Middle School English and Language Arts UDL Instructional Unit - Lesson 4 - Culminating Activity

BACK TO MS ELA Instructional Unit

Objectives:

• Students will use changing settings to create an organizational structure within the text.
• Students will use the interactions of the main character and the minor characters as a structure for summarizing a text.
• Students will summarize the text.
• Students will predict the behavior of Tom Sawyer.
• Students will analyze how the author uses the interactions between characters to reveal the character traits of the main character to the audience.
• Students will develop a clearer understanding of Mark Twain's view of the Mississippi River.
• Students will develop an understanding of the information provided in historical illustrations and images.

Essential Question(s):

1. How does an author use setting as an organizational structure within a story?
2. How does an author develop a character?
3. How does an author order the events in a story to communicate with an audience?

Vocabulary:

Review vocabulary from previous lessons

Materials:

Articles:

"Waiting For The 'Robt. E Lee'" Article from Sports Illustrated, 1962

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1073461/index.htm

"The Great Steamboat Race of 1870 (From New Orleans to St. Louis)" http://jayssouth.com/mississippi/boat/

Photos:

"The Great Mississippi River Steamboat Race: From New Orleans to St. Louis, July 1870"

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50397/

"The Grand Saloon of the Palace Steamer Drew"

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.00743/

"Captain, pilot and wheelman posed on deck of Brahmaputra river steamer"

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/wtc.4a02668/

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_Chapter32 PowerPoint is located in the support samples for each lesson. It may be used to review the plot, vocabulary and standards addressed in the lesson.

Lesson 4 - Introduction

a. Activate Previous Knowledge –

The goal of this culminating activity (Lesson 4) is to reinforce the previous lessons of this unit, understanding how an author uses settings and events to establish a chronological structure to a text, summarizing a text, analyzing historical images, understanding the geographic importance of the Mississippi River to Mark Twain's writing, understanding how Mark Twain uses minor characters to develop an audience's understanding of a main character, and using prediction to better understand the meaning of the text. In order to achieve this goal, students will have to take on the role of an author, to be completed within small group, in order to create a story of historical fiction that uses the primary setting of a famous Mississippi River steamboat race in 1870, where the main character, Tom Sawyer, first transfers coal to the Robert E. Lee steamboat, and later joins the captain of the ship, John Cannon, in crossing the finish line in St. Louis.

1. Students first create a biographical sketch of Tom Sawyer based on Chapters 2 and 32 from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," as well as the graphic novel version of the texts. In small group, students begin constructing a physical description of Tom. This portion of the activity should be treated as part of the prewriting process, meaning that incomplete sentences and bulleted statements are encouraged for the sake of time. The focus should not necessarily be the product that students create; instead, the purpose of generating a physical description is to orient students toward the process of being an author. Prompting questions are below. Potential student responses are in plain text.
• What does Tom look like? What do we know about Tom's physical appearance? Tom is a boy, maybe 10 or 11 years old. He wears overalls and has blond hair in the graphic novel version. He is tall enough to paint the fence in Chapter 2 of Tom Sawyer.
• We know from Chapter 32 that he could barely fit his head and shoulders through the small hole at the end of the cave. What does that say about his body size? He is younger so he is probably smaller.
2. After a physical description (even a limited one) has been created by the small group, students identify all of the character traits that Tom demonstrated in the readings. There are four categories of information that these characteristics can be organized: 1) What Tom says, 2) What Tom does, 3) What other characters say about Tom, and 4) What the narrator reveals about Tom's thoughts. Students generate their lists of character traits one category at a time.

See Appendix.

When the physical description and the character trait lists have been completed, students have a relatively comprehensive biographical sketch of the main character for the story they will be creating. Note again that the focus of this portion of the lesson is on the process of developing a biographical sketch. Therefore, it is not necessary for students to use complete sentences.

3. The teacher supplies students with two articles about the steamboat race to read and discuss in small group. "Waiting For The 'Robt. E Lee,'" an article from Sports Illustrated (1962), and "The Great Steamboat Race of 1870 (From New Orleans to St. Louis)," a web page article, in order for students to understand the context in which the story they create will take place. As students read the two articles, inform each group that Tom's character does not enter the story until just south of Vicksburg, on the riverboat Frank Pargaud which supplies coal to the Robert E. Lee and allows the Lee to continue the race without having to stop to refuel. It is important for students to note this important detail. It is the task of students to create a story that has Tom working to load coal from the deck of the Pargaud into the boiler room of the Lee. As the two boats disengage, Tom stows away on the Lee, gets caught by the crew and taken to the captain. The subsequent activities outline that process in detail, but it is important for both the teacher and students to be aware that the purpose of reading the two articles is to provide the context and setting for a story that they will be writing about Tom Sawyer.

