Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Close and Wide-Angle Reading / Text Dependent Analysis Unit for the 2015Philadelphia General Elections Grades: 6-8

Eligible content:

1.2 Reading Informational Text / Key Ideas and Details: Text AnalysisStandard - CC.1.2.7.B: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences and/or generalizations drawn from the text.

Key Ideas and Details: Main IdeaStandard - CC.1.2.7.A: Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

Craft and Structure: Vocabulary Standard -CC.1.2.7.F: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in grade-level reading and content, including interpretation of figurative connotative, and technical meanings.

Craft and Structure: Text Structure Standard: C.C.1.2.7.E: Analyze the structure of the text through evaluation of the authors’ use of graphics, charts and the major sections of the text.

Craft and Structure: Point of View Standard: C.C.1.2.7.D Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.

NOTE: Author’s point of view or purpose: informative, explanatory and argumentative (NOT persuade, entertain and inform.) With argumentative writing, the aim is to get people to believe that something is true or logical. The author makes a claim and defends it with evidence. With explanations, the aim is to answer questions about why or how because truthfulness is assumed. Argument seeks to persuade with evidence; explanation seeks to create understanding, or share knowledge.

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Suggestions for teaching students how to read and respond to the text.

Tools: Teacher and students plan with Wide –Angle Reading Frame

Before Reading Options

(1) Before using the assessment, determine which vocabulary students will need to understand to comprehend the text. NOT ALL TIER 2 and 3 academic / disciplinary words need to be explicitly taught. Select a vocabulary strategy to pre-teach the vocabulary. Possible pre-teach strategies: word wall, images / illustrations, pantomime / gestures, graphic organizers, peer collaboration, morphology, etc.

Tier 1 words are words that ELLs typically know the concept of in their primary language, but not the label in English. (e.g. baby, walk, happy, uncle, ) Idioms and everyday expressions are also Tier 1.

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Tier 2 words are more complex. They are (a) important and useful to understanding the text (e.g. character, plot, analyze, summarize, predict, etc.), (b) words with connections to other words (e.g. between, among, combine, estimate), and (c) words students understand the general concept but need greater precision and specificity in describing a concept / person (e.g. table of contents, math table, shy, ashamed, stubborn, coincidence, fortunate).

Tier 3 words are low-frequency words that are mostly specific to a content area of domain. (e.g. amoeba, isotope, mitosis, denominator, product, imperialism, dictatorship, command economy, etc.)

http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/teaching/vocabulary/

The Academic Word List Highlighter may help you determine priority academic words: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/alzsh3/acvocab/awlhighlighter.htm

SELECT possible vocabulary to consider for pre-teaching without giving away the text:(NOTE: Tier level is flexible. Tier may vary by student.) NOTE: Some Tier 2 terms are defined in the text or there are synonyms. Most Tier 3 terms are defined in the text. Please add (or subtract) terms from the lists.Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

ResultsDetermine / DecidesPosition (noun) (pg. 1)Symbol(s)Issue(s) (noun)Elect(s) (verb), election (noun)EligibleQualificationsRequirementsEnact (make)CurrentlyBudgetCorruption (corrupt)Uncontested / unopposed

InaugurationPrimary electionGeneral electionNomineePolitical partyCandidateCity CouncilDemocrats (noun) (Democratic - adjective)Republicans (noun) (Republican – adjective)Election DayMayor (noun)Mayoral (adjective)IncumbentLegislativeExecutiveBipartisan“minority party” (defined in the text) (minor)“majority party” (defined in the text) (major)at-large

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

(2) Determine background knowledge needed before reading. Use the Note Taking Template or the Wide-Angle Reading Frame. Use the Wide-Angle Reading Frame to help students recognize the purpose of the text and to help them develop a set of “whole-text habits” before they begin to read the text. Use the Note Taking Template to identify the background knowledge needed, key details from the text, academic words, and scaffolding techniques.

Before beginning the mini-unit, you may have students conduct surveys. Two possible surveys are included on page 7. Neither survey asks about a particular candidate.

