Sharing Background Knowledge: Grade 4 TEXT INTRODUCTIONS AND PROCEDURE Read the title and the text prompt. Students talk in pairs or triads. Then follow up with a whole class/group discussion. Keep the sharing to less than 20 minutes. After Sharing: Teacher reads the questions on the student response sheet aloud to the group. Text Prompts: Chimpanzee Champion* This is a text about a woman named Jane Goodall, who spent a long time studying chimpanzees in Africa. What is a chimpanzee? Based on the title and your background knowledge what are you wondering or thinking about? What they look like, act like, and are able to do? What do you think Jane Goodall wanted to learn about chimpanzees? Roller Coasters* This text is about different kinds of roller coasters. What is a roller coaster? Have you ever been on one? Based on the title and your background knowledge what are you wondering or thinking about? What do roller coasters look like? What it is like to ride on a one, or a smaller version at the fairs that come to town? Silken Laumann: Courageous Canadian* This text is about Silken Laumann, a top Canadian athlete who got badly injured before the Olympics. Based on the title and your background knowledge what are you wondering or thinking about? What do Olympic athletes have to do to become good enough? Game On!* This text is about sports played by the Aboriginal people of Turtle Island to stay fit and to enjoy. Turtle Island is a term used by some Aboriginal peoples to refer to the continent of North America. Based on the title and your background knowledge what are you wondering and thinking? What games do you think they played? What materials would they use? *After the text prompt discussion, remind students who have significant background knowledge on a topic to reference the information in THIS text when answering the assessment questions. 1
Roller Coasters Selection 2 *Roller coasters are designed for fun! The fun starts at the top of the first hill. The roller coaster plunges into valleys. It whips around curves. It may even loop upside down. Hold on to your hat. The fun has just begun! Gravity Rules! Gravity is a natural force. It makes objects move toward the center of the Earth. When it comes to roller coasters, gravity rules! From the very beginning, roller coasters have worked by a simple scientific rule. What goes up, must come down. Gravity makes that happen. That s why roller coaster rides start off slow. They don t pick up speed until they start down a hill. The first hill in the ride must be the steepest. Gravity pulls the coaster down the hill. That creates enough energy for the ride to coast along until it comes to another hill. No hill can be higher than the first one. * 2003 by Evan-Moor Corp. (Student copy for Oral Running Record) 2
Oral Running Record Name Date Grade 4 Before starting tell the student: While you are reading this, be aware of any strategies you use. I will be asking you to tell me about them when you are done reading. Errors SC Roller Coasters Selection 2 *Roller coasters are designed for fun! The fun starts at the top of the first hill. The roller coaster plunges into valleys. It whips around curves. It may even loop upside down. Hold on to your hat. The fun has just begun! Gravity Rules! Gravity is a natural force. It makes objects move toward the center of the Earth. When it comes to roller coasters, gravity rules! From the very beginning, roller coasters have worked by a simple scientific rule. What goes up, must come down. Gravity makes that happen. That s why roller coaster rides start off slow. They don t pick up speed until they start down a hill. The first hill in the ride must be the steepest. Gravity pulls the coaster down the hill. That creates enough energy for the ride to coast along until it comes to another hill. No hill can be higher than the first one.* Word Count: 141 2003 by Evan-Moor Corp. 3
Oral Reading Assessment Summary Sheet Name Date Grade Selection Circle the percentage and miscues. Accuracy Independent (98-100%) Instructional (95-97%) Frustration (<95%) (Use lower level text) Percentage 100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 Miscues 0 1 2-3 4 5-6 7 8 9-10 11 Fluency halting careful fluent expressive phrasing often not in meaningful groups phrasing for meaning is inconsistent; wordby-word short phrases; mix of short and longer phrases; uses punctuation longer phrases; consistently use of punctuation Strategy Use: Make a note if student pauses while reading. After reading, ask When you paused here, what were you thinking? (Teacher checks appropriate boxes below and/or writes notes.) Note: Proficient readers may not pause and strategy use may be subconscious. You do not need to do a running record on these students after the first diagnostic assessment. Learning to Read Strategies: I stop when meaning is lost I stop when it doesn t sound right I stop when it doesn t look right I look for little words inside bigger words I look for chunks I know I reread I skip, read on and then go back I self -correct Reading Comprehension Strategies: I think about what I already know (Access Background Knowledge) I make connections I make a picture in my head (Visualize) I ask questions I find the important ideas I read between the lines (Infer) I change my thinking (Synthesize) I use text features Teacher Notes: 4
