Ready-to-teach lesson
Evidence-Based Writing
Mighty Muskrats: The Case of the Windy Lake - Grade 5 - Short lesson
TIME
OBJECTIVE
PRODUCT
10 minutes Write a focused comparison of Denice's and Dr. Pixton's decisions A concise comparison paragraph after difficult experiences. with a claim, evidence about both characters, and explanation.
Essential question: How do Denice and Dr. Pixton each turn a difficult experience into a decision about what to do next?
- Materials
- Text to mark
- • The book
- • Passage 14 - Write the comparison paragraph.
- Prepared passages: Passage 14, Passage 15, Passage 16
- Student response materials
Lesson sequence
1 Set the focus - 2 min Identify both decisions.
- Prepared text:
- Passages 14, 15, 16
- Passage 15 - Write the comparison paragraph.
- Passage 16 - Write the comparison paragraph.
2 Compare the evidence - 5 min Compare the direction of the two decisions.
- Prepared text:
- Passages 14, 15, 16 3 Make the student product - 3 min Write the comparison paragraph.
- Prepared text:
- Passages 14, 15, 16
Teacher key
Both characters make decisions about future action: Denice will continue the fight, while Pixton ends field excavation of Native remains and chooses to meet living Native people.
Support & extension
Above: Analyze an important difference between the direction of their decisions.
Assessment
- Makes a comparison claim about both characters.
- Accurately describes Denice's declaration without inventing an antecedent for 'them.' - Accurately describes Pixton's decision.
- Explains how each decision follows an experience or lesson.
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