Dates: Topic: Grade Level Information: Weeks 20-21 Jan. 11-22 Target Standard: Teacher Directed Reading Instruction Instructional Considerations: Constructed- Response Question Stem(s): Writing Prompt Aligned to ISTEP+ Expectations -or- Response to Literature: Test-Taking Strategy: QUARTER 3 (January 4-March 18, 2016) + 6.RN.2.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Continue to revisit this standard as you integrate the additional RN standards from your weekly pacing. This standard requires students to use their comprehension skills to analyze the text, make inferences and support their inferences with evidence from the text. Words that are helpful in the instruction of this standard: analyze, explicit, inference, textual evidence, conclude, generalizations, accurate, concepts Students should engage in collaborative discussions to support the skill of analyzing text. (https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/analyzing-text-as-a-group) Analyze examine methodically and in detail the constitution or structure of something, especially information, typically for purposes of explanation and interpretation Inferences = background knowledge and experience + text evidence Continue to revisit this standard as you integrate the additional RN standards from your weekly pacing. These are some ways this standard could be assessed. What does the author mean when he/she says? Cite text evidence to support your response. What conclusions can be drawn? Give specific examples from the text that support your conclusions? What textual evidence does the text give to prove these generalizations accurate? Analyze the text and determine the most important concepts. What can you infer about the author s opinion regarding? What textual evidence supports your thoughts? Writing Prompt Aligned to ISTEP+ Expectations: Two Articles: Animals in Disguise and Seeing Animals Differently Standard: 6.W.3.2: Write informative compositions on a variety of topics that Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition and classification. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples from various sources and texts. Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. Include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. Choose language and content-specific vocabulary that express ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy. Establish and maintain a style appropriate to purpose and audience. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented. Constructed-Response Strategy: Responding to constructed-response items can be easier if students are taught to use a strategy to create their response. The first strategy to introduce is RAGE, an acronym for Restate, Answer, Give examples, Explain connection. Teach the process. Model ( I do ) each step of completing a response using the strategy RAGE. Allow students to practice the steps with you ( we do ) with a partner ( you do collaboratively ) and then independently ( you do ). RAGE- RESTATE the question, ANSWER the question completely, GIVE examples or evidence to support your answer, EXPLAIN the connection between evidence and answer. R=Restate: Simply restate the question at the beginning of your answer. This helps create an understanding of the question and show the test graders that you are aware of what is being asked. A=Answer: Answer all parts of the question. If there are two parts to a question or two questions with an item, all parts must be answered in order to receive full credit. G=Give examples: Provide text evidence that supports your answer(s). This is the most important piece of your answer. The examples and evidence must come from the passage or article that you read. E=Explain connection: By taking the time to explain how your evidence supports your answer, you are checking your work. If you can t explain the connection, your evidence does not support your response. Resources: Rigorous Read- Looking to the Sky This text can be used if you need a resource written at the higher end of your grade-level Lexile band or is more complex for this grade level. It is an optional instructional resource. The Art and Science of Teaching /Teaching Inference by Robert J. Marzano: http://www.tncurriculumcenter.org/resource/1889/go http://www.doe.in.gov/assessment/englishlanguage-arts-rubrics (ISTEP Writing Rubrics) Page 1 of 10
Assessment for Jan. 22, 2016: http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/assessment/item-sampler-3-8-revised-2015docx.pdf (Released ISTEP Samplers) Why People Get Tattoos Two constructed-response items (two points each) Page 2 of 10
Grade 6 Writing Prompt This is a set of two articles: An article called Animals in Disguise and Seeing Animals Differently. Read both articles and then complete the writing task. Animals in Disguise 1 Many animals are masters of disguise. Some change their skin color. Others shape themselves in ways that help them look like their surroundings. These different forms of camouflage help animals survive. 2 The type of camouflage an animal develops depends mostly on its predators and its environment. Animals change in different ways to trick their predators. In most cases, their camouflage is designed to match their environment. This helps them become more difficult for their predators to spot. Texture 3 Another way animals blend into their environment is through texture. Some insects have smooth shells that make them look more like the leaves around them. Other animals, such as squirrels, have rough and uneven fur. This helps them blend in with tree bark, so they are nearly impossible to see when they hide in trees. Design 4 Even pretty designs on some animals can be a type of camouflage. Animals that live in areas with tall grass may have stripes to help them hide. These stripes can confuse predators. A group of zebras with black and white stripes tricks the lion s eyes into thinking the group is a single large animal. This makes it difficult for the lion to hunt just one zebra. up starts the black pudding, and sticks so fast to the tip of his poor wife s nose, there was no means to take it off. Color 5 Animals may also use color as a disguise. The white polar bear s fur lets it blend into the snowy land. This helps the polar bear sneak up on its prey. Surprisingly, the polar bear s skin is black, but it looks white because of the way the light bounces off its skin and fur. Since some animals live in places where their surroundings change with the seasons, the color of their fur must also change. In order to blend in, these animals usually grow new fur every few months. 6 Other animals change their skin color in order to hide from predators. The cuttlefish is able to change its skin color by flexing its muscles. The cuttlefish has several small blobs on its skin that are colored with a special material called pigment. The blobs are so small that the color is hard to see when the muscles are relaxed. When the cuttlefish squeezes certain muscles, it forces the blobs to spread out. While this happens, more pigment is pushed in. The spreading blobs give the cuttlefish a whole new color. When the cuttlefish relaxes its muscles, the blobs become small again. The cuttlefish then Page 3 of 10
