HOMESCHOOL AND DISTANCE LEARNING
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1: Environment and Cycles

Unit 1

Unit 1: The Wanderer

Students create a nautical mobile by drawing, cutting, coloring, and hanging whales and dolphins, and they can create origami whales, dolphins, and lobsters using step-by-step diagrams. The activity provides web links to photographs and YouTube encounter videos that students can reference while making their artwork. The wrapping up directs students to display their artwork in a prominent location so others can view it.
Students are asked to create a personalized painting (Option 1) and "arrange for a time to share" that painting with their family, which involves producing and presenting a visual artifact. Option 2 asks students to write a plan for teaching a skill to their family and to practice providing that instruction, which requires an oral presentation. The student activity pages include illustrations and graphic organizers that present information visually.
Students are instructed to insert and paste pictures (Character Tree: "insert a picture of the character"; Character Artifact: "paste a picture of an object that you feel represents the character"). Students are asked to illustrate events in the Important Events accordion book and to decorate the lapbook cover to reflect the character. The materials include a web link to a how-to video for folding the file folder, and students are told to "share your lapbook so that others can learn more about a character," implying a presentation of the visual product.
Unit 2

Unit 2: The People of Sparks

Students are asked to draw an illustration for each vocabulary word on the Sparks Vocabulary chart, creating visual displays that clarify word meanings. Students are directed to verbally use each vocabulary word with a parent and to record sentences, practicing verbal presentation of word usage. The Movie Review activity asks students to write or perform (i.e., present) a review of The City of Ember, which gives students an opportunity to present information orally.
Students are asked to keep a Learning Log and "illustrate their discoveries," recording items like oxen, sun, tree, and animals in labeled boxes. The Student Activity Page is a graphic organizer titled "New Environment New Discoveries" with eight boxes and spaces for categorization and illustration. The Plural Nouns pages include small illustrations (trees, loaf of bread) and prompts for students to write and organize information visually.
Students are asked to draw a sketch and create a small model of a monument for Sparks (Option 1), which requires producing a physical visual display. The ballad option can be "told or sung," and parents are encouraged to have the child perform or read the ballad aloud, providing an audio component. The student activity page notes that visuals related to some sentences accompany the text, and the lesson provides web links to example ballads that students can view or listen to.
Students create a visual picture in Activity 2 (Dreams in Color) and write a descriptive paragraph to accompany it, practicing production of a visual display. The Student Activity Page includes a small illustration (a barrel of items), providing an example of a visual element on a worksheet. Students also prepare and read their debate arguments aloud to a parent, which is a spoken presentation activity.
Students are asked to illustrate the city of Ember and the city of Sparks and to create a Venn diagram comparing the two, providing visual displays (icons, shaded areas, and labeled sections). The Student Activity Pages include graphics (a bicycle, a shovel, a key) and a graphic organizer labeled "Comparing Ember & Sparks," which students complete. Parent prompts ask the child to explain their illustrations and to review the Venn diagram, which requires students to use those visuals when communicating their ideas.
The Roamers activity asks students to draw five items and to explain why they chose each item, and the Student Activity Page includes designated illustrations (truck, bull, mask) and a mask outline for students to draw inside. The Media activity asks students to select one media source for the communities and to write a paragraph explaining how that media would benefit people, prompting analysis of media forms. The wrapping up and parent plan sections prompt discussion of the role of media, which engages students in thinking about how media communicates information.
Students are asked in Option 2 to "Make a diagram that illustrates a government system" and "Describe the system to a parent," which requires creating a visual display. The Student Activity Pages include tables and illustrations (e.g., a gavel and scale) that students use to record and organize information, and the synonym activity asks students to record clues in context in a table format. These tasks involve producing or using visual displays to organize and communicate information.
Students complete a graphic organizer (the "Story Conflicts" bubble map) that is a visual display for organizing information. In Activity 3 students are asked to illustrate what Sparks might look like (Option 1) or include illustrations in an experiment write-up (Option 2). Activity 2 asks students to act out conflicts and permits performances to be recorded and shown to an audience; a parent note even suggests splicing scenes from movies or cartoons as a tech option.
Students are asked to include two related "photographs" in their newspaper report and the Daily News organizer provides two picture boxes for those images. The Wars and Plagues rubric explicitly lists "Visuals: Includes 2 drawings or printed-out images" as a grading criterion. Students also create visual displays such as a shaded map of affected regions, a six-event timeline graphic organizer, Venn diagrams, and a drawn picture of a new environment, and they design a flag and write/sing an anthem (a musical component).
Unit 3

