Nonfiction Article of the Week - I'm Lovin' Lit · and confusion. Symptoms may last a few days or a few months. Once a person has sustained a On what seemed like just another Friday

©2019 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

Nonfiction Article of the Week8-20: When High School Football Turns Deadly

Table of Contents

Terms of Use 2

Table of Contents 3

List of Activities, Difficulty Levels, Common Core Alignment, & TEKS 4

Digital Components/Google Classroom Guide 5

Teaching Guide, Rationale, Lesson Plans, Links, and Procedures: EVERYTHING 6-9

Article: When High School Football Turns Deadly 10-11

*Modified Article: When High School Football Turns Deadly 12-13

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice w/Key 14-15

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions w/Key 16-17

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article 18-20

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity & Answer Bank w/Key 21-23

Activity 5: Skill Focus – RI.8.1 Cite Text Evidence (Explicit & Inferences Drawn) 24-27

Activity 6: Integrate Sources –Video Clip & Questions w/Key 28-29

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key 30-33

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key 34-37

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.12(D)(F)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.7, RI.8.9

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

List of Activities & Standards Difficulty Level: *Easy **Moderate ***Challenge

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice*

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions*

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article**

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity w/Answer Bank**

Activity 5: Skill Focus – Cite Textual Evidence***

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip***

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key**

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key**

List of Activities & Standards Difficulty Level: *Easy **Moderate ***Challenge

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice*

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions*

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article**

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity w/Answer Bank**

Activity 5: Skill Focus – Cite Textual Evidence***

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip***

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key**

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key**



Teacher’s Guide

Activities, Difficulty Levels, and Common Core Alignment

Activities, Difficulty Levels, and TEKS Alignment



Teacher’s Guide

Instructions for Google Classroom Digital ComponentsAll student activities are available in digital format compatible with Google Classroom. They are available in two formats: Google Slides and Google Forms.

Google SlidesFirst, I have made all student pages (excluding assessments) in Google Slides format. Students can simply add text boxes to any area they wish to type on. To access the Google Slides for this article, copy and paste the link below into your browser. *Note that you’ll need to make a copy of the folder or slide before you can use it.*

link omitted in preview file

Google FormsI have made the assessments available in Google Forms. Here, they are self-grading, and I have set them all up with answer keys so they are ready to go for you. You’ll need to find these two files in your download folder to use Google Forms. The first file contains the links to the Forms, and the second file is explicit instructions for use. Look inside the Google Forms folder.



Teacher’s Guide

A Couple of Options for Teaching Article of the Week UnitsHere are my favorite suggestions for organizing these units with your schedule.*Please note that thumbnails show article 6.1 and activities.

Option A: Quickie UnitSimply complete all lesson activities in order OR pick and choose the activities you want to complete in order.

Time Needed: 2-3 fifty-minute class periodsPros: Super flexible; perfect filler around your other units; makes it easy to assign easier components for homework; ideal no prep sub plans if you have to be out for 2-3 days in a row.Cons: Fitting them all in around everything else you’ve got to do.

Option B: Daily ModelUse as a class starter or specific routine in yourclassroom everyday at the same time.

Time Needed: 15-20 minutes/day, 5 days/weekPros: IDEAL for block scheduling when you need to always change it up; Great way to fit nonfiction articles in with what you’re already doing.Cons: There are 25 total articles for each grade level, so some weeks you’ll need to skip the articles (I’d skip when doing projects, novels, during short weeks, and plan to finish up right before testing); May be difficult to commit to something rigid like this if you’re a type B teacher like myself ;)

Here’s how the daily model works:

Monday: Read article & complete basic comprehension activityTuesday: Text evidence activityWednesday: Skills focus activity (based on one key skill for each article)Thursday: Integrate information (other sources)Friday: Assessment

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday



Teacher’s Guide

WalkthroughI have discussed here how I use each activity and included hints and links to help you, too. Feel free to take or leave what you like. Even if you don’t plan to do every activity, I still recommend reading through this section to get the most out of these activities. Looking for a schedule to follow? Check the previous page for two suggested scheduling options.

These lessons and activities were designed to meet the needs of eighth graders during the second half of the school year. The articles, activities, questions, and assessments will become increasingly rigorous and challenging as we progress through the year.