returns to its normal color. In addition to helping the cuttlefish hide, scientists believe the changing colors help the cuttlefish communicate with one another. 7 The cuttlefish is not the only animal that can change its color. Nudibranches, which are small sea creatures, also have this amazing ability. To change color, the nudibranch eats a certain type of coral. After eating the coral, the nudibranch changes to match the color of the coral it just ate. Since the nudibranch also lives in this coral, the new color is the perfect disguise. Shape 8 Other animals use shape as a disguise. There are some that look like they are part of the trees or the grass. Some animals even look like certain predators. For example, the hawk moth caterpillar looks like a snake head, so many of its predators leave it alone. Katydids use a similar trick. They look just like tree leaves, so predators will move right past them without even noticing. Seeing Animals Differently 1 From insects to mammals, animals have found many ways to help them survive. One way is by developing interesting ways to see and to use their eyes. 2 Many animals have eyes that see color differently than humans. Some are colorblind which means they cannot see certain colors. Lions can only see in shades of gray. Other animals can see certain colors more easily than humans. The gecko, for example, has nighttime color vision that is almost 350 times better than that of humans. 3 Other animals can see light that is invisible to humans. Certain species of snakes have special areas called pits that allow them to see in infrared. This means they can actually see heat. Having this ability helps the snakes find their prey while staying safe from predators. Butterflies can see another type of light that cannot be seen by humans. This light is called ultraviolet light. Butterflies also see in all directions at the same time. The trade-off is that their vision is somewhat blurry. 4 Some animals do not have special vision. Instead, they have unusual eye features that help them survive. Frogs eyes bulge out from their heads so they can see above the water while their bodies are underwater. They also have two sets of eyelids. One set is clear. When frogs close the clear set of eyelids, they can see underwater while keeping their eyes protected. 5 The cuttlefish can change the shape of its eye. It can see behind itself and in front of itself at the same time. Although the cuttlefish is colorblind, it is able to see well in dim light. Like the cuttlefish, the chameleon is able to look in two directions at the same time. This helps the chameleon catch insects as they fly by. Page 4 of 10
6 Even goats can see around themselves better than humans. While humans can see at a 185- degree angle, goats can see at a 330-degree angle. This means the goat can almost see completely behind itself without turning its head. The owl, on the other hand, is not able to move its eyes to see around itself. Instead, the owl can turn its head almost completely around to see what is behind it. Grade 6 Writing Prompt You have read two articles about animals, Animals in Disguise and Seeing Animals Differently. Using information from BOTH articles, write an essay explaining how camouflage and vision work together to help animals survive in their environments. Be sure to include: an explanation of how camouflage and vision work together support your explanation with relevant details from BOTH articles an introduction, a body, and a conclusion Page 5 of 10
Rigorous Read for Grade 6 Looking to the Sky People have always been fascinated with birds in flight streaking across the sky. The ancient Greeks told a story about a father and son soaring like birds after the father made them each a pair of wings. The inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci, who lived in the 1400s, actually built mechanical wings in an attempt to fly like a bird. Modern airplanes and helicopters can take us into the sky, but they do not really simulate bird flight. In fact, nothing man-made has truly been able to copy a bird s ability to take off and land instantly and to change direction in flight with agility. Nothing has done this, that is, until recently. In 2011 a German company named Festo released a robot that imitates bird flight. The robot s name is SmartBird, and it is modeled after a herring gull. SmartBird can take off and land simply by flapping its wings. It can glide, fly, and rapidly change directions. In the sky it looks like a bird, but up close it is obviously a robot. Festo s design is successful in several ways. First, SmartBird is extremely lightweight. Also, its body and wings are shaped just like those of a seagull. Lastly, SmartBird s wings can bend, move up and down, and even twist at different angles. This allows it to fly and maneuver efficiently. The bird s computerized brain is in its belly. That s also the location of the battery, the engine, and some high-powered electronics that allow it to be controlled remotely. Festo s purpose in creating SmartBird is not just to make a cool robot, though. SmartBird s exciting design and potential applications have even attracted the attention of German politicians. The company wants to use the technology to help make machines work more efficiently in order to conserve resources. Machines that use energy in the way birds do will require less electricity to operate and may be able to work for longer periods without needing to be recharged. SmartBird is a good example of science using models in nature to enhance technology. And why not? If the design works in nature, why shouldn t we use it, too? Page 6 of 10
Assessment for Grade 6 (6.RN.2.1) Read the article and answer the questions that follow. Why People Get Tattoos Jack lay quiet and unmoving for thirty minutes while a stranger repeatedly stabbed him with sharp needles. Blood poured steadily out of his leg. Jack was getting a tattoo. Jack s friend, Tony, had recently gotten a tattoo and Jack was so impressed by Tony s bravery and his tattoo that he decided to get one too. Getting a tattoo because friends and peers have them is just one of the reasons why a lot of young people get tattoos. The desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one s friends or peers can have a great influence on what a person does. Sometimes, wearing a tattoo can be a sign that you belong to a certain group. Gangs often use special clothes and tattoos to identify their particular group. For example, in one gang all the members may wear green army jackets and have a large X tattooed on their arms. It is not only gangs that have this type of special uniform. Young people often belong to a certain group of friends. Some of these groups wear only brand-name clothes. Some wear only black clothes. Others wear tattoos. When a person s friends are all doing something, such as getting a tattoo, that person is more likely to do the same thing. They often choose to get a tattoo too. The media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in today s world. A wide variety of media images show tattoos. Tattoos can be seen on people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars. Famous sports heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines. Fashion models are often seen in magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colorful patterns. These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status. As a result, many people decide to get a tattoo for its fashion and status value. It is not always the influence of other people or the media that results in a person getting a tattoo. Many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings in other words, to show their individuality. A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on their arm. Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. Couples may tattoo each other s names over their hearts. A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person s life. There are many reasons why young people get tattoos. A tattoo may be representative of a group or a sign of fashion. Whether it is an expression of individuality or a symbol of belonging, it is important to remember a tattoo is permanent mark on the bearer s skin. Page 7 of 10
