Reading Objectives • Comprehension: Evaluate fact and opinion; Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information • Tier Two Vocabulary: See book’s Glossary • Word study: Suffixes • Analyze the genre • Respond to and interpret texts • Make text-to-text connections • Fluency: Read with prosody: phrasing Writing Objectives • Writer’s tools: State and defend your position • Write a persuasive essay using writing- process steps Related Resources • Comprehension Question Card • Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart • Using Genre Models to Teach Writing • The Best Place to Live: City, Country, Suburb (Level V/60) Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now Renewable Energy: Endless Power While you are meeting with small groups, other students can: • read independently from your classroom library • reflect on their learning in reading response journals • engage in literacy workstations Unit-at-a-Glance Day 1 Prepare to Read Day 2 Read “Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power”* Day 3 Read “Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now”* Day 4 Read “Renewable Energy: Endless Power”* Day 5 Literature Circle Discussion/Reinforce Skills* Days 6–15 Write a persuasive essay using the process writing steps on page 10. Level X/60 ® B E N C H M A R K E D U C A T I O N C O M P A N Y ™
Transcript
Reading Objectives• Comprehension: Evaluate fact and opinion;
Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information• Tier Two Vocabulary: See book’s Glossary• Word study: Suffixes• Analyze the genre• Respond to and interpret texts• Make text-to-text connections• Fluency: Read with prosody: phrasing
Writing Objectives• Writer’s tools: State and defend
your position• Write a persuasive essay using writing-
process steps
Related Resources• Comprehension Question Card• Comprehension Power Tool Flip Chart• Using Genre Models to Teach Writing• The Best Place to Live: City, Country, Suburb
(Level V/60)
Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power
Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now
Renewable Energy: Endless Power
While you are meeting with small groups, other students can:• read independently from your classroom library• reflect on their learning in reading response journals• engage in literacy workstations
Unit-at-a-Glance
Day 1 Prepare to Read
Day 2 Read “Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power”*
Day 3 Read “Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now”*
Day 4 Read “Renewable Energy: Endless Power”*
Day 5 Literature Circle Discussion/Reinforce Skills*
Days 6–15 Write a persuasive essay using the process writing steps on page 10.
Level X/60
® B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y
™
• Ask students to turn to pages 5–7. Say: Many famous Americans have written persuasive essays. Some of those essays have made a big impact on how we think about issues such as freedom and nonconformity and have led to historic changes. Let’s read some famous essays that affected American history.
• Have a student read aloud the essay summaries while others follow along.
• Say: These essays influenced many people at critical times in American history. Their influence continues as students of American history read them today. What can you infer, or tell, from this? Allow responses. Prompt students to understand that the writers’ arguments were eloquent, passionate, and convincing.
Introduce the Tools for Readers and Writers: State and Defend Your Position• Read aloud “State and Defend Your Position” on
page 4. • Say: Writers of persuasive essays begin by clearly
stating their position, or opinion, about an issue. Then they defend, or support, their position by giving facts and examples they think will convince readers to see things their way. Let’s practice identifying a writer’s position and the evidence that supports it so we can find these elements in the persuasive essays we read.
• Distribute BLM 1 (State and Defend Your Position). Read aloud paragraph A with students.
• Model Identifying a Position Statement and Defense: The author states his position against the wind farm in the first sentence. He then presents three arguments to defend his position: (1) the towers would disrupt the farm fields, (2) they will decrease the value of properties around them, and (3) they cannot produce enough energy to meet the community’s needs. He calls up negative emotions with words such as ugly, spooky, and pollute and positive emotions with words such as peaceful.
• Ask students to work with a partner or in small groups to identify the position statement, arguments, and emotion words in paragraph B. Then have them write their own position statement about a community issue, using at least one emotion word.
• Bring the groups together to share their findings. Point out that writers defend a position using facts, statistics, examples, and information obtained from experts.