Definitions:

Biographical Sketch: a description of both the physical and emotional characteristics of a character which allows an author to create a more developed character for the audience.

Multiple means of representation – verbal communication in small group, generating a biographical sketch on paper

Multiple means of expression – written form, verbal communication, could act out certain components of Tom's character

Multiple means of engagement – small group collaboration, individual reading, small group composing of a biographical sketch

If the student has had little to no experience with the concepts of character traits, main character and minor characters, it might be helpful to provide instruction using the Lesson 3 Concept Reinforcement Activity (CRA) prior to teaching the Introduction to Lesson 3.

Additional Considerations for Emerging Readers

1. Provide Chapter 2, 32, and the graphic novel:
• In symbol-based text format and use symbols of unfamiliar words on the sticky notes.
• In a summarized format (in symbol-based text format or not).
• Through the use of a text reader.
2. For the small group work of constructing a physical description of Tom:
• Provide choices for students to choose from. (The number and range of discrepancy can vary depending upon the skills of students in making appropriate choices, e.g., blonde hair vs., brown, black, or red; blonde vs. green.)
• Ask guiding questions such as, "Is a boy who is 10 years old probably big or little?"
• Refer students back to the text as necessary, highlighting words that help them provide descriptive characteristics.
• Pre-plan certain characteristics for them to provide.
• Allow them to participate in the small group discussion using preferred mode of communication (verbalization, communication board, assistive technology, AAC, writing, drawing, etc.).
3. For the small group work of constructing a character trait description of Tom, follow the same procedure as for constructing the physical description.
4. Provide "Waiting For the 'Robt. E Lee,'" an article from Sports Illustrated (1962), and "The Great Steamboat Race of 1870 (From New Orleans to St. Louis)," a web page article:
• In symbol-based text format and use symbols of unfamiliar words on the sticky notes.
• In a summarized format (in symbol-based text format or not).
• Through the use of a text reader.

Additional Considerations Emerging Communicators

1. Provide Chapters 2, 32, and the graphic novel:
• With text reader which students could activate through adaptive switch(es) as appropriate.
• Summarized in auditory format which students may or may not control through switch use as appropriate.
• With main ideas, characters, settings, events, etc. (in summarized and/or auditory format or not) supplemented with visual or tactile cues and/or other referents (photographs, symbols, concrete objects/realia or other tactile systems such as the Standard Tactile Symbol List available from the Texas School for the Blind www.tsbvi.edu/tactile-symbols. Some referents may need to be pre-taught (Rowland, 2012). Use of the same referents (or the system) during this and other novels will reduce the need for pre-teaching.
2. For the small group work of constructing a physical description of Tom:
• Provide choices for students to choose from. (The number and range of discrepancy can vary depending upon the skills of students in making appropriate choices, e.g. blonde hair vs., brown, black, or red; blonde vs. green.)
• Ask guiding questions such as, "Is a boy who is 10 years old probably big or little?" or if student have a yes/no response, the question could be "Is a 10 year old boy big? Is a 10 year old boy little?"
• Refer students back to the text as necessary, highlighting words, symbols, concrete objects/realia, textures, etc. that help them provide descriptive characteristics.
• Pre-plan certain characteristics for them to provide.
• Allow them to participate in the small group discussion using preferred mode of communication (verbalization, communication board, assistive technology, AAC, writing, drawing, objects, etc.)
3. For the small group work of constructing a character trait description of Tom, follow the same procedure as for constructing the physical description.
4. Provide "Waiting For the 'Robt. E Lee,'" an article from Sports Illustrated (1962), and "The Great Steamboat Race of 1870 (From New Orleans to St. Louis)," a web page article:
• With text reader which students activate through adaptive switch(es) as appropriate.
• Summarized in auditory format which students may or may not control through switch use as appropriate.
• With main ideas, characters, settings, events, etc. (in summarized and/or auditory format or not) supplemented with visual or tactile cues and/or other referents (photographs, symbols, concrete objects/realia or other tactile systems such as the Standard Tactile Symbol List available from the Texas School for the Blind www.tsbvi.edu/tactile-symbols. Some referents may need to be pre-taught (Rowland, 2012). Use of the same referents (or the system) during this and other novels will reduce the need for pre-teaching.

b. Establish Goals/Objectives for the Lesson –

• Develop a more intentional and comprehensive understanding of Tom's character.
• Evaluate articles and historical images for the purpose of constructing an in-depth setting for a story.
• Evaluate the writing process from an author's perspective.
• Develop a clearer understanding of author's purpose through simulation and story creation.

