Bend III: Research Self-Selected Nonfiction Topics with a Focus on Vocabulary and Fluency As Bend III launches, you’ll invite students to research high-interest topics that you help them select. You’ll draw on your class- room library, and perhaps other texts, to form lots of possible text sets, and then you’ll help two or four students to choose a text set (and a topic) that works for them. Your class will practice and apply all they’ve learned about research and knowledge building, and they will draw on two foun- dational reading skills: vocabulary and fluency. You’ll devote several lessons to helping students build a robust vocabulary. In addition to the teaching into individual words that you’ll provide during read-aloud and your vocabulary extensions, you’ll also teach students how to use context clues and their knowledge of morphology to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. You’ll also help students learn to read informational texts with increasing fluency. You’ll teach students about the importance of phrasing, helping them to scoop up more words as they read and to do so with attention to meaning. You’ll also teach stu- dents to use textual clues, including punctuation and font size and shape, to read with prosody. Students will celebrate their learning across the bend and the unit by preparing a brief, fluent read-aloud of a key passage to share with their classmates. Bend III: Overview Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 45 min.
Explore the Whole Wide World of Nonfiction Texts and Topics This session kicks off a new round of research. Students will study the available books and text sets in your nonfiction library and select research topics for Bend III. They will assemble text sets to help them research these topics, including easier, start-here texts.
Draw on Prior Learning to Start a New Research Project Students will recall their prior learning about how to research a nonfiction topic, and they will use that knowledge to help them begin to research their new self-selected topic. Part- nerships will take control of their own learning, using familiar anchor charts to plan their research.
Determine Word Meaning Using Definitional Knowl- edge and Context Students will learn that when they identify a new topic word, it’s critical to figure out the word’s meaning, using definitions or context clues. They will continue to research their topics, using the research plans they previously created.
Determine Word Meaning Using Morphology Students will learn a new strategy to determine the meaning of topic words: using knowledge of familiar morphemes. Students will draw on this and other vocabulary strategies as they encounter unfamiliar words.
Session 5
Session 6
Session 7
45 min.
Read with Fluency, with Attention to Phrasing Students will learn to attend to phrasing while reading silently and orally and will develop their fluency through repeated oral readings. While research- ing, they will identify one passage that they want to share with their partner and will work to read that passage with fluency.
Use Textual Clues to Read Fluently Students will build their toolkit of fluency strate- gies as they learn to use textual clues to read with fluency, especially punctu- ation to support prosodic reading. They will continue to research their topics, drawing on a range of research strategies.
Celebration: Read Aloud Fluently to Teach Others To celebrate their learning across the bend and unit, students will select a key passage to read aloud, rehearse that passage through repeated oral read- ings, and then read it aloud fluently to classmates. This celebration will be joyful and meaningful, and it will set kids up for future inde- pendent research projects.
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WELCOME TO THE UNIT
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