Transcript: Grade Seven ELA Integrated ELD

Grade Seven English Language Arts Integrated English Language Development: Analyzing Figurative Language

Introductory Slides (00:00–03:52)

Narrator: Welcome to the California Department of Education Integrated and Designated English Language Development Transitional Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve Video Series.

Narrator: English Language Arts with Integrated English Language Development in Grade Seven. In this lesson, the students are in the middle of a unit on biographies. At the end of the unit, each student will research and develop a biographical presentation of a great leader. The students have been learning about how biographies and autobiographies are structured, including analyzing figurative language to infer the leader's character traits.

Narrator: The California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts driving the lesson. The English Language Arts Standards are Grade 7, Reading Standards for Informational Text, Standard 4: Craft and Structure, where students determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. Grade 7, Speaking and Listening, Standard 1, where students engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas, and expressing their own clearly. And Grade 7, Language Standard 5: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use, where students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Watch for how these California English Language Arts Standards are addressed throughout the lesson.

Narrator: The Supporting California English Language Development Standards Used in Tandem with the English Language Arts Standards. The English Language Development Standards at the Bridging Level are Grade 7, Part 1, Standard 1: Exchanging Information and Ideas, where students contribute to class, group, and partner discussions by listening attentively, following turn-taking rules, and asking and answering questions. Grade 7, Part 1, Standard 8: Analyzing Language Choices, where students explain how phrasing, different words with similar meaning, or figurative language, produce shades of meaning, nuances, and different effects on the audience. And Grade 7, Part 1, Standard 12a: Selecting Language Resources, where students use an expanded set of general academic words, domain-specific words, synonyms, antonyms, and figurative language to create precision and shades of meaning while speaking and writing.

Narrator: Watch how students move from early levels of proficiency toward the bridging levels of these English Language Development Standards throughout the lesson. Watch how the teacher leads the students toward a deeper understanding of a grade-level autobiographical text by providing opportunities for them to listen to and discuss the meaning and language in the text. The students first listen to the text read aloud. Then they take notes on, discuss, and reconstruct in writing what they heard. After this, they analyze the use of figurative language in the text to infer the leader’s character traits, and then apply that analytic activity to making an inference in a new text the teacher provides.

Teacher Introduces the Lesson (03:53–05:26)

Teacher: All right. Boys and girls, this week we have been learning about...

Students: Um. The…

Teacher: Who's the person? Who's the person?

Students: Nelson Mandela.

Teacher: Nelson Mandela. Today we're gonna continue with learning about Nelson Mandela and we're going to learn about Nelson Mandela because in a few weeks you will be creating your biographical presentation about a great leader, like Nelson Mandela. Today our focus though is going to be on character traits of a good leader. So, remember, a trait is what a person is like on the inside, not what they look like. So, you are going to have two minutes to talk to the person next to you and ask them, what is a good leader? What would a good leader be like? And then you and your partner have to come up with one word, show me with your fingers, how many words?

Students: One.

Teacher: One word, thank you. With your fingers. One word of a trait of a good leader. So, I'm going to time you. You're going to have two minutes to discuss with your partner, what are the traits of a good leader? What is a good leader like? And good leaders aren't always famous. Maybe you had a great teacher that was a good leader; a good principal. So, you're gonna have a discussion with your partner for two minutes and um, I'm gonna lift this so you can see our discussion norms. So, if they say something and you agree, you would say something like, "I agree. I would like to add that—." If they say something and you're like, how is that a good leader? I would want you to say something like, "Can you explain—? How did you figure that out?" And if you're completely like, confused, you can say, "Well I disagree with you because—," and say, "I think a leader is somebody that does something like this." So, you're gonna have a two-minute discussion about what makes a good leader. Show me a thumbs up if you know what you're doing and what you're discussing. All right I'm gonna set my timer ready set and go.

Students Discuss in Pairs (05:27-06:08)

Student 1: So, what I think like a character trait of a leader would be is a strong, intelligent person that actually knows what he's doing. You know? Like they have to be, they have to know what they're talking about. They have to have discussions. They have to have opinions. But they have to gather around people in order to be a good leader. You know? That, you know, they have to be productive and stuff. You know. Do you agree?

