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Lesson 45: Becoming the Apprentice, Presentations
50 min
California CCSS: Focus Standards
California CCSS: Supporting Standards
ELD Standards
Student Lesson
Lesson 45: Becoming the Apprentice, Presentations
Student Learning Objectives
1
Content
Students will present explanatory essays and process documents during a Gallery of Learning activity, clearly sequencing ideas, highlighting key claims, and supporting claims with relevant evidence.
2
Language
Students will engage in collaborative discussions by preparing with a draft and evidence, using that evidence in conversation, following discussion norms, building on others’ ideas, and using sequencing transitions and academic language to present ideas clearly.
Essential Questions
What does it take to learn something difficult?
How does art connect people to their history and community?
Connections to
Knowledge-Building:
Students demonstrate speaking and listening skills while presenting their explanatory essays about the stages of learning and mentorship. Students come to discussions prepared, referencing their essays and source text(s).
Enduring Understanding:
Through practice and mentorship, people turn skill into voice and work into art.
Unit Performance Task:
Students present their final explanatory essays and process documents in a small-group setting.
Lesson Pacing
| Lesson Flow | Purpose of Learning Experience |
|---|---|
Launch5 Minutes | Students will use the Turn-and-Talk routine to reflect on their favorite part of the performance task. |
Literacy Lab10 Minutes | Students will practice delivering their presentations with a partner using the Speaking & Listening Checklist. |
Learning in Action30 Minutes | Learning in Action: Presentation (SL.6.1, SL.6.4) Students will present their explanatory essays and process documents to a small group of classmates. |
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Addressed in Lesson
Not available for this lesson
Vocabulary for Additional Support
Not available for this lesson
Material List
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Unit 2 Lesson 45 Student Edition
Performance Task Handout
Self-Reflection graphic organizer
Routines
Think-Pair-Share
Lesson Sequence
Think-Pair-Share
Tell students that most of today’s class will be used to present their performance tasks. That includes giving presentations on their explanatory essays and process documents.
Say these Directions: Use the Think-Pair-Share routine to discuss the following prompt:
Ask: What did you like most about writing your explanatory essay and/or process document, and why?
I really liked revisiting the novel to find interesting examples and quotes to use as evidence. I think gathering this evidence helped make my writing more interesting.
Record students’ responses on the board. Spend a few minutes discussing responses as a class to draw connections, recognize patterns, or identify any similarities and differences between their classmates’ perspectives on the project.
Connection to Today’s Learning
Say: Reflecting on your work is an important part of the writing and creating process. You will have another opportunity to reflect on the performance task later in the lesson.
Display and review the Speaking & Listening Checklist from Lesson 35. Have students think about how prepared they feel about each item on the checklist as the teacher reviews.
Speaking & Listening Checklist
Successful speakers. . .
face the audience
make eye contact when possible
speak loudly and clearly with meaningful expression
use an appropriate rate—not too fast, not too slow
Active listeners. . .
face the speaker
sit still and avoid distractions while listening for understanding
wait until the speaker is done speaking to comment or ask questions
use thoughtful, respectful language to ask questions and make comments
Say these Directions: Work with a partner to practice sharing your explanatory essay and process document. The first partner should follow the guidelines for successful speakers as they share their work, while the second partner follows the characteristics of an active listener. Then, switch roles. Provide respectful, constructive feedback using the Speaking & Listening Checklist to help you with your presentations during the Gallery of Learning activity.
Tell students that you will let them know at the five-minute mark to switch tasks with their partner.
Teacher Tip |
|---|
Acknowledge that some students may feel nervous about presenting their work with their peers—these feelings are not only okay, they are completely normal! Remind students that they each belong to a community of learners, and as such, they support each other and treat one another with respect. |
Connection to Today’s Learning
Say: Today, you’ll practice your Showcase presentation with a partner using the Speaking and Listening Checklist. Then, you’ll present to a small group of classmates.
Learning in Action: Presentation (SL.6.1, SL.6.4) (30 minutes)
Transition the class into small groups of 4–5 students. Explain that each group constitutes its own “Gallery of Learning.”
Say these Directions: Within your small group, present your explanatory essay and process document. Listen to each other’s presentations using the Speaking & Listening Checklist and to ask presenters questions about their essays and process documents after they are finished.
Explain to students who will start in the group—this should be an established routine in the class—and then go clockwise in the group. As students present, circulate around the room and evaluate students’ speaking and listening skills using the Presentation Rubric.
Teacher Tip |
|---|
It may also be helpful to have students complete a self-evaluation using the rubric. They can turn these in and you can use them to help structure your feedback. |
Self-Reflection
Say these Directions: Complete the Self-Reflection graphic organizer.
Explain the project/activity you just completed. | What did you not like about this project/activity? |
|---|---|
I wrote an explanatory essay about the stages of learning and mentorship in A Single Shard and the article “Apprenticeships: Carrying Traditional Knowledge Forward,” created a process document about the steps to make pottery, and then presented both the essay and the process document to a small group. | It was hard to present my work in a small group. I don’t really like speaking in front of other people, and I was really nervous before I had to present. |
What did you like about this project/activity? I really liked how we used writing in two different ways: to show what we learned from the novel A Single Shard and to explain a process to someone. | What’s something you would like to do differently in the future? Next time, I would like to spend more time getting peer feedback to revise my work. I thought this step was really helpful. |
What is something you would like to keep doing in the future? I want to keep learning how to use language to show connections between people, events, and ideas. | What’s something you learned about yourself during this project/activity? I learned that I’m really good at writing a strong thesis statement and gathering text evidence to support my ideas. |
How would you rate your work? (5 being the highest) 1 2 3 4 5 Explanation: I think I did a good job writing my explanatory essay and process document, but I think I could do better with presenting what I’ve written with others. | |
Lesson Texts
Novel
A Single Shard
Linda Sue Park
