NROC Developmental English—An Integrated ProgramInstructor Guide: Unit 2

Unit 2: Identifying Main Ideas

INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................2LEARNING OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................2FOUNDATIONS ALIGNED WITH UNIT 2 .....................................................................2NECESSARY BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE .............................................................3

ABOUT THE READING ASSIGNMENT ...........................................................................3READING SELECTION.................................................................................................3INSIGHT INTO THE READING SELECTION................................................................3VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT FOR “RICE FOR THANKSGIVING” ..............................4TIPS...............................................................................................................................4ENRICHMENT...............................................................................................................6

INTEGRATING GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND USAGE (GPU)...............................7INSIGHT INTO THE UNIT GPU FOUNDATIONS .........................................................7TIPS...............................................................................................................................7ENRICHMENT.............................................................................................................10

ABOUT THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT ..........................................................................11WRITING ASSIGNMENT ............................................................................................11INSIGHT INTO THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT ...........................................................11UNIT 2 WRITING ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................13TIPS.............................................................................................................................15ENRICHMENT.............................................................................................................16

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS ........................................................................16EXTENSION ACTIVITIES ...........................................................................................16

ACCESSIBILITY .............................................................................................................17CLOSED CAPTIONS...................................................................................................17SCREEN READERS ...................................................................................................18ADDITIONAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................18

UNIT ASSESSMENT SAMPLE ANSWERS AND SCORING GUIDES..........................19UNIT 2, FORM A, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE........................................................19UNIT 2, FORM B, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE........................................................20UNIT 2, ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE QUESTION .............................22SCORING GUIDES .....................................................................................................22

MEMBER SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTS .....................................................................25JOIN THE COMMUNITY.................................................................................................25

Developed by The NROC Project. Copyright ©2014 Monterey Institute for Technology and Education

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IntroductionThis unit focuses on helping students identify a reading’s main idea and the structure used to support it, and then produce a cohesive, well-supported essay of their own. As they progress through the lessons, they will learn annotation strategies, summary writing, and thesis construction techniques. The main goal is for students to walk away from a reading with confidence in their ability to understand content, create a summary paragraph, and compose a clear, complete, opinion-based response.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Locate the stated main idea by identifying the topic and what the author is saying about the topic.

Identify supporting details in a reading. Annotate a text in order to enhance overall reading comprehension. Identify the three questions used to develop a thesis statement. Develop a thesis statement with supporting ideas. Summarize a reading in one complete, concise summary paragraph. Respond to a reading with a complete, concise response paragraph using a

thesis statement. Identify run-on sentences. Correct run-on sentences. Identify comma splices. Correct comma splices. Identify sentence fragments. Correct sentence fragments. Use context clues to define unknown vocabulary in a reading. Use word parts to define unknown vocabulary in a reading.

Essential College Skills: Critical Thinking

FOUNDATIONS ALIGNED WITH UNIT 2You can locate the Foundations for each unit by clicking on the “Resources” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. We have also provided this separate list of links for the Unit 2 Foundations:Stated Main Ideas http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Founda

tions/stated-main-ideas.html Supporting Details http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Founda

tions/supporting-details.html Annotating a Reading http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Founda

tions/annotating-a-reading.htmlDeveloping a Thesis Statement and Supporting Ideas

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/developing-a-thesis-statement-and-supporting-ideas.html

Writing a Summary http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/writing-a-summary.html

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Writing a Summary-Response

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/writing-a-summary-response.html

Run-on Sentences http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/run-on-sentences.html

Comma Splices http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/comma-splices.html

Sentence Fragments http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/sentence-fragments.html

Using Context Clues http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit01/Foundations/using-context-clues.html

Identifying Word Parts http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/identifying-word-parts.html

Essential College Skills: Critical Thinking

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit02/Foundations/essential-college-skills-critical-thinking.html

NECESSARY BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGEReview these concepts with students prior to starting this unit:

Gaining computer access and navigating in an online environment Identifying the author, topic, major details, intended audience and purpose of a

reading Distinguishing between facts and opinions Creating a one-paragraph personal opinion statement about a reading using

Standard English and basic sentence structures, including subject and verb, prepositional phrases, and end punctuation

Understanding and using the writing process

About the Reading AssignmentREADING SELECTION"Rice for Thanksgiving," by Jocelyn Fong

INSIGHT INTO THE READING SELECTION

Why it was chosen: “Rice for Thanksgiving,” a narrative essay by Jocelyn Fong that appears in the “This I Believe” essay series on NPR (http://thisibelieve.org/*), depicts a non-traditional view of an American holiday in a way that makes the reader examine important questions about culture and tradition. It’s a well-balanced piece that is linear enough for students to find and trace the main idea throughout the text, but challenging enough for the task to be nuanced. The supporting details introduce new ideas while effectively connecting them to the main idea (embracing blended versions of heritage) without becoming tangential. Hopefully, it’s also a piece students can relate to, giving them incentives to share their own stories. Since the format/style for this reading is “the narrative essay,” students should notice the personal but varied language, the vivid use of description, the purpose for the text, the location of the thesis, and the visual layout of the piece.

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Reading difficulty: Although some of the important points are indirectly stated, the overall text seems to lead to a reachable conclusion: “I believe in rice and gravy because I am rice and gravy. I’m half Asian, half Anglo and completely American.” Students may need help recognizing that this statement, although a direct identification of the main idea, has some subtleties in overall meaning. To understand Fong’s perspective, some students may need guidance in the area of “That’s what it says, but what does that mean?” The videos for this unit should help students reach the necessary conclusions, but instructors need to be aware that, based on their prior knowledge and experiences, this realization could be harder for some. However, the text is conversational enough that the task should be manageable.

VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT FOR “RICE FOR THANKSGIVING”AngloCantonesebraidcollageculturedesignateddiscriminatorydiversitydownplayethnicexistenceexoticfeastforeigngarmentsgratitudeheritageidentityimmigrantsimmigrationinterracialliteralmournnaturalized citizensoff-limitspilgrimspreservestrifeverywho, though not without strife

TIPSIf students have difficulty identifying the main idea and/or the supporting details:

Create an outline of the reading together as a class. Print a copy of the reading and let students summarize the main objective of

each paragraph (or sentence) in the margins. Then have them explore how and why Fong presented the ideas in this order. What can the pieces mean when presented as a whole?

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Have students work in groups to create a graphic organizer of the reading that identifies the main point and shows the relationships between the supporting details.

If students have difficulty making between the line connections: Identify several nuanced statements and have students discuss possible

meanings independently from the text. For example, what does “My generation learned in school that culture was something to celebrate and something necessarily foreign” mean? Think of prompts for each statement to help students recognize the deeper context. (What might she want to celebrate in her culture? What do you celebrate? What might be purposefully foreign to outsiders? Why is this necessary, as she says? Do you agree?) This may be done individually (online or in class), in a whole class discussion, in smaller groups working on the same sentence, or in small groups working on different sentences. All small groups should discuss their results and their process.

Ask the class to identify sections of the reading that seem confusing. Then look at those sections together, asking, “What’s another way to state this same idea?” This can also be done in groups or online. If students can put new words to the idea, then they should uncover the deeper meaning.

If students have trouble with vocabulary: Preview the terms together before pre-reading. Have students substitute unfamiliar words with more familiar synonyms within the

text until the new words are more approachable. Divide the terms equally among several small groups and ask students to apply

the terms to a different context. They can then discuss the effects of including these words as is within the current text. How would the meaning change if Fong used a different word?

If students struggle with the reading: Sit with the students as they complete the reading and discuss how to approach

and process the text. Have students discuss their reactions in pairs or small groups before moving

onto the next reading stage. Ask students to respond to reading prompts, such as: “I noticed that…,” “I want to know more about this…,” or have students ask each other “How did you approach this part of the task (pre, during or post reading)….”

Find a short reading (could be one paragraph in length) and duplicate the process before moving on to the writing assignment.

Continue to offer guided practice until concepts are closer to mastery.

Helping students connect reading and writing: Before beginning the pre-reading presentation, ask students to discuss their

heritage and their family traditions. By framing the reading, students should more quickly process the content. They will also be more primed for the response portion of the writing assignment, which is based on their own feelings of culture and acceptance.

During post-reading, ask students (in class or in an online discussion group) how the author might have prepared for writing this text. What were her goals? How did they affect her process? What did she do well? What choices did she make in

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order to write those sections effectively? How might the essay have changed if she made different choices?

Point out that the students will have two tasks in the writing assignment, both directly relate to the reading. The first will be to determine what the author says and how she says it. As they read, students should pay attention to the textual features that will help them address these points. The second task is to recognize their reactions to her main idea, which means students should be aware of their feelings as they read.

Tips for Teaching English Language LearnersWorking with word families: Some of the vocabulary items from “Rice for Thanksgiving” are presented in the chart below. Unit 2 will ask students to edit their writing for sentence fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences. To do this, they must be able to identify verbs and their subjects—the components of a clause. To help with this identification, ELLs can benefit from practice with word families—verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Instructors can reproduce or project the chart below and complete it with the entire class or have students compete in pairs to finish it first. Discuss the word endings and clues to parts of speech.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverbculture X culturally

discrimination Xdiverse X

X ethnic1. immigrant2.

X X

X gratefully1. identity2.

X X

Words in bold above are from the Academic Word List (AWL)

Answers: cultural; discriminate, discriminatory; diversity, diversify; ethnicity, ethnically; immigration, immigrate; gratitude, grateful; identification, identify

If students ask why some forms are not represented in the chart, you can explain that they are used in phrases, not as words: “express gratitude,” “in a diverse manner,” etc.

Cultural knowledge/Background information: To make connections to the reading, you can ask English language learners in your class if there are any foods that are “must-haves” at an important feast or holiday celebration—or simply at any meal--in their home culture.

ENRICHMENTSuggested Activities

Find a new essay on a similar topic (i.e., “Here Comes (the Real) Santa Claus” or “A Duty to Family, Heritage and Country” on http://thisibelieve.org/*) and compare their topics, styles, presentation, thesis placement, etc. Have students gauge similarities and differences.

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Choose a separate reading and have students annotate it individually or in groups. Using the results of the annotation, have students create an outline of the text, making sure the relationship between the main idea and supporting details is clear.

Discussion activity: Ask students to name situations in which it’s important to adapt and others where it isn’t. They should think about the reading and decide: Does the particular holiday matter? The particular culture? How does this reading relate to the bigger idea of adaptation and assimilation? After the discussion, students can have a mock debate on the issue of how and when to preserve culture. (Sides can be assigned if everyone seems to share the same opinion)

Integrating Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage (GPU)INSIGHT INTO THE UNIT GPU FOUNDATIONSThe three GPU Foundations in this unit focus on the most common issues that students face when punctuating their own sentences: run-on sentences, comma splices, and sentence fragments. All three Foundations build on a basic understanding of simple sentence structure by introducing the concept of clauses. The primary goal is to get students to recognize how phrases and clauses relate to each other in a sentence. This understanding helps to increase the student’s confidence in recognizing an independent clause and distinguishing it from a dependent clause. The three GPU Foundations also show students how to use a comma to punctuate the more sophisticated sentences that they typically use in their everyday speech.

GPU Foundations Run-on Sentences Comma Splices Sentence Fragments

You can locate the GPU Foundations for each unit by clicking on the “Resources” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

TIPSRun-on Sentences: Run-on sentences pose a struggle for many students. Even those who do not make this mistake often in their own writing may have difficulty recognizing a run-on sentence in their peer’s compositions and understanding why such sentences are incorrect. That is why it is helpful to reinforce this particular concept by incorporating supplemental exercises and guided instruction using authentic student writing.

The Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage lens is a great place to start enriching student learning because it highlights and explains how the author uses, and correctly punctuates, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. Some instructors find it useful to have students go through this feature in the Active Reader prior to reading the Foundation lesson, so that they are more familiar with the real-world application of the concepts before diving into the more abstract area of sentence structure.

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Tips for Teaching English Language LearnersSentence Fragments: Instructors working with English language learners may want to begin with the section on sentence fragments to solidify students’ knowledge of dependent and independent clauses before they look at comma splices and run-ons. Sentence structure in many world languages does not match that of English, and instructors can refer ELLs back to Unit 2 throughout the course as needed for their review of fragments, comma splices, and run-ons.

Focus on Verbs: When looking at writing to edit for run-ons, students can first look for the verbs and “go left” as they did when checking for fragments (see below). Once they are clear whether the clauses are independent or dependent, they can proceed with the Foundation exercises and practices more confidently. If desired, instructors can work with students to highlight independent and dependent clauses in different colors when presenting the sentences to be edited. This visual scaffolding can help students analyze sentence structure.

Sentence Glue: The Foundation exercises on run-on sentences should work very well for ELLs. In addition, instructors can help students visualize how the sentence “building blocks” (clauses) are put together by referring to the conjunctions and their punctuation as “sentence glue.” For example, while going through the options for punctuation presented in the lesson, instructors could say, “What kinds of ‘sentence glue’ can we use here, between two independent clauses? One kind is ….”

Online practice: English language learners sometimes need more online practice and a number of sites can provide it. Additional practice for class demos is available at http://www.ixl.com/ela/*. Type “run-ons” in the search box to find graded examples. (Note that the free version of the latter is generally limited to one use per day.)

Comma Splices: Comma splices go hand in hand with run-on sentences since they are a type of run-on, but one in which the student recognizes that some sort of punctuation is needed. This means that the student has some mastery over the development of complete sentences and the ability to recognize independent clauses, but lacks an understanding of exactly how to join two independent clauses together correctly. This is an easy grammar skill to learn even though it may involve breaking old habits that some students may have grown accustomed to – habits that have made a comma splice seem like a normal and correctly punctuated sentence just because they have written so many.

The Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage lens reinforces one of the primary GPU goals for this unit by showing how comma usage in the published article is not related to one of the coordinating conjunctions, but is related to the phrases and clauses in the sentence. Keep in mind that comma usage is approached in small chunks throughout the ten units, introducing students to specific rules as they relate to the type of writing they are being asked to produce. This can be a little different than most grammar handbooks, which devote an entire chapter to the comma and all of the various rules that apply to its usage.

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Tips for Teaching English Language LearnersSentence Fragments: Instructors working with English language learners may want to begin with the section on sentence fragments to solidify students’ knowledge of dependent and independent clauses before they look at comma splices and run-ons. Sentence structure in many world languages does not match that of English, and instructors can refer ELLs back to Unit 2 throughout the course as needed for their review of fragments, comma splices and run-ons.

Focus on Verbs: When looking at writing to edit for comma splices, students can first look for the verbs and “go left” as they did when checking for fragments. Once they are clear whether the clauses are independent or dependent, they can proceed with the Foundation exercises and practices more confidently.

Sentence Glue: The Foundation exercises on comma splices should work very well for ELLs. As with run-ons, instructors might want to compare conjunctions and punctuation between clauses to “sentence glue.” Remind students that when joining two independent clauses with a comma, the only seven words in English that they can use are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. If they want to “glue together” two independent clauses with a comma, they must also use one of the FANBOYS.

Sentence Fragments: Instructors may choose to present the sentence fragments Foundation first rather than last. Either way works, as the primary goal is to get students to recognize complete sentences/independent clauses, and by inference, dependent clauses. Since it is common to see sentence fragments used in published writing as a stylistic choice, it is important to address that issue. You should remind students that they should not break this rule until they have mastered it.

Picking up on this theme, the Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage lens highlights an instance when the author uses a sentence fragment purposefully, but also shows how that sentence fragment could be made into a complete sentence.

Tips for Teaching English Language LearnersBefore beginning the Foundation exercises in Unit 2, instructors working with English language learners can do the following:

Give students language to talk about Grammar: Define what a clause is (any subject + verb) and caution that a clause is not always a sentence. Instructors can get a quick sense of whether students are familiar with subordinating conjunctions, or subordinators, by having the students generate as many as possible on their own, starting the list with when, because, if, although, etc. If necessary, provide students a list of subordinators to keep for reference.

Find the Verb and Go Left: To help with sentence analysis in this and subsequent units, instructors can model a technique to identify independent and dependent clauses. “Find the verb and go left” is an easy phrase for students to remember. As a class, first find the verbs in the sentence, and double-underline or highlight them. Then, for each verb, “Go left,” to find its subject, and single underline or highlight it in a different color. Once again, “Go left,” and look for a

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subordinator and draw a box around it. Subordinator + subject + verb = dependent clause. Explain to students that dependent clauses do not stand alone in academic writing even though we may commonly speak this way. They are called “fragments” because they are incomplete.

I make fish stew every Christmas. Because it is a family tradition.

Independent Dependent= fragment

→ I make fish stew every Christmas because it is a family tradition.

Complete sentences: Remind students that complete sentences in English must have both a subject and a verb. Subject pitfalls: In many languages, subjects with the verb ‘be’ can be omitted (“Is my favorite food.”) Verb pitfalls: ELLs might not recognize that an infinitive (to eat) or an –ing word without an auxiliary verb (eating) does not count as a verb. Instructors may need to explicitly point this out while working through the Foundation exercises on fragments.

Online practice: For additional whole-class presentation and practice with a computer and projector, visit http://www.ixl.com/ela/topics*. Select the tab that reads “sentences” to find practice with fragments. Beginning with the highest level, 8th grade, is recommended, but the materials are graded and include simpler examples, if needed for some English language learners. (Without a membership, usage for ixl.com is limited to once per day at the time of this writing.)

Additional instruction on all three of the grammar topics in this unit appears in the review section of the Writing Center, where students are instructed to look for these errors in their own drafts. This can be a particularly challenging task, even if that task involves reviewing a peer’s writing. More success can be found if students do a warm-up activity by looking at authentic examples pulled from student writing in the class and presented in isolation for students to identify and correct.

If students have trouble with sentence fragments and/or distinguishing between dependent and independent clauses, the ELL section shows an excellent lesson that works for native speakers as well as English language learners.

Finally, students should be instructed to view the Grammar in Context video presentation located in the Resources for the unit before editing and proofreading their essay. The video presentation addresses all three topics in order to help students during the editing and proofreading stages of essay development. A good strategy would be to have students watch the video and immediately begin editing and proofreading their final response paragraph.

ENRICHMENTSuggested Activities

Create a worksheet where a portion of the reading selection has all of the punctuation removed. Have students insert correct punctuation.

Have students write a continuous, one-page sentence (this can be about a past event or a beginning scaffolding exercise summarizing “Rice for Thanksgiving”). Next, have students exchange papers and break the one sentence into more manageable sentences.

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Have students remove all of the punctuation and capitalization from the draft of their summary-response essay. Then tell the students to exchange papers and insert punctuation as they see fit.

Create a page with run-ons, comma splices, and sentence fragments from the students’ prior writing assignments and from the first draft of this unit’s summary-response paper. Have students work in pairs at identifying and correcting the issues.

To edit and proofread their essay for these grammar issues, have students separate each of the sentences in the draft of their summary-response essay by doing a “search and replace” in Microsoft Word. Have them “replace” every period (.) with a period and three returns (.^p^p^p)(the carat symbol in MSWord is made by hitting “Shift” and “6”). Then, have them edit and proofread each sentence individually.

Print out the sample student writing draft and have students work on correcting the errors in pairs or small groups. This can be facilitated in either an online or face-to-face structure, but it should be treated as a warm-up activity with prompt transition to students engaging with their own writing or the writing of their peers. For instance, this could be combined with suggestion #5, with students doing the same “replace” task in the sample student writing, then moving on to working with their own text. (You can view the Student Writing Sample by clicking on the “Resources” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. The sample is listed under “Unit Resources.”)

About the Writing AssignmentWRITING ASSIGNMENTWrite a summary-response to “Rice for Thanksgiving.”

INSIGHT INTO THE WRITING ASSIGNMENTWhy it was chosen: This unit’s assignment accomplishes two important tasks, both which are hallmarks of college writing. The first is writing an effective summary. Students need to know how to identify the essential pieces within a text and write about them thoroughly yet succinctly. The second is creating an opinion-based reaction to the reading. This gets the students to talk about not only what the text says, but how they feel about it, which is an important precursor to critical analysis.

Task difficulty: Summary writing: Some students have trouble deciding which information is important enough to include, so they end up writing more than is needed. To help them avoid this problem, ask them to consider whether each statement is or refers to the main point or whether it presents an idea that, while interesting, is a smaller issue that doesn’t help create the big picture (nonessential). Remind them to avoid using too many details, which can bog down the summary. What is needed is the overall concept, the take-away moment from the reading. Some points should be included if they serve as evidence proving the existence of the overall concept. If the main idea is not advanced, however, the point is probably “nonessential” and should be removed.

Reciprocally, some students don’t write enough in the summary. They quickly identify the main point and then move on. These students need to be reminded that readers

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want proof that their opinion of the main point actually is the main point, which means spending time talking about the text and how certain aspects of it support the main idea. The author’s purpose and strategy should also be discussed as these concepts help create the text’s overall concept. Getting students to discuss how they know what the main point is will help them develop the necessary information to support their opinion.

