Unit 01: Living Literate Lives

(15 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students think, talk, and write about their past and current reading experiences, habits, and routines. Students make choices about which texts to read according to their interests and purposes for reading. To support their reading habits and routines, students think, talk, and write while processing and comprehending texts. Habits and routines may include, but are not limited to, readers' preferred environment for reading, preferred genres, and internal strategies such as making connections and asking questions and external strategies such as annotating and engaging in discussion, to support stamina, engagement, and comprehension.

In Writing, students write to think and also to connect with an audience of their peers. Through writing to think, students pay attention to their thinking, their topics of interest, and their past and current writing experiences, habits, and routines. Students pay attention to the topics and ideas they want to explore more with their audiences. Students review the importance of and practice planning and drafting as part of the writing process.

In Word Study, students use context clues and resources, such as dictionaries, to determine the meaning of words used in context. Students also decode and spell multisyllabic words with an emphasis on syllable division and the syllable types (open, closed, VCe, and vowel teams).

In Collaboration/Oral Language, students actively listen, discuss, and make connections with their peers about their reading and writing histories in and outside school.

TEKS in this unit: 5.1A, 5.1B, 5.1D, 5.2A, 5.2A.ii, 5.2A.iii, 5.2A.v, 5.2B, 5.2B.i, 5.2B.iii, 5.2B.iv, 5.2C, 5.3A, 5.3B, 5.4A, 5.5A, 5.6A, 5.6B, 5.6E, 5.6I, 5.7A, 5.7E, 5.7F, 5.11A, 5.11B

Unit 02A: Author's Purpose & Craft: Exploring Purpose and Message

(10 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students examine a variety of texts focusing on the author’s intended purpose, message, and audience. To determine the author’s purpose and message, students make inferences based on the evidence provided in the text. Students use annotating to guide them in meaning making. Students write responses explaining the author’s purpose and message while paraphrasing text evidence to support their inferences.

In Writing, students engage in the writing process, planning and drafting a composition with purpose, message, and audience in mind. Students use simple and compound sentences with proper subject-verb agreement in order to maintain meaning in communicating their message.

In Word Study, students continue to use context clues and resources, such as dictionaries, to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Students also decode and spell multisyllabic words with an emphasis on syllable division and the syllable patterns (open, closed, VCe, vowel teams, and r-controlled vowels).

In Collaboration/Oral Language, students work with partners to brainstorm ideas on writing topics. Upon completing the pre-writing stage, students reflect on their planning process in small groups, focusing on listening actively to all group members, asking relevant questions, and making pertinent comments.

TEKS in this unit: 5.2A, 5.2A.ii, 5.2A.iii, 5.2B, 5.2B.i, 5.2B.iii, 5.2B.iv, 5.6A, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6I, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.10A, 5.11A, 5.11B, 5.11D, 5.11D.i, 5.11D.xi

Unit 02B: Author's Purpose & Craft: Connecting Structure to Author's Purpose

(10 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students examine a variety of texts, focusing on the author’s organizational structure. Students analyze how the text structure contributes to the author's purpose. Additionally, students analyze text/print and graphic features to understand their purpose and to consider their influence on the author’s message. Students also use multiple comprehension strategies such as generating questions, making inferences and connections, determining key ideas, and synthesizing information to build their understandings. Through both written responses and discussions, students demonstrate their understandings of texts and use text evidence to support their ideas.

In Writing, students engage in the writing process, drafting with purposeful structure. Students also examine the intentional use of fragments, run-ons and splices, while looking into the impact of using varied sentence types. Students begin to revise their writing for varied sentence structures using what they have learned by studying other authors. Additionally, students edit drafts for complete sentences, including complex sentences with subordinating conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs in order to maintain meaning in communicating their message.

In Word Study, students continue to use context and available resources to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Students also decode and spell multisyllabic words with final stable syllables

In Collaboration/Oral Language, students continue to practice their ability to work collaboratively with peers to facilitate dialogue and learning. Opportunities for dialogue should be purposefully included into all learning. Students also provide constructive feedback to peers through peer revising and editing, by listening actively, asking relevant questions, and making pertinent comments.

