Nonfiction Article of the Week - I'm Lovin' Lit€¦ · types of folklore, people tend to believe it simply because they’ve heard it before. So, the next time a black cat crosses

©2018 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

Nonfiction Article of the Week8-3: Modern Folklore

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: Modern Folklore: Urban Legends, Old Wives’ Tales, and Superstition 10-11

*Modified Article: Modern Folklore: Urban Legends, Old Wives’ Tales, and Superstition 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 – Analyze Connections 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

BONUS: Connections With “The Monkey’s Paw” 38-39

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 – Analyze Connections**

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip & Questions***

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key**

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

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.3

RI.8.9

RI.8.1, RI.8.3

RI.8.1, RI.8.3


ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(G)9(B)(C)

ELAR.9(B), 12(F)

ELAR.5(F)(G)9(B)(C)

ELAR.5(F)(G)9(B)(C)

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 – Analyze Connections**

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip & Questions***

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 GoogleClassroom. 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 theGoogle Slides for this article, copy and paste the link below into your browser. *Notethat you’ll need to make a copy of the folder or slide before you can use it.*

Omitted from preview

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 pickand 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 first half 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.

Activity 2

Article Modified Article

Note: Answer key included but not shown.

Activity 1



Teacher’s Guide

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.8.3 – Analyze connections within a text, specifically.

• Complete answer keys included, as always.

Activity 6• This activity requires students to integrate

information from another source or media. • Here, students view a brief video clip about the same

topic and answer questions related to the standards.• View the video clip https://youtu.be/quOdF1CAPXs• Backup: https://goo.gl/rC2sBB

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5

Activity 6



Teacher’s Guide

Activities 7-8• 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.

Activity 7

Activity 8


superstitions may sound similar to old wives' tales, superstitions involve luck or fate and some level of belief in magic. One common superstition tells us that if you walk under a ladder, something bad will soon happen. A person who believes in superstition will likely blame the next bad thing that happens to him on the ladder. Did one actually cause the other? Probably not. But according the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina, many people fall prey to the human mind’s desire to associate thoughts and symbols with events. Like other types of folklore, people tend to believe it simply because they’ve heard it before.

So, the next time a black cat crosses your path, don’t panic. Bad stuff happens anyway.

Old Wives’ TalesOld wives' tales are another form of modern

folklore that have been passed around and are generally believed to be true. An old wives' tale is often a one-line piece of advice. Unlike urban legends though, some old wives' tales are actually true. They are called old wives' tales because traditionally, these phrases were shared and spread by old women who were considered to be wise in their old age.

Here are two old wives' tales. One is true and one is not. See if you can figure out which is which.

Has your mother actually used the wait-to-swim rule on you? She was wrong. According to Dr. Charles Smith of the Family and Preventative Medicine Department at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, there is no medical evidence to support the myth.

If you’ve ever been served chicken soup when you were feeling under the weather, be grateful. According to Dr. Stephen Rennard, a researcher at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, “chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory agent for your nasal cells, giving your nose the relief it needs.” What’s more, hot soups in general help keep nasal passages clear, prevent dehydration, and soothe a sore throat.

Unlike urban legends and old wives' tales, superstitions can be very personal. For example, if you’re wearing a green t-shirt under your soccer uniform when you kick the winning goal, you might believe it’s your lucky t-shirt. A superstitious person is likely to attribute one thing to something completely unrelated. In this case, the t-shirt is thought of as a good luck charm. Other common good luck charms include four-leaf clovers and rabbit’s feet.

A superstition is an irrational belief in supernatural causation of events. While some For the superstitious, a black cat crossing your path

may be an omen of misfortune and death.

Superstitions

*You should always wait 30 minutes after you eat before swimming, or you might drown.

*Have a cold? Eat chicken soup and you’ll feel better.While only 18% of Americans admit to being superstitious, 35% consider picking up a penny to be good luck.



Informational Text

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

1. Find the sentence that gives the best definition for old wives' tales. Highlight it in blue.

2. Find the sentence that reveals one way superstitions are distinctly different from old

wives' tales and urban legends. Highlight it in green.

3. Find the sentence that explains why websites that seek to discredit urban legends do not

usually work. Highlight it in purple.

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

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

inferences drawn from the text.

4. Find a piece of text evidence that best explains why you might have heard the urban

legend about the spider-infested beehive hairdo . Highlight it in orange.

5. Find two pieces of text evidence that explain why someone who walks under a ladder

might truly believe that it brought him bad luck. Highlight them in yellow.

6. Which text evidence from the previous question (highlighted in yellow) most strongly

explains why someone might believe the superstition? Draw a box around the strongest

text evidence.

7. Find two pieces of text evidence that prove that an old wives' tale is true. Highlight them

in pink.

8. Find a piece of text evidence that strongly supports the idea that the Internet only made

the problem of spreading false urban legends worse. Highlight it in red.

Activity 3



Informational TextSkill: Text Evidence

Activity 3



Informational Text

Text Evidence BankFor each item, find the appropriate piece(s) of text evidence and highlight or underline in the requested color.

Skill: Text Evidence

Activity 4

Unlike urban legends and old wives' tales, superstitions can be very personal.

hot soups in general help keep nasal passages clear, prevent dehydration, and soothe a sore throat.

But according the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina, many people fall prey to the human mind’s desire to associate thoughts and symbols with events.

But instead of slowing these modern myths down, the Internet has actually helped to spread new urban legends even faster through email forwards and viral social media posts (think—Slender Man).

Bodily insect infestations are actually quite a common theme in urban legends.

A person who believes in superstition will likely blame the next bad thing that happens to him on the ladder

“chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory agent for your nasal cells, giving your nose the relief it needs.”

An old wives' tale is often a one-line piece of advice

Though a number of websites exist for the purpose of collecting and, when necessary, discrediting these urban legends, not everyone uses them.



Informational Text

1. Identify the three types of modern folklore discussed in the article.2. Define each type of modern folklore.3. Give an example from the article of each type of modern folklore.4. Discuss the validity of each type of modern folklore. Are they true? Based on facts?

A. Analyze Connections Between IdeasUse the article to answer the questions and complete the graphic organizers.

Activity 5

Modern Folklore

Skill: Analyze Connections

(1a) (1b) (1c)

define

example

discuss validity

(2)

(3)

(4)



Informational Text

According to information from the article, how are these ideas related? Describe the relationship between ideas succinctly in the space provided. Then, explain the relationship more in-depth. See the first example that is done for you. Keep in mind that you’ll have to make some inferences and draw some logical conclusions based on the information that’s in the article.

Skill: Analyze Connections

Activity 5

B. Analyze Relationships Between Ideas

Superstition is one type of folklore.

Like other types of folklore, people tend to believe in superstition simply because they’ve heard of it before.

5. folklore and superstitionrelationship described succinctly here

relationship explained more in-depth here

6. urban legends and old wives' tales

8. the Internet and urban legends

7. urban legends and insects invading the body

9. superstition and belief in magic



Informational Text

“Modern Folklore” & “The Monkey’s Paw”After reading the article, look in the story for connections with the 3 types of modern folklore discussed in the article. Keep in mind that connections do not have to be specific examples.

Skill: Integrate Fiction & Nonfiction Sources

BONUS Activity

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connections with the story

Documents

Nonfiction Article of the Week - I'm Lovin' Lit€¦ · types of folklore, people tend to believe it simply because they’ve heard it before. So, the next time a black cat crosses