Grade 7 TEXT INTRODUCTIONS AND PROCEDURES Sharing background knowledge: Read the title and the text prompt. Students talk in pairs or triads. Then follow up with a whole class/group discussion. Keep the sharing to less than 20 minutes. After sharing: Teacher reads the questions on the student response sheet aloud to the group. Text Prompts: Ancient Olympics* This text is about extreme sports in ancient Olympics. Based on the title and your background knowledge, what are you wondering or thinking about? What do you know about the Olympics and extreme sports? Why are some sports called extreme? Egypt s Extraordinary Female Pharaoh* This text is about a female pharaoh in ancient Egypt. Based on the title and your background knowledge, what are you wondering or thinking about? What do you know about ancient Egypt and its Pharaohs? The Tanning Debate* This text is about tanning and whether or not it is good for you. Based on the title and your background knowledge, what are you wondering or thinking about? What do you know about tanning and sun exposure? Let s Dance!* This text is about Aboriginal dances, both traditional and modern. Based on the title and your background knowledge, what are you wondering or thinking about? What do you know about Aboriginal dances? *After the text prompt discussion, remind students who have significant background knowledge on a topic to reference the information in THIS text when answering the assessment questions. 1
Ancient Olympics Selection 1 *Sports in Early Olympics The ancient Olympics provided athletes an opportunity to prove their fitness and superiority, just like our modern games. The ancient Olympic events were designed to eliminate the weak and glorify the strong. Winners were pushed to the brink. The only event in the first Olympics was the stade race. It was a running race that was probably about 180 metres long. The race was run in non-stop heats. Athletes ran race after race until only one runner could go on. The last runner still standing was the winner. This was the only event for the first thirteen Games. Later, footraces increased to 366 metres long. Some events were bizarre by modern standards. For example, in boxing, the two fought on until one boxer collapsed or died. Another oddity was a footrace that was run in full armour. Think of running under heavy armour, carrying a shield!* 2003 by Evan-Moor Corp. (Student copy for Oral Running Record) 2
Oral Running Record Name Date Grade 7 Before starting tell the student: While you are reading this, be aware of any strategies you use. I will be asking you to tell me about them when you are done reading. Ancient Olympics Selection 1 Errors SC *Sports in Early Olympics The ancient Olympics provided athletes an opportunity to prove their fitness and superiority, just like our modern games. The ancient Olympic events were designed to eliminate the weak and glorify the strong. Winners were pushed to the brink. The only event in the first Olympics was the stade race. It was a running race that was probably about 180 metres long. The race was run in non-stop heats. Athletes ran race after race until only one runner could go on. The last runner still standing was the winner. This was the only event for the first thirteen Games. Later, footraces increased to 366 metres long. Some events were bizarre by modern standards. For example, in boxing, the two fought on until one boxer collapsed or died. Another oddity was a footrace that was run in full armour. Think of running under heavy armour, carrying a shield!* Word Count: 148 2003 by Evan-Moor Corp. 3
Oral Reading Assessment Summary Sheet Name Date Grade Selection Circle the percentage and miscues. Accuracy Independent (98-100%) Instructional (95-97%) Frustration (<95%) (use lower level text) Percentage 100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 Miscues 0 1 2-3 4 5-6 7 8-9 10 11-12 Fluency halting careful fluent expressive phrasing often not in meaningful groups; word-byword phrasing for meaning is inconsistent mix of short and longer phrases; uses punctuation longer phrases; consistent use of punctuation Strategy Use: Make a note where student pauses while reading. After reading, ask When you paused here, what were you thinking?" (Teacher checks appropriate boxes below and/or writes notes.) Note: Proficient readers may not pause and strategy use may be subconscious. You do not need to do a running record on these students after the first diagnostic assessment. Learning to Read Strategies: I stop when meaning is lost I stop when it doesn t sound right I stop when it doesn t look right I look for little words inside bigger words I look for chunks I know I reread I skip, read on, and then go back I self-correct Reading Comprehension Strategies: I think about what I already know (Access Background Knowledge) I make connections I make a picture in my head (Visualize) I ask questions I find the important ideas I read between the lines (Infer) I change my thinking (Synthesize) I use text features Teacher Notes: 4
Think extreme sports are the latest thing? Think again! You are more than 2,000 years behind the times! Can you believe they actually started thousands of years ago in the ancient Olympics? Extreme Beginning The ancient Olympics began in honour of the Greek god, Zeus. The first Games were held in 776 B.C.E. The Greeks continued the Olympic games every four years. The Games were always held in Olympia, Greece, at the site of the altar for Zeus. During the Olympics, all wars between city-states stopped so 50,000 people could travel safely to watch the games. Sports in Early Olympics The ancient Olympics provided athletes an opportunity to prove their fitness and superiority, just like our modern games. The ancient Olympic events were designed to eliminate the weak and glorify the strong. Winners were pushed to the brink. The only event in the first Olympics was the stade race. It was a running race that was probably about 180 metres long. The race was run in non-stop heats. Athletes ran race after race until only one runner could go on. The last runner still standing was the winner. This was the only event for the first thirteen Games. Later, footraces increased to 366 metres long. Some events were bizarre by modern standards. For example, in boxing, the two fought on until one boxer collapsed or died. Another oddity was a footrace that was run in full armour. Think of running under heavy armour, carrying a shield!