• Ask each group to read the position statement they wrote, and invite classmates to help come up with facts and examples to defend it. Use the examples to build students’ understanding of how and why writers state and defend a position. Remind students that how an author states a position and defends it can help readers understand his or her opinions and come to reasonable conclusions themselves.
three persuasive essays about energy resources
2
Prepare to ReadBuild Genre Background• Write the word genre on chart paper. Ask: Who
can explain what the word genre means? (Allow responses.) The word genre means “a kind of something.” How many of you like to attend drum and bugle corps contests? How many of you prefer rock concerts? Drum and bugle contests and rock concerts are genres, or kinds, of music performances. All drum and bugle corps contests share certain characteristics. All rock concerts have some features in common, too. As readers and writers, we focus on genres of literature. As readers, we use our knowledge of genre to help us anticipate what will happen or what we will learn. As writers, we use our knowledge of genre to help us develop and organize our ideas.
• Ask: Who can name some literary genres? Let’s make a list. Allow responses. Post the list on the classroom wall as an anchor chart.
• Draw a concept web on chart paper or the board. Write Persuasive Essays in the center circle of the web.
• Say: Persuasive essays are one example of a literary genre. Think of any persuasive essays you know. How would you define what a persuasive essay is?
• Turn and Talk. Ask students to turn and talk to a classmate and jot down any features of a persuasive essay they can think of. Then bring students together and ask them to share their ideas. Record them on the group web. Reinforce the concept that all persuasive essays have certain common features.
Introduce the Book• Distribute the book to each student. Read the title
aloud. Ask students to tell what they see on the cover and table of contents.
• Ask students to turn to pages 2–3. Say: This week we are going to read persuasive essays that will help us learn about this genre. First we’re going to focus on this genre as readers. Then we’re going to study persuasive essays from a writer’s perspective. Our goal this week is to really understand this genre.
• Ask a student to read aloud the text on pages 2–3 while others follow along. Invite a different student to read the web on page 3.
• Point to your persuasive essays web on chart paper. Say: Let’s compare our initial ideas about persuasive essays with what we just read. What new features of this genre did you learn? Allow responses. Add new information to the class web.
• Post this chart in your classroom during your persuasive essays unit. Say: As we read persuasive essays this week, we will come back to this anchor chart. We will look for how these features appear in each essay we read.
Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Write one or more of the following
questions on chart paper. What is a literary genre, and why do readers and
writers separate literature into genres? What did you learn today about the persuasive
essay genre? How can readers tell whether a writer has stated and
defended a position statement in a persuasive essay? Ask partners or small groups to discuss their ideas
and report them back to the whole group as a way to summarize the day’s learning.
Before ReadingIntroduce “Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power”• Reread the persuasive essays anchor chart or
the web on page 3 to review the features of a persuasive essay.
• Ask students to turn to page 8. Ask: Based on the title and graphic features, what do you predict this essay might be about? Allow responses.
• Invite students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (continuous, environmental, renewable, pollution, pollutants). Say: As you read, pay attention to these words. If you don’t know what they mean, try to use clues in the surrounding text to help you define them. We’ll come back to these words after we read.
Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the essay, focusing on the
genre elements they noted on their anchor chart. They should also look at the essay’s stated position and details that defend it and think about how stating and defending a position adds to the essay’s power to convince readers.
Read “Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power”• Place students in groups based on their reading
levels. Ask students to read the essay silently, whisper-read, or read with a partner.
• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their understanding of the text and their use of fix-up strategies.
After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Evaluate Fact and Opinion• Lead a student discussion using the “Understand
the Essay” and “Focus on Comprehension” questions on page 14. Then, use the following steps to provide explicit modeling of how to evaluate facts and opinions in a persuasive essay.
• Explain: We learned yesterday that a persuasive essay states the author’s position, or opinion on
Directions: Read each paragraph. Highlight the statement of position. Underline facts and examples that defend it. Circle words that stir emotions.
A. I oppose the building of the county wind farm. Two hundred enormous towers would disrupt the peaceful farm fields around Johnsville. The turbines are ugly and spooky. Who wants to look out their windows and see giant pinwheels spinning? The towers will drive all our property values down. Even when all the towers are running full force, they can still only generate one-fifth of the energy our community needs. You may say wind farms produce “clean” energy, but I say they pollute our view!
