AVID and National Geographic are partnering for the 2022–2023 school year to develop critical reading lessons. This partnership will allow AVID to provide highly engaging and rigorous content through disciplinary literacy—an emphasis on the shared ways of reading, writing, speaking, and thinking within a particular content area or academic field.
In this critical reading lesson, students will apply “Simple Machines: Wedge It!,” written by Glen Phelan, through a Double-Entry Journal to develop a KWLA chart. This lesson uses the WICOR® (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, Reading) methodology and strategies from AVID’s curriculum library and is designed for a variety of learning environments.
Learning Objectives
- Students will activate prior knowledge and apply concepts from the text to express what they have learned and how it connects to their life.
- Students will connect concepts in the text to their daily interactions.
What You’ll Need
- National Geographic interactive content:
- AVID Elementary Weekly lesson
- Additional resources can be found on the AVID Elementary Weekly website by subscription only.
Activate
Establish a purpose for reading, build background knowledge, and set students up for success.
Plan for reading by thinking through, or having students respond to, the following questions. Identify how the chosen text fits within the broader context of your instructional unit so that students are making connections to their prior knowledge:
- Do other texts need to be read to build background knowledge?
- What key content-related or general academic vocabulary do students need to know prior to reading the text?
This text meets the following features of an ideal text:
- Academic thinking skills are necessary for comprehension of this text.
- This text contains content that is of high interest to students.
Allow students an opportunity to set up their notes and record the Essential Question before engaging in the learning. Students will be using a KWLA: Part 1 in this lesson.
Engage
Build vocabulary and engage in purposeful rereads. Vocabulary development can happen at any point in the reading process.
Students will build vocabulary using Word Walls, looking at both academic and content-area words. They will process information in a first and second read of the text and engage in a purposeful reread using a Double-Entry Journal strategy.
Extend
Reading tasks should be directly connected to what students will do with the text after they have read and understood it.
Students will use the text to develop the Apply academic thinking skill. They will extend beyond the text by completing their KWLA: Part 2.
*Explore the sample lesson and contact AVID Care by phone at (833) 284-3227 or by email at [email protected] for more information about AVID Weekly® and AVID Elementary Weekly.