S T U D E N T G U I D E

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The Wishing Tree

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Rewrite a scene from the story from the first-person point of view of the dragon. Draw upon descriptive details about the friendship between the dragon and the old man from the original passage.

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Table of Contents

Vocabulary Building

• Frayer Model

Direct Instruction Guide

• Cornell Notes: Characters in Narrative Writing

STEP 1: Connect

• Finding Your Purpose for Learning
• Think-Pair-Share

STEP 2: Read

• Pause and Reflect
• Test Prep Strategy: Context Clues (Optional)

STEP 3: Engage with the Text

• Highlight and Annotate

STEP 4: Think

• Begin Developing Your Ideas

STEP 5: Build your Narrative

• Collaborate: Share your Story Plan
• Peer Editing Activity
• Writing Reflection

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Optional Extensions

• Informed Action: Building Friendlier Communities
• Inquiry to Research: Asking Questions of the Texts
• Roundtable Discussion: Sharing Additional Research Findings, Learnings, and Experiences

Vocabulary Word

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HARMONY

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V O C A B U L A R Y B U I L D I N G

Frayer Model �

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The Frayer Model helps you learn vocabulary from different angles.

1. Read the words and definitions in the vocabulary list.
2. Choose one word from the list. Write it in the center circle of the graphic organizer below.
3. In the “examples” box, list examples or synonyms of the word.
4. In the “non-examples” box, write non-examples or antonyms.
5. Next, add facts or characteristics about the word.
6. Finally, write your own definition or look one up!

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Frayer Model

Read the Overview and click “Vocabulary” for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

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D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Characters in Narrative Writing

Take notes on the lesson using the organizer below:

Complete the skills lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

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D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Characters in Narrative Writing (continued)

Summarize and Reflect

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

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Record your summary here:

S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Finding Your Purpose for Learning

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This folktale from Korea tells the story of friendship between an old man and a dragon. Over the course of the story, the power of their bond transforms them both. The author mixes second- and third-person point of view in the telling, bringing in multiple storytelling perspectives.

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Read the “Overview” provided at thinkcerca.com to learn more about this tale of friendship.

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What more would you like to learn about the author’s choice to use two points of view? What do you want to know about building characters through dialogue, setting, and plot? What do you want to find out about the meaning of friendship in different times and places?

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Read the Topic Overview provided at learn.thinkcerca.com

S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Think-Pair-Share

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1. Think: On your own, think about your experiences related to the topic.

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• Pair & Share: With a partner, group, or a trusted listener, share the parts of your response that you feel comfortable sharing.

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• 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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Complete the writing activity in Step 1: Connect at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 2 : R E A D

Pause and Reflect

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When you’ve finished reading, go back and find the questions in the text marked “Pause and Reflect.” These questions will help you connect the text to yourself, to other texts, or to the world around you.

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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:

Read the text for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 2 : R E A D

Test Prep Strategy: Context Clues (Optional)

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When you read, you might come across words that you don’t know. When this happens, look at the words and phrases around that word. You can use these “context clues” to figure out what new words mean!

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Practice using context clues. Review the bold words in the passage. Then, predict what you think each word means based on its context. Finally, go to the “Vocabulary” link to compare your definition to the dictionary definition.

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

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S T E P 3 : E N G A G E W I T H T H E T E X T

Highlight and Annotate

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In this step, you will analyze the text closely, then discuss your findings to begin thinking about how you’ll respond to the final writing prompt.

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1. Read the text again, highlighting and annotating important details. Follow the prompts provided.

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The highlighting prompts will help you find details that will be helpful in the final writing task. You’ll also see models of excellence that will help you better understand a writer’s craft in narratives. The evidence you highlight will be available when you begin building your narrative in the next step.

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2. If time permits, pair and share your highlights and annotations with a classmate. Pay close attention to this conversation! Your thinking may help you discover details you’ll want to include in your final draft.

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Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 3: Engage with the Text.

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S T E P 4 : T H I N K

Begin Developing Your Ideas

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1. ���Use the downloadable activity provided in Step 4 to begin crafting your narrative piece.
2. Use the sentence stems provided to summarize the original text you read. Your summary can help create a roadmap for your own narrative.

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 worksheet and summary, and discuss how they are similar or different. How did you each complete the activity? Were your summaries fair and accurate? Why?

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Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 4: Think.

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S T E P 5 : B U I L D Y O U R N A R R A T I V E

Collaborate: Share your Story Plan

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When you’ve finished a draft, share your results with others, and listen to how they responded to the same question. Ask questions and give feedback to others.

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Complete Step 5 to begin building your narrative at learn.thinkcerca.com

S T E P 5 : B U I L D Y O U R N A R R A T I V E

Peer Editing Activity

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

Complete Step 5 to draft your narrative at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 5 : B U I L D Y O U R N A R R A T I V E

Writing Reflection

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

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

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The strongest areas of this piece of writing are…

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

Optional Extensions

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The following activities can be used as optional 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 : I N F O R M E D A C T I O N

Building Friendlier Communities

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Background

“Kindness Squads” in elementary schools. “Mix It Up at Lunch” events that allow students to mingle with new classmates in the cafeteria. Nationwide, students are working together to build friendlier communities.

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With this activity, take the temperature of the friendliness of your school environment with your peers.

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Then, think about how you can make your school a safer, happier, and friendlier place for all members of your school community.

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Discuss

In a small group, consider the following:

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• Who can help make school environments friendlier for all students?
• What makes students feel happy and safe at school?
• When and where are there opportunities for students to make new friends at school?
• How can I/we be more welcoming to everyone within our community?

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Act

Then, brainstorm ideas for how you can make your school friendlier for all community members. What actions can individuals take? What actions can classrooms take? How can the school community as a whole work together to be friendlier? Share those thoughts with your teacher and principal.

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Let others in the CERCA community know how you are working to create friendlier communities! Use the hashtag #SparkCourageousThinking on social media to share your ideas and experiences.

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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

Asking 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.

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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

Asking Questions of the Texts (continued)

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

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O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R O U N D T A B L E D I S C U S S I O N

Sharing Additional Research Findings, Learnings, and Experiences�

1. Plan to have everyone come prepared to share their research. Choose a group leader who will help lead the roundtable discussions.
2. Select a member of the group to go first.
3. If you are the group leader, ask participants to ask at least one question or summarize what someone else presented at least once during discussion.
4. Allow participants to share a quick review of what interested them about the topic in the first place, their most striking findings, and the questions that were raised by the experience.
5. Participants take notes, summarizing key findings.
6. When complete, have the presenter “pass the mic” to the next presenter.
7. Monitor participants for engagement. Ask participants to snap silently to show gratitude, appreciation, or interest to the speaker.
8. Encourage participants to value dialogue and appreciate different perspectives, recognizing that learning from and understanding people who think differently or have different experiences is part of the process of dialogue.

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Sharing Additional Research Findings, Learnings, and Experiences (continued)

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R O U N D T A B L E D I S C U S S I O N

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