1. According to the author, there are common reasons as to why people might decide to get a tattoo. Explain the common reasons that might influence a person s decision to get a tattoo. Support your answer with details from the essay. 2. According to the essay, people are exposed to tattoos through different uses by the media. In what ways does the media s use of tattoos influence people? Support your answer with details from the essay. Page 8 of 10
Scoring Information for Assessment Grade 6 (6.RN.2.1) 1. According to the author, there are common reasons as to why people might decide to get a tattoo. Explain the common reasons that might influence a person s decision to get a tattoo. Support your answer with details from the essay. Possible Score 2 Response: People may get a tattoo to show that they belong to a group The desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one s friends or peers can have a great influence on what a person does. Tattoos are also shown in different forms of media including television and magazines. These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status which can also influence a person s decision to get a tattoo. 2 points The response indicates complete understanding of the task. The student completes the response using two of the following details that support different reasons that people get tattoos: people may get a tattoo to show that they belong to a group the desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one s friends or peers can have a great influence on what a person does when a person s friends are all doing something, such as getting a tattoo, that person is more likely to do the same thing the media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in today s world tattoos can be seen on people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars famous sports heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines fashion models are often seen in magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colorful patterns many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings in other words, to show their individuality a musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on their arm some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders couples may tattoo each other s names over their hearts a tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person s life additional responses that include evidence from the article that support a common reason that people get tattoos Possible Score 1 Response: People may get a tattoo to show that they belong to a group The desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one s friends or peers can have a great influence on what a person does. 1 point The response indicates partial understanding of the task. The student completes the response using one of the following details to support one common reason that people get tattoos: people may get a tattoo to show that they belong to a group the desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one s friends or peers can have a great influence on what a person does when a person s friends are all doing something, such as getting a tattoo, that person is more likely to do the same thing the media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in today s world tattoos can be seen on people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars famous sports heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines fashion models are often seen in magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colorful patterns many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings in other words, to show their individuality a musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on their arm some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders couples may tattoo each other s names over their hearts Page 9 of 10
a tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person s life additional responses that include evidence from the article that support a common reason that people get tattoos Possible Score 0 Response: Some of these groups wear only brand-name clothes. Some wear only black clothes. 0 points The response does not include evidence from the story that explains what influences people to get a tattoo. ==================================================================================== 2. According to the essay, people are exposed to tattoos through different uses by the media. In what ways does the media s use of tattoos influence people? Support your answer with details from the essay. Possible Score 2 Response: The media influences people by linking tattoos to ideas of wealth, success and status. For example, people selling expensive cars in television ads might have a visible tattoo. 2 points The response indicates complete understanding of the task. The student completes the response using two of the following details: tattoos can be seen on people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars famous sports heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines fashion models are often seen in magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colorful patterns these media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status additional responses that include evidence from the article that explains how the media s use of tattoos influences people Possible Score 1 Response: The media might have a television ad showing famous sports heroes in their team uniform. 1 point The response indicates partial understanding of the task. The student completes the response using one o the following details: the man and woman were old the man and woman were poor they had no children to help them with their work they worked hard to survive the woman was very bad-tempered additional responses that include evidence from the article that explains how the media s use of tattoos influences people Possible Score 0 Response: Getting a tattoo because friends and peers have them is just one of the reasons why a lot of young people get tattoos. 0 points The response does not explain how the media s use of tattoos may influence people. Page 10 of 10