Literacy

Overview:

In this unit, students read two theories about how people first arrived on the continent of North America. They discover how people lived when they first arrived, how they adjusted to different environments, and how—over time—they began to form tribes. In particular, students learn about groups of Native Americans who settled in the Greater Mississippi River areas as well as in the Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Arctic/Subarctic regions.

Students review words with /ə/ and /sh/ + /ə/ + /n/, spelled ‘tion.’ They study possessive nouns and pronouns, plural possessive nouns not ending in ‘s’ or ‘es,’ and singular and plural possessive nouns. Students also learn the difference between the possessive pronoun its and the contraction it’s. Finally, they study word parts, including the suffixes –ish, –ness, –able, and –ible.

Overview:

This unit is based on the award-winning novel Stella Díaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez. It introduces readers to Stella, a Mexican-American third grader who lives with her brother and mother near Chicago. The text follows Stella as she navigates her home and school life. Although the text is written in English, it contains some Spanish words and phrases because Stella’s family speaks Spanish at home. A Spanish glossary is provided for students to identify the meaning of Spanish words and phrases as they read.

Throughout the unit, students learn about and practice using dialogue and temporal words. They also use a variety of graphic organizers to analyze character and plot development.

Overview:

This unit immerses students in the study of the human body—covering the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems as well as the roles of related body parts and organs. Students expand on what they learned in previous grades about the senses of sight and hearing, and they further explore the challenges people face when these senses are impaired. Students also engage in collaborative and independent writing, maintain a unit dictionary, use graphic organizers, and respond to prompts.

Overview:

This unit builds on students’ knowledge of rhythm and sound by exploring the vibrant music, poetry, and culture of the Jazz Age in the United States. Students discover how jazz was born in the American South and spread north as part of the Harlem Renaissance. They hear about the work of famous artists and writers like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Langston Hughes along the way. Students are also introduced to later artists like Melba Liston, Tito Puente, and Miles Davis, who carried jazz's legacy into the modern age. 

Overview:

Students explore classic tales from different parts of the world, including “The Wind in the Willows,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Mulan.” They study character development, themes, and narrative perspective, and they write text-based opinion paragraphs about those literary elements. Students review important foundational skills such as short and long vowel sounds, /r/-controlled vowels, /er/ and its spelling, and syllables with ‘le.’ Regarding grammar, students learn about adjectives, concrete and abstract nouns, and regular and irregular verbs. 

Amplify Unit 2: 

Fur, Fins, and Feathers: Animal Classifications

Overview:

This unit continues students’ study of the natural world, explaining how scientists study and classify animals. Students apply their knowledge through text-based discussions, informal writing exercises, and formal informational writing assignments in which they use evidence to classify a particular vertebrate. Students also learn and practice alphabetizing words to the second and third letters, and they spell words with suffixes such as –ed, –ing, and –es.

Students study grammar, reviewing nouns, verbs, adjectives, subjects, predicates, fragments, subject/object pronouns and their antecedents, run-on sentences, and compound sentences. They also study the prefixes un–, non–, re–, and pre–, and discuss how adding prefixes may change the meaning of a root word and the word’s part of speech.

Overview:

In this unit, students continue their study of poetry as they explore how poets find inspiration in nature and relationships. Students apply their knowledge of poetic devices and structures through text-based discussions, informal writing exercises in which they employ poetry elements, and formal writing assignments in which they write original poems. Students review nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, and also study reciprocal pronouns and possessive reciprocal pronouns.

Overview:

Students dive into ancient Rome, exploring its culture and historical events. They read the legend of Romulus and Remus, centered around Rome’s founding, as well as several myths about Roman gods and goddesses. Students study the historical rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and they learn about key historical figures, such as Hannibal, Julius Caesar, and Augustus. Students review the spelling patterns of /r/-controlled vowels, irregularly-spelled words, and spellings of the sound /ee/. They also go over verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and the verbs to be and to have—learning to change the spelling of verbs to match various subjects. Finally, students study the common suffixes –er, –or, –ist, –ian, –y, and –al to understand how suffixes change the meaning of root words and how they can change a word’s part of speech.

Overview:

Students explore astronomy and the universe by reading about the sun, planets, our moon, asteroids, comets, meteors, galaxies, and stars. They are also introduced to the concept of gravity and other scientific topics such as matter, light-years, and black holes. Finally, they learn about important figures in the history of space exploration, including Nicolaus Copernicus and Mae Jemison.