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

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The Importance Of A Friend

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How do friendships shape our identity?

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Photo Credit: Mary Taylor by Pexels

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Throughout the guide, look for the laptop icon to find steps to complete online!

Table of Contents

Vocabulary Building

• Map a Word

Direct Instruction Guide

• Cornell Notes: Making Arguments About Main Ideas

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: Summarize

• Write a Summary

STEP 5: Build an Argument

• Collaborate: Share your argument builder

STEP 6: Create your CERCA

• Peer Editing Activity
• Writing Reflection

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Optional Extensions

• Inquiry to Research: Analyzing Your Self-Image
• Inquiry to Research: Asking Questions of the Texts

SYNONYM (SIMILAR OR LIKE WORD)

ANTONYM (OPPOSITE WORD)

PICTURE OF�VOCABULARY WORD

SENTENCE USING VOCABULARY WORD

VOCABULARY WORD

PART OF SPEECH

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

Map a Word

Choose a word from the vocabulary list that is linked in the lesson. Write the word in the box below. Then fill in the other boxes on this page.

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Completing this process will help the word "stick" in your memory!

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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: Making Arguments About Main Ideas

Take notes on the lesson using the organizer below:

Watch the Direct Instruction 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: Making Arguments About Main Ideas

(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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When you've finished reading the overview, answer the following questions in the space below:

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Friends. We share interests and ideas with them. We learn new things by being in their company. They help us see who we are through a new lens.

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What more would you like to learn about the value of friendship? What would you like to know about the qualities that make a good friend? What do you want to find out about your identity, and the other factors that shape it?

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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

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Sometimes, the meaning of a word in a passage isn’t immediately clear. When this is the case, you can examine phrases surrounding the unknown word to put the new or unfamiliar word in context and determine its meaning.

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Practice this strategy. Review the highlighted vocabulary in the passage and predict what you think each term means based on context. Then, use the dictionary tool to confirm your understanding, by clicking to review its definition.

Refer to the reading and vocabulary 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 developing reasoning for your argument.

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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 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. The evidence you highlight will be available when you begin building your draft 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 is important reasoning you may 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 : S U M M A R I Z E

Write a Summary

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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.

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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.

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1. ��Use the sentence stems provided 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?

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

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S T E P 5 : B U I L D A N A R G U M E N T

Collaborate: Share your Argument Builder

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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.

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

S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Peer Editing Activity

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1. 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.�
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 6 to create your CERCA at learn.thinkcerca.com

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S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Writing Reflection

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…

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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 Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Research: Analyzing Your Self-Image

Background:

What does the word “identity” mean to you? Identity is made-up of overlapping factors and influences. It gets expressed to the world in a variety of ways, from what we wear to the words we use to the clubs we join. Our identity is often on prominent display in images, particularly in portraits.

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After all, through photos, we have the choice of what we show the world about ourselves. That might mean wearing a basketball jersey to express a love of sports. Or, posing alongside family and friends to highlight important communities to which we belong. Or, making ridiculous faces, to show that we value humor.

Task

Locate a photograph of yourself. You can be alone, or with other people. Then, ask the following questions:

• Who is shown in the photo?
• What action is taking place? What does that tell us about the people?
• What are the people wearing? What does that express to the viewer?
• When and where was it taken? What’s the context?
• Why was it taken?
• How does this photo relay information about the person to the viewer?

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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

Research: Analyzing Your Self-Image (continued)

Share:

In pairs or small groups, share your image and responses. Consider the following questions as you discuss:

• What does this photo “say” about you?
• Does it present an accurate “picture” of you?
• What’s missing from the photo?
• What isn’t captured about your identity in the image?
• If you could change one thing about the photo, what would it be?

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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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