Lesson 36: Ordinary Moments, Reflect and Respond Dialogue, Part 1

Use this launch to connect students’ previous work on the Ordinary Moments graphic organizer to today’s discussion on empathy, community, and changing minds. Emphasize that reflecting on characters’ decisions helps us understand multiple perspectives and supports civic responsibility. As needed, model how to identify a moment when a character changes their mind and its impact on others, and show students how to cite evidence and use discussion stems. This sets the foundation for a structured, text-based academic discussion.

Have students take out the Ordinary Moments graphic organizers they began in Lesson 3 and have returned to throughout the unit.

Instruct students to review their graphic organizers and choose an example of a character who changed their mind.

• Say: Look through your organizer and choose a moment when a character from Look Both Ways changed their mind. If you don’t have one yet, add one now. Next to that character’s name, write what made them change their mind and what effect it had on the plot and/or other characters.

  • Stevie changes his mind about helping Marcus and his friends take Pia’s skateboard. It’s too late, and he can’t find her to apologize the next day. This leads him to ask many questions about his own conflicts at school.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we’re going to discuss examples from Look Both Ways of characters changing their minds and the effects these changes have on their communities.

Introduce New Words Using Morphemes

Target Word: civic responsibility

Say these Directions: We’re learning about the phrase civic responsibility today. It is a concept that shows up throughout our reading, so let’s explore it more deeply.

Introduce the Word: Write or project “civic responsibility” where all students can see it. Ask a volunteer to say it out loud.

1. Ask: Have you seen the phrase “civic responsibility” before? Where?

Identify the Component Words: Students are likely to be familiar with the word “responsibility,” but less so with “civic.”

• Ask: “Responsibility” is taking care of or having control over something, but what does “civic” mean?

Identify the Root: Underline the root -civ in “civic.” Explain that -civ comes from Latin civis, meaning “citizen.”

Language Connection: Write or project the words “civic,” “civil,” and “civilization,” and underline the -civ root in each. Explain that all these words relate to people living together as citizens in a society.

Identify Affixes: Circle -ic in “civic.”

• Say: The suffix -ic means “of or relating to.” Someone who is artistic is connected to art. Something that is metallic is made of metal.

Language Connection: The Spanish word for civic is “civica,” and Spanish also uses the Latin root -civ in many other words, such as “civilización.”

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: If “civic” means relating to being a citizen, then what is civic responsibility? [the duty that you have as a citizen to participate in your democracy]

Discuss Connections to Today’s Discussion and Model Discussion Strategies:

Recall earlier discussions of how stories build empathy and community. Relate this idea to civic responsibility.

1. Say: Throughout this unit, we’ve talked about how stories build empathy by helping readers understand other points of view. This builds community because people who have empathy for others in their community also take their civic responsibility seriously.

Transition to today’s discussion and model discussion strategies.

1. Say: Part of being an empathetic citizen with civic responsibility is being willing to consider someone else’s point of view. Engaged citizens can even change their minds after listening to others.

2. Say: As we discuss characters in Look Both Ways who changed their minds, we are going to listen to one another’s points of view and stay open to changing our own minds.

3. Say: Some sentence frames you can use when discussing are: “I agree with you that _______, but I also think _______.” “Before, I thought _______, but after hearing your idea, now I think _______.”

4. Say: For example, I might say, “I agree with you that Stevie changing his mind about taking Pia’s skateboard was important, because it showed that he wanted to do better.” My partner might say, “I agree with you that it’s important, but I also think he changes his mind too late.” I could reply, “I agree with you that Stevie changes his mind too late, but I also think that changing his mind and telling his mom will probably change him in ways that will affect the community.” My partner may then say, “Before, I thought Stevie changing his mind didn’t matter because it already happened, but after hearing your idea, I think maybe it has effects that we just don’t see yet.”

