Article
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Short Read,

When Mosquitoes Were Killers in America

This short nonfiction text explores the war against mosquitoes and the deadly diseases they spread. NOTE: We recommend reading this article before reading the play The Poison Sky.

By Lauren Tarshis
From the April 2017 Issue

Learning Objective: to support a claim with text evidence

Complexity Factors
  • Purpose
    The article discusses malaria—how the disease is spread, how DDT was used to defeat it in the U.S., and why DDT is no longer used in many countries. The text provides context for the play, The Poison Sky.
  • Structure
    The text is informational and uses cause-and-effect structures.
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity
    Vocabulary: Some challenging domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., insecticide, doused) Figurative language: metaphor, hyperbole, rhetorical question
  • Knowledge Demands
    The text refers to Mayan farmers, sub-Saharan Africa, and other peoples and regions.
Lexile: 940L
Featured Skill: Argument Writing, Text Evidence,
Other Key Skills: central ideas and details, text evidence
Topic: Health,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    R.1, R.2, R.4, R.6, W.1, W.4, W.5, L.4, L.6
  • Grade 6
    RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.4, RI.6.6, RI.6.8, W.6.1, W.6.4, W.6.5, L.6.4, L.6.6
  • Grade 7
    RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.4, RI.7.6, RI.7.8, W.7.1, W.7.4, W.7.5, L.7.4, L.7.6
  • Grade 8
    RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.4, RI.8.6, RI.8.8, W.8.1, W.8.4, W.8.5, L.8.4, L.8.6
TEKS Standards
  • Grade 6
    6.1, 6.2b,e; 6.10a,c; 6.17c; 6.19
  • Grade 7
    7.1, 7.2b,e; 7.10a,b,c; 7.17c; 7.19
  • Grade 8
    8.1, 8.2b,e; 8.10a,c; 8.17c; 8.19

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Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

Download the Lesson Plan

1. PREPARING TO READ

Project the Vocabulary Words and Definitions handout and preview the vocabulary. 

 2. READING AND DISCUSSING

Read the article as a class. Alternatively, you can play the audio version while students follow along in their printed issues.

3.  DOING THE ACTIVITY

Have students work in small groups to complete the activity at the end of the article. They will write a claim, find a piece of text evidence, and explain why that evidence supports their claim.

4. WRITING

Text-to-Speech