Unit 3: Short Stories

Students are asked to "Record your poem or song and then pretend to read it at this special ceremony," which requires making an audio recording of a poem or song. Students build and observe a physical volcano model and conduct an experiment, producing a tangible visual artifact. Students are directed to use provided web links (e.g., National Geographic Kids) that include images and background information during their research.
Students are provided an image of the Catskill Mountains and are instructed to locate pictures and information online about the mountains. Students are asked to create a painting of the Catskill Mountains (Option 1) or to research and write trivia (Option 2), which has them produce visual or research-based materials. Students are asked to write a script and gather family members to act out a scene (Activity 5), which involves performing content to an audience.
Students cut out and assemble a Hanukkah dreidel using a printed template and follow a diagram and symbol key to play the game, which provides a physical visual display. Student activity pages include illustrations (a haystack, a broken-lettering title, a broken heart) and labeled diagrams and boxes (point-of-view charts, dreidel diagram) that present information visually for students to examine and use.
Students view and work with multiple visual resources: the lesson includes a titled image of the Great White Heron and a step-by-step "How to Draw a Great White Heron" student activity with sketches. Students complete a Venn diagram ("Sympathetic Females") to compare characters, and follow labeled, illustrated directions for the Birdhouse Feeder and Bird Wreath projects. Students are asked to follow and produce drawings and to rewrite dialogue using the provided sample dialogues and punctuation guidance.

2: Force and Power

Unit 1

Unit 1: Bull Run

Students color and label a Map of the Civil War States, shading Union, Confederate, and border states and marking inset regions. Students cut out and paste timeline events into a multi-page Timeline: 1861 that includes historical illustrations to place events in sequence. Students read and analyze primary-source diary pages and are instructed to use color-coded note cards to record research topics and organize information.
Students cut out character symbols and glue them onto a colored map in Activity 1 to create a visual display of each character's home state. The Student Activity Pages include illustrations (Cast of Characters, Propaganda images, Constitution Ratification page) that students are directed to examine and analyze. Students are asked to explain in writing how the propaganda pictures could have been used to sway attitudes, which requires interpreting visual media to clarify historical information.
Activity 2 asks students to design a Civil War propaganda poster and to decide whether it will focus on words, one or more picture(s)/image(s), or a combination of both, instructing use of pencil and markers to create visual work. The parent notes ask caregivers to help locate example propaganda posters via provided web links and to encourage the student to explain the message the poster conveys and how it would influence a reader. The linking-verb activity includes a song to help memorization, providing an example of an audio/musical component used for learning.
Students are given sheet music, lyrics, and musical notation for Civil War songs (Battle Hymn of the Republic, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Dixie) and a historical photograph of Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. Students are instructed to practice and perform the songs and to "put on a Civil War concert for your family," or to find recordings online and teach the songs to family. Student activity pages include visual elements and small illustrations (e.g., a wooden structure, stethoscope, horse, money) that accompany exercises.
Students design a Character Quilt using paper or fabric squares that depict each character, including labeled details, memorable scenes, and a compass rose, which creates a visual representation of information. Students are asked to share and describe their character quilt, explaining the images and descriptions on each panel. Students practice reading character accounts aloud in Activity 2 and are encouraged to use props and costumes when they present their accounts to family, adding visual elements to their presentations. The Student Activity Page "Character, Conflict, & Change" provides a two-box visual organizer for students to display and compare Toby's before-and-after attitudes.
Unit 2

