4)
   Conditions	A step that applies only in some cases: if, when, unless	"If afternoon, one must reckon half-way backward" (Passage 2, paragraph 1)
   Cautions	What not to do, often with the reason	"never touch the coarse focus knob" (Passage 3, paragraph 5)
   Record and calculate	What to write down and how to work out the result	"20 : 10 :: 120 : x = 60" (Passage 1, paragraph 5)

   Part 2: Model with Passage 1. Ernest Thompson Seton was a naturalist and writer who helped found the Boy Scouts of America. The first Boy Scouts Handbook, printed in 1911, includes his instructions for measuring a tree without climbing it. Words to know: rule of three (an old name for finding a missing number when two ratios are equal; today we call it solving a proportion); 15 : 150 :: 10 : x (read "15 is to 150 as 10 is to x": the single colon means "is to" and the double colon means "as"); elevation (height); i.e. ("that is"); multiples (the numbers you get by multiplying, such as 12, 16 and 20 from 6, 8 and 10 times 2). "(A B, page 65)" points to a drawing in the 1911 book; Diagram 1 redraws it. Read the passage aloud once. Its seven paragraphs are numbered, and the two lines of numbers count as paragraphs 3 and 5.

   1The height of a tree is easily measured when on a level, open place, by measuring the length of its shadow, then comparing that with your own shadow, or that of a ten-foot pole.

   2Thus, the ten-foot pole is casting a fifteen-foot shadow, and the tree's shadow is one hundred and fifty feet long, apply the simple rule of three.

   315 : 150 :: 10 : x = 100

   4But it is seldom so easy, and the good old rule of the triangle can be safely counted on: Get a hundred or more feet from your tree, on open ground, as nearly as possible on the level of its base. Set up a ten-foot pole (A B, page 65). Then mark the spot where the exact line from the top of the tree over the top of the pole touches the ground (C). Now measure the distance from that spot (C) to the foot of the ten-foot pole (B); suppose it is twenty feet. Measure also the distance from that spot (C) to the base of the tree (D); suppose it is one hundred and twenty feet, then your problem is:

   520 : 10 :: 120 : x = 60

   6i.e., if at that angle twenty feet from the eye gives ten feet elevation, one hundred and twenty feet must give sixty.

   7To make a right angle, make a triangle whose sides are exactly six, eight, and ten feet or inches each (or multiples of these). The angle opposite the ten must be a true right angle.

   Work the examples aloud. For each, point to the words that give the step, then carry it out. Diagram 1 shows Example 2 to scale.

   • Carrying out a procedure with new numbers

     Use Seton's first method (paragraphs 1-3). A ten-foot pole casts a 4-foot shadow, and at the same moment a tree casts a 26-foot shadow. Set up the rule of three in Seton's order and find the height of the tree.

     Result: Seton writes the pole's shadow, the tree's shadow, the pole's height and the tree's height in that order: 4 : 26 :: 10 : x. The tree's shadow is 26 ÷ 4 = 6.5 times as long as the pole's, so the tree is 6.5 × 10 = 65 feet tall. The passage leaves one step unstated: the two shadows must be measured within a few minutes of each other, because shadows change length as the sun moves. When a procedure seems to skip a step, write the step down and check it with the teacher; do not quietly change the procedure.

   • Putting the steps in order

     List the steps of Seton's second method (paragraph 4) in order, then check his answer in paragraph 5.

     Result: (1) Stand a hundred or more feet from the tree, on open ground about as high as its base. (2) Set up the ten-foot pole, A B. (3) Sight from the ground over the top of the pole to the top of the tree and mark the spot, C, where that line touches the ground. (4) Measure from C to B, the foot of the pole: 20 feet. (5) Measure from C to D, the base of the tree: 120 feet. (6) Solve 20 : 10 :: 120 : x. Every 20 feet from C gives 10 feet of height, so 120 feet gives 120 ÷ 20 × 10 = 60 feet. Both distances start at C, not at the pole.

