Lesson 21: Flex Day: Skill-Based Huddles

Say: Today is a Flex Day. Based on your self-assessment and your recent classwork will help me decide which small-group session you'll join.

Instruct students to reflect on their ability to do each of the following using the Reflection routine.

Connection to Today's Learning:

Students’ self-ratings, together with recent annotations and written responses, will help determine which huddle will best support them today.

Collect a quick visual of ratings.

Explain the plan:

• Three 10–15-minute teacher huddles:

  • Huddle 1: RL.7.7 (Comparing Text and Media)

  • Huddle 2: RI.7.6 (Finding Author Point of View)

  • Huddle 3: RI.7.8 (Evaluating Reasons and Evidence)

• Students not in a huddle work independently through one of two choices: independent reading or knowledge-building.

Sort students using:

1. their Reflection responses and

2. your data from recent formative assessments.

Huddle 1 (RL.7.7) + Independent Choice Work (10–15 minutes total)

Explain that you are first going to pull students for additional work on RL.7.7 (Comparing Text and Media). Pull students who rated 1–3 on RL.7.7 and/or have shown difficulty with explaining how a visual version changes or develops meaning based on recent work. All other students begin independent work (see "Independent Choice Work" below).

Pull this group when students summarize each version separately but do not compare them or when they identify differences without explaining the effect of a medium-specific choice.

Independent Choice Work

Students not in responsive huddles choose one task and write a brief response.

Option 1: Independent Reading

• How does a visual detail, caption, or text feature in your independent reading shape the way you understand the event or person? Cite one example.

  • The caption on page 12 helped me understand the event better because it showed a specific detail that the words alone didn't make clear.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• How can images help preserve a hidden voice in this unit? Cite one example from your reading or notes.

  • Images can preserve a hidden voice by showing proof that someone’s experience mattered, even when they were left out of written history. For example, the photo of the subject in my source shows the location clearly, giving us a glimpse into a perspective we might never have heard otherwise.

Huddle 1 — Comparing Text and Media (RL.7.7)

Use any short passage paired with visual media from Seen and Unseen for this huddle. Students should have the text in front of them.

Reteach

Review:

• medium means the form a story or idea is told in, such as print, photo, film, audio, or stage

• compare means to notice what stays the same and what changes across two versions

• effect means what a choice makes the audience notice, feel, or understand

Say: We are going to look at one moment in print and one version of that same moment in another medium. We are not just listing what is different. We are figuring out what the new medium adds.

Guided Practice

Have students reread the selected passage and then look at the matching media.

• Ask: What is one important detail that appears in both versions?

  • Both versions show the family leaving in a hurry. In the written text, the author describes what they carry, and in the media version you can also see the bags and movement.

Have students identify one choice that only the media version can make or one choice that only the written text can make.

• Ask: What is one technique used in only one medium?

  • The media version can use color and focus, while the written text uses descriptive words. The close-up in the media version is something the print version cannot do in the same way.

Have students explain how that medium-specific choice changes meaning.

• Ask: How does that choice affect what you notice, feel, or understand?

  • The close-up focus makes the suitcase feel more important, so I pay attention to loss and leaving. In the written version, I understand the facts, but the media version makes the moment feel more immediate.

Quick Check

Say: Now you will show that you can practice this on your own. Choose a specific written passage and its paired media from the text to evaluate.

• Ask: In 1–3 sentences, explain one way the color, lighting, or focus of the included media illustrates the written ideas in a different way.

  • The print version includes a quote about what happened, while the photograph adds emotion by showing how alone the person looked and what their surroundings were like. The combination of the photo and the text helps me understand what the person felt and shows why they felt that way.

Huddle 2 (RI.7.6) + Independent Choice Work (10–15 minutes total)

Explain that you are going to pull students for additional work on RI.7.6 (Finding Author Point of View). Pull students who rated 1–3 on RI.7.6 and/or have shown difficulty with identifying how the author’s language reveals attitude or perspective based on recent work. All other students begin independent work (see "Independent Choice Work" below).

Pull this group when students confuse the topic with the author’s point of view, or when they can find a detail but cannot explain what that detail shows about the author’s perspective.

Independent Choice Work

Students not in responsive huddles choose one task and write a brief response.

Option 1: Independent Reading

• What word or phrase in your independent reading helps you figure out the author’s point of view? Cite the word or phrase and explain what it suggests.

  • The phrase "quiet dignity" suggests that the authors think he was brave and admirable, because it has a positive feeling that shows how they respect his decision to secretly document life inside the camp.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• In this unit, why does it matter to notice who is telling the story? Cite one example from a source you have read.

  • It matters who tells the story because the writer decides what information gets included, left out, or exaggerated. For example, this source is told from the perspective of one individual, which means we mostly hear their side, while the experience of people in other groups is missing or minimized.

Huddle 2 — Finding Author Point of View (RI.7.6)

Use any applicable short passage from Seen and Unseen or teacher-selected informational text from the Unit for this huddle. Students should have the text in front of them.