B. The proposed county wind farm is an idea whose time has come. Build it, and our economy and environment will greatly benefit. Problems caused by fossil fuels and climate change remind us tragically that we MUST end our reliance on foreign oil. Wind energy is clean and constant. By harnessing our reliable winds, we capture energy for free without polluting. Some dislike the look of the towers, but I find them graceful and pleasing to look at. Using renewable energy sources is in everyone’s best interests. Let’s build that wind farm and lead the movement toward a greener Earth!
Directions: Write a position statement about an issue in your community. Use at least one emotion word in your statement.
Name _________________________________________________ Date _________________
Management Tips• Throughout the week, you may wish to use
some of the reflect and review questions as prompts for reader response journal entries in addition to turn and talk activities.
• Have students create genre study folders. Keep blackline masters, notes, small-group writing, and checklists in the folders.
• Create anchor charts by writing whole-group discussion notes and mini-lessons on chart paper. Hang charts in the room where students can see them.
Management TipAsk students to place self-stick notes in the margins where they notice examples of a position statement, supporting evidence, or other features of the genre.
• Ask groups to hand in their sentences. Transfer student-written sentences to chart paper, title the page “State and Defend Your Position,” and post it as an anchor chart in your classroom.
an issue, and defends, or supports, the position with facts and examples. The author also uses powerful words to try to convince readers to agree. When you read a persuasive essay, evaluating the facts and details helps you decide whether the essay is reasonable and convincing.
• Distribute copies of BLM 2 (Evaluate Fact and Opinion) and/or draw a chart like the one below.
• Model: When I evaluate facts in a persuasive essay, I ask myself whether they can be proven true and how I can check them. Then I think about how well they support the author’s position. For example, the author of this essay says that renewable sources of power are not always available, but fossil fuels are. I can find out in the library or online what percentage of energy is provided by each source. However, this would not prove that only fossil fuels are readily available.
• Guide Practice. Work with students to evaluate the opinions and supporting facts and examples in the essay. Help them understand that because fossil fuels have an established track record, the author was able to find a great deal of evidence of their usefulness. Then, discuss research materials students might be able to access to check on the status of the cutting-edge technologies described on pages 12 and 13.
• Have students keep BLM 2 in their genre studies folders.
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment• Remind students that when they answer questions
on standardized assessments, they must be able to support their answers with facts or clues and evidence directly from the text.
• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small groups of students to practice answering text-dependent comprehension questions.
• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Find It! questions. The answer to a Find It! question is right in the book. You can find the answer in one place in the text.
• Model: Read the Find It! question. Say: When I read the question, I look for important words that tell me what to look for in the book. What words in this question do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I’m looking for the words jet fuel and come from. On page 10, I read, “Jet fuel comes from oil, too.” This sentence answers the question.
• Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Find It! questions.
Focus on Vocabulary: Suffixes• Explain/Model: Read aloud “Suffixes” on page 4.
Say: Suffixes have their own meanings, so adding a suffix to the end of a base or root word changes the word’s meaning. For example, -less means “without.” When -less is added to the end of the word hope, it changes the meaning to “without hope.”
• Practice. Ask students to think of suffixes they already know. List the suffixes and meanings along with example words and meanings on a four-column chart, such as -ly (in a certain way) and kindly (in a kind way); -ous (full of) and joyous (full of joy).
• Say: Let’s find the boldfaced words in this essay. What can you do if you don’t know what one of these words means? (Allow responses.) Besides looking in the glossary or a dictionary, you can look for clues in the text or in the word itself to help you define it. One “in the word” strategy is to look for a base or root word and a suffix and identify their meanings.
• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the “Focus on Words” activity on page 15 using BLM 3 (Focus on Suffixes). Explain that they should look at the meanings of the base or root word and the suffix in each word to figure out the meaning of the word. Point out that the word renewable also has a prefix (re-), which affects the meaning of the word.
• Transfer Through Oral Language. Ask groups of students to share their findings. Then ask individual students to write the base or root word and the suffix on the board and explain the meaning of each. Invite students to use the target word in sentences.
• Ask students to save their work in their genre studies folders to continue on Days 3 and 4.
Day 2 (cont.)
Opinions Facts That Support Opinions
Fossil fuels are America’s best source of power.