   • Applying a condition in the text

     Paragraph 7 allows "multiples" of six, eight and ten. A student wants to mark a right angle with a tape measure in centimeters and has room for sides of about 30-50 cm. Which lengths follow the rule, and which corner is the right angle?

     Result: Multiply all three numbers by the same number, 5: 30 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm. The right angle is the corner "opposite the ten," here opposite the 50 cm side, where the 30 cm and 40 cm sides meet. Lengths of 30, 40 and 60 cm would not follow the rule, because only two of the numbers were multiplied by 5. (Grade 8 students can check the corner with the Pythagorean theorem: 30² + 40² = 900 + 1,600 = 2,500 = 50²; this check is beyond this standard.)

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Pairs read Passage 2, Seton's instructions for using a watch as a compass. Words to know: compass point (a direction, such as north or south); hour-hand (the short hand of a clock); reckon (count); due south (exactly south); course (path); rational timepiece (a sensible clock); dial (the face of a watch). Safety: never look straight at the sun. In class, stand a pencil upright at the tip of the hour hand and turn the watch until the pencil's shadow falls along the hand, toward the center: the hand then points at the sun.

   1The watch is often used to give the compass point exactly. Thus: Point the hour-hand to the sun; then, in the morning, half-way between the hour-hand and noon is due south. If afternoon, one must reckon half-way backward.

   2Thus: at 8 A. M., point the hour-hand to the sun and reckon forward half-way to noon; the south is at 10. If at 4 P. M., point the hour-hand at the sun and reckon back half-way. The south is at two o'clock.

   3The "half-way" is because the sun makes a course of twenty-four hours and the clock of but twelve. If we had a rational timepiece of twenty-four hours, it would fit in much better with all nature, and with the hour-hand pointed to the sun would make 12 o'clock, noon, always south.

   4If you cannot see the sun, get into a clear, open space, hold your knife point upright on your watch dial, and it will cast a faint shadow, showing where the sun really is, unless the clouds are very heavy.

   Pairs work the example on paper, with a clock face drawn on scrap paper, before you show the answer. Diagram 2 shows Seton's own example from paragraph 2.

   • A procedure that changes with the time of day

     It is 9 A.M. by standard time. Follow Passage 2 to find south, naming the paragraph for each step.

     Result: Paragraph 1: point the hour hand at the sun. It is morning, so "half-way between the hour-hand and noon is due south." The hour hand is at 9 and noon is at 12, which is 3 hours of the dial, so halfway is 1.5 hours past 9: the point halfway between the 10 and the 11 (10:30). A line from the center of the watch through that point points south. Paragraph 2 shows the same steps for 8 A.M.

   Debrief with two questions: Which word in paragraph 1 changes the procedure, and what does it change? Which paragraph explains why you count only half-way? ("Afternoon" reverses the direction of counting; paragraph 3 gives the reason.) Then hand out Passage 3 for Activity 2. Words to know: eyepiece (the lens you look through), objective lens (one of the lenses just above the slide; 4× means it makes things look 4 times as wide), nosepiece (the turning part that holds the objectives), stage (the flat platform for the slide), stage clips, coarse focus knob (the large knob, which moves the stage a lot) and fine focus knob (the small knob, which moves it a little), total magnification (how many times wider the image looks than the real object).

   1Purpose and materials. This procedure brings a prepared slide into sharp focus with each objective lens without damaging the slide or the lens. You need a compound microscope with a 10× eyepiece and 4×, 10× and 40× objective lenses, a prepared slide of the letter "e," lens paper, a pencil and your record sheet.

   2Carry and set up. Carry the microscope with two hands, one on the arm and one under the base. Set it on the table at least 10 cm from the edge, with the arm toward you. Plug in the cord and switch on the light. Clean the eyepiece and the objective lenses only with lens paper, never with a paper towel or your sleeve.

