Sixth Grade - ELA
• Literacy
1: Environment and Cycles
Unit 1: Weather and Climate
Lesson 1
Weather and Climate
Students are given a list of domain-specific terms (weather, climate, meteorologist, air mass, air pressure, humidity, barometer, anemometer, predict, forecast) and instructed to copy definitions into a "Weather Words" booklet (Activity 2 and Things to Know). In Activity 1 students must find local forecasts, identify audience-specific information needs, and rewrite the forecast for a chosen audience, requiring them to apply weather vocabulary (e.g., wind speed/direction, chance of rain). The reading questions and review tasks ask students to define and distinguish weather and climate and to name a meteorologist, reinforcing use of precise terms in explanations.
Lesson 2
Temperature and Seasons
Students fill in the "Weather Words" booklet with explicit definitions for terms such as temperature, thermometer, evaporate, heat index, wind chill, and water vapor. Students label diagrams (equator, North Pole, South Pole, direction of tilt) and answer questions about seasons and where the Sun's rays are most direct. Students record measured values and domain-specific metrics in a Weather Journal (temperature in °F, air pressure in mb or in, wind chill, relative humidity, heat index, frostbite/heat-stroke risk) and are prompted to write notes/forecasts about weather conditions. Reading questions explicitly require use of terms like Fahrenheit, humidity, and wind to explain how conditions feel or change.
Lesson 3
Wind and Air Pressure
Students are asked to fill in the "Lesson 3" section of a "Weather Words" booklet with explicit definitions (high pressure, low pressure, wind, precipitation, front, occluded). Students complete written responses to reading questions that require use of those terms (e.g., explain what happens in a low pressure system; describe wind and air movement). Students record weather-journal entries using barometric pressure, wind direction/speed, and wind chill values and use technical tools and charts (anemometer, Beaufort scale, wind chill chart) that require domain-specific vocabulary. Multiple activities (fronts demonstration, anemometer construction, barometer video) prompt students to explain phenomena using the taught vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Precipitation
Students are asked to write definitions for terms on the "Water Cycle Notes" page and to fill in the "Lesson 5" section of the "Weather Words" booklet with explicit definitions (e.g., condense, sleet, hail, drought, water cycle). Students label and explain parts of the water cycle on the "My Environment's Water Cycle" chart and diagrams, identifying components (precipitation, evaporation, condensation, runoff, infiltration) and giving local examples. Students answer targeted questions that require precise distinctions (e.g., difference between freezing rain and sleet) and record measurements and observations in a weather journal (e.g., using a rain gauge).
Lesson 6
Clouds
Students are asked to fill in definitions in the "Lesson 6" section of their "Weather Words" booklet (stratus, cumulus, cirrus, nimbus), and to use the Cloud Chart to research and record descriptions, altitude, weather type, and identification clues for ten cloud types. Students must identify one cloud by name in their weather journal and use cloud types and air pressure to predict weather, demonstrating use of domain terms in observations. The materials include an answer key with precise descriptions and domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., cirrostratus, nimbostratus, cumulonimbus) for students to copy or model.
Lesson 7
Wild Weather
Students are asked to fill in the "Weather Words" booklet with definitions for thunderstorm, blizzard, tornado, and hurricanes, practicing domain-specific vocabulary explicitly. The reading and guided questions require students to explain causes of thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes, and hurricanes using scientific terms (e.g., cold air mass, warm moist air, electrical charge). The Wild Weather Search research worksheet and the weather journal prompt require students to write descriptions, causes, effects, and predictions about weather phenomena, which asks them to use domain vocabulary to inform and explain.
Lesson 8
Geography and Climate Change
Students label and color a world map with labeled climate zones (Polar, Subpolar, Temperate, Subtropical, Tropical, Equatorial) and match written climate descriptions to those labels. Students identify and place specific air mass types (continental arctic cA, continental polar cP, maritime tropical mT, maritime polar mP, continental tropical cT, maritime equatorial mE), draw and color polar and subtropical jet streams, and add named wind patterns (westerlies, trade winds, polar easterlies). Students complete a "My Weather and Climate" page asking them to name the air masses, winds, bodies of water/ocean currents affecting their area and to explain how these features affect local climate, and they must explain their map to a parent using these terms.
Lesson 9
Climate Change
Students are instructed to fill in the "Weather Words" booklet with definitions for domain-specific terms (global warming, fossil fuels, greenhouse gas), with model definitions provided. Students record and label changes on Climate Time Machine maps (carbon dioxide, sea level, sea ice) and write short descriptive phrases and a prediction sentence about future changes. Students answer targeted questions about causes and mitigation of climate change and discuss results of a greenhouse-effect experiment, using the vocabulary in observations and explanations.
Final Project
Presenting My Weather and Climate
Students are asked to review definitions in a "Weather Words" booklet and the Unit Review Sheet, which directs them to precise domain vocabulary. Test items require students to name instrument functions (barometer, anemometer, thermometer, hygrometer) and to label water-cycle steps using words from a provided word box. The final project planning prompts students to explain jet streams, winds, and ocean currents and to describe patterns from their weather journal, and the rubric asks that they "Explain the information included in journal" and "Explain how global weather patterns impact weather in my region."
Unit 1: The Wanderer
Lesson 1
Charting the Course
The "Parts of a Sailboat" activity provides a labeled diagram and a "Sailing Terminology" section with definitions (e.g., mizzen, jib, tiller, cleat, furling). Directions ask students to review boat parts, draw connections between terms and boat components, and refer to the sheet while reading the novel. The parent plan and activities require students to locate and label voyage stops and to use the terminology to better understand crew communication.
Lesson 2
Preparations
Students are given an explicit vocabulary list (impulsive, gimbal, gibberish, capricious, decrepit, phosphorescent, morale, dolt) and told to review definitions. The Vocabulary matching activity asks students to find each word in the book (page references) and match it to a definition, reinforcing context-based meanings. Option 1 requires students to write a paragraph about sailing that uses each vocabulary word, and the parent plan instructs checking that each word is used correctly. Additional options (picture dictionary) and end-of-lesson prompts tell students to review and use each word in context.
Lesson 3
Juggling
The materials define "voice" as the personality and emotions reflected in writing and describe how voice captures mood and tone. Students are asked to record words and phrases to describe Sophie and Cody on a Character Timeline and to complete personal prompts "using your own unique voice." The Skills section lists literary terms such as point of view, characterization, and style, which students are expected to interpret and analyze.
Lesson 4
Grand Manan
The lesson provides explicit definitions of predicate adjectives, direct objects, and indirect objects and asks students to identify these elements in sentences (Activity 1). Students are asked to write sentences using predicate adjectives, direct objects, and indirect objects, and the wrap-up states that these elements can be used to expand sentences and make them more descriptive. Activity 2 asks students to describe relationships among characters, which requires descriptive language and some application of sentence expansion.
Lesson 5
Under Way
Students identify and circle adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases in sentences and label each as a modifier. Students write two sentences about the book that must each contain at least one adjective, one adverb, and one prepositional phrase, practicing more precise descriptive language. Students decode and create messages using the radio (phonetic) alphabet, practicing a set of domain-specific communication terms (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.).
Lesson 6
Marine Life
The lesson provides a targeted vocabulary list with definitions (e.g., deftly, careening, gnarly, sextant, badgering, woes) and directs students to locate those words in context on specified pages. Students play a "Vocabulary Memory" activity that requires matching words to definitions and reading the words in sentence contexts. The skills section tells students to select key vocabulary critical to the text and to increase reading and writing vocabulary through wide reading. The activities ask students to research different types of whales and dolphins, exposing them to domain-related terms.
Lesson 8
Changes
Students are asked to research England or Ireland and write a postcard describing what they might see and do, which requires informative description about a geographic topic. Students practice adding prepositional-phrase modifiers (with required articles, adjectives, or pronouns in Option 2) to make sentences more descriptive. The lesson asks students to produce two sentences with prepositional phrases about pictures and to orally produce sentences containing prepositional phrases, reinforcing more specific descriptive language.
Lesson 9
Land Ho!
The lesson defines literary terms explicitly (Things to Know: "The main idea... is called the theme") and the Skills section lists domain vocabulary such as "motives (e.g., loyalty, selfishness, conscientiousness)" and asks students to "contrast the actions, motives...". Students are asked to "provide evidence from the book to support both themes," "list a way each character has changed," and to answer questions in complete sentences, which requires explaining and supporting ideas in writing. Several activities (Option 1 and Option 2) require students to name themes and give textual evidence, prompting use of literary vocabulary.
Lesson 10
Narrative Essay Writing and Voice
Students are asked to use descriptive language and modifiers to engage the reader ("engage the reader through action and words that appeal to the reader's senses - modifiers will help you achieve these goals"). The Narrative Essay Rubric includes a Word Choice section that asks whether language appeals to the reader's senses and whether action and dialogue are described. The Narrative Editing and Revision checklist explicitly prompts students to use "precise descriptive details and dialogue."
Final Project
Character Lapbook and Test
Students are asked to review vocabulary words and make sure they can use them correctly in a sentence. The test explicitly asks students to use specific vocabulary words (e.g., use the word "badger" in a sentence and use the word "capricious" in a sentence) and to use personification and similes. In the Character Tree and other mini books students must write two descriptive sentences using adjectives and modifiers and explain why a chosen quote or artifact is meaningful. The final tasks require students to describe a theme and support it with examples, which asks for explanatory writing that can incorporate precise word choice.
Unit 2: Geography and Landforms
Lesson 1
Maps of All Kinds
Students are given a "Things to Know" list that defines map types (political, physical, historical, climate, natural resource, population density, topographical, road) and what each shows. In Activity 1 students label maps and explain what each map shows, using the map-type names and descriptive phrases. In Activity 3 students write at least two uses for each of five different maps and select which map best meets various scenarios, and Activity 2 asks students to create a map key and write meanings for their symbols.
Lesson 2
What Is Geography?
Students are taught a set of domain-specific geography terms (physical geography, human geography, equator, latitude, longitude, Prime Meridian, globe, scale, cartography) and given definitions in the Things to Know and activity pages. Students practice those terms by completing vocabulary matching activities (Set 1 or Set 2) and are explicitly directed to use the glossary or dictionary to look up unfamiliar words. Students answer reading questions that require defining and distinguishing geographic concepts (e.g., "What is geography?" and "How does physical geography differ from human geography?").
Lesson 3
Landforms
Students are prompted to define landform terms (island, isthmus, peninsula, strait, bay, fjord) and write a sentence and real-world example for each on the "Where Land and Sea Meet" activity pages. The "Things to Know" and Answer Key provide precise definitions for terms like delta, erosion, and continental drift that students use to complete activities. Students answer guided questions about formation (e.g., how a delta is formed) and record observations from demonstrations, requiring use of domain-specific vocabulary in their responses.
Lesson 5
Human Geography
The lesson repeatedly uses and asks students to work with domain-specific terms: 'population density,' 'dot map,' 'natural resources,' 'major landforms,' 'weather & climate,' and 'migration' appear in the Things to Know section, activity titles, and student activity page headers. Skills listed in the Parent Plan (e.g., analyze absolute and relative location, explain population distribution, examine factors that influence migration) require students to engage with geography vocabulary. Activities ask students to create dot maps and fill graphic organizers labeled with technical categories (Natural Resources, Major Landforms, Significant Bodies of Water), which prompt use of disciplinary terms.
Lesson 6
Interacting with the Land
The "Things to Know" section defines and uses domain-specific terms such as renewable, non-renewable, and lists natural resources (water, minerals, wind, sunlight). Activity 2 has students sort labeled resources (e.g., oil, coal, wood, wind) into "Renewable" and "Non-Renewable" categories and includes an answer key, providing practice with precise resource vocabulary. Activity 3 requires students to create a state resource map with a map key and to place and label resources on the map, which asks students to identify and represent resources using appropriate labels. Activity 1 asks students to walk through their home and write down examples of how they use specific kinds of natural resources and products made from them (for example, cotton clothing).
Lesson 7
Water Everywhere
Students read definitional material such as "Watersheds are areas of land that drain into a common body of water" in the Things to Know section and encounter terms like watershed, aquifer, municipal/commercial water system, septic system, wastewater, and the names of the major oceans. Students are directed to use EPA and other websites to identify and name their local watershed and to complete activity pages that require naming bodies of water and the source of their home water. Activity checklists and the Water Use Chart require students to select and record domain-specific categories (e.g., private well, sewer system) and to use water-use estimates tied to specific activities.
Lesson 8
World Map - Part I
Students label continents, oceans, countries, rivers, cities, and specific features (Himalayan Mountains, Great Wall, Yellow River, Yangtze River, Alps) on a World Map and create a Map Key with symbols (oil, gas, Trans-Siberian Railroad). Students draw and label those geographic terms and color maps, which requires use of geographic names and map-symbol vocabulary. Students research a chosen feature and write a postcard describing a geographical or manmade feature, using information from Prisoners of Geography and online resources.
Lesson 9
World Map - Part II
Students are asked to draw and label specific geographic features (e.g., Nile River, Himalayas, Sahara Desert, Persian Gulf) and to use map-key symbols and colors, which requires naming and applying domain-specific geographic terms. The Postcard activity requires students to write 4–6 sentences describing a chosen geographical or manmade feature and to answer explicit questions about location, importance, and characteristics. Readings from Prisoners of Geography are referenced as sources, exposing students to domain-specific content and terminology about regions, resources, and landforms.
