Grade 5 Unit 3
Unit
Title
Unit Title: Thinking, Talking, Reading, and Writing about
Story Elements and Text Structures
(Literature Focus)
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will compare and contrast the overall structure of two or more texts by analyzing the
effectiveness of structures used by the author referring to details in text to support their comparison.
Learning Target:
I can compare and contrast the structure used by the author of an informational text.
Read Aloud: Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman pages 1-22
Mini Lesson: (RI.5.5) Prepare an anchor chart with different text structures and a brief description of
each. (See Additional Resources for an explanation of different text structures and text structure
activities). Together with students, identify examples of each text structure and post on chart. (See text
structure anchor chart – Unit 2).
 Articles provide an example of each text structure
 As you read informational texts throughout the year, identify the overall structure and post a
copy of the article or cover of the book on the chart (See second anchor chart below).
 Compare and contrast two of the overall structures used in two different texts. Model thinking
aloud about why the author chose to include the information using the particular structure he or
she used, and refer to specific details in the text as you explain the comparison.
 Have students discuss with a partner or small group why the author chose a particular
structure, and compare and contrast structures used in different texts. Model a written
response. Students and/or individuals compare and contrast two structures in two texts, using
details from the texts to support their comparison.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Compare and contrast the overall structure of __________ (text title) and __________ (text title). Use
details from the two texts to explain your comparison.

Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Listen in as students discuss overall text structures. Those who are struggling with identifying the
overall text structure will benefit from small focus group instruction.
Analyze student work. Notice if students are struggling to identify the text structure or if they are
struggling when they have to compare/contrast text structures.
Grade 5 Unit 3
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will compare and contrast how characters respond to events in a story by drawing on
specific details that describe the characters, settings, and events.
Learning Target: I can compare and contrast how two different characters respond when faced with a
similar problem.
Read Aloud: Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman pages 23-44
Activity: This target requires students to compare and contrast how characters across texts deal with
similar problems.
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Read aloud the excerpt from The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo (included in unit resources) ,
thinking aloud about how Rob deals with the loss of his mother. Record your thinking about Rob
on the chart (see below).
Provide students with excerpt from Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (included in unit
resources) and have them read and think about how Opal is dealing with the absence of her
mother. Ask students to jot their thinking (in their reading notebook) about Opal just as you
modeled jotting notes about Rob. After jotting notes, tell students to read the thinking they put
on paper and plan for a conversation with a partner (SL.5.1a).
Pairs will plan for a conversation with another pair. Combine two pairs, making a group of four to
discuss further.
Have whole group discussion and add thoughts about Opal to the chart.
Provide students with excerpt from Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (included in unit
resources) and have them read individually, record their thinking about how Anna is dealing with
the loss of her mother.
Provide time for students to talk to a partner or group.
Model a written response that compares and contrasts how Rob and Opal are dealing with the
loss of their mothers. Be sure to make your thinking visible to the students by thinking out loud as
you craft your response. Refer back to the text(s) for specific details and quote accurately (RL.5.1)
as you write.
Students will then craft their own responses, (W.5.9a) choosing to compare and contrast Anna
with either Rob or Opal.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
 How does Rob deal with the loss of his mother? How does his father influence how he handles
the emotions associated with losing his mother? Where is Rob turning for emotional support?
 How is Opal’s response to the absence of her mother similar or different from the way Rob is
dealing with the loss of his mother? What clues from the text help you understand how Opal
feels about her mother? Where is Opal turning for emotional support?
 How is Anna dealing with the loss of her mother? What is her role in the household in the
absence of her mother? Does the time period make a difference in how she deals with losing her
mother? Where is Anna turning for emotional support?
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
mothers. Students should refer to specific details in the text (character’s thoughts, words, actions) as
they explain their thinking.
ents as they write their thinking individually before they share their thinking about Anna.
Which students are not thinking deeply enough about the character?
Other Text Suggestions: The Great Gilly Hopkins (Katherine Paterson), and Fall Comes to Appalachia: A
Story of Frontier Life are also about characters dealing with the loss of a parent. Al Capone does My Shirts
(Gennifer Choldenko) and Rules (Cynthia Lord) are both about a child who has a sibling with autism.
Grade 5 Unit 3
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will compare and contrast how characters respond to events in a story by drawing on
specific details that describe the characters, settings, and events.
Learning Target(s):
I can compare and contrast how two different characters were affected by the same event.