(3) Optional: (a) Begin a KWL / KWHL on the November 3, 2015 general election. Why don’t we have school on November 3? (What do we know, What do we want to know, How can we find out, What have we learned) (b) Ask students to look at the title and first page of the text, Philadelphia City Government Elections 2015: Where, What, Why and Who? (b) Ask students Pre-Reading questions such as:

1. What do you think the text is about?2. Who is this text written for?3. What is the author’s purpose? (inform/explain, argue) 4. What is the text structure? (description, sequence, comparison/contrast, cause/effect)5. How do the visuals (charts, pictures) help you understand the topic of the text?

(c) Use a video clip to introduce voting / city hall:Video “Kids explain voting” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmK5jO7yigk Video on primary elections (generic) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_95I_1rZiIs Video (30 sections) on City Hall - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b34wjZ_EB9U

(4) Select a vocabulary strategy to implement. Consider what vocabulary may be difficult for ELLs based on syntax, transitions, or disciplinary / domain vocabulary. NOTE: Some tier 2 and many tier 3 terms are italicized. Most of the terms are either defined in the text or there are synonyms. For some students, this may be sufficient to understand the text. Other students may be helped with the pre-teaching of a selection of terms.

During Reading

This text is intended to introduce students to a Philadelphia general election by defining and describing the process, actors, and rationale. Besides text, there are maps, images / symbols, graphs (circle, line), charts and photos. The text concludes with asking students what issues are important to them. Each section of the text begins with a 5W/question to guide their reading.

(1) Close Reading is not a reading strategy – it is goal / outcome. Consider reading strategies you may use to provide scaffolding for the students: chunking the text, think aloud, jigsaw, partner read, choral read, etc. For example, you may want to use think aloud on page 1 and then choral read page 2 and who is a voter on page 3. Some students may be able to partner read pages 3 and 4 on the requirements for mayor and city council candidates and their jobs.

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Page 5 introduces a complicated topic: “at-large” versus “district” city council candidates. One topic you may want to discuss is the number of incumbents who are running unopposed.(2) Introduce the prompt. Annotate the prompt.(3) Introduce annotating the text. Model using the symbols for annotating with a section of the text.

Annotating a Prompt – Determine the 2 – 3 parts of each sentence

(Part 1) What is the text about? (theme, topic, issue) (Part 2) What am I being asked to do? Analyze, explain… (Part 3) What do I have to include? Information / evidence from the text

Annotating a Text

* Main Idea ! New IdeaX Not important ? I do not understand

✓ Key Ideas _______________

(4) Distribute the Text Dependent Analysis Scaffolding Questions. Tell students they will read the text three times – each time focusing on one set of questions.

After Reading Options

(1) Complete the KWL/KWHL chart. (2) Use the 3, 2, 1 strategy: have students list/discuss 3 things they learned, 2 things they found interesting, and 1 questions they had. (3) Ask students to reflect on the pre-reading questions. What is the author’s purpose? How do I know? Cite evidence from the text. (4) Write Around (Silent Conversation): After reading the text, give students 2-3 minutes to respond to the text or a section of the text on a piece of paper. Then, have students pass their response to another group member who will then either respond to the text again or respond to what was written by another group member. After students have had a chance to respond to each of the group member’s papers, have them discuss their papers and responses. (5) Look at the graph on page 6. Have students tally what issues are important to them. Why are these issues important? (What questions do you have for the mayoral candidates? the city council candidates?)

Additional information on the November 3, 2015 general election:Committee of Seventy: www.seventy.org (Issues, Tools) (List of City Council candidates)The Next Mayor 2015: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/mayor

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) Prompts The PA Core Standards require students to gather evidence, knowledge and insight from what they read. Grades 4 – 8 of the PSSA include text dependent analysis writing. Text dependent analysis asks a question that can only be answered by referring explicitly back to the text. The following writing prompts are modeled after the PSSA’s TDA prompts. Just as students need to learn how to annotate the text, they will need to learn how to annotate the prompt. The prompt consists of three components:

(1) Part 1: What the text is about, a quote from the text, the focus / main idea of the text, etc.*

(2) Part 2: Write an essay analyzing… Then, the student is told what to analyze such as tone, theme, figurative language, structure, how a character does… elements found in (genre), how the author develops the main argument…, the importance of ________ to (a character) (the author), etc.

(3) Part 3: Use evidence from the text (drama, poem, article, passage, etc.) to support your response. (Some prompts refer to two sources of text.)

(*4th and 5th grade prompts may offer more information for students in Part 1.)

