Grade 8: Module 3B: Unit 3: Lesson 1: Analyzing A Central Idea: Carlotta's Journey To
Grade 8: Module 3B: Unit 3: Lesson 1: Analyzing A Central Idea: Carlotta's Journey To
Grade 8: Module 3B: Unit 3: Lesson 1: Analyzing A Central Idea: Carlotta's Journey To
I can use correct grammar and usage when writing or speaking. (L.8.1)
I can explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences. (L.8.1a)
I can recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood. (L.8.1d)
I can analyze the development of an idea throughout the text (including its relationship to supporting ideas). (RI.8.2)
I can analyze how specific dialogue or incidents in a plot propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. (RL.8.3)
I can analyze figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. (L.8.5)
• I can use correct grammar and usage when writing. • A Mighty Long Way Structured Notes, Chapter 17, Pages
• I can explain the general function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) and their function in 265–274 (from homework)
sentences. • Verbals handout
• I can recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood. • Exit ticket: Verbals
• I can analyze a central idea in A Mighty Long Way.
• I can analyze how an incident described in A Mighty Long Way provokes Carlotta to make a decision.
1. Opening • In the Opening of this lesson, students learn about verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives. This
A. Engaging the Writer: Language Techniques (10 Opening is the second of a three-lesson series in which students focus on language skills during the
minutes) Opening. The series is designed to prepare students for the mid-unit assessment in Lesson 3, which will
test their ability to identify active and passive voices, identify conditional and subjunctive moods, and
B. Reviewing the Learning Targets (1 minute)
analyze word meanings and word choice.
2. Work Time
• Language standards require consistent practice and reinforcement. Based on the needs of your students,
A. Analyzing the Journey: “This Little Light of Mine” find additional opportunities to teach and practice these standards. Sample language mini lessons may
(29 minutes) be found in the supporting materials for Unit 2, Lesson 19. These mini lessons may be used for
3. Closing and Assessment additional instruction or used as a model for additional teacher-created language mini lessons, based on
students’ needs.
A. Exit Ticket: Verbals (5 minutes)
• Students will continue to study the language standards as a way to better understand the author’s craft
4. Homework
in telling her story.
A. Continue independent reading book.
• In this lesson, students complete the Journey to Justice note-catcher with details from the remaining
chapters of A Mighty Long Way text. This work will be done using a jigsaw design.
• In advance:
– Predetermine groups of four for the jigsaw activity in Work Time A.
– Review: Jigsaw protocol (see Appendix).
• Post: Learning targets
A. Engaging the Writer: Language Techniques (10 minutes) • Consider having students circle the
• Ask students to sit with their Washington, D.C. discussion partners. verbs on the handout and underline
the verbals.
• Distribute the Verbals handout.
• If necessary, remind students of the
• Read the definition of verbals at the top of the page. Explain that authors can use verbals in a variety of ways in their writing
definition of a verb. Be sure
to aid understanding. Explain that there are three types of verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives.
students understand that a verb
• Cold call a student to read the definition and purpose of a gerund. expresses a physical action, a
• Cold call students to read the examples. Point out that gerunds look like verbs but act as nouns. mental action, or a state of being.
A. Analyzing the Journey: “This Little Light of Mine” (29 minutes) • Note: The event in which Carlotta
• Place students in heterogeneous small groups of four for a Jigsaw protocol, asking them to each bring their own copy of A meets with Herbert and learns his
Mighty Long Way and the Journey to Justice note-catcher with them. story is a longer piece of text.
• Display the Declaration of Independence excerpt under the document camera while students are moving into their • Consider providing hint cards with
groups. details and/or probing questions to
help direct students who struggle or
• Draw students’ attention to the third stage on the Journey to Justice note-catcher.
isolating the text students will need
• Read aloud the summary and questions related to the third stage on the Journey to Justice note-catcher as students read to read on a separate document.
along silently in their heads:
* “Life gains a new level of integration after the intense trials and triumphs of the journey; but it’s not over. Obstacles still
exist and one feels the need to give back and make the world more whole. At what point did Carlotta begin her new life
after her experiences at Central High School? What were some of the obstacles Carlotta had to face as a result of her
experiences? In what ways did she begin to give back and help make the world better for others?”
• Point out to students that although Carlotta might not have realized it, her conviction and determination to play a role in the
integration of schools when she was a teenager was due to her belief in the founding document of this country, the
Declaration of Independence.
• Share with students some key basic background knowledge about the Declaration of Independence: it was written in 1776,
almost two centuries before Carlotta’s journey to justice in Little Rock. Its most famous and enduring lines are, “We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
• Ask students:
* “What basic American value does Jefferson express in these very famous lines?”
