As 4th grade students have been learning about weather in science, this lesson integrates the content of weather phenomena (tornados) 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 this third-grade literature course, students explore the concepts of courage and friendship, beginning in Unit 1 with an author study of Roald Dahl. Even though Roald Dahl is known for writing silly, exaggerated stories with highly engaging characters, his stories have important themes and messages embedded in them.

In addition to launching a year-long exploration of the themes of friendship and courage, these texts will also help establish a positive classroom culture as students analyze what it means to help others, be a good person, and show courage. We hope this unit, in connection with all of the units in our third-grade literature course, will help students develop a deep and nuanced understanding of both friendship and courage.

In reading and writing, this unit focuses on setting a strong foundation for text analysis. Students will dive deep into characters and study the ways in which authors develop characters. They will analyze author's word choice, both as a strategy for figuring out unknown words and as a way to improve their own narrative writing. Roald Dahl's fun and playful writing style also allows for an exploration of how reading with expression and fluency helps develop comprehension.

CLLD2.3 Foundations of Reading  Learning Spoken language is composed of smaller segments of sound.  Segment and combine compound words Segment and combine syllables 

This unit connects with the third grade Social Studies Unit 1, Ancient Rome. In the Social Studies unit, students study and learn about the values and beliefs of the ancient Roman Empire. In this literature unit, students begin to see the role that myths, gods, and storytelling had in ancient Rome by reading a collection on Roman myths. While reading the myths, students will be challenged to think about how the myths illustrate and show the beliefs and customs of the Roman Empire. Students will also be challenged to think what the myths teach about retaliation and generosity.

In reading and writing, this unit focuses on helping readers solidify their understanding of the connection between recounting stories, determining a central message, and using details to explain how the central message is conveyed. Through multiple readings of the same myths, students will be able to analyze and discover the way in which messages are developed. Students will then be pushed to articulate this understanding both orally and in writing. Rereading the same myth multiple times also supports students fluency and vocabulary development.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Kelsey Eanes teach about the short /e/ word families through poetry, pictures, and writing.

The students will learn that it is important to protect personal information when connecting to the Internet. One context for protecting personal information and from preventing unauthorized access is to create strong passwords. In this lesson, students learn to classify passwords as strong or weak and use the characteristics of strong passwords in order to create a strong password of their own. During Recess and/or PE and prior to the Reading/Language Arts lesson, students engage in a game called “Hackers” (similar to Capture the Flag) in which they are trying to guard a special item without being “hacked.” In their Language Arts block, they read the fairy tale Rumplestiltskin in order to identify story elements with emphasis upon the conflict and resolution. Students then define “password” and classify passwords as strong or weak in order to generate guidelines for creating strong passwords. Students apply their knowledge of strong and weak passwords by using the criteria for a strong password to evaluate a password and create a strong password that Rumplestiltskin can use in the story. They can also engage in another round of Hackers after the lesson in order to test their improved, strong password.

Ryan Dixon of Virginia Beach created a presentation about using the Assessment tools in Schoology. You can download this presentation and make your own version for your division!

Ryan Dixon of Virginia Beach developed this presentation for students and parents on the basics of using Schoology for virtual learning.

The students will watch the story.Students will then tell the teacher other words that begin with SH while also tapping out the words.The Shark That Was Afraid of Everything 

Students will learn how to distinguish between fact and opinion with nonfiction text as well as distinguish between what is safe and not safe when using a computing device or on a network. The teacher will lead a discussion with the class on the difference between fact and opinion. Students will learn to pay attention to the source of the information to identify if it is fact or opinion.