Roller Coasters Selection 2 * Roller coasters are designed for fun! The fun starts at the top of the first hill. The roller coaster plunges into valleys. It whips around curves. It may even loop upside down. Hold on to your hat. The fun has just begun! Gravity Rules! Gravity is a natural force. It makes objects move toward the center of the Earth. When it comes to roller coasters, gravity rules! From the very beginning, roller coasters have worked by a simple scientific rule. What goes up, must come down. Gravity makes that happen. That s why roller coaster rides start off slow. They don t pick up speed until they start down a hill. The first hill in the ride must be the steepest. Gravity pulls the coaster down the hill. That creates enough energy for the ride to coast along until it comes to another hill. No hill can be higher than the first one.* It would take more energy to go up that hill than the train began with. As coasters fly down hills and around curves, they create G- forces. A G-force is the pressure riders feel. It pushes them back into their seats. The Speed of Fright When it comes to roller coasters, taller, longer and faster are the rules. Today s coasters speed along their tracks so fast that one can hardly breathe. Coasters weren t always so fast. The speed of fright was once much slower. The first roller coasters in Russia in the 1500s were not really coasters at all. Steep wooden ramps covered with ice rose up to 21 meters high. Sleds plunged down the slides. When the ice melted in the spring, the ride was over. Sleds coasted into France in the 1700s. The French did not rely on ice. They built tracks with closely spaced rollers. Sleds with runners could coast over the rollers. That s where the name roller coaster came from. The first American roller coaster was an abandoned mine railway with a steep incline. In 1870, it became a thrill ride. Horses tugged the cars to the top. Gravity pulled them back down the slope at the speed of 10 kilometers an hour. 5 2003 by Evan-Moor Corp.
Types of Roller Coasters Wooden roller coasters come in two basic designs. One design is the twister. Twisters have many turns. They have steep drops. Their tracks cross over and under each other. The second design is the out-and-back. It starts at one point and goes to another point. Then it comes back to where it began. Steel roller coasters come in many more types. Some of them loop upside down. Some have trains that hang below the track. Others allow riders to stand up as they swoop and loop around the track. Whether a coaster is built of wood or steel, you can bet it was designed for fun! Twister and out-and-back are wooden roller coasters. They were the first roller coasters. Steel roller coasters are the latest designs. Looping and stand-up coasters are made from steel. All roller coasters are designed to be safe, scary, and fun! 6 2003 by Evan-Moor Corp.
Roller Coasters: Name STUDENT RESPONSE SHEET Date READ THE ENTIRE TEXT. THEN DO YOUR ANSWERS. 1. Using information from the section Gravity Rules, give the main idea. Find 3 or more important details that support the main idea. Main Idea Supporting Details (from text) 1. Main idea and supporting details - no main idea -details are missing or incorrect - finds part of the main idea - identifies few relevant details - finds main idea - identifies 3 relevant details - finds main idea; states in own words - identifies many relevant details, all of which are from the specified section 2. Use your own words to explain what you think the underlined words mean in this text. thrill ride- abandoned- 2. Word skills -definitions are incorrect in any definitions are mostly vague or incorrect in this -student may use the word in a sentence - definitions are mostly clear and correct in this -definitions are well-explained and correct in this 7
3. Explain a connection you made between this text and what you already know about this topic (text-to-self, text-to-text, or text-to-world). 3. Connecting -unable to make a connection to this text -makes a vague connection to - explains a relevant this text connection to this text -clearly explains a deep, relevant connection to this text 4. Why do you think roller coaster designs have changed over time? Explain your thinking using the information from the text. 4. Inferring -unable to infer or inference(s) is illogical -inference(s) is basic -lacks evidence from the text -inferences(s) is logical and supported with some evidence from the text 5. What do you think the author really wants you to know about roller coasters? Explain why you think this. -inference(s) is insightful and supported with specific evidence from the text 5. Critical Literacy -response is illogical or not related to text -literal response; no insight -no explanation -response is beyond the text; shows some insight -limited explanation -response links to bigger ideas/issues; insightful interpretation -detailed explanation 8