Final Project
Local Geography Book
Students are directed to study key terms on the Unit Review Sheet and to make notecards for bolded vocabulary, showing focused vocabulary study. Students must define and explain domain-specific terms on the unit test (e.g., erosion, continental drift, renewable vs. nonrenewable resources). Students write the "Written Descriptions" and "Human Activities" pages about landforms, waterforms, climate, and resources, and the project rubric checks that landforms/waterforms are described accurately and that written descriptions are rich.
Unit 2: The People of Sparks
Lesson 1
The City of Ember
Students complete a structured vocabulary activity in which they locate dictionary definitions, select context-appropriate meanings, draw illustrations, and write sentences for words such as deprivation, adversity, exploit, and thermodynamics. Students orally practice using each vocabulary word with a parent and record sentences, and an answer key provides precise definitions for review. Students are also asked to write or perform a movie review describing characters, setting, and plot, which creates an opportunity to use the learned vocabulary in an informative text.
Lesson 3
Discovery
Students keep a daily "New Environment, New Discoveries" learning log in which they record and label discoveries (examples listed: oxen, the earth is round, milk comes from cows, sun, tree, bird, goat). Activity 2 directs students to form plural nouns (including irregulars like ox -> oxen) and to write sentences about Sparks that must contain plural nouns following specific rules. The student pages require students to categorize, label, and write sentences, reinforcing correct noun forms and naming of items observed in the text.
Lesson 6
Flags
Students are asked to include landforms, bodies of water, and manmade structures when illustrating Ember and Sparks, which prompts use of geography-related vocabulary. Students answer comprehension questions in complete sentences and add to a learning log, giving opportunities to use specific wording. Students review pronoun cases and are asked to produce sentences containing subjective, objective, and possessive pronouns, practicing precise grammatical language.
Lesson 8
Unfairness
Students are asked to use a thesaurus to find synonyms for vocabulary words (frenzy, astonishing, fury, vowed, spiteful, grudgingly) and record context clues that justify their choices. The skills list explicitly includes "Create simple documents using a thesaurus" and "Use a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings." In the government activity students encounter and must use domain terms (monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, anarchy) as they compare systems and describe which is more effective or design a government for Ember.
Lesson 10
The Decision
Students are asked to list scientific details related to energy/electricity and plants and to consider how new knowledge could change lives (Activity 3), which prompts attention to scientific content. In Option 2 students must write directions for an experiment including a materials list and step-by-step directions, an activity that naturally calls for precise procedural language and domain-specific terms. Students also must write a 6-8 sentence speech to explain a community solution (Activity 1) and review vocabulary words before the test (Activity 4), providing opportunities to use specific words when explaining ideas.
Final Project
Wars and Plagues or A New Environment
Students complete a vocabulary activity asking for synonyms for words like "Fury" and "Astonishing," and the curriculum requires students to edit and revise manuscripts and produce research reports (causes, effects, end) and a newspaper article, all of which prompt word choice and clarity. The rubrics and revision steps ask students to improve writing quality, include details, and revise for minimal spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, which supports attention to precise language.
Unit 3: Our Changing Earth
Lesson 1
The Rock Cycle
The lesson presents and defines domain-specific terms (rock cycle, magma, igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary, minerals) in the "Things to Know" section and in the kit booklet. Students are asked to explain how igneous rocks form (Question #2) and to categorize real rock samples as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary (Activity 1), which requires using those terms. Students are instructed to use the kit brochure to find rock names and to research chosen rocks online (Activity 2), exposing them to and requiring application of domain vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Inside the Earth
Students read specific text and graphics naming and defining inner core, outer core, mantle, crust, lithosphere, asthenosphere, and plate tectonics and answer direct questions using those terms (Questions 1–4). Students make and label 3D models that must show all four layers and optionally add tectonic plates, and they must "be able to tell what the layer corresponds to" as they show each layer to a parent. The igneous rock demonstration asks students to "Describe changes," "Discuss the melting," and "Relate the cooling method to the type of igneous rock," prompting use of domain vocabulary to explain processes. The lesson also instructs students to "Review the layers of the Earth and the definitions of lithosphere, asthenosphere, and plate tectonics," reinforcing precise terminology.
Lesson 3
Igneous Rocks and Volcanoes
Students are asked to use scientific classifications and domain-specific terms on the "Igneous Rock Observations" pages (texture categories like porphyritic, phaneritic, aphanitic; cooling location: intrusive/extrusive; color: felsic/intermediate/mafic; magma origin: land/ocean). Reading questions require students to answer using terms such as basalt, mafic, felsic, intrusive, and extrusive and to explain crystal size based on cooling rate. The "Volcanoes Match" and USGS activities require students to identify and label volcano types (cinder cone, shield, composite) and to state a volcano's type when sharing or drawing it. The parent notes explicitly instruct students to "use scientific terms to categorize his igneous rocks."
Lesson 4
Earthquakes and Moving Plates
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific terms and short definitions in 'Things to Know' (seismologists, plate boundaries, faults, epicenter). The reading and Questions #1-#4 require students to identify and use terms such as surface waves, seismograph, Richter magnitude scale, and tsunamis in their answers. Activity 2 asks students to create and then explain differences between P waves and S waves, and parent prompts ask the student to review definitions and explain differences verbally.
Lesson 5
Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rocks
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (metamorphic, sedimentary, lithification, foliated, non-foliated, strata, cementation, clastic, non-clastic, schistosity, phyllitic) in the Things to Know and Student Activity Page sections. Multiple student tasks require using those terms: students must explain ways metamorphic rocks form, classify samples as foliated/non-foliated and clastic/non-clastic, record texture observations using provided key terms, and answer questions about lithification and strata. Experiments and written Results/Conclusions prompts ask students to describe processes (cementation, compaction) and outcomes using scientific language.
Lesson 6
Weathering
The Things to Know section defines domain-specific terms such as weathering, biological weathering, frost wedging, chemical weathering, soil, and mineral sediments. The reading questions ask students to define frost wedging and chemical weathering, prompting students to use those precise terms in responses. Multiple activities (Drip, Drip, Drip observations, Ice Cold Weathering conclusions, and the Weathering Walk documentation) require students to describe observations and explain results, providing opportunities to use domain-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Erosion
Students are asked to read definitions and key terms in the "Things to Know" section (weathering, erosion, deposition). The reading questions require students to identify and name domain-specific processes and features (e.g., rock falls, avalanches, slumps, debris flows, ventifacts). The experiment activity uses scientific-report headings (Write Your Question, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Results, Conclusion) and the parent notes remind students to control a single variable and choose a type of erosion (wind, water, or gravity).
Final Project
Presenting the Rock Cycle
Students are asked to define vocabulary words that are bolded in the "Things to Know" sections and to answer content questions using those terms. Rubrics for all project options explicitly require inclusion and explanation of domain-specific terms (for example: igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary, tectonic plates, volcanoes, earthquakes, weathering, erosion, lithification). Students must write slide descriptions, scripts, and short-answer test responses that explain processes and changes using geological terminology.
Unit 3: Short Stories
Lesson 1
The Good Deed
Students write vivid, sensory descriptions in Activity 2 (Eye Bouquet) that require choosing precise visual language without naming the object, then record and read the description aloud so a listener can guess the object. The lesson includes examples of specific descriptive phrases (e.g., "that shimmery color, halfway between purple and silver," "the green of horses munching") and asks students to revise descriptions after testing them with a listener. The Parent Plan notes that the student practices using descriptive language and strengthens written and oral communication skills.
Lesson 2
Short Story Genre
Students research Mars using NASA and ESA resources and record facts about the planet in their journals (Activity 3), which exposes them to domain-specific information. Students are instructed to record descriptive phrases and sentences from the stories that describe environments (Activity 4), which requires identifying precise descriptive language. Students also practice revising run-on sentences, which focuses on sentence-level precision and correctness.
Lesson 3
The Dog of Pompeii
Students are asked to research Pompeii and "record ten important facts" (Activity 4), which requires encountering historical terms such as Mount Vesuvius, eruption, and archaeologists. The volcano experiment (Activity 5) directs students to follow the scientific method (Question, Hypothesis, Procedure, Results, Conclusion) and build a model with a named "magma chamber," prompting use of science procedure vocabulary. The reading and questions use domain terms (e.g., archaeologists, volcano, eruption) that students must recognize to answer comprehension questions.
Lesson 5
Zlateh the Goat
The lesson provides explicit definitions of narrator, omniscient, detached observer, first person, subject, verb, dependent clause, and prepositional phrase in the "Things to Know" and Activity 1 sections. The Skills list includes "Identify and explain the point of view in a written work," and Activity 2 asks students to identify points of view and, in Option 2, to make up sentences that could be found in stories from each point of view. Activity 1 requires students to test sentences for subject, verb, and complete idea and to correct fragments, engaging them with grammatical vocabulary.
Lesson 6
Women in Short Stories
Students encounter domain-specific words and factual language about birds in the heron activity and related text (for example: "plumes," "great egret"/"great white heron," and mention of the National Audubon Society and conservation). The sample dialogue and answer key include the word "ornithologist" and discussion of collecting and preserving birds. The skills list asks students to "clarify understanding of text by creating reports," which implies opportunities for informative writing.
Lesson 7
Your Choice
Students are asked to identify and label story elements using domain terms (e.g., Setting, Main Character, Point of View, Problem, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Solution) on graphic organizers. The Story Conflict & Theme page prompts students to name a theme and to identify examples for conflict types (character vs. character, nature, society, self), and to "describe the major conflict." The Skills list and Activity 2 require students to "write multi-step directions" and to describe an activity with materials and directions, which engages students in producing explanatory writing.
Final Project
Writing a Short Story
Students are instructed to "choose your words carefully" and make "each sentence powerful" in the Short Story Rubric and Activity 1. The Skills section and rubric ask students to "include sensory details and concrete language to develop plot and character," and Activity 3 asks students to list "words and phrases you will use to describe the setting." Activity 5 reminds students to refer to graphic organizers and tips for dialogue and sentence correctness while writing.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Slavery and the Civil War
Lesson 1
Antebellum America
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary with definitions in the "Things to Know" section (antebellum, Industrial Revolution, immigration, slavery, cash crop). Students are asked to analyze maps using terms like ratios and factory production and to chart population data, which requires applying quantitative and historical vocabulary. In Activity 3, students must write two or three sentences on the "Economy" pages and incorporate five descriptive words when creating travel brochures for the Antebellum North and South.
Lesson 2
Slavery
Students read explicit definitions of "primary sources" and "secondary sources" in the Things to Know and Parent Plan sections and are asked to consider differences between them. Students are provided a WPA dialect word list with modern equivalents to help them decode first‑hand narratives. Students are asked to take organized notes in a KWL chart and activity pages and to synthesize information into a quilt or mural, which requires selecting and representing key details from readings.
Lesson 3
Disunion and the Start of the Civil War
The lesson defines key terminology (for example, the "Things to Know" box defines secession) and repeatedly uses domain-specific terms such as Missouri Compromise, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lincoln-Douglas debates, fugitive slave law, John Brown's Raid, and Fort Sumter. Students are asked to write out and defend positions in the "Debate on the Expansion of Slavery" activity, explicitly linking arguments to the question of federal versus state authority. An optional poster extension directs students to use "powerful images and key words from the lists you made," encouraging the selection and use of topic-specific vocabulary in an explanatory product.
Lesson 4
Leadership and the Civil War
Students read assigned chapters and complete Civil War Leader Cards that require them to record background, roles in the war, notable events, and descriptive words for each leader. Students are directed to consult A History of US's glossary and to research leaders (including Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Grant, Lee, etc.), exposing them to domain-specific terms such as Union, Confederate, Emancipation Proclamation, and Gettysburg Address. Students also compare pairs of figures (e.g., Lincoln and Davis; McClellan and Grant) and answer content questions that require using historical terminology in their responses.
Lesson 5
The Wartime Experience
The lesson introduces domain-specific terms explicitly in the "Things to Know" section (e.g., "sutlers," "haversack/knapsack") and provides definitions. Activities ask students to reread descriptive passages about camp life and "pay attention to the descriptions of camp life, daily routines, and leisure activities," which prompts use of specific details. The "Pack Your Haversack" activity requires students to choose and weigh historically accurate items (mess kit, hardtack, salt pork) and reflect on how those choices reflect values, providing opportunities to use domain vocabulary in context.
Lesson 6
Major Battles of the Civil War
Students are asked to label battle sites on a map and to write short explanations of each battle's significance (map activity and multiple Student Activity Pages). The reading questions require students to identify and describe specific terms and concepts (e.g., the Virginia and the Monitor, the Emancipation Proclamation, Antietam's effects). The monument worksheet asks students to record "important details," "who won," and to write a description explaining why a battle was a turning point, which prompts use of content-specific terms.
Lesson 7
The Homefront Experience
The lesson defines key domain vocabulary such as "inflation" in the Things to Know section and uses Civil War terms like "Union blockade," "industrial capacity," and "transportation system." Student activity pages present units and domain terms (pound, bushel, barrel) and give step-by-step instructions and an example for computing percentage price increases. The Shortages and Substitutions sheet asks students to brainstorm conservation, substitution, and repurposing strategies for specific items, prompting use of topical vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Gettysburg and Beyond
Students read the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address and are instructed to highlight important ideas or powerful phrases in each document. Students use a Venn diagram to note similarities and common ideas among the three documents, and the parent notes point out specific domain phrases such as "freedom," "divine Providence/Almighty God," and "all men are created equal." Students also add events and dates to a Civil War timeline and fill in a Civil War map, recording formal labels and historical terms for battles and places.
