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There are Two Units in the Language Arts curriculum. In the First Unit there are Four Modules in both Shared Reading and Reading Aloud. In Unit Two there is only One Unit. Below are the shared reading novels, vocabulary words, and a summary of what the students will learn throughout the year. You will also find the required writing projects for each module, with a summary and expectations.
Module 1: Shared Reading will consist of two novels. Both stories will show how our relationships change. Students will explore narrative structure, character relationships, and character growth and change over time. The lessons in this unit work together to reinforce narrative text structure and knowledge of fiction text.
The vocabulary words found in the fourth grade language arts curriculum will be broken down into syllable type.
There are six syllable types
Closed: ends in a consonant and short vowel sound. Example cat
Open: ends with a vowel and has a long vowel sound. Example go
Magic e: ends with a silent e, has a long vowel sound, and has a consonant between the vowel and silent e. Example cake
Vowel Team: Two vowels making one sound. Example boat
r-controlled: at least one vowel followed by r (ar, er, ir, or, ur). Example star
Consonant -le: ends with a consonant and -le. Example turtles
Affixes (prefix or suffix: circle
Our second novel, Love, Amelia, is written with a strong narrative text structure. It tells a story of a girl named Amalia and the big changes both she and her family experience.
Student's will break down the vocabulary words by the six syllable types.
Vocabulary Words we learn during the novel
Unit 1: Module Two
Unit 1: Module Two
In Module 2: Change and Conflict, students will explore narrative structure, change and conflict in character relationships, and character growth and change over time, all in the context of early colonial United States history. The lessons in this unit work together to reinforce narrative text structure knowledge, fiction and nonfiction text knowledge, and nonfiction primary source text knowledge.
Our third novel, Blood on the River, has a strong historical fiction text structure.
Each chapter begins with a quote taken from primary source historical documents. This story of James Town’s beginnings is told by Samuel Collier, a real boy who sailed to James Town on one of three ships, and was Captain John Smith’s page. Students will collaboratively create a timeline to organize important events in the book, and a primary source list to keep track of each document and the information each contains.
Student's will break down the vocabulary words by the six syllable types.
Vocabulary Words we learn during the novel
Our fourth novel, Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George? is a picture book with a biography text structure. It is written in a style similar to the Shared Reading text Blood on the River. It is about the life of King George III of England from the 1760s to 1770s, and includes historical facts and interesting details about his life during this time. Students will collaboratively create a list of historical facts and interesting personal details about King George III of England, to keep track of the information they learn about him. For this book, all words will be assessed at the end of the book.
Student's will break down the vocabulary words by the six syllable types.
Vocabulary Words we learn during the novel
In Unit 1: Module 3
Looking Beneath the Surface, students will use narrative structure to support comprehension, explore character development through self-reflection and interactions with other characters, and analyze how author’s craft shapes and influences our text content understanding. The lessons in this unit work together to reinforce narrative text structure knowledge.
Our fifth novel, Tangerine, is a novel with a strong narrative text structure. It is a book about middle schooler and soccer player Paul Fisher, who is legally blind and has just moved with his family to the down of Tangerine, Florida. His football star brother Erik creates family drama and brings troubles to Paul’s life. Students will collaboratively create a calendar to keep track of dates and main events in the story.
Student's will break down the vocabulary words by the six syllable types.
Vocabulary Words we learn during the novel.
Our sixth novel, My Life as a Book,is a novel with a strong narrative text structure. It is about a boy named Derek who wanted to enjoy his summer his own way, and is dismayed when he finds out his mom signed him up for Learning Camp to strengthen his reading skills. As the summer progresses though, Derek learns that he actually likes reading more than he thought. Students will collaboratively create a combination events list and plot timeline to keep track of dates and important events in the story.
Student's will break down the vocabulary words by the six syllable types.
Vocabulary Words we learn during the novel
Students and I will choose the words as we read this book together.
In Unit 1: Module 4
Understanding Each Other, students will use narrative structure to support comprehension, explore character development through self-reflection and interactions with other characters, and analyze how author’s craft shapes and influences our text content understanding. The lessons in this unit work together to reinforce students’ narrative text structure knowledge. They also help students think deeply about how self-reflection influences personal growth and about the ways that our decisions and actions can have long-term and lasting impact on ourselves and those around us.
In Starry River of the Sky, students will use narrative structure to support comprehension, explore character development through self-reflection and interactions with other characters, and analyze how author’s craft shapes and influences our understanding of text content. They will learn to support opinions with text-based evidence, analyze key details to support inference and summarization, make text-evidence-supported predictions, make connections across stories, and analyze character behavior and actions.
Student's will break down the vocabulary words by the six syllable types.
Vocabulary Words we learn during the novel
Unit 2, Module 1:
The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin is a biography about the life and times of Benjamin Franklin, an important writer and inventor in United States history. Students will use the timeline in the text to keep track of events in Ben Franklin’s life in the order in which they occurred.
In the book, The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, tells the story of Benjamin Franklin’s life in time order. Whenever I read a biography, I like to make a timeline to keep track of some of the most important events in a person’s life. But this time I don’t have to. If we look on page 41 towards the back of the book, we can see that the author has done that for us by listing the key events in Benjamin Franklin’s life.
Student's will break down the vocabulary words by the six syllable types.
Vocabulary Words we learn during the novel
ap · pren · tice (closed, closed, suffix)
Apprentice is a noun or a verb that means a person who works for a long time to learn a trade. The apprentice learns from a master craftsman. The root word of apprentice is related to the word apprehend, which is another word for learn.
vo · cab · u · lar · y (open, closed, open, closed, open)
Vocabulary is a noun that means all the words you know the meanings of when you hear or read them. The word vocabulary is related to vocal and voice. You increase the size of your vocabulary by reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
op · tim · ist · ic (closed, closed, closed, suffix)
Optimistic is an adjective that means looking on the bright side, seeing the best in a situation. A person who’s optimistic is called an optimist—that’s the noun. Let’s say, for example, that we are planning to go outside to [play, have recess, go on a field trip, etc.] and we notice that rain clouds are gathering. An optimist might say, Maybe the rain will hold off until we come back inside.
pes · sim · ist · ic (closed, closed, closed, suffix)
Pessimistic is an adjective that means looking on the negative side, seeing the worst in a situation. It is an antonym for optimistic. A person who is pessimistic is called a pessimist. A pessimistic outlook on an upcoming soccer game would focus on all the ways the other team was too good to beat.
fron · tier (closed, vowel team)
Frontier is a noun that means the part of the country that is just being settled. The area we call the frontier changes over time. At first, the frontier was moving to the west. Frontier comes from the word front. The people on the frontier were moving westward, in front of others.
sym · path · et · ic (closed, closed, closed, suffix)
Sympathetic is an adjective the means feeling sorry for someone. You may have sympathetic feelings for a friend who is sick. If you feel sorry for a person, we say that you sympathize with them. Sympathize is a verb. You understand what they are going through. You feel sympathy. Sympathy is a noun.
com · prom · ise (closed, closed, VCe)
Compromise is a noun that means an agreement where both people give up a little, and no one gets everything they want. Compromise can also be a verb. If two people disagree about something, they might find a way to compromise. Compromise is another way of saying “work it out.”
in · ev · it · able (closed, closed, closed, suffix)
Inevitable is an adjective that means something can’t be avoided no matter what we do. We know the sun will rise tomorrow. It’s inevitable. Sometimes inevitable is used as a noun. Let’s say that a student misbehaves at school. That student might have to walk into the principal’s office to face the inevitable.
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