Unit 2: Albert Einstein

Students interact with visual materials: they label a map of Europe, add stars for countries where Einstein lived, and use a provided political map answer key. Student activity pages include a black-and-white photograph of Einstein and map images that students examine and annotate. Students use online links for research, which gives access to digital informational resources.
Students cut, glue, and record events on a vertical timeline (Activity 3), producing a visual display that organizes Einstein's life chronologically. Students complete a vocabulary worksheet that includes graphics (a scientist, equation, clock, coffee cup) which they use while matching words to definitions and placing words into sentences. The timeline pages include a photograph and marked years that students place events next to, showing students create and use visual elements to represent information.
Activity 6 instructs students to explain the theory of relativity to a family member using toys and other props as visual aids. Activity 1 has students complete a "Biography Web," a visual organizer that displays major events. Activity 2 includes a photograph of a glass with a pencil illustrating refraction, and Activity 4 requires students to watch videos and take notes (multimedia exposure).
Students are asked to "illustrate the trampoline demonstration" on a separate sheet (Question 4) and are provided a sample image showing a gravity-well style drawing. Students are instructed to add events to an Einstein timeline and to fill in a "Biography Web" sheet, both of which are visual displays. The Student Activity Page includes a graphic organizer with five labeled sections for students to describe how math is used in different scientific fields.
The lesson asks students to design a bumper sticker or t-shirt with a catchy slogan and a graphic, and provides T-Shirt and Bumper Sticker templates for drawing the design. It gives an alternate option for students to write a song that promotes world peace, allowing students to create musical content. The biography web activity asks students to fill in four major events for the section "The War," which requires creating a visual organizer.
Students are required to locate and include at least three photographs of Einstein and may print images from the Internet to include in the scrapbook. Students are instructed to add color, creative letters, interesting fonts, stickers, labels, drawings, and visually appealing awards/certificates and quotes. The Skills section also states students may use technology as a tool to enhance and/or publish a product.
Unit 3

Unit 3: Number the Stars

Students are asked to color-code countries on a "Map of Europe" sheet using a provided chart (European Involvement in WWII), which requires creating a visual display to clarify alliances and occupations. Students view and use images including a photograph of Adolf Hitler and an historical map/answer key that illustrate geopolitical information. Students use illustrated activity pages (the DENMARK acrostic page) and play a vocabulary game with word cards and a flashlight that involve visual and interactive components.
Students are asked to complete an "Impact & Occupation Chart" and a "Before & After Occupation Poem" page that include visual elements and icons; the chart pages present information in a visual table students fill in. The lesson instructs parents to "encourage her to read her poem aloud or explain the chart she completed," which asks students to present and use the completed chart as a visual display. The materials include several images (Editing Symbols chart, Activity pages with icons and tables) that students interact with and correct.
Students analyze multiple historical propaganda posters and summarize the message each poster conveys, attending to images and text. Students design and create a propaganda poster on half a posterboard, deciding the images and text they will use to communicate and influence an audience. Students hang their poster in the house and explain it to their family, which requires presenting with a visual display to clarify their intended message.
Students are asked in Activity 1 to research Jewish culture and fill in information on a menorah-shaped graphic organizer, which requires them to record and organize information visually. The Parent Plan prompts students to share the information they recorded on the menorah and discuss similarities and differences, which involves presenting that visual information to another person. Activity 2 asks students to record three problem/solution situations in a Problem and Solution graphic organizer that uses columns and arrows to visually clarify relationships between problems and solutions.
Students are asked to "describe where the characters have moved to and from and describe each setting in detail either in words or in map form" and to "share them with a parent," which requires creating and presenting a visual map. Option 1 directs students to create a 5" x 7" postcard with a painted or drawn picture of the village, explicitly producing a visual display. The Student Activity Page and the included graphic of proofreading symbols provide visual components that students reference and use during editing activities.
Students are assigned the role of illustrator and asked to draw a picture (sketch, cartoon, diagram, or stick figure scene) related to Chapters 11–13. Students are instructed to create a symbol for a historical person and complete a Venn diagram comparing sacrifices, producing a visual display. Parents are encouraged to have the child share the illustration and explain what it represents and why they chose it, which prompts students to present and clarify meaning using their visuals.
Students are instructed to draw a picture of Annemarie on the "Character Sketch" page, producing a visual representation tied to textual evidence. Students complete a graphic organizer on the "Little Red Riding Hood" activity pages to show similarities and differences, creating a visual display of information. Several student pages include illustrations and decorative images that students read and interact with as part of comprehension activities.
Students are instructed to include two pictures (either drawn or copied from the Internet) on their final magazine article and to look for pictures to print for the layout. The Magazine Template pages provide an illustration area, a 'FACTOIDS' section that suggests using statistics and fun graphics, and places to add quotes and visual elements. The research activity tells students to indicate where they got images by including the web link or source information.
Students are asked to produce visual artifacts such as a book jacket with a cover illustration, a scrapbook page, a diorama, and a comic strip. The Think-Tac-Toe squares include activities labeled with images (meal, Anne Frank, laptop, drama masks, helmet, book) and an "Online Holocaust Museum Center" option that points to using digital media. Students are instructed to share their products with family and "present findings in a specified format" and to "analyze various media venues," indicating they will present work that includes visual elements.