Lesson 9
End of War and Reconstruction
Students read the full texts of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and are asked to "determine their meaning" and "restate this amendment in your own words." The activity directions tell students to have a dictionary handy to look up unfamiliar terms. The parent plan instructs students to summarize each amendment and write about why each was important.
Final Project
Remembering the Civil War
Students are asked to write exhibit cards that include short (2–3 sentence) explanations of the significance of items and to create a poster and timeline that summarize important themes and events. Students must write a 30-second to one-minute living-wax-museum speech and plan narration/scripts for a documentary film, both of which require them to explain topics orally and in writing. The unit test includes items that ask students to describe differences between North and South, list details about slavery, and match terms (e.g., Union, Confederacy, factories, cotton plantations), demonstrating use of domain-specific terms. Rubrics evaluate "written explanations" and "narration" for clarity and accuracy, implying an expectation that students use precise language to inform viewers.
Unit 1: Bull Run
Lesson 1
Background on the Civil War
The lesson explicitly defines domain-specific terms (Things to Know: primary source, secondary source, secede/secession, occupation, secessionist) and presents primary- and secondary-source analysis activities. Parent-plan skills ask students to determine the importance of the author's word choice and to summarize author purpose and stance, prompting attention to precise language. Research and writing tasks (Activity 2: list statehood steps in a journal; Activity 5: take color-coded research notes; Activity 6: write and manipulate Civil War sentences) require students to produce written explanations about the Civil War topics.
Lesson 3
Joining the Ranks
Students read a defined explanation of the term "propaganda" and examine primary-source proclamations and posters labeled as propaganda. Students record three factual statements and three opinion statements from a Civil War speech in their journals and identify statements that could be propaganda. Students write explanations of how historical images could have been used to sway Northern attitudes and answer comprehension questions in complete sentences.
Lesson 5
Nerves
Students are taught grammatical terms such as "present participle" and "past participle" and practice identifying these forms in sentences from the novel (Option 1 answer key and tense-identification activity). Students write sentences about characters and events in Bull Run using specified verb forms (Option 2) and write titles and descriptive sentences for Civil War photographs. Students are prompted to use linking verbs and correct subject-verb agreement when producing sentences aloud.
Lesson 6
The Battle Begins
Students practice precise verb choice and form in the "Misused Verbs" activities by inserting correct verb forms (lie/lay, sit/set and other irregular verbs) and memorizing principal parts, which targets accurate word choice and grammar. Students answer reading comprehension questions in complete sentences, requiring them to produce clear, precise language. The lesson defines and discusses the domain-specific term "morale," and asks students to explain why morale matters, giving explicit attention to at least one historical term.
Lesson 7
Fleeing and Death
Students are asked to answer comprehension questions in complete sentences and to cite evidence from the novel, which requires composing explanatory responses about the Battle of Bull Run and characters' reactions. Multiple places reference domain-specific terms (Union Army, Confederate Army, Battle of Bull Run) that students must read and refer to when explaining events. The Character Quilt task asks students to label squares with character names, positions (north/south) and to include a compass rose, which prompts use of geographically specific terms when describing characters' origins.
Final Project
Argumentative Essay
Students are instructed to "pay close attention to the verbs you use" and to review definitions and activities on verb types; they must underline verbs, circle helping verbs, and box linking verbs in their drafts. The rubric and writing directions require a formal tone, avoiding contractions and slang, and the prewriting section provides a chart of transitional words and phrases for showing relationships among ideas. The rubric also asks for "use of knowledgeable sources," and the outline/scaffold prompts students to support arguments with relevant information from Civil War readings.
Unit 2: Force and Motion
Lesson 1
Force and Motion Basics
Students complete a vocabulary matching activity that lists domain-specific terms (inertia, mass, magnetism, gravity, velocity, pressure, motion, buoyancy, friction, force) and use the glossary on pages 85–86 to match each word to its definition. Students answer short questions that require using precise definitions (e.g., "What is a force?" with the answer "A force is a push or a pull") and review scientists' discoveries that use terms like inertia, buoyancy, and magnetism. The parent notes and activity instructions prompt students to refer to and review the vocabulary throughout the unit.
Lesson 2
Forces
The lesson provides explicit definitions and domain-specific vocabulary (gravity, magnetism, normal force, applied force, frictional force, tension, spring force, resisting force) in the "Things to Know" section. Students are asked to identify and name specific forces in questions (e.g., list two non-contact forces and name forces acting when pulling a book with yarn) and to record examples for each force on the Force Scavenger Hunt activity page. Activities ask students to describe bridge modifications using words on the Building Bridges activity page and to answer reflective questions about forces (e.g., which forces were involved), requiring use of the vocabulary in short-answer explanations.
Lesson 3
Gravity
Students are given explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section (gravity/gravitational force, mass, weight) and the lesson lists vocabulary to review ("Vocabulary related to gravity and air resistance"). Multiple student tasks require written explanations and use of terms: students write hypotheses, record results, and answer conclusion questions that prompt use of domain concepts (e.g., explain why crumpled paper falls faster, relate surface area to air resistance, calculate weight on other planets). Parent plan and wrap-up discussion items also use domain-specific words (centripetal force, free fall, terminal velocity) that students encounter and could use in explanations.
Lesson 4
Laws of Motion
Students read a clear vocabulary section that defines inertia, momentum, velocity, acceleration, force (with f = ma), and units (newtons). They answer questions that require defining Newton's first law and inertia and explaining balanced vs. unbalanced forces in their own words. Students create a poster that requires them to state each law (using lesson wording or their own words) and to illustrate and explain each law, and they complete experiment pages that record mass (g), force (N), plot mass vs. force, and draw conclusions using those terms.
Lesson 5
Magnetism
Students answer targeted reading questions that require domain-specific terms (e.g., identifying north and south poles, naming iron and nickel in Earth's core, and stating magnetic strength in teslas). In Activity 2 students label magnet poles with N and S, use a compass, and draw magnetic field lines with arrows to indicate field direction, explicitly practicing vocabulary like "pole," "magnetic field," and "field lines." The student experiment pages require written sections (hypothesis, procedure, results, conclusions) where students must describe magnet strength comparisons using terms such as "neodymium" and "marble magnet."
Lesson 6
Buoyancy
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (buoyancy, volume, density, displacement, fluid pressure) in the "Things to Know" section. Students collect masses and volumes, calculate density using density = mass ÷ volume with units (g/mL) in lab tables, and answer guided questions that require explaining results. The Archimedes activity and its answer key explicitly instruct students to use the words displacement, volume, density, and mass or weight when explaining how densities were calculated.
Lesson 7
Forces at Work
The lesson explicitly presents domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (e.g., "simple machine," the six simple machines, "work," "joules," and the formula W = F × D) in the "Things to Know" and review sections. Students read Chapter 6 and answer focused questions that require use of terms such as "fulcrum," "wedge," "screw," and "pulley." Stations provide space for students to write or illustrate findings and ask students to compare results (e.g., screws vs. nails) and demonstrate concepts like mechanical advantage.
Final Project
Force and Motion Stations
Students are directed to study the "Unit Review Sheet" that compiles information and definitions from each lesson and are encouraged to write vocabulary on index cards to quiz themselves. Students must write station cards that include a Procedure and an optional "Takeaway" that can explain how the demonstration relates to the topic. The unit test includes short-answer and matching items that require students to define terms (e.g., inertia, density, mass) and use scientific terminology in responses.
Unit 2: Albert Einstein
Lesson 1
Who Is Albert Einstein?
Students read statements that name scientific concepts (e.g., "Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion") and answer comprehension questions about Einstein's scientific interests. Students are instructed to research Isaac Newton, take notes on important information, and write a bio-poem, which requires gathering and using information from informational sources. Students are asked to discuss and describe the study of physics with domain words provided in the prompt (e.g., forces, gravity, magnetism) and to relate physics to inventions.
Lesson 2
Einstein, The Boy
Students are given a list of domain-specific words (e.g., radioactivity, synchronicity, prodigy) and definitions and complete a matching activity that asks them to place each vocabulary word into sentences drawn from the text. Students are asked to record answers to reading questions in complete sentences and to write entries on a timeline and a "Positive and Negative Traits" page, which require brief explanatory writing about Einstein's life and personality. The parent plan also directs students to monitor expository text for unknown words using context clues.
Lesson 3
University Days and Beyond
Activity 3 (Beyond Roots) explicitly has students learn Latin and Greek roots, play matching and recall games with Set 1 cards, and take online quizzes (A and B) to demonstrate knowledge. The lesson text states that knowing roots improves the ability to understand new vocabulary and that scientists should be familiar with Latin and Greek roots to understand vocabulary in scientific fields. The parent notes explain that the B quiz requires students to apply their knowledge of root meanings.
Lesson 4
Research and Discovery
Students are given a list of target words (asylum, pacifist, agog, ambivalent, anti-Semitism, retort, refute) and complete a vocabulary crossword that requires them to match definitions to terms. A parent prompt asks students to use each vocabulary word in their own sentence and to review definitions, providing explicit practice in producing words orally. Students answer content questions that require naming technical concepts (e.g., identifying the new branch as "Quantum theory") and conduct activities (write a video summary; explain the theory of relativity using toys) that create opportunities to use domain-specific terms like "photoelectric effect," "E=mc²," and "relativity."
Lesson 5
The Professor
Students practice Greek and Latin roots through the Beyond Roots Set 2 cards, games (Root Recall, Go Root!), and A/B quizzes that require knowing root meanings. The Skills section directs students to determine the meanings of grade-level academic English words derived from Latin and Greek roots. Students answer reading comprehension questions in complete sentences about physics concepts (for example, describing gravity as a warping of space and time) and illustrate the trampoline demonstration to explain the concept. Activity 2 has students write a sentence describing one way math is used in each scientific field, prompting use of field-specific concepts.
Lesson 7
War
Students are directed to learn the meanings of words formed from Latin and Greek roots in the "Things to Know" section. Activity 5 (Beyond Roots) has students play root games and take online quizzes to learn and practice those root-based vocabulary items. Activity 3 directs students to an online quiz about E=mc², which engages them with domain-specific scientific concepts. Students are also asked to answer reading questions in complete sentences, which practices written expression.
Lesson 8
Peace
Students are prompted to review and practice word roots and their meanings in Activity 4 (Beyond Roots), combining card sets, playing Go Root!, and taking an all-sets quiz. Students are asked to generate two abstract scientific questions, develop research and experiment plans in Activity 2 (Curiosity), which requires identifying information sources and possible experiments. An optional science tie-in (Activity 5) directs students to PBS NOVA stations about E=mc² with questions to answer after exploring each station.
Final Project
Biography Scrapbook
Students are asked to produce a letter and a journal entry in Einstein's voice and specifically instructed to include at least three Latin or Greek root words in each (Parts 2 and 5). The instructions tell students to use "powerful language" in the journal entry and to write the letter in an engaging way, which targets word choice and expression. The skills section also directs students to "produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres" and to plan writing considering purpose and audience, implying attention to appropriate language for the task.
Unit 3: World Wars I and II
Lesson 1
World War I Begins
The lesson includes domain-specific terms in the 'Things to Know' section (machine guns, line telegraphs, field telephones, tanks, poison gas, U-boats, airplanes, Zeppelins, trench foot) that students encounter in their reading. Activity 1 directs students to choose one technology and to "Describe the technology and its impact," requiring written explanation of a technical topic. Activity 2 asks students to describe trench conditions and to consider primary vs. secondary sources, which engages them with discipline-specific concepts and language.
Lesson 2
In the Trenches and on the Homefront
The lesson defines the term "propaganda" in the Things to Know section and asks students to identify examples (posters, paintings, songs, literature) in Question #1. The Discussion prompts ask students to list kinds of primary sources (interviews, photographs, maps, newspapers, diaries, letters, government documents, physical objects, films, propaganda posters, memoirs, literature, music, poetry), providing domain-specific vocabulary. The Time Capsule activity and question prompts require students to describe objects and explain how those items would inform future researchers, which asks for descriptive language about historical topics.
Lesson 3
The End of World War I
The Student Activity Page asks students to list and compare key parts of Wilson's Fourteen Point Plan (including the phrases "peace without victory," "self-determination," and "the formation of a League of Nations") with the Treaty of Versailles, prompting use of domain-specific terms. The Things to Know and reading assignments require familiarity with Wilson's plan and the Treaty, and the activity questions ask students to explain why Wilson failed to achieve his aims, which encourages use of historical vocabulary in responses. The Letters and Secrecy activity has students summarize and discuss soldiers' letter-writing constraints, which invokes terms related to military communication and censorship.
Lesson 4
World War II Before U.S. Involvement
Students are asked to "know what blitzkrieg was" and to "understand the differences among democracy, fascism, and communism," which requires familiarity with domain-specific terms. Students answer a question defining anti-Semitism and its consequences, showing direct use of historical vocabulary. Students complete "World Leaders" pages that prompt them to record "Form of Government," "Affiliation," "Important Actions," and "Goals," and they must provide specific examples in a letter to the president, encouraging use of precise terms about events and leaders.
Lesson 5
Mobilizing for War
Students are asked to define and answer a question about the domain-specific term "blitzkrieg." Students read Roosevelt's speech and are instructed to underline or highlight words or phrases that are "particularly powerful or important," and to identify adjectives he used (e.g., "surprise, unprovoked, dastardly"). In poster activities, students analyze "Words on the poster" and plan "Powerful Words/Slogans," with a prompt to make each word count for impact.