Activities 1-2• *There are no higher order thinking questions

included here – only basic, literal comprehension.• These activities are designed to be completed on

an either/or basis, meaning your students should only complete one of them, not both.

• Use Activity 1 for a quick cold-read assessment or after you’ve read the article together. I use these to hold students accountable for reading carefully. I recommend having students complete activity 1 without the article as long as they’ve just read the article (so not the next day), unless you’re providing a testing accommodation.

• Use Activity 2 for an open-ended option for the same exact questions. Students may have a harder time answering this one without the article, so choose this one if you want students to use the article but still prove that they’ve understood the content.

Article Modified Article

Activity 1

Activity 2



Activities 3-4• Again, these activities are either/or, so choose

one or the other but not both.• Activity 3 requires students to annotate text

evidence in the article and includes an article annotation key.

• Activity 4 requires students to choose text evidence from a bank at the bottom. This format prepares students to choose from and distinguish between pieces of text evidence on a state assessment. I recommend mixing it up and going back and forth between these among units until your students are proficient at both methods.

Activity 5• This activity is focused around the main

skill for this article: RI.8.1, Cite textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly (#s 1 and 2) as well as inferences drawn from the text (#s 3, 4, and 5).

• Complete answer keys included, as always.

Activity 6• This activity requires students to integrate

information from another source or media. • Here, students view a local news video clip

and analyze the information and angle/purpose of this source when compared to the article for RI.8.7/RI.8.9Youtube: https://youtu.be/G24POYD7F-Y

• Backup: https://goo.gl/B2iFqX

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5

Activity 6



Teacher’s Guide

Activities 7-8• Skills assessments should ALWAYS be given

with access to the text. ALWAYS. This is always the case on standardized tests, and hey, in real life too, right?!

• What’s the best way to make sure your students are prepared for the state assessment? Assess them regularly with that format. I always let my students practice for the first few before I start counting them for a grade, and I always use the basic comprehension assessment (activity 1 or 2) as an easy grade so it levels the playing field.

• Activity 7 is the regular assessment.• Activity 8 is the modified assessment. The

modified assessment offer students only two answer choices instead of four. Note that only the multiple choice portion of the modified test is different from the original. Simply put, only page one is different. Complete keys included as always (not shown).

• In a hurry? I always include only multiple choice questions on the first page in case you’re in a hurry and need to skip the open-ended portion of the test. I don’t recommend skipping regularly but every now and then, I need a grading break.

Self-grading Google Forms assessment always included for: • Activity 1 (Comprehension Quiz)• Activity 7 (Skills Test)• Activity 8 (Modified Skills Test)

Google Forms assessments always included!

Activity 7

Activity 8


Thomas died from cardiac arrest, otherwise known as a heart attack. But Thomas was a healthy young man. His heart attack was caused by a traumatic brain injury. While rare, when blood vessels in the brain are damaged, there is a risk of heart issues like stroke or heart attack.

Thomas’ death reignited the debate on whether football is safe for teens.

American football is a collision sport. In collision sports, athletes purposely hit or collide with each other or with other inanimate objects, including the ground, with great force. Other collision sports include boxing, roller derby, rugby, and rodeo. Collision sports are among the most dangerous sports to play for both adults and children.

Because football is a collision sport, a football player can suffer a significant injury as part of routine gameplay. For example, during a game, a football player might be hit directly on the head or be knocked down with enough force to impact the brain. This type of violent head injury can cause a variety of health issues. One injury often sustained by football players is a concussion. A concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function. A concussion can cause symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, and confusion. Symptoms may last a few days or a few months. Once a person has sustained a

On what seemed like just another Friday night of high school football, events took a tragic turn in Zebulon, Georgia. As usual, crowds assembled to cheer on their home team. But halfway through the game, a sixteen-year-old linebacker named Dylan Thomas fell off the bench, unconscious. A few days later, crowds gathered again to mourn his death.

What happened to Dylan Thomas? Earlier in the game, he reported leg pain but continued playing. He did sustain some hits during play, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, while on the bench, he reported numbness in his left arm and leg. A few moments later, he collapsed. Thomas was rushed to a local hospital and then airlifted to a major hospital in Atlanta. Doctors attempted surgery on his brain and heart. But after multiple days of medical efforts by doctors, he was pronounced dead.

