Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-65 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction15 minutes
3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5 minutes

1. Warm-Up10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Think about the last thing you wrote in science and the last thing you wrote in history or social studies. Who was each one for, and how long did you have? Would either one have been better with another week?"

   Take four or five answers and sort them on the board under one sitting or a day or two and extended. Read WHST.6-8.10 aloud. Point out its two kinds of time and the words in its parentheses: an extended time frame gives "time for reflection and revision." Reflection means thinking back on a draft and deciding what it needs; revision means changing the draft because of that thinking. "Discipline-specific" means that science and history each have their own kinds of writing with their own habits.

   Introduce Nico Barreto, an invented seventh grader at the invented Linden Grove Middle School, and his science investigation. Hand out Text 1, the lab handout. Define two terms from it: a seed has germinated when its first root has pushed through the seed coat, its hard outer skin. Ask: which step in the handout tells Nico when and how he must write?

   1Question: How does temperature affect how fast radish seeds germinate? A seed has germinated when its first root has pushed through the seed coat, the hard outer skin of the seed.

   2Materials for each group: 60 radish seeds, three sandwich bags, three paper towels, a spray bottle of water, a marker, a thermometer.

   31. Fold each paper towel into quarters, spray it until it is damp but not dripping, and place 20 seeds on it.
   2. Slide each towel into a bag and label the bags A, B and C. Leave each bag partly open so air can get in.
   3. Put Bag A in the classroom refrigerator (about 4 °C), Bag B on the back counter (about 21 °C) and Bag C on the seedling heat mat (about 27 °C). Mr. Haskins plugs in the heat mat; it stays warm, not hot.
   4. Every school morning, count the germinated seeds in each bag without opening the towel more than you need to. Spray the towel if it feels dry.
   5. Record every count in your lab notebook the same day. Never erase: draw one line through a mistake and write the correction next to it.

   4Safety: wash your hands after handling seeds. Seeds from a packet are not food. Keep the spray bottle away from the heat mat's cord.

2. Direct Instruction15 minutes

   Teach the short writing of each subject through the examples below. Then read Nico's notebook (Text 2). A lab notebook is a dated record written while the work happens, in short single sittings; it is the source the later report is built from. Ask students to find three habits of a good entry (a date and time, counts with the total, observations kept separate from guesses) and the correction on Day 3. Show Diagram 1, which graphs the same counts, and ask on which day Bags B and C were furthest apart.

   • A notebook entry (science, one sitting)

     A 5-minute entry on the morning a student measures a bean plant in a different class investigation.

     Result: Date and time; the measurement with its unit ("plant 1: 6.5 cm"); one observation in plain words ("two new leaves, pale green"); one question ("will the pale leaves darken?"). No opinions, nothing erased, and every number written down the day it was measured.

   • A claim-evidence-reasoning exit ticket (science, one sitting)

     Ten minutes at the end of class, on a different question: does a ball of clay float better when it is shaped like a boat?

     Result: Claim: one sentence that answers the question. Evidence: the measurements that support it ("the flat ball sank; the boat shape held 12 paper clips"). Reasoning: the science idea that links the two (the boat shape pushes aside more water). Three labeled parts, with every number copied from the notebook.

   • A history quick write (history, one sitting)

     Fifteen minutes in class: "Why was the Great Chicago Fire so hard to stop?"

     Result: Plan for one minute: list the causes from the class reading. Write a first sentence that answers the question, one short paragraph per cause or one sentence each, and a last sentence that says which cause mattered most and why. Past tense, dates and places named, no invented facts.

   • Planning an extended piece (either subject)

     A lab report or history panel due in eight school days.

     Result: Day 1: draft from the notebook or the class reading. Days 2-3: get a reader's comment. Day 4: no work (the day away). Day 5: reread and write a short reflection: what the reader needs that the draft does not give. Days 6-7: revise. Day 8: check every number or date against the source and hand in.

   1Day 1, Tuesday, 8:05 a.m. (5 minutes). A: 0 of 20. B: 0 of 20. C: 3 of 20. The seeds in all three bags look fatter and darker than yesterday. Question: are the fat ones about to germinate?