3: Change

Unit 1

Unit 1: Tuck Everlasting

Students are asked in Activity 2, Option 2 to "illustrate the two homes as you imagine them, based on the author's descriptions," which directs them to create visual representations. Student Activity Pages include illustrations (houses, staircase, stacked dishes) and labeled answer-key images that students can view and use when completing tasks. The activities ask students to record words and phrases and to fold paper with top/bottom halves for words and illustrations, prompting creation of a visual display tied to text evidence.
Students are asked to collect small items from nature, place them into a clear jar, and explain the significance of each item to a parent or family member, which requires creating and using a physical visual display. The lesson includes Student Activity Page images and labeled Answer Key images where words are marked by parts of speech; students read and use those labeled visuals to identify pronouns and other grammar categories. These tasks require students to use visual materials to clarify information during explanation and practice.
Students are asked to produce a print ad (Option 1) that requires selecting and placing images and text in a two-page magazine layout and may involve computer-printed images and text. Students are asked to create a 30-second commercial (Option 2) that requires writing a script, gathering props, performing, recording on a video camera, and watching/editing the recording. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Produce a multimedia presentation involving text and graphics using available technology" and notes parental help with filming and editing the commercial.
Students are asked in Activity 3 to draw or paint a picture that represents a memorized book quote and to write the quote at the bottom; the parent notes ask the child to recite the quote and display the artwork. In Activity 2 students are directed to illustrate an object as a symbol for each main character and to describe it in a simile, with a parent prompt to have the child show and explain her pictures. Activity 5 directs students to watch the movie trailer and the film, providing audiovisual materials for comparison between the movie and the book.
Unit 2