* “How has Carlotta’s journey been a reflection of this most basic of American values?” Listen for students to recognize that
Carlotta’s journey has been in pursuit of equality, most specifically equal educational opportunities.
• Engage in a short teacher-led discussion using the following question:
* “Based on what you have read of Carlotta’s journey in Chapters 15–17, in what ways has Carlotta given back to society in
order to ensure that all people are treated equally?”
• Listen for students to mention Carlotta’s work educating others about the story of the integration of schools and the civil
rights movement.
• Tell students that there are four events that they are going to study further. Have each person in the group choose one of the
four events in Carlotta’s life on which to focus:
1. Carlotta’s work with the Colorado AIDS project (page 241)
2. Carlotta’s decision regarding which school her children attended (page 245)
3. President Clinton’s words regarding Mrs. Bates (page 254)
4. Herbert’s story (page 257)
• Next, regroup students based on the event they’ve chosen to analyze so that students who have chosen the same event form
another small group (in order to keep these groups small, there may be two small groups representing the same event).
• Instruct students to reread the selected pages independently and then work together in this group to add details from the
event to the third stage on the Journey to Justice note-catcher.
• After 10 minutes, invite students to return to their original groups.
• Provide 5-10 minutes to share out their details with one another so everyone in the group has a complete note-catcher.
• Invite students to follow along in the text as you read the final paragraphs of the book aloud, beginning on page 271 with
Obama’s quote (“If there is anyone out there …”) and reading until the end.
• Ask students to discuss with their groups:
* “How does Carlotta view the election of President Obama in relation to the passage from the Declaration of
Independence? In her view, how is his election part of the journey to justice that she has been experiencing throughout
this book, and throughout her life?”
• Call on volunteers to share out.
• Listen for students to recognize that the election of a black president helps to bring to life the words of the Declaration of
Independence, which emphasize equal opportunity for all. Listen for students to notice Carlotta and her Little Rock
comrades also helped to bring the words from the Declaration of Independence to life when they began their journey to
justice. President Obama’s election represents the justice and equality that Carlotta and the other members of the Little Rock
Nine were seeking as they integrated Little Rock Central High.
A. Exit Ticket: Verbals (5 minutes) • You may use the data from the exit
• Distribute the Exit Ticket: Verbals. tickets to determine whether or not
students need additional support for
• Tell students you would like to see how much they remember from the opening of the lesson, when they learned about
this particular grammatical concept.
verbals.
Supplementary language lessons
• Have students complete the exit ticket. and activities to support students
• Collect the exit tickets. Consider using the Exit Ticket: Verbals (answers, for teacher reference) to check students’ are included in the supporting
understanding, and be sure to clarify as needed in the next lesson. materials of Unit 2, Lesson 19.
• Read your independent reading book. You will be writing a book review of your independent book in Lesson 7, so be sure to
finish up the book soon.
Verbals
Name:
Date:
Verbals: A verbal is a word formed from a verb but functioning as a different part of speech.
Gerunds
Participles
A participle is a verbal that most often ends in -ing or -ed and acts as an adjective
(describes a noun).
Purpose: to tell more about the noun that follows
Infinitives
An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word “to” plus a verb. It acts as a noun,
adjective, or adverb.
Purpose: to indicate the purpose or intention of an action.
TIP: Don’t confuse verbals with verbs. Verbals look like verbs but don’t act like verbs.
Verbals
Directions: In each sentence from A Mighty Long Way below, underline the verbal(s) and identify
the type of verbal on the line to the right of each sentence.
2. “With every step, the hooting and hollering got louder” (70).
________________________
3. “But Gloria had always felt grateful for those few moments in
class when Becky helped her to feel accepted, as though she
had at least one ally among her white classmates” (121).
________________________
Verbals
(Answers, for Teacher Reference)
Directions: In each sentence from A Mighty Long Way below, underline the verbal(s) and identify
the type of verbal on the line to the right of each sentence.
1. “Near the end of the party, a Santa presented each of us with participle
gifts and encouraging letters mailed from around the
country by the organization’s members, who thanked us for
our bravery and courage” (113).
2. “With every step, the hooting and hollering got louder” gerund
(70).
3. “But Gloria had always felt grateful for those few moments in infinitive
class when Becky helped her to feel accepted, as though she
had at least one ally among her white classmates” (121).
Just like in the practice earlier in the lesson, underline the verbal(s) and identify the type of verbal on
the line to the right of each sentence.
4. What might one purpose of verbals? (Answers will vary; see Verbals
handout for possible answers).