Letting Swift River Go

Lesson Plan for Grade 3

By Annette Sullivan

Lesson Focus: Social Studies: Cities and Towns; Geographic Features and Landmarks; Historic Buildings, Monuments, and Sites in Massachusetts and English Language Arts

Goals and Rationale:

The overall goal of this lesson is for students to understand an event from the past and connect it to what they have learned about their own city or town and to write a fictitious, persuasive (opinion) piece.

Using a historical fiction picture book, students will learn about the flooding of the Swift River Valley in order to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Then students will write a persuasive (opinion) piece convincing people not to flood their city or town. Students should know the following:

·  Areas were and still are flooded to create reservoirs in order to provide water to nearby cities;

·  What things were like in the past and how those things affected society;

·  How things have changed and developed over time in order to appreciate their significance as well as understand the present.

By having students write a persuasive (opinion) piece to convince readers that their city or town should not be flooded, they will be formulating their reasons for believing that their city or town is great. Students will also be practicing their opinion writing.

Objectives:

1.  After listening to Letting Swift River Go and during a class discussion, students will interpret the information and identify at least three significant effects of drowning areas to create reservoirs.

2.  After listening to Letting Swift River Go and discussing it, students will begin to develop an appreciation for our water resources as evidenced through oral discussions.

3.  Given information learned about students’ city or town during previous lessons and after having heard the story of the flooding of the Swift River Valley, students will write fictitious, persuasive (opinion) pieces convincing people not to flood their city or town, which will be scored using the Grade 3 – Opinion Writing Rubric.

Assessment:

Formative – While reading the story, look for students to listen attentively. They should make good eye contact with the reader. Make note of the effort of students to participate in the class’s discussion following the story. Are students able to identify at least three significant effects of drowning areas to create reservoirs?

Summative – Student writing will be scored using the Grade 3 – Opinion Writing Rubric. (Make notes regarding assistance given to students during their first drafts.) Listen for students to discuss water conservation while at sinks and water fountains.

State Framework Standards:

Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (2003)

Learning Standard 3.1 – On a map of the United States, locate the New England states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) and the Atlantic Ocean. On a map of Massachusetts, locate major cities and towns, Cape Ann, Cape Cod, the Connecticut River, the Merrimack River, the Charles River, and the Berkshire Hills.

Learning Standard 3.8 – On a map of Massachusetts, locate the class’s hometown or city and its local geographic features and landmarks.

Learning Standard 3.9 – Identify historic buildings, monuments, or sites in the area and explain their purpose and significance.

Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy (2011)

Reading Standards for Literature Pre-K–5/Grade 3 students:

Key Ideas and Details

1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for answers.

2. Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; to determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).

Writing Standards Pre-K–5/Grade 3 students:

Text Types and Purposes

1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons:

a. Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

b. Provide reasons that support the opinion.

c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

Connections Across the Curriculum: This lesson involves students using the language arts (listening, viewing, speaking, and writing) to learn social studies content and to demonstrate what they learned.

Materials:

-  Yolen, J. (1992). Letting Swift River Go. New York, NY: Scholastic.

-  Quabbin Reservoir photographs (http://www.foquabbin.org)

Stone marker at Goodnough Dike East Branch of Swift River

-  Map of New England states

-  Board or chart paper and markers

-  Writing rubric

-  Graphic organizers in classroom writing center

-  Paper and pencils

-  Materials to create illustrations, if desired

Instruction:

Source of Motivating Students: Tell students that they will be writing fictitious, persuasive (opinion) pieces about their city or town, which will be presented to the mayor or town manager. (2 minutes)

Source of Students’ Prior Knowledge: Begin this lesson by asking the students if they know what a reservoir is and provide a definition, if needed. (A reservoir is a natural or artificial pond or lake used for the storage and regulation of water.) Then read the author’s note regarding the flooding of the Swift River Valley to create the Quabbin Reservoir. It will set the stage for the students to listen to this well-written story with beautiful illustrations by Barbara Cooney. Find the Quabbin Reservoir on a map of New England. You may also want to review states and some geographic features and landmarks on the map. Tell the students to imagine they were living in the Swift River Valley before the drowning. How would they feel about it? (5 minutes)

Instruction:

Part 1 – Reading the Story (10 minutes)

  1. Have students sit comfortably in the reading area to listen to the story.
  2. Read the story slowly in order to allow the students time to process what they are hearing and closely observe the illustrations.