TEKS in this unit: 5.2A, 5.2A.ii, 5.2A.iii, 5.2B, 5.2B.i, 5.2B.iii, 5.2B.iv, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6H, 5.6I, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.11B, 5.11B.i, 5.11B.ii, 5.11C, 5.11D, 5.11D.i, 5.11D.v, 5.11D.viii, 5.11D.x, 5.11D.xi

Unit 02C: Author’s Purpose & Craft: Developing Voice through Language Choice

(10 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students examine how author's purpose impacts language and voice. Students read a variety of texts to interpret words and phrases that help them visualize. Students continue to practice other comprehension strategies (e.g., asking questions, inferring, etc.) while analyzing the impact of specific word choices on meaning.

In Writing, students revise for appropriate voice and word choice in their own writing, and edit for the correct usage of commas, capitalization of abbreviations and titles, past-tense verbs, and comparative and superlative adjectives. Students publish their final composition using cursive handwriting.

In Word Study, students use their knowledge of root words and affixes to decode and spell words. By using resources to determine word origin, students expand their vocabulary and recognize morphemic patterns. Students apply these skills to authentic reading and writing experiences.

In Collaboration/Oral Language, students continue to work collaboratively in small groups. Students focus on active listening, asking relevant questions, making pertinent comments, and being open and respectful to the ideas and viewpoints of others.

TEKS in this unit: 5.2A, 5.2A.iv, 5.2B, 5.2B.v, 5.2B.vi, 5.3A, 5.3C, 5.6B, 5.6D, 5.6F, 5.6I, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7G, 5.10A, 5.10D, 5.10F, 5.11B, 5.11B.ii, 5.11C, 5.11D, 5.11D.i, 5.11D.ii, 5.11D.iv, 5.11D.ix, 5.11D.x, 5.11D.xi, 5.11E

Unit 03A: Exploring and Crafting Fiction: Literary Elements

(15 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students read, respond to/write about, and discuss multiple fiction texts, employing reading strategies to support comprehension such as interacting with the text through annotating and notetaking. Students analyze author’s purpose, audience, genre characteristics, and author’s craft, including literary elements and devices. Students also utilize text evidence to support their ideas and inferences. Through a transfer of reading comprehension skills, students learn how to apply author’s craft to their own practices as writers and to their own writing products.

In Writing, students plan, research, and draft a short fictional text while applying genre characteristics and author’s craft to their drafts. Students apply author’s craft learned during reading to their own writing products. Previously learned skills about author’s purposes and craft support their planning and drafting efforts. Students continue to learn language conventions including prepositional phrases and their influence on subject-verb agreement and the use of punctuation in dialogue. Students apply the rules and patterns they are learning in phonics to spell accurately in their drafts.

In Word Study, students continue to use context clues, resources, and knowledge of roots and affixes to determine the meaning of words and expand their vocabulary. They also continue to decode and spell words with roots and affixes. In this unit students explore the rich addition that adages and puns provide to a language.

In Collaboration, students work with partners to brainstorm ideas on writing topics. Upon completing the pre-writing stage, students reflect on their planning process in small groups, focusing on listening actively to all group members, asking relevant questions, and making pertinent comments.

TEKS in this unit: 5.2A, 5.2A.iv, 5.2B, 5.2B.vi, 5.3C, 5.3D, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6H, 5.6I, 5.7A, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.8A, 5.8B, 5.8C, 5.8D, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.10D, 5.10E, 5.10F, 5.11A, 5.11B, 5.11B.i, 5.11B.ii, 5.11C, 5.11D, 5.11D.vi, 5.11D.x, 5.11D.xi, 5.12A, 5.13A, 5.13B, 5.13C

Unit 03B: Exploring and Crafting Fiction: Traditional Literature

(10 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students read, interact with, respond to/write about, and discuss multiple traditional stories. Students analyze genre characteristics and author’s craft of literary elements and devices. Through a transfer of reading comprehension skills, students learn how to apply author’s craft to their own practices as writers and writing products. Previously learned decoding skills support students’ reading comprehension and analysis.

In Writing, students create a literary text (short fiction) and apply genre characteristics and author’s craft as they revise, edit, and publish their original works of fiction. Students apply author’s craft learned during reading to their own writing products. Previously learned skills about author’s purpose and structuring texts according to the genre support revising efforts, and previously learned grammar and spelling skills support editing efforts.