Answer Key with Sample Student Responses Roller Coasters Grade: 4 Selection: 2 1. Using information from the section Gravity Rules, give the main idea. Find 3 or more important details that support the main idea. Grade 4: Selection 3 Question 1 Main idea Roller coasters Roller Coasters go up Supporting details - there fun - they were inventid in France Gravity is a natural force - g-force is the same as gravity - gravity makes riders feel pressure - gravity pulls the coaster down the hill Gravity is a natural force and it makes objects move towards the centre of the earth -What goes up, must come down. Gravity makes that happen. - Gravity is a natural force. -The first hill in the ride must be the steepest -Gravity pulls the coaster down the hills - All roller coasters are designed to be safe, scary and fun! The main idea here is gravity and how it affects the way roller coasters work. - Gravity makes objects move toward the centre of the earth -No hill can be higher than the first one. -Coasters create G-forces when they fly down hills and around curves -G forces hold riders in their seats, even upside down ( from caption) -Roller coasters starts off slow and then pick up speed 2. Use your own words to explain what you think the underlined words mean in this text. Grade 4: Selection 3 Question 2 Word Skills Not Yet Meeting Minimally Moderately Fully Meeting Exceeding thrill ride adandoned In 1870 it became a thrill ride Got a ride a certain type of ride The first American railway was an abandoned mine with a steep incline Fun and crazy Amazing fun ride Fast and scary but exciting ride A mother leaves a child behind Left to rot; no one goes there anymore Empty, deserted. If something is abandoned then it means people have left it and not come back to it in a long time 9
3. Explain a connection you made between this text and what you already know about this topic (text-to-self, text-to-text, or text-to-world). Grade 4: Selection 3 Question 3 Connecting 4. Why do you think roller coaster designs have changed over time? Explain your thinking using the information from the text. Grade 4: Selection 3 Question 4 Inferring 5. What do you think the author really wants you to know about roller coasters? Explain why you think this. Grade 4: Selection 3 Question 5 Critical Literacy I don t have a connection Not Yet Meeting I love roller coasters Not Yet Meeting Roller coaster are fun On my computer I have a screen that moves like a roller coaster Minimally Moderately Fully Meeting Exceeding He wants us to know more about them so we can be safer. I went to Canada Wonderland and went on an amazing ride. I think the author wants us to know how roller coasters work and how it all started. I haven't been on a roller coaster, but I've seen baby ones. They are smaller, flat surface so they don't get scary and they go slower too. Minimally Moderately Fully Meeting Exceeding Make them safer because they used to be wooden and now they are metal. So they can be safer, more fun, and more scary 10 Because they didn't have all the technology and equipment that they have now to make it more fun and safe To teach us more about roller coasters; to teach us about gravity affects roller coasters. To show us how the roller coasters have evolved over time. On Lumby Days I went on the zipper and Zero gravity. I already knew that it was gravity making the roller coaster go and that it was the G-force pushing me back against the side of the roller coaster. It was a lot of fun and not a bit scary. Because now they have the technology and equipment to make new designs that are much safe. The new designs can make sure the roller coasters and fun and safe while they are also faster than before. I think the author wants us to learn about how roller coasters work, how g-force works and effects roller coasters; how g-force can be used to make roller coasters go faster and higher. He also wants us to know how knowledge and technology has changed roller coasters over time to make sure that they are more fun, safe, and exciting.
GRADE 4 RUBRIC: READING FOR INFORMATION Name Term 1 Date: Term 2 Date: Term 3 Date: Selection Selection Selection 1. Main idea and supporting details no main idea details are missing or incorrect 2. Word skills definitions are incorrect in any 3. Connecting unable to make a connection to this text 4. Inferring unable to infer or inference (s) is illogical 5. Critical Literacy response is illogical or not related to text finds part of the main idea identifies few relevant details definitions are mostly vague or incorrect in this student may use the word in a sentence makes a vague connection to this text inference (s) is basic lacks evidence from the text literal response; lacks insight finds main idea identifies 3 relevant details definitions are mostly clear and correct in this explains a relevant connection to this text inference(s) is logical and supported with some evidence from the text response is beyond the text; shows some insight finds main idea; states in own words identifies many relevant details, all of which are from the specified section definitions are well-explained and correct in this clearly explains a deep, relevant connection to this text inference(s) is insightful and supported with specific evidence from the text response links to bigger ideas/issues; insightful interpretation Overall Assessment no explanation limited detailed explanation explanation Not Yet Meeting Minimal Moderate Fully Exceeding Implications for Teaching: 11
GRADE 4 PLANNING SHEET Date Category Fully Meeting INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS FOR THE CLASS, SMALL GROUP, or INDIVIDUAL 1. Main idea and supporting details - finds main idea -identifies 3 relevant details 2. Word skills - definitions are mostly clear and correct in this 3. Connecting -explains a relevant connection to this text 4. Inferring - inference(s) is logical and supported with some evidence from the text 5. Critical Literacy - response is beyond the text ; shows some insight Other implications for teaching -limited explanation 12