This unit is focused on three classic fairy tales: The Three Little Pigs, The Three Bears, and Little Red Riding Hood. With each fairy tale, students are first exposed to the classic version, familiarizing themselves with the basic plot and lessons. Then students explore the ways authors change setting, characters, and plot while still maintaining the overall essence of the classic story. Some of the changes the authors make reflect the nuances of different cultures and environments, while others are made for entertainment and humor. Either way, students will explore the idea that different authors can use their own perspective and culture to shape the stories they write or retell. By reading multiple versions of the same classic fairy tale, students will also be able to grapple with the bigger lessons of each tale—the importance of not talking to strangers, how hard work and patience pay off, and the importance of respecting others' property and privacy. Over the course of the unit, students will be challenged to think about how each of these unique themes is portrayed and how in each different version of the fairy tale the characters may learn the lesson in slightly different ways. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with others in the sequence, will help students see the power of storytelling and how simple stories can be changed and improved based on an author's ideas and preferences.

In reading, this unit builds directly onto the reading strategies from unit 2. Students will continue to be pushed to be inquisitive consumers of text, asking and answering questions about characters, setting, and plot as they listen to and engage with a text. Students will also continue to work on retelling stories and including key details. Similar to units 1 and 2, students will continue to think deeply about characters and setting and how the details an author includes in the illustration and text help a reader better understand both. Because most of the focuses for this unit are a repeat of similar focuses from units 1 and 2, students should be pushed to a much higher level of rigor and understanding than in previous units. One new focus of this unit, however, is on comparing and contrasting the adventures and experiences of characters in stories. Students will be asked at multiple points to use information they have learned about key events, characters, and setting to compare and contrast different versions of the classic fairy tale. Students should be pushed beyond just superficial comparisons across the different stories. At the end of the unit, students will also have a chance to retell and act out the different fairy tales, putting their own'artistic' spin on the fairy tale.

In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. In unit 2, students began to write answers that correctly answered the questions using facts. In this unit, students will be pushed to continue to focus on correct answers that may show some level of inferential or critical thinking. Students will also begin to learn how to include details from the text in their answers. At this point in the year, it is not important that students have the best evidence but rather that they are including some details that support the answer to the question in one way or another. Structure and grammar feedback during this unit should be based on assessment data from units 1 and 2.

Students will review the importance of not sharing personal information online and what spending time online responsibility looks like. Students will review what bullying looks like and take this knowledge to further learn what cyberbullying is and how they can not take place in cyberbullying online and how they can go to a trusted adult for help if it is happening. To conclude the lesson, the students will sign a technology pledge swearing to be responsible and kind citizens online.

Description:  Students will implement an energy conservation plan for my school building.  

Students will learn how numeric values are used to represent non-numeric ideas in the computer while going over their vocabulary/word study words for the week. The teacher will give students their word study words and go over the feature for the week. Then the teacher will explain to students how they will use a secret code to represent their word study words. Students will learn the numbers that represent each letter in the alphabet in a computer. Then students will select one word from their list, and write it down vertically. Then the student will use the translator sheet to write the 0s and 1s for each letter. Once complete, the teacher will give the student strips of construction paper (blue for 0 and gray for 1). Students will make a chain link to represent their word and hang up outside the classroom.

In this unplugged lesson, students will learn about coding and how to analyze data. Students will read about Ruby learning a new “language” and how to translate a code into a “language.” Students will then create words using the code chart.

Students will learn why it is important to have a good password for websites and computers. They will create their own passwords.

Ryan Dixon of Virginia Beach created this presentation for students about the basics of using SeeSaw.

This unit serves as a launch to fifth grade literature. By reading the core text, Seedfolks, students will explore what it means to be part of a community and how the actions of one person can positively impact an entire community. Students will grapple with how being part of a community can help a person change and evolve as they discover new things about themselves. Students will also wrestle with how prejudice and racism impact the way people treat each other and the ways in which both can influence an entire community. It is our hope that this unit helps establish a strong classroom community and that the characters in Seedfolks can serve as a model for how people from all walks of life can come together to be part of a strong, productive community.

The text Seedfolks was chosen not only because of its portrayal of the power of community, but also because of the unique structure of the text. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view and shows how as the garden grows, the character's hearts grow bigger and their worldview and compassion grow. The structure of the text allows for students to begin exploring two key fifth grade standards, comparing and contrasting two or more characters and describing how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described. Since this is the first unit of the year, an underlying focus of the unit should also be on establishing expectations for annotation, discussion, and vocabulary.