Title: How would you help?

By: Emily Childs

Subject: Reading, Speaking and Listening

Grade Level(s): 5th grade
Duration: 2 50-minute blocks of time over 2 days
Standards and Elements:
Reading:
ELACC5RL1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite
specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
ELACC5RL2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
ELACC5RL10 Read and comprehend complex literary and informational text independently and proficiently.
ELACC5L4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context
clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
ELACC5L6 Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient
for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in
gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown important to comprehension or expression.

Speaking and Listening:

ELACC5SL1 Comprehension and Collaboration: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others ideas and
expressing their own clearly.

TAG:

Advanced Communication Skills

7. The student responds to contribution of others, considering all available information.
Critical Thinking & Creative Problem Solving
1. The student questions accepted practices, rules, and existing principles to discover new knowledge.
2. The student designs, applies, evaluates, and adapts a variety of innovative strategies to when problem solving
(e.g., recognizes problems, defines problems, identifies possible solutions, selects optimal solution, implements
solution, and evaluates solution)
3. The student incorporates brainstorming and other idea-generating techniques to solve problems or create new
products.
4. The student demonstrates skills in fluency and flexibility to solve problems or create new products.
9. The student recognizes and assumes risks as a necessary part of problem solving.
Higher Order Thinking Skills
1. The student asks probing, insightful, and relevant questions.
3. The student conducts comparisons using criteria.
4. The student makes and evaluates decisions using criteria.
5. The student predicts probable consequences of decisions.
15. The student recognizes that the responsibility to examine and challenge existing ideas and theories is an ongoing
process.

Summary: Students will explore a hypothetical situation in which a young girl is trying to raise money for
her friend and her friends family who are battling cancer and therefore, financial troubles. Students will
try to come up with a solution to help Anna and her friend, Christine. Students will present their idea to
the class through a museum walk.

Enduring Understanding(s): At the end of the lesson, students will understand that there are pros and
cons to every situation; therefore it is important to debate all points to make an informed decision.

Essential Question(s):
How do inferences and text explicit information combine to help us, as readers, make decisions?
How do I use unknown words to increase my comprehension of the text? How can synergizing and
thinking win-win help my group collaborate to reach a consensus?

Evidence of Learning:
What student should KNOW: How to annotate a text for note-taking and comprehension; how to
find the main ideas/theme of a text.
What students should BE ABLE TO DO: (SWBAT) Students should be able to collaborate to reach
the best possible solution for a specific scenario. Students should be able to find key details, important
words, and create inferences based on a given text.

Suggested Vocabulary: chemotherapy, poisonous, appetite, scarfed, lured, lingered (See vocabulary
sheet below that students will use during instruction)

Procedure:
Each step of the strategy
Day 1
1. Hook: Each student will complete a modified version of the Decision Making Style Inventory (10
minutes)
2. Identify students who fall into each category and read what each decision making style means (3-5
minutes)
3. Read the first two pages of Saving Annas Family aloud to students so the problem can be identified.
(After finishing reading, show group members names on the board so the class can split up and finish their
tasks with their groups of 4-5.)
4. Use some of the Do you hear what I hear strategy: (15-20 minutes)
A. Listen
B. Take notes
C. Meet with group to discuss these questions: What is the main problem of the story? What
does poisonous mean? and What does Anna mean when she says, We just have to ask
ourselves: What would Anna do?
5. Bring group back together; briefly discuss Do you hear what I hear? Questions; hand out copies of
Saving Annas Family to each student; send students to finish read the story in their groups and fill in
vocabulary sheet with partner in their group (10-15 minutes)
6. Physical Barometer: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree; Groups will defend
after choosing and group will debrief when it is over.
Questions/Statements: Christines mom, Donna, should have told her daughter what was happening with
her friend, Anna. Christine should helped Anna and her family? The fundraiser party was the best
solution to the problem of the story. (10 minutes)
**Make sure to collect Saving Annas Family passages from each student and keep until the next
instructional day.
GAT HW: Watch BrainPop on Cancer.
Day 2
1. Have a student hand out the Saving Annas Family passages./Briefly discuss the topic of the story and
the physical barometer done yesterday with students. (3 minutes)
2. Share objective: Students, today you will be working with your group to find alternative to help Annas
Family. You need to think about how your alternative will impact the story, for better or worse. TAG
students, you will come up with your own criteria to assess the alternatives you come up with (remember
Creative Problem Solving activity); GAT students, I have filled the criteria I want you to assess your
alternatives with and it is in the handout I am going to give you today. (30 minutes)
3. Bring students together and delegate materials to create a museum walkchart paper and markers.
Students need to include: best decision for an alternative ending, reasons/explanation, criteria, defense
(8-10 minutes)
4. Museum Walk around room (10-15 minutes)
5. Debrief at the very end about the lesson, objectives, and decisions made about the storyhow did it
change? Similar solutions to help Annas family? Any alternatives that would/wouldnt work well?

