The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — Grade 5 Teaching Plan

The unit in one line

Everyone in this book already has the thing they are travelling to Oz to ask for, and the book lets them spend the whole journey refusing to believe it.

Where you can see it:

Chapter VI — The Tin Woodman steps on a beetle, weeps until his jaw rusts shut, and then explains that because he has no heart he must take extra care never to be cruel. The book states his own contradiction in his own voice.
Chapter VII — At the ditch the Scarecrow works out the crossing and volunteers to ride first so that nobody who can be hurt goes first; the Lion says plainly that he is terribly afraid of falling and then jumps four times carrying each of them over.
Chapter XV — Oz tells each of them outright that they already have it — the Scarecrow is learning something every day, the Lion has the only courage there is, the Woodman is lucky to be without a heart. All three hear it and ask for the object anyway.
Chapter XVI — The gifts are bran and pins, a silk heart stuffed with sawdust, and a drink out of a green bottle. Nothing changes except that each of them now believes.
Chapter XXIII — Glinda tells Dorothy the Silver Shoes would have carried her home the first day she arrived. Dorothy has been wearing them since Chapter III.

Reading schedule

Where the class is in the book

Session	Reading	Minutes
1	Chapters I-VI read before this session	35
2	Chapters VII-VIII read before this session	35
3	Chapters IX-XIV complete	40
4	Chapters XV-XVII complete	35
5	Chapters XVIII-XXIV complete; book finished	40
6	Book complete; students work from the ledger	40

The thing students build

The Already-Had-It Ledger

One row per session: the chapter and moment, who is being watched, what that character says is missing, what the character actually does in the moment, and — from Session 4 onward — what Oz hands them for it later.

Created in Session 1. Used by The Session 6 spoken argument, which requires two rows that pull in different directions.

The column that carries all three levels. Column four, what the character actually does in this moment. A Support answer names the action plainly — he cried over an insect. An Extension answer names the action and what it costs him — he wept until his jaw rusted shut, then stepped over an ant, putting care where feeling was supposed to be. Both are true, both are about the same moment, and they can be read side by side.

One sheet, one row per session. Print it once at the start of the unit. A student who has lost it has lost the unit, not one lesson.

What it all builds to

Session 6

A two-minute spoken argument answering whether the journey to Oz was necessary, built on two ledger rows that point different ways and ending on a stated position.

What a Support student hands in. The same spoken argument on the same question, at ninety seconds, built from the same two opposing ledger rows. The claim and each row are written to a printed frame, and the delivery is given first to one partner and then to the room. Both delivery choices are still marked and still used, chosen from a printed list of four.

Draws on sessions 1, 2, 4, 5.

The sessions

1Three Lists of What Is Missing

35 minutes · Chapters I-VI read before this session

Students find the sentence where each traveller says what he is missing, then watch the book contradict the Tin Woodman in the same chapter he makes his claim. They build the ledger the whole unit runs on and fill its first row.

Where everyone ends up

The Tin Woodman tells you he cannot feel and then cries over an insect, so what a character says about himself is evidence about him rather than a fact about him.

The one question the three levels answer

What does the Tin Woodman believe about himself, and what does he do that makes that hard to believe?

Three ways into the book

Solo Supported Listening

This session runs in all three. How a student takes the book in is not the same question as how hard their work is.

Opening move

Read the beetle passage aloud to the end of the Woodman's own explanation, then ask the room: a creature who says he has no heart just cried until his face rusted shut — so what do we do with what he says about himself?

What this session inherits and leaves

Inherits: nothing — this is the opener
Leaves: The Already-Had-It Ledger, created, with Row 1 complete through column four.

Standard for the selected region

Steps — 35 minutes in total

Step	What to do
Open with the beetle	Read the beetle passage in Chapter VI aloud, through to the Woodman explaining that people with hearts have something to guide them. Ask the question and take three answers without settling it.
Three claims, located	Send students to find and mark one sentence each: the Scarecrow saying what he has no brains for in Chapter III, the Woodman in Chapter V, the Lion in Chapter VI. Marking only — no writing yet.
What he says against what he does	The Tin Woodman only. Students record two things he says about himself and two things he does, each labelled said or did, each with a chapter number. The two must not come from the same chapter.
Build the ledger	Rule up the five columns on the board and have students copy them. Complete Row 1 together using the beetle. Say out loud that column five stays empty until Session 4, and leave it visibly blank.
Column four alone	Students write column four themselves: what the Woodman actually does in this moment, in their own words. Circulate; do not supply wording.
Exit ticket	Collect the one-line answer at the door.

What to expect them to get wrong

Students decide the Tin Woodman is lying about having no heart, or that the book is calling him a liar.
He is not lying. He is telling you what he believes about himself. Go back to his last two sentences and write down what he thinks a heart is for — that is the attitude we are describing.

Closing check

Every Row 1 has a chapter reference in all four filled cells, and column four is in the student's own words rather than copied from the page.

Three levels of the one lesson

SupportThe three claim sentences are located for them by page and paragraph, so the work starts at describing rather than searching. Two pieces of evidence instead of four, one said and one did, still from two different chapters. Column four is written from a frame.

At gradeLocate all three claims, gather four pieces of evidence on the Woodman across two chapters, name his attitude, and write column four unaided.

ExtensionDo the same gathering for a second traveller and say which of the two the book undercuts more plainly, using the evidence rather than an impression.

The question everyone answers

What does the Tin Woodman believe about himself, and what does he do that makes that hard to believe?

Word for word on all three worksheets, so one closing discussion covers the room. If a Support answer and an Extension answer would not belong in the same conversation, the session needs rewriting.

English learners

Pre-teach the three book words listed below before the lesson, not the idea. Give the says/does page with the two column headings already written and an example row filled from Chapter V so the shape is visible. Allow the attitude line to be spoken to you before it is written, and accept it in the student's first language if the evidence beneath it is in English.

Materials

Comes with the lesson

The Already-Had-It Ledger sheet, five columns, six blank rows
Says and Does page, one per student
Exit ticket slips, six to a page

Or use instead

The ledger can be ruled up in an exercise book — five columns across a double page
Sticky tabs for marking the three claim sentences; folded paper strips work as well

Student worksheets

Support

What He Says, What He Does (Helper Version)

Where to look: Chapters I to VI. The three claims are marked for you: Scarecrow early in Chapter III, Woodman in Chapter V, Lion in Chapter VI. The beetle is near the end of Chapter VI.

The Tin Woodman says he has no ______ . I found this in Chapter ___ .
One thing he SAYS about himself: “______” (Chapter ___)
One thing he DOES: ______ (Chapter ___)
The two chapters I used are different: yes / no
His attitude toward himself is that he is ______ . Choose one and finish it: not able to feel / dangerous to others / needing to be careful.
Ledger Row 1, column four, in my own words: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. What does the Tin Woodman believe about himself, and what does he do that makes that hard to believe? He believes he is ______ . But he ______ .
Check — I have a chapter number next to everything I wrote.

At grade

Says and Does: The Tin Woodman

Where to look: Chapters I to VI. Scarecrow's claim is early in Chapter III, the Woodman's in Chapter V, the Lion's in Chapter VI. The beetle is near the end of Chapter VI.

The sentence where he states what he is missing (Chapter ___): ______
SAYS 1 (Chapter ___): ______
SAYS 2 (Chapter ___): ______
DOES 1 (Chapter ___): ______
DOES 2 (Chapter ___): ______
My two chapters are ___ and ___ . They are different.
His attitude toward himself, in one sentence: ______
How the author shows it — through what he says, what he does, or what the narrator tells us? Name which, and how you know: ______
Ledger Row 1, column four, in my own words: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. What does the Tin Woodman believe about himself, and what does he do that makes that hard to believe? ______
Check — every line above has a chapter number, and column four is mine, not copied.

Extension

Two Travellers, One Contradiction

Where to look: Chapters I to VI, whole. The beetle is near the end of Chapter VI.