Student 2: Yeah.

Student 1: So, what do you think?

Student 2: [inaudible] of, like...

Teacher: What are your thoughts, Arianna? He wants to hear your thoughts. What's a good leader to you?

Student 2: A good leader is that, when, um, when like, when, someone helps you.

Whole Class Debrief (06:09-07:42)

Teacher: We're gonna regroup as a class now and we're gonna generate our list. I'm not gonna have enough room up here to call every single group, so I'm gonna call specific groups and you're gonna share your work. And we're gonna come up with at least five or six, and we're gonna refer back to this at the end of today. So, I'm gonna talk about it, and then I'm gonna go away, we're gonna learn something else, and then we're gonna come back. All right. I'm gonna go with Shaima, what did you guys come up?

Student 3: Responsible.

Teacher: They are responsible. A good word. Next, I'm going to go with Aiden.

Student 4: Twenty-four. I mean, loyal.

Teacher: They are loyal. Felipe?

Student 5: Intelligent.

Teacher: They are intelligent. Aaron?

Student 6: Brave.

Teacher: They are brave. Elijah?

Student 7: Trustworthy.

Teacher: Anybody else? Drew?

Student 8: They have to make strong decisions.

Teacher: They have to be strong. And I'm gonna add one with that. With strong comes the confidence to lead. You have to be able to get others to lead. And we learned about how Mandela was able to do that.  And even when people told him, you know, you're gonna go away, you're gonna go to jail for a long time, that he stood his ground and he was able to get people to follow him and he was a leader. So, I want you to keep this list in your mind. We will revisit it at the end, and now we're gonna go into the fun part of today, where you get to pretend you're a journalist.

Teacher Prepares Students to Listen Actively (07:43–10:16)

Teacher: Who knows what a journalist does? What is it journalists do? What's your guess Jefferson? A journalist...

Student 9: Takes notes.

Teacher: A journalist... Let's try that again.

Student 9: A journalist is like a person who takes notes.

Teacher: Okay. Elija?

Student 7: What I think a journalist is, is like somebody who travels place to place and takes notes about their environment.

Teacher: Or maybe a person or a place. Somebody who gathers information. So, what you're gonna do next is something that I'm pretty sure you've done in history, and it's a strategy that's difficult at first because you're going to solely listen to me read something to you. The first time you hear me read it you're just gonna listen and try to figure out like what is this about? What is this text about? It's one paragraph, it's not super long. And then the second time you listen, I'm gonna let you pick up your pencil and you're gonna become a journalist and you're gonna try to write as much as what I'm saying down. You can literally write word-for-word. It's gonna be challenging and you're gonna be frustrated. So, you take a deep breath. Remember seven-eleven. In seven, out eleven, and you keep going. Because it's going to be tough. Okay? And I'm gonna start by giving you three words. Giving you the definition to three words that are gonna be in the text. So, I'm gonna front load a little bit of vocabulary just so when you hear those words you know what they mean. And they're words that we've been discussing as a class. Who remembers what falter means? Falter? What does falter mean? José?

Student 10: Falter means lose strength.

Teacher: Falter means to lose strength. Remember I shared if you are in a battle, and you are faltering you're starting to lose, like your strength, your ability to keep going. All right, what is vista? What is vista? David?

Student 11: Vista means a pleasing view.

Teacher: A pleasing view, or something beautiful to look at. So, we're gonna write a pleasant view. And last one, linger. What is linger? Felipe?

Student 5: Linger means to stay.

Teacher: To stay. Good. So those were our three words that we've been focusing on this week because they're gonna appear in the text. So, I want you to feel comfortable when you hear those words.  If you get stuck they're over there on our wall. The word apartheid is also over there. That one's been hard for you guys to say so I wrote it underneath in red, so that it sounds like "a-par-tied" so that you won't get stuck if you heard that, okay? All right. So, pencils down, we're gonna do our first read.

