Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.6, R.7, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will identify cause-and-effect relationships in a text about a teen who is homeschooled.

Key Skills

cause and effect, text features, vocabulary, sequence of events, author’s purpose, point of view, key details, compare and contrast, making a personal connection, informational writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The text describes a teen’s experience learning at home. 

 

Structure: The story is mainly informational and is told from the first-person perspective.

 

Language: The language is conversational.

 

Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is needed.

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L 

Guided Reading Level: Q 

DRA Level: 40

SEL Connection

This article and lesson promote self-management and social awareness skills.

Lesson Plan: “My Family Is Homeschooled”

Essential Questions

  • What is a good education? How do we achieve it?
  • What does it mean to be self-directed?

Literature Connection

  • Novel: Schooled by Gordon Korman
  • Novel: Lily’s Promise by Kathryn Erskine

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text beneath the title). What do you know about being homeschooled? Is there anything you think you know but aren’t sure about? What questions do you have? Answers will vary. Writing out students’ questions will be a good segue into the introduction of the article, which aims to address common misconceptions about homeschooling.
  • Look at the photos of Cadence that are included in the article and read their captions. What do they tell you about her? The photos and captions tell you that Cadence loves art, spends time with her family, and is passionate about fashion. They also tell you that she has a big family.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (misconceptions, agenda, Indigenous, empowering, time management) aloud and discuss their definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that after reading, they’ll analyze cause-and-effect relationships in the story. Point out the activity at the end of the story. 
  • Encourage students to pause at the end of each section so they can monitor their comprehension. Prompt them to take note of sentences they think tell them important ideas in each section, as well as any words or sentences they don’t understand.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Question (15 minutes)

  • In the article’s introduction, Cadence lists her hobbies and interests. What is the purpose of this section?  (author’s purpose) Cadence lists her hobbies and interests (e.g., makeup, fashion, making her own clothes, reading, writing, dancing, etc.) to make the point that she is a typical teen with many interests. In the previous paragraph, she mentions that there are a lot of misconceptions about homeschooling. By highlighting how she is similar to most teens, she’s showing that being homeschooled doesn’t make someone as different as others might think.
  • What does Cadence appreciate about being with her family all day? What does she find difficult about it? (point of view) Cadence appreciates being with her family all day, even though there are eight people under one roof. She loves how close she is with her family. She enjoys doing projects with her siblings and babysitting them. They fight sometimes, but they know how to make up quickly. One thing she finds difficult about being with so many people at home is that it can be hard to find a quiet spot.
  • What does Cadence want to do when she is older? How is homeschooling helping her reach that goal? (key details) Cadence wants to be an author when she is older. At home, she gets to focus on reading and writing to help her reach that goal.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • How is Cadence’s typical school day different from yours? How is it similar? (compare and contrast) Answers will vary. Similarities may include: learning about topics like U.S. presidents and Indigenous people; learning current events, math, reading, writing, and research; and having chores around the house. Differences may include: being with family all day, having a say over what you learn, and creating your own daily schedule. 
  • Based on your answer to the question above, which do you think would work better for you: being homeschooled or going to a traditional school? (making a personal connection) Answers will vary. Encourage students to think about details from the article as well as their own life experiences.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Assign students to work in small groups to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Cause and Effect activity.
  • Go further: Use our Sequence of Events Skill Builder, available in higher and lower level versions.  (Click here to view all your Skill Builders.)
  • Writing prompt: Imagine that you’re homeschooled (if you are, that’s great; this exercise will be easy for you). Create a list of subjects you’d like to study. For instance, is there an event from history that you’ve always wanted to learn more about? A species of animal that interests you? A type of product (such as shampoo or bike tires) that might have a weird, wonderful backstory? Include at least five subjects in your list.

Learn Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Create a study guide.

Deciding what you want to learn about might be great. But how do you know how to learn about those things? A study guide can help. 

Choose a subject. It can be something you already know about (such as your favorite sports team or movie series) or something you’d like to learn about (for instance, how to grow a vegetable garden). Write the name of the subject at the top of the page. Then use your school library, the internet, and any experts you might know to find the following information. Write the information on the page below the subject.

  • Write a few big questions that someone might ask about this subject. (For instance, if your study guide is about an event, you might write questions about where, when, and why it happened. If your guide is about a country, you might write questions about how many people live in the country and what languages are spoken there.)
  • Write down three good sources of information on your subject. These can be books, articles, videos, or websites.

When you’ve completed your study guide, share it with your teacher. All of the guides can be made available to the class so that you and your classmates can use them to learn about things that interest you!

Language-Acquisition Springboard

Reinforce comprehension by comparing Cadence’s schooling to your classroom.

After reading the article, project our Venn Diagram Skill Builder on your whiteboard. Explain to students that you’ll write details about Cadence’s schooling in the outer part of the left-hand circle, details about practices in your classroom in the outer part of the right-hand circle, and details that both experiences share in the space where the circles overlap. Ask students to volunteer details to write in the diagram. If they need help, ask:

  • Who decides what you study in class? Who decides what Cadence studies?
  • Who helps Cadence learn math? Who helps you learn math?
  • Do you do group projects with other students? Does Cadence?
  • Do you get summer vacation? Does Cadence?
  • Do you see your friends every day? Does Cadence?

Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.


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