Unit+2

// Big Idea //: Truth

// Guiding Questions //: How do we find the truth? How does one's perspective shape or alter the truth? How can we be certain that something is true?

//**Resources:**//

__For Dinosaur Ghosts - from Jan @ Merrill__ Before this assignment, students spent a lot of time using The Descriptive Review strategy and “It says __, I say__ ” with other materials. They were used to noticing and questioning without judging. This process eliminated the jumping to conclusions that has been a problem in previous years.

As preparation for “Dinosaur Ghosts”, we noted that the top of each section is fictional narrative, so students annotated the bottom sections only. I copied sections of Dinosaur Ghosts on single pages, and the whole class practiced annotating together using the prompts I wanted to set for our research project:

Text underlined, key words  Margin notes, paraphrases of text. No one is allowed to draw a conclusion yet.  Questions, the more the better. On previous assignments, our “I say __” practice was mostly questions.__ __ Illustrations, a simple image of text facts. __ __ Theory words circled. We have an ongoing word wall of theory and evidence-based words collected from reading. __

__After page 196, small groups annotated a section together and presented their findings to the class. This year students were expected __not__ to draw a conclusion until their presentation. They had the final say about conclusions drawn, when they polled the audience. Students analyzed carefully, and if a group needed help, I could paraphrase their responses to guide the conclusion. For classes with many struggling students, I assigned the simpler middle sections. Then we did the final page together and came up with one conclusion.

Students earned points for each feature they used on their page. All I had to do was count features and listen. Even if they didn’t mark the best features, I think they learned from the huge amount of interaction and group review. Evidence of learning showed up on the next assignment, when students used the strategies again.

I hung up a cumulative poster of all the sections for students to use as a reference. We discussed how this kind of inquiry helps us separate fact from opinion and allows us to support our claims with evidence.