Lesson 3 - The Dinka & the Nuer

🕐 Lesson Overview

Bellringer
Notes: Because, But, So
Because, But, So Practice
Read: Chapter 3
Dinka & Nuer Facial Scarring
Distribution of Dinka & Nuer

⭐ Objectives

I can write in complete sentences.
I can use conjunctions to extend and elaborate on ideas.
I can understand other cultures and sources of conflict.

📏 Standards

🗽 NYSNGSS

7R6 - RL:
In literary texts, analyze how an author develops and contrasts the point of view and the perspectives of different characters or narrators.
7W2c:
Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary to explain a topic.
7L3:
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

💖 SEL

2A.3b:
Practice respectful curiosity to better understand others’ lived experiences.
2C.3a:
Practice empathy in order to establish and maintain positive relationships with individuals and groups across lines of difference.
2D.3a:
Describe potential causes and consequences of conflicts; recognizing that power and privilege impact relationships.

🗒️ Lesson Plan

Anticipatory Set

For a bellringer, students will complete the following Sentence Scramble activity. The first word in each sentence is supplied to students in bold. 1. breaks village out salva's gunfire in 2. to walks nya miles water gather 3. alone salva left is 4. family find is to his salva desperate

The teacher will allow students sufficient time to work then bring the class together to review. Answers may vary, but anticipated responses are provided below. 1. Gunfire breaks out in Salva's village. 2. Nya walks miles to gather water. 3. Salva is left alone. 4. Salva is desperate to find his family.

When reviewing, the teacher should emphasize the importance of capitalizing the names of characters, which are called proper nouns. This scramble builds students' awareness of sentence structure and parts of speech as well as reviews content read in class in Lesson 2 - Begin Reading.

After the class reviews the scramble, the teacher will review the agenda and objectives.

Developmental Activity

The teacher will explicitly teach procedures for note-taking.

Open journals to the page you last used.
If there is space left on the page, skip a line and write down today's date.
If there is not space left on the page, go to the next page and write today's date at the top.
Copy down anything on the board with a star (★) next to it.

The teacher will then introduce students to the Because, But, So strategy, which builds students' writing skills by equipping them with three conjunctions that they can use to extend their sentence stems. Students will copy the following notes into their journals:

because explains why something is true, why something happened, or why a certain condition exists
but indicates a change of direction
so tells us what happens as a result of something else — in other words, a cause and its effect

The teacher will complete an example to model the strategy ("I Do").

Nya gathers water for her family because...
Nya gathers water for her family, but...
Nya gathers water for her family, so...

Students will then have a few minutes to discuss with a partner and figure out how to complete the following sentence stems.

Salva ran from his village because...
Salva ran from his village, but...
Salva ran from his village, so...

The class will then read aloud from Chapter 3 in A Long Walk to Water using the Equity Sticks procedure to select readers. The teacher will pause to show images of the Dinka and Nuer facial scarring and discuss the cultural practice; the teacher should be careful to advise students that this may seem strange or different but that it is a practice important to these cultures. The teacher may draw a comparison to body modifications in American society, like piercings or tattoos. The teacher will also show a map of the tribal distribution in South Sudan and point out the areas where conflict may arise, leading students to brainstorm what the tribes may be fighting over (borders, power, access to resources, etc.).

Closure

Students will complete the following Exit Ticket, which has them apply the Because, But, So strategy independently ("You Do").

The Dinka and the Nuer:
Extend and elaborate on the following sentence stems after reading Chapter 3 in A Long Walk to Water using because, but, and so. You may want to look back on the chapter to help you complete the assignment.

The Dinka and the Nuer fight because...

The Dinka and the Nuer fight, but...

The Dinka and the Nuer fight, so...

⚙️ Modifications

If in a co-taught class, a co-teacher may pull a small group of students and read with them in a smaller group setting where more individualized reading interventions may be used.