Multiple means of representation – image interpretation, reading of text

Multiple means of expression - verbal communication in small group, prewriting bulleted statements

Multiple means of engagement – images in digital format, hard copy of images, small group

Lesson 4 - Body

Direct Instruction and/or Facilitation of the Lesson Activity(ies) –

1. Provide students with a copy (or access to the webpage version) of the "The Great Mississippi River Steamboat Race: From New Orleans to St. Louis, July 1870" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50397/ . The two boats side by side should be in front of students, whether on a projector (preferred), on a monitor, or as a hard copy in-hand while discussing the two readings from the introductory activity.
2. The discussion of the two readings should be focused on the setting of a steamboat during a race on the Mississippi River. Prompting questions for discussion. Potential student responses are in plain text.
• How would you describe the setting of this picture? It is night time and the two steamboats are racing each other on a big river. Are there any other details, that if you were a writer, you would include in your description of the setting? Maybe I would describe the smoke stacks and the big sign for the "Robert E. Lee". What else do you see in the picture? Are there any objects you notice? The boats have rails and a lot of space for passengers. The moon is out. There are trees on the river bank.
• What types of events would take place in this type of setting? The crews would be steering the boat. The captain would give orders to the crew. The crews would be shoveling coal into the boiler. The crews from each boat would yell at each other. One boat would try to get ahead of the other.
• Why would this setting or the events that take place in this setting be exciting for a boy like Tom? Tom likes mischief and to get into trouble, so he would probably like yelling at the other boat's crew. He would also be excited by the race. He would probably really want to meet the captain of the ships. (If students do not answer with wanting to meet the captains, prompt them: Do you think Tom would want to meet the captain of the Robert E. Lee? What about his character would be excited to meet the captain? He is very curious. He may want to trick the captain. He is mischievous. He probably wants to steer the boat too. Or maybe he wants to trick the Captain into giving him his captain's hat.
• What types of activities would Tom be doing while on the "Robert E. Lee"? He could be steering the ship or talking to the crew. Maybe he is shoveling coal in the boiler room. He could be yelling at the other boat's crew.
• In both articles, the "Lee" joined with a coal supply boat so there would not be any stopping during the race. This is where the story that your group will create begins. I want you to work with your group, and develop two events where Tom is shoveling coal from the "Pargaud" to the "Lee". Once you have created two events, I want you to discuss how Tom will stow away and hide on the "Lee." (If students are having a hard time getting started with their two events, tell them that one event needs to be Tom shoveling coal onto the "Lee", and another event could be Tom going into the hot boiler room on the "Lee". These events have been modeled in the appendix section of this lesson.)
3. After students have had a discussion of some potential events in small group, students need to choose the two events that they feel will be the easiest to write about.
4. Students will then generate a detailed description of each event following this format/process: 1) Establish a clear setting, providing as many sensory details as possible, 2) Identify what characters are involved in this event, is there any dialogue between the characters? What do they talk about? 3) What does the event reveal about Tom?
5. Students need to also follow this same process for Tom's stowing away on the Robert E. Lee. Once these three events have been completed, students should have three events developed into a "rough draft" form with setting, characters, and what is revealed about Tom's character generated within the small groups.

See exemplars in Appendix.

6. Students will then be given the image of "The Grand Saloon of the Palace Steamer Drew" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.00743/ with which they will be given the task of using this image as the setting for the next event in the story line, of Tom being found by the crew of the "Lee". (Note that the teacher is providing the basic outline of events in a general sense, but students are able to make decisions on the specific manifestations of the setting, Tom, the minor characters, etc.) Remind students that based on the two articles they have read, the "Lee" had very few people on it because the captain did not want to stop during the race. Have the group follow the three step process used in the previous events: describe the setting in detail, decide how minor characters are used/what types of conversations the minor characters will have with Tom, and what the event reveals about Tom's character. At any point during the development of the story (the series of events they have created) it may be beneficial to ask students if the Tom they have created is similar to the Tom that Twain created. This will focus the groups back to the previously covered material.
7. The next event in the storyline being created by students will be set on the captain's deck of the ship. Have students refer back to the image of the two racing steamboats. Supplied in the appendix of this lesson is an image that has the captain's deck circled in yellow. Ask students the following prompting questions. Potential student responses are in plain text.
• Why would the captain's deck of the steamship be at the top and front of the ship? You could see the rest of the boat easily. You could also see the river or if there are any rocks in the river.
• What would the captain and crew be able to see from that vantage point? They could see the other boat's captain and the river ahead of them.
Also supply students with the image of "Captain, pilot and wheelman posed on deck of Brahmaputra river steamer" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/wtc.4a02668/ in order for them to have a clearer understanding of the final setting for the story that students are creating. After students have clearly described the setting of the captain's deck, the character interaction and dialogue needs to be between Tom and Captain Cannon. The dialogue needs to follow this linear progression: Captain Cannon is upset that Tom has stowed away, Tom explains that he wants to be able to tell his friends, Huck and Jim, that he crossed the finish line with the "Lee", the captain allows Tom to stay on the captain's deck so Tom can truly see the victory, and Tom expresses his thanks to the captain after the "Lee" wins the race. Students may at any point in time refer back to the articles and pictures from this lesson as reference material for the stories they are creating.