In Word Study, students continue to use their knowledge of roots and affixes to decode and spell words. Students also work with words where the sound of the final consonant changes when a suffix is added (e.g., /t/ to /sh/ such as in select and selection and /k/ to /sh/ in music and musician). By using resources, context, and affixes to determine word origin, students expand their vocabulary and recognize morphemic patterns.

In Collaboration, students share their writing with appropriate audiences and provide feedback on each other’s writing. Students focus on active listening, asking relevant questions, making pertinent comments, and being open and respectful to the ideas and viewpoints of others.

TEKS in this unit: 5.2A, 5.2A.i, 5.2A.iv, 5.2B, 5.2B.ii, 5.2B.v, 5.2B.vi, 5.3C, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6H, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.8A, 5.8B, 5.8C, 5.8D, 5.9A, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.10D, 5.10E, 5.10F, 5.11B, 5.11B.i, 5.11B.ii, 5.11C, 5.11D, 5.11D.iii, 5.11D.vii, 5.11D.x, 5.11D.xi, 5.11E, 5.12A

Unit 04: Exploring and Crafting Informational Text Through Inquiry

(15 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students read and interact with a variety of informational texts, including multimodal and digital texts. Students analyze author’s purpose, audience, genre characteristics, and author’s craft to develop a deeper understanding of this genre. This includes recognizing central ideas, text/print and graphic features, and organizational patterns. Students respond to and interact with texts, including summarizing and paraphrasing texts as part of the comprehension process. Students apply their knowledge of informational texts as they conduct brief research regarding an informational topic. Students engage in the research process by reading a variety of digital and print sources to gather and synthesize information about a specific topic.

In Writing, students utilize the writing process to compose an informational composition that conveys ideas and information about a particular topic. Students focus on developing a clear central idea and using details, examples, and facts that support the central idea. Students use transitions to enhance the flow of the piece and choose precise language and vocabulary to inform or explain. Students edit for correct spelling and for the proper use of italics and underlining for titles and emphasis as well as other previously learned conventions.

In Word Study, students continue to study morphemic elements to determine the meaning of words. Students use multiple strategies such as syllabication to decode and spell words with prefixes and suffixes. Students also continue to explore how consonants can change when adding suffixes (e.g., conclude to conclusion).

In Collaboration, students work together to develop a plan of shared responsibilities to create and follow a research plan. They continue to participate in group discussions, considering other group members’ ideas and perspectives.

TEKS in this unit: 5.1D, 5.2A, 5.2A.i, 5.2A.iv, 5.2B, 5.2B.ii, 5.2B.v, 5.2B.vi, 5.3C, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6H, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.9D, 5.9D.i, 5.9D.ii, 5.9D.iii, 5.9F, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.10F, 5.11A, 5.11B, 5.11B.i, 5.11B.ii, 5.11C, 5.11D, 5.11D.x, 5.11D.xi, 5.11E, 5.12B, 5.13A, 5.13B, 5.13C, 5.13D, 5.13E, 5.13H

Unit 05: Reading and Performing Drama

(10 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students read, respond to/write about, and discuss multiple scenes from plays while employing strategies to support comprehension such as interacting with the text through annotating and notetaking. Students explore and explain the structural elements of drama, including character tags, acts, scenes, and stage directions. Students also analyze author’s purpose and audience, genre characteristics, and author’s craft, including literary elements and devices. Students also utilize text evidence to support their ideas and inferences.

In Writing, students work in groups to craft a short original scene including setting, characters, dialogue, character tags, and stage directions. Together, students plan, draft, revise, and edit their scenes as well as rehearse and perform the scene for an audience of their peers.

In Word Study, students continue to learn and build comprehension of unfamiliar grade-level academic vocabulary through authentic reading and writing practices and utilize newly acquired vocabulary in their own responses, both oral and written.

In Collaboration, students engage in discussion to develop a deeper understanding of a literary text by sharing their own analysis of a text using textual evidence and responding to the perspectives and analyses of others. Students work with a small group of peers to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish a short original dramatic scene and to perform their scene for an audience of their peers. In their small group work, students collaborate to elicit feedback from their audience. This feedback informs their writing of individual written reflections about their successes and challenges in this small group collaboration.

