Introduction to Narrative Writing
WEEK 1, DAY 1
Introduction to Narrative Writing (Initial Assessment of Students’ Independent Writing)
Students will write their narratives with minimal guidance and support from the teacher.
Students will share their writing piece with a partner before they turn it in.
WEEK 1, DAY 2
Learning About Personal Narratives
Students will work in partners or small groups to determine whether texts are narrative or not narrative. Students should be prepared to share why they labeled one text narrative or not narrative.
WEEK 1, DAY 3
Learning to Evaluate Narratives
Chart: Grade 4 Narrative Checklist Sample
WEEK 1, DAY 4
Learning to Write Narratives
Today I am going to show you how to use a graphic organizer to plan a narrative.
WEEK 1, DAY 5
Learning to Write Narratives
Group students in four groups. Two groups will write paragraph 2 and the other two groups will write paragraph 3. It might be helpful, this early in the year, to assign roles (recorder, task manager, time keeper, motivator, etc).

Learning to Write Narratives:
For the next two weeks, we are going to write a narrative fiction piece using some or all of the characters in Pinduli, but your story will need to be different from Janell Cannon’s story. You will need to decide how you will make it different. You will use the story of Pinduli as a guide, but you will need to change the story in some way to make your story different from the author’s. Will you solve the problem in a different way? Create a different problem with a different solution? Add a new character? You may be creative and decide how to change the story to make it your own.
Ways to Establish the Situation in a Narrative:
Direct statement
Dialogue
Question
Informative/Explanatory of snapshot in time
Lesson Plan Includes:
Narrative Checklist Sample
Instead of SAID (and other Word Replacements given)

Natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires happen all over the world. Understanding how natural disasters happen and why helps children feel less anxious and more prepared. Therefore, this unit focuses on teaching students the science behind each natural disaster while also explaining what to do if they live in an area prone to a particular natural disaster. Over the course of the unit, students hear about many famous natural disasters, but the unit places more of an emphasis on how the disasters happen rather than exploring the devastation or destruction caused by previous natural disasters. The unit provides many opportunities for students to learn more about recent natural disasters, including a culminating research project.

The texts in this unit were chosen because of their wide variety of text features, content, and accessibility. Over the course of the unit, students will read texts that are very technical and rely heavily on text features, diagrams, and illustrations, as well as texts that are written as informational narratives. Students will be challenged to think about the structures the authors use to help the reader interact with and learn the content. Additionally, students will learn the importance of referring to specific details from the text and using those details to explain and teach back the newly learned material. This unit serves as the foundation for building strong reading habits and routines and setting high expectations for text consumption. Clear models should be included in the unit to help students build a deeper understanding of how to actively read and annotate informational texts for key ideas, text features, and vocabulary. This unit also serves as a launching point for strong discussions. Students will frequently be challenged to debate questions from the text; therefore, strong habits of discussion need to be introduced over the course of the unit.

WEEK 10, DAYS 1-5
Natural Disasters Research Project
We just finished reading about one type of natural disaster, earthquakes, and today we will discuss other types of natural disasters.
You will choose the one that interests you the most and conduct research to learn more information. To help you learn a little bit about the different types of natural disasters we are going to view a video. You will use a graphic organizer to jot notes about each natural disaster to help you decide which one you want to research and learn more about.
Today you are going to choose one natural disaster to begin researching.
Now that you have chosen your natural disaster you are going to start researching. We are going to use the same graphic organizer we always do, but we are going to use it to help make a plan and organize our notes. Students will work on researching their natural disaster.
Students will work on either finishing up gathering information OR choosing which information to share.
Students will work around the room on either their graphic organizer or their draft. completed their graphic organizer and add new details, facts, and definitions to their graphic organizer.

In this unit, students explore the meaning of family, community, and identity by reading the core text One Crazy Summer. Through the eyes of eleven-year-old Delphine, readers experience life in Oakland, California, in 1968, the height of the Black Panther movement. Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, spend a summer in Oakland visiting their estranged mother who sends them to spend their days at a camp run by the Black Panthers. Over the course of the summer, the girls learn about what it means to be part of a revolution, what the Black Panther Party was fighting for, and why the Black Panther Party was important during this time period. Through it all, they build confidence in themselves and their relationships with others as they learn to challenge and respond to social issues in the community. It is our hope that this unit, in conjunction with others in the series, will help students understand the way experiences shape our identities and beliefs, and how children can help bring about change in the community.