Multiple means of representation – visual images, pre-writing exercises, verbal discussion, small group interaction

Multiple means of expression – written form, verbal communication, drawing setting, selecting images for setting

Multiple means of engagement – visual learners, linguistic learners, interpersonal and intrapersonal learners, selecting a soundtrack would engage musical learners

Additional Considerations for Emerging Readers

1. Provide student with a copy (or access to the webpage version) of the "The Great Mississippi River Steamboat Race: From New Orleans to St. Louis, July 1870" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50397/
2. As students read (with accommodations) the two texts mentioned previously ("Waiting For the 'Robt. E Lee,'" an article from Sports Illustrated (1962), and "The Great Steamboat Race of 1870 (From New Orleans to St. Louis"):
• Provide a way to highlight or annotate settings, events, and activities:
  • Use three different colors of highlighters.
  • Place an icon or initial card (S/E/A) on appropriate parts of the text.
  • Cut out words/symbols from the text and sort them into those categories.
3. During the class discussion:
• Students use the information from the highlighted/annotated text to answer the questions.
• Students use their preferred modes of communication to respond to the questions (verbalization, communication board, assistive technology, AAC, writing, etc.).
4. During the small group discussion and writing process:
• Students use the information from the highlighted/annotated text to participate in the discussion.
• Students use their preferred mode of communication to participate in the discussion (verbalization, communication board, assistive technology, AAC, writing, etc.).
• Students use a three column T-chart which might be:

• Adapted with symbols for the column titles (setting, characters & dialogue, Tom).
• Enlarged if necessary so students write or draw their responses.
• Provided digitally so students complete it in that manner.
• Reduced in terms of the number of events written about (there should still be enough events to "make sense": a beginning, middle, and end.

• Besides writing or drawing, students could cut and paste text examples, icons, or other symbolic responses.
5. When the other images ("The Grand Saloon of the Palace Steamer Drew" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.00743/ and "Captain, pilot and wheelman posed on deck of Brahmaputra river steamer" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/wtc.4a02668/) are presented and used in the writing activity, allow students to annotate (with markers, cut & paste symbols or icons, sticky notes, writing, etc.) directly on the images any information that might be used in the writing activity.

Additional Considerations for Emerging Communicators

1. Provide student with a copy (or access to the webpage version) of the "The Great Mississippi River Steamboat Race: From New Orleans to St. Louis, July 1870" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50397/:
• Provide tactile qualities to the picture (cotton for the smoke, a turning wheel for the paddlewheel, clear plastic wrap for the water, etc.).</u>
• Cut the picture apart (and laminate if necessary) into "puzzle" pieces (the number and size of the pieces can vary according to the skills of students. If students have difficulty assembling the puzzle, you could provide two copies of the picture, one cut apart into pieces and the other whole so students work on matching.
2. As students read (with accommodations) the two texts mentioned previously ("Waiting For the 'Robt. E Lee,'" an article from Sports Illustrated \[1962\], and "The Great Steamboat Race of 1870 \[From New Orleans to St. Louis\]"):
• Provide a way to highlight or annotate settings, events, and activities (assist students as necessary):
  • Use three different colors of highlighters.
  • Place an icon, initial card (S/E/A), representative texture or object/realia on appropriate parts of the text.
  • Cut out words/symbols from the text or and sort them into settings, events, and activities categories.
3. During the class discussion:
• Students use the information from the highlighted/annotated text to answer the questions.
• Students participate in the group discussions using preferred mode of communication (verbalization/vocalization, eye-gaze, touching/pointing, communication board, assistive technology, AAC, objects, etc.).
4. During the small group discussion and writing process:
• Students use the information from the highlighted/annotated text to participate in the discussion.
• Allow them to participate in the group discussions using preferred modes of communication (verbalization/vocalization, eye-gaze, touching/pointing, communication board, assistive technology, AAC, objects, etc.).
• Students use a three column T-chart which might be:
  • Adapted with symbols for the column titles (setting, characters & dialogue, Tom).
  • Supplemented with textures.
  • Enlarged if necessary so students place concrete objects/realia to represent their responses.
  • Provided digitally so student, with assistive technology access, move images into the correct columns.
  • Reduced in terms of the number of events written about. (There should still be enough events to "make sense": a beginning, middle, and end.
5. When the other images ("The Grand Saloon of the Palace Steamer Drew" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.00743/ and "Captain, pilot and wheelman posed on deck of Brahmaputra river steamer" http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/wtc.4a02668/ are presented and used in the writing activity:
• Provide tactile qualities to the picture.
• Cut the picture apart (and laminate if necessary) into "puzzle" pieces (the number and size of the pieces can vary according to the skills of student. If students have difficulty assembling the puzzle, you could provide two copies of the picture, one cut apart into pieces and the other whole so students work on matching.