Fossil fuels are readily available, diverse in application, and affordable.
Only fossil fuels can provide the continuous electricity we need.
Fossil fuels produce electricity on demand. They are portable, storable, and widely available.
Fossil fuels are easy to control, transport, change, and burn.
They allow for transportation, electricity, and heating.
Our entire economy depends on the reliably affordable power of fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are much cheaper than any other source of energy. Costs would go up if we used renewable energy.
Cutting-edge technologies make fossil fuels clean and safe.
Examples include clean-coal technology, scrubbing smokestacks, and carbon-capture technologies.
Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to
reread the “Features of a Persuasive Essay” on page 3 and decide whether all of these features are present in “Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power.” Ask groups to share and support their findings.
Fluency: Read with Prosody: Phrasing• You may wish to have students reread the essay with
a partner during independent reading time. Have them focus on reading with appropriate phrasing. Explain that when we talk, we say words in groups, or phrases, so we should do the same thing when we read. Read aloud the introduction on page 8 and show how you pause between phrases using sense and structure to guide you. Invite students to choose a section to read aloud with phrasing. Afterward, discuss how they decided where to pause.
Note Regarding This Teacher’s GuideEach book provides an opportunity for students to focus on an additional comprehension strategy that is typically assessed on state standards. The strategy is introduced on page 4 (the third item in the “Tools for Readers and Writers” section) with text-specific follow-up questions found on the Reread pages. Some Reread sections also introduce an advanced language arts concept or comprehension strategy, such as protagonist/antagonist, perspective, or subtitles, because students at this level should be able to consider more than one comprehension strategy per text.
Before ReadingIntroduce “Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now”• Ask students to turn to page 16. Say: You are
going to read another persuasive essay today. Turn to a partner to discuss how you will use your genre knowledge as a reader to help you understand the essay.
• Ask the partners to summarize what they heard. • Say: Let’s look at the title and graphic features
of this persuasive essay. What do you predict it might be about? Give students time to share their predictions.
• Ask students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (inexpensive, generators, natural, unpredictability, technologically). Ask: What do you notice about these words? Why do you think they appear in boldfaced type? Allow responses. Encourage students to notice that all of these words have suffixes.
• Say: As you read, try to figure out the meanings of these words. Look for the base or root word and the suffix or suffixes in each word and think about their meanings. After we read, we will talk about how you used your knowledge of word parts and their meanings as well as context clues to figure out the definitions of the words.
Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the essay, focusing on how
the evidence supports the author’s opinions. Encourage students to notice how the author states a position and defends it.
Read “Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now”• Place students in groups based on their reading
levels. Ask students to read the essay silently, whisper-read, or read with a partner.
• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their understanding of the text and their use of fix-up strategies.
After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Evaluate Fact and Opinion• Say: Yesterday we evaluated facts and opinions in
“Fossil Fuels.” The author argued that fossil fuels are by far the cheapest reliable source of power. What arguments does this essay make? How does the author support them? Allow responses. As students share their analyses, synthesize their responses into a whole-group chart like the one here.
• Discuss Facts and Opinions Across Texts. Lead a discussion using the following questions.
• Guide Practice. Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Look Closer! questions.
Focus on Vocabulary: Suffixes• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the
“Focus on Words” activity on page 21 using BLM 3, which they started on Day 2. Point out that the words inexpensive and unpredictability also have prefixes (in- and un-, pre-), which affect the meanings of the words. Have groups of students share their findings.
• Transfer Through Oral Language. Invite pairs of students to generate original statements of fact and opinion using the target words in context.
What are the author’s arguments against nuclear power in the first essay? How do they compare with the author’s arguments against fossil fuels in the second essay?
What are four facts that support the choice of nuclear power? What are four facts that support choosing fossil fuels?
How does the author of “Nuclear Energy” reassure people about the safety of nuclear power?
Where has the author stated and defended a position? How does this help you understand the author’s views?
Day 3 (cont.)
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with small
groups of students to practice answering text-dependent questions.
• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Look Closer! questions. The answer to a Look Closer! question is in the book. You have to look in more than one place, though. You find the different parts of the answer. Then you put the parts together to answer the question.