The Tin Woodman: attitude, and the two chapters that show it. ______
A second traveller: attitude, and the two chapters that show it. ______
Which one does the book undercut more plainly, and by what means — his own words, his actions, or the narrator's? ______
The single strongest piece of evidence you have, and why it beats the others: ______
Ledger Row 1, column four, written so that someone who has not read Chapter VI would understand it: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. What does the Tin Woodman believe about himself, and what does he do that makes that hard to believe? ______ Then: does the book agree with him, or with what he does?
Check — a chapter number on every claim, and a reason rather than an impression in the comparison.

Exit ticket

The Tin Woodman says he has no heart. Write one thing he does in Chapter VI that makes that hard to believe, and give the chapter number.

Vocabulary

May be pre-taught

tedious — so long and dull it wears you out (Chapter III, the Scarecrow explaining life on the pole)
husky — rough and low in sound — not the dog, and not strong (Chapter III, the Scarecrow speaks in a rather husky voice)
regret — the feeling of wishing you had not done something (Chapter VI, tears of sorrow and regret over the beetle)

Teacher key

The claim sentences: Scarecrow in Chapter III says he is stuffed and so has no brains at all. Tin Woodman in Chapter V explains the tinsmith gave him no heart. Lion in Chapter VI calls himself a coward.
SAYS, Chapter VI: he knows very well he has no heart, and so must take great care never to be cruel or unkind. He also says that people with hearts have something to guide them and need never do wrong.
DOES, Chapter VI: steps on the beetle by accident, weeps until the tears rust his jaws shut, and afterward steps over an ant so as not to harm it.
DOES, Chapter V: he tells Dorothy his story and asks to come along; accept any located action from Chapter V so the two-chapter rule is genuinely met.
The attitude to look for: he regards himself as unable to feel, and therefore as someone who must substitute care for feeling. Accept any wording that holds those two halves together. A student who writes only “he is sad” has named a mood, not an attitude — ask what he believes about himself.
Column four at this grade should say something close to: he cried over an insect he did not mean to kill. Accept anything accurate and in the student's own words. Do not accept the book's sentence copied out.

Common wrong turn. Students take both pieces of evidence from Chapter VI because that is where the beetle is, which makes the word develops impossible to satisfy. Catch it at the two-chapters line on the worksheet, before they start writing the attitude.

Formative checklist

Part of the standard	Practised in	Visible in
Identify the character's perspective — the attitude he holds toward himself	Step 2, students locate and mark the sentence where each traveller states what he lacks; Step 3 names the Woodman's attitude in their own words	Marked sentences in the book and the attitude line at the top of the says/does page
Describe how the author develops it — naming the specific means (what the character says, what he does, what the narrator reports)	Step 3, two things the Woodman says and two things he does, each labelled said or did	The four labelled rows on the says/does page, each carrying a chapter reference
Develops — shown across more than one moment, not asserted from one line	Step 3 requires evidence from two different chapters; Step 5 asks what changes between them	Two distinct chapter references on the says/does page and the written answer in column four
Describe in a literary text — the description is tied to located text, not to recall	Steps 2, 3 and 5 all require a chapter reference beside every claim	Ledger Row 1, which is rejected if a cell has no chapter reference

Noted by the writer

Catalogue access facts (text_on_screen, narration, illustrations_displayed) were not supplied for this title, so all three are assumed true and every mode is available. If Listening on this platform can mean text-off, the exact_wording sessions need rechecking.

2One Ditch, Three Proofs

35 minutes · Chapters VII-VIII read before this session

One obstacle, one page, and all three travellers do the exact thing each says he cannot. Students take the scene apart into setting, conflict, event and characterization, then write how it moves the story forward, and record it as Row 2 of the ledger.

Where everyone ends up

One obstacle at one ditch makes all three travellers do the exact thing each of them says he cannot do.

The one question the three levels answer

At the ditch, which traveller does the most to get everyone across, and what does that show about him?

Three ways into the book

Solo Supported Listening

This session runs in all three. How a student takes the book in is not the same question as how hard their work is.

Opening move

Read the ditch description and stop at the line where it seems their journey must end. Ask: which one of these four is supposed to be the one who cannot solve this?

What this session inherits and leaves

Inherits: The Already-Had-It Ledger with Row 1 from Session 1.
Leaves: Row 2 of the Already-Had-It Ledger, holding the Scarecrow's plan and the Lion's admission.

Standard for the selected region

Steps — 35 minutes in total

Step	What to do
Stand at the edge	Read the ditch description aloud. Students mark two details that make it impossible to go round or climb down. Take the question and leave it open.
Who solves it	Students find the lines where the Scarecrow works out the crossing and where he offers to ride first because he is the one who cannot be hurt. Copy both onto the page with the chapter.
Who is afraid and goes anyway	Students find the Lion saying he is terribly afraid of falling, then count his crossings. Both go on the page. Ask what the count is evidence of.
From obstacle to plot	The framed paragraph. Sentence one names the conflict. The middle says what it forces each of the two to reveal. The last sentence says what it lets happen next.
Row 2	Build Row 2 of the Already-Had-It Ledger. Both the Scarecrow and the Lion go in the same row, because it is one scene, and the event column lists the crossings in order.
Exit ticket	Collect at the door.

What to expect them to get wrong

Students say the Lion is brave here because he is a lion, and treat the crossing as something he was always going to manage.
Find the sentence where he says how he feels about falling, and count how many times he crosses after saying it. Bravery that costs nothing is not what the book is showing you.

Closing check

Every framed paragraph names the conflict in its first sentence and ends with something that could not have happened before the ditch was crossed.

Three levels of the one lesson

SupportThe two setting details are circled in the text already, and the paragraph is supplied as three sentence openers. Students still locate both character lines themselves and still order the crossings.

At gradeMark the setting, locate both character lines, name the conflict, write the framed paragraph unaided, and complete Row 2 with the events in order.

ExtensionAnswer the same question about a second obstacle in Chapter VIII and say which of the two does more work for the story, using the plot consequence rather than the drama of the scene.

The question everyone answers

At the ditch, which traveller does the most to get everyone across, and what does that show about him?

Word for word on all three worksheets, so one closing discussion covers the room. If a Support answer and an Extension answer would not belong in the same conversation, the session needs rewriting.

English learners

Give the paragraph frame with all three openers written out and the conflict sentence half-built. Pair for the locating steps and let the pair share one marked book. The count of the Lion's crossings is a number, not a sentence — accept it as evidence on its own and build the wording around it in talk before writing.

Materials

Comes with the lesson

One Ditch, Three Proofs page with the paragraph frame
The Already-Had-It Ledger, continued from Session 1
Exit ticket slips

Or use instead

The paragraph frame can be written on the board and copied
Two colours of pencil for marking setting and character lines separately; one pencil and a circle-versus-underline rule does the same job

Student worksheets

Support

The Ditch (Helper Version)

Where to look: Chapters VII and VIII. The ditch is at the start of Chapter VII, and the two lines you need are circled for you.

Two things about the ditch that make it impossible to get round: ______ and ______
The Scarecrow's idea for crossing (Chapter ___): ______
The Scarecrow offers to go first because ______ .
The Lion says he is afraid of ______ (Chapter ___). He crosses the ditch ___ times.
Finish the paragraph: The problem in this part is ______ . It makes the Scarecrow show that ______ , and it makes the Lion show that ______ . Because they get across, the story can now ______ .
Ledger Row 2 — the crossings in order: 1 ______ 2 ______ 3 ______ 4 ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. At the ditch, which traveller does the most to get everyone across, and what does that show about him? I choose ______ because ______ .
Check — I have a chapter number, and my last sentence says what happens next.

At grade

One Ditch, Three Proofs

Where to look: Chapters VII and VIII. The ditch is at the start of Chapter VII.

Setting — two details that rule out going round or climbing down: ______
Characterization, Scarecrow (Chapter ___): the line where he works out the crossing ______
Characterization, Scarecrow: the line where he offers to go first, and his reason ______
Characterization, Lion (Chapter ___): what he says about falling ______ . Number of crossings: ___
Conflict, in one sentence: ______
The paragraph: name the conflict, say what it forces each of the two to reveal, and end with what it lets happen next. ______
Ledger Row 2, events in order: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. At the ditch, which traveller does the most to get everyone across, and what does that show about him? ______
Check — chapter numbers on both character lines, and a last sentence about what comes next rather than what just happened.