   2Day 2, Wednesday, 8:02 a.m. (5 minutes). A: 0. B: 5. C: 14. In Bag C the roots are about 1 cm long, and some have white fuzz on them. [Mold?, crossed out with one line] Told Mr. Haskins.

   3Day 3, Thursday, 8:04 a.m. (5 minutes). A: 0. B: 13. C: 18. Correction to Day 2: Mr. Haskins says the fuzz is root hairs, tiny hairs that grow out of the root and take in water. Mold would grow on the paper towel too, and this fuzz is only on the roots.

   4Day 4, Friday, 8:03 a.m. (5 minutes). A: 0. B: 16. C: 19. The Bag A towel is still damp. Those seeds look the same as on Day 1.

   5Day 4 exit ticket, Friday, end of class (10 minutes). Claim: warmer seeds germinate faster. Evidence: on Day 2, Bag C (27 °C) had 14 germinated seeds and Bag B (21 °C) had 5, and Bag A (4 °C) still has none. Reasoning: seeds need warmth to start growing, so the warmest bag started first.

3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes

   Now follow one science piece through an extended time frame. Read Nico's Draft 1 (Text 3), written in 25 minutes on Day 7, and his teacher's comments with Nico's reflection (Text 4). A hypothesis is a testable prediction made before the test. Then read Draft 2 (Text 5), handed in a week after Draft 1.

   Pairs make a two-column chart, Draft 1 said and Draft 2 says, with one row for each of Mr. Haskins's five comments. In a third column they write which part of the extended time produced the change: the reflection, the day away or the revision. Share out: which change could Nico have made on Day 7 if he had opened his notebook?

   1Results: The heat mat seeds grew the fastest. The counter seeds were slower and the fridge seeds didn't do anything. By the end the heat mat had 19 and the counter had 18.

   2Conclusion: My hypothesis was right, heat makes seeds grow faster. I think the fridge seeds died. This lab was fun and next time I would use more bags.

   1Mr. Haskins's comments, returned Wednesday of Week 2:

   21. "Grew" or "germinated"? You counted roots through the seed coat. You never measured how tall anything grew.
   2. Your notebook has the day when the counter and heat mat bags were furthest apart. Use it.
   3. "Died": check your Day 7 count for Bag A before you keep this word.
   4. What makes this result less certain? Name at least one limit.
   5. A conclusion is for a reader who wants to know what the data show. Is "fun" data?

   3Nico's reflection, written in class the same day (10 minutes):

   4I wrote Draft 1 in 25 minutes on Monday, and I wrote what I remembered instead of what my notebook said. When I looked back, Day 2 is the biggest gap: 14 in Bag C and 5 in Bag B. I also forgot that one Bag A seed germinated on Day 7, so the cold seeds were not dead, just slow. My exit ticket from Day 4 was better than my Draft 1. Plan: Thursday, no lab report, so I can read it fresh. Friday, rewrite Results with the Day 2 and Day 7 numbers and write the conclusion with one limit. Monday, hand it in.

   1Results: We counted the germinated seeds (seeds with a root through the seed coat) in each bag of 20 on Days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7. On Day 2, the heat mat bag (about 27 °C) had 14 germinated seeds, the counter bag (about 21 °C) had 5, and the refrigerator bag (about 4 °C) had none. By Day 7 the heat mat and counter bags were close, with 19 and 18, but the refrigerator bag had only 1.

   2Conclusion: The data support my hypothesis that warmer temperatures make radish seeds germinate faster, within the range we tested. Warmth mainly changed the speed: by Day 7 the counter bag had almost caught up with the heat mat bag. The cold seeds were not dead, since one germinated on Day 7; they were slower. This result is limited because we tested only one bag of 20 seeds at each temperature, and the temperatures are estimates. Repeating the test with three bags at each temperature would make the result more reliable.

4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Switch subjects. Students read Nico's history quick write (Text 6), written in one 15-minute sitting, and his History Night panel with its log (Text 7). An exhibit panel is a short sign that explains one idea to visitors at an exhibit, here the school's History Night. Show Diagram 2 so students see both extended pieces side by side.

