Lesson 3: What Is Apprenticeship?

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: Use the Think-Pair-Share routine to respond to the following prompts:

• Ask: Consider the images and content in the video and photo gallery from the previous lesson. How might someone learn to make this type of pottery?

  • You might learn to make this type of pottery at a special school or from a skilled potter who knows the craft well.

• Ask: A master is a person who is very expert or skilled at their craft. How might learning from a master be different from other ways of learning?

  • A master can show each step of the craft and explain small details that are hard to learn from books or videos. A master can also give feedback right away and help a learner fix mistakes and improve their skills over time. This kind of learning would be more hands-on and personal since the student learns by watching, practicing, and working closely with an expert.

Invite two to three responses from students to share with the class.

• Say: A Single Shard includes many important ideas about the different ways people gain knowledge and learn a new skill. Each of these vocabulary words connects to the concept of learning.

Display the words mentorship, apprenticeship, and agency. Discuss the definition of these words as a class, providing additional context and connection as it pertains to the unit.

• apprenticeship: the process of working for another to learn that person’s skill or trade

  • Connection: In A Single Shard, Tree-ear begins an apprenticeship with a master potter named Min. Tree-ear learns the process of making Goryeo celadon pottery from Min.

• mentorship: the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor, or person with more experience

  • Connection: Several characters in A Single Shard provide mentorship to Tree-ear. His friend Crane-man provides moral guidance and advice. The potter Min gives Tree-ear direction about how to work with clay.

• agency: the ability to act and make decisions independently

  • Connection: Through apprenticeship and mentorship, Tree-ear gains agency. As he learns more about the world around him and the craft of making pottery, he becomes more independent.

Note that students will use these terms in this lesson and throughout the unit.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, you will be introduced to the Essential Questions of Unit 2. Then, you'll watch a brief video about apprenticeships and their importance in developing specialized skills, something that is relevant to Tree-ear in A Single Shard.

Part A: Introducing the Essential Questions (RI.6.4) (15 minutes)

Display and read aloud the unit Essential Questions.

• Investigation 1: What does it take to learn something difficult?

• Investigation 2: How does art connect people to their history and community?

Make a connection between what students have learned in Lessons 1–2 and in the Launch.

• Say: In Lessons 1–2, you explored how to take on challenging tasks and how art connects to history and community through Goryeo celadon pottery. You learned why this pottery holds an important place in Korean culture and history. You also discovered how skills and knowledge are passed down through teaching and learning across generations. With guidance, curiosity, and creativity, people are inspired to create unexpected and innovative ideas.

Make a connection between the two Essential Questions.

• Say: Passing down knowledge of traditional arts and crafts through apprenticeship and mentorship helps people connect to their history and community. This is a central idea explored in A Single Shard.

Turn and Talk

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

Explain that responding to the following questions will help them better understand the Essential Questions for this unit. Encourage students to practice collaborative discussions, posing questions that connect to ideas and responding to others’ questions with relevant evidence and ideas. Students can also acknowledge new information expressed by others, expressing their own views when appropriate.

• Ask: When was the last time you learned something difficult? What steps did you take to learn? Who helped you learn?

  • I learned how to throw a curveball last year. I learned how to hold the ball and how to position my arm when I threw. I practiced the motions again and again until I got it right. My coach helped me learn.

• Ask: Have you ever had a mentor or experienced mentorship in the past? If so, when? What did this experience help you learn?

  • I have experienced mentorship from my art teacher. This experience helped me learn new painting techniques, including how to mix different mediums to create abstract artwork.

• Ask: Why is art important? What can it tell you about the past? What can it tell you about a culture?

  • Art is a way for people to express themselves and to create beauty. It can tell you what techniques or materials people had available to them in the past. It can also tell you what people in the past or what a culture values, such as their beliefs.

Part B: Apprenticeship in Action (RI.6.2, RI.6.4, RI.6.7) (20 minutes)

Find and display a short video about apprenticeships, such as the western boot-making apprenticeship video from the Mass Cultural Council.

Have students discuss the following prompts in small groups before inviting two to three responses to share with the class.

• Ask: Why would a person choose to learn something that is difficult?

  • People choose to learn something difficult to challenge themselves and to gain knowledge or skills that they did not have before.

• Ask: How does an apprenticeship build agency?

  • An apprenticeship builds agency by helping the apprentice become more confident in their new skills and abilities. As they gain confidence, they are able to make creative decisions on their own.

• Ask: What skills or hobbies have you learned from someone else?

  • knitting, painting, drawing, cooking, baking, skateboarding, coding, playing a musical instrument

• Ask: Based on the video, what do apprentices gain from learning directly from a master that they could not learn on their own?

  • Apprentices get to learn and try every step of the process and get feedback from their mentor. They learn different skills and how to use tools that they may not be able to learn on their own.

• Ask: Which details support the central idea of the video by showing how skills and values are passed down through mentorship?

  • The video shows how the master explains to the apprentice why certain techniques and tools are used. It explains how very few master bootmakers are left and how important it is to share this knowledge to keep the craft alive. The video also shows how values such as persistence and dedication are passed from a master to an apprentice.

Create a Class Chart

Say these Directions: We will use the T-Chart graphic organizer to describe and compare the characteristics of effective and ineffective mentors. We will answer the question:

• Ask: What are the qualities of an effective mentor? What qualities would make a mentor ineffective?

Quick Write

Have students complete a Quick Write in response to the following prompt:

Write three to five sentences using this sentence starter:

• A time I learned by watching someone was  . . .

Students read their independent reading book for 20 minutes and complete a reading log entry.

Read your independent reading book for 20 minutes. In your reading log, record the date and pages you read, write 1–2 sentences about what happened or what you learned, and respond to this week’s prompt using evidence from the text.