Lesson 4 - Practice

1. Students gather the pre-writing work and place the work into a chronological sequence, placing the settings, events, and character interactions into a sequence/timeline.
2. Once the sequence of events for the story they have created has been established, students will write a summary of their story. This activity will reinforce the previous lessons on summarizing, combining the two methods of either using setting or minor characters as the logical organizational structure for the events, therefore students may have a choice on which they prefer separately or may even choose to synthesize the methods, creating a more sophisticated product/summary. (It is not necessary but may be beneficial, to allow students to use the previous lessons' graphic organizers on summarizing, understanding a historical image, and character development to further organize the work created by the groups.)

See Appendix.

Of Note: It will benefit students' quality of work if they constantly are reminded of and refer back to the images within Lesson 4, prior knowledge of Tom, the Mississippi River, Steamboats, the Race itself, and perhaps the graphic organizers. As the teacher is facilitating the small groups' creation of stories, remind them of what they have learned so far.

Multiple means of representation – written form, could be a play very easily

Multiple means of expression – written summary, written script, visual sequence, setting image creation (with photos?)

Multiple means of engagement – small group discussion

Additional Considerations for Emerging Readers

1. Provide students with text, symbols, images, etc. representing the small group pre-writing work.
2. Have students place the separate pieces of pre-writing into timelines:
• Provide graphic organizers for the timelines.
• Number the spaces on the graphic organizers.
3. Depending upon students' abilities and interests, allow students to:
• Choose which organizational structure (settings or characters or both) to use to compose their paragraphs.
• Write (pencil and paper) the summary.
• Use the computer to type the summary (with or without a symbol-based text program).
• Arrange pre-cut sentences into a summary.
• Use "connector" words (and, then, next, etc.) or ordinal position words (first, second, last, etc.) to transition from one part of the summary to the next.
• Dictate the summary (verbalize, read, point to, etc.) for a partner (peer or adult) to scribe.
• Accompany the written summary with drawings.
• Arrange symbol text cards representing the chronological sequence of settings and/or characters into a summary.

Additional Considerations for Emerging Communicators

1. Provide students with text, symbols, images, concrete objects/realia, etc. representing the small group pre-writing work.
2. Have students place the separate pieces of pre-writing into timelines:
• Provide graphic organizers for the timelines.
• Number the spaces on the graphic organizers.
• Color code and or texture the graphic organizers.
• Enlarge the graphic organizers.
3. Depending upon students' abilities and interests, allow students to:
• Choose (this might be through eye-gaze, the use of AAT, vocalizations, etc.) which organizational structure (settings or characters or both) to use to compose their paragraphs.
• Use the computer to complete the summary (with or without a symbol-based text program). Sounds could be added to the summary.
• Arrange pre-cut sentences, icons, or images into a summary.
• Use "connector" words (and, then, next, etc.) or ordinal position words (first, second, last, etc.) to transition from one part of the summary to the next.
• Dictate the summary (verbalize, read, point to, etc.) for a partner (peer or adult) to scribe.
• Arrange symbol text cards or concrete objects/realia representing the chronological sequence of settings and/or characters into a summary.
4. Reduce the number of settings and/or characters written about (There should still be enough events to "make sense": a beginning, middle, and end.)

