FOURTH GRADE LITERARY ESSAY WRITING UNIT



|Unit: _Social Issues/Book Clubs (Reading) |

|Grade:____3rd_____________ |

|Desired Results for the Unit |

|GOALS (What are our relevant goals for this unit?) |

|- Students will become good listeners. |

|- Students will effectively interact in good book talk. |

|- Students will be able to identify and relate to social issues in mentor texts. |

|OUTCOMES OF UNDERSTANDING (To achieve our goals, what understandings will be needed?) |ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: (What essential questions will focus our goals, stimulate conversation, and guide our|

|Students will understand… |actions?) |

|- Conflict empathy and a sense of experiencing a similar conflict such that the reader can relate to the |- How did your thoughts reshape with your understanding of the social issue? |

|internal and/or external struggle the characters endure. |- What is the story really about? What are the underlying issues within your story? |

|- The need to reread and revise thinking and the desire to revisit, reread, or explore other texts in |- Who’s perspective is this story being told by and who’s voice is left out? How does this make you think|

|order to learn more about a concept. |differently? |

|Assessment Evidence |

|CULMINATING PROJECTS AND PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF LEARNING: |INFORMAL ASSESSMENTS: (What are the key observable indicators of short and long term progress? What data |

|- Students will be able to talk about the pros and cons of a social issue in a debate format. |should be collected?) |

|- Students will choose a book to which they made a connection to and share their thoughts and ideas about|- Conferencing |

|how they made a connection to it. |- Buddy talks |

|Resources |

|UNIT RESOURCES: (What materials and resources are needed to support this unit?) |STUDENT RESOURCES: |

|Picture Books |- Leveled books |

|Short Texts |- Reader’s notebooks |

|Chapter Books |- Post-its |

|Date | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY |FRIDAY |

|WEEK 1: |TP: Good talk lies in good listening |TP: Citing the text improves |TP: Thought provoking questions get |TP: Readers talk for a long time about|TP: |

|Immersion | |conversation |conversations started |one thing before moving on |*Decide according to what your |

|of different issues |Chart: Good Talk Grows from Good | | | |class needs |

|each day |Listening (TC Book Talk and |- Readers notice that books have |-Readers read with a social issue |- Readers notice elements of the story| |

| |Management) |meaning beyond the obvious and can |lens. We stop, look for, and name |that are similar to our own world and |-Readers ask, Is this story fair? |

|*TP are: | |analyze texts through different lenses|social issues we see in the text |real life experiences. |Is this how things are in real |

|Developing Book Talk|-Question whether there is a social | |*Full lesson in Grade 4 social issues | |life? |

|Skills |issue or not | |unit | | |

|Students work in |-What is the issue? | | | | |

|groups of 3 |-How significant is it to my life? | | | | |

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|*TC Gr.4 Reading for|MODIFICATION TO BEGIN UNIT FOR GRADE | | | | |

|SI |3 STUDENTS | | | | |

|Week 1 |Brainstorm from Real Life: What are | | | | |

| |the problems you face every day that | | | | |

|*Read Aloud – Begin |have to do with human interaction | | | | |

|with picture books, |(Mom-Child, Friend-Friend, | | | | |

|move into chapter |Friend-Stranger) (ex. Getting to | | | | |

|(ex. Because of |school late/Time Managaement) | | | | |

|Winn-Dixie by Kate | | | | | |

|DeCamillo) |Who do you interact with? | | | | |

| |What issues come or problems come up? | | | | |

| |What’s on your mind? | | | | |

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|WEEK 2: |TP: Readers read with empathy, imagine |TP: Readers think about character |TP: Readers consider interactions |TP: Readers pay attention to how |TP: Readers notice any resistance |

|Readers pay |what it would be like to be in the |motivation and how characters’ |between characters and how the social |different characters are allowed to be |to the characters or the author’s |

|attention to |characters’ shoes, and think about what|actions may be influenced by the |issue could be a driving force |from one another. We ask, how do other |choices and ask ourselves, what |

|characters’ actions |we would do if we were in the |social issue | |characters respond to those who are |about this bothers me? |

|and look for |characters’ place | | |different? | |

|underlying causes |*Full lesson in Grade 4 SI unit | | | | |

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|*Groups change every|-Continue book talk and management | | | | |

|day to explore new |lessons as fit with your class | | | | |

|issues |throughout the unit | | | | |

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|*TC Gr.4 Reading for| | | | | |

|SI | | | | | |

|Week 2 | | | | | |

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|WEEK 3: |TP: Readers notice what groups are |TP: Readers consider whether or not |TP: As readers we ask ourselves, whose |TP: Readers think about point of view |TP: Readers think about which |

|Readers notice |being presented in the text and think |characters face a difficulty because |perspective is being told in the story |and speculate how the story might be |groups have power in the text and |

|people are members |about what groups we personally have |they are members of a particular |and whose is being left out |different if told from the missing |how that power is shown. Then we |

|of particular groups|membership in |group |*Full lesson in Grade 4 SI unit |perspective or if missing voices were |ask ourselves, is this |

|that represent |*full lesson in Grade 4 SI unit | | |included. We ask, how does it feel to |distribution of power justified? |

|multiple | | | |be on the other side? | |

|perspectives and | | | | | |

|consider how power | | | | | |

|is not necessarily | | | | | |

|distributed equally | | | | | |

|amongst groups | | | | | |

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|*TC Gr.4 Reading for| | | | | |

|SI | | | | | |

|Week 3 | | | | | |

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|WEEK 4: |TP: When reading with a particular |TP: Readers develop big ideas or |TP: Readers support their big ideas |TP: Readers continue reading other |TP: Readers think about these |

|Readers use texts to|lens, readers maintain sight of the |opinions about the social issues |about the social issue with examples |texts about the same social issue to |social issues and how we might |

|inform opinions and |whole story | |from the text |gain more insight into topics that |combat them in our own lives |

|look for ways to | | | |engage us |*Full lesson in Grade 4 SI unit |

|take action in our | | | | | |

|own lives | | | | | |

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|*TC Gr.4 Reading for| | | | | |

|SI | | | | | |

|Week 4 | | | | | |

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