Classroom Resource

Paradise Lost

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Grade(s)

5

Overview

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. Students will interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can provide the background information needed for students to design a solution for cleaning a polluted environment, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson. 

Science (2015) Grade(s): 5

SC15.5.17

Design solutions, test, and revise a process for cleaning a polluted environment (e.g., simulating an oil spill in the ocean or a flood in a city and creating a solution for containment and/or cleanup).*

Unpacked Content

UP:SC15.5.17

Vocabulary

    Design
  • Solution
  • Test
  • Revise
  • Polluted
  • Environment
  • Engineer
  • Technology

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life can have major effects, both positive and negative, on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space.
  • Individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth's resources and environments.
  • Research on a problem should be carried out before beginning to design a solution.
  • Testing a solution involves investigating how well it performs under a range of likely conditions.
  • At whatever stage, communicating with peers about proposed solutions is an important part of the design process, and shared ideas can lead to improved designs.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Use grade-appropriate information from research about a given problem, including the causes and effects of the problem and relevant scientific information.
  • Generate at least two possible solutions to the problem based on scientific information and understanding of the problem.
  • Specify how each design solution solves the problem.
  • Share ideas and findings with others about design solutions to generate a variety of possible solutions.
  • Describe the necessary steps for designing a solution to a problem, including conducting research and communicating with others throughout the design process to improve the design [note: emphasis is on what is necessary for designing solutions, not on a step-wise process].

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones to: increase benefits, decrease known risks, and/or meet societal demands.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Crosscutting Concepts

Systems and System Models
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.5

Demonstrate fluency when independently reading, writing, and speaking in response to grade-level literary and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.5

Vocabulary

  • Fluency
  • Independently
  • Literary text
  • Informational text
  • Stories
  • Dramas
  • Poetry
  • Cross-curricular texts

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Fluency is the ability to read, write, or speak at a pace that does not negatively impact meaning or understanding.
  • Responding to text through writing and speaking demonstrates comprehension.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Independently read grade-level literary and informational text fluently.
  • Demonstrate fluency when writing.
  • Demonstrate fluent speech.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The ability to read fluently supports comprehension, or understanding, of the text.
  • The ability to write and speak fluently helps clearly communicate with others.
  • One way to demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text is to respond in writing or through speaking.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.16

Demonstrate comprehension of varied literary and informational texts by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.16

Vocabulary

  • Comprehension
  • Literary text
  • Informational text
  • Discussing
  • Writing
  • Response

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Comprehension of text can be demonstrated by referring to the text in discussions or written responses.
  • Informational text is nonfiction text, and literary text is fictional.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of varied literary and informational text by referring to the text in discussions.
  • Demonstrate understanding of varied literary and informational text by referring to the text in written responses.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can show that they understood a wide variety of literary and informational text by discussing or writing about specific content from the text.
Link to Resource
https://www.readworks.org/article/Paradise-Lost/ae164a9a-91c7-44b4-bfcb-f81a1c2…

CR Resource Type

Learning Activity

Resource Provider

ReadWorks.org
Accessibility

Accessibility

Audio resources: includes a transcript or subtitles
Text Resources: Content is organized under headings and subheadings
License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

https://about.readworks.org/terms-of-use.html

Comments or Notes

ReadWorks is a website that provides K-12 teachers with free literacy resources (About ReadWorks). ReadWorks has literary and informational texts on a variety of subjects and reading skills. You may narrow your search using grade level or Lexile level, making this website a wonderful tool for differentiation. Students will complete their work digitally, and you will provide their scores and feedback digitally. This makes it easy to go paperless for this activity.

Prior to implementing this activity, you will need to sign up for an Educator Account on ReadWorks. After setting up an account, create a class from the Class Admin tab, this will provide you with a Class Code to give to students. Next, use the Find Content tab to search for the informational article that will be used during this activity, "Paradise Lost." After navigating to the article, click on the blue Assign button to assign it to your class.

Each student will need access to a digital device, such as a tablet or laptop. The first time students enter the website they will need to enter the Class Code that is listed on your Class Admin page. Alternatively, you can print the article and corresponding questions for students, if digital devices are not available. 

Approved Date

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