Lesson 35: Flex Day: Skill-Based Huddles

• Say: Today is a Flex Day. Based on your self-assessment and your recent work, I’ll be meeting with small groups for a quick skill session while others work independently. Let’s start by rating your confidence.

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

Connection to Today’s Learning

Using students’ ratings and recent work, the teacher can form huddles that target the exact source-analysis or sentence-level move students need right now.

• 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 by having students hold up fingers or record them on paper.

Explain the plan:

• Three 10–15-minute teacher huddles:

  • Huddle 1: RI.8.8 (Evaluating Arguments and Claims)

  • Huddle 2: RI.8.9 (Comparing and Analyzing Source Information)

  • Huddle 3: L.8.1d (Correcting Shifts in Verb Voice and Mood)

• Students not in a huddle work independently and write a brief response.

Then sort students using:

1. their Reflection responses and

2. recent formative data from annotations, research notes, quick writes, source comparisons, or sentence revisions

Huddle 1 (RI.8.8) + Independent Choice Work (10–15 minutes total)

Explain that you are first going to pull students for additional work on RI.8.8 (Evaluating Arguments and Claims). Pull students who rated 1–3 on RI.8.8 and/or have shown difficulty with identifying a claim, separating reasons from evidence, or judging whether support is relevant and sufficient based on recent work. All other students begin independent work (see Independent Choice Work below).

Pull this group when students retell the topic instead of naming the claim, treat any fact as good evidence automatically, or stop at saying a text is persuasive without explaining whether the reasoning is sound.

Independent Choice Work

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

Option 1: Independent Reading

• Find one place in your independent reading where an author seems to be making a claim. Explain whether the support for that claim seems strong or weak and why.

  • The author claims that humans have lost the ability to learn from plants, and I think the support feels strong. Whole chapters describe specific plants and what they model, like how asters and goldenrod teach us about beauty and contrast working together.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• Think about a unit source on reciprocity, restoration, or stewardship. Write one sentence naming the author’s claim and one sentence explaining whether the evidence seems relevant and sufficient.

  • The author’s claim is basically that humans need to give back to the Earth, not just take from it. The evidence feels both relevant and sufficient to me because the writing ties the idea to real ecological science, which makes it harder to dismiss.

Huddle 1—Evaluating Arguments and Claims (RI.8.8)

Use any short passage from Braiding Sweetgrass or teacher-selected short argumentative text for this huddle. Students should have the text in front of them.

Reteach

• A claim is the point the author wants readers to believe.

• Reasoning explains why the claim makes sense, and evidence supports that reasoning.

• Evaluating an argument means asking whether the evidence is relevant, sufficient, and connected through sound reasoning.

Say: We are going to reread one short argument and test how well it works. Our job is not just to say what the author believes. Our job is to decide whether the author built a strong case for that belief.

Guided Practice

Have students reread the title and opening lines of the selected argument and underline the sentence that seems to push readers toward a position.

• Ask: What claim does the author want readers to accept?

  • The author’s claim is that humans and plants have a reciprocal relationship, not a one-sided one.

Have students look at one piece of evidence and the author’s reasoning from the middle of the passage.

• Ask: Which detail is functioning as evidence, and how does it support the author’s reasoning?

  • The evidence is the example of sweetgrass, which actually grows back stronger when it’s harvested carefully by humans. It supports the reasoning by providing a specific example that shows the relationship between humans and plants can be mutual, benefiting both.

Have students judge the strength of the evidence and explain.

• Ask: Is the evidence relevant and sufficient, or does the argument need more support? How do you know?

  • The evidence is relevant because it directly connects to the claim, and it is sufficient because it is a concrete, observable example that is rooted in ecology and not just her opinion.

Quick Check

• Say: Now you will evaluate another piece of evidence from the argument. Identify what type of evidence it is, then judge whether the support is relevant and sufficient.

• Ask: In the text, what other piece of evidence supports the author’s claim, and how relevant and sufficient is this evidence?

  • Another piece of evidence is the example of [observation, fact, or other support]. This is relevant and sufficient because it’s another observable fact that builds upon the first one.

Huddle 2 (RI.8.9) + Independent Choice Work (10–15 minutes total)

Explain that you are next going to pull students for additional work on RI.8.9 (Comparing and Analyzing Source Information). Pull students who rated 1–3 on RI.8.9 and/or have shown difficulty with explaining how two sources agree, differ, or emphasize different evidence or interpretations based on recent work. All other students begin independent work (see Independent Choice Work below).

Pull this group when students summarize each source separately, list similarities without explaining their importance, or cannot name how the sources interpret the same issue differently.

Independent Choice Work

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

Option 1: Independent Reading

• In your reading of two texts on a similar topic, explain one way the texts agree, differ, or emphasize different aspects of that topic.

  • Both texts agree that humans have damaged their relationship with the natural world, but one focuses more on the science of what’s been lost while the other focuses on the cultural traditions that kept that relationship healthy for centuries, so together they show you both the problem and a possible solution.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• Think of two unit sources about reciprocity, restoration, or stewardship. Write one sentence about how they connect and one sentence about what that comparison helps you understand.

  • Both sources connect around the idea that restoration isn’t just about fixing ecosystems; it’s about rebuilding the human behaviors and values that caused the damage in the first place. Comparing them helped me understand that stewardship is an ongoing relationship that has to be practiced and chosen.

Huddle 2—Comparing and Analyzing Source Information (RI.8.9)

Use any two short, teacher-selected passages for this huddle. Students should have the texts in front of them.

Reteach

• Two sources can address the same topic but interpret it in different ways.