* Just as in modern times, people loved extreme sports. One of the favourite events was added in the 33 rd Olympiad. This was the pankration, or an extreme mix of wrestling and boxing. The Greek word pankration means total power. by Evan-Moor Corp. The men wore leather straps with metal studs, Ancient Olympics Selection 1 The men wore leather straps with metal studs, which could make a terrible mess of their opponents. This dangerous form of wrestling had no time or weight limits. In this event, only two rules applied. First, wrestlers were not allowed to gouge eyes with their thumbs. Secondly, they could not bite. Anything else was considered fair play. The contest was decided in the same manner as a boxing match. Contenders continued until one of the two collapsed. If neither surrendered, the two exchanged blows until one was knocked out. Only the strongest and most determined athletes attempted this event. Imagine wrestling Mr. Fingertips, who earned his nickname by breaking his opponents fingers! WRESTLING There were three types of wrestling events: upright wrestling, ground wrestling, and pankration. Sports in Later Olympics One of the later events was the pentathlon, which included five events: jumping, running, discus, javelin throwing, and wrestling. Some other added events were more footraces, horse racing, and chariot racing. Strangely enough, the winners of the chariot races were not the jockeys. They were the owners of the horses! 5
FOOTRACE The footrace was called the stade. Athletes sprinted about 180 metres up and down the length of the stadium. The runners could be disqualified if they cut in front of, tripped, or elbowed other runners. WRESTLING Two men wrestled until one wrestler threw his opponent to the ground three times. This could take hours to achieve. The match could also end if one of the men was too injured to continue. Gouging and biting disqualified the wrestlers. JAVELIN OR DISCUS THROWING Athletes chose to throw either a javelin, which is a long pole, or a bronze discus. The athletes had to find the best throwing angle and know exactly when to let go of the javelin or discus. An athlete could be disqualified if he stepped over the starting mark when throwing. Up to 40 chariots, pulled by teams of two or four horses, raced 12 laps in a stadium called the hippodrome. 2003 by Evan-Moor Corp. LONG JUMPING Long jumpers carried heavy weights to give them more momentum when they took off. They jumped on a bed of smoothly raked, crumbled earth. This left clear footprints so the judges could measure the distance each man jumped. A long jumper was disqualified if he tried to inch forward once he had landed. Extreme Ending Nothing short of an extreme event could have put an end to the ancient Olympics. The Games officially ended in C.E. 394 after the Romans conquered Greece. In place of the Olympics, the Romans provided a new type of extreme spectator event. They converted the stadiums into amphitheatres, replacing the athletes with slaves who were forced to fight wild beasts to the death. It was not until 1896 that the modern Olympics resumed. 6
Ancient Olympics: STUDENT RESPONSE SHEET Name Date READ THE ENTIRE TEXT. THEN DO YOUR ANSWERS. 1. Using information from the section Sports in Early Olympics, give the main idea in your own words. Find 3 or more important details that support the main idea. Main Idea (in your own words) Supporting Details (from text) 1. Main idea and supporting details Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding -no main idea -finds part of the main idea -details are missing -identifies few relevant details or incorrect -finds main idea; states in own words -identifies 3 relevant details -finds main idea; states in own words -identifies many relevant details, all of which are from the specified section 2. Use your own words to explain what you think the underlined words mean in this text. glorifyodditycontenders- 2. Word skills -definitions are incorrect in any context Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding - definitions are mostly vague or -definitions are mostly incorrect in this context clear and correct in this - student may use the word in a context sentence -definitions are wellexplained and correct in this context 7
3. Explain a connection you made between this text and what you already know about this topic (text-to-self, text-to-text, or text-to-world). 3. Connecting -unable to make a connection to this text Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding -makes a vague -explains a relevant connection to this text connection to this text -clearly explains a deep, relevant connection to this text 4. Why were the ancient Olympics popular for so long? Explain your thinking using information from the text. Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding -inference(s) is basic -lacks evidence from the text 4. Inferring -unable to infer or inference(s) is illogical -inference(s) is logical and supported with some evidence from the text -inference(s) is insightful and supported with specific evidence from the text 5. What do you think the author really wants you to know about this text? Explain why you think this. 5. Critical Literacy Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding -response -literal response; lacks insight -response is beyond the -response links to bigger illogical or not -no explanation text; shows some insight ideas/issues; insightful related to text -limited explanation interpretation -detailed explanation 8