Lesson 6
Wartime Skills
Students read text that names and describes domain-specific items (e.g., the German Enigma machine, the Japanese "Purple" code, the Navajo code talkers, and specific wartime technologies). The lesson provides the Navajo Code alphabet and directs students to translate their own name into Navajo code, requiring them to select and use specific code words and vocabulary. The parent prompts ask the student to explain how the code worked and why it was hard to break, encouraging use of technical terms related to codes and secrecy.
Lesson 7
War in the Pacific and North Africa
Students are asked to label maps with named battles and places (Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal, Coral Sea, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt) and to draw symbols for naval forces, bombing raids, and troop movements, which requires use of domain-related terms. In Activity 2 students must write museum exhibit cards describing weapons, answer questions about historical examples, differences from earlier weapons, and assess impact—tasks that call for precise explanatory language. The readings and prompts include domain-specific terms (Manhattan Project, code-breaking intelligence, air power, atomic bomb) that students will encounter and could use in their writing.
Lesson 8
War in Europe
Students select domain-specific WWII vocabulary from the textbook, write definitions (Option 2 requires original definitions in the student's own words), and list the words and a unifying theme on the "Radio Script Vocabulary" page. Students are instructed to write a radio news script that uses all selected vocabulary terms, to use at least two events from the reading for accuracy, and to practice and perform the broadcast aloud for a parent. The parent notes and activity guidance explicitly require using the words appropriately in complete sentences and crafting a coherent, informative narrative.
Lesson 9
The End of World War II
Students are asked to take objective reporter-style notes answering who/what/when/where/why about Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Activity 2 and the Student Activity Page), which requires summarizing factual information. The lesson text and parent notes include domain-specific terms and precise historical vocabulary (e.g., V-E Day, V-J Day, kamikaze, Enola Gay, Manhattan Project, Trinity test). The parent-provided example answers model the use of specific factual details and technical terms when explaining why the bombs were used and what happened.
Unit 3: Number the Stars
Lesson 1
Background on Denmark and World War II
The lesson provides a targeted list of vocabulary with definitions that include domain-specific wartime terms (e.g., Nazi, Axis powers, German-occupied, sabotage) and general precise words (e.g., intricate, brusque). The Skills section explicitly states that students should select key vocabulary critical to the text and apply appropriate meanings for comprehension. Activity 3 requires students to study the vocabulary, write each word on a card, and practice identifying words from definitions in a mediated game, and the Parent Plan repeatedly instructs students to review and be able to identify the words quickly.
Lesson 2
Soldiers on Every Corner
Students are introduced to the term "occupies" with an explicit explanation of what it means when one country occupies another and related language such as "occupiers," "invades," "restrictive laws," and "dictator." Students are asked to write a four- or five-sentence summary of Chapters 1 and 2 and to compose either a "Before and After Occupation" poem or an "Impact of Occupation" chart that requires them to describe how occupation would affect jobs, food, family, religion, and education. The skills list includes revising drafts to clarify meaning and enhance style, which signals attention to word choice and clarity in student writing.
Lesson 3
The Button Shop
Students are given a definition of "propaganda" and asked to analyze World War II posters, noting techniques and summarizing each poster's message. Students must design their own propaganda poster and write text/images to influence attitudes, which requires choosing words and messages. Students practice and apply specific proofreading/editing symbols by copying and correcting paragraphs using terms like "insert period," "delete," and "transpose," exposing them to domain-specific editing vocabulary.
Lesson 5
In the Country
Students are asked to "describe each setting in detail either in words or in map form" and to "explain what role the setting plays in the conflict," which requires informative description. Students must write a postcard or a coded message to inform family members about events at Uncle Henrik's, practicing written explanation for a historical context. Students practice editing marks and language conventions (capitalization, -ed endings, fragments, run-ons) by rewriting marked paragraphs using proofreading symbols.
Lesson 6
Aunt Birte is Dead
Students learn four proofreading abbreviations (sp, -s, s/v, T) and are instructed to rewrite and edit paragraphs using those marks, which requires applying domain-specific editing vocabulary. Students are asked to retell Barbara Rodbell's story and answer a reflective journal question, and parent-plan skills list paraphrasing major ideas and supporting evidence in presentations. Students are prompted to read selected passages aloud and explain their reasons for choosing them, which asks them to explain textual choices.
Lesson 7
Run!
The lesson teaches three editing abbreviations (Wdy, Ww, Pron) and asks students to rewrite a provided paragraph using those abbreviations to correct wordiness, wrong word choice, and pronoun errors. Activity 1 requires students to identify and correct imprecise phrasing ("very desperately and greatly" marked wdy) and incorrect word choices ("accept"→except, "there pride"→their pride) using the editing marks. The skills listed include editing final products for grammar and language conventions, and the answer key models specific corrections for word choice and pronoun usage.
Lesson 9
A Magazine Article
The Expository Rubric explicitly asks students to attend to "Interesting Words," including strong verbs, adjectives/adverbs, and attention-catching words, and the lesson text tells students that "word choice is also important." Students are instructed to conduct research, put information in their own words, and include quotations and factoids, which requires selecting appropriate wording for accuracy. The rough-draft directions require a formal style and avoidance of casual language, pushing students toward careful word selection.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to use vocabulary in context on the "Number the Stars Test," including a prompt to "Use the word intricate correctly in a sentence" and to identify the correct use of the word "contempt." Students produce multiple written products (essay, article, book jacket, letter, skit scripts) through the Think-Tac-Toe choices that require them to explain historical topics in writing. The test and activities also ask students to summarize events and present findings, which provides opportunities to select words to convey meaning precisely.
3: Change
Unit 1: Matter
Lesson 1
Elements and the Periodic Table
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms (matter, atom, element, compound) and shown chemical symbols and formulas (e.g., H2O, CO2, NaCl) in tables and activity pages. In the clay-model activity students are instructed to label clay atoms by carving the element symbols and to build models that correspond to provided chemical formulas. Students answer guided questions that require using vocabulary (e.g., explaining why palladium is similar to nickel and platinum using family/column terminology) and record observations of the electrolysis demonstration.
Lesson 2
Introduction to Metals
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (luster, malleable, brittle) and are asked to observe and record properties using those terms on the "Investigating Three Metals" chart. Students select precise descriptors on the Metals/Metalloids/Nonmetals chart (e.g., SHINY vs DULL, MALLEABLE vs BRITTLE, conduct heat WELL/SLIGHTLY/NOT VERY WELL), forcing choices of vocabulary. Students must include an element's name, symbol, metal group, and characteristics when creating an informational poster or collage, which prompts use of domain-specific labels and facts.
Lesson 3
Introduction to Metalloids
Students read text and inset boxes that define and use domain-specific terms such as metalloids, semiconductor, radioactive, element, compound, chemical symbol/formula, luster, malleability, and conductivity. Students answer focused questions that require them to explain what 'radioactive' means and why the category is called metalloids, demonstrating use of precise vocabulary in responses. Students complete Activity 2 and a mini-book or poem in which they must record an element's name, symbol, atomic number, uses, and characteristics (including circling properties like luster and conductivity).
Lesson 4
Introduction to Nonmetals
Students read definitional passages and lists that name and distinguish nonmetals, halogens, and noble gases (e.g., "Halogens are elements that react easily…"; "noble gases…rarely react"). Students record properties using vocabulary such as luster, malleability, and conductivity in the Metals/Nonmetals chart. In Activity 1 students research a gaseous nonmetal and report three facts and everyday uses, and in Activity 2 students write an experimental question, materials, procedure, observations, and conclusions that reference processes (e.g., yeast consuming sugar and releasing carbon dioxide).
Lesson 5
Classifying as Solids, Liquids, or Gases
Students label and color a periodic table by states of matter and then fill in the "State of matter at room temperature" property for metals, metalloids, and nonmetals, requiring use of terms like solid, liquid, and gas. Activity pages and parent notes introduce and name domain-specific vocabulary such as colloid, evaporation, freezing, melting, noble gases, halogens, metals, metalloids, and nonmetals. Students record observations in structured tables and write conclusions about changes of state, answering prompts that use and elicit these scientific terms.
Lesson 6
Classifying by Density
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (mass, volume, density, atoms, protons, neutrons, gas/liquid/solid) and states measurement units (g/cm3, g/L) and conditions (20°C, 0°C, 1 atm). Student tasks ask learners to calculate and compare densities using a density periodic table, order materials by density in experiments, and rewrite and present a density riddle explaining differences between weight and density. Activities require students to label a jar by density, identify mystery elements from numerical densities, and write observations and analyses of experiments.
Lesson 7
Classifying by Magnetic Properties
The lesson explicitly defines domain-specific terms (ferromagnetic, paramagnetic, diamagnetic) and names ferromagnetic elements (iron, nickel, cobalt). Students are asked to copy and label diagrams of magnetic alignment, create a diamagnetic diagram, list examples of each magnetic type, and fill in magnetism properties on an activity page/periodic table. Short-answer reading questions ask students to state where magnets are found in animals and how atoms line up in magnetic elements, prompting use of the vocabulary in responses.
Lesson 8
Classifying by Conductivity
Students are given explicit definitions (Things to Know) for conductivity, insulator, semiconductor, and superconductor and are asked to review these definitions. The reading questions include a direct prompt asking "What is a conductor?" which requires students to state a domain-specific definition. In Activities students record observations, classify materials as metals/metalloids/nonmetals, and write conclusions explaining which materials conduct heat and electricity, using terms like graphite, conductor, and insulator.
Lesson 9
Classifying by Water Solubility
Students read explicit definitions of solubility, water-soluble, fat-soluble, and hard water and read content about sodium and calcium, giving them exposure to domain-specific vocabulary. Students record hypotheses, procedures, observations, and conclusions on structured activity pages (Cold Salt, Hot & Cold Salt, and These Suds Are Duds!), which prompt them to explain experimental results using terms like freezing point, boiling point, dissolve, and minerals. Students answer targeted questions (e.g., identify elements in hard water; where sodium is found in the house) that require using the appropriate scientific terms.
Final Project
Mystery Elements
Students are asked to define the vocabulary words in bold from the "Things to Know" sections as part of test review. The Matter Test Part 2 contains short-answer questions that require students to define terms (e.g., density, conductivity, solubility) and explain differences between ferromagnetic, paramagnetic, and diamagnetic materials. Students must write explanations and justify classifications on the Matter Challenge sheet and the Mystery Elements Rubric asks for clear verbal or written explanations of reasoning behind element identifications.
Unit 1: Tuck Everlasting
Lesson 1
Getting Ready
Students are given a list of eight vocabulary words with parts of speech, definitions, and example sentences and are asked to create a Vocabulary Picture Dictionary that requires them to record the part of speech, draw a picture, and record the definition and sentence for each word. Students review a Parts of Speech table and use a Grammar Symbols Chart and Memory game to identify and memorize word types and their functions. The Everlasting Life activity asks students to write a pros/cons list or a paragraph imagining their life ten years after drinking the water, which provides an opportunity to use vocabulary in writing.
Lesson 4
The Tucks
The lesson defines domain-specific terms ("Groundwater is water that is found underground in the spaces and cracks between soil, sand, and gravel") and describes processes using vocabulary such as recharge area, discharge area, geologic formation, gravity, and pressure. Students are asked to explain what groundwater is and why it is important, to follow a simulation to observe how groundwater moves through layers, and to research whether their community's water comes from a groundwater source. The review prompts ask students to describe cycles (water cycle, life cycles) and to discuss how the book's spring relates to those cycles using the vocabulary introduced.
Lesson 5
At Home with the Tucks
Students are taught about adjectives, predicate adjectives, possessive adjectives, and verbals and practice finding and labeling adjectives in multiple sentences and passages. The lesson defines the term 'juxtapose' and asks students to locate words and phrases the author uses to create juxtaposition and to write comparative paragraphs describing the Fosters' and the Tucks' homes using author quotations. Students are prompted to give oral examples of adjectives in different positions and to use verbals as adjectives in sentences.
Lesson 6
The Man in the Yellow Suit
Students identify and label pronoun types (personal, demonstrative, interrogative, relative, indefinite) in the Parts of Speech activity and answer questions that require explanation of events and motivations from the text. Students are asked to collect natural items and "explain to your parent the significance of each item in the jar" and to respond to prompts about how cycles operate and what would happen if a cycle were interrupted. The review prompts ask students to "explain one or two themes" and give examples of each pronoun type, which requires use of grammatical vocabulary and explanatory language.
Lesson 7
Fishing
Students are provided with a six-word vocabulary list (apprehension, constable, parlor, revulsion, prostrate, gentility) with definitions. Students are asked to write a summary of the chapters that includes all the vocabulary words. A parent-check directive asks adults to confirm that vocabulary words were used correctly in the student's summary.
Lesson 9
The Plan
The parent directions instruct the child to use each vocabulary word from lesson 7 orally in a sentence and to review definitions and usage. The parent plan again asks the adult to review the child's examples of cause and effect and to discuss the examples provided on the organizer sheet. Students are assigned to write cause-and-effect paragraphs and a sample paragraph and graphic organizers are provided as models for structuring explanatory writing.
Final Project
A Debate
Students are instructed to follow the "Rules of Debate," which explicitly tell them to avoid words like "never" and "always," avoid exaggeration, not present opinions as facts, and to use qualifiers such as "many" rather than "most." Students are also directed to make their questions "clear and specific" and to prepare two-minute opening arguments and concise closing statements, requiring careful word choice and concise explanations. The activities require students to write note-card responses and rehearse answers, which practices crafting precise, measured language in oral and written form.
