Lesson 21: Flex Day: Skill-Based Huddles

Tell students today is a Flex Day: their self-assessment plus recent class evidence will help the teacher decide who meets in a small group huddle.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: Using your confidence ratings in addition to how you’ve demonstrated your understanding in recent work, you’ll get individualized learning sessions so you get what you need today.

Collect a quick visual of ratings (students can hold up fingers or submit on paper). Explain the plan:

• Three 10-15 minute teacher huddles:

  • Huddle 1: RI.8.2 (Determine Central Idea and Analyze Development)

  • Huddle 2: RI.8.5.a (Analyze the Use of Text Features in Consumer Materials)

  • Huddle 3: L.8.1.a (Identify and Explain the Function of Verbals)

• Students not in a huddle work independently (choice: independent reading or knowledge-building on the unit topic).

Then sort students using:

1. their Confidence Continuum responses and

2. your data from recent formative assessments (exit tickets, annotations, short responses).

Huddle 1 (RI.8.2) + Independent Choice Work (10-15 minutes total)

Explain that you are first going to pull students for additional work on RI.8.2 (Determining and Analyzing Central Ideas). Pull students who rated 1–3 on RI.8.2 (Determining and Analyzing Central Ideas) and/or have shown difficulty with identifying central ideas (based on recent work). All other students begin independent work (see “Independent Choice Work” below).

Pull this group when students’ written responses summarize or retell what the text says rather than identifying the central idea. Also use this huddle when students can name a topic but cannot articulate a complete central idea or explain how key details develop it over the course of the text.

Independent Choice Work (for students not in responsive Huddles)

Students choose one task and write a brief response.

Option 1: Independent Reading

• How does identifying and analyzing central ideas connect to your independent reading today? Cite one example.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• How does your reading today connect to the idea that people shape civic memory through storytelling? Cite one example.

Huddle 1 Target (RI.8.2): Determine Central Idea + Analyze Development

Reteach

Review definitions required to access the standard:

• Central Idea: a complete thought that makes a claim about a certain topic (for example, ‘dogs’ is a topic, but ‘dogs help humans in surprising ways’ is a central idea).

• Key Details: the evidence, examples, or explanations an author uses to support and develop that idea over the course of the text.

• Analysis: identifying and explaining how an author uses key details to develop their central idea.

Explain that students can track this as they read and annotate using the Main Idea and Details graphic organizer:

Guided Practice

Use the copy of your selected text to have students complete the following steps.

Have students read through your selected text and mark any details that seem to repeat or connect to a single big idea. They can use the Main Ideas and Details graphic organizer to list these details.

• Ask: Looking at the details you marked, what topic does this text keep coming back to?

  • The text keeps coming back to [key idea from the text]. Several details all point back to that same idea.

Prompt students to use those repeated details to draft a central idea statement that captures not just the topic, but the author’s main point about it. They can use the graphic organizer for this.

• Ask: What is the author’s central idea in this section? State it as a complete sentence — not just a topic, but what the author wants you to understand about that topic.

  • The central idea is that [statement of central idea]. It’s not just [topic] — the author is making a specific argument about [author’s purpose/what they want readers to learn].

Tell students to look back at two or three specific details or sections of your selected text and think about how they develop the central idea over the course of the text.

• Ask: How does the author develop the central idea throughout the text? Name at least two specific details or moves the author makes and explain how each one adds to the central idea.

  • First, the author starts with a [type of detail, statistic, anecdote, etc], which establishes its significance right away. Then the author uses a specific example of [individual, event, impact] to make the central idea feel concrete and urgent. These two moves work together — one shows [idea, cause, problem], the other shows [significance, effect, solution] — so by the end, the central idea feels fully developed.

Quick check

• Say: In 2–3 sentences, state the central idea of your selected text and explain how the author develops it using at least one specific detail from the text. Your response should analyze how the detail connects to and builds the central idea.

  • The central idea of [text title] is that [a complete claim the author makes about the topic]. The author develops this idea by first establishing the scope or significance of the issue, then using a specific example to show real-world impact. This develops the central idea by moving from ‘[broad idea or question]?’ to ‘[specific example or narrow question]?’ By the end of [text], the reader understands both the scale and the significance.

Huddle 2 (RI.8.5.a) + Independent Choice Work (10-15 minutes total)

Explain that you are now going to pull students for additional work on RI.8.5.a (Analyzing the use of text features in consumer materials). Pull students who rated 1–3 on RI.8.5 (Analyzing Text Structure and Organization) and/or have shown difficulty with analyzing the structure of specific parts of text and how they develop ideas (based on recent work). All other students continue independent work.

Pull this small group when students can point out graphics, headers, captions, labels, or bold print but cannot explain what those features accomplish for the reader. In student work, this typically appears as responses that name a feature or describe what it shows rather than analyzing how the feature organizes information, highlights key details, or helps a consumer act on the information.

Independent Choice Work (for students not in responsive Huddles)

Students choose one task and write a brief response.

Option 1: Independent Reading

• How does analyzing text features connect to your independent reading today? Cite one example.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• How does your reading today connect to the idea that people shape civic memory through storytelling? Cite one example.

Huddle 2 Target (RI.8.5.a): Analyze Text Structure in Consumer Materials

Reteach

Give students a quick review of common text features in consumer materials.

