Grade: Grade 5 Subject: English Language Arts Created by: Stacey Desort Lesson Length: 1 hour 30 minutes Keywords/Tags: streets and sanitation Lesson Description: This lesson is to provide students with new vocabulary and how to use it in sentences. The lesson also requires the student to think about how the author feels about his job.
Common Core Standards Covered with This Lesson
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.4: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Lesson Content: Reading
Instructions: Please read the following reading passage as many times as needed (aloud and silent) before starting to go through other lesson pages. Understanding the content of this passage is very important since the lesson activities will be all about this content. Feel free to print the passage if needed.
My Job
I am an employee at the department of streets and sanitation. Our department takes care of the streets, and we take care of the sewers, too. I go to work at midnight, and I work an eight-hour shift. It took me a while to get accustomed to working at night, but now I’m used to it.
Most people work in the daytime and are able to complete their job during that time. Their workplace closes at night, which called “business hours.” They don’t have to be at their workplace day and night to take care of things. However, sewer workers need to be available 24 hours a day. You can’t close our office. Someone has to be on duty at all times. If a sewer breaks in the middle of the night, we have to fix it right then. If we don’t repair it right away, the problem will continue to get worse.
One night I was on duty and there was a problem in a nearby community. I received a call from a homeowner who informed me that the sewer was broken. I asked her how she knew. She told me there was dirty water coming back up into their street.
I didn’t go to fix the problem, because that’s not actually my job. My job is to identify a problem and then figure out how to solve it. The homeowner told me about the problem, and then I looked at the map on the computer. It showed that she was right. We have sensors under the street, so that we know when there is a leak. The sensors confirm the leak.
I dispatched a team to fix the problem. Some of them were on duty, but others were off duty. I telephoned them at home and asked them to meet the team on the homeowner’s street. The workers had to close the street for several hours while they repaired the sewer. First, they dug a hole to get to the sewer, and then they discovered the leak. After that, they had to replace a part of the pipeline. That took a lot of hard work, but they were able to finish it.
Most nights it is not particularly difficult to do my job. However, when we have a problem, we have to get it solved immediately, which is why I’m on night duty.
My wife is a police officer. She works nights, too. She and I both know it’s important to have people on duty 24 hours every day. We make sure that when you wake up in the morning the city is safe and healthy.
Task 1: Vocabulary Activity
(40 points)
Instructions: Please complete the following vocabulary activity by choosing the correct meaning of each word selected from the passage and use of each word correctly in a sentence.
Vocabulary Questions
Word/Phrase: dispatch | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q1
The author said he "dispatched a team to fix the problem(the sewer)". What does the word dispatched mean?
A. He called the team to fix the sewer. *
B. He called the homeowner to tell them the sewer would be fixed.
C. He detected the leak.
D. He called the team to see who was on duty that night.
What sentence uses the word "dispatched" correctly?
A. The plane dispatched from the airport without any dely.
B. The fire department was disptached to the house on fire. *
C. The bird dispatched from the tree when it was learning to fly.
D. Amy dispatched her father to tell him she would be statying after school.
Word/Phrase: accustomed | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q2
The author said, "It took me a while to get accustomed to working at night, but now I’m used to it." What does the word accustomed mean?
A. He doesn't like to work at night.
B. He has grown used to working at night. *
C. He wants to work on the day shift.
D. He wants to work on the night shift.
Which sentence below uses "accustomed" correctly?
A. The new job was difficult for Mary at first, but she grew accustomed to it. *
B. Robert was accustomed when he started his new school.
C. The boy was accustomed when he was caught stealing.
D. Mary was accustomed when she recieved a present on her birthday!
Word/Phrase: sensors | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q3
The author says, "We have sensors under the street, so that we know when there is a leak". What is a sensor?
A. A sensor is a light so workers can see inside the pipe.
B. A sensor is an noise that the warns the homeowner of a problem.
C. A sensor is a device that detects a problem in the pipeline. *
D. A sensor is how the water flows in the pipe.
Which of the sentences below best describes a "sensor"?
A. The room was dark, so I turned on a sensor so I could see.
B. The sensor will make the house warm in the winter.
C. The sensor in the smoke dector will alert you if there is smoke. *
D. The plants will not grow if the sensor is broken.
Word/Phrase: sanitation | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q4
The author said ,"I am an employee at the department of streets and sanitation. Our department takes care of the streets, and we take care of the sewers, too." What are the responsibilities of the sanitation workers?
A. They wash houses and cars.
B. They repair the sewer leaks and fix the streets for the community. *
C. They fix plumbing in the houses.
D. They dig holes for new construction.
Which sentence uses the word sanitation correctly?
A. The sanitation workers removed a tree from Scott and Heather's backyard.
B. Mark's toilet was broken, so he called the sanitation department to fix it.
C. The sanitation workers were called to put out the house fire.
D. There was a leak in the pipeline, so the sanitation workers repaired it. *
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4,
Task 2: Discussion Activity
(30 points)
Instructions: This discussion forum will have questions for students to respond. Read the posted questions, and respond to each. Students are responsible for posting one initial and and two peer responses for each topic.
Topic Title
Replies
Why didn't the author go to the homeowner's house and fix the leak himself?
The author worked for the streets and sanitation department, but his job was to identify the problem and figure out how to solve it. His job was to find the leak and dispatch the workers to go to the homeowner's house and repair it.
Sent on: Feb 16, 2014 by: Stacey Desort
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How does the author feel about working at night? Support your answer.
The author said he was getting used to working at night, but it was hard at first. He says he realizes that certain jobs, such as his and his police officer wife, require people to work at night. he thinks it's important to keep his city safe and happy.
Sent on: Feb 16, 2014 by: Stacey Desort
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.10,
Task 3: Writing Activity
(30 points)
Instructions: What other type of jobs require people to work at night? What are their responsibities and why is it necessary for them to work at night? Write your answer in paragraph form, 500 words. Make sure to use examples.
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.4,
