Rationale PARCC Literary Analysis Task Grade 3 Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Given the extreme difference in the testing layout and interface between NJ ASK and PARCC, students should be guided through PARCC s sample items on their website. This will also give the teacher an opportunity to model the approach and thought processes students should replicate to complete the Literary Analysis Task. Goal In modeling the process for completing the Literary Analysis Task EBSR and TECR, students will have a clear picture of what to expect on the assessment. Task Foci Objectives Materials CCSS RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. CCSS RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. CCSS RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. CCSS RL.3.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language. Students will be familiar with the format of the PARCC Literary Analysis Task EBSR and TECR. Students will observe the process for completing the questions through teacher modeling. Computer and Projector (for instructor to model activities) PARCC s online test environment: http://practice.parcc.testnav.com/# o Note: PARCC updates their sample item sets occasionally. References to the site in this lesson are based upon the April 2014 version. Computers (optional) (one per student or student pairs) Sample Markup (for instructor) Sample text and questions handout (per student) Preparation Take some time to navigate through PARCC s test environment on your own to get comfortable with it before you show your students. LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 1
Procedures Before class begins, navigate to the LAT portion for your grade level in PARCC s online test environment. To begin the lesson, explain to students that today they will view the EBSR and TECR in its intended environment. If students have access to computers, guide them to the testing area on PARCC s website. Show students the features of the test interface. o A purpose-setting statement and the texts are on the left side of the page. One full question (Parts A & B) takes up the right side of the page. o You can navigate through the questions with the arrows on the top of the page. o There is a tool bar at the top of the writing space with basic word processing functions (bold, underline, copy, paste, undo, etc.) Ask students for their opinions, observations, and questions about the interface. Next, distribute the sample text and questions to each student. Using the markup, guide students through the questions. The handout highlights relevant details and gives explanations. This is just a sample. Feel free to address any other details that stick out to you. In closing, address any questions students have. LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 2
Literary Analysis Task (from PARCC website) Passage #1 Read the story Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohatta. Then answer the questions to gather more ideas for the character description you will write upon completing this task. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata 1 My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira. I pronounced it ka-a-ahhh, but she knew what I meant. Kira-Kira means glittering in Japanese. Lynn told me that when I was a baby, she used to take me onto our empty road at night, where we would lie on our backs and look at the stars while she said over and over, "Katie, say kira-kira, kira-kira. " I loved that word! When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky, puppies, kittens, butterflies, colored Kleenex. 2 My mother said we were misusing the word; you could not call a Kleenex kira-kira. She was dismayed over how un-japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. I didn t care where she sent me, so long as Lynn came along. 3 I was born in Iowa in 1951. I know a lot about when I was a little girl, because my sister used to keep a diary. Today I keep her diary in a drawer next to my bed. 4 I like to see how her memories were the same as mine, but also different. For instance, one of my earliest memories is of the day Lynn saved my life. I was almost five, and she was almost nine. We were playing on the empty road near our house. Fields of tall corn stretched into the distance wherever you looked. A dirty gray dog ran out of the field near us, and then he ran back in. Lynn loved animals. Her long black hair disappeared into the corn as she chased the dog. The summer sky was clear and blue. I felt a brief fear as Lynn disappeared into the cornstalks. When she wasn t in school, she stayed with me constantly. Both our parents worked. Officially, I stayed all day with a lady from down the road, but unofficially, Lynn was the one who took care of me. 5 After Lynn ran into the field, I couldn t see anything but corn. 6 Lynnie! I shouted. We weren t that far from our house, but I felt scared. I burst into tears. 7 Somehow or other, Lynn got behind me and said, Boo! and I cried some more. She just laughed and hugged me and said, You re the best little sister in the world! I liked it when she said that, so I stopped crying. 8 The dog ran off. We lay on our backs in the middle of the road and stared at the blue sky. Some days nobody at all drove down our little road. We could have lain on our backs all day and never got hit. 9 Lynn said, The blue of the sky is one of the most special colors in the world, because the color is deep but see-through both at the same time. What did I just say? 10 The sky is special. 11 The ocean is like that too, and people s eyes. 12 She turned her head toward me and waited. I said, "The ocean and people's eyes are special too." 13 That s how I learned about eyes, sky, and ocean: the three special, deep, colored, see-through things. I turned to Lynnie. Her eyes were deep and black, like mine. 14 The dog burst from the field suddenly, growling and snarling. Its teeth were long and yellow. We screamed and jumped up. The dog grabbed at my pants. As I pulled away, the dog ripped my pants and his cold teeth touched my skin. Aaahhhhh! I screamed. 15 Lynn pulled at the dog s tail and shouted at me, Run, Katie, run! I ran, hearing the dog growling and Lynnie grunting. When I got to the house, I turned around and saw the dog tearing at Lynn s pants as she huddled over into a ball. I ran inside and looked for a weapon. I couldn t think straight. I got a milk bottle out of the fridge and ran toward Lynn and threw the bottle at the dog. The bottle missed the dog and broke on the street. The dog rushed to lap up the milk. LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 3
