ELA 

CKLA Units of Study

Unit 1 Personal Narratives - This unit examines the genre of personal narratives, which consists of works of nonfiction written by a first-person narrator involved in the events being described. Students read five personal narratives, identifying the elements of the genre and, throughout the unit, using these elements in writing a variety of their own personal narratives. These elements include events proceeding in a logical sequence, dialogue that shows character, vivid descriptive language, characters with defining traits, sensory details, figurative language, and writing strong introductions and conclusions. The unit also contains fourteen lessons of instruction in cursive writing.

Unit 2:  Empires in the Middle Ages Part 1 and 2 - The ​Empires in the Middle Ages​ unit covers the history of both the Middle Ages in Europe and the Islamic Medieval Empires. While part 1 deals primarily with the events of western Europe and the relationship between the Christian Church and the rulers of the region, the concurrent part 2 looks at events in another part of the world (particularly in what is now called the Middle East). Students practice taking notes from informational text, writing an informative, explanatory paragraph, and writing a persuasive paragraph. They describe the functions of and relationship between nouns and adjectives as well as between adverbs and verbs, form and use prepositional phrases, identify parts of speech, correctly use subject and predicate, and correct sentence fragments or run-on sentences by revising them into complete sentences. They practice writing the four different kinds of sentences and using the progressive verb tense. Students work with the prefixes un​–, ​non​–, and ​en​–, the root words ​arch​ and ​graph​, and the suffix –​y​.

Unit 3:  Poetry - This unit gives students tools and strategies for approaching poetry, training them in the methods and devices poets use and equipping them to read and interpret both formal and free verse poems. It gives them continual opportunities to create poems themselves, allowing them to practice what they have learned. The poems in this unit represent a wide variety of time periods, from Kshemendra’s twelfth-century treatise on the responsibilities of poets to the work of living writers such as Harryette Mullen. The poets come from many backgrounds and nations; the poets included are European, Asian, African American, Native American, and Hispanic. The poems themselves are similarly diverse; some employ precise meter and rhyme schemes, while others use free verse. A key aspect of the Poetry unit is encouraging and equipping students to write original poems. This allows for creative and imaginative expression, but it also affords students the opportunity to implement the poetic devices they have learned in the reading components of each lesson. The writing portion of the unit allows students to apply their new poetry knowledge, further solidifying their understanding of the craft of poetry. Throughout this unit, students will practice using the poetic devices exemplified by each poem. They will compose rhymes, similes, and metaphors; use repetition, anaphora, and alliteration; and plan, draft, and revise several original poems inspired by the poems studied in this unit.

Unit 4:  Eureka! Student Inventor - Student Inventor Quest, a narrative-driven unit that immerses students in close reading adventures. Through them, students read complex literary and informational texts and consistently demonstrate their ability to find evidence and use it appropriately. Over the course of the Quest, students write routinely in opinion, informational, and narrative modes, adjusting style for the task and audience indicated. In Eureka! Student Inventor, students read a range of informational texts about inventors, inventions, and the process of creation. In addition to close readings, students analyze objects and situations in the world around them, identify problems, create evidence-based solutions, and ultimately become inventors themselves. By routinely writing informational and opinion pieces, students practice research, observation, communication, and persuasion. They also engage in a range of collaborative discussions, sharing ideas and working in teams with defined roles and agreed-upon rules. Students read biographical articles about eight inventors, detailed histories of important inventions, and scientific explanations of simple machines. Comprehension and collaboration skills are developed throughout, as students establish rules for group work and work together on building, reading about, and presenting inventions. Students make oral presentations about their inventions and demonstrate how and what they have learned from their peers’ presentations. Audio and video components, as well as teacher-read texts, give students opportunities to practice active listening.

Unit 5:  Geology - This unit focuses on the composition of the Earth and the forces that change Earth’s surface. Students learn about the theory of plate tectonics and how it explains the presence of volcanoes, mountains, underwater trenches, ridges, and other geological features. Students will also study geological processes like rock formation, weathering, and erosion in order to understand how the earth changes over time and why it looks the way it does. They review the stages of the writing process, examine and explain similes, draft an informational pamphlet about tsunamis, write a wiki entry about a specific volcano, and create a descriptive paragraph about a type of rock or item in the rock cycle, incorporating literary devices such as alliteration, personification, and simile. Students also work with the suffix –​ly​ and the root word ​rupt ​and practice sequencing adjectives and proper use of commas and quotation marks. This unit includes a Mid-Year assessment to track student progress towards grade-level standards mastery.

Unit 6:  Contemporary Fiction with excerpts from The House on Mango Street - This unit leads students into a deep dive on narrative literature and writing, using excerpts from ​The​ ​House​ ​on Mango Street​ as its anchor text. Throughout this unit, students read closely and analyze the text, then practice using literary elements they have explored in each vignette from the Reader—for example, the use of detailed descriptions, the building of aspiration as a theme, and the contrast between the protagonists’ perceptions and the perceptions of others. The unit asks students to compose a multi-chapter narrative; they build their stories throughout several lessons devoted to planning, drafting, and revising their work. In addition, students practice opinion writing using evidence from the text.

Unit 7: American Revolution - This unit centers around the big idea that disagreements about principles of government led colonists in North America to seek independence from Great Britain. The causes, major figures, and consequences of the American Revolution provide a framework for understanding both what caused the thirteen colonies to break away and become an independent nation and what significant ideas and values were at the heart of the American Revolution. Students review the stages of the writing process, enact and record key information from vignettes corresponding to the causes of the American Revolution, and develop a five-paragraph cause and effect essay. Students learn the prefixes ​im– and ​in–​, the suffixes –​ible​ and –​able​, and the root word port​. They also learn modal auxiliary verbs and continue developing their use of commas and quotation marks and employing correct subject-verb agreement.

Unit 8: Treasure Island - This unit examines the fiction genre through a classic novel, ​Treasure Island​. Students focus on character development, setting, plot, and literary devices while reading an abridged version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s popular adventure story. They also trace the development of plot, characters, and literary elements over the course of the novel and engage in an extended writing project while continuing to practice the various stages of the writing process. Students draft a character sketch, then write, publish, and share an original adventure story. Throughout these writing activities students focus on character development, dialogue, verb choice, and revision methods. Students learn relative pronouns, the suffixes –​ful​ and –​less​ and the root word bio​. They also continue working with modal auxiliary verbs and coordinating conjunctions.