Unit 2: Civil Rights
Lesson 1
Life Under Segregation
The "Things to Know" section gives formal definitions of civil rights, prejudice, discrimination, racism, and segregation, providing domain-specific vocabulary. In Activity 1 students are asked to write those definitions in their own words and to classify scenarios using the terms (P, D, R, S). Option 2 explicitly requires students to write definitions, give examples, and provide suggestions for changing each situation, which asks students to use the vocabulary to explain problems and solutions. Activity 2 asks students to identify places and explain how segregation would have changed experiences, prompting use of those terms in explanatory contexts.
Lesson 2
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Students are asked in Option 1 to "choose powerful words and phrases" and to decide what information should appear on a persuasive flyer, which requires selecting precise language to capture attention. In Option 2 students plan a speech and fill in prompts such as "Why do you oppose segregated buses?", "What words of encouragement would you offer?", and a speech-bubble labeled "Slogan or Main Idea," which asks them to craft concise, persuasive language. The Research Workshop asks students to add words and phrases about the Civil Rights Movement to a graphic organizer, prompting them to collect and use topic-related terms (e.g., segregation, boycott, SCLC) from the reading.
Lesson 3
School Desegregation
Students read primary and secondary sources about Brown v. Board of Education and the Little Rock integration (Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round pages and the Supreme Court transcript link). Students prepare informative radio/TV broadcasts that must state the date, what the Supreme Court decided, who was affected, and how schools would change, and they write interview questions or letters about the Little Rock Nine. Students also conduct research and choose topics or interviewees using library and online resources related to school desegregation.
Lesson 4
Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides
Students read explicit definitions and explanations of domain-specific terms such as "nonviolent direct action," "nonviolence," "civil disobedience," and "Freedom Rides" in the reading and Things to Know sections. Students are prompted on the Student Activity Page to define "What is nonviolence?" and "What is direct action?" and to list examples and benefits, requiring them to use those terms. The oral history and research activities ask students to write factual, descriptive, and big-picture questions and to create research questions, which invites use of topic-specific vocabulary when planning inquiry.
Lesson 6
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The lesson asks students to "remember the concepts of non-violence, direct action, and civil disobedience" and to "be able to explain how Dr. King's work drew on those three concepts," which prompts use of domain-specific civil-rights vocabulary. Activity 3 directs students to choose a clear message and "use just a few powerful words" for a protest sign, and Activity 4 asks students to choose five words that describe Dr. King, both requiring students to select precise language. Option 1/2 asks students to practice and perform portions of King's speech, encouraging careful wording and attention to phrasing.
Lesson 7
Freedom Summer
Students read a nonfiction account of Freedom Summer (pages 44–55) that uses domain-specific terms such as "register to vote," "poll taxes," "qualifying tests," "sharecropper," and "freedom schools." Students answer comprehension questions that require them to recall and write about those specific terms (for example, describing how poll taxes and tests prevented registration). Students gather interview responses using a structured Voting Interview Form with prompts that use precise terms (e.g., "When did you register to vote?" and "Can you describe the experience of voting?") and then create a magazine advertisement explaining why voting is important, drawing on interview language and historical content.
Lesson 9
Legacies of the Movement
Students read specified pages that include a timeline and stories about activists and are asked whether passage of the Voting Rights Act meant the movement was successful, prompting use of terms like 'Voting Rights Act.' Activities ask students to identify and explain ways the Civil Rights Movement changed America and to represent topics such as segregation, voting rights, registration of voters, and integration through poems, object analogies, or informational flyers. The Things to Review explicitly lists vocabulary-like concepts (segregation, passage of key legislation, registration of African-American voters, integration of colleges and universities) that students are expected to include in their explanations.
Final Project
Presenting Your Research
Students are asked to "review critical vocabulary terms" as part of test preparation and the unit test explicitly asks for definitions of terms such as "nonviolent direct action" and "civil disobedience." The student rubric and activity pages require that "Text or spoken/recorded script is clear and well-written" and that presentations "convey accurate and important historical information," which encourages attention to wording. Several assignment prompts (e.g., writing a 1-paragraph card for a listening station, preparing a podcast script, and mock-interview scripts) require students to produce written or spoken explanations of historical topics.
Unit 2: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Lesson 1
School's In
The lesson provides a focused vocabulary list with definitions (concession, raucous, dubious, formidable, caravan, discourse, wheedle, reprimand) and directs students to review and match words to definitions and contextual sentences in Option 1 and Option 2. Students are asked to use each word correctly in a sentence orally (Things to Review) and to write a three- or four-sentence journal response after watching Civil Rights Movement videos. The Recognizing Discrimination worksheets require students to record and analyze examples from the text, creating opportunities to use precise terms when describing events.
Lesson 2
A Visitor
Students are given a Dialect Guide that lists regional words and their meanings, so students learn word meanings and how those words map to standard English. Students are asked to research Mississippi and produce either a "Mississippi Facts" sheet or a tri-fold brochure with sections for natural resources, climate, maps, statistics, and historical events, which require gathering and recording subject-specific information. The unit also asks students to add description and vary sentence structure, which prompts attention to word choice and clarity in writing.
Lesson 4
T.J.
Students are given explicit definitions of mortgage and interest (Things to Know) and shown the formula I = Principal × Rate × Time. The Interest & Mortgage activity and student pages require students to identify principal, rate, and time and to calculate interest in multiple historical and practical scenarios, and they introduce terms like simple interest, compound interest, lender, and borrower. The lesson also includes prompts to review definitions and provides a mortgage calculator link to apply domain concepts.
Lesson 5
The Market
Students are given a clear definition of Jim Crow laws in the "Things to Know" and Activity 2, and are asked to watch and discuss a video about Jim Crow laws. The Student Activity Pages and instructions explicitly name and define grammatical terms such as "coordinating conjunctions" and "subordinating conjunctions" and list many conjunctions for practice. Students are asked to write sentences in a journal (Option 2) using drawn conjunction cards, and to discuss questions about events and interactions in the chapter.
Lesson 6
Uncle Hammer
Students are asked to expand simple sentences by adding adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and descriptive verbs to make language more precise and vivid. Students see examples that replace weak verbs (e.g., went) with more descriptive verbs (e.g., rushed, skipped) and are required to add at least four descriptive items to each sentence. Students create a poster promoting positive race relations, which requires them to choose persuasive language and craft a slogan about a historical/social topic.
Lesson 7
Christmas
The Skills section asks students to determine meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary using context clues or a dictionary and to extend vocabulary knowledge. Activity 1 directs students to select eight unknown words from chapters 7–12, locate definitions, read each word in context, and create a crossword using those words and definitions. The Things to Review and Parent Plan instructions ask the child to recognize meanings and use the selected words in context and to review the vocabulary after making the puzzle.
Lesson 8
Taking a Stand
Students are introduced to and defined domain-specific terms such as "boycotting," "segregation," "integration," and "non-violence" in the Boycotts and Montgomery Bus Boycott sections. Students read the Integrated Bus Suggestions page and are asked to underline and justify the three suggestions they think were most important, which requires them to refer to topic-specific ideas and vocabulary. Students are prompted to "explain to your parent what you learned about the Montgomery Bus Boycott" and to "explain why you selected" particular suggestions, giving opportunities to use domain-specific language in explanation.
Lesson 9
Papa's Accident
Students read an explicit definition of "sharecropping" and related terms (landowner, percent of the crop, debt) in the "Things to Know" and Activity 1 text. Students are asked to explain the sharecropping system by drawing a diagram or creating a picture and quote, requiring them to describe the system in writing. Students revise and edit passages with directions to use descriptive verbs and add details, which gives practice in choosing clearer language.
Lesson 10
Revival
Students are prompted by the Book Report Rubric's "Interesting Words" section to use strong verbs, to "show rather than tell," and to use a variety of adjectives and adverbs to make writing more interesting. Students are guided by the Sentence Structure section to avoid choppy sentences, to vary sentence starts and lengths, and to craft engaging, descriptive sentences. Students are asked in the Organizing Ideas prompt for Paragraph 1 to provide a historical context for the story, which requires them to situate time and place in their writing.
Final Project
Unit Test and Presentation for Change
Students are asked to review vocabulary words and definitions from Lesson 1 and Lesson 7 to prepare for the end-of-unit test. The end-of-unit test includes a vocabulary usage task and questions that ask for definitions (e.g., 'boycott', 'sharecropper') and correct usage of words. The presentation task asks students to provide examples based on what they learned about Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Movement, which references domain-specific historical terms.
Unit 3: Chemical Change
Lesson 1
Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons
The Things to Know section provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (atom, nucleus, protons, neutrons, electrons, element, molecule, atomic number, ion, electron shells, valence shell) that students read and learn. Reading questions ask students to explain why you can't have an atom of carbon dioxide and what happens if an atom gains or loses electrons, requiring use of terms like molecule, atom, and ion. Activities require students to fill electron shells on an activity page, build an atomic model and "explain its different parts" to a parent, and play the Valence card game, all of which prompt students to apply vocabulary such as valence, shells, and bonding.
Lesson 2
Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (atom, element, molecule, compound, mixture, pure substance, solution, solute, alloy) in the "Things to Know" section. Students build and label models in the Gumdrop Chemistry activity with colors mapped to element symbols and create molecules (e.g., H2O, O2), practicing correct terminology. Students answer written questions (e.g., explain why ocean water is not a pure substance; distinguish mixtures from compounds) and complete a classification table marking substances as elements or compounds.
Lesson 3
Physical Changes
Students are asked to define and use domain-specific terms: the Things to Know and Answer Key explicitly define viscosity, phase-change terms (freeze, melt, boil, evaporate, condense, sublimation, deposition), density, and gas pressure. In Activity 3 students must define seven phase-change terms and draw/lable arrows (red/blue) to show particle-speed changes, and the Phase Changes sheet directs students to label processes (melt, freeze, etc.). In Activity 2 and Day 2 questions students write observations and answers distinguishing physical vs chemical changes and describing particle motion using vocabulary such as particles, phase change, temperature, and states of matter.
Lesson 4
Chemical Changes
Students are asked to define and use domain-specific terms directly (e.g., QUESTION #1 asks "What are reactants? What are products?" and Things to Know defines precipitate, exothermic, and endothermic). Multiple activities require students to write hypotheses, observations, and conclusions (Color Shift, It's a Gas, Prepare a Precipitate, Clean Pennies), prompting them to explain experimental results using scientific vocabulary. Activity 8 explicitly asks students to record the name, chemical formula, and molecule type for molecules they make in the Valence game, practicing precise chemical naming and formulas.
Lesson 5
Acids and Bases
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (pH, hydrogen ions, acid, base, litmus paper) in the "Things to Know" and review sections. Students record and predict pH values, explain pH results in the Household pH activity, and are prompted to "try to explain the pH results." Students manipulate Valence element cards and chemical formulas (NaOH, HCl, H2O, NaCl, NaHCO3, HC2H3O2, CO2, sodium acetate) to represent reactions and infer formulas, requiring use of precise chemical vocabulary and symbols.
Final Project
Demonstrating the Concepts
Students are asked to include specific chemistry concepts and terms on their posters and presentations (e.g., instructions: "Be sure to address the specific chemistry concepts and terms each experiment demonstrates"). The Chemistry Fair Plan and project planning pages require students to list the "Chemical Change Concepts" for each experiment and to explain principles such as physical/chemical changes, mixtures/compounds, endothermic/exothermic reactions, and precipitates. Rubrics for the digestive system project require students to "show and explain" roles of amylase, rennin, stomach acid, pancreas & liver, and to "explain why changes are chemical or physical," and the unit test asks about terms like pH, precipitate, litmus paper, and viscosity.
Unit 3: The Giver
Lesson 1
The Community
Students are given a list of domain-specific vocabulary from the text with definitions (distraught, apprehensive, adherence, etc.) and complete Vocabulary Cards that include definition, part of speech, synonyms/antonyms, and a sentence. Students create a blank card for an unfamiliar novel word, look it up in a dictionary, and write a sentence using that word. Students practice using the words aloud and in writing through the Vocabulary Cube game (prompts: Give the definition, Use in a sentence, Part of speech, Synonym or Antonym) and earn points for correct responses. The stated skills include selecting key vocabulary critical to the text and applying appropriate meanings for comprehension and writing responses to texts.
Lesson 2
Baby Gabriel
Students are given the term "utopia" with a brief definition and asked in Activity 1 to name and describe what makes their Utopia, creating an opportunity to use that domain-specific word. Students are asked to answer comprehension questions in complete sentences and to record descriptive words or phrases about Jonas on a timeline, which practices choosing descriptive language for explanation. Students are asked in Activity 2 to discuss laws and then write a journal list of three criteria for establishing laws and three criteria for household rules, which requires explanatory writing about social/governing concepts.
Lesson 3
The Ceremony of Twelve
Students are asked to distinguish the difference between a 'rule' and a 'law' in the "Things to Know" section, providing an explicit definition of a domain-specific term. In Activity 1 students must record positive and negative effects of specific community rules and write a sentence to explain their decision, which requires them to explain topics using relevant vocabulary. In Activity 2 students label each ceremony on a timeline and write descriptions for those ceremonies, using community-specific terms like 'Naming Ceremony,' 'Ceremony of Seven,' and 'volunteer hours.'
Lesson 4
The Selection
Students identify and record the actual meanings of euphemisms from the novel (e.g., Nurturer, Release, Discipline wand) on the Student Activity Page, directly engaging with domain-specific vocabulary. Students answer comprehension questions in complete sentences and locate italicized words, practicing precise mechanics for language presentation. Parent prompts ask students to discuss the concept of "precision of language," linking discussion to word choice and societal meaning.