Teacher: This time I am going to read to you and you're gonna have your pencil down and you're just going to try to figure out, what is this paragraph that I'm reading to you about? So, nothing else except silently try to figure out what it's about. If you figure it out, I don't want you to say anything. I want you to just be a good listener. When you go, if you become a journalist, you can't interrupt the person you're interviewing. You just have to listen and that's what you're gonna practice right now, okay?

Teacher Reads the Text Aloud (10:17–10:56)

Teacher: So, I'm gonna start by reading the text to you the first time. "I have walked that long walk to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance that I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my work, my walk is not yet ended."

Students Listen and Take Notes (10:57–11:32)

Teacher: Okay, now you're gonna pick up your pencils. And where it says 'My Notes', when I read to you, you're gonna do your best to listen and try to write down as much as of what I'm saying. And I am gonna read it to you again a third time, so if you miss something the second time don't panic. I'll read it again. [Teacher reads the text a second time.]

Teacher: All right, pencils down. This time you're going to try to add something that you didn't hear the first time. And then I'm going to let you think for like 10 seconds after I finish, so that you can add anything else that you missed the first time. I'm gonna read it to you again. Pencils up. Here we go. [Teacher reads the text a third time.]

Teacher Prepares Students to Discuss (11:33–12:18)

Teacher: So, if you are on this side of the room closest to that wall, you are Partner A. And let me tell you what Partner B is gonna do. Partner A, you will read your notes to your partner. Partner B, you're gonna add anything that they wrote down that you missed. You are not allowed to say, "Can I see your paper?" The answer is no. They can read you their response.  You cannot ask to see their papers. Partner A is going to share, B is going to add any notes that they didn't have. Then Partner B is gonna share and A will add anything that their partners had that you didn't. So together, two brains are better than one and we're gonna help each other to be the best we can be. Partner A, we're gonna backtrack and Partner A is gonna share, and B is gonna listen and add their notes. Ready, set, go.

Students Discuss in Pairs (12:19–13:40)

Student 1: I have walked that long walk to freedom. I have tried not to falter. There are many more hills to climb. I can only rest for a moment.

Student 12: He walked a long walk to freedom. Uh, he made missteps. You got that?

Student 3: Mmmhmm.

Student 12: He only rested for a moment cuz he didn't finish, walking? Something. And there are many hills to climb.

Teacher: So, Partner B, you are going to share what you have and Partner A your job is to be a listener and add anything new that your partner had, that you didn't. So, if you're a partner B right now, you are reading my notes and your partners are adding to theirs. Okay? I'm gonna give you a minute and a half and if I see we need a little bit more time I'll give you more time. Ready, set, share.

Student 2: I wrote, I have walked a long walk to freedom. I have tried not to falter.  There are many more hills to climb. I could, I can only rest for a moment.

Student 3: There are more hills to climb. My long walk has not ended. I have tried not to filter.

Students work in Pairs to Collaboratively Reconstruct the Text (13:41-16:29)

Teacher: Okay boys and girls, we're gonna move on to the next phase where you're gonna take out the text or the paper that says 'Collaboratively Reconstructed Text' and you have a task now. Using your notes, and your partner's notes, you guys are gonna try to rewrite the paragraph that I read. So, with your notes and your partner's you should have quite a bit to try to write the exact same paragraph that I read to you.

Teacher: So, you're gonna look at your notes and you're gonna say, "Okay, how did this paragraph start? What kind of language or words did she use when she read it to me? What kind of notes that, do I have that can help me figure out the order of this?" And you're going to reconstruct the same paragraph that I read to you. You're gonna have about seven minutes to do this. This part takes a little longer because you're using your notes and you're talking to your partner. Here is where you talk to your partner and you can ask questions like, "Did I miss something? What about this? Didn't she say this first?" So, this is where you can ask each other questions and use each other's brains and use each other's words to help. Okay?

Student 13: I tried not to lose strength. My walk to freedom.

Student 14: I think this one goes first because this one, cuz, this is how it started because it say the long walk. And then this is like the end because, because the long walk is at the end.

Student 13: Freedom comes responsibilities. Walk not ended? So, we should put long walk, the long walk first.

Student 14: Okay.

