Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-65 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes
5. Closure5 minutes

1. Warm-Up5 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "How did you find out what the weather would be today? Did you see it (a picture or map), read numbers, or hear someone say it? What did that source tell you that another kind would not?"

   Sort the answers on the board into three columns: saw it (visual), numbers (quantitative) and heard it (oral). Point out that a weather app often uses all three: a map, a temperature and a spoken or written forecast. SL.6.2 asks students to interpret each kind and say what it adds.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Part 1: Three formats, three sets of questions. Give students the table below to keep. Explain that an issue is a question that people can disagree about, and a topic is a subject the class is studying. Information contributes to an issue when it adds a fact, a reason or a problem that helps answer the question.

   Questions for interpreting each format

   Format	Examples	Questions to ask
   Visual	Map, diagram, photo, poster	What is shown, and where? What do the labels, key and scale tell me?
   Quantitative	Table, bar graph, survey results	What is largest or smallest? What is the total? What changes, and by how much?
   Oral	Interview, speech, announcement, podcast	What is the main point? What does the speaker repeat or stress? Where does the speaker pause or change tone?
   Any format	All of the above	What does this add to the issue that the other sources do not?

   Part 2: The issue. The Pinecrest student council (invented) wants a vegetable garden in the empty lot behind the gym. The class question is: Should the school plant the garden, and if so, where? Show Diagram 1, a map drawn to scale that the science club made. It shows four possible plots (A-D), the average hours of direct sun each plot got in May, and each plot's distance from the only faucet. A common garden guideline is that most vegetables need at least 6 hours of direct sun a day. Then show Table 1, the club's survey.

   Table 1: Garden survey of Pinecrest students (invented data)

   Grade	Students asked	Would help during the school year	Could help in July
   Grade 6	120	64	11
   Grade 7	115	41	8
   Grade 8	110	23	5
   Total	345	128	24

   • Interpreting a visual source: the map (Diagram 1)

     Which plots on the map get at least 6 hours of direct sun a day, and why do the others get less?

     Result: Plots A (8 hours) and B (7 hours) meet the 6-hour guideline. Plot C (3 hours) sits next to the gym, whose shadow falls on it in the afternoon, and Plot D (4 hours) has trees on its south side. Contribution: the map narrows the issue from four plots to two.

   • Interpreting a quantitative source: the school year (Table 1)

     How many students would help during the school year, and which grade is most interested?

     Result: 64 + 41 + 23 = 128 of the 345 students asked, about 37%, would help during the school year. Grade 6 shows the most interest: 64 of 120, about 53%, compared with about 36% in grade 7 and about 21% in grade 8. Contribution: the survey shows the garden would have enough helpers from September to June.

   • Interpreting a quantitative source: the summer (Table 1)

     What does the last column of Table 1 show?

     Result: Only 11 + 8 + 5 = 24 students, about 7% of those asked, could help in July. Contribution: the same table that supports the garden also raises a problem, because vegetables need water all summer.

   • Reading a map's numbers and scale (Diagram 1)

     How far is each sunny plot from the faucet, and how can you check the labels with the scale bar?

     Result: Plot A is 40 m from the faucet and Plot B is 26 m, so B is 14 m closer. The scale bar shows 10 m, and Plot A's center is 4 scale bars from the faucet while B's is a little more than 2.5. Contribution: the map shows that the two sunny plots are not equally easy to water.

   Stop here and ask: "What do we still not know?" Students usually notice that nothing so far says how the garden would be watered. The next source, an interview, answers that.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Pairs read the transcript of a morning-news interview with the school's head custodian (written for this page). Because it was spoken, it includes notes such as [pause] and [laughs], and italics show words the speaker stressed. One partner reads Ava's part and the other reads Mr. Ortiz's. Then pairs answer the debrief questions with the map and Table 1 open.

   1Ava (student reporter): Good morning, Pinecrest! The student council wants to turn the empty lot behind the gym into a vegetable garden. Today we asked our head custodian, Mr. Ortiz, what he thinks. Mr. Ortiz, is the lot a good place for a garden?

   2Mr. Ortiz: It could be. [pause] It could be. The far side of the lot gets plenty of sun. But close to the building, the gym's shadow covers the ground most of the afternoon.

   3Ava: The science club measured the sun out there in May. Did anything surprise you?

   4Mr. Ortiz: [laughs] Not really. I've been mowing that lot for eleven years. I know where the grass stays wet. What I want everyone to think about is water. There's one faucet out there, on the gym wall. Our longest hose is thirty meters. Thirty. So a garden at the far end of the lot won't get a hose.

   5Ava: Could students carry watering cans?

   6Mr. Ortiz: During the school year, sure. A full watering can is heavy, though, and the far corner is a long walk. The real problem is summer. School is closed in July, and I'm here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I can water twice a week. Twice a week, not every day.

   7Ava: So what would you tell the student council?

   8Mr. Ortiz: Put the beds where the hose reaches and where the sun reaches. If you can find a spot with both, I'll be glad to help. [pause] And plant tough things, like squash and beans.

   9Ava: Thank you, Mr. Ortiz. That's the Pinecrest Morning News.

   Debrief with three questions. (1) What does Mr. Ortiz repeat or stress, and why? He says "It could be" twice (paragraph 2), which sounds careful, not excited. He stresses Thirty (paragraph 4) and "Twice a week, not every day" (paragraph 6), which marks the two limits he cares about: the hose length and summer watering. (2) What does the interview add that the map and table did not? The hose is 30 meters long, he can water only on Tuesdays and Thursdays in July, and he has watched the lot for eleven years. (3) Put all three sources together. Which plot fits? Plot B: it gets 7 hours of sun (map) and is 26 m from the faucet, inside the hose's 30 m reach, while Plot A (40 m) is out of reach and Plots C and D are too shady. Because few students can help in July (Table 1), a spot Mr. Ortiz can reach with the hose on his two days matters.

4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes

   Students work alone on a new, invented topic from a science unit: how heavy rain turns into a flood. On one rainy morning, Miller Creek rose over the walking path in Alder Park. Students study three sources: Table 2 (rain measured each hour), Diagram 2 (a bar chart of the creek's height at the footbridge gauge each hour) and the transcript of a radio interview with a park ranger, broadcast at 1:15 p.m. A gauge is a measuring post or instrument. Then they answer quiz questions 1-10 about these sources and questions 11-20 about new situations.

   Table 2: Rain measured at the Alder Park rain gauge (invented data)

   Hour	Rain (mm)
   6-7 a.m.	2
   7-8 a.m.	6
   8-9 a.m.	14
   9-10 a.m.	18
   10-11 a.m.	9
   11 a.m.-12 noon	3
   12 noon-1 p.m.	0
   1-2 p.m.	0

   1Sam Lee (host): This is the one-fifteen news. Heavy rain this morning sent Miller Creek over the walking path in Alder Park. Ranger Dana Whitfield is at the footbridge. Ranger Whitfield, what are you seeing?

   2Ranger Whitfield: The creek is still over the path here, even though the rain stopped more than an hour ago. I know that surprises people. [pause] Rain that falls on the hills around the park takes a few hours to run down into the creek. So the creek keeps rising after the heaviest rain is over.

   3Sam Lee: When did you close the path?

   4Ranger Whitfield: At about ten-thirty, when the water reached it. The water under the footbridge is fast and muddy, so you can't see how deep it is.

   5Sam Lee: What should people do?

   6Ranger Whitfield: Stay off the path. Please do not walk or bike through moving water. I'll say it again: do not walk or bike through moving water, even if it looks shallow. Moving water can knock a person off their feet.

   7Sam Lee: When will the path open again?

   8Ranger Whitfield: If the rain holds off, the creek should drop below the path by about two o'clock. [pause] After that, we check the path for mud and fallen branches before we open it. So, probably not before tomorrow morning.

   9Sam Lee: Ranger Dana Whitfield at Alder Park. Thank you.

5. Closure5 minutes

   Exit ticket: "Name one thing the radio interview told you about Miller Creek that the table and chart could not, and one thing the chart told you that the interview did not." Read a few aloud and point out how each format fills a different gap.

   Teacher note. The people, places and data in this lesson are invented for teaching, and each table, chart and transcript says so. Two things are real: the common garden guideline that most vegetables need at least 6 hours of direct sun a day, and the ranger's safety advice, which matches the National Weather Service's "Turn Around, Don't Drown" warning that even shallow moving water can knock a person down. It is sound advice to repeat with students.

   Homework. Tonight students gather three sources in three formats about a topic from another class and explain what each one adds. Show them the directions and rubric before they leave.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Table 2, during which hour did the most rain fall at Alder Park?

   A8-9 a.m. B10-11 a.m. C9-10 a.m. D11 a.m.-12 noon

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Table 2, how much rain fell in all that morning?

   A52 mm B18 mm C43 mm D32 mm

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Diagram 2, when was Miller Creek highest, and how high was it?

   AAt 10 a.m., 1.3 m BAt 11 a.m., 1.7 m CAt 1 p.m., 1.6 m DAt 12 noon, 1.8 m

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The heaviest hour of rain ended at 10 a.m. (Table 2). How many hours later did the creek reach its highest reading (Diagram 2)?