Lesson 5
Memories
The lesson provides a targeted list of vocabulary (excruciating, descent, admonition, assuage, obsolete, lethargy) with definitions and asks students to use dictionary/glossary/thesaurus to determine meanings, syllabication, pronunciations, alternate word choices, and parts of speech. Activity 1 requires students to complete vocabulary webs where they write each word's definition, part of speech, syllables, and a sentence using the word. Activity 2 asks students to describe three historical events in three to four sentences and to explain how each memory could help Jonas's community, which requires informative/explanatory writing.
Lesson 6
Color
The Skills section explicitly directs students to "develop written responses supporting details and precise verbs, nouns, and adjectives to paint a visual image," and to "describe the function and effect of common literary devices, such as symbolism and imagery." Activity 1 asks students to select descriptive words and phrases from the text and organize them by the five senses, and Activity 2 requires students to generate sensory vocabulary and write a descriptive paragraph using those words. The answer-key image and student charts provide concrete sensory and literary vocabulary (e.g., SMELL, SIGHT, TOUCH, TASTE, SOUND; imagery, sensory details, figurative language).
Lesson 7
Pain
The lesson defines and labels domain-specific literary vocabulary such as "adjective clause" and "symbolism" in the "Things to Know" and introductory sections. Students practice identifying and punctuating adjective clauses in multiple exercises and are asked to write sentences or a paragraph that includes adjective clauses. Students also analyze symbols by naming symbols and explaining their meanings in the Symbolism activity, using the term "symbolism" and related vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Love
Students are asked to write a short letter to Jonas' community that explains the concept of freedom and to write poems (before-and-after, acrostic, bio-poem) intended to inform community members about freedom and Jonas' experiences. Question #5 notes that Jonas' parents tell him to "use precision of language," which highlights attention to word choice. In the capitalization activities students identify and write out acronyms and abbreviations (e.g., CIA, NASA, DNA) and practice proper capitalization of names and titles.
Lesson 9
Rosemary
The lesson explicitly directs students to "use specific, descriptive verbs (like sprint, exclaim, or lunge)" and to avoid passive voice, which asks students to select precise verbs. Students are instructed to circle the subject, underline verbs, and label sentences as active or passive (AV or PV), practicing grammatical domain vocabulary (subject, verb, past participle, active/passive). The Colors & Feelings activity requires students to write feelings using "interesting words" rather than generic terms, prompting more precise word choice.
Lesson 10
The Plan
The lesson explicitly asks students to use descriptive language when creating a music collage and to explain why they selected each song, requiring them to choose words to inform a community unfamiliar with music. The Parent Plan and activities instruct students to use and understand active verbs and to convert passive sentences to active voice, which guides students to make writing clearer and more precise. The "Get Active" page has students identify passive constructions and rewrite them in active voice, a direct practice that supports clearer informational expression.
Final Project
The Final Chapter
The Skills section instructs students to "Determine the impact of word choice on written and spoken language," and project directions require students to use descriptive language, imagery, and active voice when writing their final chapter or storyboard. The editing resources (editing symbols page and Handy Guide to Writing) and rubric criteria emphasize effective descriptive writing and use of imagery, which guide students to refine word choice. Students are also asked to read and discuss Lois Lowry's Newbery acceptance speech, which could prompt attention to specific language choices in a modeled text.
4: Systems and Interaction
Unit 1: North and South America
Lesson 1
Geography of North America
Students label maps of North America, the United States, Canada, and Mexico with specific geographic terms (for example: Mississippi River, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, Lake Superior, Canadian Shield, Sonoran Desert, Transcontinental Railroad). Students answer guided reading questions that require use of content terms and explanations (for example: Why is the US almost impossible to invade? What is the Canadian Shield?). Students create a postcard about a specific geographical feature and are directed to look up information and describe the location, which encourages use of geographic vocabulary.
Lesson 2
North America Economies
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms in the "Things to Know" section (economics, natural resources, capital resources, human resources). In Activity 1 students are asked to list and match natural, capital, and human resources for specific industries (lumber in Canada, automobiles in the U.S., oil in Mexico), which requires using those vocabulary terms. The Parent Plan and review prompts repeatedly instruct students to apply and review the vocabulary terms and to discuss the activity pages using those terms.
Lesson 3
The Cultures of North America
Students are asked to research an American holiday and complete focused prompts (e.g., "Why is it celebrated on this day?", "What does it celebrate or commemorate?", "Symbols, colors, or decorations associated with the holiday:") that require describing features and using specific terms. The Venn diagram activity requires students to list and compare cultural items (e.g., Day of the Dead, Remembrance Day, poutine, mariachi) which exposes students to domain-specific cultural vocabulary. The reading and question sections and activity pages introduce and use terms such as Remembrance Day, poppy, El Día de los Muertos, altars, sugar skulls, and commemorate that students must read and answer questions about.
Lesson 4
Geography of Central America, The Caribbean, and South America
Students label maps and identify specific geographic terms (Activity 1 asks students to label the Amazon River, Amazon Rainforest, Caribbean Sea, Andes Mountains, Panama Canal, Falkland Islands, Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean). Students use a map key with domain-specific labels (rainforest, mountains, river) when assembling and coloring maps. Students complete written research pages and an Island Data Disk with labeled sections such as Resources, Climate, Industry, Plants and Animals, and Environment that require naming and describing geographic and economic features.
Lesson 5
Governments in Latin America
The lesson provides a focused list of domain-specific vocabulary (autocracy, oligarchy, democracy, direct democracy, representative democracy, aristocracy, theocracy) and multiple matching and fill-in-the-blank activities that require students to identify and define these terms. In Option 2, students are asked to write a compare-and-contrast response about multiparty democracies versus one-party states and are explicitly prompted to mention voters, political parties, and differences in citizen choice and voice. Short-answer and video-worksheet prompts about revolutions and political development require students to use political vocabulary when describing causes and historical figures.
Lesson 6
Economic Systems of Central and South America
Students are given explicit definitions for key terms (industry, agriculture, exports, imports) in the "Things to Know" and review sections. Multiple activities require students to use those labels when collecting and organizing information (charts and student pages labeled Agriculture, Natural Resources, Industries, Imports/Exports). Activity 2 and Activity 4 ask students to research and record economic products and the five aspects of a country's economy, prompting use of domain-specific vocabulary when identifying and categorizing information.
Lesson 7
Central and South American Culture
Students answer content questions that require short responses using domain terms (e.g., "Mestizo," "Incas," "Roman Catholic," "Panama," "Spanish"). Students complete Food Cards by identifying traditional Central American foods and writing how their family uses them, and students follow and describe procedural vocabulary when making ñoquis or a piñata (boil, mash, mix, decorate). Students chart and discuss design features using terms such as symmetry, proportion, and repeating patterns when replicating South American geometric designs.
Final Project
Embassy Reception or Trivia Game
The lesson asks students to review vocabulary terms and to be able to define economics, natural, capital, and human resources for the unit test. The unit test includes matching exercises for types of government, and the answer key supplies precise definitions, showing that students must learn domain-specific terms. The final projects (Embassy presentation and Trivia game) require students to research and present accurate information about government, economy, geography, and culture, and the trivia rubric requires questions and answers that "show depth of knowledge" and are "accurate."
Unit 1: Esperanza Rising
Lesson 1
Tragedy in Mexico
Students read the informational book What Was the Great Depression and answer directed questions that require naming causes (e.g., stock market, banks, loans), defining shantytowns, explaining how farmers were affected, and explaining Roosevelt's three "R"s (Relief, Recovery, Reform). Students create a Great Depression photo journal using first-hand accounts, select images that correspond to specific historical accounts, and must credit sources. The lesson includes a vocabulary activity in which students make Spanish/English flash cards and a map labeling activity that requires locating and naming geographic places mentioned in the text.
Lesson 3
Train Ride
Students are asked to complete Venn diagrams comparing the social/class systems and political systems of Mexico and the U.S., and the activity provides two web links for research about the Mexican Revolution. The lesson also supplies possible answers that use domain-specific terms (for example: "term limits," "one-party system," "democratic elections," "dictator," and "land redistributed"). These components require students to engage with political and historical concepts while organizing similarities and differences.
Lesson 4
Los Angeles
Students practice choosing more precise verbs in the "Instead of 'Said'" activity by underlining instances of "said" and replacing them with descriptive verbs that fit the situation. Students read explanatory text about the Dust Bowl, Okies, and migration (including definitions and causes) in Activity 2 and are asked to record quotes and make an informational poster titled "The Dust Bowl." The "Things to Know" section explicitly defines the Dust Bowl, exposing students to domain-specific terms such as Dust Bowl, drought, crop rotation, and migrant workers.
Lesson 6
Papa's Roses
Students are given a "More Spanish Vocabulary" box listing Spanish words with English translations (arroz, gracias, ándale, reina, tormenta, Feliz Navidad, por favor) and are asked to write those vocabulary words in blank speech bubbles and labels and paste them onto a pictured scene. Students are asked to "explain the elements of the shrine, what they represent about your life, and why they are an important part of who you are," requiring written explanation. The lesson includes directions to review the definitions of the Spanish words from Activity 1.
Lesson 9
The Strike
Students are asked to write a four- or five-sentence summary of chapters, which requires concisely explaining events. In the "On Strike!" activity students record examples from the book that support specific strike reasons (e.g., wage decreases, working conditions) and summarize those examples with page numbers. The lesson also includes practice with commonly confused words and asks students to use each word correctly in a sentence aloud or in writing.
Lesson 10
Together
Students are directed to include descriptions that tell how characters speak, what they look like, and what they are doing, which requires choosing specific, descriptive words. The activity advises varying dialogue tags and avoiding overuse of "said," encouraging students to select more precise verbs. The Student Activity Page lists specific culinary ingredients and instructions, exposing students to domain-related terms for a Mexican meal.
Final Project
A Dramatization
Students are asked to write a movie trailer script that highlights main events, discusses characters and obstacles, and includes lines about major themes (Activity 3). The Parent Plan instructs students to focus on the words of trailers rather than images, and the Readers' Theatre activities require students to write and format scripts (Activity 4) and to practice delivering lines (Activity 5).
Unit 2: Cells
Lesson 1
Microscopes and Cells
Students are given and asked to review explicit definitions (e.g., "Magnification means enlarging the visual size of something" and "A cell is the basic units of life") and to answer a question that names a cell type (prokaryotic). Students label magnification levels on the activity page and draw/describe what is visible with the naked eye and at specified magnifications, requiring them to use terms like magnification, cell, and cell wall. Students are prompted to explain differences observed at different magnifications and to discuss how cells differ from chemical elements, which invites use of domain-specific vocabulary in explanation.
Lesson 2
Animal Cells
Students read a "Things to Know" section that defines organelles and key terms (nucleus, mitochondrion/mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, ribosomes, cytoplasm, cell membrane, microtubules, paramecium, unicellular/multicellular). Students practice using that vocabulary when answering focused questions (e.g., identifying the mitochondrion's role and the nucleus's function and naming organelles that move proteins). Students label or draw an animal cell with required domain-specific labels and must produce an oral presentation or written report that lists facts and compares cheek cells and paramecia using those terms.
Lesson 3
Plant Cells
Students are asked to label a plant cell diagram with precise organelle names (cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, vacuole, cytoplasm, mitochondria, ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, chloroplasts), requiring use of domain-specific vocabulary. Students answer content questions (e.g., "What is photosynthesis?") that require definition using technical terms. Students plan and build a 3D model and then explain how the model and diagram are similar and different, prompting them to use organelle names and functional language to inform others. The materials also prompt review of definitions for vacuole, chloroplasts, and cell wall to support accurate use of terms.
Lesson 4
Systems of Plant and Animal Cells
Students are given a "Things to Know" list that defines systems, tissues, organs, organ systems, and plant tissue types (dermal, ground, vascular). In Activity 1 students match factory roles to specific organelles (nucleus, cell membrane/wall, ribosomes, microtubules/Golgi, mitochondria/chloroplasts), requiring use of organelle names and functions. In Activity 2 students sketch the four levels of organization and write one or two sentences explaining what the chosen system (digestive or cardiovascular) does, using terms like cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. The Virtual Electron Microscope and reading questions prompt students to identify cell types (e.g., neurons, skin/muscle/brain cells) and label images as plant or animal, applying domain-specific vocabulary to explain observations.
Lesson 5
Large Systems of Life: Ecosystems
Students are given explicit definitions (Things to Know) for biotic, abiotic, population, community, and ecosystem and read passages that use terms like planktonic, benthic, phytoplankton, and salinity. Activities require students to label or illustrate organisms, populations, communities, biotic and abiotic factors, and to identify producers, consumers, and decomposers on ecosystem diagrams. Students record a hypothesis, day-by-day results, and conclusions for the brine shrimp experiment, requiring them to explain experimental outcomes using the topic vocabulary.
Lesson 6
Classifying Life
Students are given and use domain-specific taxonomy vocabulary (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum/Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) and cell terminology (prokaryotic, eukaryotic, nucleoid) in lesson texts and definitions. Students are instructed to write a poem or paragraph that includes each taxonomic rank and an example, and to label an Animal Classification Collage with scientific (Genus and species) names. Students answer questions comparing prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, create a 3D prokaryotic cell, and explain how it differs from a eukaryotic cell, requiring them to use precise vocabulary in written and verbal explanations.