Read Aloud- Suggested Text: Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman pages 45-65
Mini Lesson: (RL.5.3)
 Revisit the chapters entitled "Sae Young" and "Nora" in Seed Folks by Paul Fleischman.
 Briefly summarize how Sae Young and Mr. Myles (from the Nora chapter) were affected by
participating in growing a garden in the vacant lot and record on one side of a T-Chart. As you
think aloud and record on the T-Chart, refer to details from the text that support your thinking
and record the evidence on the other side of the T-Chart.
 Provide partners with copies of “Nora” and “Virgil” chapters. Students will reread both chapters,
record how these two characters were affected by the garden on one side of a T-Chart and
evidence from text on the other side. Have groups share their thinking about Nora and Virgil and
complete the class anchor chart.
 Think aloud as you compare and contrast how Sae Young and Mr. Myles were affected by the
garden. Model writing a paragraph comparing and contrasting how Sae Young and Mr. Myles
were affected by the garden, referring to the T-Chart.
 Ask pairs to look for the similarities and differences in how Nora and Virgil were affected by the
garden and write a paragraph based on the T-chart just as you modeled.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
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How did planting the garden affect the characters?
How were the characters changed by the garden?
How were the effects of the garden on the characters similar? How were the effects on the
characters different?
How do the two characters' responses to the garden compare? Explain your thinking.
Compare and Contrast how two different characters in Seed Folks were affected by the growing
garden in place of the vacant lot.
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
o Analyze student work during guided practice and work time. Descriptions of how the
garden affected the characters might include how some characters felt freed from their
inability to communicate or express themselves. Some characters felt a sense of
belonging or pride in their work. Evidence on T-Charts should refer directly to the
appropriate quote from the text.
o Listen in as students talk about characters and how they were affected by the garden.
Partners should ask probing questions such as, “What makes you think that?” or disagree
respectfully such as, “I didn’t think he wished he spoke English. I think he felt the garden
gave him something to talk about…in any language.” (SL.5.1.b, SL.5.1.c)
o Students who are not able to express an in depth analysis of two characters will benefit
from instruction in a small group setting on thinking deeply about characters (see 4 th
grade unit that supports RL.4.3).
Other Text Suggestions: The skill of knowing how characters are affected by the same event lends itself
to historical fiction. For example, Number the Stars (Lois Lowry) and Star of Fear, Star of Hope
(Hoestlandt, Kang, and Polizzotti) can be used to analyze how different characters were affected by the
presence of Nazi Soldiers in their home towns.
Grade 5 Unit 3
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will compare and contrast how characters respond to events in a story by drawing on
specific details that describe the characters, settings, and events.
Learning Target:
I can compare and contrast two characters living in the same setting.
Read Aloud: Suggested text- Seed Folks by Paul Fleischman
Mini Lesson:
 Post the following thinking stems to guide students’ thinking:
 How are Attean and Matt alike and how are they different?
 How do their beliefs compare?
 How do they interact?
 You will also want a large version of the anchor chart below for modeling. Students will need a
smaller version of the same chart (can be created in reading notebook).
 Hand out The Sign of the Beaver (Elizabeth George Speare) excerpt from chapter 13 (included in
unit resources).
 This is a story of an unlikely friendship. Matt and Attean come from drastically different
backgrounds, live by different beliefs, but come together in many ways.
 Read aloud the text, stopping to think aloud about Attean and Matt. Two suggested stopping
points are noted with an *.
 As you think aloud, record your thinking on the large chart. Sample provided below.
 Read to the next *, stop and allow the students to record their thinking and locate evidence from
the text. (It is very important that the students have a copy of the text so they can reread looking
for evidence to support their thinking).
 Have students share their responses with a partner. Listen in as they share and push the thinking
of those who need to think deeper.
 Provide time for whole group share. Students should then read the remainder of the excerpt and
complete their chart with a partner.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
How are Matt and Attean alike and how are they different?
How do their beliefs compare?
How do they interact?
Formative Assessment opportunities:
Listen in to conversations about Matt and Attean. Are students able to analyze the characters for their
complex differences? Are they able to identify the details from the text that help the reader compare and
contrast them beyond the obvious (Matt is a white boy and Attean is an Indian)?
Analyze students’ responses on their charts. Are they thinking deeply enough about Attean and Matt so
they can compare and contrast them on a deep level? Are they able to identify details from the text that
support their thinking?
Grade 5 Unit 3
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will describe a setting, including the emotional atmosphere, from a given text by
choosing details from the text that describe the setting and the lives of those who exist within the time
and place.
Learning Target: I can infer what an unfamiliar setting looks like and how it feels.