• Header or heading: a title or label that tells what a section is about

• Caption: a short note that explains an image, graphic, or photo

• Graphic: an image, icon, chart, symbol, or design element that gives information quickly

• Label or callout: a word or phrase that points the reader to an important feature, detail, or step

• Bold print or bulleted list: formatting that helps the reader find key information fast

• Say: Today we’re going to look at how consumer materials use text features to guide a reader’s attention. A text feature is something outside the main paragraph text—like a header, caption, graphic, or label—that helps people find information fast. In consumer materials, those features do real work: they can explain, highlight, organize, or persuade. As we look at a consumer material today, we’re going to ask: What feature stands out, and how does it help the reader understand or use the information?

Let students know they can use the Structure and Purpose organizer to take notes as they work.

Guided Practice

Use the copy of your selected consumer material to have students complete the following steps.

Instruct students to skim the consumer material and circle or point to text features such as graphics, headers, captions, labels, bold words, or bullet points.

• Ask: What text features do you notice right away in this consumer material?

  • I notice a large header at the top, a graphic in the middle, and a short caption under the image. Those features stand out before I even read the full paragraphs.

Direct students to choose one feature and explain the information it gives or highlights for the reader.

• Ask: What does this text feature help the reader notice, understand, or do?

  • The caption helps the reader understand the graphic because it explains what the image is showing. Without the caption, the picture would be less clear and the reader might miss the main point.

Ask students to think about why the creator used that feature in this material and how it affects the consumer.

• Ask: Why do you think the creator included this feature here? How does it help guide or influence the reader?

  • The creator included the bold header to guide the reader quickly to the most important section. In a consumer material, readers often scan, so this feature helps them find key information fast and makes the message easier to use.

Quick check

• Say: Think about one feature in [text title] that is doing important work for the reader. You’re going to put your thinking in writing, so explain both what the feature is and how it helps the consumer understand, locate, or respond to information.

• Ask: Choose one text feature in [text title]—such as a graphic, header, caption, label, or bulleted list. In 2–3 sentences, explain how that feature helps the reader understand or use the information in the consumer material.

  • The caption under the graphic helps the reader understand exactly what the image is showing and why it matters. This is important in a consumer material because readers need to get information quickly, and the caption makes the visual clearer and more useful.

Huddle 3 (L.8.1.a) + Independent Choice Work (10-15 minutes total)

Explain that you are now going to pull students for additional work on L.8.1a: (Explaining the Function of Verbals). Pull students who rated 1–3 on L.8.1a: (Explaining the Function of Verbals) and/or have shown difficulty with identifying and explaining the function of verbals (based on recent work). All other students continue independent work.

Pull this small group when students can identify that a word or phrase is a verbal but cannot explain what grammatical role it plays in the sentence. The signal to watch for: students circle or underline a verbal correctly, but not whether it functions as a subject, object, modifier, or adverb.

Independent Choice Work (for students not in responsive Huddles)

Students choose one task and write a brief response.

Option 1: Independent Reading

• How does being able to identify verbals and explain their function connect to your independent reading today? Cite one example.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• How does your reading today connect to the idea that people shape civic memory through storytelling? Cite one example.

Huddle 3 Target: (L.8.1a): Identify + Explain the Function of Verbals

Reteach

Verbals quick definitions

• Gerund: an -ing verb form acting as a noun (e.g., in the sentence ‘Swimming is great exercise,’ the word swimming is the subject of the sentence).

• Participle: a verb form acting as an adjective (e.g., in the sentence ‘She grabbed the torn map’ the word torn is describing the map).

• Infinitive: to + verb that can act as a noun, adjective, or adverb (often shows purpose).

• Say: A verbal is a verb form that steps out of its usual job and acts as a different part of speech in a sentence. As we look at [text title] today, we’re going to find verbals and — this is the key move — explain exactly what grammatical job each one is doing.

Guided Practice

Use a short paragraph or selected sentences from the text.

Assign students to read a short paragraph from your selected text to find and label verbals. Record/underline each verbal and label G / P / I.

• Ask: What word or phrase did you find in [text title] that looks like it came from a verb? Read it aloud and point to it in the text.

  • I found the word ‘running’ at the start of the third sentence — it ends in -ing, which is a verb ending, but it doesn’t seem to be telling me what someone is doing right now.

Have students look at the verbal you found in your selected text and decide what type it is and what grammatical job it is doing.

• Ask: What type of verbal is it? What does it modify, or what job is it doing in that sentence? How do you know?

  • It’s a gerund because it’s an -ing form acting as a noun. It’s the subject of the sentence — it’s the thing the sentence is making a statement about. If I replaced it with a regular noun like ‘Exercise is important,’ it would still make sense in the same slot.

Prompt students to consider why the author of your selected text chose to use a verbal construction in that moment rather than a different sentence structure.

• Ask: Why do you think the author chose to use a verbal here? How does it add clarity or meaning?

  • Using a gerund as the subject lets the author put the action front and center — the activity itself gets to be the focus before anything else. It makes the idea feel more urgent or important than if the author wrote something like “It is important to run.”

Quick Check

Direct students to select another sentence from the selected text that includes a verbal and use what was just practiced.

• Ask: What is the verbal, and what is the job it’s doing?

  • [Verbal] is an infinitive phrase, and its function is to show the purpose of the action in the sentence.

Students complete a brief reflection based on what they did today (huddle reflection or independent work reflection). Invite 2–3 students to share.

Quick Write

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

• Re-rate your confidence for RI.8.2, RI.8.5.a, L.8.1a. What specifically improved?

  • Before, I was a 2 on RI.8.2, but now I’m a 3 because I can write a central idea and explain how it is introduced and developed over the course of the text.

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’m learning that activists used nonviolent protest, visuals and narratives; in the excerpt, Lewis shows how these narratives and storytelling can shape civic memory and civic life today.

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