In this module, students build their literacy and citizenship skills as they engage in a study of tools and work. Students first learn about how tools help to do a job. They then extend their understanding of what it takes to do a job when they learn how the "habits of character" of initiative, collaboration, perseverance, and responsibility help them do work.
In Unit 1, students are introduced to hand tools through a series of "tool challenges." In each challenge, students are presented with a dilemma and the question, "Which tool is best for the job?" Students discuss by asking and responding to questions, and ultimately experiencing tools for themselves as they engage in each tool challenge. Following these experiences, students engage in a series of focused read-alouds, featuring people from around the world who use specific tools for certain tasks. Students reflect on their own experiences with tools from earlier in the unit, as well as those they have read about, to construct a definition of tools.
In Unit 2, students engage in close read-alouds, which focus on the study of characters in new literary texts. Through these texts, students will consider the habits of character that help them make work easier and solve dilemmas. To support their understanding of these habits of character, students experience a new set of challenges.
In Unit 3, students use their classroom tools and habits of character to collaboratively create a "magnificent thing" for their classroom. At the end of the module, students take all they have learned about tools and work to create a "magnificent thing" that fulfills an authentic classroom need (e.g., pencil holder for classroom use). Students share, discuss, and reflect on their creation.
Module 1 Read Alouds
What’s Up in the Sky: A Study of the Sun, Moon, and Stars
Module 2 Read Alouds
Writing to Show Our Research: Building Expertise about Birds’ Bodies
In this module, students build their literacy skills as they engage in an in-depth study of birds' bodies. The module focuses on big ideas derived from the Next Generation Science Standards: Animals have physical features that help them survive; animals behave in ways that help them survive.
In Unit 1, students listen to the texts Just Ducks by Nicola Davies and Birds (Scholastic Discover More) by Penelope Arlon and Tory Gordon-Harris as they answer the unit guiding question, "What makes a bird a bird?" As students build background knowledge about birds through the texts, they participate in a cycle of reading, talking, and representing (through scientific drawing, writing, role-play, music, and movement).
During Unit 2, students participate in both whole group and small group research to learn more about the form and function of key bird parts: beaks and feathers. Students research using two key anchor texts: Feathers, Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart and Beaks! by Sneed B. Collard III. This cycle of research is anchored by the unit guiding question, "How do birds use their body parts to survive?" Students also continue to refine the scientific drawing skills established in Unit 1. For the Unit 2 Assessment, students show their learning by writing an informational paragraph that describes how beaks or feathers help birds survive.
In Unit 3, students participate in another research cycle to learn about how a specific bird's key parts help them to survive in their habitat. Students' class and small group research is anchored by the National Geographic Kids text Little Kids First Big Book of Birds by Catherine D. Hughes. For the Unit 3 Assessment, students participate in a Science Talk focused on the question: "How do specific birds use their body parts to survive?" For the performance task, students create Expert Bird Riddle cards and Expert Bird Scientific Drawing cards for a riddle matching game using facts from their research.
Module 3 also lays the foundation for the work in Module 4. In Module 3, students build deep knowledge about the scientific topic of birds. In Module 4, students will apply this knowledge in order to make a meaningful contribution to their community. Module 4 will focus on "contribute to a better world" and teach students specific habits of character (e.g., applying their learning and using their strengths to help others grow) that will help them make a difference in the world around them. Refer to the Module 4 Overview for more information. Because Module 4 content is based on Module 3, save students' Module 3 work so they can refer to it during Module 4 as needed.
Module 3 Read Alouds
Little Kids First Big Book of Birds
Birds (Scholastic Discover More)
In this module, students continue to build on their knowledge of birds from Module 3 as they deepen their literacy skills and build citizenship. Specifically, students explore the module guiding question: "Why should we care about birds?"
In Unit 1, students begin to think about this question by reading a variety of literature with characters who care for birds. These texts include The Lion and the Bird by Marianne Dubuc, Pierre the Penguin by Jean Marzollo, and Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon by Christie Gove-Berg. Students participate in a close read-aloud, role-play, structured discussions, and response to text through writing as they compare and contrast the characters' experiences in these stories. Also central to this unit is students' work with the habits of character of compassion and respect.
In Unit 2, students learn about writing opinions as they investigate a specific bird, Pale Male, who built his nest in the heart of New York City. Students read about people's differing opinions about this nest and then write their own opinions in response to the evidence they gather. The two texts that anchor students' learning are City Hawk: The Story of Pale Male by Meghan McCarthy and "What's Best? The Debate about Pale Male's Nest" by EL Education. Students extend their learning of habits of character from Unit 1 to include an additional ones--empathy --which is central to respectfully listening to, responding to, and sharing opinions.
In Unit 3, students learn about some of the problems birds face more generally and what humans can do to help them live and grow through the text A Place for Birds by Melissa Stewart. They also learn about the myriad ways birds are helpful to plants, other animals, and people. For the performance task, students create a piece of artwork and writing that serves an authentic need in their school or local community: a Feathered Friends Saver! This performance task includes a high-quality scientific drawing of a local bird that is formatted to attach to a window. When displayed in a window, the portrait helps to prevent birds from flying into the window. Students also individually create a short piece of writing to teach the recipient of the Feathered Friends Saver facts about birds.
Module 4 Read Alouds
Olivia's Birds Saving the Gulf
City Hawk: The Story of Pale Male
Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon: A True Story of Rescue and Rehabilitation
Pierre the Penguin: A True Story