Background Information for Teachers: An in depth description of a setting includes not only identifying
the time and place, but understanding the impact of the setting on the story and characters. This involves
thinking of the setting as an emotional space that the reader must understand in order to consider
motives and perspectives of characters. Thinking about how it must feel to live in this time and place is
new to many 5th grade readers because many of the settings in books they have read to this point have
been familiar. Any historical fiction chapter or picture book will lend itself to this seed. Once students are
able to describe the emotional atmosphere, they are ready to compare and contrast settings and meet
the intent of RL.5.3
Read Aloud: Suggested text- Seed Folks by Paul Fleischman
Mini Lesson:
 Students already know that setting is the time and the place where the story happens, but
sometimes we read stories that happen in a time period or place that is unfamiliar to us. When
the setting is unfamiliar, we have to read differently, paying close attention to the details about
how this place looks and feels. Once again, this does cross over into understanding the people of
the time, or the characters, but the time and place greatly influences the tone and mood of the
story.
 The four square that has been prepared for this seed consists of four passages from the book
Seedfolks (included in unit resources) These passages were chosen because of the detailed
description of the setting, including the emotional atmosphere.
 Hand out the four square sheet and read aloud the first passage (p.25).
 As you read, think out loud about what this place looks like and what it must feel like to live in
that time and place. By thinking about what it must feel like to live there, you are helping create a
sense of the emotional atmosphere.
 Using a sticky note, create a T-Chart and model recording your thoughts.
 “What it looks like” goes on the left of the sticky note and “What it must feel like to live there”
goes on the right.
 Read aloud the second passage (p.33). This time have students turn and talk about what the
setting looks like and what it must feel like to live there. They will record their thinking on a sticky
note, just as you modeled with the first passage.
 Each pair can then partner with another pair to quickly share their thinking.
 Independently or in pairs, students will complete this process with the last two passages (pgs. 38
and 74-75).
 Bring the class back together and ask one or two pairs to share their thinking with the class.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
e as you visualize the time and place?
How does the place change as the garden grows?
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
t conversations. Push them to think beyond what it feels like at a surface level and
into what it feels like to live in that place and time.
Analyze student post-it notes. Are students able to describe the setting using details from the text? Are
students able to infer what it feels like to be in that setting?
Grade 5 Unit 3
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will describe a setting, including the emotional atmosphere, from a given text by
choosing details from the text that describe the setting and the lives of those who exist within the time
and place.
Learning Target: I can analyze a setting to better understand the characters and the plot.
Read Aloud: Suggested text- Seed Folks by Paul Fleischman
Mini Lesson:
 Explain to students that when readers analyze the setting by thinking about what it looks like and
feels like, we can better understand the characters and the plot.
 Model this by saying: I am going to go back and reread pg. 33 from Seed Folks. After reading,
think aloud about the picture you visualize and what it feels like to actually be in that setting. I am
picturing the huge lot full of people in the garden. I see different groups of people working in their
sections of the garden. I see the Asians on one side, tending to their plants, having a conversation
in their own language. On the other side I see the blacks watering the plants in their section. This
is how Sam is seeing the garden. He says “The garden was a copy of the neighborhood.” So, how
does this help me understand the character? I think that even though the garden is bringing the
people together, they are still divided by their differing cultures. I think this frustrates Sam,
because deep down he wants the community together or united.
 Invite students to work with a partner to take their analysis of the setting from pages 74 and 75
of Seed Folks to discuss how an analysis of the setting helps the reader understand Amir.
 Use the following thinking stems to help guide students thinking:
1. How does it feel to be part of this setting?
2. How do you think Amir is feeling in this setting?
3. What can we learn about Amir based on what we know about the setting?
4. Why is the setting important to understand the character?
 Bring students back together and have them share their thinking. Students write a short response
to the following thinking stem:
How does analyzing the setting help us to understand the character?
Note: Analyzing the setting helps the reader to understand the characters' feelings. For example,
students should be able to explain that the garden feels friendly and happy. People are gathered
together having a conversation about the vegetables growing in Amir’s section of the garden. This
could possibly mean that Amir values people coming together and treating each other kindly. He likes to
be around others, no matter what culture or language they speak.
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
 How does setting help us understand the character?
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Listen in on student conversations. Push them to think about how the setting contributes to our
understanding of the character.
Grade 5 Unit 3
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will describe a setting, including the emotional atmosphere, from a given text by
choosing details from the text that describe the setting and the lives of those who exist within the time
and place.