Assessment:

Formative:
1. Check that groups are working together by thinking win-win and synergizing while finding a solution.
2. Solution to helping Annas Family (via group observation)
Summative:
1. Saving Annas Family Reading Quiz for a classwork grade
2. Museum walkDid studentsinclude a valid solution? is the solution possible? is this the best
possible solution? Does the group what an evidence to support their decision?

Technology Integration:
Internet access possibly needed to look up vocabulary words; BrainPop on Cancer for GAT, or TAG, who do
not know what cancer is or how it is affects people and their families. ETC. Brainpop on Cancer article on
chemotherapy

Differentiation:
Enrichment: Students create own criteria for ranking the solutions
Support/Intervention: Provide criteria for students to rank solutions, Watch BrainPop on Cancer, read ETC.
on Brainpop about chemotherapy

Resource(s)/Material(s):
Copies of Saving Annas Family for each student, Saving Annas Family Quiz for a classwork grade in
reading, chart paper and markers, copy of My decision Making Style InventoryModified Version for
each student, copy of the 4 decision making styles explanation to share with students after finding
decision making selection, Copies of Organizers for Decision Making Lesson for all students (TAG blank
criteria, GAT filled in criteria)

Name:______________________
Word

Chemotherap
y

Poisonous

Appetite

Scarfed

Lured

Lingered

Found where (in the

text)?
Cite the Line of
Paragraph number

Meaning

How did you find the meaning of the

word? (dictionary, context clues,
inferences, asking a friend, etc.)

TAG Students

NAME: __________________

1. What can be done to help Annas family? (Brainstorm numerous decision options: at least five
and then as many as you can.)

2. How can we decide which decision is best? (Brainstorm criteria to evaluate or judge the
decision options: at least five and then as many as you can.) TAG only.

3. Evaluate your decision options using your own criteria (TAG only). For each decision
option, explain why it is good or bad according to each criterion. (5=best option of the
5, 1=worst of the 5 out of that particular criteria)
Criteria 1

Alternative 1

Alternative 2

Alternative 3

Alternative 4

Alternative 5

Criteria 2

Criteria 3

Criteria 4

Criteria 5

Totals

4. Two options:
1. What is your decision? In paragraph form, justify your decision with evidence from the story
and from the criteria above.
2. Rewrite the ending of the story to fit your new alternative in the space below. (Take on the
perspective of the narrator, not yourself and your groups decision.)

GAT Students!

NAME: __________________
1. What can be done to help Annas family? (Brainstorm numerous decision options:
at least five and then as many as you can.)

2. Evaluate your decision options using the given criteria. (For each decision option, explain
why it is good or bad according to each criteria. 5=best option of the 5, 1=worst of the 5 out
of that particular criteria)

Alternative 1

Alternative 2

Alternative 3

Alternative 4

Alternative 5

Criteria 1

Criteria 2

Criteria 3

Criteria 4

Criteria 5

Impact on
message of
story

Impact on
ending of
story

Impact on
Anna

Impact on
Annas
family

Impact on
characterization
of Christine

Totals

3. Two options:
1. What is your decision? In paragraph form, justify your decision with evidence from the story
and from the criteria above.
2. Rewrite the ending of the story to fit your new alternative in the space below. (Take on the
perspective of the narrator, not yourself and your groups decision.)