   3Start at low power. Turn the nosepiece until the 4× objective clicks into place. Put the slide on the stage with the "e" over the hole, and hold it down with the stage clips. Then, looking from the side and not through the eyepiece, turn the coarse focus knob to move the stage up until it stops or the slide is almost touching the objective.

   4Focus. Now look through the eyepiece and turn the coarse focus knob slowly the other way, so the stage moves down and away from the objective, until the "e" appears. Turn the fine focus knob until the edges of the letter are sharp. If you see nothing at all, check that the "e" is over the light and go back to the start of paragraph 3.

   5Higher power. Move the slide until the "e" is in the center of the view. Turn the nosepiece to the 10× objective and use only the fine focus knob to sharpen the image. Repeat with the 40× objective. Once the 40× objective is in place, never touch the coarse focus knob: when it is in focus, this lens sits less than a millimeter above the slide and can crack it. If you lose the image at 40×, go back to the 10× objective, find the "e" again and switch up once more.

   6Record and put away. For each objective, sketch what you see inside a circle 4 cm across and write the total magnification beside it: the eyepiece power times the objective power. When you finish, turn back to the 4× objective, lower the stage all the way, remove the slide, switch off the light and wrap the cord loosely around the base.

4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes

   Students read Passages 4 and 5 on their own and answer quiz questions 1-20 with all the passages open. Passage 4 is a ramp procedure written for this page. Passage 5 is an invented log kept by a student named Jordan while doing it. Words to know: trial (one run of the test), void (not counted), end line and start line (the two tape marks defined in paragraph 2 of Passage 4), average (the total divided by the number of values).

   1Purpose and materials. This procedure measures how far a toy car rolls across a carpeted floor after it leaves a ramp, for ramp heights of 10 cm, 20 cm and 30 cm. You need one toy car, a smooth board 1 m long, a stack of books, a meter stick, a tape measure, masking tape and the data table.

   2Set up. Lay the board on the carpet and rest one end on the books. Hold the meter stick straight up from the floor beside the raised end, and add or remove books until the top of the board is 10 cm above the floor. Put a strip of masking tape across the carpet where the lower end of the board touches it; this is the end line. Put a second strip across the board 5 cm below its top edge; this is the start line.

   3Release. Place the car on the board, facing downhill, with its back wheels on the start line. Let go without pushing. If the car does not roll, check that nothing is caught in its wheels and release it again.

   4Measure. When the car stops, measure along the floor from the end line to the back of the car, to the nearest centimeter. If the car hits anything before it stops, or rolls off the carpet, the trial is void: write "void" in the table and repeat the trial.

   5Repeat. Carry out paragraphs 3 and 4 until you have three trials that count at this height. Then raise the board to 20 cm and then to 30 cm, measuring each height as in paragraph 2, and carry out paragraphs 3 and 4 again at each new height. Use the same car, the same board and the same patch of carpet for every trial.

   6Record. For each height, add the three distances that count and divide by 3. Round this average to the nearest centimeter and write it in the last column of the table. Leave void trials out of the average.

   1Setup. We used my red toy car and the 1 m board from the science closet, on the carpet by the reading corner. I stacked books until the pile was exactly 10 cm tall, checked it with the meter stick, and then set the end of the board on top of the pile. We taped the end line and the start line as the procedure says.

   210 cm height. Trial 1: 64 cm. Trial 2: 71 cm (the car bumped the leg of a chair and stopped there). Trial 3: 60 cm. Trial 4: 62 cm. I used trials 1, 2 and 3 for the average, because they came first.

   320 cm height. On trial 1 the car stuck at the start line, so Ava gave it a tiny push: 131 cm. Trial 2: 118 cm. On trial 3 I measured to the front of the car, because the front bumper was easier to see: 122 cm.

   430 cm height. We set this height with the meter stick held straight up from the floor to the top of the board. Trial 1: 166 cm. Trial 2: 171 cm. Trial 3: 169 cm. Nothing went wrong.