Unit 2: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Students are instructed to create a tri-fold brochure that requires a map with labeled cities/rivers/lakes, illustrations of natural resources, graphics for the climate panel, statistics, and a pasted picture of a Mississippi farm from the Internet. The Mississippi Facts graphic organizer includes an outline map, spaces to glue pictures of products or farms, and sections for visual information like natural resources and a map. The lesson also provides a brochure layout diagram and small illustrations on activity pages that model visual displays.
Students are asked to watch linked videos about the Jim Crow laws (Activity 2) and discuss them with a parent, showing they engage with multimedia (video and images). Students use Student Activity Pages (conjunction cards and noun cards), which are visual displays they handle and reference when forming sentences. The lesson directs students to review examples and discuss the video content, indicating direct interaction with multimedia and visual materials.
Students are asked to "Make a poster to promote positive race relations" and to "Include a powerful slogan on your poster and images that will appeal to people's emotions," which requires creating a visual display. The Parent Plan asks the child to describe her poster and why she thinks it would be effective in swaying public opinion, which has students present and explain their visual choices. The student activity pages include simple black-and-white illustrations that students can reference or use when expanding sentences, providing additional visual materials.
Students use a Venn-diagram graphic organizer titled "A Southern Christmas" to compare and contrast the Logans' holiday with their own, which requires creating and interpreting a visual display. Student activity pages include illustrations (sketches of a chicken leg, slice of pie, a mixing bowl, and decorative vegetables) alongside recipes, which students read and could use as visual supports. Students are directed to use the Puzzlemaker website to create and print a crossword puzzle of vocabulary words, producing a digital/visual artifact they can review and solve.
Students are asked to create a diagram that "visually explains the sharecropping system" and include visual and textual elements (Option 1). Students are also asked to find, print, and paste a picture of a sharecropping family and write a caption/quote beneath it (Option 2). The lesson includes a web link to a video about sharecropping and instructs students to explain the system "using your diagram or your picture and quote," requiring students to use their visual work while explaining.
Students are instructed to make four slides or posters and each slide/poster must include bullet points, charts or diagrams, and at least one graphic related to the slide information. The materials provide a PowerPoint Organizer and a link to online slideshow tools to support creation of visual displays. The Presentation Rubric explicitly evaluates visuals ("Visuals supported the ideas presented" and "The integrated use of color, transitions, or media helped the listener follow the presentation"). Parents are encouraged to prompt students to use graphics, charts, diagrams, and to review the rubric when planning visuals.
Unit 3

Unit 3: The Giver

Students are asked to create a collage of images that represent their Utopia and may draw images, print them from the computer, or cut them from magazines. Students are instructed to name their Utopia and describe to a parent what makes it a Utopia, explaining techniques such as color, depth, and texture used to express the message. Students record words or phrases on a timeline to describe Jonas in Chapters 3 and 4, producing a visual display of character development.
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to cut colored construction paper, create a sheet for each ceremony, label the ceremony, write a description, and draw a picture that reflects the change, then order the sheets into a taped timeline. The lesson includes an example black-and-white illustration and lists illustrations for several ceremonies, asking students to add pages and illustrations to a timeline as a visual display.
Students are asked to paint or sketch a picture of a vivid childhood memory and to write a descriptive paragraph to accompany it, and the activity pages include a "Sled Ride" graphic organizer with icons and an illustration that students complete with sensory details. The Parent Plan includes an Answer Key image that shows a labeled visual diagram (SMELL, SIGHT, TOUCH, TASTE, SOUND) with descriptive text, and parents are instructed to have the child read the paragraph aloud while a listener draws what they hear.
Students are instructed to locate and print small images of paintings for each color and to copy and paste images into a Word document to print, cut out, and paste on the activity sheet. The COLORS & FEELINGS pages require students to shade color boxes and create or attach paintings in large blank squares. The Student Activity Page and Answer Key include graphics and an ornament image that students view and annotate.
Students are asked to create a music collage using words and pictures (Option 1), explicitly directing them to draw, cut images from magazines, or print from the Internet and glue them on a large sheet to symbolize music. Students are asked to select five pieces of music (Option 2) and are encouraged to play their musical selections aloud while explaining their reasons, which includes audio multimedia in their explanation. The Student Activity Page includes visual design elements (saxophone, guitar, musical notes) and structured spaces for students to list songs and describe choices, supporting use of visual displays and multimedia in their responses.
Students are instructed to create a memory storyboard that requires drawing, painting, or finding and pasting images for each memory and to arrange frames on a poster board as a final display. The project directs students to include up to two images per memory, to describe how images relate to and changed them, and to use provided storyboard templates for visual layout. The Memory Storyboard Rubric explicitly evaluates whether images enhance memory descriptions and whether images are meaningful. The curriculum also provides a link to online storyboard examples to guide students in creating visual displays.

