Students understand that writers engage their readers by focusing on a small moment or event, and developing compelling leads when writing a personal narrative.
The focus of this unit is for teachers and students to establish a community of writers by setting structures and routines of a writing workshop. Students will write a personal narrative, focusing on a small moment or event, zooming in on the most important parts of the story. Students use mentor texts to determine what makes an engaging personal narrative, paying close attention to the development of leads. Students will be able to construct a compelling lead that not only engages the reader, but establishes a situation that helps orient the reader to the rest of their story. They will begin to intentionally select concrete words, phrases and sensory details to help convey experiences and events precisely, thinking about what they want their readers to know and feel. Students will self-assess, set goals, and refine their writing, to write narratives that develop real experiences or events using a sequence that unfolds naturally.
Students understand that writers may not always take their first ideas and run with it, but they linger, think and revise to develop the depth of characters, moments, settings and thoughts to create a lasting image for the reader.
The focus of this unit is for students to develop imagined experiences or events that create a visual image for readers. Students collect story ideas in their writer’s notebooks, building a few ideas out so that they begin to contain elements of an effective story. Then, students will choose a story idea and create coherent characters with characteristics that fit together in ways that seem believable. Students imagine their characters’ wants and needs, considering how they may be played out in the storyline through the actions, thoughts and emotions of the characters. They will intentionally select concrete words, phrases and sensory details to help convey experiences and events precisely, thinking about what they want their readers to believe and feel. Students will embrace the revision process to make the writing clearer and stronger for readers. In addition to crafting fictional narratives, students will be asked to write poems that express ideas or feelings using imagery, figurative language, and sensory details. Students are encouraged to consider taking a narrative piece and exploring how that story could be conveyed through a poetic structure.
Students understand that expository writing uses facts, details, and examples to convey information and ideas clearly, so that the reader understands it more thoroughly.
The focus of this unit is for students to write expository texts that supports deepening a reader’s understanding.
To keep the focus on the organization and structure of explanatory writing, students will want to choose topics that feel accessible, easy and familiar, something they feel as though they are an expert on. Students will establish a clearly defined topic and develop multiple paragraphs and sections that group related information together. To sound knowledgeable on a topic, students will incorporate domain specific vocabulary to explain the topic, concept or idea, if applicable. Students begin to consider the organizational structures of their paragraphs and sections, intentionally choosing appropriate text structures that help convey their idea. They will include information that is rich, detailed, and concrete to aid in the reader’s comprehension. During this unit, students will place a heavier focus on revision. Students build habits to reread and revise while drafting as a means to clarify and strengthen their writing.
Students understand that writers gather relevant information from multiple resources, interpret and communicate the information learned.
The focus of this unit is for students to dive deep into the project of research writing, incorporating and synthesizing information from multiple resources into logically structured pieces of writing. Students will spend some time researching and note-taking, however, the bulk of the unit should be focused on the development of writing. As students consider topics for their research writing, they might consider topics of interest or topics related to a social studies or science unit. Students will organize their writing and make logical choices about structures to help readers understand the most important information in their writing. Students learn how to present important information through use of details, text features, and quotations, drawing evidence from both print and digital texts to support analysis, reflection and research. Students will create cohesive structures in their informational writing by using transition words and phrases as a way to connect information within sections. By the end of the unit, students will be able to write informational texts that examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Students understand that writers create strong set of reasons through relevant facts and details to prove or support the writer’s position.
The focus of this unit is for students to develop a strong set of reasons that persuade the reader of their position around a topic. Students will use the writing process, including oral rehearsal, to generate and expand ideas with support from peers and adults. Students learn and apply the critical attributes of persuasive writing as they attend to purpose and audience. These critical attributes include stating an opinion, organizing multiple paragraphs of support, and concluding with a demand for action. Students will be able to state an opinion and begin to uncover relevant reasons that are supported by facts and details. Fourth grade writers are expected to use facts to strengthen their reasons, thus requiring students to do some research on the topic. In addition to relevant facts and details, students will also use emotional words, figurative language, exaggeration, and/or repetition as techniques to support their opinion.
Students understand that writers make conscientious choices about precise language and vocabulary to use and sometimes writers must revise mentally and do not have the opportunity to write multiple drafts.
The focus of this unit is for students to review the critical attributes of all three genres of writing, placing an emphasis on producing clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience. Regardless of the genre, students will refine the skill of using precise language and domain specific vocabulary to convey ideas and information clearly, or precisely. Students will engage in writing tasks during this review unit to understand that sometimes writers must revise mentally, or draft and revise simultaneously, and recognize that they may not have opportunities to write multiple drafts. Short constructed responses, research simulation tasks, literary analysis tasks, and narrative writing tasks are additional possibilities to help prepare for PARCC/CMAS assessments. Teachers should make decisions based on the student data to help differentiate the work for students during this review unit, and target small groups for just right instruction.
Students understand that writers make conscious choices regarding language, including descriptive and precise vocabulary, and use different forms of writing for different purposes and audiences.
The focus of this unit is for students to revise previous texts and/or write new pieces; applying their knowledge of previously studied genres, narrative, informational, opinion/persuasive, using all parts of the writing process to write for a specific purpose and audience. Students are provided an opportunity for differentiation based on student data to help students reach mastery of standards in all genres. Students will demonstrate their learning through a culminating portfolio of their work, review previous writing, and select pieces that demonstrate growth. Students will reflect, in writing and through collaborative sharing, on their progress as writers over the course of the year. Students will celebrate their growth as writers, and set new writing goals for the beginning of 5th grade.