Grade 5 ELA
Unit — Challenges
Essential Questions
What challenges humans through time and place?
Guiding Questions
How have the interactions between people past and present required the need for a universal understanding of human rights?
What rights do we have as humans that tie us together over place and time?
How can we ensure that the human rights of all individuals are upheld?
As humans, how do we respond to challenges?
Why are the human rights of people challenged and violated?
What responsibility do we have to protect the human rights of all?
What are human rights?
What lessons can we learn about human rights throughout life?
Reading
Anchor Texts:
UDHR
Malala the Brave from Reading A to Z
Additional titles may include:
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Skills Taught:
Non-Fiction Skills:
Students will:
develop a purpose for reading.
determine how the author’s purpose or point of view shapes the content and style of the text.
summarize parts of a text and the whole text.
identify and analyze structural elements of a story, book or text.
identify text features.
identify how text features contribute to the author’s overall purpose.
determine the gist of a text or part of a text.
determine how a part of a text contributes to the overall meaning of the text.
determine the organizational structure of a text and how it contributes to the overall meaning of the text.
apply concepts from non-fiction to fictional stories.
compare and contrast different organizational structures of non-fiction and determine the effectiveness of each.
quote accurately from a text to support literal and inferential understanding.
will determine two or more main ideas of a text.
Writing
Anchor Writing:
TC Narrative/Memoir Writing Unit
mentor texts for narrative writing may include:
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
Shortcut by Donald Crews
The Other Side byJacqueline Woodson
The Hard Times by Jar-John Holyfield
mentor texts for memoir unit may include:
“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros
Malala Memoir by Malala Yousafzai
Writing about Reading: Text-dependent extended responses
Skills:
Studenst will:
draw evidence from literary and informational text to support writing.
demonstrate understanding of and utilize the writing process.
write narratives with real or imagined events utilizing plot elements and narrative techniques.
respond to a story, book or text, state an opinion, or express a personal experience.
develop a claim.
give reasons and quotes to support their claims.
use text evidence to support their claims.
Reading: 5R1, 5R2, 5R3, 5R4, 5R5, 5R8, 5R9
Writing: 5W1, 5W3
Speaking and Listening: 5SL1
Unit — Responses to Challenges
Essential Questions
What does literature teach us about challenges and how can I apply these lessons to my everyday life?
Guiding Questions
What lessons can we learn about human rights through literature?
How can we tell powerful stories about people’s experiences?
How do the lessons about human rights from the experiences of real people and fictional characters differ and concur?
How do characters change over time in response to societal, environmental or internal challenges?
How do people respond differently to similar events in their lives?
What character traits enable us to respond to challenges?
How do authors conduct research and use specific language in order to impact their readers?
Reading
Anchor Texts:
UDHR
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Skills:
Fiction Skills:
Students will:
identify the author’s purpose.
determine the gist of a text.
locate and quote relevant details and evidence when explaining what a text says literally and make logical inferences.
identify conflicts that occur within the story.
identify character traits.
compare and contrast characters, poems, themes and ideas.
determine a theme or central idea of text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize a text.
describe a character, setting, or event and describe its importance to the overall story.
identify key details in the text to support their analysis.
Writing
Anchor Writing:
TC Argument Writing Unit
Writing about Reading: Text-dependent extended responses
Skills:
Students will:
draw evidence from literary and informational text to support writing.
respond to a story, book or text, state an opinion, or express a personal experience.
develop a claim.
give reasons to support their claims.
use text evidence to support their claims.
write persuasively, clearly demonstrating point of view with supporting evidence.
Reading: 5R1, 5R2, 5R3, 5R4, 5R5, 5R6, 5R7, 5R8, 5R9
Writing: 5W1, 5W5, 5W7
Speaking and Listening: 5SL1
Unit — Personal Response to Challenges
Essential Questions
How can I take what I learned about responding to challenges and apply that to how I personally respond to real-life challenges for myself and others?
Guiding Questions
How can small actions eventually change the world?
How can we ensure that our world is preserved for future generations?
How can we ensure food, water and clothing for every person on earth?
Reading
Anchor Texts:
UDHR
Additional title may include:
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Skills:
Fiction Skills:
Students will:
develop a purpose for reading.
identify the author’s purpose.
determine the gist of a text.
locate and refer to relevant details and evidence when explaining what a text says and make logical inferences.
identify character traits.
compare and contrast characters, poems, themes and ideas.
determine a theme or central idea of text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize a text.
describe a character, setting, or event and describe its importance to the overall story.
identify key details in the text to support their analysis.
identify the narrator’s point of view and how it influences the overall text.
Writing
Anchor Writing:
TC Information Writing Unit
Writing about Reading: Text-dependent extended responses
Skills:
Students will:
draw evidence from literary and informational text to support writing.
conduct short research projects integrating several sources.
quote accurately from a text to support their ideas.
respond to a story, book or text, state an opinion, or express a personal experience.
develop a claim.
give reasons to support their ideas.
use text evidence to support their thinking.
write informative/explanatory texts to explore a topic and convey ideas.
Reading: 5R1, 5R2, 5R3, 5R4, 5R5, 5R6, 5R7, 5R8, 5R9
Writing: 5W2, 5W4, 5W5, 5W6, 5W7