Extension

Two Obstacles, One Story

Where to look: Chapters VII and VIII. The ditch opens Chapter VII; the second obstacle follows in Chapter VIII.

The ditch: conflict, and what it makes each traveller reveal. ______
A second obstacle from Chapter VIII: conflict, and what it makes them reveal. ______
Which obstacle does more work for the story, and why — judge by what becomes possible afterwards, not by which is more exciting. ______
One detail of setting that could be changed without changing the plot, and one that could not: ______
Ledger Row 2, with the strongest single piece of evidence marked and a reason for the mark: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. At the ditch, which traveller does the most to get everyone across, and what does that show about him? ______ Then: name the strongest case against your choice.
Check — the comparison rests on consequence, and both claims carry chapter numbers.

Exit ticket

The Scarecrow says he has no brains. Write down what he works out at the ditch, and say what happens next because of it.

Vocabulary

May be pre-taught

gulf — a wide deep gap in the ground — the same thing the book has been calling a ditch (Chapter VII, used for the ditch once the crossing begins)
jagged — sharp and uneven, with points sticking out (Chapter VII, the rocks at the bottom of the ditch)
Kalidah — a monster in this book with a bear's body and a tiger's head; it is invented, so there is nothing to look up (Chapter VII, the beasts in the forest beyond the ditch)

Teacher key

Setting details to accept: the ditch is very wide; it is very deep; there are big jagged rocks at the bottom; the sides are too steep to climb down; it divides the forest as far as they can see. Any two.
The Scarecrow's plan: once the Lion says he thinks he could jump it, the Scarecrow is the one who turns that into a method — the Lion can carry them all over on his back, one at a time.
The Scarecrow's offer: he goes first because if the Lion fails, Dorothy would be killed or the Woodman dented on the rocks, and a fall would not hurt him at all. This is the strongest single piece of evidence in the scene and students should be pushed toward it.
The Lion: he says he is terribly afraid of falling, and then crosses four times in total — Scarecrow over, back, Dorothy and Toto over, back, Woodman over. Accept four; accept three if the student counts only the carries and can say so.
The plot link: without the crossing the journey ends at the ditch. Getting across puts them into the country of the Kalidahs, which is what the next danger needs.
What to score in the paragraph: whether the last sentence is about consequence. A paragraph that ends by restating the crossing has described the scene, not analysed it. That is the line to push on, and it is worth more than tidy sentences.

Common wrong turn. The count of the Lion's crossings gets treated as trivia rather than as evidence. Ask what the number proves that a single crossing would not, and it turns back into analysis.

Formative checklist

Part of the standard	Practised in	Visible in
Setting	Step 1, students mark the two physical details of the ditch that make going round or climbing down impossible	Two marked details copied onto worksheet item 1
Events	Step 5, students list the crossings in the order they happen while building Row 2	The ordered event list in Ledger Row 2
Conflict	Step 3 names what stands in the way and what it costs; Step 4 opens by stating the conflict in one sentence	The conflict sentence at the top of the framed paragraph
Characterization	Step 2 locates the Scarecrow's plan and his offer to go first; Step 3 locates the Lion saying he is terribly afraid of falling	Two quoted-by-location lines on worksheet items 2 and 3
Contribute to the plot — the causal link between the four and what happens next	Step 4, the framed paragraph, which must say what the obstacle forces the characters to reveal and what it lets happen afterwards	The completed framed paragraph, collected

Noted by the writer

ELA.5.R.1.1 has no published clarification statement, so the five components are derived from the coordinated list in the benchmark text itself. Recorded here so a reviewer can see the derivation rather than assume a source.
Catalogue access facts (text_on_screen, narration, illustrations_displayed) were not supplied for this title, so all three are assumed true and every mode is available. If Listening on this platform can mean text-off, the exact_wording sessions need rechecking.

3The Long Middle

40 minutes · Chapters IX-XIV complete

Six chapters in one summary. Students order the events between the Emerald City and the melting of the Witch, cut the ones the chain does not need, and write 150 words that carry both what happens and what the stretch is about.

Where everyone ends up

The six chapters between the Emerald City and the melting of the Witch are about people doing hard things while still believing they cannot.

The one question the three levels answer

What is this stretch of the book about, rather than what happens in it?

Three ways into the book

Solo Supported Listening

This session runs in all three. How a student takes the book in is not the same question as how hard their work is.

Opening move

Read the moment Oz names his price. Then ask: he has just told the three who believe they have nothing to go and kill a witch — why would he pick them?

What this session inherits and leaves

Inherits: Rows 1 and 2 of the Already-Had-It Ledger, for the pattern to summarise against.
Leaves: A 150-word summary of Chapters IX-XIV carrying plot and theme, plus Row 3 of the Already-Had-It Ledger.

Standard for the selected region

Steps — 40 minutes in total

Step	What to do
Open with the price	Read Oz setting his condition. Ask the question, take two answers, and write neither on the board.
Five events, in order	Students list five events from Chapters IX to XIV with a chapter number beside each, in the order they happen. Five exactly — the limit is the work.
Essential or not	The thumb test on each event in turn. Cross out, do not erase, anything the chain survives without. Students must be able to show what they cut.
Draft the summary	150 words. It must run in order and it must contain one sentence saying what this stretch is about. Underline that sentence.
Row 3	Complete Row 3 of the Already-Had-It Ledger from this stretch, choosing the moment where one of the three does the thing he says he cannot.
Exit ticket	Collect.

What to expect them to get wrong

The summary turns into a list of everything memorable — the Kalidahs, the mice, the poppies, the spectacles — because leaving anything out feels like getting it wrong.
Take any event you have written and cover it with your thumb. If the next event still makes sense, that event is not holding the chain together. Cross it out and keep going.

Closing check

Every summary is at or under 150 words and has exactly one sentence underlined that says what the stretch is about rather than what happens in it.

Three levels of the one lesson

SupportEight events are supplied on cards and students order them, then cut to five using the thumb test. The summary is written to a frame of five sentence openers, with the theme sentence opener supplied and the rest of it their own.

At gradeGenerate the five events, apply the thumb test, and draft the 150-word summary unaided with one underlined theme sentence.

ExtensionWrite the summary twice — once so the underlined sentence is about what the journey costs, once so it is about what the travellers already are — and say which the six chapters support better.

The question everyone answers

In one sentence, what is this stretch of the book about? Do not say what happens in it.

Word for word on all three worksheets, so one closing discussion covers the room. If a Support answer and an Extension answer would not belong in the same conversation, the session needs rewriting.

English learners

Give the event cards to order rather than events to generate, whatever tier the student is otherwise working at — the ordering is the same thinking with less production. Supply the theme sentence opener in writing. Allow the summary at 100 words rather than 150; the limit is there to force selection, and a lower limit forces it harder, not less.

Materials

Comes with the lesson

Event list page with five numbered lines and a word-count box
The Already-Had-It Ledger, continued
Eight pre-written event cards for the support tier
Exit ticket slips

Or use instead

The event cards can be written on scrap paper cut into eights
A word count can be done by counting the words in one line and multiplying; students do not need a device

Student worksheets

Support

Six Chapters, One Summary (Helper Version)

Where to look: Chapters IX to XIV. Your event cards are already drawn from these chapters.

Put the event cards in the order they happen. Write the chapter number on each.
The thumb test: cover each event. Does the next one still make sense? If yes, cross that card out.
How many events did you keep? ___
Finish the summary: After Oz tells them to ______ , the four travellers ______ . On the way ______ . In the end Dorothy ______ .
Now the underlined sentence — finish it and underline it: This part of the book is really about ______ .
Word count: ___ (aim for 100 or fewer)
Ledger Row 3: the moment I chose, and who it is about: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. In one sentence, what is this stretch of the book about? Do not say what happens in it. This part is really about ______ .
Check — my events are in order, and I have one sentence underlined.

At grade

The Long Middle

Where to look: Chapters IX to XIV.

