Functional Texts

1
Unit Title
Bearstone by Will Hobbs
Major Work
Functional Texts
Informational Texts
Literary Texts
www.historychannel.com/ classroom/index.html www.h
slic.state.ut.us/10ytmn.html Remington and
Russell and the Art of the American West by Kate
F. Fleming The Native Americans by Colin F.
Taylor The American Frontier by William Davis
Heading Home The Rough-Faced Girl by Rafe
Martin Bearstone by Will Hobbs
Maps of Southern Utah and Colorado
2
Identify Desired Results
Students will learn the importance of connecting
oneself to the past and to a significant
person. Students will learn to make reading
connections self to text, text to text, text to
life.
How can society help young people connect to
older people and their past so that their lives
become meaningful?
How can one find a person who can be a
significant guide through life? How can helping
others help the helper? How does society help
children without parents? How does loss make one
stronger? How does school help students who are
underachievers? How do emotional and home
problems affect a students ability to do well in
school?
Students will understand how literature is
connected to them, to the real world, and to
other subject matter. Students will apply ideas
presented in the book to real life by learning to
read maps, mining instructions, and historical
events.
3

• Students will create essays for their portfolio
  on instructions for mining, and character
  sketches from differing viewpoints.
• Students will create a presentation where they
  become an ancestor and retell three experiences
  from that persons life.
• Students will create a three-dimensional map
  identifying ten sites from the book and
  explaining them to the class.

Daily quizzes Weekly vocabulary and spelling
tests Bi-weekly chapter tests with short essay
questions
Other Evidence, e.g., Observations Work Samples,
Dialogues
Student Self-Assessment
Students will create reading learning logs where
they will be directed to make connections to the
literature self to literature, text to text, and
text to life.
Students will learn to evaluate each others
writing. Students will discuss and review
learning log entries.
4
Students will need to know
Students will be able to
Apply materials to events in their lives with a
learning log and discussions. Students will look
at Web sites and collect research from them and
from books. Students will interview an older
member of their family to learn about experiences
from an ancestors life.
Reading strategies. The difference between
purpose, structure and organization of functional
informational, and literary forms.
Students will do pre-reading activities where
they learn to evaluate materials by previewing
and making predictions for The Rough Faced Girl,
Heading Home, and Bearstone. Students will be
given reading strategies and guided practice
while reading The Rough Faced Girl and Heading
Home in class. Students will record their reading
strategy and connections in discussions and
learning log. Students will write a
self-evaluation of the reading strategies they
used while reading The Rough Faced Girl and
Heading Home in their learning log
(metacognition).
5
Cross-Curricular Connections
What are they learning in language arts?
What they are learning in History?
Map reading Presenting skills Writing
strategies Reading strategies
Social problems Students will discuss social
problems such as a students underachievement,
home problems, and foster homes.
Six Traits of Writing skills Parts of a
novel Organization of texts
6
An EXPOSITORY Writing Assignment With a Six Trait
Component
Students write two character sketches one for
Walter and one for Cloyd.
Prompt

• Teacher reviews the Six Traits and provides an
  evaluation form.
• Students work in pairs and evaluate each others
  papers.
• Students rewrite their papers.

• Students write a description of Cloyd and Walker.
• Students read their papers aloud.
• Students discuss their essays.

• Introduce and model Six Traits.
• Have students identify and underline details in
  book.
• Create a web organizing the ideas.

7
Presenting
Strand

• The teacher discusses how to collect information
  through interviewing and models.
• The teacher presents speaking skills and models
  both appropriate and inappropriate behavior when
  presenting public speeches.
• Students view Hal Lindsays Mark Twain interview
  video.
• The students interview a parent or grandparent
  and record three experiences from an ancestors
  life.
• Students tell the three incidents while, dressed
  as the ancestor, as though they are that person
  (using first person).
• Students demonstrate or present a personal
  belonging or visual aid and explain the
  connection of the object to the person.

8
Detailed Revision Activity Ideas, Organization,
Voice, Word Choice, or Sentence Fluency (Choose
One)
Word Choice
Trait

• The teacher leads the students through an
  activity of underlining details from Bearstone
  that describe Walter and recording these on an
  overhead transparency.
• The teacher helps the students identify words
  that an alien monster might use to describe
  Walter from the point of view of the alien
  monster looking for a morsel of food.
• Students rewrite their character sketches of
  Walter as an alien monster.
• Students compare and contrast the two essays by
  reading them aloud and discussing.

9
Reading Activity to Teach Text Structure Other
Than Narrative
Text Type
Students will compare examples of expository
writing.
Students will look at the difference in print
size, color, and print type to find information.
The teacher will use overhead transparencies to
help students see how print helps communicate.
Students create an advertisement using different
prints sell Walkers peaches. Students will
identify which organization is being used in an
article (comparison/contrast, cause/effect,
question/answer, problem solving, description,
lists, arguments) by looking at a teacher-created
transparency and listening to in-class
discussions. Students will create a variety of
writing exercises in which they write
instructions for mining. The student identifies
which organization he/she used and discusses why.