Lesson 7: A Single Shard, Chapter 4

Turn and Talk

Have students take out A Single Shard and their annotations.

• Lesson 6 Homework: Read the first half of Chapter 4 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.

Instruct students to turn and talk with a partner to share their character comparisons from the journal homework. Take two to three quick responses from students to share with the whole class.

Connection to Today’s Learning 

Say: Today, you’ll finish reading Chapter 4 of A Single Shard. You'll define vocabulary words related to clay and use process language and descriptions to discuss how clay is purified.

Introduce New Words Using Syllables

Target Words: sludge, sieve, winnowed, incense, commissioned

Introduce the Word: Write the word commissioned on the board. Invite students to share whether they have seen this word and in what context.

Say these Directions: Today we're going to practice using syllables to break apart the word commissioned. This word is important because it relates to a plot point that will develop later in A Single Shard. Breaking a word into parts can help readers to decode words as well as determine their meaning.

Syllable Segmentation: Model breaking the word commissioned down into its syllables.

• Say: Let's break the word down into its syllables. I'll clap as I say each syllable: com-mis-sioned.

Decoding Each Syllable: Break down each syllable in the word commissioned.

• Say:

  • [Syllable 1]: The first syllable is com. Its vowel sound is short “o,” like in the word dog.

  • [Syllable 2]: The second syllable is mis. It has a short “i,” like in the word it.

  • [Syllable 3]: The third syllable is sioned. Its vowel sound has a schwa, which makes an “uh” sound like the last a in the word America.

Blending Syllables: Model blending the syllables together.

• Say: Now let's blend the syllables together: com-mis-sioned. Commissioned! Let's say the word together: commissioned!

Defining the Word: Help students define the meaning of the word commissioned.

• Say: The following information will help you to define the word commissioned.

  • Context Clues: In Chapter 4, the author writes: “But a finely wrought incense burner commissioned by a wealthy merchant as a gift to the temple, the clay might be drained twice or even three times.” What clues in this sentence help show what commissioned means?

  • Formal Definition: The base word in commissioned is commission, which means “an order giving permission or power to perform a certain task.” Here, the addition of -ed at the end of the word puts the a word in past tense, meaning the order was already given.

  • Spanish Translation: la comisión

  • Cognate: Commission and la comisión are cognates, meaning they have a similar spelling and meaning in English and Spanish.

  • Etymology: The word commission comes from the Middle English commissioun, meaning “delegated authority.”

Connecting to the Topic:

• Say: In A Single Shard, potters such as Min were given commissions–meaning orders–to create pieces of pottery, often by important people or for specific purposes. When the text uses the word commissioned, it means that an order had already been placed.

Practice:

• Say: Practice using the word commissioned in a sentence. Add commissioned and the other target words (sludge, sieve, winnowed, incense) to your Unit Vocabulary graphic organizer.

Invite students to discuss, write, and share their sentences with the class.

Once sharing is complete, affirm the connection to today’s learning: 

Connection to Today’s Learning: 

• Say: Understanding vocabulary such as commissioned will help you read Chapter 4 of A Single Shard with precision. As you finish reading and annotating the text, notice how the author uses words and phrases to describe the steps in a process.

Transition students into a discussion of the first half of Chapter 4 of A Single Shard.

Part A: Using Descriptive Language and Connotative Meaning (RL.6.4, L.6.6) (20 minutes)

Say these Directions: Describe the clay-purifying process using the steps you read about for homework.

• Say: Domain-specific vocabulary includes words that have a specific meaning in a certain subject, like science, math, or history. Since we are focusing on the science and history of Korean pottery making, domain specific words can be helpful when describing the process. Some examples of domain specific vocabulary that you are already familiar with can be found in your Unit Vocabulary graphic organizer.

• Ask: What steps does the author describe for purifying the clay? Use domain-specific vocabulary in your response.

  • A series of holes are lined with grass cloth. Clay is shoveled into the pits, and water is mixed with the clay to form a thick mud. The sludge is poured through a sieve in the next pit. Tiny pebbles and other impurities are winnowed out of the clay. The clay is then left to settle for a few days.

• Say: Take a look at the section of Chapter 4 from “At some distance from the house” to “at the height of Min's scorn and rage.” Access these words and their definitions in your Unit Vocabulary graphic organizer.

Then explain:

• Say: The author carefully chooses her words to describe how the clay is cleaned. She uses words with different connotations, which can create certain feelings in the reader. Words can have positive, neutral, or negative meanings. For example, the word “sludge” describes how the clay looks and feels, but it also has a negative connotation that may make the reader feel uneasy compared to words like “mud” or “clay.”

• Ask: Why might the author have chosen to use the word sludge in this part of the text? What does it suggest about Tree-ear's feelings or experience?

  • The author might have chosen to use sludge to show how unpleasant or difficult working with the clay was for Tree-ear at this part of the purifying process.

• Ask: What are the connotations of sieve and winnowed? What details from the text support your interpretation?

  • The word sieve has a neutral connotation because it describes a simple tool. It does not create a positive or a negative feeling for the reader. The word winnowed has a positive connotation because it makes the reader feel like Tree-ear has achieved something important as he purifies the clay. The author could have used more neutral words instead of winnow, such as remove, reduced, or sifted.

• Say: Read aloud the paragraph from “The stirring, sieving, settling” to “another repetition of the work.” Add the word incense to your Unit Vocabulary graphic organizer.

Then, explain how the author uses descriptive language and connotative meanings to explain a process.

• Say: Through descriptive language and connotative meanings, the author illustrates why these actions are carried out in a particular way. For example, clay is only drained once for a “sturdy teapot,”but it may be drained “twice or even three times” for “a finely wrought incense burner.”

How do the descriptions and connotative meanings in this part of the text help readers make inferences about the clay-purifying process?

• These descriptions help readers infer that the clay-purifying process varies depending on how fine of an object the potter wants to make. Clay is drained only once for a more durable object, but it has to be purified and refined many times for more delicate pottery.

Transition students into partnerships to read from “The ultimate in drainage work” to the end of Chapter 4.

Say: As you read the second half of Chapter 4, make annotations that highlight how the author employs descriptive language and connotative meaning to elaborate on the process of purifying clay.

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: Think-Pair-Share (RL.6.4, L.6.6) (10 minutes)  

Transition students to partnerships to read the remainder of Chapter 4.

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: Use the Think-Pair-Share routine to respond to the following questions about the second half of Chapter 4. You should be (1) independently forming ideas, (2) sharing and refining your ideas through brief discussion with your partner, and (3) sharing your ideas with the whole class.

Prompt students to access their Unit Vocabulary graphic organizer.

• Ask: What process does the author describe in the second half of Chapter 4? Use at least one example of domain specific vocabulary in your response.

  • The author describes how to make the glaze for celadon pottery. The glaze must be applied to the pottery before it is fired in the kiln.

• Ask: Why is making celadon glaze so tedious or challenging? What is the result of this work? Use at least one example of domain specific vocabulary in your response.

  • Making celadon glaze requires draining the clay more than half a dozen times. It also requires mixing precise proportions of water and wood ash together. The result is a transparent green color with hues of blue, gray, and violet, “as in the sea on a cloudy day.”

• Ask: The author explains that a Chinese scholar described celadon pottery as one of “twelve small wonders of the world” and that this story was known to children in Tree-ear’s village “almost before they could walk.” What does this suggest about the significance of celadon pottery?

  • This suggests that celadon pottery is significant to Korean culture and that it is something that the Korean people are very proud of.

• Ask: How does Tree-ear’s skill differ from Min’s in the glaze-making process? What does this suggest about Tree-ear’s journey toward mastery? Support your response with evidence from the text.

  • Tree-ear cannot tell the difference between clay that has been drained three times and five or more times. By contrast, Min closes his eyes and can sense that the clay is still not ready for the glaze. This suggests that Tree-ear still has a long way to go on his journey toward mastering the pottery-making process.

• Ask: What does Tree-ear learn by observing Min and by listening to what others say about him? What does this reveal about Tree-ear’s character? Use details from the text to support your ideas.

  • The author says that Tree-ear learns by listening to other potters about Min’s strengths and goals, including how he is a perfectionist and desires to have a royal commission. The author explains that Tree-ear learns from Min “breathing the very air of his work.” This suggests that learning to make pottery has a sustaining quality for Tree-ear. It shows that he is very dedicated to this process, even though it is hard.

• Ask: What does the description of the clay-purifying process in Chapter 4 convey about learning a difficult skill? What does Tree-ear’s response to this task reveal about his character at this point in the story? Support your response with evidence from the text.

  • The clay-purifying process shows that precision and patience are required to learn a difficult task. Tree-ear drains the clay again and again so that the residue is the right consistency; he recognizes that he is unable to feel what Min is feeling when he rubs the clay between his fingers. Despite the process being so difficult and tedious, Tree-ear is persistent and keeps working as hard as he can to become as skilled as Min.

• Ask: Which words and their connotations help describe how Tree-ear feels about having much to learn before he is an expert like Min?

  • The words resigned and envious show how Tree-ear feels about not being as knowledgeable as Min. Resigned shows that Tree-ear is accepting, but envious shows that he has some negative feelings and jealousy. Tree-ear has a lot of hard work ahead of him to learn to become an expert.

Keep students in partnerships as you transition to the Look Back.

Retell and Paraphrase Partner Check

Say these Directions: Use the Retell and Paraphrase Partner Check Routine to discuss Chapter 4 with a partner. The first partner should retell and paraphrase the first half of the chapter (read for homework), while the second partner checks for accuracy. Then, the second partner should retell and paraphrase the second half of the chapter (read in class), while the first checks for accuracy.

Respond to the following prompt in your Journal:

• In your own life, what process or processes do you know well? Why do you feel confident in your understanding of them? Be ready to describe this process in the next class.