A Dangerous Sport

Tackles are one of the leading causes of injury in American football.

High school footballWhen

Turns Deadly



Informational Text

Finding Text EvidenceFind each piece of text evidence in the article and highlight OR underline it with the color specified. Be sure to choose the piece or pieces of evidence that most strongly support the statement.

Skill: Text Evidence

Activity 3

For items 1-4, you’ll be citing textual evidence to support what the text says explicitly.

1. Find the sentence that reveals the cause of death for Dylan Thomas. Highlight it in blue.

2. Find the sentence that best defines the term collision sport. Highlight it in green.

3. Find the sentence that identifies some symptoms caused by CTE. Highlight it in purple.

4. Find the sentence that provides some information about how doctors tried to save the life

of Dylan Thomas. Highlight it in gray.

For items 5-8, you’ll be citing one piece or multiple pieces of textual evidence to support

inferences drawn from the text.

5. Find the text evidence that explains how a brain injury can cause a heart attack to occur.

Highlight them in orange.

6. Find two pieces of text evidence that support the idea that recent headlines that highlight

the dangers of youth football have affected participation in the sport. Highlight them in

yellow.

7. Find three pieces of text evidence to support the statement below and highlight them in

red: Some people still want for high school football programs to continue.

8. Which piece of text evidence from #8 above most strongly supports the statement? Circle

the strongest piece of evidence in black.



Informational TextSkill: Text Evidence

Activity 3

gray



Informational Text

Activity 5

Skill: Cite Text Evidence

I. Citing Text Evidence – Literal ComprehensionUse the ACE method to answer each question. See the sample question and answer below.

Answer:

Cite:

Explain:

Sample: How did Dylan Thomas die?

Dylan Thomas died of a heart attack caused by a traumatic brain injury.

According to the article, Thomas died from cardiac arrest. The article also explains that “while rare, when blood vessels in the brain are damaged, there is a risk of heart issues like stroke or heart attack.”

Dylan initially collapsed on the sidelines during a high school football game, apparently as a result of a hit sustained during the game.

1. Why are collision sports considered dangerous? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2. How does a concussion occur in football? Explain your answer with evidence from the text.

Answer:

Cite:

Explain:

Answer:

Cite:

Explain:



Informational Text

Activity 5

Skill: Cite Text Evidence

4. Should parents of high school athletes be concerned about CTE? Explain your answer with evidence from the text.

5. Imagine that a friend asked for your advice about whether or not he should play football. Would the information in this article affect your answer to him at all? Explain your answer by citing at least two pieces of text evidence from the article.

3. Do you think Dylan Thomas’ death could have been prevented somehow by coaches or other football players? Explain your answer with evidence from the text.

II. Citing Text Evidence – Draw InferencesUse the ACE method to answer each question.

Answer:

Cite:

Explain:

I believe it is possible that Dylan Thomas’ death might have been prevented by coaches or trainers who were more alert and informed.

The article states that Dylan had reported leg pain as well as numbness in his left arm and leg.

An alert and informed coach or trainer might have recognized Thomas’ symptoms as concerning and referred him for more medical care during the game. Of course, there is no way to know based on information from the article if intervention during any time in the game might have improved the outcome for Dylan Thomas.

Answer:

Cite:

Explain:

I believe that parents of high school athletes should worry about CTE.

According to the article, CTE was found in the brains of 110 out of 111 former NFL athletes studied.

High school athletes play football with the same general rules and structure as NFL players, making their games just as dangerous. Additionally, the brains of high school students are still developing and may be more susceptible to damage caused by injury.

Answer:

Cite 1:

Cite 2:

Explain:

Yes, the information from this article would definitely impact my answer to a friend if he asked for advice about playing football.

The article presented a lot of disturbing information about the injuries that can be sustained as a result of playing football, including concussions.

The article also discusses the neurodegenerative disease CTE that kills brain cells slowly over time.

I would recommend to my friend that he choose to play a sport that is not a collision sport and has a lower risk of injury, such as track and field or baseball.

Documents

Nonfiction Article of the Week - I'm Lovin' Lit · and confusion. Symptoms may last a few days or a few months. Once a person has sustained a On what seemed like just another Friday