Reteach

• point of view means the author’s attitude, position, or way of seeing the topic

• word choice gives clues about what the author thinks is justified, unfair, important, or harmful

• evidence for point of view comes from specific phrases, not from guessing

Say: We are going to use the author's own words like clues. When an author chooses one phrase instead of another, that choice can reveal a point of view.

Guided Practice

Have students reread the selected passage and mark words or phrases that describe the topic in an especially strong, loaded, or careful way.

• Ask: What topic is the author writing about? What words or phrases does the author use to describe or explain this topic?

  • The author is writing about a specific policy. The phrase “necessary action” and the word “final” stand out because it sounds like the policy had to be followed.

Have students connect that word choice to a possible viewpoint.

• Ask: What does that word choice suggest about how the author views the topic?

  • It suggests the author sees the policy or action as justified and unchangeable. The phrase “necessary action” makes the decision sound reasonable instead of harmful.

Have students explain the connection in a full sentence using evidence.

• Ask: How can you explain the author’s point of view with evidence from the passage?

  • The author’s point of view seems supportive because the author uses the phrase “necessary action,” which presents the policy as something people needed rather than something to question.

Quick Check

Say: Now you will use one other short selection to infer a point of view. Focus on what the word choice suggests, not just what the topic is.

• Ask: Read the selected excerpt from text. In 1–3 sentences, explain what the word choice suggests about the author’s point of view.

  • The phrase [“key phrase”] suggests the author [statement of point of view]. That wording suggests that [conclusion about impact on meaning].

Huddle 3 (RI.7.8) + Independent Choice Work (10–15 minutes total)

Explain that you are going to pull students for additional work on RI.7.8 (Evaluating Reasons and Evidence). Pull students who rated 1–3 on RI.7.8 and/or have shown difficulty with deciding whether evidence actually supports a claim based on recent work. All other students begin independent work (see "Independent Choice Work" below).

Pull this group when students can find a claim, but treat every detail as equally strong evidence or when they retell the passage instead of judging whether the reasons and evidence are relevant and sufficient.

Independent Choice Work

Students not in responsive huddles choose one task and write a brief response.

Option 1: Independent Reading

• What claim does the author make in your independent reading, and what is one piece of evidence used to support it? Explain whether that evidence is strong.

  • The author claims that [claim] and supports it with [evidence from the text], which is strong evidence because it comes from a reliable source and gives enough detail to be convincing.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• How can weak evidence change the way people remember history? Cite one example connected to this unit.

  • Weak evidence can distort history by letting incomplete or one-sided stories become what people think of as true over time. For example, some photos only show people smiling outdoors and in gardens, which could lead people to believe life was pleasant and fair instead of the fuller, more complicated story.

Huddle 3 — Evaluating Reasons and Evidence (RI.7.8)

Use any applicable short passage from Seen and Unseen or teacher-selected short informational text for this huddle. Students should have the text in front of them.

Reteach

• claim is the main idea or position the author wants the reader to accept

• reason explains why the claim should be believed

• evidence is the fact, example, quotation, or detail that supports the reason and claim

Say: We are going to separate a claim from the support around it. Then we will decide if the support is actually strong enough to back the claim up.

Guided Practice

Have students reread the selected passage and locate the sentence that sounds most like the author’s main claim.

• Ask: Which sentence states the author’s main point or the idea they want to convince readers to pay attention to?

  • The author is trying to convince the reader that the policy was effective. That idea sounds like the main claim because the other details are used to support it.

Have students identify one reason or piece of evidence that supports the claim.

• Ask: What reason or evidence does the author use to support that claim?

  • The author gives an example of officials saying the policy kept people safe. That is one piece of support the author uses.

Have students evaluate whether the support is strong.

• Ask: Is that support relevant and sufficient, or is it weak? Explain why.

It is relevant because it connects to the impacts of the policy, but it is only one opinion from an official, and there are no facts or other sources that say the same thing, so this support is not strong.

Quick Check

Say: Now you will practice with another short passage. Decide whether the evidence is enough and explain your judgment.

Provide students with a short passage from a Unit informational text.

• Ask: Read the selected passage from the text. In 1–3 sentences, explain what kind of evidence the author provides and evaluate whether the evidence supports their claim.

  • The evidence strongly supports the claim because the author includes data from the time period to prove that [claim]. The factual details and data support anecdotes from other parts of the text to make the claim convincing.

Students complete a brief reflection based on what they did today. Invite 2–3 students to share.

Quick Write

Option A (students who attended one or more huddles):

• Re-rate your confidence for RL.7.7, RI.7.6, RI.7.8. What specifically improved?

  • Before, I was a 2 on RI.7.6, and now I am a 4 because I can use one phrase from the text to explain the author's point of view instead of just naming the topic. I also feel more confident with RI.7.8 because I know I have to judge whether evidence is actually strong.

Option B (students who did independent reading/knowledge-building):

• What are you learning about on the unit topic from today's reading/work? Cite one detail.

  • I am learning that the way people tell history changes what we notice. One detail from my reading was that a photograph focused on families waiting with luggage, and that detail helped me understand the human side of removal.

Scoring Rubric (Quick Write Reflection)

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