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Table of Contents

Skills Focus

Build Your Vocabulary: Frayer Model
Cornell Notes: Determining the Meanings of Words and Phrases

Overview and Connect

Find Your Purpose for Learning
Share Your Personal Connection

Read and Check

Share Your Reflections
Test Prep Strategy: Prediction (Optional)

Analyze / Engage with the Text

Highlight and Annotate

Summarize

Write a Summary

Develop / Build Your Argument

Share Your Argument Builder

Draft and Review / Create your CERCA

Peer Editing Activity
Reflect on Your Writing

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Extension Activities

Activity: Classifying Nature
Inquiry to Research: Asking Questions of the Texts

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Definition	Facts and Characteristics___
Examples	Non-examples___

Vocabulary Word:�

DIVERSITY

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S K I L L S F O C U S

Build Your Vocabulary: �Frayer Model — Diversity�

The Frayer Model helps you learn vocabulary from different angles.

Look for the vocabulary word in the center circle of the graphic organizer below.
In the “examples” box, list examples or synonyms of the word.
In the “non-examples” box, write non-examples or antonyms.
Next, add facts and characteristics about the word.
Finally, write your own definition, or look one up!�

Frayer Model

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S K I L L S F O C U S

Cornell Notes: Determining the Meanings of Words and Phrases

What is a context clue?	A context clue is…
Explain the difference between a synonym and an antonym.	The difference between a synonym and an antonym is…
Give an example of a prefix.	An example of a prefix is..

Instructions: Take notes on the Direct Instruction lesson using the organizer below. Then summarize and reflect on the next page.

Complete the Direct Instruction lesson online at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S K I L L S F O C U S

Cornell Notes: Determining the Meanings of Words and Phrases

Summarize and Reflect

In your own words and in complete sentences, write a 3–4 sentence summary of this Direct Instruction lesson. An accurate summary will cover the lesson's central ideas and include important details to support those ideas.

Record your summary here:

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O V E R V I E W A N D C O N N E C T

Find Your Purpose for Learning

Instructions: When you have finished reading the Overview for this lesson, answer the following questions in the space below:

What more would you like to learn about how scientists classify organisms? What would you like to know about the importance of classifying different types of skunks?

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Read the Overview provided at learn.thinkcerca.com

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O V E R V I E W A N D C O N N E C T

Share Your Personal Connection

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Complete the Connect section for this selection at learn.thinkcerca.com

Instructions:�

Think: On your own, think about your experiences related to the topic.
Pair & Share: With a partner, group, or a trusted listener, share the parts of your response that you feel comfortable sharing.
Reflect: If time permits, reflect on your experience. What ideas did others share that you hadn't considered? How were your ideas alike?

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R E A D

Share Your Reflections

Instructions: During or after you have finished reading, find the questions in the text marked Pause and Reflect. These questions may help you understand the text, or they may help you connect the text to yourself, to other texts, or to the world around you.

Use the space on the left below to answer the reflection questions. Then discuss your answers, noting how they were similar or different.

Record “Pause and Reflect” answers here:

Record discussion reflections here:

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Refer to the Pause and Reflect questions within the Read section of the lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

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C H E C K

Test Prep Strategy: Prediction

One way to prepare for assessments is to practice looking for the answers in the text before looking at the answer choices. Use prediction strategies as an opportunity to read a text more carefully.

Read each multiple choice question. In your own words, record your prediction of the correct response in the chart below.

Question on ThinkCERCA	What is the question asking you to do?
Example: Which of the following statements best explains how the passage is structured?	Look for details on the order of ideas in the passage, like order of importance, or cause and effect.

Refer to the multiple choice questions for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

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A N A L Y Z E / E N G A G E W I T H T H E T E X T

Highlight and Annotate

In this step, you will analyze the text closely, then discuss your findings to begin developing reasoning for your argument.

Read the text again, highlighting and annotating important details. ��Follow the prompts provided. The highlighting prompts will help you with the final writing task. ��You will find evidence to support your own argument or informational piece, as well as models of excellence that will help you better understand a writer’s craft in narratives and poetry. The evidence you highlight will be available when you begin building your draft in the next step.

If time permits, pair and share your highlights and annotations with a classmate. Pay close attention to this conversation! Your thinking is important reasoning that you may include in your final draft.

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete A nalyze / Engage with the Text.