Learning Target: I can compare and contrast a setting.
Read Aloud: Suggested text- Seed Folks by Paul Fleischman
Mini Lesson:
 Using the four square readings from the previous two seeds, explain to students that today they are
going to look at how the setting in the four passages are alike and different.
 Model using the first two passages. Recording your thinking on a “Box and T” graphic organizer (see
below) reproduced on a large anchor chart, think out loud about how the settings are alike and
different. Be sure to include not just what the setting looks like but how it feels to live there.
 Next have students work together to compare and contrast the first and third passages, completing a
“Box and T” graphic organizer in their notebooks.
 Have students share their thinking by having a few pairs project with the document camera.
Independently or in pairs, students will repeat this process using the first and fourth passages. Pairs
will then get with each other to share their “Box and T” graphic organizer charts.
 Bring students back together and lead a discussion on why it is important as a reader to analyze a
setting.
SUGGESTION: Go back to the example you modeled and show them how to craft a written response to
the thinking stem, “Compare and contrast the setting at different points in the story.”
Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Are students able to compare and contrast the settings through speaking and/or writing?
Grade 5 Unit 3
Sample
lesson
Objective: Students will analyze the overall structure of stories, dramas, and poems.
Learning Target:
I can explain how a series of stanzas fit together to provide an overall structure for the poem.
Background Information: In order to be successful with the learning activity, students need to be familiar
with several concepts about poetry introduced in previous grades, including stanzas, rhythm, and rhyme
patterns. Standards from previous grades to reference: RL.2.4; RL.3.5; and RL.4.5.
LITERATURE
Mini Lesson: (RL.5.5) This seed is intended to span over more than one mini-lesson.
 Provide students with access to the poem, Windy Nights, by Robert Louis Stevenson from the
Random House Book of Poetry for Children selected by Jack Prelutsky (included in unit resources).
 Ask students to listen as you read the poem aloud.
 Tell them that the first time you read the poem you want them to just listen and enjoy. The
second time you read the poem, they should follow along and begin thinking about the poem’s
structure or how the author “put the poem together.”
 After reading it the second (or third time), tell students that you are going to begin analyzing the
poem’s overall structure.
 Thinking Stems/Anchor Chart:
1. What do you notice about the structure of this poem?
2. How is the author using stanzas? lines? rhyme?
3. What do you notice about the rhythm of the poem?
4. How does the rhyme pattern contribute to the rhythm?
5. How does this author use “sounds and silence” to create rhythm?
6. How does the author use repetition (a type of “sound”) within the poem?
 Provide students with access to the poem, The Secret Song, by Margaret Wise Brown (included in
unit resources). Tell students that they will be analyzing the structure of a different poem in order
to explain the structure. Use the same questions as above to coach students as they discuss the
poem. (Annotations are included).
Independent Reading: Provide students with access to the poem, Who Has Seen the Wind? By Christina
Rossetti (included in unit resources). Allow students who are ready to analyze the poem independently
to do so. Students in need of additional support should meet with you in a small group.
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Exit slip: Explain how the series of stanzas in The Secret Song fit together to provide the overall structure
of the poem. (Have students share responses during Share Time.)
excerpt from Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
The whole time I was working on him, I was talking to him. And he listened. I told him
how we were alike. “See,” I said, “you don’t have any family and neither do I. I’ve got the
preacher, of course. But I don’t have a mama. I mean I have one, but I don’t know where
she is. She left when I was three years old. I can’t hardly remember her. And I bet you
don’t remember your mama much either. So we’re almost like orphans.
Winn-Dixie looked straight at me when I said that to him, like he was feeling relieved to
finally have somebody understand his situation. I nodded my head at him and went on
talking.
“I don’t even have any friends, because I had to leave them all behind when we moved here
from Watley. Watley’s up in north Florida. Have you ever been to north Florida?”
Winn-Dixie looked down at the ground, like he was trying to remember if he had.
”You know what?” I said. “Ever since we moved here, I’ve been thinking about mama extraextra hard, more than I ever did when I was in Watley.”
Winn-Dixie twitched his ears and raised his eyebrows.
“I think the preacher thinks about my mama all the time, too. He’s still in love with her; I
know because I heard the ladies at the church in Watley talking about him. They said
he’s still hoping she’ll come back. But he doesn’t tell me that. He won’t talk to me about
her at all. I want to know more about her. But I’m afraid to ask the preacher; I’m afraid
he’ll get mad at me. “
Winn-Dixie looked at me hard, like he was trying to say something.
