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The Upfront Pacing and Implementation Guide

Upfront is a ready-to-go print and digital resource that gets teens talking and thinking about today’s biggest news stories. It also reinforces rigorous curriculums that meet national standards, including the National Council for Social Studies standards and the Common Core ELA standards. Whether it’s used as a news and civics resource or as an ELA informational text, Upfront helps build core social studies knowledge and critical thinking skills.

To help you make the most of all the great resources Upfront offers, we’ve created this pacing and implementation guide. It features teaching suggestions and curriculum connections to help you plan Upfront lessons effectively and efficiently.

What You Get with Each Issue of Upfront

Printed Materials

A Class Set of Student Magazines

A Digital Resource Guide provides an overview of the articles in the student magazine, notes standards correlations, and lists lesson resources (e.g., skill builders and videos) for each article.

Digital Resources

• DIGITAL VERSIONS of every article allow students to read Upfront on any device!

• CLOSED-CAPTIONED VIDEOS build knowledge, context, and engagement.

• LOWER-LEVEL ARTICLES make the magazine accessible to striving readers.

• TEXT-TO-SPEECH AUDIO highlights each word as the article is read aloud.

• LESSON PLANS provide discussion, writing, and debate prompts; visual analysis questions; and assessments.

• INTERACTIVE SKILLS SHEETS develop and build ELA skills.

• GOOGLE CLASSROOM INTEGRATION gives you the ability to sign in, sync rosters, and share content.

• SLIDE DECKS give students a digital version of lesson plans that they can use independently.

• TEXT SETS provide curated resources on the most important topics in your curriculum.

• DIGITAL ARCHIVE puts past issues and support materials at your fingertips.

• WRITE ON! Upfront’s writing guide for students provides models and tips for writing persuasive, narrative, and informational texts.

Pacing and Implementation

Our suggested implementation is to complete one issue over the course of five 50-minute class sessions, depending on the time available.

Class Session 1

CLOSE READING LESSON PLAN:

• 5 minutes: Pose the essential question, share the lesson vocabulary, and facilitate a brief discussion in response to the engage prompt.

• 25 minutes: Have students read the article, write responses to the Up Close questions in small groups, and then participate in a class discussion about the article.

• 10 minutes: Use the video, writing prompt, and/or debate prompt to encourage students to think more deeply about the topic.

• 10 minutes: Assess comprehension with the quiz and review ELA and graph skills with the skill builders.* Review answers as a class.

Class Session 2

CRITICAL THINKING LESSON PLAN:

• 15 minutes: Pose the essential question and then have students independently read the article.

• 10 minutes: Use the questions to lead a class discussion of the article.

• 15 minutes: Use the writing and debate prompts to encourage students to think more deeply about the topic.

• 10 minutes: Assess comprehension with the quiz and review ELA and graph skills with the skill builders.* Review answers as a class.

Class Session 3

TIMES PAST LESSON PLAN (FIRST LESSON):

• 5 minutes: Pose the essential question, share the lesson vocabulary, and facilitate a brief discussion in response to the engage prompt.

• 10 minutes: Have students independently read the article.

• 10 minutes: Use the questions to lead a class discussion of the article.

• 15 minutes: Use the writing and debate prompts to encourage students to think more deeply about the topic. If time allows, have students preview the primary source and incorporate ideas from it in their writing and debate responses.

• 10 minutes: Assess comprehension with the quiz and review ELA and graph skills with the skill builders.* Review answers as a class. Introduce the extend activity.**

* Skill builders are paired with lessons differently in each issue, based on lesson content. Each issue always includes the following skill builders:

  • Analyze the Graph
  • Be the Editor (grammar skills)
  • Organizing Ideas (outlining skills)
  • Analyze the Photo
  • Analyze the Cartoon

Depending on content, skill builders for the following skills may also be included: summarizing, citing text evidence, making inferences, identifying cause and effect, interpreting figurative language, and more.

Skill builders can be completed in class or assigned as independent work.

** The extend activity in the Times Past lesson plan provides students with an opportunity to delve deeply into the Times Past topic by doing projects such as:

  • creating multimedia presentations
  • participating in book clubs
  • analyzing songs, films, or fine art
  • researching and analyzing additional primary sources
  • giving speeches
  • engaging in other research and analysis related to the Times Past topic

We recommend introducing the extend activity in Class Session 3 (the first class session for the Times Past lesson plan). Have students conduct research or otherwise prepare for the activity as independent work. In Class Session 4 (the second class session for the Times Past lesson plan), have students share their research or participate in discussion groups as noted in the lesson plan for the activity.

