Think It!

Think It! is a Junior Great Books unit that teaches critical thinking skills to students through engaging, non-fiction texts and activities. This unit focuses on higher-level thinking skills of analyzing, evaluating and creating. Students go through the same process for each text and are pulled deeper and deeper into the comprehension. Activity 1: Read and Understand asks students to read closely and comprehend a text by asking questions, marking their reactions as they read and writing to summarize the text and explain their reactions. This shows critical thinking by asking them to raise vital questions and problems, as well as gather and assess relevant information. Activity 2: Examine asks students to analyze and evaluate the text by marking a central idea or theme while rereading and writing brief explanations to support analysis and evaluation of a passage. This again asks them to raise vital questions and gather relevant information, while also pushing them to come to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions. Finally, we ask them to Create (Activity 3). In this, students apply ideas from the text creatively by recording original thinking about an idea or feature in the text, synthesizing ideas from the text to use them differently and developing an idea or text feature in a new way. They begin to think open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought. Throughout the unit, students listen to and build on others' ideas and address their own and others' questions, which teaches them how to communicate effectively to figure out solutions to complex problems.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2 Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.8 Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.A Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.B Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.C Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.D Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.A Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.B Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.C Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence of events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.D Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.E Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.9.A Apply grade 5 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or a drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., how characters interact]").

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.9.B Apply grade 5 Reading standards to informational texts (e.g., "Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point[s]"").

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.10 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.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1.A Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1.B Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1.C Pose and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1.D Review the key ideas expressed and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussions.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

- raise vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely.

- gather and assess relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively.

- come to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards.

- think open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications and practical consequences.

- communicate effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Activities:

- Working independently, with a partner or in a whole group students will read, analyze and complete 5 or more of the following units:

- Wright Brothers, Inc

- The Highs and Lows of Hans Christian Anderson

- Doris and the End of the World

-The Stranger

-Bad Mistakes on Aconcagua

-Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic

-My Time on the Mount

-Infinity and Beyond

-Christmas Eve Crevasse

-Disobeying the Dogs

- Students will present new learning at least once in a formal presentation.

- Students will participate in cooperative learning activities throughout the units.

Assessment:

- Best Work Rubric assessment at the end of units

- Observation of discussions

- Student written questions