Sample Text Dependent Prompts:

November 3, 2015 is election day in Philadelphia. Citizens will elect candidates for mayor and City Council. Write an essay analyzing how the author explains the process to become the mayor and a member of City Council in Philadelphia. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

November 3, 2015 is election day in Philadelphia. Citizens will elect candidates for mayor and City Council. Write an essay analyzing the author’s purpose. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

November 3, 2015 is election day in Philadelphia. Citizens will elect candidates for mayor and City Council. Write an essay analyzing how the author uses maps, charts and images to inform the reader. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

On page six, there are results of a survey that asked Philadelphians about important issues. Analyze why four issues – education, jobs, crime and taxes – are important to Philadelphians. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Text Dependent Prompt:

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Text Dependent Analysis Scaffolding Questions

First Read (Key Ideas and Details)

1. When is the general election?

2. Who may vote?

3. Who can be mayor? Who can be in City Council?

4. What is the job of the mayor? What is the job of City Council?

5. What are key details about voting and elections in Philadelphia?

6. What issues are important to Philadelphians? Compare / contrast the information on the graph with the information on the chart.

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Second Read (Craft and Structure)

1. How is the text organized?

2. What information is on the graphs? (circle, line, bar graphs)

3. What data is in the text? How is it presented?

4. What information is on the maps? The graphs? The charts?

5.

Third Read (Integration of knowledge and ideas)

1. What is the role of a voter? A candidate?

2. Who votes? What evidence is included about who votes?

3. The text in in parts. What are the parts of the text?

4. On page 6, list why people are concerned about each issue. (cause / effect)

5.

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Optional Academic Conversation

Pose the question from the reading: What issues are important to you? (Student may add why the issue is important.)

Think: Ask students to look at the list of issues on page 6. Are the issues important to you? What other issues are important to you?

Write: Record a list of reasons (and why) to prepare to share with a partner. Pair: With a partner, share your list of reasons (and why it is important to you.) Share: In groups of 4+ students, ask students to share their issues (and rationale) by

completing the T-chart. The group should try to prioritize four to five issues. Assessment: Have students either present in small groups or to the class. (If as a class,

you may create two circles: a small inner circle and a large outer circle. The group that presents sits in the inner circle. Students in the outer circle may ask questions.) Then, have students write their response.

Sample presentation:

First, we believe _______________________is important because _____________________.Then (Second), ______________________________________________________________.Next (Third), ________________________________________________________________.Last (Fourth), ________________________________________________________________.

Optional: Analyzing Data

Questions for Charts / Graphs Charts / graphs may be used to encourage students to analyze additional data, practice reading charts / graphs, tabulate data, etc.

Page 2: “Voter Registration by %” and “Voter Registration by Political Party”1. What type of graph is it? (bar, line, circle)2. What is the title? Topic?3. What do the legends (key) or labels tell us? (e.g. x and y axis)4. What is the graph or chart measuring or showing?5. How is the information similar? Different? (compare / contrast the two graphs)

Page 6: Political Candidates1. How many incumbents are running for “At-Large” City Council positions?2. How many new candidates are running for “At-Large” City Council positions?3. How many District City Council political races have a new candidate challenging an incumbent?4. Using the political party registration data on page 2 and the list of candidates on page 6, what can you infer about who runs for political office in Philadelphia? Why?

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Survey 1

May 19, 2015 is Philadelphia’s local government primary election day. People are running for mayor and City Council. Ask 5 people if they will vote on May 19, 2015.

Person Are you a U.S. citizen?

Are you registered to vote?

Are you going to vote for mayor on May 19?

Are you going to vote for City Council on May 19?

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2

3

4

5

Survey 2

May 19, 2015 is Philadelphia’s local government primary election day. People are running for mayor and City Council. Ask 5 people what issues are most important to them.

Person Education Crime Jobs Taxes Other issue(s)?1

2

3

4

5

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Inform Explain Argue

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Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, May 2015

Close reading isn’t meant to be used all the time with all text. Close reading is a goal – to read more in-depth. Text dependent questions (TDQs) provide scaffolding designed to help students of all levels or ability understand complex text. A goal of a close or deep reading of text is to teach your students strategies for approaching text that allow them to successfully

read a similar text independently.

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