Lesson 4 - Closure

a. Revisit/Review Lesson and Objectives –

1. Students within small group will read the summary of events they have created to their group in order to revisit the work completed so far in Lesson 4.
2. After this is completed, begin a discussion using these questions below. Note that these same questions will be asked again at the end of the Closure section of this lesson. Potential student responses are in plain text.
3. Everyone visualize/think about a setting you used in your story. How did the setting you described in your story influence the event that took place there? I chose the captain's deck. The captain's deck is where Tom almost got in trouble but instead, was able to drive the ship for a while and he crossed the finish line with a good view of the race. He could not have steered the boat or seen the finish line like that without being on the captain's deck. Or… In the boiler room, Tom tricked his boss into thinking that he was getting too hot and needed some fresh air. It was really hot and polluted in the boiler room, so his boss didn't question whether or not Tom was lying.
4. How did the historical images help you to better understand the setting? The images were easy to understand. Why? When our group started describing the setting we just used the picture and told the reader what we saw.
5. How important was the Mississippi River to the story you told? The story would not have taken place if it wasn't on the river. The story was set during a river race.
6. What did the minor characters reveal about Tom? How was the Tom you created similar to or different from the Tom that Mark Twain created? The minor characters showed the reader that Tom was curious and not afraid to fight. They also showed that Tom was young, but when he had to, he could be very convincing. The minor characters show that Tom likes adventures.
7. What caused Tom to change the most in your story? (Answers will vary but may fall into certain categories such as, "the minor characters," or "the settings.")
8. Thinking about the entire process of being a writer, what was the most difficult part of writing your story? Deciding how characters interact with Tom was the most difficult. Or…Coming up with what each character revealed about Tom was pretty tough. Did that process become easier by the last event on the captain's deck? Yes.
9. What was the most enjoyable part of the process? My group liked describing the setting. Or…I liked it when Tom got caught stowing away in the ballroom. It is important to note that even though the small groups have not yet heard each groups' summary, the same guidelines were provided to all groups; the process was the same. The questions above assess the process of writing the story, therefore the answers provided by students, though varied, will still promote self-reflective and evaluative thinking skills.
10. The summaries created by the various small groups will be shared with the whole class. After each summary, ask students the following questions:
11. What did you like most about the summary you just heard?
12. How was the summary you just heard different from your group's summary?
13. After all summaries have been shared in whole group, inform students that they are now literary writers, much like Mark Twain. They have created a literary piece of historical fiction. Give these questions to each small group to first discuss, and then record their answers on a piece of paper:
14. After listening to all of the summaries that the class created, what would you do differently if you could write the story of Tom and the Steamboat Race over again?
15. How important is setting to the development of characters in literature?
16. How does an author cause a main character to change over the course of a text?
17. When students have recorded their answers on a sheet of paper, inform students that the same questions they just answered in small group will be discussed aloud with the whole group so they compare their understanding to other students' understanding. Potential student responses are in plain text.
18. After listening to all of the summaries that the class created, what would you do differently if you could write the story of Tom and the Steamboat Race over again? (Answers will vary.)
19. How important is setting to the development of characters in literature? The settings are where every event takes place and the events reveal more and more about the characters. The settings influence the characters in a major way.
20. How does an author cause a main character to change over the course of a text? The main character, like Tom Sawyer, changes because events in the story are hard or someone like Tom has to do something that the author wants them to do in order for the next event to take place. The setting can also change the character. If Tom wasn't on the coal ship, he could not have gotten onto the Lee. Sometimes, minor characters make the main character change. The author uses the minor characters to force the main character to change or grow.
21. When the whole group discussion has ended, give the questions posed at the beginning of the Closure portion of Lesson 4 to the small groups, and have students discuss their answers. (The answers should grow in both sophistication and specificity):
22. Everyone visualize/think about a setting you used in your story. How did the setting you described in your story influence the event that took place there? The captain's deck is where Tom almost got in trouble but instead, was able to drive the ship for a while and he crossed the finish line with a good view of the race. The setting allows Tom to have the opportunity to steer the boat, see the finish line clearly, and convince Captain Cannon to let him stay on the boat and not be punished. Or… In the boiler room, Tom tricked his boss into thinking that he was getting too hot and needed some fresh air. Because the setting was hot and polluted, his boss didn't question whether or not Tom was lying, which gave him the opportunity to stow away.
23. How did the historical images help you to better understand the setting? The images allowed our group to see what we had to describe. When our group started describing the setting we just used the picture and told the reader what we saw.
24. How important was the Mississippi River to the story you told? The story would not have taken place if it wasn't on the river. The story was set during a river race on a steamboat.
25. What did the minor characters reveal about Tom? How was the Tom you created similar to or different from the Tom that Mark Twain created? The minor characters showed the reader that Tom was curious and not afraid to fight. They also showed that Tom was young, but when he had to, he could be very convincing. The minor characters show that Tom likes adventure even when it is dangerous. (Answers will vary on the similarities and differences.)
26. What caused Tom to change the most in your story?(Answers will vary but may fall into certain categories such as, "the minor characters," or "the settings.")
27. Thinking about the entire process of being a writer, what was the most difficult part of writing your story? Deciding how characters interact with Tom was the most difficult. Or…Coming up with what each character revealed about Tom was pretty tough. Did that process become easier by the last event on the captain's deck? Yes.
28. What was the most enjoyable part of the process? My group liked describing the setting. Or…I liked it when Tom got caught stowing away in the ballroom.