Response writing: As previously stated, students can have trouble with coherency, despite the writing prompt. For this particular assignment, however, that can particularly be a problem as students may want to discuss only their opinion of the topic. They need to include both what they thought about Fong’s opinion and then allow their experiences to support why they feel this way. Students need to be reminded that this is not a stream of conscious writing about culture. They need to talk about Fong’s views as well as their own.

Rubric: The following rubric can be used to score a student’s summary and response paragraphs using four separate categories (Topic Sentence, Supporting Ideas, Concluding Sentence, and overall use of Grammar and Punctuation). Each of these four items will be rated as Proficient, Developing, or Needs Improvement.

Proficient means that students have met the standards of an effective response. Developing means students have partially met the standards of a response, but the work needs some revision. Needs Improvement means students did not meet the standards of a response.

SUMMARY PARAGRAPHProficient Developing Needs

ImprovementTopic Sentence Clearly states

author’s main idea.States an idea

contained in the reading.

Does not include an idea from the

reading.Supporting Ideas Relates author’s

supporting ideas to the main idea.

Partially relates author’s supporting ideas to main idea.

Does not include supporting ideas from the reading.

Concluding Sentence

Identifies author’s purpose in writing

the text.

Partially addresses author’s purpose in

writing the text.

No concluding sentence is present.

Grammar & Punctuation

Paragraph contains complete sentences

with little or no punctuation errors

relating to the period or comma.

Paragraph contains some sentence

fragments and/or run-on sentences

and comma splices.

A lack of editing distracts the reader,

making the paragraph feel like a

rough draft.

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RESPONSE PARAGRAPHProficient Developing Needs

ImprovementTopic Sentence Clearly states your

main idea about the reading.

States an idea about the reading, but it’s not clear if it’s yours or the

author’s.

Does not include an idea about the

reading.

Supporting Ideas Connects your personal experience to the reading and to your main idea.

Partially relates your personal experience to

the reading.

Does not relate personal

experience to the reading.

Concluding Sentence

Clearly relates your personal sentiment about the reading to

the author’s main idea.

Relates a sentiment about the reading, but

it’s not clear to the reader that it’s yours.

No concluding sentence is

present.

Grammar & Punctuation

Paragraph contains complete sentences

with little or no punctuation errors

relating to the period or comma.

Paragraph contains some sentence

fragments and/or run-on sentences and comma splices.

A lack of editing distracts the

reader, making the paragraph

feel like a rough draft.

UNIT 2 WRITING ACTIVITIES Pre-Reading:

Reading Overview: Style of an Essayo Think about the characteristics of an essay. Do essays follow certain

patterns, styles, or techniques? What else makes this type of writing unique? List two features that you think describe essay writing.

Preview: Gathering Clueso You might use the previewing strategy without realizing it. Think about

what makes you want to read a magazine, an online article, or a book for pleasure and what makes you say, “I’ll skip this one.” List three features of a reading that make you either want to read it or skip it.

Connect to the Reading: Freewriteo Write down all the feelings, thoughts, or ideas you have about

Thanksgiving. Ignore spelling, punctuation, grammar, or any questions about how to capture these ideas. Just brainstorm about the topic, record your thoughts, and keep going until your four minutes are up.

Make Predictions and Ask Questions: Predictions and Questionso What predictions can you make about “Rice for Thanksgiving?” Try to

decide what the author might see, feel, or realize based on all the information you have gathered so far. Once you’ve read “Rice for Thanksgiving,” you’ll have a chance to review your predictions to see if they were accurate. Make three predictions about “Rice for Thanksgiving.”

o Now, based on the quick preview of the reading you've seen so far, think about what you would ask the author if she were sitting across the table

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from you. Consider what you would like to know more about, identify any issues that are unclear to you right now, or address those points that you hope she will answer in the reading. Once you’ve read “Rice for Thanksgiving,” you’ll have a chance to review your questions for the author. Write two questions that you would ask Jocelyn Fong.

Post-Reading: Review: Annotation—Author’s Main and Supporting Ideas

o Take a moment to annotate “Rice for Thanksgiving.” You might have already made notes while you read (good for you!), so now make annotations that specifically identify the main and supporting ideas.

Discuss: Audience and Author’s Purposeo Who do you think the author was trying to reach (the intended audience)

with this reading?o List two clues from the text that support your idea for the intended

audience.o What do you think Fong’s purpose was for writing “Rice for

Thanksgiving?” Reflect: Freewrite

o Now that you’ve had a chance to read, review, and reflect on this reading, record your thoughts and feelings about it in this exercise. Remember to focus on content rather than grammar or mechanics. To get started, consider the author’s purpose, any vivid details, the way Jocelyn Fong expressed her opinion, interesting words/phrases, or other aspects of the reading you found worth discussing. You could also think about whether or not you found this essay persuasive and what parts of the reading led to this decision.

Pre-Writing: Understand the Assignment: Summary and Response

o In your own words, describe the difference between the summary and response paragraphs.

Generate Ideas: Main Ideao In your own words, write down what you believe is the main idea of “Rice

for Thanksgiving.” o Now, think about the main idea you want to use in your response to “Rice

for Thanksgiving.” Use your personal experience to determine your own main idea. Is the main idea for your response similar to, or completely different than, the author’s?

Develop a Thesis Statement: My Thesiso Creating your thesis statement is one of the most important steps in the

writing process. Using My Journal notes you’ve already written, convert your main idea (from the previous exercise) into your thesis statement—one interesting and carefully worded sentence that captures what you will say in your response paragraph.