• Model: Read the Look Closer! question. Say: I will show you how I answer a Look Closer! question. This question asks me to compare and contrast. I know because it has the clue words same and different. Now I need to look for other important information to find in the book. What information do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I’m looking for ways nuclear energy and fossil fuels are the same and different. On page 20, I read that nuclear energy and fossil fuels are both practical and flexible. However, fossil fuels generate pollution and there is a threat that they will run out, while nuclear energy is environmentally friendly. I have found the answer in the book. I looked in more than one sentence to find the answer.
Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to
discuss the following questions and report their ideas to the whole group.
Did the author persuade you that nuclear power is the best energy source? Why or why not?
What is the source of electrical power for your community? What problems, if any, are associated with this source?
Fluency: Read with Prosody: Phrasing• You may wish to have students reread the persuasive
essay with a partner during independent reading time, focusing on reading with phrasing. Ask each pair to choose and copy a paragraph from the essay and mark the phrases before reading it aloud. Remind students that we do not read one word at a time; we group words in ways that make sense, sound right, and follow how the author has structured the sentences. Demonstrate how you would read the introduction on page 16. Then invite pairs to take turns reading aloud their chosen paragraphs.
Fossil fuels are terrible for the environment and will soon run out.
Today’s more common energy sources create air pollution and dangerous greenhouse gases.
Nuclear power provides the most stable and steady energy in the world.
Plants operate every minute of every day. The supply of nuclear fuel is large, safe, and stable.
Cleanliness is another huge advantage of nuclear energy.
Generators give off clean steam or water and don’t create carbon dioxide. Waste materials are sealed off in concrete or steel tanks.
One of the biggest factors to consider is cost.
Nuclear energy is much cheaper than wind or solar power.
Fears about the safety of nuclear power are baseless.
Plants are designed to be safe and do not release dangerous radiation.
Page WordPart of Speech
Base or Root Word
Suffix Definition
17 generators noun generate -or engines that change mechanical energy into electrical energy
19 natural adjective nature -al existing in nature; of or relating to nature
20 unpredictability noun dictare, meaning “to say”
-able,-ity
unable to be planned for in advance
20 technologically adverb techno, meaning “art, skill, method”
-log,-ic, -ally
in a way that relates to technology
Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with small
groups of students to practice answering text-dependent questions.
• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Prove It! questions. The answer to a Prove It! question is not stated in the book. You have to look for clues and evidence to prove the answer.
• Model: Read the first Prove It! question. Say: I will show you how I answer a Prove It! question. This question asks me to make an inference. I know because it says, “What clues support the inference.” Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I need to find clues that show what is dangerous about relying on foreign fuel sources. Page 24 says, “Today, we spend billions of dollars on fossil fuels, especially oil. This supports dangerous dictators and nations that wish us harm.” I have found the evidence I need.
• Guide Practice. Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Prove It! questions.
Before ReadingIntroduce “Renewable Energy: Endless Power”• Ask students to turn to page 22. Say: Today we are
going to read “Renewable Energy: Endless Power.” This essay is written in a different format from the other persuasive essays we have read. Notice how in the margins there are notes to you, the reader. The first time we read the text, we will read to understand the essay, focusing on its position statement and supporting evidence. Tomorrow, we will reread this essay like a writer and think about the notes in the margin as a model for how we can write our own persuasive essays.
• Point out the boldfaced words (miraculous, limitless, dictators, tourism, impractical). Say: When you see these words look for clues in the text, base or root words, and suffixes to help you figure out what the words mean. Remember that context clues and word analysis are strategies that can help you define unfamiliar words.
Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the essay, focusing on how the
author uses facts, examples, and emotion words to try to convince readers to agree with her. Students should first identify the position statement and then locate the supporting evidence. Have them think about how these elements help them form their own opinions about the issue.
Read “Renewable Energy: Endless Power”• Place students in groups based on their reading
levels. Ask students to read the essay silently, whisper-read, or read with a partner.
• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their understanding of the text and their use of fix-up strategies.