16 Lynn and I ran toward the house, but she stopped on the porch. I pulled at her. Come on! 17 She looked worried. He s going to cut his tongue on the glass. 18 Who cares? 19 But she got the water hose and chased the dog away with the water, so it wouldn t hurt its tongue. That s the way Lynn was. Even if you tried to kill her and bite off her leg, she still forgave you. 20 This is what Lynn said in her diary from that day: 21 The corn was so pretty. When it was all around me, I felt like I wanted to stay there forever. Then I heard Katie crying, and I ran out as fast as I could. I was so scared. I thought something had happened to her! 22 Later, when the dog attacked me, Katie saved my life. 23 I didn t really see things that way. If she hadn t saved my life first, I wouldn t have been able to save her life. So, really, she s the one who saved a life. LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 4
1. Part A Question: What is the meaning of the word constantly as the narrator uses it in paragraph 4 of Kira-Kira? a. often b. all the time c. once in a while d. sometimes Part B Question: Which detail from the Kira-Kira uses a word or phrase that also means constantly? a. Lynn told me that when I was a baby, she used to take me onto our empty road at night, where we would lie on our backs and look at the stars while she said over and over, Katie, say 'kira-kira, kirakira.' " b. She was dismayed over how un-japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. c. The blue of the sky is one of the most special colors in the world, because the color is deep but seethrough both at the same time. d. The dog burst from the field suddenly, growling and snarling. 2. Part A Question: How are the events in paragraphs 1 and 2 important to the theme of the story? a. They list the many lessons that Lynn taught her younger sister, Katie. b. They explain that Katie s family had very high expectations of her when she was young. c. They show how strong the relationship is between Katie and Lynn. d. They introduce the idea that Katie and Lynn want to learn more about the Japanese language. Part B Question: Which sentence from the story provides the best support for the answer in Part A? a. My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira. b. When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky, puppies, kittens, butterflies, colored Kleenex. c. She was dismayed over how un-japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. d. I didn t care where she sent me, so long as Lynn came along. LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 5
3. Create a summary of the story using three of the sentences listed here. Drag the three sentences that describe key ideas from the story into the boxes titled Summary. The sentences should describe key ideas from the story in the order they happen. (For paper-based tests, write the numbers into the slots in the correct order.) 1. Katie s mother is disappointed that the girls use Japanese words incorrectly. 2. Katie remembers when a dog ran out of a corn field and attacked Lynn and her. 3. Katie keeps Lynn s diary in a drawer beside her bed. 4. Katie and Lynn spend much of their time together as they grow up. 5. Lynn taught young Katie to say kira-kira, which was her first word. 6. Katie believes that Lynn saves her life, but Lynn believes Katie saved her. 7. Lynn explains that the sky is special like the ocean or people s eyes. 8. Lynn sprayed the dog with water so it wouldn t hurt its tongue on broken glass. Summary LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 6
Markup for Step-Through 1. Part A: What is the meaning of the word constantly as the narrator uses it in paragraph 4 of Kira-Kira? a. often b. all the time c. once in a while d. sometimes Note that all these terms have to do with how frequently or often something happens. Look back with students at paragraph 4 to find the word constantly. Ask students to circle constantly and underline any words or phrases that might tell how frequent constantly is: 4 I like to see how her memories were the same as mine, but also different. For instance, one of my earliest memories is of the day Lynn saved my life. I was almost five, and she was almost nine. We were playing on the empty road near our house. Fields of tall corn stretched into the distance wherever you looked. A dirty gray dog ran out of the field near us, and then he ran back in. Lynn loved animals. Her long black hair disappeared into the corn as she chased the dog. The summer sky was clear and blue. I felt a brief fear as Lynn disappeared into the cornstalks. When she wasn t in school, she stayed with me constantly. Both our parents worked. Officially, I stayed all day with a lady from down the road, but unofficially, Lynn was the one who took care of me. Notice that sometimes and once in a while in the answer choices are the same. They can t both be right! That leaves often and all the time. The first underlined phrase, When she wasn t in school, means that any time Lynn wasn t in school, she was taking care of Katie. Look at the last sentence on the last sentence. Katie officially stayed with a lady, but did that lady take good care of her? Katie says that Lynn was the one who took care of her. We know that when Lynn wasn t in school, she unofficially took care of Katie. That seems like all the time to me. Part B Question: Which detail from the Kira-Kira uses a word or phrase that also means constantly? a. Lynn told me that when I was a baby, she used to take me onto our empty road at night, where we would lie on our backs and look at the stars while she said over and over, Katie, say 'kira-kira, kirakira.' " b. She was dismayed over how un-japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. c. The blue of the sky is one of the most special colors in the world, because the color is deep but seethrough both at the same time. d. The dog burst from the field suddenly, growling and snarling. Look for time words in each answer choice. In this part of the question, we need to find a word that means the same as all the time. Go through each answer choice with students and underline words that relate to time or frequency. Then look at the underlined options and select the one that is closest in meaning to constantly or all of the time. In this case, over and over is the best clue. 2. Part A Question: How are the events in paragraphs 1 and 2 important to the theme of the story? a. They list the many lessons that Lynn taught her younger sister, Katie. LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 7