Student 3: In the first sentence it states that I have walked a long walk to freedom and I, I think the second one should, it should state like, how...

Student 12: How he did it?

Student 3: Yeah. How he, how he walked.

Student 12: Like if he, like if he made mistakes.

Student 3: Yeah.

Student 12: Yeah, okay.

Student 3: Wait, hold on, do you think that uh, do you think that he can't rest should come before this sentence, because like, the sentence before this states that I have made some missteps along the way?

Student 12: Oh yeah.

Student 3: Yeah?

Student 12: Yeah.

Student 3: Because, like, it states that, he shows that he can't rest because he has more mistakes...

Student 12: To come, and that's where that fits in. Yeah. I agree. I have made missteps

Student 3: … along the way.

Student 12: So...

Student 3: Or, or do you think that I have tried not to falter, which means a mistake.

Student 12: He has tried to not make a mistake.

Student 3: Do you think that? Do you think that this then should come before this one?

Student 12: Yeah cuz right here it’s saying he's made mistakes, but he's tried not to make some.

Students Compare their Work to the Original Text (16:30–17:51)

Teacher: Next I'm going to come around and I'm going to drop the actual text on your desk. I'm gonna ask you to keep it face down until I say "flip it". Then you and your partner will flip it and you'll get to see how close you were to reconstructing the paragraph that I read to you. It's okay if you miss something. This is a listening skill and you've talked a lot to your partners and I'm happy with the conversations that I heard. That's, that matters. So, what I want you to do next, when I say go, is flip it and see how close you guys got and look at the language how close were you with the language? Ready? Set, flip.

Student 1: So, I have walked a long walk to freedom—we got that one right!  I have tried not to falter. We got most of it right but we just um, misplaced them. We either misplaced them or we didn't actually get...

Student 2: Wrote them down, like [inaudible] for the paragraph.

Student 1: We were supposed to switch these two because this one had came first. Then this one had came second.

Student 2: Because it wouldn't make sense.

Student 1: Yeah.

Student 3: Okay, I have walked the long walk to freedom. I have tried not to falter. I have made missteps along the way.

Student 12: We got some of that. Pretty much.

Student 3: Well, we got the first sentence right. The sentence, "I have tried not to falter" [inaudible].

Whole Class Debrief (17:52–20:17)

Teacher: Hands down. And now comes where we're gonna dig deep. What we did was the surface. It's like when you see a tree, you see the top but there's many roots underneath. We're gonna go deeper. In this text, we talked about context yesterday, we said, okay he starts by talking about the past, and then he talks about the present, then he goes into the future. Remember we discussed that yesterday? Today we're gonna dig deeper. We're gonna go deeper and we're gonna go back and say, what figurative language does Nelson Mandela use here, and how can we take that figurative language to determine his character traits? Like what kind of leader was he?

Teacher: So, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna model the first figurative language and we're gonna discuss it as a class, and we're gonna see what does he really mean? When I read this paragraph to my son who's young, he's like, "Oh it's easy. He's hiking." He's not hiking. So, he talks a lot about hills and climbing and we're gonna dig deep and we're gonna look at the text for something other than what it literally says. So, we're gonna pick up our pencils and we're gonna label the first piece of figurative language, "I have walked that long walk to freedom". Walked that long walk to freedom. Is freedom a place where he's going?

Multiple Students: No.

Teacher: What do you think he means by that? I have walked the long walk to freedom. What is his long walk? Jefferson.

Student 9: He has tried a lot. Like he has been through a lot of stuff just for everybody could have the same rights.

Teacher: Yes. He's referencing the challenges, the journey, that he took to get to where he is. Let me write that down and then I'll get back to you Aiden. So, his long walk to freedom are the challenges. So, go ahead and label that. Or struggles that he went through. Aiden did you want to add something?

Student 4: Experience.

Teacher: His experience is what?

Student 4: His experience of, of um, his challenges that he had to face a lot to get, to earn his freedom.

