② Deep · Connect & organize

Phase 2 — Connect & organize

Now students take the facts from Phase 1 and relate them: mapping causes and effects, comparing two real ways to live with a river, and building a claim from evidence. Deep learning is where knowledge becomes usable — the bridge to the problem.

🎯 By the end of Phase 2 students can show how rain and rivers lead to flooding and damage, compare a wall with green solutions, and state a claim with a reason — the exact moves the problem will demand.

Concept mapping · d 0.64§113.14(c)(3)(C), (c)(14)(D)

1 · Cause → effect concept map

Build a class concept map with "The river floods" in the center. On the left, cluster the causes (heavy rain, melting snow, the river rises). On the right, cluster the effects (water covers Main Street, homes get wet, the park is muddy, soil washes away). Then add a second ring: each solution people try has its own new effects.

Cause (why it floods)	Effect (what happens)	Each solution → new effect
heavy spring rain	river rises over its banks	a wall keeps water out — but costs a lot
melting snow upstream	homes & Main Street flood	moving the park frees the low land — but people miss it
land is low near the bank	soil washes away (erosion)	planting trees & wetlands soak up water — but work slowly

Talk move: draw an arrow from any cause to an effect and say the cause-and-effect sentence aloud. This rehearses §113.14(c)(14)(D).

📚 Sources: National Weather Service · Flood safety ↗ · NOAA · Freshwater & rivers ↗

Compare & contrast · d 0.72§113.14(c)(3)(B–C), (c)(14)(A,B)

2 · Compare two real ways to live with a river

Give pairs simple, district-approved readings about two real approaches: a wall or levee (people modify the land) versus green solutions like wetlands and planting trees (people work with nature). Use a two-column chart to list the pros and cons of each, and notice each source's point of view.

Approach	Good things (pros)	Hard things (cons)
Wall / levee (modify)	strong; holds water back fast	costs a lot; can break; blocks the view of the river
Wetlands & trees (green)	soaks up water; helps animals; cheaper	needs space & time; may not stop a very big flood alone

Point of view (c)(14)(A): who wrote each source, and what do they seem to care most about — safety, money, or nature?

📚 Sources: EPA · Why wetlands matter ↗ · EPA · Green infrastructure ↗ · Ready.gov · Floods ↗ · Nat Geo Kids · Nature ↗

Argumentation · d 0.86§113.14(c)(14)(E,F), (c)(15)

3 · Structured claim — a warm-up

A low-stakes rehearsal of the reasoning the problem needs. Have students take a side with a reason, using a claim-and-evidence frame. Then have them say the other side's strongest point (civil discourse).

Warm-up sentence: "Our town should ______ because ______." (Fill in one idea — a wall, planting trees, moving the park, or something else — and one reason from Phase 1 or the sources.)

Sentence stems (ELPS support): "My claim is ______." · "My evidence is ______." · "This matters because ______." · "Someone who disagrees might say ______, but ______."

Note: keep this a practice claim about the general idea. The real Willow Bend decision belongs in Phase 3, where students hold stakeholder roles.

✅ Deep check before the problem: can students name a cause and an effect of the flood, compare a wall with green solutions, and state a claim with a reason? Those three abilities are exactly what Phase 3 will ask them to transfer.

‹ Phase 1 — Surface Phase 3 — Transfer ›

Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.14; effect sizes from Visible Learning MetaX.