Curriculum Connection
K-5 ELA- November 2020
Kindergarten ELA
Reading Unit 2: Readers Read, Think, and Talk about Emergent Storybooks and Familiar Share Texts
Writing Unit 2: Looking Closely-Observing, Labeling, and Listing Like Scientists
Students will begin to study one science topic, chosen from several possibilities, and will create books about the chosen topic. Children will spend the week making observations, labeling their diagrams, writing captions, and creating informational books that demonstrate what they have noticed and learned. Children will end the unit by publishing books they have written on the shared class science topics or on their own independent topics.
Writing Unit 2: Informational Writing Checklist
1st Grade ELA
Reading Unit 2: Word Detectives Use All They Know to Solve Words
Writing Unit 2: Writing Reviews of All Kinds
Students will write review after review, writing these about anything and everything: toys, restaurants, video games and the works!
Writing Unit 2- Writing Book Reviews
Unit 2 ends by students learning to write book reviews. They'll summarize, evaluate, judge and defend their judgments. Students will work on individual projects that convince others to read and be interested in the books they are reading.
2nd Grade ELA
Reading Unit 3: Reading Informational Books
The main focus of this unit is for students to become the kind of reader who learns information about the world from books, and has big ideas about that reading. Students will use text features, ask questions of text, and reflect on new learning. They will also learn to identify main idea and give details in a text.
Writing Unit 3: Lab Reports and Science Books (Bend 1- Writing As Scientists Do)
Writing Unit 3: Lab Reports and Science Books (Bend 2 “Writing to Teach Others about Our Discoveries)
3rd Grade ELA
Writing Unit 2: The Art of Informational Writing (November-December)
Overview of Unit: This unit builds upon the skills students have learned as writers of information in 2nd grade. It is centered on a particular type of information writing--a structured, written-to-teach, expert-based project. Students will learn to write introductions, organize information, and include text features that help their readers and will also be taught many different ways to elaborate on their topics through the use of facts, definitions, and other important details, but also through the use of descriptions and anecdotes.
By the end of the unit, students will be pushed toward independence and transference.
In Topic 1 (Bend One) of the unit, students will be writing texts that aim to teach others about topics on which the students have expertise, you will position students to write with authority, for real audiences, by inviting them to actually do some teaching on their topics. Students also
learn how powerful a table of contents can be as a tool for structuring an expository piece and will be taught the power of rehearsing various structures with a partner before drafting. They will learn the importance of structure in the early drafting process.
In Topic 2 (Bend Two), the emphasis will be on drafting and revising. Students will revise by learning concrete strategies and using those strategies to lift the level of all the work they have done to date.
Reading Unit 3: Character Studies (November-December)
Reading Unit 3: Character Studies (November-December)
In Topic 1 (Bend 1): Getting to Know Characters as a Friend
The unit starts with the students’ journey alongside their characters. You’ll want students to get to know their characters as they would a new friend, empathizing with and relating to them along the way. They will begin to keep a close eye on what the character says and does, noticing patterns, determining traits, and using their understanding of a character to make informed predictions.
4th Grade ELA
(cont.) Reading Unit 2: Interpreting Characters (November-December)
In Topic 3 (Bend III) of this unit readers will work to study characters and build interpretations. You will teach
them to connect ideas to form interpretations that are supported across the whole text. Students will focus on
finding recurring images, objects and details and demonstrate how they support or contribute to the overall
theme of the text.
Engaging Scenario
Allow time for students to create a One-Pager to express comprehension of, reaction to, and connections with a specific area of study. These can be used as a tool for students to present book talks and display their reading experiences around the classroom.
(cont.) Writing Unit 2: The Arc of a Story (November-December)
Topic 3 (Bend 3): Preparing for Publication with an Audience in Mind In this bend, students will prepare their piece for an audience through focused drafting, revising, and editing. Students will pay great attention to the power of place, the character’s struggle, how the problem is dealt with, and a quality resolution. Because of this, revision work will happen early on while many are still drafting.
However, due to the length of the piece in conjunction with the craft and structural elements they have to think
through, early revision will be necessary so they can be doing it early on.
Topic 4 (Bend 4): Embarking on Independent Fiction Projects In this bend, students conceive, develop, plan and carry out their own independent fiction projects, taking what
they have learned in the previous three bends and applying it to a new story on their own.
Engaging Scenario:
Using the Narrative Writing Checklist to evaluate their progress as a writer of narrative texts and where to go from here. Comparing their pre assessment on-demand and their post-assessment on-demand and noting their growth!
Pre and Post Assessments
The On-Demand should be used for the pre-assessment in writing.
5th Grade ELA
New! Reading Unit 3: Tackling Complexity: Nonfiction (November-December)
Overview of Unit: In this unit, students will be immersed in non-fiction. This unit contains two parts: reading high interest nonfiction, followed by reading to learn in a personal inquiry project. It is important to continue to carve out time for students to continue making progress in their fiction books within this unit.
Topic 1 (Bend One): Working with Text Complexity
In the first topic, you’ll invite students to join you in a giant investigation into the ways nonfiction texts are becoming increasingly complex and the ways students’ reading can shift in response to those complexities. You’ll use contrasting texts to make these new complexities clear to them. One day, you’ll lay out a simple nonfiction text -- one your kids could have read years before -- with clear headings and the main idea stated in a pop-out sentence. Then, you’ll layer on a complex text and lead your students into an inquiry. As texts become more complex, how are they different? Your class will probably notice that in complex texts, main ideas aren’t usually stated straight out. In addition, reading complex nonfiction also involves tackling increasing vocabulary demands. You’ll wrap up your investigation into text complexity by helping your students read more analytically, thinking especially about the relationship between parts and the whole.
Writing Unit 3: Lens of History (November-December)
Overview of Unit: This unit is designed to support students’ writing of informational texts within a content area study. This unit addresses both reading and writing standards as they work to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. They will engage in research, organizing sources, gleaning relevant information, and finally considering structure and craft.
In Topic 1 (Bend 1): Writing Flash-Drafts about Westward Expansion
You will begin this unit by teaching students that researchers write quickly about a topic organizing all that they know. Once they have an initial draft researchers do more focused research and ask questions of their topic to grow their ideas. Finally they talk all of their new thinking to redraft and write a deeper, reimaged draft.
Pre and Post Tests
The pre-assessment for reading is located in Schoology and a great way to assess standards related to the priority standards. The Informational Reading Learning Progression will help in goal setting a formative assessment.
The On-Demand should be used for the pre-assessment in writing.
Jennifer Wiley
Email: wileyj@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Website: www.parkhill.k12.mo.us
Location: 7703 Northwest Barry Road, Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone: 816-359-6253
Twitter: @icjenwiley
Kim Fette
Email: fettek@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Website: parkhill.k12.mo.us
Location: 7703 Northwest Barry Road, Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone: 816-359-5750
Twitter: @kimElemCoach