After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Evaluate Fact and Opinion• Lead a whole-class discussion about the strategy of
evaluating fact and opinion. Ask: When you evaluate facts and opinions what are you looking for? (Allow responses.) Make sure students understand that readers identify an author’s position by analyzing his or her opinions about the issue. They also assess the author’s success in defending the position by evaluating the facts and examples used to support it. Remind students that authors also use powerful words to stir readers’ feelings, and that recognizing this technique helps readers make more accurate judgments about the author’s ideas.
• Divide the class into three teams: Fossil Fuels, Nuclear Power, and Renewable Energy.
• Give each team time to analyze its position, arguments, and evidence as well as any counterarguments using BLM 2 and the appropriate essay. Then pose questions about the pros and cons of each type of energy and ask teams to answer using facts and examples to support their position.
Day 4
Opinions Facts That Support Opinions
Solar, wind, and water are the best sources of energy because they are limitless, available, and good for the environment.
Solar power taps the endless power of sunlight. Wind power harnesses the force of the wind. Hydropower brings steady, clean energy from flowing water.
The biggest advantage is that renewable energy doesn’t get used up, no matter how much we use.
Nuclear and fossil fuels are used up. The sun, wind, and flowing water aren’t destroyed or burned up.
Wide availability is another appealing attribute.
Solar cells can go anywhere and 5,000 more places have been found to build more hydropower plants. Wind turbines allow owners to sell power back.
Renewable energy is not impractical or undependable.
The sun is always shining and the wind is always blowing someplace in the country. Power is moved around the grid. Hydropower is always “on.”
Renewable Energy: Endless Power
Focus on Vocabulary: Suffixes• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the
“Focus on Words” activity on page 29 using BLM 3. Point out that the word impractical also has a prefix (im-), which affects the meaning of the word. Have groups of students share their findings.
• Transfer Through Oral Language. Divide the class into two teams. Write the target words in a list on chart paper. Provide index cards with the base or root words, suffixes, the prefix im-, and the plural -s and scatter them face up on a table. Have the teams take turns selecting two or three cards that combine to form a target word and tape the cards next to the word on the chart paper.
Reflect and Review • Ask and discuss the following questions. What new words have you added to your vocabulary
this week? Which do you think is the most powerful word? Why?
Which of the positions argued in these essays do you find most convincing? Why?
Which position defense seems weakest to you? What do you think weakened it?
Why is it important for a writer of persuasive text to state and defend his or her position?
Fluency: Read with Prosody: Phrasing• You may wish to have students reread the essay with
a partner during independent reading time, focusing on reading with phrasing. Ask students to discuss what they learned about renewable energy. Then have pairs of students take turns reading aloud the last paragraph on page 27. Remind them to pause between phrases using sense and structure to guide them to help listeners understand the meaning of what they are saying.
Before ReadingSummarize and Make Connections Across Texts• Engage students in a discussion about the three
persuasive essays in this book. Invite a different student to summarize each essay. Encourage other students to add their ideas and details.
• Ask students to turn to the inside back cover of the book. Say: Good readers think about how literary works are related. We know, for example, that all of these essays share certain features. They all state a clear position. They all provide facts and examples as supporting evidence. What else do they have in common? (Allow responses.) Today we will think about the position statements in all three essays and the evidence used to defend them.
• Ask students to work individually or in small groups to complete BLM 4 (Make Connections Across Texts). Then bring students together to share and synthesize their ideas.
Set a Purpose for Rereading• Have students turn to page 22. Say: Until now, we
have been thinking about persuasive essays from the perspective of the reader. Learning the features of persuasive essays has helped us be critical readers. Now we are going to put on a different hat. We are going to reread “Renewable Energy: Endless Power” and think like writers. We’ll pay attention to the annotations in the margins. These annotations will help us understand what the author did and why she did it.
22 miraculous adjective limit -less having to do with the environment
24 dictators noun dictare, meaning “to say”
-able leaders with total power
25 tourism noun tour -ism practice of touring or traveling for recreation
26 impractical adjective practice -al not practical or sensible; not wise to put into practice
Position Arguments Counterarguments
Fossil Fuels: America’s Preferred Power
Fossil fuels are America’s best source of power.
