Do you have a room in your school that is covered in spreadsheets like this?
My school had a room where spreadsheets like this covered all the bookshelves and walls. It was called our “data room.” To say that district leaders loved data rooms is a massive understatement. To them, these spreadsheets proved that teachers monitored each students’ progress on each standard throughout the year. Yes, teachers need to monitor their students’ progress, but this was overkill. Sadly, it took an insane amount of testing to gather all this data. We had to test a standard in each subject at least once per week. Many teachers across the USA have to do the same, if not more.
There is an incredible demand for teachers to monitor their students’ progress on tested standards, but many teachers are not given adequate materials to do this.
This is why I have created resources to help you teach, review, and assess all 6th grade RI standards.
Click here for my free resources on RI.6.1 (analyzing and inferencing). It includes a passage about basketball star Kevin Durant, which will thrill your kids who love sports. I have included an interactive skill practice activity, a writing prompt, and a quiz to help you keep track of how well your students understand this standard. I’ve also included three pages of ideas to help you teach this lesson. Teachers have used these resources to teach or review this skill. Continue reading to see how.
Suggested Lesson Progression
I love getting new resources, but I hate spending hours figuring out how to use them. That’s why I’ve provided three pages of suggestions about how to use the resources I’m giving you. This lesson progression provides:
- Things you can say to your students when you preview the material
- A link to a video about Durant, which is helpful for students who don’t know him
- A brief summary of the passage
- Instructions on how to use all resources
I know you’re busy, so I’ve taken care of the planning for you.
Passage
Kids need to know that celebrities struggle just like everyone else. Paragraphs 3-5 describe Kevin working extremely hard to improve after his first year in the NBA. That meant he had to change his diet of fried chicken and oatmeal pies! He also spent more time at practice and in the weight room. I hope your students realize that Kevin didn’t just roll out of bed and become an NBA star. His success is the result of hours and hours and hours of hard work.
Paragraph 11 is about his decision to leave Oklahoma City to play for the Golden State Warriors. If you have time, show your students the article Kevin wrote where he explains his decision.
It could lead to some interesting discussion, especially if you teach in Oklahoma City!
Skill Practice
This activity allows students to match inferences about Kevin Durant with the supporting text evidence. Students glue the inferences into a notebook, then glue the text evidence with it. Here is what the finished product will look like.
Instructions are provided when you download the resource.
Writing Prompt
I love prompts that make students think deeper about the text. This prompt asks students to write why Kevin is successful and what the passage taught them about success. Hopefully, students will realize that success takes an incredible amount of hard work.
Quiz
This is a quick way to assess how well your students can analyze why Kevin Durant is successful. Every question aligns with RI.6.1. There are three multiple-choice questions and two written-response questions. When I wrote this quiz, I worked hard to ensure the questions meet the rigor of the standard without confusing students. I HATE WHEN TEST QUESTIONS ARE WORDED IN A WAY THAT CONFUSES STUDENTS!! Ok, let me step off my soapbox to show you the quiz about Durant.
An answer key is also included.
You’ll find that some of your reluctant readers will be engaged during this lesson because they will be reading about a person they care about. Thousands of teachers have used my passages. Many have said their students who normally hate reading are much more engaged during ELA class when they use my passages.
I have also created units for the other 6th-grade RI standards. Click any of the images for more information.
I have also created units for RI.6.4, RI.6.5, RI.6.6, RI.6.7, RI.6.8, RI.6.9, and RI.6.10.
If you need units for every RI standard, you may be interested in the following bundle:
