Language Arts

Module 3: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

How does one's perspective influence his or her opinion? In this module, students consider the answer to this question through the lens of the American Revolution. In Unit 1, students build background knowledge about the Revolutionary War and the different perspectives of colonists. In the second half of the unit, students read about different groups within the Loyalists and Patriots, reading informational texts to determine the main idea, analyze the overall structure of the text, and summarize the texts.

In Unit 2, students read the historical fiction play Divided Loyalties to deepen their understanding of the Patriot and Loyalist perspectives. Drawing on their background knowledge about the Revolutionary War from Unit 1, students read the text closely, focusing on character thoughts, feelings, and actions in response to the different perspectives on the American Revolution. In Unit 3, students synthesize their research on the Revolutionary War from Unit 1 and their analysis of perspectives from Unit 2 to write an opinion piece from the Patriot perspective, outlining reasons colonists should join the Patriot cause, in the form of a broadside. Students write a broadside from the Loyalist perspective for the end of unit assessment. Then, for the performance task, students consider both sides and discuss whether they would or would not have supported the American Revolution had they lived during colonial times. 

EL Module 2: Animal Defense Mechanisms

"In this eight-week module, students explore animal defense mechanisms. They build proficiency in writing an informative piece, examining the defense mechanisms of one specific animal about which they build expertise. Students also build proficiency in writing a narrative piece about this animal. In Unit 1, they build background knowledge on general animal defenses through close readings of several informational texts. Students read closely to practice drawing inferences as they begin their research and use a research notebook to make observations and synthesize information. Students will continue to use the research notebook, using the millipede as a whole class model. They begin to research an expert group animal in preparation to write about this animal in Units 2 and 3, again using the research notebook. In Unit 2, students continue to build expertise about their animal and its defense mechanisms, writing the first part of the final performance task--an informative piece describing their animal's physical characteristics, habitat, predators, and defense mechanisms. With their new knowledge about animal defenses from Unit 1, students read informational texts closely, using the same research notebook to synthesize information about their animal. In Unit 3, students apply their research from Units 1 and 2 to write a narrative piece about their animal that incorporates their research. This narrative takes the format of a choose-your-own-adventure. For their performance task, students plan, draft, and revise the introduction and one choice ending of the narrative with the support of both peer and teacher feedback. The second choice ending is planned, written, and revised on demand for the end of unit assessment."

EL Module 1: POETRY, POETS, AND BECOMING WRITERS

This module uses literature and informational text to introduce students to what inspires people to write. It is intentionally designed to encourage students to embrace a love of literacy and writing. In Unit 1, students begin to build their close reading skills by reading the novel in verse Love That Dog by Sharon Creech and analyzing how the main character, Jack, feels in response to events that happen in the story. Alongside Love That Dog, students closely read and analyze the poems Jack reads and describes, including "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. They analyze the poems to determine a theme and to identify characteristics of poetry in order to effectively summarize the poems.

In the first half of Unit 2, students finish reading Love That Dog and plan and write an informative paragraph about what inspires Jack to write poetry. In the second half of the unit, they read A River of Words by Jen Bryant and learn about poet William Carlos Williams, again thinking about what inspired this poet to write. Then, in expert groups, students study a poet of their choice and write a four-paragraph essay about what inspired their poet to write poetry.

Finally, in Unit 3, students move from considering what has inspired the poets they have been reading about to write poetry, to thinking about what inspires them to write poetry. They begin the unit by writing original poems, focusing on word and phrase choice and adding punctuation for effect. In the second half of the unit, students write a presentation explaining why they wrote their original poem and where you can see evidence of this in their poem. In the second half of the unit, students also practice reading new poems aloud for fluency in preparation for reading their poems aloud for the performance task. For the performance task at the end of the unit, students participate in a poetry presentation in which they read aloud an original poem and then explain to the audience, with the use of visuals and evidence from the poem, why they were inspired to write their original poem.