Class Session 4

TIMES PAST LESSON PLAN (SECOND LESSON):

• 5 minutes: Pose the essential question again and invite volunteers to briefly review key ideas from the article.

• 10 minutes: Have students independently read the primary source.

• 10 minutes: Use the questions to lead a class discussion of the primary source.

• 25 minutes: Have students share their research or participate in their discussion groups.

Class Session 5

DEBATE LESSON PLAN:

• 10 minutes: Pose the essential question and then have students independently read the debate.

• 10 minutes: Use the questions to lead a class discussion of the debate.

• 10 minutes: Have students complete Analyzing Authors’ Claims. Review responses as a class.

• 15 minutes: Use the writing and debate prompts to encourage students to think more deeply about the topic.

• 5 minutes: Have students vote in Upfront’s Debate Poll. Use the graph lesson to review graph skills. Review answers as a class.

Each issue of Upfront includes additional articles. Assign these articles and their skill builders as independent work.

Alternate Pacing and Implementation

Class Sessions 1-3

• SHORTEN TO 40 MINUTES by assigning the quiz and skill builders as independent work.

• SHORTEN TO 25—30 MINUTES by assigning the discussion questions, writing prompt, and debate prompt (with students arguing for one side in writing) as independent work.

Class Session 4

• SHORTEN TO 40 MINUTES by assigning the primary source discussion questions as independent work.

• SHORTEN TO 30 MINUTES by assigning both the primary source reading and the discussion questions as well as the debate prompt (with students arguing for one side in writing) as independent work.

Class Session 5

• SHORTEN TO 30 MINUTES by assigning Analyzing Authors’ Claims, the writing prompt, and the graph lesson as independent work.

• SHORTEN TO TWO 15-MINUTE SESSIONS:

  • SESSION 1: Pose the essential question, have students read the article, use the discussion questions to lead a discussion of the article, and assign Analyzing Authors’ Claims, the writing prompt, and the graph lesson as independent work.
  • SESSION 2: Hold an extended classroom debate on the topic. Divide students into small groups based on which side they want to argue. Have groups plan and then present their arguments to the class. Then have students vote in our online poll.

Suggestions for Short Activities and Independent Work

Upfront can easily be adapted for your classroom needs! Here are even more ways you can incorporate Upfront into your classroom. These mini-lessons can be done as a whole class, in small groups, or independently. They can also be reserved for substitute lesson plans.

10-MINUTE MINI-LESSONS

Have students examine the photo(s) for The Big Picture and then share first impressions. Then have students read the accompanying text and discuss or write about how the photo(s) support and clarify ideas in the text.

After students read each section of News & Trends, have them discuss or write about the central idea of the section and facts or details that they found surprising or interesting, explaining why.

If time does not allow for the full lesson plan that includes Analyze the Photo or Analyze the Cartoon, have students read the magazine article and then complete the photo or cartoon skill builder.

Upfront and Your Curriculum

Upfront Supports Your Social Studies and Science Instruction

  • Make current events relevant with our cover stories and other timely articles.
  • Bring history to life and help students make connections between the past and the present with our Times Past articles.
  • Build knowledge with our videos and extend activities.
  • Guide students to think critically about the interconnectivity of local and global events, advances in technology and science, local and global economies, and where and how people live.
  • Prompt students to consider their role in the world and how local and global events shape their lives.

Upfront Supports Your ELA Instruction

  • Expose students to reading different text structures, including informational text, primary sources, and debates.
  • Guide students to analyze text features, such as headlines, subheads, captions, and sidebars.
  • Enhance vocabulary and review vocabulary skills by introducing lesson vocabulary words and prompting students to use context to determine meanings.
  • Use graphic organizers to reinforce literacy and text structure skills, such as central idea, cause and effect, and interpreting figurative language.
  • Increase visual literacy skills through cartoon and photo analysis.
  • Practice conversation and debate skills with the discussion questions and debate prompts.
  • Provide ample writing opportunities with the writing prompts.

To request a free sample and for more information, call (800) 387-1437, or email magazineinfo@scholastic.com.

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