   5Averages. 10 cm: 65 cm. 20 cm: 124 cm. 30 cm: 169 cm. The car rolled farther every time the ramp was higher.

5. Closure5 minutes

   Exit ticket: "Choose one step from any procedure today that would be easy to skip or change. Quote it with its passage and paragraph, and write one sentence about what would go wrong in the result if someone skipped it." Sort the tickets into "names a step and a real effect," "names a step only" and "general advice" (for example "be careful") to plan the next lesson.

   Teacher note on the science, safety and language. Seton's tree methods are sound geometry for level ground. The watch method is only approximate: it works in the Northern Hemisphere, it assumes standard time (during daylight saving time, first set the time back one hour in your head), and it can be far off near midday in summer and closer to the equator. Seton's "exactly" in paragraph 1 of Passage 2 promises more than the method gives. The 1911 book was written for boys; the procedures work for everyone. For safety, students never look straight at the sun, use a pencil in place of the "knife point" in paragraph 4, and use a meter stick in place of a ten-foot pole. The words "reckon" and "rational timepiece" are older English, kept exactly as printed.

   Homework passage. The homework uses Passage 6, a heart rate procedure written for this page. Words to know: pulse (the beat of your heart that you can feel in an artery near the skin), index and middle fingers (the first and second fingers next to the thumb), beats per minute (bpm) (the number of heartbeats in one minute), resting heart rate (your heart rate after sitting quietly).

   1Purpose and materials. This procedure measures your resting heart rate and your heart rate right after one minute of marching in place. You need a partner, a clock or timer that shows seconds, a pencil and the data table. Safety: if you have a heart or breathing condition, or you feel dizzy at any point, do not do the marching part; measure your resting rate only.

   2Rest. Sit quietly for 3 minutes before the first count. Do not talk during this time.

   3Find your pulse. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the inside of your wrist, just below the base of your thumb, and press lightly. Do not use your thumb to feel the pulse: it has a pulse of its own, which can be mixed up with the one you are counting.

   4Count. When your partner says "start," count each beat you feel; the first beat after "start" is one. Stop when your partner says "stop," 30 seconds later. Multiply your count by 2 to get your heart rate in beats per minute (bpm), and record it.

   5Repeat. Take two more resting counts, with 1 minute of quiet sitting between counts. If any two of your three resting rates differ by more than 10 bpm, rest for 3 more minutes and take all three counts again. Your resting heart rate is the average of the three rates, rounded to the nearest whole number.

   6After marching. March in place, lifting your knees to hip height, for exactly 1 minute. Sit down and start a count within 10 seconds of stopping. Take one 30-second count only, because your heart rate falls quickly as you rest. Multiply by 2 and record it as your "after marching" rate.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Passage 4, where is the car placed at the start of every trial?

   AWith its front wheels on the start line, facing uphill BAt the very top edge of the board, facing downhill CWith its back wheels on the start line, facing downhill DOn the end line, with its back wheels touching the board

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   How many trials that count does Passage 4 ask for in the whole experiment?

   A3 B6 C12 D9

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A group's trials at 20 cm are 117 cm, void, 125 cm and 121 cm. Following paragraph 6 of Passage 4, what average should they write?

   A363 cm B121 cm C125 cm D90.75 cm

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which change during the experiment does Passage 4 allow?

   ARaising the board from 10 cm to 20 cm after three trials that count BSwitching to a faster car for the 30 cm height, so the results are easier to see CMoving the board to a smoother part of the floor when the carpet slows the car DUsing a longer board at 30 cm so the car has more room to speed up

5. Question 5 of 20 · Short Answer

   List, in order, what you do at the 20 cm height in Passage 4, from the moment you let go of the car until you have finished with that height. Name the paragraph for each step, and include what you do if a trial goes wrong.

   Show model answer

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   How did Jordan's setup in paragraph 1 of Passage 5 differ from paragraph 2 of Passage 4?