b. They explain that Katie s family had very high expectations of her when she was young. c. They show how strong the relationship is between Katie and Lynn. d. They introduce the idea that Katie and Lynn want to learn more about the Japanese language. First we will need to figure out the theme. Return to paragraphs 1-2. Underline words that can give clues about the theme. 1 My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira. I pronounced it ka-a-ahhh, but she knew what I meant. Kira-Kira means glittering in Japanese. Lynn told me that when I was a baby, she used to take me onto our empty road at night, where we would lie on our backs and look at the stars while she said over and over, "Katie, say kira-kira, kira-kira. " I loved that word! When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky, puppies, kittens, butterflies, colored Kleenex. 2 My mother said we were misusing the word; you could not call a Kleenex kira-kira. She was dismayed over how un-japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. I didn t care where she sent me, so long as Lynn came along. Note that the answer here is related to theme, so students should be able to articulate the major themes by explaining what the story is mainly about. Write their answers on the board: sisters, friendship, love, are good examples of the central thematic topics in the story. Return to the answer choices: a. They list the many lessons that Lynn taught her younger sister, Katie. This suggests a theme about teaching or caring, but doesn t seem to have anything to do with the theme. b. They explain that Katie s family had very high expectations of her when she was young. This suggests a theme about high expectations, which is not an important idea in the text. c. They show how strong the relationship is between Katie and Lynn. This shows the love the sisters have for each other, which is one of the main themes in the text. d. They introduce the idea that Katie and Lynn want to learn more about the Japanese language. This suggests a theme about identifying as Japanese, which is not an important idea in the text. So the answer must be C. This is important for the next part of this question. Part B Question: Which sentence from the story provides the best support for the answer in Part A? a. My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira. b. When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky, puppies, kittens, butterflies, colored Kleenex. c. She was dismayed over how un-japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. d. I didn t care where she sent me, so long as Lynn came along. Part B will be easy now if students underlined the proper elements that contributed to the theme. Remind students that they need to select the best support for the answer. Which statement BEST shows the loving relationship between Lynn and Katie? LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 8
Part B Question: Which sentence from the story provides the best support for the answer in Part A? a. My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira. This shows something important, but it doesn t mean much by itself. Anyone can teach someone else a word and it won t be that meaningful. b. When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky, puppies, kittens, butterflies, colored Kleenex. This shows that Katie liked the word, but not that she really loved Lynn. We ll hold onto it if we don t find another good choice. c. She as dismayed over how un- Japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. This answer refers to being Japanese, which is not the theme we selected in Part A. Let s cross it off. d. I didn t care where she sent me, so long as Lynn came along. This is a strong statement about love she doesn t care where she is as long as her sister is there. That is great support for the theme of the loving relationship between Katie and Lynn, so that is our answer. 3. Create a summary of the story using three of the sentences listed here. Drag the three sentences that describe key ideas from the story into the boxes titled Summary. The sentences should describe key ideas from the story in the order they happen. (For paper-based tests, write the numbers into the slots in the correct order.) 1. Katie s mother is disappointed that the girls use Japanese words incorrectly. 2. Katie remembers when a dog ran out of a corn field and attacked Lynn and her. 3. Katie keeps Lynn s diary in a drawer beside her bed. 4. Katie and Lynn spend much of their time together as they grow up. 5. Lynn taught young Katie to say kira-kira, which was her first word. 6. Katie believes that Lynn saves her life, but Lynn believes Katie saved her. 7. Lynn explains that the sky is special like the ocean or people s eyes. 8. Lynn sprayed the dog with water so it wouldn t hurt its tongue on broken glass. Summary One way to do this is to have student summarize the main events on their own, and then have them cross out details from the list. Then they can arrange the remaining ones into the correct order. LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 9
1. Katie s mother is disappointed that the girls use Japanese words incorrectly. Detail 2. Katie remembers when a dog ran out of a corn field and attacked Lynn and her. 2 3. Katie keeps Lynn s diary in a drawer beside her bed. Detail 4. Katie and Lynn spend much of their time together as they grow up. 1 5. Lynn taught young Katie to say kira-kira, which was her first word. This is the first thing that happens, but it is still a detail. 6. Katie believes that Lynn saves her life, but Lynn believes Katie saved her. 3 7. Lynn explains that the sky is special like the ocean or people s eyes. Detail 8. Lynn sprayed the dog with water so it wouldn t hurt its tongue on broken glass. Detail LAT Reading Lesson 2: Modeling the EBSR and TECR Page 10