Multiple means of representation – small group, individual, whole group, written form

Multiple means of expression – written form, verbal communication

Multiple means of engagement – discussion, individual, small group, whole group

Additional Considerations for Emerging Readers

1. For student to share their work with the small group, they can:
• Read it aloud.
• Read certain words or symbols they know while a partner (peer or adult) reads the others.
• Touch each word or symbol as a partner reads.
• Activate an audio recording of the work.
• Provide printed copies of the work to classmates.
2. During the small group as the teacher asks questions, provide choices for students to select from in order to answer questions. Since in this activity, accuracy is not an issue because the questions are to guide students in thinking about their work, you should provide several options for students to select from, all of which might be valid. For example, "How did the pictures I gave you help you understand the setting?" (a simplified rewording of How did the historical images help you to better understand the setting? ) might be answered by "I could see what the captain's deck looked like", "I could see who was with the captain", "I could see on the things in the captain's deck", or "I could see how big the wheel was" so all of these would be the choices students answer with (using their preferred modes of communication).
3. If student are chosen to share the small group's work with the large group, they can:
• Read it aloud.
• Read certain words or symbols they know while a partner (peer or adult) reads the others.
• Touch each word or symbol as a partner reads.
• Activate an audio recording of the work.
• Provide printed copies of the work to classmates.
4. To answer any additional questions in either large or small group, ensure that students have the vocabulary accessible and in their preferred modes of communication so, they answer questions appropriately.

Additional Considerations for Emerging Communicators

1. For students to share their work with the small group, they can:
• Read it aloud, repeating short phrases provided auditorily by a partner.
• Read certain words or symbols they know while a partner (peer or adult) reads the others.
• Use symbols, pictures/photographs, concrete objects/realia, textures, etc. to read their words by holding-up, touching, or otherwise indicating which referent indicates the word in the blank.
• Touch each word or symbol as a partner reads.
• Activate an audio recording of the paragraph. For students working on cause and effect through the use of assistive technology, they might be required to activate the recording to read each individual sentence or fill in the blank. Students who use an assistive technology device where each switch has a different point might activate each recording in sequence.
• Provide printed copies of the work to classmates.
2. During the small group as the teacher asks questions, provide choices for students to select from in order to answer questions. Since in this activity, accuracy is not an issue because the questions are to guide students in thinking about their work, you should provide several options for students to select from, all of which might be valid. For example, "How did the pictures I gave you help you understand the setting?" (a simplified rewording of How did the historical images help you to better understand the setting? ) might be answered by "I could see what the captain's deck looked like", "I could see who was with the captain", "I could see on the things in the captain's deck", or "I could see how big the wheel was" so all of these would be the choices students could answer with (using their preferred modes of communication).
3. If students are chosen to share the small group's work with the large group, they can:
• Read it aloud, repeating short phrases provided auditorily by a partner.
• Read certain words or symbols they know while a partner (peer or adult) reads the others.
• Use symbols, pictures/photographs, concrete objects/realia, textures, etc. to read their words by holding-up, touching, or otherwise indicating which referent indicates the word in the blank.
• Touch each word or symbol as a partner reads.
• Activate an audio recording of the paragraph. For students working on cause and effect through the use of assistive technology, they might be required to activate the recording to read each individual sentence or fill in the blank. Students who use an assistive technology device where each switch has a different point might activate each recording in sequence.
• Provide printed copies of the work to classmates.
4. To answer any additional questions in either large or small group, ensure that students have the vocabulary accessible and in their preferred modes of communication so, they answer questions appropriately.

b. Exit Assessment –

1. Students will answer the following questions in order for the teacher to assess the understanding of author's purpose gained by students, as well as the role of summarizing in assisting readers' understanding of a text. Correct answers, not student responses, are supplied in plain text.
• What is the purpose of a setting in a story?

A setting in a story is used by the author to establish both the time and place in which the story takes place. Oftentimes, especially in literary texts, the series of settings used by the author provide the chronological sequence and organizational structure for the story. All of the events and development of the characters takes place in a setting.

• How do minor characters help an author reveal a main character's character traits?