   On their own, students write two short answers: (1) What did the panel's time frame let Nico do that the quick write could not? Cite the log. (2) What does history writing ask for that the lab report does not, and what do both ask for? The quiz also uses Texts 6 and 7.

   1Why was the fire so hard to stop?

   2The Great Chicago Fire was hard to stop because almost everything went wrong for the firefighters. First, the watchman who spotted the fire misjudged where it was, so the first fire engines were sent to the wrong place and lost time. Second, the city had only about 185 firefighters and 17 horse-drawn steam engines, far too few for a fire that grew across whole neighborhoods. Third, burning pieces blown ahead of the flames carried the fire across the Chicago River, so the river did not stop it. Last, early on October 9 the fire reached the city's waterworks and burned its roof, and the pumps stopped. After that the water mains went dry, and the hoses had almost no water.

   3I think the waterworks was the biggest cause, because without water the firefighters could not fight the fire at all.

   1Nico's log for the panel

   2Week 1, Thursday, 30 minutes: first draft of the panel, 240 words. The panel space holds 180.

   3Week 1, Friday, 10 minutes: conference with Ms. Achterberg. She asked, "A visitor reads your title as a question. Where do you answer it?" My answer was in the last paragraph.

   4Week 2, Monday: no work on the panel.

   5Week 2, Tuesday, 20 minutes: reread and reflection. A visitor at History Night reads the first lines and walks on, so the answer has to come first. I also wrote "people were dumb to believe it." That is not fair, and it does not explain anything.

   6Week 2, Wednesday, 25 minutes: revision. Moved the answer to the top, replaced "dumb" with the reason people believed the story, cut to 180 words.

   7Week 2, Thursday, 10 minutes: checked every date against our class reading. I had written October 9 for the start of the fire. It started on the night of October 8.

   8The panel as displayed at History Night

   9Did a Cow Start the Great Chicago Fire?

   10Probably not. The story that Catherine O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern is one of the best-known stories about the fire, but historians have found no evidence for it.

   11The fire did start in or near the O'Learys' barn on DeKoven Street, on the night of October 8, 1871. At the city's inquiry that fall, Mrs. O'Leary swore she had been in bed, and the inquiry found no proof against her. Years later, Michael Ahern, a reporter who covered the fire, claimed that reporters had invented the cow story. In 1997, Chicago's City Council officially cleared Mrs. O'Leary and her cow.

   12Why did so many people believe it? The O'Learys were Irish Catholic immigrants, and many Chicagoans at the time were prejudiced against Irish immigrants. A story with someone to blame was easier to accept than a city built of wood in a dry, windy fall.

   13When the fire died out early on October 10, about 300 people were dead and about 100,000 were homeless.

5. Closure5 minutes

   Exit ticket: (1) Write one habit of a lab notebook entry and one habit of a history quick write. (2) Name a piece of science or history writing you have due in the next two weeks and write the day you will take off from it before you revise.

   Teacher note: Text 7 mentions that many Chicagoans in 1871 were prejudiced against Irish immigrants and that this helped the cow story spread. Take a minute to discuss how blaming a group can shape the way an event is remembered, and that historians test such stories against evidence.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which pair of assignments would give a student practice in both kinds of time that WHST.6-8.10 names?

   AA 5-minute notebook entry and a 10-minute exit ticket on the same lab BA history quick write and a sourcing note, both written in class on the same day CA lab report revised over a week after comments, and a 15-minute quick write DTwo exit tickets on the same question, written one week apart

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Step 2 of the lab handout (Text 1) tells students to leave each bag partly open. What reason does the handout give?

   ASo that the seeds can be counted without opening the bag BSo that air can get in to the seeds CSo that extra water can drain out of the towel DSo that the heat mat can warm all three bags

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   On Day 3, Nico corrected his Day 2 note about "mold." What does the correction show about lab notebook writing (Text 2)?