By the end of this launch, students should be prepared to identify a character’s moment when they change their mind and explain its effect on the plot or other characters. They should understand that recognizing these moments is the first step toward analyzing empathy, community, and civic responsibility in discussion. Students will be ready to participate meaningfully in the Reflect and Response Dialogue.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we’re going to discuss examples of characters changing their minds in Look Both Ways and the effects it had on them and their communities. As we discuss, we’ll practice listening to one another’s points of view and staying open to changing our minds, which is part of our civic responsibility as classmates.

Discussion on Changing Minds, Empathy, and Community: Text: Look Both Ways (SL.6.1a, RL.6.3) (30 minutes)

Use this section to guide students through the Reflect and Response Dialogue routine. Begin by modeling one discussion exchange, emphasizing how to identify a character’s change in thinking, cite evidence, and explain its effects on the community. The goal is for students to connect character analysis to empathy and civic responsibility while practicing evidence-based speaking.

Reflect and Response Dialogue

Remind students briefly of how a Reflect and Response Dialogue routine works.

1. Say: In a Reflect and Response Dialogue, you will choose a quote or part of the story you think is important. Then you will explain to a partner why you think it is important. Your partner will share their thoughts, and you’ll switch places. You will repeat this routine with a few different partners.

2. Say: In today’s Reflect and Response Dialogue, we’re looking for a part of the story where a character changes their mind about something.

Practice one round with the class, cuing response stems as needed.

• Say these Directions: Share with your partner the moment from the story that you chose. Explain why you think it’s important.

• Say: Partners, respond with the following sentence stem: “After hearing _____, I now think _____.”

  • [Student A]: I chose the moment when the old men in the pool hall change their minds and decide to buy the Low Cuts’ candy. I think it’s important because it shows how the Low Cuts knew how important nostalgia would be to those guys. [Student B]: After hearing [Student A] explain the moment when the old men change their minds, now I think this wasn’t just important because it showed how smart the Low Cuts are, but also because it showed what was important to these other characters.

After a few minutes, instruct students to rotate to different partners and complete another round of discussion. At this point, stop providing cues for responses. Allow students to discuss independently.

Note to Teacher: Round 1 establishes a shared foundation: every student has named a specific character moment. Round 2 pushes students from identification to analysis: what effect did this change have on the community? This sequencing mirrors the move from RL.6.3 (how characters respond/change) to the deeper thinking about empathy and civic responsibility.

With around ten minutes remaining, introduce the next prompt.

• Say: Now we’re going to focus on the effects the characters’ change of mind had on them or on their community. Keep using sentence frames if you need them.

  • [Student A]: I think the old men changing their minds about buying the Low Cuts’ candy affected the community because it made them think differently about the kids who live there. They saw that the kids were clever, and the kids saw that the old men had a soft spot. This might mean they’re all more willing to help each other later, which shows their civic responsibility. [Student B]: Before, I thought that this was only important because it shows the old men changing their minds, but now I also see that it’s important because the kids saw a different side too.

By the end of this discussion, students should be able to explain how a character’s change in thinking affects themselves and their community, citing textual evidence and using reflective language. They should demonstrate active listening, respectful responses, and the ability to revise their thinking in response to peers’ perspectives.

Reflection

Use this reflection to consolidate students’ thinking about how sharing stories builds understanding, empathy, and civic responsibility. Encourage them to write brief, text-supported reflections using the optional sentence starter. Highlight how today’s discussion strategies can be applied beyond the classroom, reinforcing the connection between understanding others’ perspectives and participating responsibly in a community.

Invite students to reflect on today’s discussion by writing a brief response to the following prompt:

• Say these Directions: How can sharing stories help create a greater sense of civic responsibility?

  • Optional Sentence Starter:

    • “Sharing stories helps us ____.”

      • Sharing stories helps us understand one another’s points of view, which builds empathy. When people in a community have more empathy, they also have a sense of civic responsibility to help and take care of one another.

Instruct students to complete any narrative tasks that may remain unfinished and continue to brainstorm in their Journal about what they will write about in the Showcase Task:

Continue to generate ideas for the Showcase Task under the prompt:

• Write a personal narrative based on an ordinary moment from your life.