Five events from Chapters IX-XIV, in order, with chapter numbers: 1 ______ 2 ______ 3 ______ 4 ______ 5 ______
Thumb test — which did you cross out, and what told you it could go? ______
Summary, 150 words or fewer. In order. One sentence underlined that says what this stretch is about. ______
Word count: ___
The sentence I underlined says what the stretch is ABOUT, not what happens in it: yes / no
Ledger Row 3 — chapter and moment, who is being watched, what he says he lacks, what he actually does: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. In one sentence, what is this stretch of the book about? Do not say what happens in it. ______
Check — 150 or fewer, in order, one underlined sentence, Row 3 complete through column four.

Extension

Two Summaries, One Stretch

Where to look: Chapters IX to XIV, whole.

Summary A, with the underlined sentence about what the journey costs them: ______
Summary B, with the underlined sentence about what they already are: ______
Which version do Chapters IX-XIV support better? Name the two events that decide it. ______
One event you kept in both, and why it cannot be cut from either: ______
Ledger Row 3, with the moment chosen to fit the version you argued for, and a note saying why: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. In one sentence, what is this stretch of the book about? Do not say what happens in it. ______ Then: which of your two versions does the reading support better, and by which event?
Check — both summaries under 150 words, and the judgement rests on named events.

Exit ticket

In one sentence, what is this stretch of the book about? Do not tell me what happens in it.

Vocabulary

May be pre-taught

spectacles — eyeglasses — here, ones everyone must wear; not a show or a sight (Chapter X, the green spectacles locked on at the gate)
charm — a set of words that makes magic happen — not a lucky object and not being charming (Chapter XII, the charm that calls the Winged Monkeys)
Winkies — the people of the yellow country in the West, whom the Witch has forced to work for her (Chapters XII and XIII, the people the Witch has enslaved)

Teacher key

Events that hold the chain: Oz sets the condition that they kill the Wicked Witch of the West (XI); they set out west and are attacked (XII); the Witch uses the Golden Cap to send the Winged Monkeys, who take Dorothy and the Lion and wreck the Scarecrow and the Woodman (XII); Dorothy is kept as a servant and the Witch takes one Silver Shoe (XII); Dorothy throws water and the Witch melts (XII); the Winkies repair the Scarecrow and the Woodman and Dorothy finds the Golden Cap (XIII); the Monkeys carry them back to the Emerald City (XIV).
Events that usually get cut and should be: the field mice, the poppies, the green spectacles, the Kalidahs. All memorable, none load-bearing for this stretch. A student who cuts these has understood the test.
Theme sentences at this grade that work: this part is about people doing hard things while still believing they cannot; or, this part is about what the travellers are willing to do for a promise from someone they have not seen. Accept any sentence that is about the book rather than about the plot.
Theme sentences to push back on: anything that begins 'Dorothy and her friends go to...' — that is plot wearing a theme's clothes. Ask what it is about and wait.
Row 3 candidates: the Lion agreeing to face the Witch, the Scarecrow devising the escape, the Woodman killing the wolves and weeping, or Dorothy commanding a witch's slave-cap. Any is defensible if column four names what was actually done.

Common wrong turn. The summary reaches 150 words and stops mid-event, so the ending is missing. Catch it at the word-count box: if the count is exactly at the limit, ask them to read the last sentence aloud and hear whether it finishes.

Formative checklist

Part of the standard	Practised in	Visible in
Summarize — condense a long stretch by selecting what the account cannot do without	Step 2 lists five events; Step 3 removes any event the chain survives without	The crossed-out events on the event list, which are marked rather than erased so the judgement stays visible
Include plot — what happens, in order, with the causal links intact	Step 4, the drafted summary, which must run in order and hold together	The 150-word summary, collected
Include theme — what the stretch is about, not only what occurs in it	Step 1 opens the question and Step 4 requires at least one sentence that says what the stretch is about	The underlined theme sentence inside the summary; students are told to underline it so it can be found

Noted by the writer

Sub-part b of this benchmark — central idea and relevant details for an informational text — is the informational branch and is not triggered by a novel. It is not listed as a component because this session cannot honestly teach it, and marking it taught would put a claim in the record that the work does not support.
Catalogue access facts (text_on_screen, narration, illustrations_displayed) were not supplied for this title, so all three are assumed true and every mode is available. If Listening on this platform can mean text-off, the exact_wording sessions need rechecking.

4Humbug

35 minutes · Chapters XV-XVII complete

The chapter never defines the word the whole book turns on. Students work out three words from the lines around them, check two against a dictionary, then find the place where Oz tells one of the travellers outright that he already has what he came for — and fill the column of the ledger that has been empty since Session 1.

Where everyone ends up

Oz says outright that each of them already has what he came for, and the chapter never once defines the word that tells you what Oz is.

The one question the three levels answer

What is Oz, and which exact words in the chapter tell you?

Three ways into the book

Solo Supported Listening

This session runs in all three. How a student takes the book in is not the same question as how hard their work is.

Opening move

Read the exchange where the Scarecrow calls Oz a humbug and Oz agrees, rubbing his hands, delighted. Do not define it. Ask what the word must mean if being called it pleases him.

What this session inherits and leaves

Inherits: Rows 1 to 3 of the Already-Had-It Ledger.
Leaves: Three worked word entries, and column five filled on Rows 1 to 3.

Standard for the selected region

Steps — 35 minutes in total

Step	What to do
Open on one word	Read the humbug exchange aloud and think aloud through the first part of it yourself: say what you notice, what you rule out, and what you are still unsure of. Do not land on the meaning. Stop while it is still open.
Work out three	Students work out humbug, ventriloquist and sharp using only the lines around them. Each entry needs a meaning and the exact words that led there. For sharp, both meanings are required, and which one the Lion intends.
Check two	Two of the three go to a dictionary. Students mark each close, partly right, or wrong, and write the dictionary wording next to their own. The mark is the work — being wrong and knowing it counts.
What Oz actually says	Students find and copy the sentence where Oz tells one of the three that he already has what he came for. Then, underneath, what that traveller asks for anyway.
Column five	Fill column five on Rows 1 to 3 of the Already-Had-It Ledger: what each was handed, and whether it changed anything he did.
Exit ticket	Collect.

What to expect them to get wrong

Students settle on humbug as a general insult, because it is used as one, and stop there — which leaves them unable to say why Oz is pleased.
Read his next four lines. He is not pleased at being insulted; he is pleased at being correct. So what is he agreeing that he is?

Closing check

Every word page has three meanings each with the exact clue words beside it, two dictionary marks, and both meanings of sharp written out — and every ledger row from 1 to 3 now has column five filled.

Three levels of the one lesson

SupportThe same three words, with the line containing each one already located, so the search does not eat the thinking time. A choice between two candidate meanings is offered for humbug only; the clue words must still be written, and sharp is still worked out with both meanings.

At gradeThree words worked out cold, clue words recorded for each, two checked and marked, both meanings of sharp, and column five completed for three rows.

ExtensionFind a fourth word or phrase in these chapters that a reader could take two ways, work it out, and say what the second reading would do to the sentence if a reader took it.

The question everyone answers

What is Oz, and which exact words in the chapter told you?

Word for word on all three worksheets, so one closing discussion covers the room. If a Support answer and an Extension answer would not belong in the same conversation, the session needs rewriting.

English learners

Do not supply meanings for the three target words — that is the standard, and handing it over removes it from the students it was written for. Support the route instead: give the sentence containing each word on its own strip so the surrounding lines are not competing for attention, allow the meaning to be said before it is written, and accept a first-language gloss in the meaning column as long as the clue words beside it are copied from the English text. Pair a student with a partner for the dictionary step so the reference reading is shared.

Materials

Comes with the lesson

Word page with four columns: word, my meaning, the exact words that told me, check mark
The Already-Had-It Ledger, continued from Session 3
Exit ticket slips

Or use instead

Dictionaries — one between three is enough at this step; a single classroom dictionary passed along the row also works, and a class glossary does not, because the point is an unfamiliar reference source
The word page can be ruled into an exercise book as four columns

Student worksheets

Support

Three Words (Helper Version)

Where to look: Chapters XV to XVII. The line holding each of your three words is marked for you; the humbug exchange is early in Chapter XV.

humbug — the line is on the page marked for you. Which is closer: (a) someone pretending to be something they are not, (b) someone who is angry? ___ . The words that told me: ______
ventriloquist — read the line where Oz says what he can do with his voice. My meaning: ______ . The words that told me: ______
sharp — the Scarecrow has pins in his head and the Lion says he is sharp. Everyday meaning: ______ . What the Lion means: ______
Dictionary check on two. Word ___ : close / partly right / wrong. Word ___ : close / partly right / wrong.
Oz tells one of them he already has what he came for. Copy that sentence: ______
Ledger column five, Rows 1-3: what he was handed ______ . Did it change what he did? yes / no
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. What is Oz, and which exact words in the chapter told you? Oz is ______ . The words that told me: ______ .
Check — every meaning has clue words next to it.

At grade

Working It Out

Where to look: Chapters XV to XVII. The humbug exchange is early in Chapter XV; the gifts are handed over in Chapter XVI.

humbug — my meaning: ______ . The exact words that led me there: ______
ventriloquist — my meaning: ______ . The exact words that led me there: ______
sharp — everyday meaning: ______ . The meaning the Lion intends: ______ . What in the sentence makes both available: ______
A word related to one of these that helped me: ______ (try bran, bran-new, brains)
Dictionary check, two of the three. Word ___ : my wording ______ / dictionary wording ______ / close, partly right, wrong.
The sentence where Oz tells a traveller he already has what he came for: ______
What that traveller asks for anyway: ______
Ledger column five, Rows 1-3: what each was handed, and whether it changed anything he did. ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. What is Oz, and which exact words in the chapter told you? ______
Check — three meanings, three sets of clue words, two marks, both meanings of sharp, three rows finished.

Extension

A Fourth Way to Read It

Where to look: Chapters XV to XVII, whole.

The three worked entries, with clue words: ______
A fourth word or phrase in Chapters XV-XVII that a reader could take two ways: ______
Both readings, written out: ______
If a reader took the second reading, what would change about the sentence — or about Oz? ______
Dictionary check on your fourth word: does the dictionary hold both readings, or only one? ______
Ledger column five for Rows 1-3, with a note on the row where the handout changed least: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. What is Oz, and which exact words in the chapter told you? ______ Then: he calls himself a good man and a bad wizard. Which half does the chapter support?
Check — clue words on everything, and the fourth word genuinely carries two readings rather than one broad one.

Exit ticket

Write what humbug means, and write the exact words from the chapter that told you.

Vocabulary

Worked out during the session — do not pre-teach. These words are the standard. Handing over the meanings removes it.

humbug (Chapter XV, the Scarecrow names it and Oz agrees at once)
ventriloquist (Chapter XV, Oz explaining how the Head seemed to speak)
sharp (Chapter XVI, the Lion on the pins in the Scarecrow's head)
bran (Chapter XVI, what the Wizard mixes with pins and needles)

The word list is in the teacher packet only.

Teacher key

Do not distribute. Every answer below is what students are meant to work out. A copy left on a desk removes the standard from the lesson.

humbug — a person who pretends to be something they are not; a fraud. The clue is that Oz agrees at once, is pleased to be called it, and immediately explains that he is a common man supposed to be a Great Wizard. A student who says liar is close; ask whether Oz has lied about anything except himself.
ventriloquist — someone who makes their voice seem to come from somewhere else. The clue is in the same breath: he says he can throw the sound of his voice wherever he wishes, which is why the Head seemed to speak.
sharp — everyday meaning, having a point or edge, which is literally true because pins and needles are sticking out of the Scarecrow's head. The Lion means clever. Both are live in the sentence and that is the joke. Accept clever, quick, or smart for the intended meaning.
Word relationships worth surfacing: the Wizard fills the Scarecrow's head with bran and calls them bran-new brains. Bran, brand-new and brains are all doing work in one line. Students who spot it have found a real relationship, not a coincidence.
The sentence in step 4 — any of three works: to the Scarecrow, that he does not need brains because he is learning something every day; to the Lion, that true courage is facing danger when you are afraid and he has that in plenty; to the Woodman, that he is in luck not to have a heart.
Column five, expected: bran mixed with pins and needles; a silk heart stuffed with sawdust; a drink out of a green bottle. The second half of the column is the one to read carefully — nothing any of them does afterwards is new, and a student who writes no under did it change anything has read the chapter properly.
Do not correct a wrong-but-reasoned entry into a right one during the lesson. The mark on the dictionary line is the evidence for this standard; a corrected page shows nothing about how the student got there.

Common wrong turn. A student writes a meaning that is right because they already knew the word, with nothing in the clue column. That entry is worth nothing for this standard. Ask them to find the words that would have told them if they had not known, and score that.

Formative checklist

Part of the standard	Practised in	Visible in
Use context clues to determine meaning	Step 2, each of the three words is worked out and the exact surrounding words that led there are written down	The clue column on the word page — a meaning with no clue beside it is not accepted
Use word relationships to determine meaning	Step 2, students connect bran to bran-new and to brains, and connect the pins in the Scarecrow's head to the Lion's use of sharp	The related-words line on the word page for at least one of the three entries
Use reference materials to determine meaning	Step 3, two of the three worked entries are checked in a dictionary	The close / partly right / wrong mark beside two entries, with the dictionary wording noted
Determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases	Step 2, humbug and ventriloquist are worked out cold — neither is defined for students at any point	The meaning column for those two entries
Determine the meaning of multiple-meaning words	Step 2, sharp is worked out in the Lion's line, where the everyday meaning is present in the same sentence as the intended one	The word page requires both meanings of sharp to be written, and which one the Lion means

Noted by the writer

The benchmark joins its strategies with and/or. This session teaches context clues, word relationships and reference materials, and reaches figurative language through the Lion's use of sharp. Background knowledge is addressed only through the opening think-aloud named in Clarification 1. The components list what the session actually teaches rather than every route the benchmark permits.
The teacher key is marked do-not-distribute. Every answer in it is the answer students are supposed to work out, and a copy left on a desk would remove the standard from the lesson.
Catalogue access facts (text_on_screen, narration, illustrations_displayed) were not supplied for this title, so all three are assumed true and every mode is available. If Listening on this platform can mean text-off, the exact_wording sessions need rechecking.

5Glinda's Sentence

40 minutes · Chapters XVIII-XXIV complete; book finished

Glinda says the shoes would have worked on day one. Students draft a theme sentence for the whole book, place three ledger rows to show where the idea first appears, where it gets complicated and where it is clearest, then find the row that argues against their own sentence and revise it once.

Where everyone ends up

Glinda's one sentence turns the whole journey into a question the book has been asking since the beginning, and the three friends answer it differently.

The one question the three levels answer

Which ledger row argues against your own theme sentence, and why does it?

Three ways into the book

Solo Supported Listening

This session runs in all three. How a student takes the book in is not the same question as how hard their work is.

Opening move

Read Glinda's line about the Silver Shoes and stop. Say nothing and let the room react before you ask anything.

What this session inherits and leaves

Inherits: All Already-Had-It Ledger rows with column five filled.
Leaves: A theme statement citing three ledger rows, plus one named row that argues against it.

Standard for the selected region

Steps — 40 minutes in total

Step	What to do
Open with Glinda	Read the line about the shoes carrying her home the first day. Wait through the reaction. Then ask only: so what has this book been doing for twenty-two chapters?
Draft a theme	One sentence about the whole book. No character names in it. Anyone who writes Dorothy or Scarecrow starts again — the rule is what forces it up from plot.
First, complicated, clearest	Students choose three ledger rows and place them: where the idea first shows, where it gets complicated, where it is clearest. Chapter numbers required, and the three must come from three different parts of the book.
Test it three times	Hold the sentence against each placed row in turn and write why it holds or strains. If it fails on one, the sentence changes and the row stays. Say that rule out loud before they start.
Find the row that fights it	Read what the Scarecrow, the Woodman and the Lion say to Glinda straight after her line. Students name the ledger row that argues against their own sentence, and write why it does.
Revise and add Row 5	One rewrite of the sentence, then Row 5 of the Already-Had-It Ledger for Dorothy and the Silver Shoes.