In reading, this unit continues to build on reading strategies and skills covered in previous units. It is assumed that students are able to quote or paraphrase accurately from the text, interpret figurative language, and summarize sections of the text. These skills should continue to be spiraled throughout the unit; however, the main focuses for this unit are determining theme and analyzing how it is developed over the course of the novel or poem, analyzing point of view and the impact it has on the way events are portrayed, and comparing characters and their responses to situations.

Opinion Writing - This Roadmap begins with looking at the difference between fact and opinion. Then explains what opinion writing is and gives students the opportunity to list opinions. Lastly, they look over their opinions, decide on one and create a concepts map planning their opinion writing.

This Roadmap contains part 3 of 3 in opinion writing. This is structured with step by step revision and editing practices for specifically opinion writing with a partner.

Week 26, Day 4---Week 27, Day 3
Opinion Writing Unit
Today we are going to write about a topic that we have spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing. We thought about it while we were reading My Life as a Book especially in the chapter “The Truth is Never What You Think,” and we think about it every day as fourth graders. I want to talk to you about doing what’s right. Specifically, we will discuss whether you should do what’s right for the good of the group or should you do what you think is the right thing to do for you?

Week 13, Day 5
Opinion Writing Task (After reading My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen)
Today you are going to think about all of the dogs we read about in My Life in Dog Years and write a compare/contrast paper about two of the dogs. I want you to think for a few seconds about which one of Paulsen’s dogs you would want to have the most as your pet and the one you would want to have the least.
You will share your paper with someone in our class who chose a different dog than you. After you have listened to one another’s papers, discuss the ideas presented. Talk about whether you changed your mind or not.

Week 13, Day 5---Week 14, Day 1
Opinion Writing Unit: Book Review
"The last time you wrote a book review, I modeled how to complete the graphic organizer. However, today I am going to plan the beginning of our book review very quickly and spend the rest of our time together showing you how to use the graphic organizer to write a book review. We know planning is the first stage in the writing process. We are going to write our book review on Miss Rumphius."
visual: Book Review Graphic Organizer
visual: Book Review Checklist Sample
frame for writing a book review

Week 24, Day 1---Day 5
Opinion Writing Unit
We often think about making good choices.
Today we are going to use a graphic organizer and the opinion checklist to plan this opinion piece
Book Review Graphic Organizer
Opinion Checklist Sample
Today we are going to write to convince people that either it is easy to make the right choice or that sometimes it is hard to make the right choice.
Strong words:
I strongly believe
From my point of view
It’s my belief
Based on what I know
I am convinced
Speaking for myself
I am confident that
Ways you can end an opinion piece: reinforcement, lasting thought, quotation, question.
Students will work on revising, editing, peer revising and editing, and finishing up their final copy.

Learning to Write Opinions
Students will write about "injustice."
Make a graphic organizer model
Opinion Checklist Sample
Students will work on creating their opinion graphic organizer. They will work with or near peers who share their opinion so that they have peers to share ideas with.
Writing reasons that show strong support for opinion.
Plan the conclusion and begin drafting
Ways to end an opinion piece: reinforcement, lasting thought, quotation, question, humor.
Transition Words for Opinion Texts
Students will work on revising, editing, peer revising and editing, and finishing up their final copy
Sharing

WEEK 2, DAY 1
Initial Assessment of Students’ Independent Writing
WEEK 2, DAY 2
Introduction to Opinion Writing
WEEK 2, DAY 3
Learning to Evaluate Opinions
WEEK 2, DAY 4
Learning to Write Opinions
WEEK 2, DAY 5
Learning to Write Opinions

WEEK 2, DAY 2
Learning to Write Opinions
This week we will focus on opinion writing. Let’s think about the parts included in an opinion piece. The parts we are looking for include: introduce the topic, state the opinion, group related ideas, provide reasons supported by facts and details, groups ideas in paragraphs, link opinions and reasons using words and phrases, provide a concluding statement.
WEEK 2, DAY 3
Learning to Evaluate Opinions
Provide each partner pair with 3 different texts and 3 copies of the checklist—Texts 7–9 or other opinion pieces you have available to you.
Chart: Grade 4 Opinion Checklist Sample
practice evaluating opinion pieces using the checklist with your partner.
Provide each partner pair with 3 different texts and 3 copies of the checklist—Texts 7–9 or other opinion pieces you have available to you.
WEEK 2, DAY 4
Learning to Write Opinions
Today, I am going to show you how I use a graphic organizer to make a plan to write an opinion piece. You already learned how to make one for a narrative; today we’ll make one for an opinion.
WEEK 2, DAY 5
Learning to Write Opinions
Today, I am going to show you how to use the graphic organizer to write a thoroughly written response.
Students will need lined paper for the graphic organizer, a copy of the text for each pair and their written response for this prompt. Leave the graphic organizer and response for reference. Students will work on their graphic organizers and then rewrite their responses.

Learning to Write an Opinion (5 days)
Day 1. For this end of year project, you are going to do one last book review, but this time it is going to be in the form of an advertisement. You will share your ads with the 2nd graders as a preview for what they will be reading next year and your goal is to get them excited about 3rd grade reading.
Students will choose their favorite book from the year and begin planning the draft of their advertisement with the checklist as their guide. Offer support to students and coach them about the features of an advertisement.
Book Review Opinion Checklist Sample
Day 2. Yesterday you started the draft of your advertisement and planned out the elements from the beginning of the checklist. Today you will finish your draft using the elements of the checklist as a guide. We will look back at the book review checklist.
Day 3. Today you will need to revise and edit your advertisement and then have a partner revise and edit. Then you will create your final ad with any artwork you want to include. Be sure to think about making a lasting memory for your reader:
-Revise and edit advertisement
-Peer revise and edit
-Create final draft with added artwork
Day 4. Today you will practice presenting your advertisements to a partner.
Review the presentation skills for the presenter and the listener.
Day 5. You will share your advertisements with a lot of 2nd graders today.
Students will present advertisements (and listen and offer feedback or ask questions if their partner is also sharing a review or ad).

A PowerPoint to introduce patterns in poetry; including pyramid poems; Haiku and Tanka. Activities for students to complete.

Week 1, Day 1---Day 5
Introduction to Personal Narratives
Learning About Personal Narratives
Learning to Evaluate Narratives
Learning to Write Narratives
Students will write their narrative with minimal guidance and support from the teacher.
Students will share with a partner their writing piece before they turn it in.
Narrative Checklist Sample
Narrative Graphic Organizer

An adaptable writing frame for teacher to comments; self evaluation and an indicator of whether the work was independent, shared or teacher assisted etc.

In this unit, students grapple with common second grade themes through reading the easily relatable series Pinky and Rex. Through connecting with Pinky and Rex, students will learn that it’s okay to be different and to be proud of who they are, no matter what others may think. Students will also learn about what it truly means to be a good friend and how friends can support and stick up for one another in a variety of ways. They will also see that it’s okay for boys and girls to be friends, even best friends. This unit builds onto multiple units from first grade in which students learned what it means to be a good friend and a good person. It is our hope that this unit deepens the understandings developed in previous grades by giving students characters to connect with. These connections are especially important for students who are struggling with some of the same issues and aren’t sure how to process or talk about them.

In reading this unit is a transition from units that were predominately read aloud into a unit that is almost entirely shared or independent reading. Pinky and Rex are perfect texts for second graders, not only because of the important themes they teach but because of the way in which James Howe develops character and plot over the course of the series. As readers, students will be challenged to notice the descriptive details James Howe includes to show how characters feel in response to different problems and challenges. They will also be challenged to notice how a character’s dialogue shows what they are truly feeling and how the different “said” words James Howe includes deepens that understanding. Students will also begin to analyze why certain words in a text are written in italics and what that shows about how a character is feeling. This deep dive into character will allow students to truly understand the characters and the lessons that they are learning. By reading four books in the series, students will also have the chance to see how characters develop over the course of multiple texts. By the fourth text, students will have a deeper, more nuanced understanding of all three characters.