Sixth Grade CSI Lessons #1- #3 “Making Connections”

The following three lessons provide a sample of how a teacher might

divide a CSI lesson into three fifteen-minute mini-lessons. Teacher
language is lifted directly from the CSI lesson plan.

Guidelines for Instructional Practice

• Gather students on the carpet close to the screen displaying the
shared reading text. Ensure that all students have an adequate view
of the text, and that they are sitting beside their Learning
Partner(s).

• Post and refer to the lesson focus so that all students are aware of
the learning objective for the day.

• Always read the entire text aloud in the first lesson.

• Model effective use of the lesson’s comprehension strategy by

“thinking aloud” and verbalizing your thinking.

• Build brief “active involvement” time into every mini-lesson,

ensuring that students read, think and talk their way through the
text and the comprehension strategy.

• Check the lesson plan ahead of time to ensure you cover over the
appropriate parts of the text before displaying it. Some lesson plans
call for a “slow reveal” of text to assist with specific teaching
points.

• Based on your knowledge of the students in your class, be selective

in choosing just a few of the vocabulary words highlighted in the
text that are critical to understanding the meaning of the text.

• Continue to emphasize the difference between “skimming and

scanning” and “close reading.” See CSI Introductory Lessons # 4
and #5.

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 Sixth Grade Reader’s Workshop Plan
CSI: Preparing for Life in Space Lesson #1

Grade Level: 6 Date:

Standard:
Comprehension:
• Understand the meaning of text using a variety of strategies; demonstrate literacy,
interpretive, inferential, and evaluative comprehension
• Make and support warranted assertions about text
Focus of lesson: How Text-to-World Connections Help Deepen Understanding
Mini-lesson (5-15 min.) Key idea: Readers deepen their understanding of a text by consciously making
•Key idea: Mini-Lesson is a short lesson connections between the text, their background knowledge, other texts, and their world
that focuses on one main teaching point. knowledge.
•Teacher resources… Note: While sixth grade readers should be familiar with making connections to what
•What students bring to lesson… they are reading, they must understand that connecting what they already know to
any new information is the core of learning and understanding (adapted from
Harvey & Goudvis, 2007, p. 17). In sixth grade, students will be expected to read and
talk about a wider variety of genres, forms and structures of text. It is the job of the
teacher to help students use the richness of their individual lives to better understand
the text they read.

When asking students to turn and talk with their Learning Partner(s) remember that
these conversations are relatively short – 30-60 seconds. Listen in on these
conversations and occasionally paraphrase academic language you notice students
using, and behaviors you want to reinforce, before returning to the text.

Target vocabulary: adapt, environment, gravity

Sentence frame that can be used, if needed, to support language learners:
• When I read about _______________ I can make a connection to ___________.
This helps me by _____________.

Teacher resources:
• Preparing for Life in Space text
• Beginning chart of types, forms and genres of text with an explanation of
expository text written on it.
Connection: As you know readers make connections when they are reading a text. The three types
How this fits in with what we’ve been of connections readers make include:
doing… • Text-to-self: between the text and a reader’s own life and experiences
• Text-to-text: connections to other texts
• Text-to-world: connections to issues concerning the wider world
Teach: Today you will be learning more about deepening your understanding of a text by
consciously making connections between your background knowledge, other texts, and
your world knowledge. Display the text Preparing for Life in Space. Briefly explain
Direct instruction that this is an expository text. Show students the chart with the explanation for
•Set purpose expository text. This is an expository text. Expository text is written to explain,
•Tell Students what we want them to describe, give information, or inform. It contains information organized in a logical
focus on/learn/know way.

Model/Think Aloud for students: Read the entire text aloud, inviting students to read aloud along with you. Begin
something we’d like them to try… by skimming and scanning the text. Note the phrase “lack of gravity weakens the
body’s muscles” at the end of the first paragraph. Model how making a connection can
Activate prior knowledge or enhance meaning- e.g. - When I read about a lack of gravity weakening a body’s
Build background knowledge muscles, I can make a connection to the stairs I climb every morning, pushing up
against the gravity and staying in shape in the process.”

To better understand this text, we will focus on making text-to-world connections so

