Students will be reading historical fiction book at their own level. They will read, summarize, and create three book projects that correlate with some of the 4th grade common core reading standards.
This unit includes a combination of fourth grade writing and social studies standards. It focuses on research and public discourse.
In this unit students continue the exploration of factors that influence change by examining the events that led up to the American Revolution. Over the course of the unit, students will build a deeper understanding of the significant ideas and values at the heart of the American Revolution, what drove the colonists to seek independence, and how conflict between England and the colonists ultimately influenced change in our country. Students will see the American Revolution from multiple perspectives, starting with analyzing the difference in perspectives between the British and the colonists and how each side’s actions often instigated each other. Students will also explore how class structure influenced colonists perspectives. Later in the unit, students will think about the perspectives of black people, women and Native Americans who were forced to choose a side and why they may have had a different point of view of the events of the revolution.
An important part of this unit is pushing students to focus on seeing history from multiple different perspectives. The core text Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began offers one perspective on events, however, the prespective is limited to that held by white elite colonists. Therefore, students also read excerpts from A Young People's History of the United States in order to build a deeper understanding of all sides of the Revolution.
In this BrainVenture student take a look at the manatee and its environment in the Everglades of Florida. Students read and watch videos about the manatee then do a comparison of the sea cow and the cow. Students are also prompted to help save the manatees by writing a letter.
Students animate an ocean wave, then tell a story that takes place on the high seas.
Adventure on the High Seas is a one-hour activity designed to be completed within 45-75 minutes. Students will watch a series of videos and create one coding project with opportunities to personalize their work using “Add-Ons,” which are mini-coding challenges that build on top of the core project.
Students will build a project about an idea, activity, item, or cause they feel strongly about.
Students use code to tell fun and interactive stories. Storytelling emphasizes creativity by encouraging students to tell a unique story each day.
Storytelling is a complete theme designed to be completed over eight, 45-75 minute sessions. For each Activity, students will watch a series of videos and create one coding project with opportunities to personalize their work using “Add-Ons,” which are mini-coding challenges that build on top of the core project.
Using Photopeach, students will create a digital slideshow that showcases their learning. Photopeach is an application where in just minutes the students can create a rich slideshow. Photopeach supports background music, captions, and comments so students can elaborate on their story further.
Week 33, Day 1---Day 5
Cumulative Task: Advertisement
"Can you think of which type of opinion writing we have done that is like an advertisement for a product? Yes, when we have written book reviews we have been trying to convince or persuade our readers that the book was the best book ever just like a company tries to convince their audience that their product is the best they will ever buy. For this end of year project, you are going to do a book review, but this time it is going to be in the form of an advertisement. You will share your ads with the 3rd graders as a preview for what they will be reading next year and your goal is to get them excited about 4th Grade reading.
You may create an advertisement on paper or online, but you will need to include the elements of a book review no matter which media you choose."
Book Review Checklist
Students will choose their favorite book from the year and begin planning the draft of their advertisement with the checklist as their guide.
The curriculum map is the single-best source to understand the year’s work in the module lessons for each grade level: a detailed view of the scope and sequence of the modules showing module titles, topics, targets, and standards explicitly taught and formally assessed in each module.
A compendium of protocols (structured conversations) used in the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum Module Lessons, as well as writing rubrics (opinion, informative, narrative), speaking and listening checklists, and an explanation of conversation cues. Serves as a critical ongoing reference document alongside the K–5 module lessons in the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum.
In this lesson, students begin by analyzing the model poetry presentation with photographs in order to understand why the poet chose those photographs and how the photographs contribute to the audience's understanding of what inspired the poem (SL.4.5).
Students then select images for their own presentations and revise their presentations to include references to the images (SL.4.5). As they do this, students are called on to individually read aloud for the teacher a new poem for fluency for the End of Unit 3 Assessment.
It will probably take more than one lesson to listen to all students read aloud, so two lessons have been allocated for this. If students finish choosing images and revising their presentations to include those images, they can practice presenting with their images.
During the Closing and Assessment, students reflect on their learning using the Tracking Progress: Reading Fluency recording form. This exercise is meant to provide them with time to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning. This self-reflection supports metacognition and pride in work and learning.
In this lesson, the habits of character focus is on working to become an effective learner and working to become an ethical person. The characteristics that students are reminded of specifically are perseverance as they read aloud a new poem/excerpt of a poem for the End of Unit 3 Assessment, and respect as they bring in visuals (photographs, videos and objects) from home.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to poetry and creative writing. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.
In this lesson, students begin by analyzing the model poetry presentation with photographs in order to understand why the poet chose those photographs and how the photographs contribute to the audience's understanding of what inspired the poem (SL.4.5).
