This can be an introductory lesson for a 5th grade Science unit on matter. Students will read (or listen to) the mentor text, Ice Boy, by David Ezra Stein. Throughout the book, students will stop at designated points to visualize what is going on in the book based on the author's words.
This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Mary Mathias teach about using story elements to make, confirm, and revise predictions.
To master short vowel sounds in a fun learning way.
As 3rd grade students have been learning about History SOL 3.13 - this lesson integrates the content that American people have different ethnic origins and come from different countries (immigration) as well as the reading strategy of reading the author’s words and determining whether the information is directly stated (right there) or inferred based on clues from the author’s words.
In Grade 4 Fiction, students grapple with the overarching question of how a person develops values, identities, and beliefs. In this unit students dig deeply into how families shape a person's identity, values, and beliefs and how relationships with others can change a person's identity. Students will also explore what it means to have good fortune and how a person's view on fortune varies depending on his/her values and beliefs. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with other units from the entire year-long sequence, will help build a deeper understanding of how we become who we are and the positive and negative factors that influence us along the way.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was chosen as an engaging text to help build excitement at the beginning of the year, while simultaneously allowing for deep discussions about character, setting, vocabulary, and the larger theme of identity. Over the course of the novel, the author, Grace Lin, includes lots of detail and description to reveal information about characters and how they change based on experiences and relationships. Students will be challenged to notice the details that Grace Lin includes and analyze how the details build to support a deeper, more nuanced understanding of characters. Grace Lin also includes lots of powerful vocabulary and figurative language as a way of helping readers visualize exactly what is happening in the story. Students will be challenged to figure out the meaning of unknown words and figurative language and analyze why the author made particular word choices. In this unit students will also begin to use summarization as a strategy to track the plot of a longer text.
This video is part of the Continue to Know with WHRO TV series. Watch Claire Verdillo teach about identifying the narrator.
In this unit students will explore the difficulties of having a learning disability and how a learning disability influences the way a person feels about themselves by reading the core text, The Wild Book. Throughout the unit students will be challenged to think about multiple thematic topics—believing in ourselves, accepting differences, persevering through challenges, and trusting in family during difficult times. Exploring the themes will allow students to develop a deeper appreciation for people's unique differences and struggles and learn to accept everyone for their strengths. It is our goal that this unit, combined with others in the curriculum, will help students see the world as a diverse place, not just in terms of race but also in terms of abilities, and that no matter what, everyone can be successful.
The text, The Wild Book, was chosen not only for its powerful themes but because Margarita Engle, the award-winning Latina author, uses verse to bring to life a difficult historical period in Cuba. The book tells the story of Margarita Engle's grandmother who grew up in Cuba during a time of lawlessness. Margarita Engle tells her grandmother's story in a way that helps readers build empathy and understanding of the hardships our ancestors may have faced. Simultaneously, students also see the power of poetry and its influence on Cuban culture in the early 20th century. Seeing that despite the hardships the country faced, it was also a place of artistic beauty.
This unit builds on previous units in which students have learned the features of poetry; however, in this unit students begin to see poetry as not just stand-alone poems but as an art form in which a poet can express himself or herself freely. When discussing and writing about poetry, students should be able to refer to the specific structural elements of a poem and explain how the elements enrich the text. This unit also challenges students to deeply analyze how authors develop theme within individual poems and also across a longer work. Students will analyze how characters are developed, how word choice and imagery are used to bring power and meaning to different verse, and how the author uses varying experiences to reveal theme. Doing deep text analysis of the poems on an individual level and also on a more broad level will help students understand the power of the various themes and how the author develops them.
Reading text that is challenging, thought provoking or informative, provides a challenge to young learners if connections cannot be made. This "Willbook" allows for learners to create connections by asking and answering self reflective questions. These questions allow for the learner to identify and connect with any reading. Learners may add or subtract and create their own connection questions as learner agency develops.
This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Caroline Doughty teach about long and short vowel sounds.
This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Caroline Doughty teach about long and short vowel sounds.
This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Caroline Doughty teach about long and short vowel sounds.
This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Caroline Doughty teach about long and short vowel sounds.
This video is part of the Continue to Know with WHRO TV series. Watch Beth Eanes teach about word consciousness and word reference.
This activity is designed to help students gain practice with word derivations. The teacher will divide students into groups of two or three and give each group a dictionary. Students will identify the meaning of the listed base word and will work collaboratively to identify as many derivations as they can in the allotted time. Students should identify the part of speech for each derivation and write a definition for each derivation.
English Instructional Plan – Word Solving in Context
Students will prepare to take the WorkKeys Reading as an Alternate for the E-O-C English SOL.
In this culminating unit of fifth grade, students read the classic text A Wrinkle in Time. Over the course of the novel, students explore the nuances of good versus evil and how ultimately unconditional love can overpower darkness and hate. Students will also experience the power of believing in oneself and trusting those around you, by watching the main character's self-confidence evolve over the course of the novel. This novel is the first science fiction novel that students are exposed to over the course of the curriculum. Exposing students to science fiction is important for not only building engagement and reaching a variety of readers, but also for exploring common themes across multiple genres. It is our hope that this novel, in connection with others in the sequence, empowers students to believe in themselves and the power of love and kindness. It is also our hope that this unit inspires students to read and engage with books from a wide range of genres.
As noted above, A Wrinkle in Time is the first science fiction novel that students read and analyze together. Therefore, over the course of the novel, students will be pushed to notice and analyze different genre features. In particular, the multiple settings are integral for both the development of plot and the suspense and intrigue common in science fiction. As a result, students will have multiple opportunities to compare and contrast the different settings. In this unit, students will also spend a lot of time analyzing and noticing author's craft, particularly the use of sentence structure and syntax as a way to develop tone and emotion. Paired with the graphic novel version of the text, students will also compare and contrast the way Madeleine L'Engle uses description and voice to develop a scene versus how the graphic novel develops a scene. Since this is the culminating unit of the year, students will also review characterization, theme, using context clues to figure out the meaning of words, and plot.
I created this activity to introduce my students to write a well-rounded summary for a piece of fiction writing. Every year I see students struggling with how to correctly write a summary. I begin this lesson as a whole group activity then transition the lesson into small groups. I begin the summary practice by teaching my students to use an SWBST graphic organizer. They find that it’s much easier than they originally thought to write a well-organized summary. This activity provides practice for SOLs 4.5d and 4.6e.
This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Kelsey Eanes teach about what it means to be unique.
