Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Concept
Teaching
Points
Preparation
Lesson 1
Identity as a Reader
1.1 Readers acknowledge who they are as readers and as part of a
reading community. They set goals for their reading.
1.2 Readers use strategies to find the book that is right for them
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Suggested
Materials
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View this Tedtalk about the power of fiction
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/jessica-wise-how-fiction-can-changereality and make arrangements to show it in class.
Prepare copies of the pre-unit performance task
Be prepared to model your own reading life.
Sign up to visit the media center or use your own classroom library
of novels.
Consult with a media specialist to select a variety of popular fiction
texts at a variety of reading levels to point out to students.
Make copies of the handout Independent Reading- Reading Log.
A few days in advance of starting this module, suggest that
students look through books they have at home, do an online
search about interesting book titles, or ask friends for book
suggestions. If they have some books they would like to consider,
they should bring them to class.
Review book lists and websites to learn about book titles that are
at high school interest levels and a variety of reading levels to
accommodate your students’ various needs. In addition to the list
/ review sites included in the Quicklinks block, helpful websites
that show Reading Equivalence Levels and Interest Levels include:
o http://www.booksource.com/Departments/LeveledReading.aspx
o http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do
The following site offers suggestions on selecting a “just-right”
text. Note: this particular page is aimed at younger readers, so
you may want to adapt the ideas for 12th graders:
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/28279/
Optional: Prepare small copies of the lesson-framing quote(s) for
students to tape into their readers/writers notebooks.
Several novels to use as examples that are important to you in that
they changed the way you saw the world, or an idea, or a topic.
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Tip: The unit designers make clear that
30-35 minutes of each 50-minute period
should be reserved for sustained reading
by students. Lesson 1 includes a number
of substantial activities other than
reading; those activities will take 50-100
minutes alone.
One strategy to preserve reading time
would be to work through Lesson 1 up to
and including the pre-unit performance
assessment on Day 1, then continue with
the other activities on Day 2 (or split
them among Days 2 and 3). By Day 3, and
earlier if possible, students should be
reading at least 15 minutes during class,
and gradually increasing that amount to
the recommended 30 minutes.
Activity / Resource Type: Page (teacheronly)
Title: “Lesson 1 Activity Notes”
n/a
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Essential
Question(s)/
Lesson
Framing
Quotes
Lesson 1
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Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Activity / Resource Types:
What kind of a reader am I?
How does living a literate life change me?
“…Narratives help us live our lives, and they help us do our work.”
James Fredericksen
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“No matter who you are, no matter where you live, and no matter how
many people are chasing you, what you don't read is often as
important as what you do read.” ― Lemony Snicket
1. Pop-Up Page. Title: “What Kind of a
Reader Are You?”
2. Discussion. Title: “Reading, Identity,
and Change”
Overview / Purpose: The pop-up page
frames the lesson and encourages
reflection on key questions. The
discussion kicks off active reflection on
key ideas important to the unit and
students: their identities as readers and
how reading changes identity (and
identity changes reading habits).
Alternative: As an alternative or
addition, you could have small-group
and/or a whole-class discussion around
the framing questions. This might be
especially important for Lesson 1 and
perhaps Lesson 2, in order to set a
routine for actively using the questions
and quotes. This would serve as a lead-in
to the following activity, in which you
share how a reading changed your life or
worldview.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Teaching
Point 1.1
Lesson 1
Readers acknowledge who they are as readers and as part of a
reading community. They set goals for their reading.
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Activity / Resource Type: Page
Title: “Set Goals for Your Reading”
& Active
Engagement
Optional: Show and discuss the Ted Talk about the power of
fiction. http://ed.ted.com/lessons/jessica-wise-how-fiction-canchange-reality
Teacher Model and Think-aloud: Share a personal example of how
a novel, a work of fiction, changed the way that you saw the world.
Talk about the experience of being engrossed in the novel and how
you emotionally or intellectually reacted to the novel. Discuss how
this novel got you more interested in a topic that was very real,
and how you might have followed up on the topic and learned
more about it.