   AJordan used a car from home, and the procedure asks for a class car BJordan put the start line 10 cm below the top of the board instead of 5 cm CJordan laid the board on the floor by the reading corner DJordan made the pile of books 10 cm tall, not the top of the board

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which 10 cm trial in Jordan's log should have been marked void?

   ATrial 1, 64 cm BTrial 2, 71 cm CTrial 3, 60 cm DTrial 4, 62 cm

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Using only the trial distances in paragraph 2 of Passage 5, what 10 cm average should Jordan have reported under Passage 4?

   A62 cm B65 cm C64.25 cm D186 cm

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which two of Jordan's 20 cm trials break Passage 4?

   ATrials 2 and 3, because they are shorter than trial 1 and do not fit the pattern BTrial 1 only, because the push broke paragraph 3 and trial 3 was measured correctly CTrial 1, because of the push, and trial 3, because of where it was measured DTrial 3 only, because the car needed a push to start and so could not count

10. Question 10 of 20 · Short Answer

    Rewrite the 20 cm section of Jordan's log so that it follows Passage 4. Say which trials must be run again, and explain why none of them can be fixed afterward with a tape measure.

    Show model answer

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Jordan's 30 cm average is 169 cm. Does it follow Passage 4?

    ANo: it should be 168 cm, because averages are always rounded down to a whole number BYes: 166 + 171 + 169 = 506, and 506 ÷ 3 ≈ 168.7, which rounds to 169 CNo: it should be 506 cm, the total of the three trials that count at 30 cm DNo: the largest trial, 171 cm, is the one to report for each height

12. Question 12 of 20 · Short Answer

    Jordan's teacher says the 10 cm and 30 cm results cannot be compared fairly, even after the void trial is fixed. Use paragraph 1 and paragraph 4 of Passage 5 and paragraph 2 of Passage 4 to explain why, and say what Jordan must do.

    Show model answer

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Follow Seton's first method (Passage 1, paragraphs 1-3). A ten-foot pole casts a 12-foot shadow, and at the same time a flagpole casts a 54-foot shadow. How tall is the flagpole?

    A64.8 feet B52 feet C45 feet D540 feet

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A scout follows Seton's second method (Passage 1, paragraph 4) with a ten-foot pole. From spot C, the foot of the pole (B) is 25 feet away and the base of the tree (D) is 140 feet away. How tall is the tree?

    A46 feet B350 feet C14 feet D56 feet

15. Question 15 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    It is 2 P.M. by standard time. Following Passage 2, which number on the dial points due south once the hour hand points at the sun?

    AThe 1 BThe 7 CThe 12 DThe 2

16. Question 16 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    The sky is cloudy, but not heavily. What does Passage 2 tell a scout to do to use the watch method?

    AWait until the clouds pass, since the method needs direct sunlight on the hour hand BStand in a clear, open space and hold a point upright on the dial to see its faint shadow CPoint the 12 at the brightest part of the sky and read south from the hour hand instead DUse the method only before noon, when the shadow on the dial is sharper and easier to see

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    It is 3 P.M. by standard time. Carry out Passage 2 step by step to find south, naming the paragraph for each step.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A student is using the 40× objective and can no longer find the "e" in the view. What does Passage 3 tell her to do?

    ATurn the coarse focus knob slowly until the "e" comes back into view BGo back to the start of paragraph 3 and begin again at 4× CKeep the 40× objective in place and slide the "e" slowly back and forth DGo back to the 10× objective, find the "e" and switch up again

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    A student uses a tape measure marked in inches and marks a triangle with sides of 18, 24 and 30 inches. Does this follow the right-angle rule in paragraph 7 of Passage 1? Which corner is the right angle?

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Follow paragraph 6 of Passage 3. What total magnification should the record sheet show beside each of the three sketches? Show how you found each one.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to RST.6-8.3: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.