English Language Arts

Writing

March/April Focus

Cell Phones

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1

Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1.A

Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer's purpose.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1.B

Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1.C

Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1.D

Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

Reading

1.Researching Cellphone Use

 Readers will learn about a topic by finding resources that they will use to build their own overview on the topic by accessing prior background knowledge.

 Readers will preview a text, identify the text structure, and organize important parts of a text while researching.

 Readers will take notes while reading and talking to partners or within a group before they record important events.

 Readers will synthesize information about a key subtopic while reading many sources of texts.

 Readers pay close attention to details that expose tone and point of view within the text.

 Readers will look closely at strategies to read and comprehend primary source documents.

 Readers will celebrate their accomplishments of their understanding and learning about their own opinion.

2.Preparing for Debate

 Readers will learn to pay close attention to many different points of view to analyze information while researching information.

 Readers will study evidence to create their own point of view.  Readers will research both sides of an issue to support both sides with evidence and reasons to deny their opponent.

 Readers will celebrate their accomplishments of their understanding and learning by conducting a whole-class debate.

3.Participating in a Research Cycle

 Readers read easy texts to compile background knowledge on a topic before they read more complex texts.

 Readers use different strategies to make sense of a complex test by previewing, reading sections, paraphrasing, and linking together texts before introducing something new.

 Readers can identify important places (introductions, conclusions, and text features) in a text where an author revels important information related to the main idea.

 Readers use prior knowledge of text structure to read nonfiction.

 Readers will identify and learn how to understand new vocabulary words and how it is used at a deeper level of understanding within a text,

 Readers question and hypothesize to reach more deep and complex conclusions.