 Discuss the implications of the lesson framing quotes. How have
narratives helped you live your life or helped you do your work?
What are your preferences as a reader? What are the books that
you haven’t read that you think could make a big difference in
your life? What books do you really want to read right now and
why? Model deciding upon a goal that you have as a reader. (This
could be about dedicating more time to it, trying out new genres,
reading about a particular topic, etc.)
Overview / Purpose: Students hear how
reading has influenced their teacher.
They discuss who they are as readers and
formulate possible goals.
Alternative: Consider leading a discussion
of the TED Talk, as students may not yet
buy in to the notion of fiction and books
in general changing one’s life.
Consider having students record their
goals in their Reader’s / Writer’s
Notebook.
Think-pair-share: Students turn to a partner and discuss who they are
as readers. They discuss what role reading plays in their lives. They
formulate several possible goals for their reading lives.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Independent
Practice
&
Assessment
Lesson 1
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Mini-task: Students complete the Pre-Unit Performance Task:
Activity / Resource Type: Assignment
Choose one of the quotes by a famous person. In a one page response,
react to the quote. Do you agree or disagree? Do you take exception to
a part of it? Why do you feel the way you do? Using personal examples,
explain your reaction to the quote and why you chose it.
Title: “Pre-Unit Task: Respond to a Quote
about Reading”
“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've
accomplished something, learned something, become a better
person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me
something to talk about later on… Reading is escape, and the
opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality
after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making
contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all
too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”
― Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other
Thoughts on Being a Woman
“We read books to find out who we are. What other people,
real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide
to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may
become.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin
“Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the
ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to
live.”
― Gustave Flaubert
“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything
else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat,
rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world,
worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you.
Books help us understand who we are and how we are to
behave. They show us what community and friendship mean;
they show us how to live and die.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing
and Life
Students turn in their pre-unit assessment task when complete.
Overview / Purpose: Establish students’
view of reading and its role in their lives.
The activity also underscores the close
connection between reading, reflecting,
and writing.
Alternative / Extension: This activity is a
crucial part of the unit. *How* students
submit the work to you is flexible. This
activity is currently a 100-point Moodle
assignment that allows students to type
in a form online, copy-paste into that
form, or upload/attach a Word or PDF
document. (All of these options, from
point-value to the types of submissions,
are editable by you in Moodle.)
If students use Google docs, for example,
they could write their reflection there
and submit the URL to you, via Moodle or
in another way.
Important Grading Note: We have
attached the *summative* grading rubric
to this *pre-unit* task. This may or may
not be appropriate for some groups of
students.
If you wish to detach the rubric, simply
edit the Moodle Assignment and change
the Grading Type from “Rubric” to
“Simple Direct Grading.”
The rubric for this pre-unit performance
task appears in this document, directly
below. It is also included in the Moodle
Assignment as the “Grading Criteria.”
This rubric is editable by you.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Lesson 1
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Independent Reading
Summative Assessment Rubric* (designed by Literacy Design Collaborative, www.literacydesigncollaborative.org)
Focus
Reading/ Research
Development
Organization
Conventions
Highly Proficient
Addresses all aspects of prompt with a
highly focused and detailed response.
Accurately presents and applies
information relevant to the prompt
with specific examples from the
research.
Presents detailed information in order
to answer questions and solve
problems. Concisely explains key
information with details. Identifies
reading shifts and supplies evidence.
Applies appropriate structure(s) to
explain, examine, convey, define,
analyze, synthesize, compare, or
explain cause/effect,
problem/solution.
Demonstrates a well-developed
command of standard English
conventions and cohesion; employs
language and tone appropriate to
audience and purpose.
Meets Expectations
Addresses prompt with a focused
response.
Presents and applies information
relevant to prompt with general
accuracy and sufficient detail.
Attempting to Meet Expectations
Attempts to address prompt but lacks
focus or is off-task.
Attempts to present information
relevant to task but may lack
sufficient or relevant details.
Presents information in order to
answer questions and solve
problems. Explains key information
with some details. Identifies a
reading shift.