think about what you know about outer space and life there. Model a text-to-world
connection – e.g. – I’ve heard that the world population is increasing so rapidly that it
will be necessary to find a way for humans to live in space, because there won’t be
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 enough room for us all on Earth. While reading the text aloud, quickly “click” on one
or two of the target vocabulary words. A digitized glossary definition of the word(s)
will be displayed. If you are using a transparency of the text instead of the digital
version, find the glossary definitions in the full glossary located on the inside back
cover of the whole group lesson folder.
Active Involvement: Invite students to talk with their Learning Partner(s) about any text-to-world
•Think-Pair-Share connections. Think about what we have read and what you already know about outer
•Turn and Talk space and life there. What is something new you learned? Share your knowledge and
•Buddy Share connections with your Learning Partner(s). Discuss with your Partner(s) how the
•Triads/Peer Support connections you made, and the discussion around them, helped you focus more on the
text. Facilitate a whole-group discussion about the connections students made. Discuss
how they knew these things about the world and space and how it helped them focus
on the text.
Link/Off you go: It is important that you know that you can and should use what you already know
Send off with a purpose… about the world, whatever you know, to help you understand new things. Today when
you are reading, find a place in your independent reading book where you can make a
text-to-world connection and mark it with a sticky-note. You will share your
connection and how it helped you focus more on the text.
Literacy Work Time and From their independent reading book bags or boxes, students select a text to read in
Conferring (35-45 min.) which they can make a text-to-world connection. They read independently, and mark
•Guided Oral Reading their connection with a sticky-note.
•Reciprocal Teaching
•Book Club
•Independent Reading
•Independent/Small Group
Literacy Activities
•Conferring
Closing Meeting (5-10 min): Gather students in the meeting area. Ask them to bring the text and text-to-world
Sharing what happened. . . sticky-note they were working on today. Remind students of today’s mini-lesson focus:
•Link to focus Readers make connections to what they read. These connections are the core of
•Reinforce teaching point learning and understanding. They think about how these connections help them focus
•Demonstrate new learning on and understand the text. Place students into partnerships or groups of three to share
•Popcorn share their connections and how the connection helped them understand. Listen in on the
•Celebrate learning partnerships and identify one or two students to share their process with the whole
group.

Remind students that they can use this strategy when they are reading all different types
and genres of text.

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 Sixth Grade Reader’s Workshop Plan
CSI: Preparing for Life in Space Lesson #2

Grade Level: 6 Date:

Standard:
Comprehension:
• Understand the meaning of text using a variety of strategies; demonstrate literacy,
interpretive, inferential, and evaluative comprehension
• Make and support warranted assertions about text
Focus of lesson: Close reading of, and discussion about, text helps readers make connections to
issues concerning the wider world.
Mini-lesson (5-15 min.) Key idea: Readers deepen their understanding of a text by consciously making
•Key idea: Mini-Lesson is a short lesson connections between the text, their background knowledge, other texts, and their world
that focuses on one main teaching point. knowledge through close reading.
•Teacher resources… Target vocabulary: technology, habitats, isolation
•What students bring to lesson… Sentence frame that can be used, if needed, to support language learners:
• Close reading helps us by __________ .
Teacher resources:
• “Preparing for Life in Space” text
• Sticky-Notes

Connection: Yesterday we read “Preparing for Life in Space” and very consciously made
How this fits in with what we’ve been connections between the text and our background knowledge of the world. You know
doing… that as readers we make many connections and this helps us make deeper meaning
when we read.
Teach: Today we are going to do a close reading of some of the text. This will help us
understand this expository text even better.
Direct instruction Display the text Preparing for Life in Space. Remind students of the connections they
•Set purpose made in the previous lesson. Model remembering the connection you made yesterday.
•Tell Students what we want them to Think about the connections you and your Learning Partner(s) made yesterday. Turn
focus on/learn/know to your Learning Partner and tell her/him any connection you remember from
yesterday. Briefly remind students of the glossary definitions of the words adapt and
Model/Think Aloud for students: gravity. Now let’s quickly skim and scan the first paragraph.
something we’d like them to try…

Activate prior knowledge or Now let’s do a shared reading of the second paragraph.. When we read I want you to
Build background knowledge be prepared to discuss your understanding of the conditions needed to support human
life as well as issues of recycling and why it is important for life in space, as well as for
life on Earth. Model thinking of a condition – e.g. – I know one condition needed to
support human life is air.

Quickly “click” on two or three of the target vocabulary words.

Invite students to discuss their understanding with their Learning Partner(s).

Paraphrase a couple of student’s comments before returning to the text.
Active Involvement: Now do a close reading of the third paragraph and then, with your Learning
•Think-Pair-Share Partner(s), discuss what you know about decision-making in a democracy. Think about
•Turn and Talk how decisions might be made in the future about who lives in space and who stays on
•Buddy Share Earth.
•Triads/Peer Support Model your own thinking about this – e.g. – In a democracy we vote about things.
Maybe we would vote about who stays and who goes.
Facilitate a whole-group discussion about how decisions might be made about who
lives in space and who stays on Earth. Discuss their reasoning.
Link/Off you go: Before you read independently today, I want you to work for a couple of minutes with
Send off with a purpose… your Learning Partner to think and talk about how close reading deepens your
understanding of a text.