• Sources may agree, differ, or add different angles through their evidence, focus, or explanation.

• Strong comparison goes beyond summary and explains what the relationship between the sources helps you understand.

Say: We are going to look at two short sources and say what they do together. Our goal is not “Source 1 says this, and Source 2 says that.” Our goal is to explain the relationship between the sources and what that relationship reveals.

Guided Practice

Have students reread one important statement, claim, or detail from each source and jot a short phrase for each one.

• Ask: What does each source say about the same topic or process?

  • One says that humans must give back what they take from the Earth. The other says that every act of consumption should come with an act of care.

Have students decide how the two sources relate.

• Ask: Do the sources mostly agree, differ, or add different angles to the topic? How do you know?

  • The sources mostly agree on the basic idea about reciprocity between humans and the environment, just in different language. They also have slightly different ideas because one says humans should give back the same thing they took, but the second seems like they can take one thing but show care by giving another thing.

Have students connect the comparison to a stronger understanding.

• Ask: What does comparing these two sources help you understand that one source alone does not show as clearly?

  • Comparing them helps me see that people can value reciprocity in different ways. One source has a clear explanation rooted in tradition while the other helps me understand a modern, scientific perspective.

Quick Check

• Say: Now you will synthesize what you have learned. Describe the relationship between the sources, and then explain what that comparison helps you understand.

• Ask: How do the two sources agree, differ, or emphasize different interpretations of the same topic, and what does that comparison help you understand?

  • The two sources address the topic of reciprocity, just in different language. The relationship between them helped me understand that this idea isn’t tied to one time, culture, or tradition. This seems more like a universal principle that can be approached in different ways.

Huddle 3 (L.8.1d) + Independent Choice Work (10–15 minutes total)

Explain that you are next going to pull students for additional work on L.8.1d (Correcting Shifts in Verb Voice and Mood). Pull students who rated 1–3 on L.8.1d and/or have shown difficulty with keeping verb choices consistent or correcting awkward shifts in their writing based on recent work. All other students begin independent work (see Independent Choice Work below).

Pull this group when students switch from active to passive voice or from one mood to another without a clear reason or when their revision changes one verb but leaves the sentence uneven or unclear.

Independent Choice Work

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

Option 1: Independent Reading

• Find one sentence in your independent reading with a clear verb pattern. Explain whether it uses active voice, passive voice, or another form and why it sounds clear.

  • The sentence I chose uses active voice because humans are the ones doing the action. It sounds clear because you immediately know who is responsible and what they’re doing, which matters in a book about environmental responsibility.

Option 2: Knowledge-Building

• Write one sentence about reciprocity, restoration, or stewardship. Then reread it to check for an inappropriate shift in verb voice or mood. Revise if needed and explain your change.

  • Draft: “If we restore the wetlands, balance would be returned to the ecosystem by nature.” I revised it to: “If we restore the wetlands, nature will return the ecosystem to balance.” The original shifted from active to passive mid-sentence, and I wanted to make sure nature is an active part of the statement.

Huddle 3—Correcting Shifts in Verb Voice and Mood (L.8.1d)

Use the sample sentences or any teacher-selected short passage for this huddle. Students should have the text in front of them.

Reteach

• In active voice, the subject does the action.

• In passive voice, the subject receives the action.

• An inappropriate shift happens when a sentence changes voice or mood for no clear reason and becomes confusing or uneven.

Say: We are going to look for places where verb choices wobble. Our goal is not to remove every passive sentence. Our goal is to notice when the sentence shifts for no reason and then revise it so the writing is clear and purposeful.

Guided Practice

Have students read this practice sentence and underline the verbs: The scientists studied the river, and the fish were protected by the community.

• Ask: What do you notice about the verb choices in this sentence?

  • The first part uses active voice because the scientists studied the river. The second part uses passive voice because the fish were protected by the community.

Have students decide whether the shift is purposeful or awkward.

• Ask: Does this sentence shift in a clear, purposeful way, or does it feel inconsistent? Why?

  • It feels inconsistent because both parts are describing actions people took, but the sentence changes voice in the second part for no clear reason.

Have students revise the sentence for consistency and clarity.

• Ask: How would you revise the sentence so the verb choices work together more clearly?

  • I would revise it to “The scientists studied the river, and the community protected the fish.” That keeps the sentence in active voice and makes the actions easier to follow.

Quick Check

• Say: Now you will fix a sentence on your own. Look closely at the verbs and decide whether there is an inappropriate shift. Then revise it if needed.

Have students use a draft of their own writing or present this sample for revision: If the community restores the wetland, the birds were protected by volunteers.

• Ask: Does this sentence contain an inappropriate shift in voice or mood? Revise the sentence if needed.

• Yes. The sentence shifts awkwardly. I would revise it to “If the community restores the wetland, volunteers will protect the birds.” That keeps the sentence clear and consistent.

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 RI.8.8, RI.8.9, and L.8.1d. What specifically improved?

  • Before this lesson, I was a 2 on RI.8.9 because I was mostly summarizing sources one at a time. Now I am a 4 because I can explain whether two sources agree, differ, or emphasize different angles and say why that matters. I also improved on RI.8.8 because I can judge whether evidence is relevant and sufficient instead of just calling an argument persuasive.

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

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

  • Today I noticed that texts about restoration often include both a problem and a response from people or communities. One detail from my reading showed that when knowledge is shared across generations, a damaged system can recover more effectively. That connects to our unit because it shows how reciprocity and restoration work together.

Scoring Rubric (Quick Write Reflection)

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