Curriculum / ELA / 8th Grade / Unit 5: Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions / Lesson 17
ELA
Unit 5
8th Grade
Lesson 17 of 23
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Please Note: If this you are unable to source the text An Inconvenient Sequel, you may skip this lesson.
Delineate arguments made about climate change and assess whether the evidence provided is relevant and sufficient.
Book: An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore pp. 136 – 175 — (omitting "Profiles" and "Deep Dives")
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
Do you feel hopeful about the future of the planet? Consider what you have read today, as well as what you read yesterday about climate activists, and explain your thinking in 4–5 sentences.
An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.
Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
What is Gore’s central argument on pages 136 through 175? Write a clear central idea statement in your own words, and use the word "avert" in your answer.
What claim does Gore explore on pages 139 through 151 that supports his central argument? What evidence does he provide to support this claim? Is the evidence provided relevant and sufficient to support this claim?
What claim does Gore explore on pages 158 through 163 that supports his central argument? What evidence does he provide to support this claim? Is the evidence provided relevant and sufficient to support this claim?
If we have some of the technology and knowledge to end climate change, why do you think that we have not yet solved the crisis? What are the barriers to implementing these solutions?
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
avert
v.
to avoid or prevent something bad from happening (“Megatrends” )
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
Prepare for tomorrow’s Socratic Seminar.
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RI.8.8 — Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.8.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
RI.8.1 — Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.8.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.8.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RI.8.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6—8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
SL.8.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.8.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
W.8.1 — Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.8.1.a — Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.8.1.b — Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
W.8.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.8.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
W.8.9.b — Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., "Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced").
W.8.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Lesson 16
Lesson 18
Explain how specific words, phrases, and structural choices develop tone in Greta Thunberg’s speeches, and how tone impacts meaning.
RI.8.4
Identify the key ideas Gore uses to support his claims about climate change and assess whether the evidence he provides is relevant and sufficient.
RI.8.8
Identify a writer’s claims in a text and explain how they support those claims, as well as how they respond to conflicting viewpoints.
RI.8.6 RI.8.8
Infer the meaning of unknown words using context clues, use reference materials to verify the meaning of words, and explain how word choice develops meaning in an informational article.
L.8.4 L.8.4.a L.8.4.c L.8.4.d RI.8.4
Explain how Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner specific words and phrases develop tone in a poem and how tone impacts meaning.
RL.8.4
Write objective summaries and determine central ideas in informational articles.
RI.8.2
Identify claims made in an informational article and assess the relevance and sufficiency of evidence provided to support those claims.
Explain how writer Abby Geni uses imagery and figurative language to establish mood and meaning in a short story.
RL.8.2 RL.8.4
Determine a theme in the short story, "Notes from a Bottle" and explain how the author develops it; identify literary allusions and explain how they help to build meaning in a text.
RL.8.2 RL.8.9
Writing
Research the possible impacts of climate change and begin to brainstorm aspects of setting for climate fiction narratives.
W.8.3 W.8.8 W.8.9
Draft two paragraphs vividly describing the setting of your climate fiction narrative.
W.8.3 W.8.3.a W.8.3.b W.8.3.d
Draft a short climate fiction scene.
W.8.3 W.8.3.a
L.8.2 L.8.2.a W.8.3 W.8.5
Compare and contrast the central arguments of two articles about climate change, and explain how one author acknowledges and responds to viewpoints that differ from their own.
RI.8.6 RI.8.9
Determine the central idea of sections of An Inconvenient Sequel and synthesize information in a short presentation that educates classmates.
RI.8.2 SL.8.4
Synthesize information about a young climate activist and create a short presentation that educates classmates.
Socratic Seminar
Engage in a Socratic Seminar with peers, responding directly to others by rephrasing and delineating arguments, determining the strength of evidence, and posing clarifying questions.
SL.8.1 SL.8.1.d SL.8.3 SL.8.4
Research the potential local impacts of climate change in preparation for writing a letter to a congressperson.
W.8.1 W.8.7 W.8.8 W.8.9
Outline a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1 W.8.1.a W.8.1.b W.8.5
Draft a letter urging a congressperson to take action to stop climate change.
W.8.1 W.8.1.a W.8.1.b W.8.1.c W.8.1.e
L.8.3 L.8.3.a W.8.1 W.8.1.d
Assessment – 2 days
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