Final Project
Cells and Life on Earth
Students are asked to label cell parts on diagrams and on their poster (Activity 5, test questions that require labeling organelles). Students are instructed to write definitions on index cards and quiz themselves or be quizzed by a parent (Activity 2 Test Review). Students must sketch cells and write notes comparing kingdoms and complete short-answer tests that require use of terms like nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and classification levels.
Unit 2: The Tree That Time Built
Lesson 1
Fields
Students are given a Poetry Terminology list that defines domain-specific terms (stanza, end rhyme, personification, metaphor, simile, haiku, narrative poem, alliteration, imagery). Students apply that vocabulary by identifying the number of stanzas in poems and labeling end-rhyme patterns (assigning A/B/C labels). Students are prompted to consider specific word and phrase choices and tone as they write original poems about nature.
Lesson 3
Prehistoric
Students must research a chosen prehistoric animal to write an obituary that asks for habitat, cause of death, and a description of how the animal lived; the obituary page also requires the species name to be listed multiple times. Students are directed to use linked videos (BBC, National Geographic) and to excavate fossils, which provide topical source material about prehistoric life that can supply domain facts and terminology.
Lesson 4
Plants
Students are asked in Activity 2 to brainstorm in their journals ways that humans and animals depend on plants and vice versa, which invites use of content-specific terms. The Parent Plan lists example answers that include domain-specific vocabulary (oxygen, carbon dioxide, photosynthesis, carbon cycle, water cycle), indicating students will encounter and may record these terms. Students also read poems that reference plant systems and are prompted to consider physical aspects and roles of plants in natural systems.
Lesson 5
Amphibians and Reptiles
Students are asked to identify and explain differences between reptiles and amphibians (e.g., scales vs. smooth skin, eggs laid near water, aquatic young) in the Introducing the Lesson section. In the Camouflage experiment (Option 2) students write a hypothesis, follow a procedure, record results, draw a conclusion, and answer a follow-up question about what the experiment reinforces about animal camouflage. Discussion prompts in Wrapping Up and the Parent Plan ask students to explain how poems changed their view of reptiles and amphibians and to describe adaptations such as camouflage.
Lesson 7
Birds
Students are prompted to analyze word choice and poetic devices (Things to Know; Skills: "Define how tone or meaning is conveyed... through word choice, figurative language..."). The Analyzing a Poem activity asks students to "List words/phrases from the poem that help create the image," prompting attention to specific language. Question #2 asks students to "List two animal adaptations" and the parent notes list domain-specific terms (e.g., migration, oily wings, Galapagos rail), so students identify content-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 9
Preservation
Students research an endangered or extinct species (Activity 2) and are asked to write a poem that "give[s] details about the animal," which requires gathering factual information. Students make a model of the species and are instructed to "Add important details to make it easier to identify the animal" (Activity 3). Students are taught and asked to identify specific poetic and literary terms (metaphor, personification, alliteration, imagery) on the Student Activity Page and in "Things to Review," which introduces domain-specific vocabulary related to poetry.
Unit 3: Incas, Aztecs, and Maya
Lesson 1
Incas, Aztecs, and Maya History and Geography
The lesson presents explicit vocabulary in the "Things to Know" section (definitions for empire, civilization, and Mesoamerica). Students add timeline cards with domain-specific labels (e.g., Preclassical Era, Classical Era, Postclassical Era, Agriculture, Mayan Settlement) and place them on a binder timeline. The map activity requires students to identify and mark regions for Inca, Aztec, and Maya and complete a Map Key using those civilization labels.
Lesson 2
Daily Life of the Incas, Aztecs, and Maya
Students read pages that name and describe specific terms (for example, the text and question answers identify farming methods such as canals, terraces, and 'chinampas'). In Activity 2 students use a Word Box (Emperor, Princess, Ordinary People, Clan Group, Chief Wife, High Priest, Wives) to label levels of the Incan society pyramid and match descriptions to those labels. Activity 1 and the guided worksheet prompts require students to fill in structured, topic-specific responses about housing, chores, agriculture, and diet using content from the readings.
Lesson 3
Three Cities
Students answer specific reading questions that use domain-specific terms (e.g., "floating city," "canals," "stone channels," "thatched" roofs, and the name Kukulkan) when describing Tenochtitlan and Machu Picchu. Activity 3 asks students to write three words or phrases that best describe each city, prompting selection of descriptive vocabulary. The virtual field trip and Sun Stone activities present and name technical features (e.g., construction without cement, terraces, Sun Stone) that students are asked to observe and discuss.
Lesson 4
Sharing Knowledge in Ancient Civilizations
Students encounter and are asked to use domain-specific terms such as "glyphs," "codex," and "quipu" in the "Things to Know" section and in the reading questions (e.g., Q1 and Q2). Students practice numeric vocabulary and symbols by converting Arabic numbers into Mayan symbols in the Mayan Numbers activity and by using the shell, dot, and line symbols for zero, ones, and fives. Students are prompted to explain how the Mayan number system works to a parent and to explain the story their codex tells, which requires them to reference specific vocabulary and concepts from the readings.
Lesson 5
Religion and Celebration
Students are asked to name three Mesoamerican gods and their significance (QUESTION #1), which requires use of specific proper nouns and descriptive labels like Viracocha, Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli, and Tlaloc. The lesson text and Activity 2 introduce and use domain-specific terms such as mosaic, semi-precious stones, and turquoise when describing artisan techniques and materials. The Ceremonies activity and the discussion prompts ask students to describe ceremonies (Who is involved? Where? What does it look like?) and to compare ancient and modern events, prompting use of culturally specific terms (e.g., planting ceremony, mummy ceremony, ear-piercing ritual).
Lesson 6
Warfare and Gold
Students read texts and view images that include domain-specific terms such as javelin and launcher, bow and arrow, headdress, shield, conquistadors, metalwork, storehouses, and gold-smelting. Students cut out and label illustrations of weapons and gear (knife, club, slingshot, javelin and launcher, headdress, shield, axe, bow and arrow) and must order and explain their choices aloud or in writing. Option 2 asks students to answer targeted questions about how the Incas found and turned gold into objects, with the answer key using the term "smelted," so students encounter and are expected to use some technical vocabulary.
Lesson 7
The Incas
Students encounter and are given domain-specific vocabulary in labeled illustrations and explanations — terms such as terrace farming, hierarchy, emperor, nobles, peasants, quipu, spindle, whorl, loom, dye, alpaca, llama, vicuna, and place value (hundreds, tens, ones). Students write a few sentences explaining the significance of fiber work, complete a quipu practice section representing numbers in hundreds/tens/ones, and create and explain their own quipu to a parent, which requires them to apply numerical and cultural vocabulary. Activity directions ask students to order and label the steps of textile production and to describe how quipus record numbers, reinforcing vocabulary in context.
Lesson 8
The Maya and the Aztecs
Students complete a Vocabulary Match on The Mayan Empire that asks them to match domain-specific terms (The Golden Age, Ulama, Hieroglyphics, Astronomy) with definitions. Students add timeline cards labeled with specific historical names and terms (Quetzalcoatl, Acamapichtli, dates of Aztec arrival/decline) to a timeline binder. Students organize Aztec life-stage events using culturally specific terms (naming ceremony, stretching ceremony, graduation, military training) on an "Aztec Children Timeline" activity page and answer written questions about causes for the Mayan decline.
Lesson 9
History and Archaeology
The lesson explicitly defines domain terms (e.g., "An artifact is an item used by humans in the past" and "An archaeologist is a scientist who studies human history...") and asks students to research and record details about an Incan artifact (name, when/where made, materials/techniques, five descriptive words). Students are asked to write two paragraphs summarizing the fall of the Aztec and Incan Empires, with direction to use topic sentences and supporting details and to review capitalization and punctuation. Several activities (note-taking from videos, the Incan Archaeology worksheet) require students to describe objects and explain historical events in writing.
Final Project
Time Machine
Students are directed to "review the 'Things to Know' sections, vocabulary, [their] timeline, and previous activity pages" as part of studying for the unit test. Students are asked to write, review, and edit journal entries for accuracy, detail, and neatness and to meet rubric criteria that assess thoughtful writing and accuracy about cities, daily life, government, religion, warriors, and festivals. Students complete open-ended unit-test questions (Option 2) that ask them to describe ceremonies, writing systems, cities, and discoveries, requiring them to produce informational explanations.
Unit 3: Secret of the Andes
Lesson 1
The Andes Mountains
Students are given a list of domain-specific vocabulary (minstrel, sentinel, beckon, hinder, chasm, idle, plaited, precipice) and instructed to look up each word and choose the correct definition using context clues. Students must write the definitions as clues and construct a crossword puzzle that uses those vocabulary words, requiring them to place and spell the terms accurately. Students are told to keep the vocabulary crossword handy while reading and to review the definitions as they encounter the words in the text.
Lesson 2
The Valley
Students are directed to explore multiple Incan culture websites and record information on an "Elements of Incan Culture" chart with labeled sections (Holidays/Celebrations, Clothing, Religious Practices, Animals, Interaction with Other Cultures; and a separate organizer for Government, Transportation, Family Roles, Technology). The technology section includes an illustration of a quipu and the animals section includes a llama image, so students will encounter domain-specific terms while gathering information. Instructions tell students to use words and pictures to document what they learn and to focus on the overall picture of the culture.
Lesson 3
People Below
Students are asked to "develop a topic with supporting details and precise verbs, nouns, and adjectives to paint a visual image," and the verbs vs. verbals activity has students identify and use correct verb forms, which practices precise word choice. Students are asked to retell an important historical event as a lyric poem (Option 2), which requires organizing and summarizing topic information and could involve topic-related terms. Parent guidance also prompts use of figurative language and precise descriptive language when composing poems.
Lesson 4
The Journey
Students are asked to research wildflowers and "list the name" of each flower and to create a "Wildflowers of __" guidebook to help a hiker identify flowers, which requires locating and recording specific species names. The parent notes for the Peru collage ask students to include different cultural elements from prior research, prompting the selection of culture-specific terms and images. Option 2 directs students to locate pictures of the Andes and Peru, which involves using geographic and cultural vocabulary related to that region.
Lesson 6
Llama Training
Students are asked to research Incan landmarks and "give an interesting description of each site and the historical significance it has for the culture," using provided websites as sources. The Guide to Incan Landmarks booklet provides labeled pages (Machu Picchu, Temple of the Sun, Maras Salt Mines, Sacred Valley, Cusco) with lines for students to write descriptive text for a tourist audience. The Combining Sentences activity asks students to practice creating clearer, more varied sentences using participial phrases, and the Parent Plan lists synthesizing research into a written presentation and creating sentences for clarity as skills.
Lesson 8
The City
Students are asked to research and write about the Spanish conquest of the Inca—either by writing a poem focused on the conquest (with instructions to include accurate historical information) or by brainstorming cultural features to preserve after an invasion. Students must write an informative short book review summarizing plot and showing how events are related, using specified transition types. The lesson provides web links to historical resources that students can use to learn content related to the topic.
Lesson 10
Painting Sentences
Students are prompted to expand simple sentences by answering focused questions (How? When? Where? and predicate/subject details) and to add adjectives and adverbs, which practices choosing more specific descriptive language. Students pick a single word to "paint" (revise into a more detailed form) and are instructed to "refine wording" and check spelling and punctuation for a final sentence. Multiple activity pages guide students through progressively creating more complex, detailed sentences related to a text.
Final Project
Narrative Essay
The rubric and activity descriptions ask students to include "descriptive language" and provide criteria for "Geographic impact examples" and "Cultural identity discussion," which direct students to write about geography and culture. The Organizing Your Writing pages prompt students to emphasize culture, landforms, and how geography affects people, and to choose events that relate to cultural identity. The "Painting a Sentence" activity asks students to expand sentences with details (How? When? Where? Which? What kind of?), guiding students to make word choices more specific and vivid.
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Egypt and Mesopotamia
Lesson 1
Civilizations
The reading and "Things to Know" section define "civilization" and list characteristics using domain-specific terms (e.g., agriculture, social and economic classes, shared language, writing system). The Social Structure activity requires students to cut out and place labels such as "ruler," "priests, nobles, and government officials," "artists, scribes, and craftspeople," and "farmers, unskilled workers, and slaves," directly engaging students with disciplinary vocabulary. The comprehension questions ask students to explain how agriculture and writing systems affected civilizations, prompting use of relevant terms in responses.
Lesson 2
Archaeology
Students are given explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section (e.g., "Archaeology is the study of human history..." and "An artifact is an object made by a person"). The reading questions and answers prompt students to name technologies such as radiocarbon dating, CT scanners, x-rays, sonar, GPS, and DNA testing, exposing them to domain-specific vocabulary. The activities require students to write detailed descriptions on the "Analyzing Artifacts" pages, record materials, ages, locations, and draw conclusions based on evidence, which asks for specific, factual reporting.
Lesson 3
Mesopotamia
Students label specific geographic features and cities (Tigris, Euphrates, Mediterranean Sea, Ur, Uruk, Ashur, Babylon) in Activity 1, demonstrating use of domain-specific place names. Students add dated timeline cards with event labels (e.g., Development of Writing, Invention of the Potter's Wheel, Reign of Hammurabi) in Activities 2 and 7, reinforcing historical vocabulary. Students write summaries (Activity 6) and compose sentences on a poster describing natural-resource uses, cultural elements, and inventions (Activity 8), which requires selecting words to explain the topics. Students practice copying and producing cuneiform signs (Activity 4), engaging with a domain-specific writing system.