What to expect them to get wrong

Students conclude the journey was pointless, because that is what Glinda's line sounds like on first hearing.
Read the next three speeches. All three friends answer her immediately. Put what they say against your sentence and see which one has to bend.

Closing check

Every theme page has a sentence with no character names in it, three rows placed in chapter order across a wide span, and one named row written underneath that argues against the sentence.

Three levels of the one lesson

SupportThree candidate theme sentences are offered and the student chooses one to test rather than drafting cold. All three tests are still run and written, the fighting row is still found, and the rewrite is still theirs.

At gradeDraft the sentence unaided, place and test three rows across a wide span, find the row that argues against it, and revise once.

ExtensionCarry a second theme sentence alongside the first, test both against the same three rows, and say which the book supports better and at what cost — naming what the losing sentence explains that the winner does not.

The question everyone answers

Which ledger row argues against your own theme sentence, and why does it?

Word for word on all three worksheets, so one closing discussion covers the room. If a Support answer and an Extension answer would not belong in the same conversation, the session needs rewriting.

English learners

Give the no-names rule as a written model rather than only as an instruction — show one sentence with names and the same sentence without. Supply the three connective openers for the reason lines: this row supports it because, this row strains it because, this row argues against it because. Allow the rewrite to be dictated to a partner who scribes, and assess the reasoning rather than the sentence construction.

Materials

Comes with the lesson

Theme page with a sentence box, a three-stage strip and three reason lines
The completed Already-Had-It Ledger, Rows 1 to 4
Three candidate theme sentences on a slip, for the support tier

Or use instead

The three-stage strip can be drawn as three boxes across a page
The ledger rows can be read from the students' own sheets; no new copy is needed

Student worksheets

Support

What Is This Book Saying? (Helper Version)

Where to look: Chapters XVIII to XXIV. Glinda's line about the shoes is near the end of Chapter XXIII, and the friends answer her immediately after.

Choose one sentence to test: (a) People often already have what they think they need. (b) Believing you can do something can matter as much as being able to. (c) A long journey can change nothing and still be worth taking.
My chosen sentence: ______ . It has no character names in it: yes / no
Where the idea FIRST shows — Row ___ , Chapter ___ . It supports my sentence because ______ .
Where it gets COMPLICATED — Row ___ , Chapter ___ . It strains my sentence because ______ .
Where it is CLEAREST — Row ___ , Chapter ___ . It supports my sentence because ______ .
The row that ARGUES AGAINST my sentence — Row ___ . It argues against it because ______ .
My sentence, rewritten once: ______
Ledger Row 5 — Dorothy and the Silver Shoes: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. Which ledger row argues against your own theme sentence, and why does it? Row ___ argues against it because ______ .
Check — three chapter numbers, and they are not all from the same part of the book.

At grade

Glinda's Sentence

Where to look: Chapters XVIII to XXIV. Glinda's line about the shoes is near the end of Chapter XXIII.

My theme sentence, no character names: ______
FIRST SHOWN — Row ___ , Chapter ___ . Why: ______
COMPLICATED — Row ___ , Chapter ___ . Why: ______
CLEAREST — Row ___ , Chapter ___ . Why: ______
My three chapters are ___ , ___ and ___ . They span more than one part of the book: yes / no
The row that argues against my sentence — Row ___ , and why it does: ______
Did my sentence have to change after testing? yes / no. If yes, what changed and which row forced it: ______
My sentence, rewritten once: ______
Ledger Row 5, Dorothy and the Silver Shoes, through column five: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. Which ledger row argues against your own theme sentence, and why does it? ______
Check — no names in the sentence, three reasons written, one row named as arguing against.

Extension

Two Sentences, One Book

Where to look: Chapters XVIII to XXIV, whole. Glinda's line closes Chapter XXIII.

Sentence A: ______
Sentence B: ______
The same three rows, tested against both. Where do they agree, and where do they split? ______
Which sentence does the book support better, and by what evidence: ______
What does the losing sentence explain that the winning one does not? ______
The three friends' answer to Glinda — which of your two sentences survives it? ______
Ledger Row 5, with a note on which sentence Dorothy's row belongs to: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. Which ledger row argues against your own theme sentence, and why does it? ______ Then: does that row break your sentence, or only bend it?
Check — both sentences nameless, both tested on the same rows, and the cost of the choice stated.

Exit ticket

Write the row that argues against your own theme sentence, and one line saying why it does.

Vocabulary

May be pre-taught

Quadlings — the people Glinda rules, in the last country the travellers cross (Chapters XXII and XXIII, the people of the red country in the South)
comrades — companions who have been through something together (Chapter XXIII, Dorothy parting from her loving comrades)
brittle — hard but easily broken, like a plate (Chapter XX, the china country)

Teacher key

Theme sentences that work at this grade: people often already have the thing they believe they are missing; believing you have something can do the work of having it; a journey can change nothing about a person and still be worth taking. Accept any nameless sentence that is about the book.
Sentences to send back: anything containing Dorothy, Oz, or the Scarecrow, and anything that is a plot summary with the word learns bolted on. Send it back once, not twice — the second attempt is almost always better.
First shown: Row 1, the beetle, Chapter VI. Complicated: Row 3 or Row 4, where the gifts are handed over and change nothing, Chapters XV-XVI. Clearest: Row 5, Glinda and the shoes, Chapter XXIII. Other orders are defensible if the reason lines carry them.
The row that fights it — this is the point of the session. Straight after Glinda's line, the Scarecrow says he would have stayed in the cornfield, the Woodman that he would have rusted in the forest, and the Lion that he would have lived a coward forever. All three say the journey was necessary, immediately after the book has suggested it was not. A student who names this and writes why has done the work of the standard.
Look for whether the sentence actually changed after testing. A student whose sentence survived three tests untouched either found a strong one or did not test it. Ask which row came closest to breaking it; the answer tells you which.
Row 5, column five: Dorothy is handed nothing. She had the shoes from Chapter III. Students who notice that column five is empty for her have found the strongest evidence in the ledger, and it is worth saying so to the room.

Common wrong turn. All three rows come from the last four chapters, because that is what is freshest, and the word throughout goes unsatisfied. Catch it at the span line on the worksheet, before the testing starts.

Formative checklist

Part of the standard	Practised in	Visible in
Identify a theme, stated or implied — the book never says this outright, so it must be inferred	Step 2, one sentence about the whole book with no character names allowed in it	The drafted theme sentence at the top of the theme page
Explain — give the reasoning, not only the claim	Step 4, each of the three tests requires a written reason for why the row supports or strains the sentence	The three reason lines beneath the placed rows
The development — how the idea changes across the book rather than sitting still	Step 3, students place three rows as first shown, complicated, and clearest, with chapter references	The three-stage strip on the theme page, in chapter order
Throughout a literary text — evidence drawn from across the whole book, not one stretch	Step 3 requires the three rows to come from three different sessions' reading; Step 5 adds the closing chapter	Chapter numbers on the three-stage strip, which must span more than one third of the book

Noted by the writer

Catalogue access facts (text_on_screen, narration, illustrations_displayed) were not supplied for this title, so all three are assumed true and every mode is available. If Listening on this platform can mean text-off, the exact_wording sessions need rechecking.

6Was the Journey Necessary?

40 minutes · Book complete; students work from the ledger

Every student delivers a two-minute argument answering one question: was the journey to Oz necessary? They must use two ledger rows that pull in different directions and land on a position. Delivery is marked and rehearsed before it is performed, so the speaking choices are decisions rather than accidents.

Where everyone ends up

Whether the journey was necessary is a real question, and the ledger holds evidence on both sides of it.

The one question the three levels answer

Was the journey to Oz necessary, and which two ledger rows disagree about it?

Three ways into the book

Solo Supported Listening

This session runs in all three. How a student takes the book in is not the same question as how hard their work is.

Opening move

Deliver thirty seconds of the argument yourself, badly paced on purpose, then again at the right pace — and ask the room what changed, before telling them.

