Close Read Primary Sources: The Zimmerman Telegram
Grade 5
Objective: Students will be able to identify the main idea and cite evidence from the text.
Standard: 0501.6.4 Identify the main idea and supporting details in a text.
Setting: Whole group for close reading; small group for discussion; independent for writing
Materials:copy of the Zimmerman telegram
Procedures:
Hook: Show three photos: email, letter, text message. Ask: “What do these things have in common?” Allow small groups to discuss similarities among items. Allow students to share with whole group. Answer: They’re all used for communication. Show the telegram. Explain that a telegram is a message sent by a telegraph. A telegraph is a system used for sending and receiving messages from a long distance using a wire. The wire carries electricity, and as the connection is made and broken in patterns, a signal can be received in code and then translated into writing.
First Read: Teacher reads through the telegram aloud while students follow along. This allows the readers to get the “flow” of the text.
Second Read: Allow students to read through the text independently. In the second read, students should circle words that are unknown or challenging.
As a whole group, go through the passage allowing students to share the words they circled. Discuss each word, using word parts and/or context clues to come up with a definition or synonym for each word. List the words and synonyms on the board/chart paper. Encourage students to write definitions or synonyms above their circled words.
Third Read: Chunk the text. Because this text is quite short, number each sentence as a separate chunk. Read each sentence (with new understanding of the difficult words). Write the “gist” of each sentence in the margin. Explain that the “gist” of a passage is the “short and sweet” version, the main idea of each section.
Text Talk Time: Group students into small groups (three to six). Give groups a list of text-dependent questions to discuss. Groups should discuss answers to questions, ensuring that each member of the group can answer and support with evidence each question.
At the end of the questions, students will collaborate to decide on three words that best sum up the passage. These words may be, but are not limited to, words found in the text. As groups have selected their three words, allow groups to share with the teacher their choices. Let one student from the group justify one of the group’s choices, allowing as many students to share as possible. Once they’ve completed this portion of the lesson, they should be ready to write.
Questions:
Low: Who wrote this text?
Middle: What was the purpose of the text?
High: What are the pros and cons for Mexico to accept this proposal?
Formative Assessment:
While groups are discussing the text, teacher should circulate throughout the room listening to and participating in discussions. Using the low, middle and high questions, teacher can assess student understanding and identify areas where clarification and/or higher-level thinking is needed.
Summative Assessment:
Students will use the three words from their group discussion to write a brief paragraph explaining the main purpose of the text.
Differentiation:
Because of the complexity of the text, below level students may benefit more from a teacher read-aloud for each reading.
Above level writing extension: Allow students to create a code. Then, students can use their code to translate their paragraph into a coded message, like the original telegram.