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Literacy Work Time and For the first few minutes of the literacy work time, students will work with a Learning
Conferring (35-45 min.) Partner to think about how close reading deepens their understanding of a text.
•Guided Oral Reading
•Reciprocal Teaching For the rest of the work time students select a text from their independent reading book
•Book Club bags or boxes. They read independently, and make connections when appropriate.
•Independent Reading
•Independent/Small Group
Literacy Activities
•Conferring
Closing Meeting (5-10 min): Call students to the meeting area to share their understanding of how close reading
Sharing what happened. . . helps them make connections to text. Invite Learning Partners to share their thinking
•Link to focus with another pair. After students have had a few moments to share their thinking with
•Reinforce teaching point another pair, facilitate a whole-group discussion of how close reading helps readers
•Demonstrate new learning deepen their understanding of the text.
•Popcorn share
•Celebrate learning

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 Sixth Grade Reader’s Workshop Plan
CSI: Lifeblood of theWorld: How Crude Oil Powers Our Lives
Cooperative Activity lesson
Grade Level: 6 Date:
Standard:
Comprehension:
• Understand the meaning of text using a variety of strategies; demonstrate literacy,
interpretive, inferential, and evaluative comprehension.
• Make and support warranted assertions about text.
Listening and Speaking
• Demonstrate active listening and comprehension.
• Actively solicit others’ comments and opinions.
Focus of lesson: With Learning Partner(s), students read (and/or listen to), think, and talk their way
through text, practicing the strategy of making connections.
Mini-lesson (5-15 min.) Key idea: Reader cooperatively read, think, and talk their way through text and revisit
•Key idea: Mini-Lesson is a short lesson the comprehension strategy and concepts being learned with their Learning Partner(s).
that focuses on one main teaching point. Teacher Resources:
•Teacher resources… • Cooperative Learning Activities for Students Social Studies booklet -
•What students bring to lesson… “Lifeblood” – article.
• Chart of Rituals & Routines for Cooperative Learning Groups previously
created during Reader’s Workshop Launch unit, week 2.
Connection: We have been working together to read, think and talk our way through the text
How this fits in with what we’ve been “Preparing for Life in Space.” The focus has been on deepening your understanding of
doing… text by consciously making connections between your knowledge of the world and the
text.
Teach: Today you are going to work with your Learning Partner(s) to read, think and talk
your way through a new text in order to collaboratively learn and practice the strategy
of making connections. This is something you will be frequently doing this year using
Direct instruction these booklets, “Cooperative Learning Activities for Students.” Display the chart
•Set purpose previously created for Cooperative Learning Groups, and facilitate a quick whole-
•Tell Students what we want them to group discussion about appropriate rituals and routines for cooperative learning
focus on/learn/know groups.

Model/Think Aloud for students: Direct students to the student booklet and invite them to skim and scan the entire
something we’d like them to try… booklet. Make sure they note the following items:
• Table of Contents
Activate prior knowledge or • Grey area where the directions are located. Note the four components of the
Build background knowledge cooperative routines – prior to reading, interaction with the text, reflecting on the
text, and writing activity. The cooperative routines for will always be basically the
same, but there may be some times when I won’t assign you the writing activity.
Let’s review these routines. Invite students to talk with their Cooperative Group
about the four components of the cooperative routines.
• Strategies Prompt
• Glossary

Read aloud the prior to reading paragraph, inviting students to read with you.
Active Involvement: Invite students to discuss their thinking about the question - what might “Lifeblood” be
•Think-Pair-Share referring to, and why has the author used this title? Consider linking this discussion to
•Turn and Talk the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.
•Buddy Share
•Triads/Peer Support Point out the directions to do a “close reading” of the graph and ask students to identify
the graph.
Link/Off you go: Tell students that they should work with their Learning Partner(s) to read “Interacting
Send off with a purpose… with the text” directions and work together to follow these directions.

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Literacy Work Time and Students will take turns reading the text with their Learning Partner(s).
Conferring (35-45 min.) Together, they will:
•Guided Instructional Reading 1. Decide on the main idea in the first and second paragraphs.
•Reciprocal Teaching 2. Do a close reading of the graph.
•Book Club 3. Reread the last two paragraphs and be aware of the connections they
•Independent Reading can make.
•Independent/Small Group 4. Discuss the connections they make as well as the three different types
Literacy Activities of connections readers can make with text.
•Conferring
5. Read independently
Closing Meeting (5-10 min): Call students to the meeting area to share their connections to the text.
Sharing what happened. . . Invite Learning Partners to share their thinking with another pair. After
•Link to focus students have had a few moments to share their thinking with another pair,
•Reinforce teaching point facilitate a whole-group discussion of how making different types of
•Demonstrate new learning
connections helps readers deepen their understanding of the text. Remind
students to make connections whenever they read.
•Popcorn share
•Celebrate learning

Saint Paul Public Schools - Elementary Literacy - The Center for Professional Development.
May be reproduced by SPPS staff for instructional purposes only. Last revised 9/15/10