Applies a generally effective
structure to explain, examine,
convey, define, analyze, synthesize,
compare, or explain cause/effect,
problem/solution.
Demonstrates a command of
standard English conventions and
cohesion; employs language and
tone appropriate to audience and
purpose.
Presents limited information. Ideas
do not include details or examples.
Applies an ineffective structure; text
rambles or line of thought is
disconnected.
Demonstrates a weak command of
standard English conventions; lacks
cohesion; language and tone are
inappropriate to audience and
purpose.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Teaching
Point 1.2
Lesson 1
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Readers use strategies to find the book that is right for them.
Activity / Resource Type: Discussion
Teacher Model and Think-Aloud: Model your thinking as you talk
through your decision-making process when choosing a novel. What
topics appeal to you? How do you know what a particular book will be
about? Point out how familiarity with a particular author might help
you decide upon what to read. Model how you might find important
information about a book by looking at the front and back covers,
reading the first few pages, talking to a friend who has read it, reading
book reviews, etc. Mention that going to a library or bookstore and
searching for a book is a very enjoyable experience for many people.
Model the basics of selecting a “just-right” book that fits a student’s
independent reading level to ensure they can maintain fluency and
ease of reading to move quickly through the text. Follow the guideline
that if there are 3-5 or more words on a page that you don’t
understand, the book is too hard. The book should seem interesting to
you, you can read it smoothly, and you understand what you are
reading.
Title: “What Book is Right for You?”
Overview / Purpose: Students observe
the teacher’s process in choosing a novel.
They post initial ideas on the discussion
board and make recommendations for
one another.
Tips & Alternatives: This activity is styled
as a Moodle discussion, followed by turnand-talk. It could also be accomplished
using small-group and/or whole-class
discussion.
You may want to open a list from the Quicklinks block to show
students the resources available there.
(Teachers could visit a web resource like
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/28279/ for further information
on how to find a “just-right” book. Note: this particular page is aimed
at younger readers, so you may want to adapt the ideas for 12 th
graders.)
Active
Engagement
&
Independent
Practice
Preparation: Students peruse a selection of novels to find several
choices that might be interesting and at their reading level.
Turn and Talk: Discuss with a partner which books they are interested
in and which books feel like they would be too difficult or
uninteresting.
Mini-Task: Students select a “just-right” text. Decide upon a book,
begin reading, and fill out the reading log.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Share
Lesson 1
Turn-and-Talk: Students discuss what they have read so far with a
partner. What do they think about the book? What does it seem to be
about? Are they engaged with the text right now? Do they need to
switch to another book? (Allow students to switch to another book if
the one they currently have isn’t working.)
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Activity / Resource Type: Page
Title: “Talk About Your Book with a
Partner”
Tips & Alternatives: This activity is
designed as a face-to-face discussion with
a partner. An alternative / extension
would be to have students add a post to
the Moodle discussion “What Book Is
Right for You?” in which they talk about
their book so far.
Extension
Students read at home for at least 30 minutes each night and fill out
their reading logs.
Another alternative would be to broaden
the discussion to small groups and/or a
whole-class discussion.
Activity / Resource Type: Assignment
Title: “Read Nightly and Complete a Log”
Tips & Alternatives: This Moodle
Assignment, worth 10 points, asks
students to submit a completed reading
log. You could check off reading logs,
have students exchange them, or have
them handed in using some other
method.
This assignment appears once in Unit 2.
For holding students accountable for
reading, it might be worth duplicating
this assignment and including it in each
subsequent lesson, or as many of them in
which you want students to hand in a
reading log.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Summative
Assessment
Task
Lesson 1
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Introduce and connect to pre-assessment:
Students should think ahead to the end of unit assessment and review
the rubric (below)
Summative Assessment Task
Essential Question: Has your identity as a reader changed at all, and
how did the books you read in this unit change the way you see the
world?
