Standards: Connecticut has adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as the Connecticut State Standards (CSS).

BIG IDEAS

• Readers use clues about characters to infer new ideas.
• Readers deepen their theories with evidence from text, specifically what characters do, say, and think to confirm their ideas.
• Readers recognize that stories are told from a point of view that may differ from one's own, and it may influence the way the story is told.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do readers develop a reading life?
• How do readers think deeply about characters?
• How do readers build interpretations about characters and story?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1 - 6: Readers will establish a reading life.

• draw upon all of the skills and strategies they have used in the past.
• read with high volume.
• know who they are as a reader and set goals using tools (i.e., progressions, partnerships, charts...).
• summarize purposefully and flexibly.
• bring their stories to life in their minds.

Sessions 7-13: Readers will think deeply about characters.

• grow their own ideas using details from across the text.
• develop, revise, and grow theories across the text by paying attention to actions, motivations, desires, obstacles and struggles.
• identify and understand the purpose of an author's craft choices.
• recognize that characters are complicated.
• speak precisely about characters using academic language.

Sessions 14-19: Readers will build interpretations as they read.

• use multiple lenses to build an interpretation.
• consider how one story element is significant to another.
• prioritize the significance and prevalence of their interpretations.
• identify the issues in their books and what their books are saying about those issues.
• identify and understand symbolism.

BIG IDEAS

• Nonfiction text is often organized based on a familiar structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution).
• Nonfiction text can be further divided into sub­genres.
• Readers develop questions as they read nonfiction and often consult multiple sources to find the answers.
• Careful and purposeful note­taking can support idea growth.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do readers pay attention to the structure of each particular text in order to figure out what is important in the text and to help them organize and hold onto their thoughts about the subject?
• How do readers integrate information from multiple texts to learn more about a topic?
• How do readers research a topic as part of a team?
• How do readers apply knowledge about one topic to support research on another topic?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will learn to . . .

Sessions 1-7: Thinking flexibly while reading nonfiction text in order to learn.

• activate prior knowledge and orient to the text to make a plan for reading.
• determine importance using text structure.
• record big ideas and most important details in a variety of ways.
• persevere through nonfiction challenges.
• navigate multiple structures within a text in order to think flexibly.
• summarize through the lens of main idea and key details.

Sessions 8-13: Applying nonfiction reading skills while researching a topic.

• make a plan for their project.
• synthesize information across multiple sources.
• grow ideas by writing long about their topic.
• navigate tricky parts of text by rereading, writing and talking with a partner to clarify what they are learning.
• celebrate by teaching others what they have learned.

Sessions 14-21: Tackling a second research project with more agency and power.

• compare and contrast their first and second research topics.
• deepen their expertise by thinking about patterns and relationships.
• continuously asking questions as they deepen their understanding of a topic.
• use their questions to help them plan for further research.
• understand the importance of evaluating their sources.
• recognize what the author hopes readers will feel because of decisions about what to include and what to leave out.
• celebrate by presenting what they have learned.

BIG IDEAS

• Authors have woven world issues into their texts.
• Readers can read books with a lens in mind such as a social issue.
• Readers realize there are imbalances of power in stories read and in current events in the world.
• Different authors approach the same topic from different perspectives.
• Readers can talk back to issues and raise awareness in the world.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do readers read with the lens of looking for themes, learning to spot places in a text through which the theme shines?
• How do readers compare and contrast the way a theme is handled similarly and differently in different texts?
• How do readers analyze at how different authors approach the same theme?
• How can readers become more complex in their thinking because they read?
• How can readers become more aware and help others to become more aware, too?
• How can readers go through life, seeing more in the texts that they read?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES -> . . . in Progress

BIG IDEAS

• Readers learn about a topic by identifying and accessing resources to build on their background knowledge.
• Previewing a text can support the identification of text structures to help better understand the important parts and to organize reading and note-taking.
• Researchers begin to organize new information by paying attention to who, what, when, and where.
• The process of taking meaningful notes supports deep thinking.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do readers research history effectively?
• How do readers prepare for an angled debate?
• How do readers harness knowledge from their original research to develop a second cycle of research?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1-9: Researching History

• orient themselves to texts in order to activate prior knowledge by skimming through resources and recognizing subtopics.
• use text structures to organize incoming information and notes.
• pay attention to who, where and when when researching history.
• determine what is important to record in their notes by reading for longer chunks of time.
• read about one subtopic across multiple texts and synthesize what they have learned.
• recognize an author's tone and point of view.
• think about who, when and why as they read primary source documents.
• use fiction strategies to make history come alive.
• celebrate by teaching others about a subtopic.

Sessions 10-13: Debating an Issue

• recognize different perspectives.
• state a claim and angle their evidence to support their claim.
• rebut an opponent's claim.

Sessions 14-20: Researching a Second Subtopic

• gather background knowledge by reading easier texts before moving on to more complex texts.
• read small sections of text and think about how it fits with the other sections.
• use all parts of a nonfiction text to determine the main idea.
• alter their strategies based on the kind of text they are reading.
• build their understanding of new vocabulary.
• ask questions as they research and hypothesize answers when they can't quickly find the answers.
• learn lessons from the past.

BIG IDEAS

• In historical fiction, character timelines fit with historical timelines.
• Characters' perspectives are shaped by their roles in the story.
• Small details may hold big meaning.
• Primary sources can help readers better understand the time period in which their book is set.
• Reading historical books help us understand the world today.
• Reading with friends can help a reader to deepen and/or adjust a theory.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do readers tackle complex texts with friends?
• How do we interpret complex historical texts?
• How do literature and history intersect?
• How do readers develop a deeper understanding of the characters and the setting by learning about a particular period in time?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1-4: Tackling Complex Texts

• orient to the text at the start by analyzing the setting.
• keep track of story elements as they read through a text.
• think about how the historical timeline impacts the character's plot line and their decisions.
• consider how the character's roles shape their perspective.

Sessions 5-10: Interpreting Complex Texts

• recognize when a passage, idea or small detail is significant and think about how it connects to other parts of the text.
• determine a theme and then flexibly read through the lens of that theme.
• add to or revise the theme as they read, while discussing with partners, and while thinking about secondary characters.
• strengthen their interpretations through the use of rubrics.

Sessions 11-17: Deepen Understanding of Historical Fiction by Reading Nonfiction Sources

• analyze photographs and illustrations from the time period to learn more about that period.
• learn about history by reading historical fiction.
• recognize that there are multiple perspectives in one historical event.
• use power dynamics of historical events to deepen their thinking.
• compare and contrast themes across different texts.

BIG IDEAS

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How can I read a variety of poems, with attention to mood, sounds, word choice and images?
• How can I notice how these elements and the parts of a poemwork together to create meaning?
• How can I read novels with a new for word choice, figurative language, and imagery?
• How can I read new poems, examining all the elements that go into creating poetry while also holding onto and making meaning? How can I find poetic lines or passages in my independent reading and pause to think about how these parts connect to something important in the story?
• How can I challenge myself to look at poems more deeply, noticing how the parts go together to create images and meaning? How can I read a novel and think across powerful parts, noticing how they build to develop deeper meaning?
• How can I keep thinking about images and themes from poetry when reading other texts?
• How can I celebrate the person I’ve become as a reader of poetry—someone who sees the world in new ways—and how can I share the gift of poetry with other people?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES -> . . . in Progress