4: Systems and Interaction

Unit 1

Unit 1: Esperanza Rising

Students create a Great Depression photo journal in which they choose two first-hand accounts, paste each account on construction paper leaving space for images, find corresponding pictures from provided web links, paste or insert those images (with source credit), and assemble a titled cover and stapled journal. Instructions note that students may paste images into word-processing or presentation/slideshow software to resize and print. Students also complete a setting map activity in which they locate and label geographic places on a Map of Mexico, and they make Spanish vocabulary flash cards that pair words with pictures.
The lesson includes a labeled image (Image Title: Phoenix) with a descriptive visual and a web link (Mythopedia: The Phoenix) that students can read. In Option 1 students are asked to illustrate a phoenix rising from its ashes, and in Option 2 students may draw an illustration to accompany a free-verse poem. The parent notes prompt students to share ideas or poetry, implying an opportunity to present their work to a parent.
Students are asked to draw the inside of a wealthy car and a poor car (Option 1) and to color, cut out, and tape train parts together, producing visual artifacts. Students are asked to complete Venn diagrams comparing social/class and political systems (Option 2), which require creating visual displays to organize information. The student activity pages include illustrated train diagrams and prompts that guide students to produce and use images as part of their work.
Students are asked to use a map with a scale to estimate migration distance and to describe settings in words or map form, producing a visual display. Activity 2 directs students to watch linked videos and view Dust Bowl photos, record quotes, and then make a poster that includes a printed or drawn picture and colored quotes. The Reading & Questions task asks students to describe each setting in detail or in map form and to share their journal/map with a parent, indicating use of visual materials and multimedia sources.
The lesson asks students to complete and share a "Comparison Chart" that includes space for words and illustrations, and the Student Activity Page description explicitly says students can use words and illustrations to record ideas. Students are instructed to choose passages, read them aloud to a parent, and explain their reasons, which involves an oral presentation component. The graphic organizer and problem-solution Student Activity Page provide visual organizers that students complete to organize and display information.
Students are asked to take on the role of an Illustrator and draw a picture (sketch, cartoon, diagram) related to the chapters, which produces a visual display tied to the text. Students complete a cut-and-paste activity where they place labeled Spanish vocabulary words and speech bubbles onto a house illustration, connecting visuals with vocabulary meaning. Parent Plan prompts require students to share their illustration and describe their shrine aloud, which involves presenting visual work to clarify story elements and personal meaning.
Students are instructed to listen to two interviews (audio recordings) of Mexican migrant workers via provided web links, giving them first-hand multimedia accounts to analyze. Students are given a Student Activity Page that includes a graphic organizer (fruit shapes) for recording and summarizing reasons for strikes, which is a visual display they complete. The activities ask students to record examples from the book and summarize them on the provided pages, which directs students to work with both audio and visual materials.
Students are asked to create a movie poster (Activity 1) and to draw two set sketches reflecting environment and culture (Activity 2), producing visual displays. Students write a movie trailer script (Activity 3) and prepare and perform a readers' theatre (Activities 4 and 5), which involves presenting content aloud to an audience. The materials prompt students to share their poster and sketches with others and to perform their readers' theatre for an audience.
Unit 2