Organize Ideas: Supporting ideaso Make a list of three supporting ideas (points or details) the author

included in “Rice for Thanksgiving.”

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o List three points or details that support the thesis statement you’ve written for your response to “Rice for Thanksgiving.” The notes you’ve taken in My Journal should help you with this list.

Organize Ideas: Supporting ideaso In preparing to write the concluding sentence for your response

paragraph, compose a single sentence that tells the reader how your personal experiences relate to Jocelyn Fong’s main idea. The notes you’ve taken in My Journal should help you with this task.

TIPSHelping students connect reading and writing:

Prior to beginning the writing assignment, ask students (in class or in an online discussion group) how the author might have prepared for writing this text. What were her goals? How did they affect her process? What did she do well? What choices did she make in order to write those sections effectively? If you already discussed these questions in post-reading, review them briefly.

Find several This I Believe essays online. These are short but interesting, making it possible to view several. Each of the essays comes with a summary of its contents. Have students read the essay and then look at the summary. Ask them if they feel the summary is accurate. Does it tell everything that needs to be said? Are pieces missing? Is too much revealed? After the summary evaluation, ask students to identify what they will need to write in their responses in order to make their summaries effective.

Ask students to think about how having another holiday or another culture as the focus of this piece might change the focus of the essay and how it was written.

If students have difficulty: Break the task into smaller chunks and monitor student progress through each

stage. Provide a writing sample (summary, response, or both) that students can model. Pair students with a partner until the task seems less daunting. Have students repeat the task with another essay until mastery seems likely.

Tips for Teaching English Language Learners The tips above will work well with ELLs. In addition, consider the following:

Journalist questions: A technique to introduce in this unit, and to use in later readings in the course, is helping students find the main ideas in preparation for summary writing by using Wh-questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how). Depending upon the selection, some of these questions will be more or less important in any given reading. Instructors can demonstrate to get them started by eliciting answers from the class; students can also work in pairs and engage with the topic this way.

Second mention of the author: A dilemma can occur in summary writing when newcomer students are not familiar with common first and last names. It is general convention when writing a summary to list the author’s full name and source at the beginning of a summary and in subsequent mentions to only use the last name. Some typical second mentions that occur with ELLs are “Jocelyn also said…” and “According to Susan…” One solution to this is to advise

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students to use “the author” for later mentions in the summary-- the examples in this unit do a good job of modeling this. Students can also be advised to check with native speakers if they are not sure of first or last names; in later papers they will need to refer to authors by their last names.

ENRICHMENTOptional activities:

For students needing thesis practice, instructors can provide a range of topics and have students practice creating thesis statements and supporting details for the topic. (What would you write if you had to write about this subject?)

For students needing general practice, instructors can select another narrative essay (from the thisibelieve.org* website or otherwise) and allow students to practice writing a summary of it and/or a response to the main idea. Duplicate the writing task as often as necessary to ensure mastery of the concepts before moving on.

Have students choose a current event that interests them and briefly research it. They should summarize the issue for their classmates in one paragraph. Then, they should express their opinion of the issue in a one paragraph response. These can be shared in class or online. Classmates should decide if the event is clear (was the summary good?) and if the author’s reaction is well-presented.

The instructor creates a poorly written example of the writing task and gives it to the students to evaluate, diagnose, and fix. This can also be offered online.

Ask students to find an article based on their interests and write a short summary of it. They then bring these paragraphs to class and exchange them with their peers, who determine whether or not the summary is complete, yet succinct enough to adequately represent the chosen article. Students share feedback and suggestions. This can be done online as well.

Common Core State StandardsEXTENSION ACTIVITIESOnce your students have completed Unit 2: Identifying Main Ideas, you can continue teaching with these extension activities. These activities build upon the skills learned in the unit and correlate with the reading selections. The material is designed to assist in addressing Common Core State Standards. The content is organized by grade level to mirror the organization of the standards.

Grades 9-10 students:

1. Break students into small groups and have them pick another essay from the This I Believe website. Ask students to read the essay and apply the pre-reading (reading overview, preview, connect to the reading, make predictions and ask questions), active reading, and post reading (review, discuss, reflect) strategies they have learned to identify the main idea of the essay. Students should model the discussion that they watched in the unit.

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2. Read Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus”* or Pat Mora’s poem “Immigrants.”* Use strategies learned in this unit to find the main idea or theme of the poems. Discuss the use of language in “Immigrants.” Mora chooses her words carefully. Use the following questions for discussion: Why did she pick those specific words and images? What impact do those images have on the poem? How do these poems relate to “Rice for Thanksgiving?”

3. Have students read Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club. To cover multiple standards, have students analyze how the characters develop and how the themes in the novel emerge.

Grades 11-12 students:1. Study A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry or The Merchant of Venice by

William Shakespeare.● While reading the play, the students should create a reading journal in

which they record specific phrases and analyze connotations and figurative language. The students should state how the author’s word choice impacts the tone and mood of the play.

● Once they have read the play, present the students with a movie version of the play. The students should analyze the differences between the two productions by writing a short essay in which they examine how the movie version interprets the original text.

AccessibilityCLOSED CAPTIONSAll of the videos in NROC English include Closed Captions (CC)—text versions of what is being spoken. To access the Closed Captions, click on the CC button in the controller bar for each video.

Once you click the CC button, the captions will open to the right of the video and will automatically advance as the video progresses.

