Lessons & Units :: Fourteen Cows for America 4th Grade Unit

Paired Text Questions: 14 Cows for America & "Always Remember"

Lesson Plan

14 Cows for America | AD540L

14 Cows for America
Learning Goal
Integrate information from the non-fiction reading passage “Always Remember” and the non-fiction book 14 Cows for America to write and speak about 9/11 and how different people responded to that tragic event.
Duration
Approximately 20 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided:
  1. Questions
  2. Non-fiction reading passage “Always Remember”

Not Provided:
14 Cows for America
 
  • Questions 1 and 2 refer to the non-fiction passage “Always Remember.” Questions 3 and 4 refer to the non-fiction book 14 Cows for America. Questions 5 and 6 refer to both the passage and the book.
  • Student versions of the questions are in the 'Texts & Materials' tab.
 
Part 1: "Always Remember"
 
Read the passage “Always Remember” out loud to your students. Alternatively, students can read the passage independently or as a group.
 
Question 1: Summarize the events that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001, as described in this article.
 
Sample student answer (may vary but should resemble the following): Terrorists hijacked four planes in the United States. They flew two of them into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the buildings to burn and collapse. They flew another into the Pentagon near Washington, DC. On the fourth plane, passengers fought back, and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. In total, over 3,000 people were killed.
 
Question 2: What are some of the things people in the U.S. have done to remember the events of September 11th?
 
Sample student answer: To honor those who died, ceremonies are held every year at the different crash sites. Also, memorials were created at the crash site in Pennsylvania and at the place where the Twin Towers once stood.
 
Part 2: 14 Cows for America
 
Question 3: What does Kimeli tell the Maasai about the events that took place in New York on September 11, 2001?
 
Sample student answer:
  • Kimeli tells the Maasai that three thousand souls were lost.
  • He tells them that there were buildings so tall they touched the sky.
  • He tells them that there were fires so hot they melted iron.
  • He tells them that there was so much smoke and dust that the sun was blotted out.
 
Question 4: What did the Maasai do to respond to the events of September 11th?
 
Sample student answer:
  • The Maasai made a gift of 14 cows to America.
  • They held a ceremony for the American diplomat.
 
Part 3: "Always Remember" and 14 Cows for America
 
Question 5: Compare the reasons why Americans and the Maasai both responded to 9/11 by remembering those who lost their lives and with acts of kindness.
 
Sample student answer: Both Americans and the Maasai were saddened and emotionally moved by the loss of human life and the tragic events of 9/11.
 
Question 6: Explain why the offering of 14 cows by the Maasai would OR would not help the people of America.
 
Sample student answer (will vary and could include):
  • The offering would not be helpful because it would not do anything to protect Americans from being attacked and would not fix any of the damage that was done.
  • The offering would be helpful to Americans because after enduring so much pain and suffering at the hands of people from another country, it would be reassuring to see that people from another country cared about them.
  • The offering would be helpful to Americans because they would appreciate how much the gift meant to the Maasai since the tribe relies on cows to survive.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

Wonderful 9/11 Lesson

Submitted by mgreife_1118893 on 9/26/16

Great lesson plan, which is aligned with the standards, historical event and for lower level readers!

Submitted by tlmack01 on 9/13/16

I really appreciate you aligning this lesson plan to the SCAS. SC had to be difficult and buck the CCSS.

Submitted by mattw125 on 9/28/15

This is a great lesson. I really love the story, what a find!

Submitted by kschooler on 9/9/15

So happy I have found this, Can't wait to use it in the near future

Submitted by samchrl_1480531 on 7/13/15

LOVE, it can't wait to try this out!!!!!

Submitted by Casandra Lott-Woods on 9/16/13