“What?” I said.
He stared at me.
“You think I should make the preacher tell me about her?”
Winn-Dixie looked at me so hard he sneezed.
“I’ll think aobut it,” I said.
When I was done working on him, Winn- Dixie looked a whole lot better. He still had his
bald spots, but the fur that he did have cleaned up nice. It was all shiny and soft. You could
still see his ribs, but I intended to feed him good and that would take care of that. I couldn’t
do anything about his crooked yellow teeth because he got into a sneezing fit every time
I started brushing them with my toothbrush, and I finally had to give up. But for the
most part, he looked a whole lot better, and so I took him into the trailer and showed
him to the preacher.
“Daddy,” I said.
“Hmmm,” he said. He was working on a sermon and kind of muttering to himself.
“Daddy, I wanted to show you the new Winn-Dixie”.
The preacher put down his pencil and rubbed his nose, and finally, he looked up.
“Well, he said, smiling real big at Winn-Dixie, “well, now. Don’t you look handsome.”
Winn-Dixie smiled back at the preacher. He went over and put his head in the preacher’s
lap.
“He smells nice, too,” said the preacher. He rubbed Winn-Dixies’s head and looked into his
eyes.
“Daddy,” I said, real quick before I lost all my nerve, “I’ve been talking to Winn-Dixie.”
“Is that right?” the preacher said; he scratched Winn-Dixie’s head.
“I’ve been talking to him and he agreed with me that, since I’m ten years old, you should tell
me ten things about my mama. Just ten things, that’s all.”
The preacher stopped rubbing Winn-Dixie’s head and held real still. I could see him thinking
about pulling his head back into his shell.
“One thing for each year I’ve been alive,” I told him. “Please.”
excerpt from Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Four Square, Seedfolks
There was a man standing and watching from
the sidewalk and a girl looking down out a
window. There were probably lots of folks
who’d want to grow something, just like me.
Then I studied all the trash on the ground.
Don’t know why anyone called that lot
“vacant”. The garbage was piled high as your
waist, some of it from the neighborhood and
some dropped off by outside people. The ones
who don’t want to pay at the dump, or got
dangerous chemicals, or think we’re such slobs
down here we don’t mind another load of junk.
We can’t get City Hall to pick up our trash, but
we got it delivered just fine. The smell’s
enough to curl up a crocodile’s nose, especially
in the summer. The gardeners had made some
trails through it. But I knew few precious few
would join ‘em until that mess was hauled
away. Looking at it, I knew this wasn’t a job for
no wheelbarrow. This was a job for the
telephone.
-page 25, Seedfolks
We walked down and picked out a place to dig
up. The ground was packed so hard, the tip of
my shovel bounced off it like a pogo stick. We
tried three spots till we found one we liked.
Then we walked back and forth, picking out
broken glass, like chickens pecking seeds. After
that we turned the soil. We were always
digging up more trash – bolts and screws and
pieces of brick. That’s how I found the locket. It
was shaped like a heart and covered with rust,
with a broken chain. I got it open. Inside was
this tiny photo of a girl. She was white, with a
sad-looking face. She had on this hat with
flowers on it. I don’t know why I kept it instead
of tossing it on our trash pile.
…My father hadn’t been smiling to himself
about some little garden. He was thinking of a
farm, to make money.
-page 38, Seedfolks
Water aside, we had other problems. People in
the garden told friends and relatives. The lot
was big, there was plenty of room. But when
newcomers joined, at least at the beginning,
they could usually get a spot near people they
knew. One Saturday, when the garden was
fullest, I stood up a minute to straighten my
back. And what did I see? With a few
exceptions, the blacks on one side, the whites
on another, the Central Americans and Asians
toward the back. The garden was a copy of the
neighborhood. I guess I shouldn’t have been
surprised. A duck gives birth to a duckling, not
a moose. Each group kept to itself, spoke its
own language, and grew its own special crops.
One man even put up a pole and flew the
Philippine flag above his plot.
-page 33, Seedfolks
I grew eggplants, onions, carrots, and
cauliflower. When the eggplants appeared in
August they were pale purple, a strange and
eerie shade. When my wife would bring our
little son, he was forever wanting to pick them.
There was nothing else in the garden with that
color. Very many people came over to ask
about them and talk to me. I recognized a few
from the neighborhood. Not one had spoken to
me before – and now how friendly they turned
out to be. The eggplants gave them an excuse
for breaking the rules and starting a
conversation. How happy they seemed to have
found this excuse, to let their natural
friendliness out.
Those conversations tied us together. In the
middle of summer someone dumped a load of
tires on the garden at night, as if it were still
filled with trash. A man’s four rows of young
corn were crushed. In an hour, we had all the
tires by the curb. We were used to helping
each other by then.
-page 74-75, Seedfolks
excerpt from The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
excerpt from The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
Ti-ger. Ti-ger. Ti-ger.
That was what Rob thought about as he stood beneath the Kentucky Star sign and waited
for the bus. The tiger. He did not think about the rash on his legs, the itchy red blisters that
snaked their way into his shoes. His father said that it would be less likely to itch if he didn’t
think about it.
And he did not think about his mother. He hadn’t thought about her since the morning of
the funeral, the morning he couldn’t stop crying the great heaving sobs that made his chest
and stomach hurt. His father, watching him, standing beside him, had started to cry, too.
They were both dressed up in suits that day; his father’s suit was too small. And when he
slapped Rob to make him stop crying, he ripped a hole underneath the arm of his jacket.
“There ain’t no point in crying,” his father had said afterward. “Crying ain’t going to bring
her back.”
It had been six months since that day, six months since he and his father moved from
Jacksonville to Lister, and Rob had not cried since, not once.
The final thing he did not think about that morning was getting onto the bus. He specifically
did not think about Norton and Billy Threemonger waiting for him like chained and starved
guard dogs, eager to attack.
Rob had a way of not-thinking about things. He imagined himself as a suitcase that was too
full, like the one that he had packed when they left Jacksonville after the funeral. He made
all his feelings go inside the suitcase; he stuffed them in tight and then sat on the suitcase
and locked it shut. That was the way he not-thought about things. Sometimes it was hard to
keep the suitcase shut. But now he had something to put on top of it. The tiger.
So as he waited for the bus under the Kentucky Star sign, and as the first drops of rain fell
from the sullen sky, Rob imagined the tiger on top of his suitcase, blinking his golden eyes,
sitting proud and strong, unaffected by all the not0thoughts inside straining to come out.
Text Organization/Structure refers to the way writers organize their ideas for
readers. Authors choose certain text structures based on their purpose for writing and
use them to convey their thoughts. Recognizing text structures or organizational
patterns helps readers understand a writer’s ideas. Note: The authors of longer texts
and books often utilize multiple text structures within one text.
Organizational
Structure
Description
The author gives
information about a
topic: person, or
animal, or thing, or
object.
Clues
Chronology
The sequence in a
story or nonfiction
text.
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Key/Signal Words
Most common type of
informational text
structure.
Steps in a process
Autobiography/
biography
Questions to focus
students
Who/what is being
described?
Why is the author giving
information about ___?
Does the author’s
description help you create
an image?
How does the author’s
description influence how
you feel about _____ ?
How would a different
structure change the
author’s purpose?
First, afterward,
then, before,
finally, next, later,
then..
Does the text give a
picture of the multiple
events in someone’s life?
How does the sequence in
the story help you
understand the text?
happened in the text in
order?
Why is the sequence
important to understand the
steps in the procedure?
How would a different
structure change the
author’s purpose?
Compare/Contrast
(Same/Different)

The author stresses
or highlights the
similarities and
differences of two or 
more people, places,
objects, events,
things, or ideas.

Separate sections
connected by an
introductory
paragraph.
diagrams that
show facts about
two or more things
side by side. (e.g.
Venn Diagram)
May also have a
question and
Both, same, alike,
also, similar,
different, however,
unlike, although,
whereas, different
from, instead, but,
even though
comparing/contrasting ____?
of _______?
disadvantages of ____?
How would a different
structure change the
author’s purpose?
answer text
structure.
Question and
Answer
The author asks a
question and then
provides the
answer.
Who, What, When,
Why, How
True or False,
Yes or No
answer _______?
this structure in this
passage?
structure change the
author’s purpose?
Problem and
Solution
The author
describes a problem
and tells what is
being done to solve
it.
a structure of an entire
text, although it is
embedded within
many texts.
The problem is, the
solution is, the
question is, solved,
question, reason
for,
a structure of an entire
text, although it is
embedded within
many texts.
solved?
solution for ______?
question/answer
structure to establish
the problem and
solution.
Cause and Effect
The event that
happens first is the
cause. The one that
follows is the effect.
A single cause may
have more than one
effect.
introduced in the text?
this structure in the
passage?
structure change the
author’s purpose?