What this session inherits and leaves

Inherits: The theme statement from Session 5 and two Already-Had-It Ledger rows that point different ways.
Leaves: nothing — this is the closer

Standard for the selected region

Steps — 40 minutes in total

Step	What to do
Model the shape	Thirty seconds badly paced, thirty seconds right. Take the answer from the room. Then name the shape: claim, one row, one row, position — and say what you did with your posture while doing it.
Plan and mark delivery	Four note cards, one per part of the shape. Then two marks on them: one nonverbal choice, one from volume, pronunciation or pacing. Also a named word to practise saying clearly.
Rehearsal feedback	In pairs, one rehearsal each. The partner gives two comments and names which part of the delivery each is about. Comments that do not name a part get sent back.
Deliver both ways	Speaker A delivers two minutes while B completes the listener check. Swap. Allow the full slot for both rounds and the changeover — it will not fit in less.
Close and collect	Two students deliver to the whole class, chosen for having rows that disagree rather than for polish. Collect every listener check and every set of note cards.

What to expect them to get wrong

Students choose two ledger rows that agree with each other, because an argument with no tension in it is easier to deliver.
If both your rows say the same thing, nobody has asked you a question yet. Go back to the ledger and find the row that fights you.

Closing check

Every set of note cards carries two marked delivery choices and a named word to pronounce, and every listener check has the nonverbal row completed.

Three levels of the one lesson

SupportNinety seconds rather than two minutes, delivered first to one partner only, with printed frames for the claim and the two rows. Both delivery marks are still required, chosen from a printed list of four rather than composed, and the named pronunciation word is still theirs.

At gradeTwo-minute argument from notes, two rows that pull different ways, a stated position, two delivery marks used, and feedback given that names the part of delivery it addresses.

ExtensionTake one question from the audience and answer it without abandoning the position, adjusting pace or emphasis in response to how the room reacts.

The question everyone answers

Was the journey to Oz necessary? Give one ledger row that says yes and one that says no.

Word for word on all three worksheets, so one closing discussion covers the room. If a Support answer and an Extension answer would not belong in the same conversation, the session needs rewriting.

English learners

Frames for the opening and closing lines only, leaving the argument itself to the student: I think the journey was / was not necessary, because and that is why I think. Allow a rehearsal recorded in advance, or a first delivery to a single partner rather than a pair. Let the student choose their own pronunciation word rather than being assigned one. Assess the argument and the delivery choices separately from accent — a marked, attempted delivery choice is the evidence, not how close the vowel lands.

Materials

Comes with the lesson

Listener check card, one per student
The completed Already-Had-It Ledger and the Session 5 theme page
Printed delivery-choice list of four, for the support tier

Or use instead

Note cards, four per student — an index card cut in four does it
A timer visible to the room — a projected phone timer, or a student keeping time on the wall clock

Student worksheets

Support

My Argument (Helper Version)

Where to look: Book complete. Work from the Already-Had-It Ledger and the Session 5 theme page, not from the book.

My claim: The journey to Oz WAS / WAS NOT necessary.
Row 1 I will use: Row ___ , Chapter ___ . It shows ______ .
Row 2 I will use: Row ___ , Chapter ___ . It shows the opposite because ______ .
My delivery marks — circle one: stand still here / look up here / say this line with feeling. Circle one more: slow down on ______ / say louder ______ / practise saying ______ .
The word I will practise saying clearly: ______
My position, after both rows: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. Was the journey to Oz necessary? Give one ledger row that says yes and one that says no. Yes row: ___ . No row: ___ .
Check — claim first, two rows that disagree, position last, both marks used.

At grade

Two Rows, One Position

Where to look: Book complete. Work from the Already-Had-It Ledger and the Session 5 theme page.

Claim, in one sentence: ______
Row A (Row ___ , Chapter ___): what it shows, and why it supports my claim ______
Row B (Row ___ , Chapter ___): what it shows, and why it complicates my claim ______
My two rows genuinely pull in different directions: yes / no
My position, after holding both: ______
Delivery mark 1, nonverbal: ______ . Delivery mark 2, volume / pronunciation / pacing: ______ .
The word I will practise saying clearly: ______
Where I will look up from my cards: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. Was the journey to Oz necessary? Give one ledger row that says yes and one that says no. ______
Check — claim first, two rows that disagree, position stated, both marks used, one word named.

Extension

Argue It and Answer Back

Where to look: Book complete. Work from the Already-Had-It Ledger, the Session 5 theme page, and Chapter XXIII for the friends' reply.

Claim: ______
Row A and Row B, with the tension between them named in one sentence: ______
The strongest question the room could ask me: ______
My answer to it, without abandoning my position: ______
Where I will adjust pace or emphasis if the room looks lost: ______
The counter-argument I find hardest to answer, and why I still hold my position: ______
Anchor question — everyone answers this one. Was the journey to Oz necessary? Give one ledger row that says yes and one that says no. ______ Then: answer the strongest objection without abandoning your position.
Check — claim, two rows, position, counter-question answered, marks used.

Exit ticket

In your own words, what was your partner's claim, and which of their two rows argued against it?

Teacher key

Row pairs that work: Row 5, Glinda saying the shoes would have worked on day one, against Row 2, the ditch, where the Scarecrow's plan is the only reason anyone gets any further. One says the journey was unnecessary; the other says nothing would have happened without it.
Row pairs that also work: Row 4, the gifts changing nothing, against the three friends' answer to Glinda, where all three say the journey made them. That pair is the sharpest in the book and should be pointed out to anyone still hunting.
Row pairs that do not work: Row 1 with Row 2. Both show a traveller doing what he says he cannot, and they agree. A student who has chosen these has picked the easy argument and should be sent back.
Read the listener claim lines first. If a listener could not write the speaker's claim in their own words, either the claim was unclear or the listener was not listening — comparing that card against the speaker's note cards tells you which.
Collect the note cards. A student who marked look up here and practise saying Quadlings has made two real decisions. Accept marks that did not come off on the night: at this grade the choosing is the work, and a delivery choice attempted and missed is stronger evidence than one never made.
Positions to accept: yes it was necessary, no it was not, and it was necessary for the three but not for Dorothy. The third is the strongest answer in the room and is available from the ledger, because column five is empty on Dorothy's row alone.

Common wrong turn. Two rows that agree, chosen because the argument is easier to build. Catch it at the rehearsal step, not the delivery step — after they have performed it once, they will not rebuild it.

Formative checklist

Part of the standard	Practised in	Visible in
Present information orally	Step 4, the two-minute delivery to a partner; Step 5, two students deliver to the room	The listener check card completed for every speaker
In a logical sequence	Step 1 models claim, row, row, position; Step 2 builds the four note cards in that order	The note cards, collected, and the order item on the listener check
Nonverbal cues — posture	Step 2, students mark one nonverbal choice on their cards; posture is one of the five offered	The marked card and the nonverbal row of the listener check
Nonverbal cues — tone and expressive delivery	Step 1 the teacher names their own; Step 3 the partner must name which part of delivery each comment is about	The two written feedback comments, each labelled with the part of delivery it addresses
Nonverbal cues — focus on the audience and facial expression	Step 2, students mark where they will look up from the cards; Step 4 requires it to be attempted	The look-up mark on the note cards and the audience-focus item on the listener check
Appropriate volume	Step 2 delivery mark; Step 3 feedback names it when it is the comment given	The volume item on the listener check
Clear pronunciation	Step 2, students name one word from their argument to practise saying clearly — Quadlings and ventriloquist are the usual choices	The named word on the cards and the pronunciation item on the listener check
Appropriate pacing	Step 2 delivery mark; Step 4 the two-minute limit makes pace a decision rather than a habit	The pacing item on the listener check

Noted by the writer

The benchmark's nonverbal cues are split into three components rather than one, following Clarification 1, which enumerates posture, tone, expressive delivery, audience focus and facial expression. A single merged row would let a student score on posture alone and never look at the audience.
Catalogue access facts (text_on_screen, narration, illustrations_displayed) were not supplied for this title, so all three are assumed true and every mode is available. If Listening on this platform can mean text-off, the exact_wording sessions need rechecking.

Before Session 1

Entry diagnostic — 10 minutes

Chapter I, the description of the farmhouse and the prairie
When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.

