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Grade 6: Unit 5 – Heart of a Samurai: Connected Text Seminars

Seminar 1: Connected Texts

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand what it means to live by the Samurai Creed. They explain the history of Japan’s isolation from the outside world and are able to articulate why Will Adams and Commodore Perry are important to Japanese history.

Seminar 1:
“Samurai Creed” (Anonymous Samurai, 14th Century) (Poem) and “Foreigners Forbidden” by Rhonda Blumberg from Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (Nonfiction)

Do Now — 10 minutes

  • Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous seminar based on the feedback you gave them.

Launch — 2 minutes

  • Tell scholars that today, they will be reading two texts: “Samurai Creed” and “Foreigners Forbidden.” Build excitement by telling scholars that both texts will develop their background knowledge about important concepts in Heart of a Samurai.

Read and Discuss 1 — 40 minutes

Display “Samurai Creed.”

Preview the Text (2 minutes):

    • Have scholars read the title and scan the poem to frame their thinking.
    • Call on scholars to share what they noticed about the text and what they will think about as they are reading.

Read (3 minutes):

    • Say: As you are reading, think, “What is this poem mostly about?”
      • Read the poem aloud while scholars follow along on their digital copies.

Discuss (5 minutes):

    • Scholars discuss the following question in pairs: What is this poem mostly about? Call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars back up their claims with evidence from the text.

Read (20 minutes):

    • Say: As you are rereading, think, “Why did the author write this poem?”
    • Read the poem aloud as scholars follow along on their digital copies. While reading aloud, pause to ask the questions below:
      • Stop after Line 4, “I make awareness my home.”
        • Partner Talk: Why might a samurai give up his parents and his home?
      • Stop after Line 14, “I make endurance my body.”
        • Partner Talk: If a samurai does not rely on his body for strength, where does his strength come from?
      • Stop after Line 36, “I make carelessness my enemy.”
        • Partner Talk: Why is it important for a samurai not to have friends or enemies?
      • Stop after Line 42, “I make absence of self my sword.”
        • Partner Talk: What can we infer about a samurai based on the fact that he has no armor and no sword?
    • Discuss: Why did the author write this poem?

Main Idea Jot (2 minutes):

    • Scholars jot a main idea in a comment next to the title of the text.
    • While scholars are working, circulate to determine which scholars have a bull’s-eye main idea jot and which do not.

Discuss (8 minutes):

    • Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class:
      • Where does a samurai’s power come from?
      • What is the effect of the alternation of bolded and nonbolded text?

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea jots based on the discussion.

Write — 10 minutes

Write an essay of no more than 200 words:

    • Based on the poem, what does it mean to live by the Samurai Creed? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from the poem.

Wrap-Up — 5 minutes

  • Show an exemplar essay to scholars. Have scholars discuss what makes the claim clear and compelling. Set your expectations for what scholars must do differently when approaching the next text.

Read and Discuss 2 — 35 minutes

Display “Foreigners Forbidden.”

Preview the Text (3 minutes):

    • Have scholars read the title and scan the article to frame their thinking.
    • Call on scholars to share what they noticed about the text and what they will think about as they are reading.

Read (15 minutes):

    • Say: As you are reading, think, “What is this text mostly about? Why did the author write this text?”
    • Scholars independently read and annotate the text on their Chromebooks. When they are finished, they jot a main idea in a comment next to the title of the text.
    • While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work and
      conference with two to three scholars.

Discuss (5 minutes):

    • Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs: What is this text mostly about? Why did the author write this text? Call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars back up their claims with evidence from the text.

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea jots based on the discussion.

Read (6 minutes):

    • Say: As you are rereading, think, “Why was Commodore Perry important in history?”
    • Reread Lines 39–55 with scholars.

Discuss (6 minutes): Scholars discuss the following question as a whole class:

    • Why was Commodore Perry important in history?

Exit Ticket — 8 minutes

Write an essay of no more than 200 words:

    • Nonfiction authors frequently use stories of historical figures to help readers understand important events in history. How does the story of Will Adams’s experience in Lines 12 to 23 contribute to the article? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from “Foreigners Forbidden.”

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