Because, since, as a
result of, therefore,
consequently,
caused by, effects
were
the author is explaining?
happen?
Why did the author use
this structure in the
passage?
structure change the
author’s purpose?
RL.5.3 Learning Experience
The Learning Experience is intended to
take multiple days. For example, the mini-lesson might take one day, the guided practice
would become the mini-lesson for the second day, and maybe also the third day. However,
each day the work session would provide time for small group work (e.g., guided reading,
focus groups, and/or book clubs) and independent reading and writing to support the mini
lesson.
Focus Standard(s):
RL.5.3: Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or
drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
Supporting Standards:
RL.5.1, SL.5.1, W.5.9, W.5.10
Learning Target: I can compare and contrast how two different characters were affected
by the same event.
Materials:
Seed Folks by Paul Fleischman (Text Exemplar to Support Writing)
Copy of chapters entitled “Sae Young” and "Nora" for the "Teach/Model/Demonstrate"
section
Additionally, copies of “Florence” for each reader for the "Guided Practice" section
Chart paper with prepared T-Chart

Students’ reading notebooks
Students’ independent reading books or the short story provided by the teacher for
Work Time
Formative Assessment Opportunities:
Analyze student work during guided practice and work time. Descriptions of how the
garden affected the characters might include how some characters felt freed from their
inability to communicate or express themselves. Some characters felt a sense of belonging
or pride in their work. Evidence on T-Charts should refer directly to the appropriate quote
from the text.
Listen in as students talk about characters and how they were affected by the garden.
Partners should ask probing questions such as, “What makes you think that?” or disagree
respectfully such as, “I didn’t think he wished he spoke English. I think he felt the garden
gave him something to talk about…in any language.”(SL.5.1b, SL.5.1c)
Students who are not able to express an in depth analysis of two characters’ will benefit
from instruction in a small group setting on thinking deeply about characters (see 4 th grade
unit that supports RL.4.3).
Mini-Lesson Components
Link to Prior Experience and State Learning Target: (suggested language)
We have met many characters who live near the vacant lot in Seed Folks. All of the
characters we have met have been affected by the garden in some way. Today, we are going
to compare and contrast how two different characters have been affected by the garden.
Point to your posted learning target.
Teach/Model/Demonstrate:
(Suggested language is in italics)
I am going to compare and contrast Sae Young and Mr. Myles, who we met in the chapter
called “Nora.” Listen as I reread the chapter and think aloud about the characters.
Read aloud the chapter called “Sae Young.” Stop on page 47 after Sae Young mentions
passing the garden.
(Suggested language is in italics)
Oh, I remember Sae Young. How lonely and scared she must have been to be alone in this
country; she doesn’t speak the language, and has deep sadness over losing her husband! But
now she has noticed the garden. I’m going to keep reading to see how she is affected by the
garden. Continue reading to the end of the chapter. Then think aloud about how the garden
is affecting Sae Young. As you think aloud, record your thinking on the T-Chart.
(Suggested language is in italics)
Wow, I think the garden has given Sae Young a reason to come out of her apartment and be
around people again. She feels safe working in the garden. It has affected her sense of
security. She feels a part of the community and is beginning to take risks.
Now we are going to read about Mr. Myles and think about how the garden has affected
him. Read aloud the chapter called “Nora” and stop to think aloud about how Mr. Myles
was affected by the garden.
(Suggested language is in italics)
We know that Mr. Myles was an elderly man who had not spoken since his second stroke. He
did not communicate in any way with Nora. She tried to keep him interested in life, but he
showed no signs of interest in the world around him. He even fell asleep while she was
taking him on a walk! Then he noticed the garden and communicated an interest in
something to Nora by holding his hand up signaling her to stop! They watched the others
work in their plots of the garden! A couple of days later when Nora brought Mr. Myles seeds,
he chose all flowers and no vegetables to plant. I’m thinking this garden gave Mr. Myles
something to look forward to. It was a way for him to experience life again. As you think
aloud, summarize your thinking on the chart.
(The following portion of the mini-lesson may be conducted on the following day)
After analyzing how two characters were affected by the same event (participating in the
community garden) students are ready to compare and contrast how the two characters
were affected. Think aloud as you compare and contrast how Sae Young and Mr. Myles
were affected by the garden.
