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

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What Happens to Your Brain When You Read Harry Potter?

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How is technology being used in the 21st century to learn more about how we learn?

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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: Error Analysis (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

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

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Optional Extensions

• Inquiry to Research: Connecting Classrooms
• Inquiry to Research: Asking Questions of the Texts
• Roundtable Discussion: Sharing Additional Research Findings, Learnings, and Experiences

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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What’s happening in your brain as you read? How do you decode words, and why does your body sometimes even seem to have a physical response to events that happen in a book? Scientists are using imaging technology to help answer these questions.

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What more would you like to learn about brain science? What would you like to know about the science of learning?

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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: Error Analysis

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Reflect on any multiple choice questions that you got wrong. Taking this step will allow you to avoid making the same mistakes when you see similar questions in the future.

Refer to the reading and 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 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: Connecting Classrooms

Background:

Virtual field trips. Mystery skypes with a classroom in an unknown location. Interviews with guest speakers in other parts of the country . . . or world! This lesson centers on the theme of “21st Century Learning.” One of the main advantages of using technology in the classroom is that it allows students and teachers to access previously off-limits places and experiences.

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Research opportunities to use technology to break down the walls between the classroom and the world, and share your findings with your teachers and classmates.

Research

As you think about opportunities for using technology to create new classroom experiences, ask yourself these questions:

• What are we currently studying in English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies? What museums or historical sites could we virtually visit to better understand this topic?
• Who could we invite to visit our class as a virtual guest to help us learn more about a topic of study? How would we go about contacting them?
• How can we connect with students in other parts of the world through activities like “Mystery Skypes”? What steps would we need to take to do this as a class?

Share and compare your findings with other classmates. What opportunity interests you most?

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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 (Example)

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

Roundtable discussions offer you the opportunity to share what you’ve learned, as well as to ask questions and learn from others. Come to the discussion prepared to share your key findings. Use the organizer on the next page.

How the discussion works:

1. Choose a group leader who will help lead the roundtable discussion, and select a member of the group to go first.
2. Go around the group, allowing each participant to share a quick review of their their key findings.
3. When not presenting, take notes, summarizing key findings of your peers. Snap silently to show gratitude, appreciation, or interest!
4. After each presenter, take a moment for participants to ask questions or summarize what they just heard. Each participant should ask at least one question or summarize what someone else presented at least once during the discussion.
5. When complete, the presenter “passes the mic” to the next presenter.

Remember, it’s important to value dialogue and appreciate different perspectives. Learning from and understanding people who think differently or have different experiences is part of the process of growth! You don’t have to agree to learn from another perspective!

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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

Discussion Notes

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