St. Lucy Home for Girls Raised by Wolves Unit 1 Close Reading
9/10 Lesson 1
EQ: Has the narrator been successfully integrated as a “naturalized citizen of human society”? Why or why not? (RL.9-10.3, W.9-10.2)
Aim: What specific phrases or words reveal the connections between the first paragraph of the story and the Stage 1 epigraph?
Text : Page 225 of “St. Lucy Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” by Karen Russell
Standards
| Assessed Standard(s) | |
| RL.9-10.4 | Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). |
| Addressed Standard(s) | |
| RL.9-10.1 | Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. |
Assessment
| Assessment(s) |
The learning in this lesson will be captured through a Quick Write at the end of the lesson. Students will answer the following prompt based on the close reading (citing text evidence and analyzing key words and phrases) completed in the lesson.
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Vocabulary
| Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction) |
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| Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or text-dependent questions) |
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Activity 1: Begin by reviewing the agenda especially CCSS addressed for this lesson. (15)
Lesson Agenda/Overview
- Standards: RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.4
- Text: “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (p. 225)
- Introduction of Unit and Lesson Agenda
- Introduction to Close Reading
- Initial Read-Aloud
- Close Reading of the Text
- Quick Write
- Closing
Material
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- The first unit of the year will focus on developing your ability to read closely and to use evidence from what you read in their writing and discussions.
- Pass out copies of the tool containing the Common Core Learning Standards that will be taught in this unit. We will be working on mastering the skills described in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) throughout the year.
- Introduce the standards for this lesson: RL.9-10.1 and RL.9-10.4. Find these standards on your tool and follow along as I read them aloud.
- Reread standards RL.9-10.1 and RL.9-10.4 INDIVIDUALLY and assess your familiarity with and mastery of these standards.
- talk with a partner about what you think each standard means. Lead a brief discussion about these standards.
Activity 2 10% Distribute Materials and Provide detailed explanation of the close reading activity.
- Distribute copies of “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” and note the author, title, and type of text.
- We’ll have a brief discussion about close reading. Close reading asks the reader to read slowly and carefully, look at very specific details, and focus not only on what is said but on how it is said. Close reading can provide access to deeper meanings in complicated texts. Close reading can also allow for critical analysis and is an opportunity to collect and analyze evidence for use in writing and discussion.
- To achieve this type of deep understanding, readers will slow down and reread texts or sections of text multiple times. You will also mark the text as it’s being read to record thinking, questions, and connections.
- I’ll provide context for close reading in this lesson. Typically, the first time students encounter a text they will read to get a general idea, or the “gist,” of the text. Furthermore, the first read may include unfamiliar words or phrases. But you should not worry about not recognizing these words because there will be considerable work done in subsequent close reads to determine the meaning of these words.
- In this lesson, you will listen to the first section of this text read aloud and follow along, or “read in your heads,” and then we will go back to reread more closely. We will reread more closely by returning to the text to look for specific pieces of evidence that support thinking and analysis.
Activity 3 15% Teacher-Modeled Read Aloud
- Listen and read along as the first section of text is read aloud to you, from “At first, our pack was all hair and snarl and floor-thumping joy,” to “their tiny faces pinched with displeasure” (p. 225
- Turn-and-Talk with a partner about your initial thoughts and questions about the text (from “At first,” to “pinched with displeasure”).
- I’ll call on pairs to report out to the class.
Activity 4 40% ( Vocabulary Building)
- Now that you have made an initial response to the text, start paying more attention to sentences, words, and phrases and dig deeper into the text. Reread the title and the Stage 1 epigraph and draw a box around any unfamiliar words. Can you find any clues in the text to identify the meaning of the words ?
- Share words they put boxes around. in the case of lycanthropic and Jesuit, it may be difficult or impossible to determine the meaning from context; therefore, it is appropriate to find the word meanings in a dictionary.
lycanthropic (adj) – relating to the magical transformation of a person into a wolf
Jesuit (n.) – a member of a Roman Catholic religious order. The Catholic religion has different groups, called orders. Although they are all Catholics, different orders have some differences about how they practice the religion.
- Write the new word meanings on their text or on self-stick notes in order to keep track of new vocabulary,
- Turn-and-Talk to define Lycanthropic Culture Shock based on clues from the title and epigraph. The definition of culture shock can be recorded beside the epigraph on their text.
Scaffolding questions include the following:
- What is this (the epigraph)?
- Who is it written for? How do you know the intended audience of this handbook?
- If you break apart the term Lycanthropic Culture Shock into parts, what is it describing?
- Share answers with the class. Ask them how understanding this definition affects their initial thoughts about the story. This type of conversation helps create a collective intelligence and understanding of the reading. This type of conversation will be a frequent part of the school year.
- What does the word initial suggest here?
- Reread the first part of the paragraph with a partner. Focus on how understanding vocabulary helps your comprehension of the story, until “… Things felt less foreign in the dark.” Box unfamiliar words.
- Work in pairs to answer the following text-dependent questions. text-dependent questions ask you to cite strong and thorough text evidence to support what the text says implicitly and explicitly. write the answers on your text or in notes.
- Who is the pack?
- How do you know?
- What is the pack doing?
- Where are they?
- pairs share answers to the questions with the rest of the class. Be sure to use evidence from the text to support your answers.
- a volunteer rereads the first three sentences aloud, from “At first …” to “… smashing lightbulbs with our bare fists.” The rest of the class follow along. Pay attention to the words couth and kempt.
- take a moment to jot down what the meaning of couth and kempt might be.
While guessing the meaning of the words, consider the following text-dependent questions (TDQs):
- Describe the girls’ behavior.
- How did the girls forget their promise to be “couth and kempt”?
- What other words in this sentence can help you figure out the meaning of couth and kempt? (some examples of synonym, antonym, definition, )
- How does the sentence structure or syntax (arrangement of words) help define couth and kempt?
- Based on the girls’ actions, what does it mean to be couth and kempt?
- write the meaning of couth and kempt on the text or on a self-stick note.
You will reread the rest of the paragraph in pairs from, “Things looked less foreign” to “pinched with displeasure” and answer the following TDQs. jot answers down in the margins or in notes.
- What is the pack doing to the bunks? How do you know?
- What is this a remedy for?
- What does the author’s use of exuberant suggest about these “streams” and the girls?
kinetic: “characterized by movement.”
Summarize the close reading experience –
- A volunteer shares one thing that s/he did not understand on the first read through that is clearer to them now.
- Any questions you still have about the first paragraph? We’ll write these questions on a chart paper for further discussion.
Activity 5: 10% Quick Write
- Introduce the Quick Write assessment: you will be given a question and then write a response using evidence from the text. You should answer the question directly and within the allotted time.
Share the Quick Write for today: What specific phrases or words reveal the connections between the first paragraph of the story and the Stage 1 epigraph? Cite evidence from the text in your response.
Work together to complete the Quick Write using another piece of evidence from the text.
Closing
Part of the daily homework expectation will be to read outside of class. Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) is an expectation that all students find, read, and respond to reading material written at their independent reading level. The purpose of AIR is to have students practice reading outside of the classroom and stimulate an interest and enjoyment of reading.
You can find an appropriate text (or “just right book”)in a local or school library, electronic books, classroom library, or home library. As the year progresses, you will be held accountable for your reading in a variety of ways.