Teacher: Good. Good for you. Yes. Thank you for making that connection. So, I want you to look over here at this list now. And I want you to look at the figurative language in that text in front of you. And you're gonna dig deep and you're going to infer. On the back of that paper you and your partner are going to answer this question using this frame, based on the figurative language in the text, I can infer Nelson Mandela was what kind of leader? What kind of leader? And tell me why. So, if you say he was whatever one of those words and because I should hear your explanation.

Students Discuss in Pairs (20:18–21:58)

Student 1: I think he's a strong man because everything that he's done. He's been through things. He's been to prison. He's all that, just to make a right actually be in the law. You know?

Student 2: Yeah.

Student 1: So that he's, he's a strong man. So, I think he's strong, so I'm gonna take a note as being strong.

Student 2: And I think he's loyal. Loyal because he didn't...

Student 1: He tr... like he basically treated everybody right.

Student 2: Yeah. He didn't really like, like the American white people less, he liked them...

Student 1: He treated them all equal.

Student 2: Yeah.

Student 1: Basically. Ok.

Student 3: Responsible. Because, like he, he made sure he did everything to, he did, he did everything and solved every problem to make sure that everyone gets freedom and equal rights as the whites.

Student 12: I agree with you.

Student 3: Why do you agree?

Student 12: I agree because you're right. He, he tries not to make as many mistakes and he keeps going. I'm not sure.

Student 3: What do you mean?

Student 12: Like he…

Student 3: Can you explain it?

Student 12: Like he's not trying to, he tries to make as little mistakes as possible and to give everyone freedom. Well, all his people freedom.

Student 3: Well, I disagree.  I think that he's trying to fix all those problems that he had to, to make sure everyone gets the same equal rights and freedoms as others.

Student 12: Yeah.

Whole Class Debrief (21:59–22:51)

Teacher: I've talked to two people and made sure that they felt comfortable sharing. So, I'm gonna call on two people and we're just gonna listen to their response. I already talked to them so if you were one of the kids I talked to you, you're gonna share your response out loud and we're gonna listen. Shaima.

Student 3: My word for Nelson Mandela was “responsible” because he tries to fix their problems that they had faces so that everyone could have equal rights and freedom as others.

Teacher: Perfect. Good. Who else? Who else did I speak to? I think it was Howie. Howie please share.

Student 15: Based on the figurative language in the text I can infer Nelson Mandela was trustworthiness because he faced the challenges and didn't give up. Because he stuck to his people so they can be equal to racial color. Every racial color.

Reflection and Closure (22:52–24:21)

Teacher: So, this is your frame for your next exit ticket. So, this is what I'm collecting. It says, "Based on the figurative language in the text, I can infer that this leader was ‘blank’ because ‘blank’." So, this is a whole different text. You're doing this on your own. You're reading through it and you're gonna say, 'Okay I'm reading this. He says he's been knocked down, but he's referring to something else.' You're gonna analyze it and you're gonna answer here. This is what you're gonna hand me on the way out of the door. This right here. Your exit ticket.

[Students write independently.]

Teacher: So, the purpose of today was to get you ready for when you start researching your person. We know that one of the things we're going to have to do is study our subject's character and personality traits. That's what you did today. When you research on your own, the separate person that you are going to be assigned, you might read texts that have figurative language about your leader. If it's an autobiography maybe they use figurative language but they won't tell you their character traits. You will have to infer that. You'll have to pull that out. So today was great practice for what you're going to be doing in the near future when you start your biographical presentations.

Closing Slides (24:22–25:53)

Narrator: Reflection and Discussion. Reflect on the following questions. First, how did you observe the following focal content standards and supporting English language development standards being implemented in this grade seven integrated English language development lesson? English Language Arts, Reading Standards for Informational Text, Standard 4; Speaking and Listening, Standard 1; Language, Standard 5. English Language Development, Part 1, Standard 1: Exchanging Information and Ideas; Part 1, Standard 8: Analyzing Language Choices; and Part 1, Standard 12a: Selecting Language Resources. Second, what features of integrated English language development did you observe in the lesson? Now pause the video and engage in a discussion with colleagues.

Narrator: The California Department of Education would like to thank the administrators, teachers, and students who participated in the making of this video. This video was made possible by the California Department of Education in collaboration with WestEd and Timbre films.