1. They provide on-demand, continuous supply.2. They meet all energy needs.3. They are cheap.4. Cutting-edge technologies make fossil fuels clean and safe.
1. Critics say they cause environmental problems.2. Some claim that renewable resources are more environmentally friendly.3. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide.
Nuclear Energy: The Future Is Now
Nuclear energy is the best choice for America’s energy needs.
1. It makes stable, steady energy.2. It does not pollute.3. It is cheaper than wind and solar power.
1. Fossil fuels are cheap and provide continuous power anywhere.2. Renewable resources last forever and are safe.
• Read step 3. Say: Before you write, you will have to gather evidence that supports your position. For example, to support the use of renewable energy, the author says, “Every place where people live has sun, wind, or water nearby.” What facts, examples, and values can we think of that support one of our positions? Allow responses. Write down students’ ideas on chart paper.
• Read steps 4 and 5. Say: You also must show a solution to the problem or suggest what action you want readers to take before summing up your main points in the conclusion. In “Renewable Energy,” the author makes closing arguments and then urges readers to increase their usage of this “perfect source of power.” When you write your essay, think about what could solve the problem and how you can end your essay on a strong note. Choose one of the problems and audiences and some of the supporting evidence the class has brainstormed and work as a group to develop a solution and conclusion.
Build Comprehension: Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information• Explain: In nonfiction texts, authors often use
graphic features to visually reinforce the ideas they discuss. In these essays, the author included a pie chart, table, bar graph, line graph, and two diagrams. Studying the graphic features helps readers better understand the facts and details the author provides. For example, the pie chart on page 9 dramatically reveals how fossil fuels dominate other resources as providers of power. Graphic features are effective because they can communicate a great deal of information quickly and clearly.
• Model: The bar graph on page 11 also makes dramatic a point, showing how little coal and natural gas cost compared to other resources. This graphic feature emphasizes the author’s point that for the economy’s sake, we have to keep power supplies cheap. Clearly, fossil fuels are the winners in this lineup.
• Guide Practice. Invite students to work in small groups to analyze the graphic features on pages 10, 12, 18, and 20. Ask them to describe what each graphic feature shows. Then have them find and read aloud the text that each graphic feature supports. Ask the groups to share how the graphic feature helps them understand an important point that the author is making.
Reread “Renewable Energy: Endless Power”• Place students in groups based on their reading levels.
Ask students to reread the persuasive essay silently or whisper-read and to pay attention to the annotations.
After ReadingAnalyze the Mentor Text• Read and discuss the mentor annotations with the
whole group.
Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small
groups of students to practice answering text-dependent questions.
• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Take It Apart! questions. The answer to a Take It Apart! question is not stated in the book. You must think like the author to figure out the answer.
• Model: Read the first Take It Apart! question. Say: This question asks me to analyze text structure and organization. I know because it asks about the location of a specific structure, an example. Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? (Allow responses.) Yes, I need to reread the section about oil spills. On page 24, the author says, “Drilling and shipping oil frequently leads to spills—such as the catastrophic oil-drilling accident in the Gulf of Mexico in May 2010—that threaten not only wildlife, but also the fishing industry . . .” I have found an example about what happens when drilling oil leads to spills.
• Guide Practice. Use the Flip Chart to help you develop other Take It Apart! questions.
Analyze the Writer’s Craft• Ask students to turn to page 30. Explain: In the next
few days, you will have the opportunity to write your own persuasive essay. First, let’s think about how the author wrote “Renewable Energy: Endless Power.” When she developed this essay, she followed certain steps. You can follow these same steps to write your own persuasive essay.
• Read steps 1 and 2. Say: When you write your essay, the first thing you’ll do is choose a problem or cause to write about. You will also identify the audience you want to persuade. (Reread the position statements on pages 8, 16, and 22, and then discuss the likely audience for each essay.) Let’s list some problems or issues we could explore. Then, for each problem or issue, let’s list the persons or groups we might want to persuade. Allow responses. Write down students’ ideas on chart paper.
Day 5 (cont.)