   A1 hour B2 hours C3 hours D6 hours

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 6 of the radio interview, what does the ranger stress most?

   ANot walking or biking through moving water BThe exact time in the morning when the path was closed CChecking the path for fallen branches DHow deep the water under the bridge is

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The ranger says she closed the path "at about ten-thirty, when the water reached it" (paragraph 4). How does Diagram 2 fit with this?

   AThe creek was above 1.5 m at 10 a.m., so she closed the path too late BThe creek never reached the 1.5 m line, so the path was never under water CThe creek read 1.3 m at 10 and 1.7 m at 11, so it passed 1.5 m in between DThe creek reached the path at 12 noon, so she closed it well before then

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What does the radio interview contribute to the topic "how heavy rain turns into a flood" that Table 2 and Diagram 2 do not?

   AThe exact amount of rain that fell during each hour BThe height of the creek at the footbridge on each hour CA promise that more rain will fall on the park later tonight DA reason the creek keeps rising after the heaviest rain

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   How does Table 2 contribute to the topic "how heavy rain turns into a flood"?

   AIt shows how high the creek rose at the footbridge during each hour BIt shows when the rain was heaviest, to compare with the creek CIt explains why the path stays closed until the next day DIt shows the height at which water covers the creek path

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A classmate says, "The creek started going down as soon as the heaviest hour of rain ended." Which evidence shows that this is wrong?

   ALess rain fell from 10 to 11 a.m., yet the creek rose from 1.3 m to 1.7 m BThe ranger says the rain stopped more than an hour before the broadcast CTable 2 shows that no rain at all fell at Alder Park after 12 noon that day DDiagram 2 shows that the creek read 0.4 m at both 6 and 7 a.m.

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    At 1:15 p.m. the ranger predicts the creek "should drop below the path by about two o'clock" (paragraph 8). Does Diagram 2 agree?

    ANo, because the creek is at its very highest point of the day at 2 p.m. BNo, because the 2 p.m. bar is still above the dashed line CYes, because the 2 p.m. reading, 1.3 m, is below the 1.5 m line DYes, because the creek was already below the line at 1 p.m.

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A science video shows a map of a storm's path while the narrator says, "The storm is moving east at 20 kilometers per hour." Which description of the formats is correct?

    AThe map is oral, the narrator's words are visual, and the speed is only a picture BEverything in a video counts as one visual format, so there is nothing else CThe map is quantitative, and the narrator's words are also quantitative DThe map is visual, the narrator's words are oral, and the speed is quantitative

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Your class is reading a novel in which a family is snowed in for a week. The teacher shows a photograph of a farmhouse with snow up to its windows. How does the photo contribute to the text under study?

    AIt proves that the events of the novel really happened BIt helps readers picture how cut off the family would be CIt tells readers exactly how the novel's whole story will end DIt gives the exact number of days the family is trapped

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A library chart shows books checked out: September 240, October 310, November 290. Which interpretation is accurate?

    ANovember had the most checkouts of the three months BCheckouts went up every month from September to November COctober had 20 fewer checkouts than November did DOctober had the most checkouts, 70 more than September

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Over the loudspeaker, the principal says: "The field trip is on Friday. [pause] If the buses are fixed." Which interpretation of this oral message is best?

    AThe trip will certainly happen on Friday, no matter what BThe trip depends on the buses, and stressing "if" warns it may not happen CThe pause shows that the principal forgot what to say next and had to stop DThe trip has already been canceled because of the buses

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Using Table 2 and Diagram 2, write two sentences that describe what happened between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Use at least one number from each source.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    In two or three sentences, explain how the radio interview contributes to the topic "how heavy rain turns into a flood." Name one thing it adds about what the flooded creek was like, and quote the words that show it.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Explain what the dashed red line on Diagram 2 shows. Then say how many hourly readings are above it and how the line helps a reader understand the topic.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    If you could keep only one of the three Miller Creek sources (Table 2, Diagram 2 or the radio interview), which would you keep? Explain what it contributes and what would be lost without the other two.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    A social studies class is studying how the town of Elm Falls grew. It has an invented table (population: 1900, 800 people; 1920, 2,100; 1940, 3,600) and a recorded interview in which a longtime resident says, "When the railroad came, everybody wanted to live near the station." Interpret one number from the table, and explain in two or three sentences what each source contributes to the topic.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    In paragraph 8 of the radio interview, the ranger pauses before saying, "After that, we check the path for mud and fallen branches before we open it." What does the pause, and the sentence after it, tell listeners? Answer in two or three sentences.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to SL.6.2: 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.