The minor characters in a literary text are often less developed than the main character. An author uses the interaction between the less developed characters to highlight or reveal certain aspects of the main character's behavior or motives within the context of the story line. As the number of minor characters increases, so does the frequency of interaction with the main character through either dialogue or actions, having the cumulative effect of revealing more and more about the main character's character traits. Since an author does nothing by accident, the usage of minor characters allows the author to intentionally influence the reader's understanding of the main character

• How does summarizing help a reader better understand a text?

Summarizing allows the reader the opportunity to articulate the most significant and meaningful events in the development of the storyline. The process of summarizing incorporates both evaluative and creative thinking skills. Students must consider the settings, characters, and events in such a way that they are able to create a sequence of important events that form a framework for better understanding the text as a whole.

Multiple means of representation – written form

Multiple means of expression – written form

Multiple means of engagement – written form

Additional Considerations for Emerging Readers

1. Provide several possible answers and several plausible but not correct answers for students to choose from when answering the Exit Assessment questions. Because this is an assessment activity (as opposed to any of the previous instructional activities, it is important to provide choices that require students to demonstrate their abilities to make logical predictions; this is why the incorrect choices provided must be plausible.
2. Students use their established communication systems (technologically-based, eye gaze, touch, verbalization/vocalizations, etc.) to answer the questions.

Additional Considerations for Emerging Readers and Emerging Communicators

1. Provide one possible answer and at least one plausible (more if students have more abilities to discriminate) but not correct answer for students to choose from when answering the Exit Assessment questions. Because this is an assessment activity (as opposed to any of the previous instructional activities, it is important to provide choices that require students to demonstrate their abilities to make logical predictions; this is why the incorrect choices provided must be plausible.
2. Students use their established communication system (technologically-based, eye gaze, touch, verbalization/vocalizations, etc.) to answer the questions.

Lesson 4 – Appendix

Tom's Biographical Sketch:

What Tom says:

• He lies to Ben.
• "It is not such a hollow world, after all."
• Tom explains how they escaped the cave.
• Tom wouldn't mind going to the cave.

What Tom does:

• He tries to convince Jim to trade him jobs.
• He works harder at painting when Aunt Polly spanks Jim.
• He comes up with a good idea for tricking Ben.
• He tricks Billy and Johnny.
• He explores a possible route out of the cave.
• He convinces Becky to follow him out of the cave.
• Tom is shocked to find out that Injun Joe is locked in the cave.

What other characters say about Tom:

• Jim tells Tom that he won't switch jobs because he is afraid of Aunt Polly.
• Ben pleads with Tom to let him try to paint the fence.
• Becky doesn't believe Tom.
• The men on the Mississippi River skiff don't believe his story.

What the narrator reveals about Tom's thoughts:

• There is no gladness in Tom and he is discouraged.
• Life is hollow.
• He doesn't want the kids to make fun of him.
• He has a "magnificent inspiration".
• Tom had learned a valuable lesson, that work is what you have to do, and play is what you don't have to do.

Prewriting for Event Development: sequence of events for the story they have created has been established, students will write a summary of their story.

placing the settings, events, and character interactions into a sequence/timeline. Once the

Timeline of Events:

The settings and character interactions above can be placed into a timeline very easily by cutting out the boxes with scissors and organizing them into a sequence. Below is a sequence of the events implied by the boxes above:

Summary of the Events:

For the story my group created, Tom and Samuel, his boss on the refueling ship, argue over which boat will win the race in July of 1870 while shoveling coal from the deck of the Pargaud to the boiler room of the Robert E. Lee. As they finish shoveling coal, Tom tricks Samuel into believing that he is going to leave the hot boiler room to get air back on the deck of the Pargaud, but Tom stows away on the Lee instead. Tom wanders around the Grand Ballroom of the Lee, imagining that he is a wealthy gentleman until Harvey, a crew member on the Lee finds Tom wandering around the ship and handles him roughly, threatening to throw him overboard. Harvey takes Tom to the captain's deck where Tom explains why he stowed away to Captain Cannon, who, after hearing Tom's explanation, allows Tom to see the end of the race from the captain's deck of the Lee.

Lesson 4 – Resources

Materials:

Articles:

"Waiting For The 'Robt. E Lee'" Article from Sports Illustrated, 1962

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1073461/index.htm

"The Great Steamboat Race of 1870 (From New Orleans to St. Louis)"

http://jayssouth.com/mississippi/boat/

Photos:

"The Great Mississippi River Steamboat Race: From New Orleans to St. Louis, July 1870"

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50397/

"The Grand Saloon of the Palace Steamer Drew"

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.00743/

"Captain, pilot and wheelman posed on deck of Brahmaputra river steamer"

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/wtc.4a02668/

Return to Lesson 3