(Suggested language is in italics)
Sae Young was staying in her apartment away from people and life. Mr. Myles was out
around people while on his walks with Nora, but he had no interest in the world around him
or means of communication. For two very different reasons, Mr. Myles and Sae Young were
both avoiding interactions with people. The planting of the garden in the vacant lot (which is
a major event in this book) affected them both in similar ways. Sae Young began coming
around people again and felt a part of the community once more. Mr. Myles began to enjoy
something again—watching his flowers grow. Both Sae Young and Mr. Myles showed an
interest in life once again. The garden gave them both something to live for. You will want to
model crafting a written response that compares and contrasts how the two characters
were affected by the garden.
Guided Practice: Based on formative assessments, guided practice may be conducted over
multiple days with more characters from Seed Folks or other familiar books.
Provide partners with copies of the “Sae Young” and “Florence” chapters. Students will
reread both chapters, record how the two different characters were affected by
participating in the planting of a garden on one side of a T-Chart, and evidence from text on
the other side just as you modeled. You can provide a T-Chart or have students create a TChart in their Reading Notebooks. Note that they are rereading the chapter called “Sae
Young,” so they have already heard your thinking about how the garden affected this
character. Have groups share their thinking about Sae Young and Florence. As students
work, you will push their thinking by asking questions such as, “What in the text makes you
think that?” and “How was Florence (or Sae Young) affected by the garden?” Each character
was affected by the garden in different ways. Sae Young began coming out of her apartment
again where she had hidden out of fear for a long time. Florence was affected by the garden
because it gave him pride in his community. He was protective of the garden and saw hope
in the people of the neighborhood. It also reminded him of his family and the history
associated with his ancestors.
Once students have analyzed how two different characters were affected by an event, they
must compare and contrast. After you think aloud and model writing a written response
that compares and contrasts how Sae Young and Mr. Myles were affected by the garden,
students will need to do the same with Sae Young and Florence.
Restate Learning Target/Share Student Thinking/Directive for Task:
For Work Time, you may choose to have the students read their self-selected reading books
and think about how different characters were affected by an event in the story. You may
also choose to provide all students with the same short story and/or have students work
with a partner. It is important that students have the text they are using to first analyze then
compare and contrast how characters were affected by an event. If students are using a
story that has been read aloud without the text, then they are learning listening
comprehension.
(Suggested language is in italics)
Today we thought about how different characters in Seed Folks were affected by the garden.
We compared and contrasted how characters were affected. Now, in the books you are
reading on your own, think about an event that has happened. Maybe the event is a
birthday party or a basketball game, or even an argument with a brother or sister. Think
about how different characters in your book were affected by this event. Maybe as a result
of an argument on the bus, one character decided to stay at home the next day and another
character decided to tell an adult about a bully. As you read, I will be around to talk to you
about how different characters in your book or story respond to an event.
Work Time Components (follows the daily mini-lesson)
Confer with Readers:
As the students begin to work, identify students who may be slow to get started. Assist
them by restating the directions if needed, repeating and directing their attention to the
learning target, or helping them locate text.
Once students are working, identify students who are struggling to analyze characters
deeply enough to compare and contrast how they were affected by an event.
During this time, you also want to identify a student or a pair who can share their work at
the conclusion of today’s lesson. Think about a pair that can share something that will
benefit the rest of the class. Ask them privately to share, and remind them of their “smart
thinking” that you want the others to hear. This makes your share time more intentional.
Focus Group Opportunities:
Prior to this lesson, you probably knew students who were struggling or likely would
struggle to meet the learning target. Pull them in a small group and guide them through this
process. You may also notice students who struggled during guided practice and should pull
them to reteach today’s lesson.
Focus group topics may include, but are not limited to, analyzing how a character was
affected by an event, comparing and contrasting how two or more characters were affected
by an event, supporting their thinking with evidence from the text, or comparing and
contrasting (in writing) how two different characters were affected by an event.
Share Components (follows daily work time)
Turn and Talk:
Ask students to bring their work (T-Charts or Written Responses) and texts they are reading
to the meeting area (or have them return to their seats if you do not have a meeting area).
Ask pairs to share with each other. As students are sharing, listen in on conversations.
This should take about 3 minutes per pair, so after 6 minutes, bring their attention back to
you.
Whole Group Share:
Compliment the class on their work and restate the learning target, then end with one
exceptional example by asking a pair to share their thinking with the whole class. If they
don’t make the point you asked them to, help them. This is additional learning time.
Teacher Reflection:
Ask yourself: How did it go? How do I know? Who is showing evidence of meeting today’s
learning target? Who is not? What are my next steps? Do I need to repeat today’s learning
experience with different text? Do I need to a pull focus group? Who needs to be in the
focus group? How do I know?