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To close the captions window, click the CC button again.

SCREEN READERSThe NROC English Unit Player has been designed for use with screen readers. We have provided an Accessibility Guide, which you can share with anyone who will be using NROC English with a screen reader. You can also put the link to this accessibility guide directly into your course: http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/Accessibility.html

We have also provided a video that demonstrates how to use the NROC English Unit Player with a screen reader. The demonstration video can be accessed from the Accessibility Guide or directly at this URL: https://player.vimeo.com/video/132236450

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESWe have also provided an alternate form of two Active Reader lenses since they are not implemented for a screen reader:

Grammar, Punctuation, Usage lens: http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U02GPU.html

Vocabulary lens: http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U02Vocab.html

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Unit Assessment Sample Answers and Scoring GuidesFor each of the constructed response questions (short answer) in the Unit Assessment, we provide you with a suggested point value, sample answer, and scoring guide (below).

UNIT 2, FORM A, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE Question 19

Question 20

Learning Objective text

Summarize a reading in one complete, concise summary paragraph.

Passage Title When Should Teens Drive?Point Value 2Prompt In the space below, write a summary of paragraphs 1-3 of the

passage.Sample Answer In the first three paragraphs of Rebecca Lebowitz’s article, “When

Should Teens Drive?,” the author introduces the idea that there is much debate over what the driving age should be. She describes how the issue of putting regulations in place became an increasingly popular topic as the automobile became the main form of transportation. Lebowitz also provides a brief history of who was responsible for issuing drivers’ licenses and ends the three paragraphs by introducing a question as to whether sixteen-year-olds are too young to drive.

Learning Objective text

Respond to a reading with a complete, concise response paragraph using a thesis statement.

Passage Title When Should Teens Drive?Point Value 4Prompt Write a two-paragraph summary-response in the space below.

Remember to follow the four-step process:

1) Identify the main idea of the reading.

2) Identify the supporting details for the summary and for the response.

3) Identify the author’s purpose for writing.

4) Write a summary-response of the reading.

Remember that the first paragraph is a summary of the reading, and the second paragraph is your response to, or personal opinion about, the reading.

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UNIT 2, FORM B, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE Question 19

Sample Answer In Rebecca Lebowitz’s article, “When Should Teens Drive?,” the author discusses the idea that there is much debate over what the minimum driving age should be. Lebowitz gives a brief history of the laws pertaining to drivers’ licenses in the United States and early driver education classes, followed by a presentation of the arguments for why the age for earning a driver’s license should be sixteen and for why it should be eighteen. The author gives valid evidence for both sides of the argument, and she concludes by presenting an explanation of programs that may represent a compromise between those who favor sixteen and those who favor eighteen as the best age for earning a driver’s license. These programs are called the Graduated Driver Licensing programs. They help teens get more driving experience by moving them through different stages of practice and privileges.

I agree with the solution presented by the author at the end of her article and favor a compromise as described in the Graduated Driver Licensing programs. I know that practice has been an important factor in perfecting skills in my life—from academics to sports to hobbies. If improving skills involves practice, we teenagers should be expected to put in enough practice time before we earn our drivers’ licenses. With a graduated program, we can practice under supervision, which will result in safer roads for everyone.

Learning Objective text

Summarize a reading in one complete, concise summary paragraph.

Passage Title When Should Teens Drive?Point Value 2Prompt In the space below, write a summary of paragraphs 4-5 of the

passage. Sample Answer In paragraphs four and five of Rebecca Lebowitz’s article, “When

Should Teens Drive?,” the author explores the arguments for why the age for earning a driver’s license should be sixteen or why it should be eighteen. Arguments supporting sixteen-year-old drivers include being independent, helping their parents, and driving to work. Arguments supporting raising the driving age to eighteen are mainly related to safety.

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Question 20Learning Objective text

Respond to a reading with a complete, concise response paragraph using a thesis statement.

Passage Title When Should Teens Drive?Point Value 4Prompt Write a two-paragraph summary-response in the space below.

Remember to follow the four-step process:

1) Identify the main idea of the reading.

2) Identify the supporting details for the summary and for the response.

3) Identify the author’s purpose for writing.

4) Write a summary-response of the reading.

Remember that the first paragraph is a summary of the reading, and the second paragraph is your response to, or personal opinion about, the reading.

Sample Answer In Rebecca Lebowitz’s article, “When Should Teens Drive?,” the author discusses the idea that there is much debate over what the minimum driving age should be. Lebowitz gives a brief history of the laws pertaining to drivers’ licenses in the United States and early driver education classes, followed by a presentation of the arguments for why the age for earning a driver’s license should be sixteen and for why it should be eighteen. The author gives valid evidence for both sides of the argument, and she concludes by presenting an explanation of programs that may represent a compromise between those who favor sixteen and those who favor eighteen as the best age for earning a driver’s license. These programs are called the Graduated Driver Licensing programs. They help teens get more driving experience by moving them through different stages of practice and privileges.

I agree with the solution presented by the author at the end of her article and favor a compromise as described in the Graduated Driver Licensing programs. I know that practice has been an important factor in perfecting skills in my life—from academics to sports to hobbies. If improving skills involves practice, we teenagers should be expected to put in enough practice time before we earn our drivers’ licenses. With a graduated program, we can practice under supervision, which will result in safer roads for everyone.

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UNIT 2, ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE QUESTIONThis question is not included in the course itself, but is included here for your use.