Can they read it

Name the two adults Dorothy lives with, and write down what the passage says each one is.
The passage says the house was one room. List four items the passage puts inside it.
Which color does the passage use again and again for the land, the grass and the house?

What they bring

Write about a place you know that looks the same in all directions. What is it like to stand in the middle of it?
When a grown-up you know looks tired, what do you notice first about them?

One skill probe

The book says the sun and wind had taken the sparkle from Aunt Em's eyes and left them a sober gray. What does that sentence suggest about Aunt Em now, and which words in it led you there?

What it tells you. The three access items measure whether a student can hold plain detail from 1900 prose — long sentences, unfamiliar nouns, no dialogue to carry them. A student who misses two of the three will lose the located-evidence work in Session 1 before it starts. The two background questions have no right answer; they tell you who arrives with something to say about flatness and sameness, and who reads a face for a state of mind, which is the ground Session 1 stands on. The skill probe is the actual Session 1 skill in miniature: it asks for an attitude inferred from words, with the words named. A student who answers the attitude but names no words has the intuition and not the habit, and that is the most common profile in a grade 5 room.

If results are weak. If the access items are weak across the class, move Chapters I to VI to read-aloud and keep the located-evidence work exactly as it is — the trouble is decoding 1900 prose, not the thinking. If the skill probe is weak but access is strong, add five minutes to Session 1 Step 3 and model one says-and-does pair yourself before releasing them; take the time from Step 5, not from the ledger. If both are weak for a handful of students only, put those students on the support tier for Sessions 1 and 2 and reassess at the mid-unit check rather than for the unit.

Teacher packet only

Mid-unit check — after Session 3

Three of the five ledger rows are built and column five is still empty on all of them. That is the point where the pattern is visible but the payoff has not arrived, so a student who has been copying rather than reading shows up clearly — and there is still time to fix it before Session 4 asks them to judge whether the gifts changed anything.

Run down one student's ledger

Row 1 column four is in the student's own words, not the book's sentence copied out.
Every filled cell across Rows 1 to 3 carries a chapter number.
Row 2 names both the Scarecrow's plan and the Lion's admission, not just one of them.
Row 3 names a moment where a traveller does the thing he says he cannot — not simply an exciting event from the stretch.
Column five is empty on all three rows.

On trackThree rows, all cells sourced to a chapter, column four in the student's own words each time. Row 3 names an action and the claim it contradicts. The student can say out loud what the three rows are showing without reading them back to you.

Partly thereRows are filled but column four repeats the book's wording, or Row 3 records a dramatic event — the melting, the Monkeys — rather than a traveller acting against his own claim. The shape has been copied; the pattern has not been seen.

Needs interventionFewer than three rows, or chapter numbers missing across the sheet, or column five already filled with guesses. A student guessing at column five has not registered that the ledger is tracking something that has not happened yet.

If you see it, do this

Column four is the book's sentence copied rather than the student's own account of the action.
Take one row and cover the book. Ask the student to say what happened out loud, write down exactly what they say, and show them that what they just said is column four. Two minutes, individually, while the class works.
Revisit Session 1.

Row 3 records the most exciting event in the stretch instead of a traveller acting against his own claim.
Put Row 1 and Row 3 side by side and ask what Row 1 is watching. Then ask who is being watched in Row 3, and what he says he cannot do. Rebuild Row 3 from that question, not from the chapter.
Revisit Session 2.

Teacher packet only

Culminating rubric

A two-minute spoken argument answering whether the journey to Oz was necessary, built on two ledger rows that point different ways and ending on a stated position.

What is judged	4	3	2	1
Claim and position	A claim is stated in the first fifteen seconds, held through both rows, and restated at the end as a position that accounts for the row that argued against it.	A claim is stated near the start and a position is stated at the end, and the two match.	A claim is stated somewhere in the two minutes, or a position is reached at the end, but not both.	The talk describes the ledger rows without stating what the speaker thinks.
Two rows that pull different ways	Two rows are used, the tension between them is named out loud, and the speaker says why the opposing row does not overturn the position.	Two rows are used and they genuinely point different ways.	Two rows are used but both support the claim, so no tension is heard.	One row, or none — the argument runs on assertion.
Logical sequence	Claim, row, row, position, delivered in that order, with a spoken link between each part that tells the listener where they are.	Claim, row, row, position, delivered in that order.	The four parts are all present but arrive out of order, so a listener has to reassemble them.	Parts are missing or repeated, and the listener cannot write down the claim afterwards.
Nonverbal cues — posture and audience focus	Stands settled, looks up at the listener at the marked point and at least twice more, and returns to the cards without losing the thread.	Stands settled and looks up at the listener at the point marked on the cards.	Stands settled or looks up, but not both, and the marked look-up point passes unused.	Reads the cards throughout with no look-up attempted.
Nonverbal cues — tone and expressive delivery	The voice changes between the supporting row and the opposing row, so a listener can hear which is which without being told.	The line marked for expressive delivery is delivered differently from the lines around it.	One flat register throughout, though the delivery mark was made on the cards.	No delivery mark was made on the cards.
Appropriate volume	Audible to a listener at the far side of the room throughout, including on the opposing row where speakers usually drop.	Audible to the partner throughout.	Audible at the start and fades, or rises and falls unpredictably.	The listener has to ask for a repeat.
Clear pronunciation	The word named on the cards is said clearly, and the speaker slows for it deliberately rather than rushing past.	The word named on the cards is said clearly.	A word was named on the cards but was skipped or replaced during delivery.	No word was named on the cards.
Appropriate pacing	Lands between one minute forty and two minutes, and pauses after the claim so the listener can take it in.	Lands between one minute thirty and two minutes without being cut off.	Finishes far early or is still going when time is called.	Pace makes the argument hard to follow — words run together, or long stalls break the sequence.
Answering a question from the room without abandoning the position beyond grade	Takes the question, answers it directly, and either holds the position with a reason or changes it and says what changed their mind.	Takes the question and answers it without losing the position.	Takes the question and restates the original argument instead of answering it.	No question taken.

After the culminating task

Student reflection — 5 minutes

Which of your two ledger rows was harder to explain out loud, and what made it harder?
You marked two delivery choices on your cards. Which one actually happened, and which one got away from you?
Name one thing you would do differently if you delivered this again tomorrow. Say what you would change, not how you felt about it.
Someone in the room argued the opposite of you. What is the strongest part of their case?

Said plainly

What this plan does not do

There is no extended written outcome. Students write in every session, but the unit ends in speech and never asks for a full drafted essay.
Chapters XIX to XXII are read but not planned. The Fighting Trees, the China Country and the Hammer-Heads sit outside the through-line and are left as reading.
Session 3 covers the widest span of reading in the unit. Split it across two periods if the class reads slowly.
The reading load assumes read-aloud or supported reading for part of the class; 1900 prose at 24 chapters is a real load for grade 5.

Teacher packet only

Considered and left out

Everything below was weighed against the book and refused. It is here so you can see where the line was drawn.

Skill	Why not	Reason
Fluency practice	WEEKLY	Runs unchanged with any grade 5 novel. Baum's prose is easy enough that it would not even be the right novel for it.
Spelling and word patterns	WEEKLY	Nothing in this book makes it the text for that work.
Figurative language as its own session (ELA.5.R.3.1)	MERGED	Absorbed into Session 4, where the context work already runs.
Narrator and point of view	EVIDENCE	Steady third person from first page to last. There is no shift to analyse, so a session would be about the absence of a technique.
Compare primary and secondary sources (ELA.5.R.3.3)	SWAP	There are no sources in a single-novel unit. It would import material from outside the book.
Cursive writing (ELA.5.C.1.1)	SWAP	Unrelated to any book.
Research to answer a question (ELA.5.C.4.1)	SWAP	Would send students away from the text at the point the unit needs them inside it.
Text structures and features (ELA.5.R.2.1)	EVIDENCE	An informational-text benchmark. This novel offers headings and chapter titles and nothing else to analyse.
Narrative writing (ELA.5.C.1.2)	SWAP	A strong activity that would run identically with any novel. The unit's writing serves the argument instead.
The Dainty China Country (Chapter XX)	GRADE	A self-contained episode that sits outside the through-line. Read it; do not build on it.