   AA mistake is crossed out and corrected on a later day, so the record keeps both BA notebook entry should be rewritten neatly at the end of the week so it has no mistakes COnly the teacher is allowed to change what a notebook says DGuesses should never be written in a lab notebook

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which part of the Day 2 entry (Text 2) is an observation rather than a count?

   A"A: 0. B: 5. C: 14." B"Day 2, Wednesday, 8:02 a.m." C"the roots are about 1 cm long" D"Told Mr. Haskins."

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   On Day 2, how many more seeds had germinated in Bag C than in Bag B?

   A5 more seeds B9 more seeds C14 more seeds D19 more seeds

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What percent of Bag B's seeds had germinated by Day 7?

   A18 percent B80 percent C90 percent D95 percent

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which statement in Draft 1 (Text 3) do Nico's own data contradict?

   A"The counter seeds were slower" B"By the end the heat mat had 19" C"I think the fridge seeds died." D"the counter had 18"

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why did Mr. Haskins question the word "grew" in Draft 1 (Text 4)?

   ABecause the report should be written in the past tense BBecause the refrigerator seeds did not grow at all CBecause "grew" is too informal for a lab report DBecause he counted roots, not how tall plants grew

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Nico's reflection (Text 4), what went wrong when he wrote Draft 1?

   AHe wrote what he remembered instead of what his notebook said BHe ran out of time in class before he could write the full conclusion CHe did not know what a hypothesis was DHe copied the conclusion from a classmate

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which words in Draft 2 (Text 5) state a limit of the investigation?

    A"Warmth mainly changed the speed" B"The cold seeds were not dead" C"We counted the germinated seeds (seeds with a root through the seed coat)" D"we tested only one bag of 20 seeds at each temperature"

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Draft 2 says, "Warmth mainly changed the speed." Which data support that sentence?

    ABag A had no germinated seeds on any counted day until Day 7 BBags B and C were far apart on Day 2 but close by Day 7 CBag C had 3 germinated seeds on Day 1 DAll three bags started with 20 seeds

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In the quick write (Text 6), which cause explains why the firefighters' hoses had almost no water?

    AThe watchman's mistake about where the fire was BThe small number of firefighters and engines CThe burning pieces carried across the river DThe fire that reached the waterworks

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    On Thursday of Week 2, Nico checked his panel against the class reading (Text 7). What did he find and fix?

    AThe date the fire started, which he had written as October 9 BThe number of people who died, which he had written too high CThe name of the street where the barn stood DThe year of the City Council resolution

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Why did Nico replace "people were dumb to believe it" (Text 7)?

    ABecause the panel was over its 180-word limit BBecause Ms. Achterberg told him the word was rude CBecause the class reading used a different word DBecause it was unfair and explained nothing

15. Question 15 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    The standard defines an extended time frame as "time for reflection and revision." In his reflection on Tuesday of Week 2 (Text 7), what did Nico decide a History Night visitor needs?

    AMore dates, so that the visitor trusts the panel BThe answer to the title question in the first lines CA longer panel with every fact from the class reading DA picture of the O'Learys' barn next to the title

16. Question 16 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which sentence fits a history panel better than a lab report?

    A"Later, a reporter said reporters made the story up." B"Bag C had 14 germinated seeds on Day 2." C"The temperatures are estimates, so the result is limited." D"Repeating the test would make the result more reliable."

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Write Nico's Day 7 notebook entry. Use the Day 7 counts from Draft 2 (Text 5), add one observation and one question, and follow the notebook habits from Texts 1 and 2.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Using Text 2, explain to a sixth grader who missed the lab, in two or three sentences, why the white fuzz on the Bag C roots was not mold.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Nico's first draft of the panel had 240 words, and the panel space holds 180 (Text 7). What fraction and what percent of his words did he have to cut? Show your work, and name one kind of sentence a writer can cut first from a museum panel.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Mr. Haskins assigns a new lab report due in 6 school days, and on Day 3 you have a test in another class that will take all your study time. Using Nico's two extended pieces as models, write a plan that gives each day one job, keeps a day away before rereading, and ends with a check of every number against the notebook.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to WHST.6-8.10: 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.