Lesson 6: A Single Shard, Chapter 3

Turn and Talk and Annotation Spot Check

Prompt students to take out A Single Shard, their annotations from the first half of Chapter 3, and their Homework Journals. Have students discuss the reflection questions from the previous night's homework.

• What are your impressions of Min so far?

• How do you predict Min's character will change over the course of the story? What details from the story support your ideas?

Say these Directions: Use the Turn and Talk routine to discuss the questions:

• What are your first impressions of Min? What evidence from the text supports your ideas?

  • My first impression is that Min is demanding and impatient. In the text, he does not praise Tree-ear for his hard work. Instead, Min criticizes Tree-ear for not doing a task correctly, even though Min did not fully explain it.

• What predictions can you make about how Min might change over the course of the story? What details from the story support this prediction?

  • I predict that Min's will become kinder and more supportive of Tree-ear as they work together. A detail that supports this is when Min agreed to let Tree-ear keep working after his debt had been repaid. This suggests that Min has a soft spot for Tree-ear.

As partners discuss their responses to the reflection question, use the Annotation Spot Check routine to quickly scan their Chapter 3 annotations to review for evidence and quality of notes.

Connection to Today’s Learning: 

• Say: Today, you will continue to read Chapter 3 of A Single Shard. You discuss your notes on how pottery is made, add to the Stages of Learning chart, and discuss the main characters’ traits.

Fluency Practice

Have students turn to the beginning of Chapter 3. Tell them they will be practicing fluency—the ability to read accurately, naturally and easily— by reading the first section of the text at an appropriate rate and pace. Students should read through “and this time unload it at the kiln site.”

Say: Fluency means reading accurately, at an appropriate rate and pace, and with expression. Accuracy is reading each of the words correctly. This means saying the right words without skipping or guessing. Rate is how fast or slow you read. Pace is the rhythm of your reading—how smoothly and steadily you move through the text. Expression is reading with feeling and emotion, so your voice shows what the characters are feeling or what is happening in the story.

Each aspect of fluency works together to support comprehension, or understanding what you read.

Say these Directions: Listen for all the aspects of fluency during the read-aloud. Pay attention to accuracy, rate, pace and expression. Be prepared to discuss your observations.

• Say: What did you notice about my accuracy as I read aloud?

  • You read most of the words correctly and fixed the words you read incorrectly.

• Say: What does reading at an appropriate rate and pace sound like?

  • Ex. smooth, not too slow and not too fast

Model Fluent Reading: Model reading aloud the second paragraph of Chapter 3 .

• Say: What did you notice about my expression? How did my expression contribute to my overall fluency? (Ex. You read like you were talking or telling a story to a friend. It made the story more interesting..)

Class Echo-Read: Reread the second paragraph of Chapter 3 aloud. This time, have students read aloud with you.

• Say: What did you notice about the accuracy, rate, pace and expression of your reading? How did each of these contribute to your overall fluency?

Partner-Read: Place students in pairs. Have the first partner read aloud the third paragraph of Chapter 3 while the second partner listens. Then prompt them to switch roles, having the second partner read aloud the same section while the first partner listens. Remind them to focus on reading with accuracy, at an appropriate rate/pace, and with expression.

• Say: Did you experience any challenges reading accurately, at an appropriate rate/pace, and with expression? Why or why not? How can we improve our ability to read fluently?

Connection to Today’s Learning: 

• Say: Today, you will partner-read the second half of Chapter 3 of A Single Shard. As you read with your partner, remember to focus on reading at an appropriate rate and pace.

Transition students into partnerships to read the second half of Chapter 3 of A Single Shard.

Part A: Partner-Read and Annotate (RL.6.3) (20 minutes)

Say these Directions: Partner-read the remainder of Chapter 3, beginning with “Clay today, not wood . . .” As you partner-read the text, pause to annotate for descriptions of the pottery-making process.

After students have finished reading Chapter 3, lead a whole-class discussion to provide them with the opportunity to share their annotations.

• Ask: What did you highlight in Chapter 3 about how pottery is made? Why did you choose to highlight this section of text?

  • I annotated descriptions of collecting and unloading wood (“Tree-ear's favorite part of the day was unloading wood at the kiln site.” ). I also annotated descriptions of Tree-ear cutting and retrieving clay (“Using spades, they slashed at the clay with movements almost too swift to follow.”). These annotations show the preparation that goes into making pottery, including how potters had to gather fuel for the kiln and how they gathered the clay that they used to make the pots.

• Ask: Based on this information, what must a potter do before they can begin working?

  • First, the potter must gather their supplies. They must make sure they have what they need for their kiln to work. They must also find the right type of clay to use for their work.

• Ask: What are your initial thoughts about the pottery-making process?