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S U M M A R I Z E

Write a Summary

Summaries help you process your thinking about a text and are often a great way to start off an argumentative or informational essay. A good summary shows you have knowledge about a topic.

Practicing summarizing also helps you prepare for the main idea questions posed on many standardized assessments. In addition, summarizing is a helpful skill for working with others, such as when you need to confirm your understanding of what someone else has said. That's a useful skill for all parts of life.

Use the sentence stems provided in the online lesson to summarize the text. Your summary should:
Be brief
Include the main idea and key details
Represent these ideas fairly and accurately �
If time permits, pair and share with a classmate. Read each other’s summary, and discuss how they are similar or different. What did you say were the main idea and key details? Were your summaries fair and accurate? Why?

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Summarize.

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D E V E L O P / B U I L D Y O U R A R G U M E N T

Share your Argument Builder

When you’ve completed the argument building step, share your results with others, and listen to how they responded to the same question. Ask questions, and give feedback to help strengthen your partners’ reasons and evidence.

How does the author use the example of the spotted skunk to encourage readers to rethink what it means to classify a species?
Share Your Argument	Listen and Record Others
1.
2.
3.

Complete Develop / Build Your Argument to begin building your argument at learn.thinkcerca.com

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D R A F T A N D R E V I E W / C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Peer Editing Activity

Do a self-assessment of your CERCA. Use the online rubric for the lesson on learn.thinkcerca.com, checking each box where you find evidence that you have achieved the criteria.�
Next, collaborate with a classmate to read each other’s drafts. Again, use the rubric to evaluate each other’s work.�
Share insights into what might make your pieces stronger. Find two positive attributes and one area of growth for each draft you review.�
Revise your piece using what you learned from your self-assessment and the feedback from your peers.

Complete your Draft at learn.thinkcerca.com

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D R A F T A N D R E V I E W / C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Reflect on Your Writing

Before you submit your final CERCA, write a brief reflection describing your experience.

An area for growth for me on this piece or in my writing in general is…

The strongest areas of this piece of writing are…

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Through self-assessment and/or peer editing, I learned…

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Extension Activities

The following activities can be used as extensions to this lesson.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : C L A S S I F Y I N G N A T U R E

CLASSIFYING NATURE

Background

People notice different details in everyday life depending on where they are and how they are focused. Students look around their classrooms every day, but they may not be able to recall specific details. People may walk through their neighborhood regularly, but because they are focused on getting somewhere, they may not notice details about the plants, animals, or buildings around them.

Visualize and Classify

Look around the classroom. You will have 60 seconds to observe as much as you can on the front wall of the classroom. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, list as many details as you can remember about the wall.

Now, write down at least eight details you remember from looking at the wall without looking up from your paper. Then, decide how you might classify the different objects in the room.

	What did you see?	How might you classify it?
Item 1
Item 2
Item 3
Item 4
Item 5
Item 6
Item 7
Item 8

**This extension is adapted from a National Park Service educational tool.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : C L A S S I F Y I N G N A T U R E

CLASSIFYING NATURE

Observe and Classify

Now, with adult supervision, head outside to observe and classify parts of nature. You will find your own spot to observe. Spend five minutes observing as much as you can in your spot. Take notes in the table below, and include any indications that might lead to a classification of an organism.

Reflect and Discuss

Find two or three other classmates. Share your observations, and discuss the following questions:

What details about the organisms are similar to one another?
How might you classify the various organisms you observed? Be broad, but also be specific in how you do this.

	What do you see?	How might you classify it?
Item 1
Item 2
Item 3
Item 4
Item 5
Item 6
Item 7
Item 8
Item 9
Item 10

**This extension is adapted from a National Park Service educational tool.

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Ask Questions of the Texts

As you engage with texts in any subject, you can actively ask questions about the author’s purpose, intended audience, and occasion to understand the message. The table below provides examples.

Approaches	Example
Questions about the author	Is the author an authority on this topic? What was the author’s motivation in writing this piece?
Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text	Why was this article written? Why was it published at this time?
Questions about civics, economics, geography, and history	How do scientists classify organisms?
Questions about concepts and ideas	Why is it important for scientists to classify organisms?
Questions about self and community reflections	Why is classifying different types of skunks important?

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Ask Questions of the Texts (continued)

Use the table below to record questions about the text you read.

Approaches	Questions
Questions about the author
Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text
Questions about civics, economics, geography, and history
Questions about concepts and ideas
Self and Community Reflections

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