TEKS in this unit: 5.1B, 5.2A, 5.2A.i, 5.2B, 5.2B.ii, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6H, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.8A, 5.8B, 5.8C, 5.8D, 5.9C, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.10D, 5.10E, 5.10F, 5.11A, 5.12A

Unit 06: Exploring and Crafting Poetry

(10 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students read and interact with poetry across a variety of poetic forms. Students explain author’s purpose, audience, and genre characteristics as well as analyze author’s craft in order to interpret and comprehend many different poems, including inferring theme. Students also explain the poet’s use of sound devices and figurative language and describe how these devices achieve specific purposes. Students also consider point-of-view and distinguish between the poet and the speaker of the poem.

In Writing, students utilize the writing process to compose original poems by using what they have learned in Reading about the genre characteristics and structural elements of poetry as well as how poets develop voice through language and other literary devices. Students revise their poems based on self, peer, and teacher feedback. Students edit for previously learned mechanics and conventions but understand that poetry can sometimes include unconventional elements. Students publish and share their poems with others.

In Word Study, students continue to develop their knowledge of phonics rules and patterns to assist them in decoding and spelling words. Additionally, students continue to develop their ability to use context clues, resources, and morphemic elements to determine the meaning of unknown words as they read.

TEKS in this unit: 5.1C, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6D, 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6H, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.8A, 5.9B, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.10D, 5.10E, 5.10F, 5.11A, 5.12A

Unit 07: Authentic Research to Craft an Argument

(15 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students read and interact with a variety of argumentative texts. Students recognize characteristics and structures of argumentative text, including identifying the author’s claim/position on a topic/issue, explaining how the author uses supporting evidence, and identifying the author’s intended audience. Students also analyze author’s craft in developing argumentative text including the use of persuasive devices and techniques such as hyperboles, stereotyping, and anecdotes. Students also use the research process to explore information, ideas, and perspectives on a particular topic/issue in order to formulate their own position on the topic/issue.

In Writing, students compose correspondence to request information to support their research efforts. Additionally, students apply characteristics and techniques employed by the authors of mentor texts in order to develop original argumentative texts that demonstrate strong reading-writing connections. Students use the information they have collected through research to develop an opinion essay. Students focus on developing a positon/argument using evidence such as facts, details, examples, statistics, testimonials, personal anecdotes, expert opinions, quotes, etc. Students also revise their drafts for clarity and cohesion as well as edit for capitalization of abbreviations, initials, acronyms, and organizations and other previously learned conventions. Student publish and share their opinion essay for their intended audience.

In Word Study, students continue to develop their knowledge of phonics rules and patterns to assist them in decoding and spelling words. Additionally, students continue to develop their ability to use context clues, resources, and morphemic elements to determine the meaning of unknown words as they read.

TEKS in this unit: 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6H, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.9E, 5.9E.i, 5.9E.ii, 5.9E.iii, 5.9F, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.10D, 5.10F, 5.10G, 5.11A, 5.11B, 5.11B.i, 5.11B.ii, 5.11C, 5.11D, 5.11D.ix, 5.12C, 5.12D, 5.13A, 5.13B, 5.13C, 5.13D, 5.13E, 5.13F, 5.13G, 5.13H

Unit 08: Making Meaning through Multiple Genres

(25 classes for the entire unit)

In Reading, students analyze a variety of texts in different genres, analyzing authors’ use of genre characteristics, structure, language, text features, and various modalities to support their purposes. Students identify author’s purpose, intended audience, and message as well as examine the author’s craft. Students use close reading strategies such as notetaking and annotating. Through a transfer of reading comprehension skills, students apply author’s craft to original writing products in different genres. Students also use the research process to find information that will help them compose their pieces.

In Writing, students engage in writing as a recursive process as they brainstorm/plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish texts in multiple genres, including multimodal texts. Students apply author’s craft learned during text analysis to their own writing products. In revising, students review their texts for clarity, development, organization, style, word choice, and sentence variety. In editing, students continue to make the conventional and nonconventional choices in punctuation, grammar, and spelling that are most effective to make their message clear for an authentic audience. Through publication for an audience of their peers, students employ multimodalities to support author’s craft and purpose.

TEKS in this unit: 5.6E, 5.6F, 5.6G, 5.6H, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D, 5.7E, 5.7G, 5.10A, 5.10B, 5.10C, 5.10D, 5.10F, 5.12A, 5.12B, 5.12C, 5.13A, 5.13B, 5.13C, 5.13D, 5.13E, 5.13F, 5.13G, 5.13H