  • The pottery-making process seems more involved than I previously thought. I did not realize that potters were responsible for knowing where to find the clay, cutting it directly from a riverbank, and hauling it back to their workshop. The text explains how challenging this work was: “It took him all morning to fill the cart with clay . . . The wet clay was far heavier than he had ever imagined.”

Next, read aloud or invite a student to read aloud the section from “Min's wife placed the cloth package” to “for he had earned it.”

• Ask: What is a central idea or theme developed by the author in this section? What evidence from the text supports your response?

  • The author develops the idea that value and pride come from a hard day's work. The author shows how Tree-ear is so proud to have earned his lunch, explaining, “Of one thing he was certain: The feast-day banquets in the palace of the King could never better the modest meal before him, for he had earned it.”

Call attention to the word kimchi in this section. Invite volunteers to identify the context clues that show the meaning of this vocabulary word. Have students add the word to their Unit Vocabulary graphic organizer.

Then, revisit the Stages of Learning graphic organizer that students began populating in Lesson 5.

• Ask: What stages of learning does Tree-ear go through in Chapter 3? Add this information to the appropriate columns of the Stages of Learning graphic organizer.

  • Observation of a master: Tree-ear watches the other potters quickly cut and carry away the clay from the riverbank. Trying: Tree-ear tries to copy the motions of the other potters when removing the clay from the riverbank. Failing: Tree-ear gets his spade stuck in the clay. He struggles to cut the clay into large blocks and has to cut them into much smaller pieces to carry them.

• Ask: What does Tree-ear learn about pottery-making by watching Min? What does Tree-ear find challenging about the process?

  • Tree-ear’s close observation shows that learners can gain an appreciation for the amount of time, energy, and skill that goes into mastering a craft. Tree-ear’s struggle to cut and carry the clay from the riverbank shows that he still cannot do this on his own and without guidance.

Check for Understanding

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Part B: Plot and Characterization (RL.6.3) (10 minutes)  

Remind students that they have closely read and discussed Chapter 3 of A Single Shard. They will now continue interacting with the text through a whole-class discussion focused on how the author develops the plot.

Briefly discuss plot and exposition with students. You may wish to display a plot diagram or story arc for reference.

• Say: A plot is the order of events in a story. It has five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The exposition is the beginning. It introduces the setting, characters, and problems or conflicts. In A Single Shard, Chapters 1–3 are the exposition.

Academic Talk

Use the Academic Talk routine to help structure a whole-class discussion in which students use textual evidence to characterize Tree-ear, Crane-man, Min, and Min's wife. Model using sentence frames in discussion, such as “I agree with _____ because . . .”, and “Can you say more about. . . “ to help students build upon and affirm responses. Direct students to record their responses in the Character Traits graphic organizer.

Say these Directions: We will use the Academic Talk routine and fill out our Character Traits graphic organizer.

• Ask: Think about what we have read about Tree-ear, Crane-man, Min, and Min's wife in Chapters 1–3. What character traits can we identify for each character so far? What evidence supports these traits?

• Ask: How do these details about the character's contribution to the development of the plot?

  • These details contribute to the plot by showing how the characters think and act. This shapes how they will behave and interact with each other as the plot continues to unfold.  Also, understanding more about each character helps us to make predictions about how they might respond in different situations.

Transition students into the lesson Look Back by having them compare and contrast characters’ responses to events in the story. Encourage students to use comparative phrases such as more than, similar to, different from, likewise, and in contrast.

Quick Write

Say: Using comparative language when making comparisons helps clarify your ideas. Examples of useful comparative phrases include: more than, less than, similar to, different from, as well as, in contrast, on the other hand, both and likewise. These phrases will come in handy as you respond to the Quick Write prompt.

Say these Directions: Respond to the following Quick Write prompt:

• Think about how Tree-ear, Crane-man, Min, and Min’s wife respond to events so far. Compare two characters' responses using comparative language.

  • The two characters who seem most similar to each other are Tree-ear and Crane-man. Both of them respond to events with honesty and hard work. Crane-man teaches Tree-ear that it is important to earn what you have and not steal, and Tree-ear follows this advice by warning the farmer about the leaking rice and continuing to work for Min even when his hand is hurt. This shows that they both believe in doing what is right and working with dignity, even when life is difficult.

The two characters who seem most different are Min and Min’s wife. Min usually reacts strictly and impatiently, often scolding Tree-ear and focusing only on the work that needs to be done. Min’s wife, in contrast, responds with kindness and care, like when she quietly gives Tree-ear food and speaks gently to him. This shows that Min is harsher and more demanding, while his wife is more compassionate and understanding.

Instructional Note

Listen for whether students can use comparative phrases when making comparisons between characters. Use your observations to decide what to briefly reteach or model at the start of the next writing task.

Read the first half of Chapter 4, through “even at the height of Min's scorn and rage,” and annotate for processes related to clay. Then respond to the following prompt in your Journal:

• Compare the traits of two characters, describing both similarities and differences. Use comparative phrases in your response.