Promoting

 Higher  Order  Thinking  

Date:  December  6,  2016  
Teaching Point/ Objective:

Lesson Goal:
Students will formulate higher order thinking questions based on an informational text. (I can ask and answer higher
order thinking questions).

Students will engage in a collaborative group discussion and use text evidence to support their opinion. (I can actively
participate in a discussion) (I can use text evidence to support my opinion).

Overarching Goal:
Students will ask and answer higher order thinking questions based on an informational text.

Essential Question:
In what ways can advances in science be helpful or harmful?

Common Core Standards Met:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
Students will refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.8
Students will explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1
Students will engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Vocabulary: Prep Work/Materials:

Academic Language: • 22 copies of text “Food Fight” • Includes technology

Persuasive article from Wonders

Higher order thinking question • 22 Close Reading Bookmarks
Opinion • Post-It Notes
• Self-Assessment Checklist
Text Vocabulary • Higher Order Question Chart
-GMO -Concerns • Entrance/Exit Pass sheet
-Characteristics -Disagreed • Pencils
-Advancements -Prevalent • Community Ball
-Inherit -Resistance
-Agriculture

Prior Knowledge: Common Misconceptions:

• Students co-constructed criteria for what
makes a good question
• Students know how to have a collaborative
discussion in which they share their opinion
and support their thinking.
• Students ask and answer each others
questions in a discussion circle.
• Students have been exposed to background
knowledge on scientific advances from
previous day’s lesson
• Students have defined and discussed weekly
vocabulary words.
• Some students (especially struggling readers or ELL students)
may struggle with coming up with higher order thinking
questions, as they are more used to asking lower-level thinking
questions
• When young readers encounter texts that contain too many
unfamiliar words, their comprehension suffers. Reading
becomes slow, laborious, and frustrating, impeding their
learning. That's why vocabulary knowledge is a key element in
reading comprehension. To comprehend fully and learn well,
all students need regular vocabulary exploration
 Workshop Model

Introduction (20 minutes)

Prior to the discussion, students answered an entrance pass based on their first read of the text. • Promotes higher-level thinking
“Are GMO’s a good thing or a bad thing?”
• Opportunities for students to
“Today we will be reading a story about GMO’s. With this story you will be formulating higher- initiate higher-order questions &
extend/enrich the discussion
order thinking questions that we will be using during our class discussion”
Your I Can statements are: • Open-ended questions with
multiple correct answers
1. I can ask and answer higher order thinking questions
2. I can actively participate in a class discussion
3. I can use text evidence to support my opinion

Tell students they will first be doing a CLOSE reading of “Food Fight”.
Tell students they will be annotating as they read. They will be making at least 5 annotations, using
each symbol 1 time. Students will write out their annotation meaning on post it notes. Also note
that they need to create 1 higher order thinking question.

Give students 15 minutes to read and analyze the article.

Stop students after 15 minutes. Ask 1 student to share a question that they had.
As a class assess that student’s question using the “Higher Order Thinking Question anchor chart.

Class Activity:

(10 mins) • Fully aligned with instructional

outcomes
Have students go back and self-assess their question. Tell the students that if it does not meet there
criteria, then they can create another question. • Permits student choice

Allow 5 minutes for students to create a question and self-assess. • Appropriately paced to allow
At the end of 5 minutes, have students share their question with a partner someone sitting next to time needed to intellectually
them. engage with and reflect upon
learning
Allow time for sharing, then use the class grabber to regain their attention.
Call class to the floor for a community circle. Have the students bring their questions to the floor.

Small Group/Independent Work & Learning Tasks: (30 minutes)

Refresher: Go over the rules of the community circle. • Students serve as resources for
one another
1. Whoever holds the ball is the speaker - look at whoever is talking.
• Cooperative learning when
possible
2. You can either: agree, disagree or ask a new question. (New questions cannot be asked until at
least 5 students have responded to the initial question.)

3. Stay on topic

To get the discussion started ask TDQ’s (Text dependent questions) so that everyone is on the same
page.

• What is a GMO?

• What is a superfood?

• What is crossbreeding?

• What is an example of a GMO?

• Why were GMO’s created?

Ask the students the following open ended question:

Are GMO’s a good thing or a bad thing?

Students will share their opinion and give details or evidence to support their opinion.

The discussion will begin, after atlas 5 students share or someone asks a new question.

Teacher will note and summarize what students say as the discussion progresses.

If students go off topic: teacher will facilitate to ensure the direction of the discussion stays on
topic.

Differentiation:

Tier One Tier Two Tier Three

• use concrete examples • Using peers as tutors or instructional
guides
• highlight key operational
words

• have students restate

problem

• allow students to use

vocabulary definitions to
aid in comprehension.

Reflect and Connect: (10 minutes)

 • Opportunity for students to
Close the community circle by summarizing what the students said. consolidate understanding
Explain the “exit pass” to the students.
Have the students write out whether or not their opinion changed from the beginning: Are GMO’s
a good thing or a bad thing? Has your opinion changed? Why or why not. Use evidence from the
collaborative discussion to support your claim.

Assessment: For observation notes/ checklist

Attached. • Integrated into instruction
Student self-assessment & teacher formative assessment (note taking during community circle, exit
pass) • Students contribute to assessment
criteria

• Students self-assess & are aware

of characteristics of high-quality
work

• Specific & timely feedback