SCORING GUIDESThe following scoring guides are provided as a guide for scoring answers to the Unit 2 Constructed Response questions.

Summary Scoring GuideLearning Objective: Summarize a reading in one complete, concise summary paragraph.

CATEGORY 2 1 NS/0Content:SUMMARY

There should be only one paragraph. It should include the name of the passage, name of the author, and the main idea. The summary clearly and accurately reports all of the key points in the student’s own words. Correctly identifies the author’s purpose for writing.

There are errors with the name of the passage, the name of the author, or the main idea. May be more than one paragraph or the paragraph structure is poor. The summary misses most of the key points and/or is not in the student’s own words. May not have identified the author’s purpose for writing.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, restatements of the prompt, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

Content: ORGANIZATION

Organization is a logical progression of ideas/events and is unified and complete. The events are retold in the order they occurred. The topic sentence is supported by details.

One or more major lapses in the logical progression of ideas/events is evident. Most of the events are told, but with some parts out of order. There may not be a topic sentence, or it may not be supported by details.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, restatements of the prompt, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

Learning Objective text

Summarize a reading in one complete, concise summary paragraph.

Passage Title When Should Teens Drive?Point Value 2Prompt In the space below, write a summary of paragraphs 6-7 of the

passage. Sample Answer In paragraphs six and seven of Rebecca Lebowitz’s article, “When

Should Teens Drive?,” the author presents a program that may represent a compromise between those who favor sixteen and those who favor eighteen as the best age for earning a driver’s license. The compromise involves Graduated Driver Licensing programs. Although the author explains these alternative programs as valid options, she concludes by stating that the topic is still a hot debate, and only time will tell which program produces the safest drivers.

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CONVENTIONS Exhibits REASONABLE CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Exhibits MINIMAL CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

LACKS CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Content: STYLE - Vocabulary

Exhibits skillful use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Exhibits minimal use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, restatements of the prompt, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

Summary Response Scoring GuideLearning Objective(s):

Summarize a reading in one complete, concise summary paragraph. Respond to a reading with a complete, concise response paragraph using a

thesis statement.CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 NS/0

Content:SUMMARY

The summary is the first paragraph and includes the name of the passage, the name of the author, and the main idea. The summary clearly and accurately reports all of the key points in the student's own words. Correctly identifies the author’s purpose for writing.

The summary is the first paragraph and includes the name of the passage, the name of the author, and the main idea. The summary may miss some of the key points, but is mostly in the student's own words. Identifies the author’s purpose for writing, although may be slightly off- topic.

The summary is the first paragraph. There are errors with the name of the passage/author, or the main idea. The summary misses most of the key points and/or is not in the student's own words. May not have identified the author’s purpose for writing.

Summary may not be in the first paragraph. The events are told with parts out of order. Student did not include the title/author. There is no clear topic sentence/main idea. Student does not include the author's reason for writing the passage.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, restatements of the prompt, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

Content: ORGANIZATION

Organization is a logical progression of ideas/events,

There is a logical progression of ideas/events

One or more major lapses in the logical progression of

Ideas/events are presented in a random

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank

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and is unified and complete.

and it is reasonably complete, although minor lapses may be present.

ideas/events is evident.

fashion. responses, restatements of the prompt, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

Content: RESPONSE

The body of the passage should include ideas from the student that respond to the passage. More response than summary and more of the student's ideas than ideas repeated from the passage.Ideas are reasonable/logical and respond appropriately to the passage. Ideas are developed in complete detail. Connection between ideas is clear and the passage is coherent.

There is more response than summary and more of the student's ideas than ideas repeated from the passage.Ideas are reasonable/logical and respond appropriately to the passage. Most ideas are developed in complete detail. Connections between most ideas are clear and the passage is generally coherent.

There are more of the author's ideas than the student's ideas. Ideas may not be reasonable/logical and/or respond appropriately to the passage. Ideas are not developed in complete detail. Connections between ideas are often unclear and/or passage is often incoherent.

The author’s ideas dominate the writing of the response. The ideas are not formulated in any logical fashion and are not developed in detail.

The connections between ideas are unclear, and the writing is incoherent throughout.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, restatements of the prompt, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

CONVENTIONS

Exhibits ABOVE AVERAGE OR EXCELLENT CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Exhibits REASONABLE CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Exhibits MINIMAL CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

LACKS CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization,

EXHIBITS NO CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and

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punctuation, and spelling.

mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Content: STYLE - Vocabulary

Exhibits skillful use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Exhibits reasonable use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Exhibits minimal use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Lacks use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, restatements of the prompt, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

Member Suggested SupplementsWe encourage our members to share teaching ideas, as well as any additional resources they create to pair with NROC English. To find materials other members have donated, go to The NROC Network and select “Professional Development”. http://www.nrocnetwork.org/professional-development

Additional member-suggested resources to use with Unit 2 include: I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes (Poem)

Please email editorial@thenrocproject.org if you would like to contribute resources or suggestions for this Instructor Guide.

Join the CommunityWe recommend that all instructors join the NROC English group at the NROC Community so they have access to all updates and notices about the English course.

The NROC Community is a user community of teachers and administrators who want to learn, share ideas, help each other, and work together to improve educational opportunities for everyone. We encourage all members to actively participate and support each other through posts in the Community.

*Any links to non-NROC, third-party resources listed in this Instructor Guide may change over time. We update the Instructor Guides annually and correct any broken links.

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