Task: After reading a self-selected novel and several nonfiction texts on
a related topic, write a reflective essay that describes your growth as a
reader and addresses the focus question. Refer back to your Pre-Unit
Performance Task and discuss how anything has changed in terms of
your reaction to one of the quotes. You might choose to discuss a
different quote this time. Has your identity as a reader changed? Do
you feel differently about fiction? Nonfiction? Do you see a different
role that reading can play in your life? Support your claims using
examples from your reading and from personal examples.
Activity / Resource Type: Page
Title: “Review the Final Essay
Assignment”
Overview / Purpose: This activity shows
students where the Independent Reading
unit is headed and what will be expected
of them by the end of the unit.
The activity offers a link to the actual
Session 7 Assignment. If you do not want
to show the actual assignment in
Moodle, you could delete the link in this
activity and instead print and hand out
one or more of the following: the
question, task, and/or rubric.
Tips & Alternatives: How you have
students review the final essay task and
rubric is up to you. You could guide the
whole class through each part of the
Essential Question, Task, and Rubric. Or
you could have small-group (and/or
whole-class) discussions to identify key
elements of the task and rubric.
Independent Reading
Summative Assessment Rubric* (designed by Literacy Design Collaborative, www.literacydesigncollaborative.org)
Focus
Reading/ Research
Development
Organization
Conventions
Highly Proficient
Addresses all aspects of prompt with a
highly focused and detailed response.
Accurately presents and applies
information relevant to the prompt
with specific examples from the
research.
Presents detailed information in order
to answer questions and solve
problems. Concisely explains key
information with details. Identifies
reading shifts and supplies evidence.
Applies appropriate structure(s) to
explain, examine, convey, define,
analyze, synthesize, compare, or
explain cause/effect,
problem/solution.
Demonstrates a well-developed
command of standard English
conventions and cohesion; employs
language and tone appropriate to
audience and purpose.
Meets Expectations
Addresses prompt with a focused
response.
Presents and applies information
relevant to prompt with general
accuracy and sufficient detail.
Attempting to Meet Expectations
Attempts to address prompt but lacks
focus or is off-task.
Attempts to present information
relevant to task but may lack
sufficient or relevant details.
Presents information in order to
answer questions and solve
problems. Explains key information
with some details. Identifies a
reading shift.
Applies a generally effective
structure to explain, examine,
convey, define, analyze, synthesize,
compare, or explain cause/effect,
problem/solution.
Demonstrates a command of
standard English conventions and
cohesion; employs language and
tone appropriate to audience and
purpose.
Presents limited information. Ideas
do not include details or examples.
Applies an ineffective structure; text
rambles or line of thought is
disconnected.
Demonstrates a weak command of
standard English conventions; lacks
cohesion; language and tone are
inappropriate to audience and
purpose.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools
Considering
Your Reading
Identity
Independent
Practice
Lesson 1
Independent Practice: Students read independently for the rest of the
class period. They continue to track progress on their Reading Log.
Moodle Activity / Resource
Overview / Purpose, Tips & Alternatives
Activity / Resource Type: Page
Title: “Read Your Novel, Conference With
Your Teacher”
& Extension
Extension: Students read at home for 30 minutes and complete the
Reading Log.
Students should have repeated opportunities to read and discuss their
novels over a span of several days.
Overview / Purpose: Devote substantial
class time, and out-of-class time, to
students’ reading to emphasize its
importance in building fluency, volume,
vocabulary, and comprehension, plus a
love of reading
Tips & Alternatives:
Throughout this unit, as students read,
the teacher circulates around the room
and confers with students about their
reading lives, using the “Questions for
Conferring” handout as a guide. The first
time they confer, teacher and student
should discuss student reading goals and
identities, and work to help support them
in attaining those goals in the unit. By the
second week, teachers should meet with
students again in order to see if they
have met those goals. Conferences are
not intended to be graded observations.
They are brief opportunities for students
to name and provide feedback to the
teacher about what they are thinking and
using and what strategies, habits, or
processes they are using to read the text.
They are also intended to provide a
moment for the teacher to guide the
student.
Copyright © 2010-2014 by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and Oakland Schools