Answer Key with Sample Student Responses Ancient Olympics Grade: 7 Selection: 1 1. Using information from the section Sports in Early Olympics, give the main idea. Find 3 or more important details that support the main idea. Grade 7: Selection 1 Question 1 Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding Main idea Supporting details the sports in Early Olympics - you could hurt your ankle - races were run in terrible heat how sports worked in the ancient times - elimination - stade races - wrestling designed to eliminate the weak and glorify the strong -there was only one sport - bizarre events to provide athletes with an opportunity to prove their fitness and strength - stade race was run in non-stop heats - boxers fought to the death - people loved extreme sports - the ancient Olympics were designed to glorify the strong and eliminate the weak the athletes competed in extreme sports and risked their bodies to entertain others - events pushed athletes to the brink - some events were bizarre: fighting until death or running in full armour - pankration was added in 33 rd games and involved wrestling/boxing that continued until one person collapsed or was knocked out and there was no time or weight limit - the only event in first Olympics was stade race, where last runner standing was winner 2. Use your own words to explain what you think the underlined words mean in this text. Grade 7: Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding Selection 1 Question 2 Word Skills Glorify the strong keep person with more people praise honouring them because of an achievement Oddity Contenders was a footrace that was run in full armor one of them collapsed like the other option athletes odd, weird, messed up opponents or athletes unusual competitors it s something weird or strange people fighting for something; mainly a championship 9
3. Explain a connection you made between this text and what you already know about this topic (text-to-self, text-to-text, or text-to-world). Grade 7: Selection 1 Question 3 Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding Connecting Well I didn t really know much about this text and I am very interested to know more. Olympic Games are from Romans. I have seen movies and books about it. Sometimes I wrestle with my brother, but not until he is dead or unconscious. I know how it feels to be eliminated in something and to be the winner. Like in our track and field race. I won, and in one of my figure skating competitions, I lost. I made a connection to when I learned about the Romans in grade 6. The Romans did take over and made their own arena and games. The Romans lived for wild beasts killing men, blood, gore and gladiators. While Greeks had less violence and like showing off how strong and fit they were more than anything. 4. Why were the ancient Olympics popular for so long? Explain your thinking using information from the text. Grade 7 Selection 1 Question 4 Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding Inferring There not. Because it was really entertaining and fun for them I think because the people watching liked to maybe see their family win and the people fighting liked to feel powerful if they won. It was scary to watch what made the audience excited for example, there was a person who broke everyone s fingertips off. Plus the glory and gore of watching everybody run until they simply couldn t run any more wouldn t that be amazing??? 5. What do you think the author really wants you to know about this text? Explain why you think this. Grade 7 Selection 1 Question 5 Not Yet Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding Critical Literacy to know what you read and understa nd it well knowledge of what happened all those years ago I think he wants us to know there are lots of different sports in the Ancient Olympics and lots of similarities I think he was trying to tell people how different the Ancient Olympics were compared to modern days and that the sports were extreme. People probably liked watching sports that were exciting, gory, and scary. The contenders like showing off their fitness, superiority and strength. They also liked becoming famous. I think the author wanted us to understand that a lot has changed from their Olympics and our Olympics. But we are the same in some parts. People today and long ago both love and loved extreme sports. I think that because it said a few times Just as in modern times people love extreme sports. And in our Olympics it s not a fight to the death, but their s was in some events. 10
GRADE 7 RUBRIC: READING FOR INFORMATION Name Term 1 Date: Term 2 Date: Term 3 Date: Selection Selection Selection 1. Main idea and supporting details Not Yet no main idea details are missing or incorrect 2. Word skills definitions are incorrect in any context 3. Connecting unable to make a connection to this text 4. Inferring unable to infer or inference(s) is illogical 5. Critical Literacy response is illogical or not related to text Minimally Moderately Fully Exceeding finds part of the main idea identifies few relevant details definitions are mostly vague or incorrect in this context student may use the word in a sentence makes a vague connection to this text inference(s) is basic lacks evidence from the text literal response; lacks insight no explanation finds main idea; states in own words identifies 3 relevant details definitions are mostly clear and correct in this context explains a relevant connection to this text inference(s) is logical and supported with some evidence from the text response is beyond the text; shows some insight limited explanation finds main idea; states in own words identifies many relevant details; all of which are from the specified section definitions are well-explained and correct in this context clearly explains a deep, relevant connection to this text inference(s) is insightful and supported with specific evidence from the text response links to bigger ideas/issues; insightful interpretation detailed explanation Overall Assessment Not Yet Minimal Moderate Fully Exceeding Implications for Teaching: 11
GRADE 7 PLANNING SHEET Date Category Fully INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS FOR THE CLASS, SMALL GROUP, or INDIVIDUAL 1. Main idea and supporting details - finds main idea; states in own words - identifies 3 relevant details 2. Word skills - definitions are mostly clear and correct in this context 3. Connecting - explains a relevant connection to this text 4. Inferring -inference(s) is logical and supported with some evidence from the text 5. Critical Literacy - response is beyond the text; shows some insight - limited explanation Other implications for teaching 12