Part 2 – Discussing the Story/Essential Questions (10 minutes)

  1. What do the students think about the story?
  2. How did they feel while listening to the story?
  3. How do they think the people who lived in the Swift River Valley might have felt?
  4. Why do they think the author wrote the story?
  5. Share photographs of the Quabbin Reservoir.
  6. What were the main ideas from the story?
  7. What are the significant effects of drowning areas to create reservoirs? List student responses on the board or chart paper.

8.  How would they feel if people wanted to flood their city or town?

9.  Why shouldn’t people flood their city or town?

Part 3 – Writing the Persuasive (Opinion) Piece (30 minutes – This may take more than one day or lesson to complete.)

  1. Ask the students to identify the components of a well-written, opinion piece. List these on the board or chart paper.
  2. Tell the students that they are going to write a persuasive (opinion) piece to convince authorities not to flood their city or town in order to create a reservoir. Be sure to tell the students that this is a hypothetical situation. No one is planning on flooding their city or town!
  3. Explain that the students need to persuade or convince the reader that their city or town is too great to be drowned using at least three facts they learned about their city or town. You may want to take a few reasons that students have to get the students thinking. Record students’ reasons on the board or on chart paper.
  4. Distribute writing rubric. Students are familiar with the rubric, materials in the writing center, and how to access the materials.
  5. Students should return to their tables or desks and write their first drafts.
  6. Remind students about the components of good persuasive writing and to check their COPS (Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, and Spelling).
  7. Meet with students when they are done with their first drafts to revise and edit them as needed.
  8. Have students write final copies on white-lined paper.
  9. Students may choose to illustrate a picture to go with their writing, if they have time and desire to do so.

Closure of Lesson: Tell students that they will have more time to work on this assignment and to keep their work in their writing folder. As students complete their final copies and illustrations (if desired), have them share with a peer. Package all of the writing pieces and illustrations up to be sent to the city mayor or town manager for review. (5 minutes up to several days for all students to complete the assignment and share it)

Adaptations: With this type of lesson, each student is encouraged to write to the best of his or her ability. Provide necessary support to those who need it during the drafting session. Some students may need help brainstorming ideas. Some students may need a scribe. Encourage students to use information previously learned about their city or town as well as their wordbooks, dictionaries, and other classroom posters and charts as resources. The use of graphic organizers in the writing center and the writing rubric should also help students. Revise and edit with students as necessary.

Grade 3 – Opinion Writing Rubric

Write opinion pieces on a topic or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons:
a. Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.
b. Provide reasons that support the opinion.
c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.
d. Provide a concluding statement or section.
Rating / 1–Unsatisfactory / 2–Needs Improvement / 3–Proficient / 4–Exemplary
Text / ·  Does not respond to the prompt
·  No supporting details
·  Lists reasons instead of paragraph form / ·  Responds to some parts of the prompt
·  Only a few supporting details
·  Loses focus / ·  Responds to all parts of the prompt
·  Provides an introduction and states an opinion
·  Provides many supporting details with reasons for opinions
·  Provides a concluding statement / Everything in level 3 PLUS:
·  Exceptionally clear, focused, and well-developed
·  Details go beyond the obvious and are intriguing
Traits / ·  Little organization
·  Limited vocabulary
·  Many incomplete or run-on sentences
·  Writing is difficult to read / ·  Few linking words (or used incorrectly)
·  Some descriptive words
·  Ordinary language & vocabulary
·  Uses only simple sentences, incomplete sentences, or run-on sentences / ·  Writing is clear and easy to understand
·  Paragraphs are organized with topic sentence, details, and conclusion
·  Uses transition words correctly (because, therefore, for example) and specific vocabulary
·  Uses simple and compound sentences
·  Writer’s voice (personality) is obvious / Everything in level 3 PLUS:
·  Rich vocabulary
·  Variety of sentence structures and lengths
Conventions / ·  Many errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization
·  Printing is not easy to read
·  No margins or letter spacing / ·  Some errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization
·  Printing is easy to read
·  Margins or letter spacing is correct / ·  Few spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization errors
·  Printing is easy to read
·  Correct margins and letter spacing / Everything in level 3 PLUS:
·  Excellent control over a wide range of age-appropriate conventions

7