Write a Persuasive Essay• Use the suggested daily schedule to guide
students through the steps of process writing. Allow approximately 45 to 60 minutes per day. As students work independently, circulate around the room and monitor student progress. Use the explicit mini-lessons, conferencing strategies, and assessment rubrics in Using Genre Models to Teach Writing for additional support.
• Before students begin planning their persuasive essays, pass out copies of BLM 5 (Persuasive Essay Checklist). Tell students that they will use this checklist when they complete their drafts.
• This daily plan incorporates the generally accepted six traits of writing as they pertain to persuasive essays.
Days 6–7: Plan • Ask students to use BLM 6 (Persuasive Essay Planning
Guide) to brainstorm a problem or cause, audience, supporting evidence, solution or action, and conclusion for their persuasive essay.
• Encourage students to refer to the “Features of a Persuasive Essay” web on page 3 and to the steps in “The Writer’s Craft” on pages 30–31 of the book.
• Confer with individual students and focus on their ideas.
Days 8–9: Draft • Tell students that they will be using their completed
Persuasive Essay Planning Guides to begin drafting their persuasive essays.
• Say: Remember that when writers draft their ideas, they focus on getting their ideas on paper. You will have an opportunity to make corrections and improvements later.
• Confer with students as they complete their drafts. Use the Persuasive Essay Checklist to draw students’ attention to characteristics of the persuasive essay. Focus on how students have organized their ideas and the voice of the writer.
• Pair students for peer conferencing.
Days 10–11: Edit and Revise • Based on your observations of students’ writing,
select appropriate mini-lessons from Using Genre Models to Teach Writing.
• Remind students to use the Persuasive Essay Checklist.
• Confer with students, focusing on sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions.
• You may want students to continue their editing and revision at home.
Days 6–15Days 12–13: Create Final Draft and Illustrations • Ask students to rewrite or type a final draft. of their
persuasive essays.• Invite students to illustrate their final drafts.• Confer with students about their publishing plans
and deadlines.
Days 14–15: Publish and Share• Explain: Authors work long and hard to develop their
works. One of the great joys of writing is sharing it with others. Authors publish their books, make their work available on the Internet, and hold readings. We can share our writing, too.
• Use the ideas below for sharing students’ work: Make a class display of students’ completed persuasive essays. Hold a class reading in which students read their essays to one another. Create a binder of all the essays and loan it to the library.
Features of the Genre Checklist Yes No1. My persuasive essay has a strong lead. 2. My persuasive essay has an intended audience. 3. My persuasive essay is logically sequenced. 4. My persuasive essay states a strong position. 5. I state my case using facts and evidence. 6. My persuasive essay suggests solutions and actions. 7. I use emotional words to affect my reader. 8. My persuasive essay has a strong ending.
Quality Writing Checklist Yes NoI looked for and corrected . . .
Directions: Read each paragraph. Highlight the statement of position. Underline facts and examples that defend it. Circle words that stir emotions.
A. I oppose the building of the county wind farm. Two hundred enormous towers would disrupt the peaceful farm fields around Johnsville. The turbines are ugly and spooky. Who wants to look out their windows and see giant pinwheels spinning? The towers will drive all our property values down. Even when all the towers are running full force, they can still only generate one-fifth of the energy our community needs. You may say wind farms produce “clean” energy, but I say they pollute our view!
B. The proposed county wind farm is an idea whose time has come. Build it, and our economy and environment will greatly benefit. Problems caused by fossil fuels and climate change remind us tragically that we MUST end our reliance on foreign oil. Wind energy is clean and constant. By harnessing our reliable winds, we capture energy for free without polluting. Some dislike the look of the towers, but I find them graceful and pleasing to look at. Using renewable energy sources is in everyone’s best interests. Let’s build that wind farm and lead the movement toward a greener Earth!
Directions: Write a position statement about an issue in your community. Use at least one emotion word in your statement.
1. My persuasive essay has a strong lead. 2. My persuasive essay has an intended audience. 3. My persuasive essay is logically sequenced. 4. My persuasive essay states a strong position. 5. I state my case using facts and evidence. 6. My persuasive essay suggests solutions and actions. 7. I use emotional words to affect my reader. 8. My persuasive essay has a strong ending.
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