Unit 2: The Tree That Time Built

Students are given links to multimedia resources (BBC "Walking with Dinosaurs" clips and a National Geographic video) that they can watch. The Student Activity Page includes illustrated images of prehistoric animals that students will use while completing the obituary activity. The wrapping up and life application sections recommend viewing additional video series about prehistoric beasts.
Students are instructed to create a shape poem by tracing a leaf (or another shape) and recording their poem inside that outline, connecting the poem's form to its subject. The instructions tell students to use the shape to reflect the subject and to use the observation activity as inspiration, which guides them to create a visual display that relates to their content. Students are asked to select a poem to read aloud to a parent and are encouraged to read their own shape poem aloud, combining an oral presentation with the created visual.
Students create visual work when they draw an animal camouflaged in its habitat and write a couplet (Camouflage Option 1), and activity pages include illustrations that students interact with (gecko, lizard, seashells, Eiffel Tower). Students conduct and record results from an experiment (Camouflage Option 2) that asks them to note and conclude which dots were more visible, which involves collecting and reporting visual data. Students are asked to save their found poem for a final project and are encouraged to read their found poem or share their picture and couplet aloud with a parent.
Students collect and arrange bird images in Activity 3, cutting and decoupaging images onto a shoebox lid and collage to create a visual display. The Student Activity Page directs students to "Draw a picture of an image the poem creates in your mind" and to list words/phrases from the poem that support that image. Activity 1 asks students to memorize a poem and recite it for their family, practicing oral presentation and nonverbal elements.
Students are asked to write a lyric poem and then "Read (or sing) your lyric poem for your family," which involves using voice/music when presenting. In Activity 3 Option 1 students create an illustration or painting to accompany a selected poem and are encouraged to share the picture and explain which words and phrases influenced it. The Student Activity Page and parent notes prompt students to produce visual work (illustration) and to save the poem for a final project.
Activity 3 asks students to make a model of their chosen endangered/extinct species and create a display by folding cardstock, writing the poem on one side, and placing the model beside the poem. The Image titled "Endangered/Extinct Animal Display" depicts a tabletop display with folded cardstock labeled "poem on cardstock" and a small figure, illustrating a visual presentation. Student Activity Pages provide spaces to copy poems and organize poetic elements, supporting creation of a written/visual presentation.
Students create a lapbook that arranges multiple mini-books and written poems as a visual display. Students are instructed to add drawings, illustrations, and to cut pictures from magazines or print pictures from the Internet to fill blank spaces and reflect the nature theme. Students follow a linked how-to video to assemble the lapbook, and individual mini-book instructions require students to illustrate or decorate covers (e.g., matchbook illustration, pop-up picture of an animal).
Unit 3

Unit 3: Secret of the Andes

Students are instructed to draw the Andes Mountain range on a map, label it, and shade the countries—actions that require creating and using a visual display. The materials provide a web link to a YouTube video titled "Environmental and Cutural Influence of the Andes," which is a multimedia component students can watch to learn more about the region. Students also design a vocabulary crossword puzzle and fill a grid, producing another graphic representation of information.
Students are asked to record information on an "Elements of Incan Culture" chart and are told they can "draw or print out and paste pictures" they find, which requires them to select and include images. Student activity pages include graphic organizers with labeled sections (e.g., Holidays, Clothing, Government, Technology) and small illustrations (a llama, a quipu, an Incan figure) that prompt students to use visual displays. Instructions direct students to use words and pictures to document what they learn, encouraging creation of visual artifacts to clarify cultural information.
Students are asked to create a Wildflowers Photo Journal or a Peru Photo Collage, which requires them to locate, print, draw, and glue pictures of wildflowers, the Andes, and Peruvian cultural elements. The Student Activity Page provides decorative frames for students to place images or drawings, and instructions explicitly say "You can print pictures from the Internet to use on your collage." The wildflower journal option asks students to draw pictures and list names, showing use of visual displays to organize and clarify information.
Activity 2 directs students to "create a book about historical Incan landmarks," instructing them to color the pictures in the book according to images provided below and online, which requires students to include graphics in their product. Multiple Student Activity Pages present illustrations (Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Temple of the Sun, Maras Salt Mines, Cuzco) with lines for written descriptions, so students pair visual displays with explanatory text. The Skills list explicitly states students will "Synthesize research into a written or an oral presentation," linking the book project to a formal presentation context where visuals can be used to clarify information.
Students are instructed to watch an animated retelling of the Incan creation myth (a multimedia source) and then retell the myth to their family. The directions explicitly tell students to "Use two visual aids to help you with your retelling" and to make the retelling "exciting and engaging." The Parent Plan asks caregivers to evaluate the student's visual aids and discuss how they enhanced the presentation as well as tone, pitch, and body language.
The Option 2 Llama Slideshow directs students to make a five-slide presentation and explicitly tells them to "make your slides visually engaging and include a lot of pictures to reinforce the information on your slide." The parent notes and activity guidance ask students to design a PowerPoint-style presentation and provide a web link to online presentation tools. The Student Activity Page for the author includes a photograph and additional images that model the use of pictures in informational material.