Students then select images for their own presentations and revise their presentations to include references to the images (SL.4.5). As they do this, students are called on to individually read aloud for the teacher a new poem for fluency for the End of Unit 3 Assessment.
It will probably take more than one lesson to listen to all students read aloud, so two lessons have been allocated for this. If students finish choosing images and revising their presentations to include those images, they can practice presenting with their images.
During the Closing and Assessment, students reflect on their learning using the Tracking Progress: Reading Fluency recording form. This exercise is meant to provide them with time to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning. This self-reflection supports metacognition and pride in work and learning.
In this lesson, the habits of character focus is on working to become an effective learner and working to become an ethical person. The characteristics that students are reminded of specifically are perseverance as they read aloud a new poem/excerpt of a poem for the End of Unit 3 Assessment, and respect as they bring in visuals (photographs, videos and objects) from home.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to poetry and creative writing. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.
In this science-based unit, students explore the world of energy. In the first half of the unit students learn what energy is, the different ways that energy is transferred from place to place, and the ways energy can be converted from one type to another. In the second half of the unit students explore the pros and cons of different types of renewable and nonrenewable energy. After learning about the different types of energy, students will grapple with what the world’s energy future will look like if more renewable solutions aren’t found, particularly in their communities. Through a combination of reading and research, it is our hope that students begin to build a deeper understanding of energy and its influence on our lives.
This unit builds on to the informational reading skills and strategies developed in previous units. At this point in the year we assume that students are able to actively read and annotate informational texts in order to build understanding of a topic. Therefore, the focus of this unit is on refining students’ ability to use different strategies to comprehend denser scientific texts. In particular, students will continue working on determining the main idea, summarizing key details, explaining cause and effect, using text features to improve understanding, and explaining how an author uses text features to elaborate on key concepts and ideas.
In this unit, students learn about United States history by reading the core text, Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans, and excerpts from Let It Shine: Stories of Black Freedom Fighters and Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. Throughout the unit, students grapple with the discrimination and broken promises African Americans faced, paired with the endless determination and perseverance that fueled countless triumphs to overcome unfair and unjust treatment. Through a study of slavery up through the civil rights movement, students will be challenged to think critically about different events, influential people, and how they have had a lasting impact on the America we know today. This is incredibly important for helping students not only understand America’s past, but also to understand the realities of America’s present. It is our goal that this unit, combined with others in the curriculum, will inspire a passion within students to stand up for what is right and to fight for civil rights in order to attain equality and justice for all human beings, regardless of race. The goal of this unit is not depth; rather, the focus is more on exposure and building student understanding of the history behind the civil rights movement while simultaneously building a sense of empowerment and empathy. In fifth grade, students will study the civil rights movement in depth, learning about a wider variety of influential leaders, groups, and events, especially those in which youth advocacy and fight inspired and drove change. It is our hope that the combination of both units will equip students with the tools necessary to begin to challenge injustice in their own lives.
The unit requires students to deeply analyze a text to see how an author develops different ideas and points using vivid evidence in both the text and illustrations. Students will analyze author’s word choice, the different details an author includes, and the way in which an author presents information in order to build a deeper understanding of the time period and the text. Students will also be challenged to carry information across multiple texts in order to build a deeper understanding of content and themes.
In this Roadmap, students will learn how a bill is passed in the U.S. Congress. Learners will start by proposing a law that should be passed. And learners will interview 2 adults who will suggest laws that should be passed.
This lesson was designed as the introductory lesson to a unit where students will decide if they would have built the Michigan railroads based on the way the railroad's development impacted their lives.Student-friendly objectives TLW: analyze, share, and develop a basic background knowledge of the railroads’ impact in Michigan history. TWL: understand and utilize the inquiry process to analyze research data to defend his/her decision to build/ not to build the railroads throughout the state of Michigan.
You will need to have the book The Worst of Friends available for this lesson. You will also need nonfiction books, printed articles and/or children’s magazines. Utlize memberships to news articles that you have available to you at your school, use free news sites online, or gather informative texts from your classroom library.
WEEK 3, DAY 4
Introduction to Compare/Contrast Writing
Students will work with a partner. Students should have sticky notes or a note taking document to record the elements of informative texts that they find. Include: introduce the topic, group related information together, facts, definitions, and quotations about the topic, details that describe the topic, linking words, precise language and topic-specific vocabulary, conclusion.
WEEK 3, DAY 5
Learning About Informative Writing: Compare/Contrast
Chart: Grade 4 Informative Writing Checklist Sample
Model and practice evaluating informative pieces using the checklist.
Sharing: Pair up pairs and have each group of 4 share which piece they believe is the strongest and why. Stress that students should use the checklist in their explanation.
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.
In this activity, students write an informational piece of writing and read it to their audience on SeeSaw.