Unit 1: Up the Ladder Fiction Reading

This unit launches the school year by building a strong reading community and teaching strong habits and routines. The unit has students working in partnerships to learn effective book talk strategies.

• Children will develop an appreciation for reading and making reading a “10 out of a 10”.

• Children will learn how to choose “just right books”.

• Children will learn and practice how to talk about books with their reading partners.

• Children will study characters in their stories and track them throughout the book.

• Children will engage in close reading strategies.

Unit 2: Tackling Complexity- Moving up the Levels of Nonfiction

In this unit, students will study high interest nonfiction texts to tackle increasing vocabulary demands. They will read more analytically thinking about the relationships between parts of the text to the whole.

• Children will develop strategies for determining main ideas in complex texts

• Children will develop and implement a research plan on a topic of their interest to lift the level of their writing about reading

• Children will learn to question the trustworthiness of sources to strengthen their research

Unit 3: Interpretation Book Clubs

In this fiction unit, students will read rich novels worthy of serious thought and produce written responses to what they have read to further their understanding.

• Children will use their Writer’s Notebook to ground their thinking, to think analytically, and to revise their ideas about what they have read

• Children will be working in Book Clubs (cooperative groups) to build larger theories based upon seeing the text through their peers

• Children will rethink and study themes to allow for more in-depth analysis

Unit 4: Argument and Advocacy- Research Debatable Issues

In this unit, the students will learn to develop and evaluate a provocative argument and support their argument with evidence. Children will consider all positions to the argument to gain a better understanding of the issue.

• Children will partake in flash debates to strengthen their argument as well as develop their ability to express their thoughts

• Children will read and raise the level of annotation to tackle the comprehension of more complex texts

• Children will study different perspectives while evaluating arguments

Unit 5: Target Teaching

In this unit, students will reflect and bring forward all they have learned in each genre in order to demonstrate understanding of skills and strategies.

• Children will apply appropriate strategies and skills to respond thoroughly to multiple choice, short response and extended response questions

• Children will work independently as well as in partnerships to read and answer questions across various genres including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, folktales, fables etc.

• Children will review main idea, theme, vocabulary, structure, and author’s tone/purpose

Unit 6: Reading in the Content Areas:

How Key Events Shape Nations, with a Focus on the Civil Rights Era and the Struggle for Equality

In this unit, students will be asked to reach into their tool kit to refer to skills and strategies: note taking, main idea, synthesis, analysis, critique will merging skills together.

• Children will develop critical language to talk like an expert on a topic

• Children will synthesize across multiple texts on a topic

• Children will independently research a topic in order to produce a final culminating activity which may include essay, oral presentation or technology based presentation

Unit 7: Fantasy Book Clubs- The Magic of Themes and Symbols

In this unit, students will address the need to read with extra alertness when analyzing the genre of fantasy.

• Children will revisit story elements by looking at them through the specific lens of fantasy

• Children will uncover life lessons while taking the journey/quest with the characters

• Children will utilize strategies to determine unfamiliar words

• Children will take a deeper investigation into figurative language (symbolism, metaphors, allegories and archetypes.

Unit 1: Narrative Craft

In this unit, students will draw upon a previously taught and new repertoire of strategies to generate Narrative Writing.

• Children will generate entries based upon their own personal experiences to create a powerful story

• Children will slow down parts of their writing to help stretch out tension

• Children will create a story arc to outline their story

• Children will study mentor authors to develop their own craft techniques

• Children will use editing and revising checklists to monitor mechanics, grammar, and content

• Unit 2: Up the Ladder Non-Fiction

Unit 3: Literary Essay

In this unit, students will write a literary essay in which they develop and support a claim about a character or theme using a piece of literature.

• Children will grow ideas and read with a writerly wide awakeness.

• Children will develop a strong thesis statement by utilizing quotes, craft, and perfecting beginnings and endings

• Children will angle mini-stories to support a specific point

• Children will carry forward what they learned about literary essay to use in their everyday writing

Unit 4: Research Based Argument

In this unit, students will investigate and write argumentative essays about a thought provoking topic. As students explore this issue, they’ll read texts both digital and in print to explore the reasons for and against their issue.

• Children will learn to flash draft using evidence and quotations to bolster their argument

• Children will learn to use critical perspective, balance evidence with analysis, as well as address rebuttals and counterclaims

• Children will evaluate the validity of an argument

Unit 5: Target Teaching

In this unit, students will generate writing in response to various genres of texts.

• Children will break apart and analyze questions in order to address all parts of the prompt

• Children will use details from paired texts in order to support written response

• Children will write in such a way as to balance evidence with explanation of evidence

• Children will appropriately format and write compare and contrast essays

Unit 6: The Lens of History- Research Reports

In this unit, students will write an informational text within the Social Studies content area.

• Children will write quick drafts of research reports and revise these reports with various lenses before writing second drafts

• Children will write a more narrowed report drawing on inspiration from mentor texts

• Children will use primary source documents to utilize multiple points of view and craft introductions and conclusions

• Children will use checklists and rubrics to revise, edit and self-assess

Unit 7: Shaping Texts: From Essay and Narrative to Memoir

In this unit, students will meld the learning from both the opinion and narrative writing units to create memoirs based on their experiences.

• Children will learn to write small off of big topics in order to angle a story and bring forth a theme

• Children will utilize mentor texts in order to inspire their own writing

• Children will learn how to balance expository portions with narrative portions

• Children learn to use metaphor to convey big ideas

• Children will use checklists and rubrics to revise, edit and self-assess.