Lesson 4
Ancient Egypt
Students label the Nile River, the Nile River Delta, Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt, and specific cities on a map, which requires use of geographic and domain-specific terms. Students add timeline cards with dates and create Egyptian ruler trading cards, filling in dates and matching "known for" statements that include terms like pharaoh, step pyramid, Great Pyramid, monuments, and Aten. Students are asked to write short summaries of each two-page section and to answer comprehension questions, prompting them to convey information about ancient Egypt.
Lesson 5
Egyptian Religion and Myths
Students are asked to read texts and answer questions that use and require terms such as pharaoh, mummified, afterlife, and Ammut the Devourer. Activity 4 directs students to create a flowchart of embalming using specific steps and vocabulary shown on the activity page (e.g., natron salt, internal organs, canopic jars, wrapped in linen, coffin). Activity 1 asks students to name each god, state the deity's domain (God of ...) and provide details, requiring use of deity names and roles. Activity 2 has students place timeline cards labeled with rulers' names and reign dates, which requires use of domain-specific historical terms.
Lesson 6
Daily Life in Egypt
Students are asked to define hieroglyphics in a direct question and answer (Question #2) and to create their own hieroglyphic writing (Activity 2), engaging with a discipline-specific term and script. In Activity 1 students must record many specific uses of the Nile (water, food, natural resources, transportation) on a graphic organizer, and the answer key provides domain terms such as irrigation, papyrus, mud bricks, and boat travel. In Activity 3 students complete tables naming roles (scribes, craftsmen, farmers), tools, natural resources, and societal status, which requires them to identify and use content-specific vocabulary related to ancient Egyptian life.
Final Project
Expedition or Web-based Tour
Students are explicitly told to "pay special attention to the vocabulary terms" when studying for the unit test. The unit test asks students to identify domain-specific terms (e.g., cuneiform, hieroglyphics) and to label rivers (Nile, Tigris, Euphrates), requiring use of specific vocabulary. In the final project students must write 2–3 sentence introductions for websites, fill out artifact descriptions (explaining what an artifact tells us about a culture), and prepare presentation note cards, all of which require students to produce informative/explanatory writing where domain-specific words can be used.
Unit 1: The Hydrosphere
Lesson 1
The Hydrosphere and the Nature of Water
Students are asked to label atoms and positive/negative regions on a water-molecule drawing or model (Option 1 and Option 2), explicitly using terms like hydrogen, oxygen, polarity, positive (+), and negative (−). Multiple investigation prompts require students to explain observations using domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., "How does polarity help explain what you observed?", "What causes surface tension?", and prompts to explain cohesion and adhesion). The life-application and final-project prompts require students to explain real-world effects of changes in polarity using evidence and to communicate findings orally and in writing. The parent/skills sections explicitly list "Use oral and written language to communicate findings" and include a glossary-like "Things to Know" with key terms.
Lesson 2
Density, Salinity, and Water Behavior
The lesson explicitly defines and uses domain-specific vocabulary such as density, mass, volume, salinity, solution, saturated, physical change, and chemical reaction, and provides the density formula (Density = Mass/Volume) with units. Student tasks require calculating density (grams/mL), recording mass and volume, labeling layered solutions by density, and writing explanations (e.g., explain whether a chemical or physical reaction occurred and why). The activities also ask students to make predictions, compare data using evidence, and 'use oral and written language to communicate findings' in the skills list.
Lesson 3
Oceans and Ocean Currents
Students read explicit definitions and domain terms in the Things to Know and question/answer sections (e.g., current, thermohaline circulation, upwelling, density, salinity, ocean stratification, Coriolis effect). Students are directed to label diagrams and models with specific vocabulary (e.g., label an arrow "Salinity", glue labels for equator and poles, place ocean current arrows). Students answer targeted questions and reflection prompts that require using these terms to explain processes (e.g., "What is thermohaline circulation?", "How can differences in temperature help explain movement in oceans?").
Lesson 4
Freshwater and Groundwater
Students are asked to add and label specific domain terms (permeable layer, impermeable layer, aquifer, zone of saturation, water table, zone of aeration) on their water-table model. The activity prompts students to explain their model with arrows and labels and to answer explanatory questions about how gravity and the Sun move water, which requires use of the vocabulary. The lesson's reading and question section defines groundwater and aquifer explicitly, and the skills list includes using oral and written language to communicate findings.
Lesson 5
Aquatic Ecosystems
Students are asked to label organisms as producer, consumer (primary/secondary/tertiary), and decomposer and to draw arrows showing energy flow, which requires use of domain-specific terms. The Things to Know and introductory sections define vocabulary such as biosphere, estuary, brackish water, biodiversity, food chain, and food web. Multiple activities prompt students to trace pollution, identify abiotic vs. biotic factors, and answer questions that use terms like oxygen, nutrients, energy flow, and resources. Activity instructions and parent notes prompt students to make claims and explain what happened in their models using cause-and-effect reasoning tied to those terms.
Lesson 6
The Water Cycle
Students are given a labeled vocabulary list in "Things to Know" that defines evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, infiltration, and percolation. Multiple student prompts explicitly require use of those terms (for example: "Explain how water moves through the water cycle. Include evaporation, condensation, and precipitation."). The Build It and Speed It Up activity and answer key model use of domain-specific words when students explain causes (e.g., "Energy from the Sun warms the water, causing liquid water to change into water vapor") and compare their bag model to the real water cycle.
Lesson 7
Weathering and Erosion
The lesson provides explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section (mechanical weathering, chemical weathering, erosion, deposition, sediments) and includes direct questions that ask students to define and distinguish these terms. Student tasks require labeling diagrams with vocabulary (e.g., marking erosion/deposition on river bends), a "Vocabulary in Action" prompt that requires use of at least two domain-specific words, and written answers that use those terms to explain processes. The Parent Plan and Skills list also require students to "use oral and written language to communicate findings," construct explanations, and develop models using the vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Water Pollution
Students are presented with a glossary-style "Things to Know" that defines domain-specific terms such as agricultural runoff, hypoxia, eutrophication, oxygen, and nitrogen. Students answer directed questions that require use of those terms (e.g., "What is hypoxia?" and explaining how agricultural runoff causes eutrophication). In activities, students must explain data from graphs using evidence and complete a Mini-Design Challenge that asks them to label and explain features like cover crops and buffer strips, invoking technical vocabulary.
Lesson 9
Water Treatment, Conservation, and Clean Water
Students are provided a clear vocabulary list in "Things to Know" that defines domain-specific terms such as filtration, sedimentation, treatment, chlorination, wastewater, conservation, and stewardship. The Skills section explicitly states students will "Use oral and written language to communicate findings" and to "Construct explanations" based on evidence. Activity prompts and reflection questions require students to describe how their filter worked, compare tap and distilled water, and analyze results, which naturally call for use of technical terms and precise descriptions.
Final Project
Local Water Investigation
Students are directed to review the "Things to Know" sections and pay special attention to words in bold, use the Review Page, and make flashcards to reinforce key vocabulary. The unit test includes a matching section for scientific terms and requires students to use at least five specific water-cycle terms in a written explanation. Project tasks require students to label every organism on their ecosystem model, create a food web with clear labels, and "use oral and written language to communicate findings," all of which explicitly involve domain-specific vocabulary.
Unit 1: The Pearl
Lesson 1
Steinbeck
Students study a listed set of vocabulary words (covey, incandescence, almsgiver, subjugation, consecrated, clamber, intercession, petulant) with definitions and example sentences from the text. Students are directed to write their own sentence for each vocabulary word, with explicit instruction to pay attention to the word's part of speech and use the word correctly. Students are asked to research Steinbeck and answer factual questions about his life, which could involve using learned vocabulary when answering.
Lesson 2
The Scorpion
Students identify and label parts of speech and noun/verb phrases in multiple activities (Options 1 and 2) and use laminated symbols or colored pencils to mark nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Students record descriptive words and phrases from The Pearl in a journal and are asked to read them aloud and to give an example of a verb phrase and explain what is and is not included in a verb phrase. Answer keys and parent notes show students practice using domain-specific grammatical terms (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, noun phrase, verb phrase).
Lesson 3
The Pearl
Students are asked to identify and record Steinbeck's "strong verbs" and "vivid adjectives" in a Verbs and Adjectives chart and to correct/edit sentences focusing on verb and adjective usage. The lesson explicitly instructs students to choose "precise and interesting adjectives" and to use "strong verbs" to "show rather than tell." Students also produce a poem or drawing based on Steinbeck's descriptive language, applying the selected verbs and adjectives in original writing.
Lesson 4
Related Research
Students are instructed to "choose language that is precise, engaging, and well suited to the topic and audience" in the Skills section. Students are asked to "review the definitions of the vocabulary words taken from the novel," which prompts vocabulary work. Students write an informational travel brochure or a one-page scripted oral presentation using note cards and visual aids, activities that require them to convey information clearly to an audience.
Lesson 5
Songs
Students correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation in Activity 1, which asks them to copy and edit sentences for precision. Students identify and define stylistic-device terminology (simile, metaphor, imagery, irony) and collect examples in the Stylistic Devices Log. The lesson tells students to "Review the vocabulary words for the story" and to select meaningful phrases and sentences, which engages them with specific language choices.
Lesson 6
For Sale
The lesson defines and names domain-specific grammatical vocabulary such as "appositive phrase" and "prepositional phrase" in the Things to Know section and in the Skills list. Students are directed to identify, label, and use these phrases in Activities (underlining/parentheses, labeling adjective/adverb functions, and writing original sentences that include prepositional and appositive phrases). The Skills include modeling conventional written expression by using phrases correctly and inserting proper punctuation, which requires students to apply precise grammatical constructions in their writing.
Lesson 8
Escape
Students are taught and asked to identify and use domain-specific grammatical terms (gerund phrase, infinitive phrase, participial phrase, adverbial, adjectival) in multiple activities and an answer key. Students must write their own sentences about the chapter that include participial and infinitive phrases and label each phrase's function. Students answer chapter questions in complete sentences and are asked to write a few sentences about what happened in the chapter (Option 2 Part II), which requires composing explanatory sentences using the targeted verbal constructions.
Lesson 9
Parables
Students are asked to identify and label prepositional, appositive, and verbal phrases in Activity 1, using colored pencils and parts-of-speech symbols. The Grammar Review chart defines phrase types and notes their part-of-speech functions, giving students domain-specific terms (gerund, infinitive, participial, prepositional phrase, appositive, etc.). The Parent Plan directs adults to ask the child to explain the definitions of the vocabulary words or use each one correctly in a sentence.
Lesson 10
Writing a Parable
Students are prompted to focus on voice and word choice in the Parable Rubric, which asks for a variety of stylistic devices (similes, metaphors, figurative language, lively verbs). The skills list directs students to experiment with figurative language and speech patterns and to describe setting, characters, and theme. The story-map activity asks students to label and fill in narrative elements (setting, protagonist/antagonist, themes, climax), which requires using literary terms when planning.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students complete a vocabulary exercise (Part A) with a vocabulary bank (covey, incandescent, almsgiver, subjugation, consecrated, clamber, intercession, petulant) and fill-in-the-blank sentences that require correct word choice. Students identify grammatical phrase types in Part C using domain-specific grammatical terms (infinitive, participial, gerund, appositive) and state their functions. Students write short-answer explanations (Part D), create speeches, compare/contrast responses, and perform scripted scenes where they must explain themes, symbolism, and character changes using evidence from the text.
Unit 2: Africa Today
Lesson 1
Overview of Africa
Students are prompted to name and label specific geographic features (e.g., the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Lake Victoria, Niger River, Nile River, Sahara, Kalahari, Libyan Desert, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Victoria Falls) when assembling and annotating the map. The student map key and multiple activity pages use domain-specific labels (Mountains, Desert, Rainforest/Basin, Waterfall, Lake, River) that students must recognize and apply. Brainstorm prompts ask students to list African countries, leaders, natural resources/exports, climates, and terrain, and the reading questions require students to describe varied terrain and name the three great deserts.
Lesson 2
Northwestern Africa
Students are asked to fill in a structured table (Option 1) with categories such as climate/natural environment, major agricultural crops, how the environment influences farming systems, and major exports/industries, which directs them to name and describe domain-specific concepts. In Option 2 students must write 1–2 sentences about environment, natural resources, and major exports and a short, well-organized paragraph explaining how the environment influences the economy, requiring use of terms like irrigation, oases, exports, and oil and gas. The Current Events Report activity asks students to write 2–3 sentence summaries and respond to prompts about the physical environment and its role in news stories, prompting use of geographic and economic vocabulary.
Lesson 3
Northeastern Africa
Students label countries and capitals on a map of northeastern Africa, which requires them to use geographical names and terms. Students complete a comparison table for Northern and Southern Sudan that asks them to record climate/terrain, languages, religions, and kinds of houses using content-specific categories. In the Egypt activities students complete sentences about government, crops, trade, and religion and create comparison poems or illustrated maps that refer to features such as the Nile River, papyrus, Islam, and specific crops.
Lesson 4
West Africa
Students are asked to describe climate, terrain, natural resources, agriculture, and economies in Option 2 (write a letter) and to fill categories such as "Climate," "Landscape and Terrain," "Natural Resources," and "Agricultural Crops" in Option 1, which require use of geographical and economic terms. Activity 1 has students label countries and geographic features and color deserts, savannahs, and rain forests, prompting use of domain terms like Sahel, savannah, and tropical rain forest. The reading and answer key include specific domain vocabulary (e.g., uranium, phosphates, cocoa, bauxite, Niger River) that students are expected to use when summarizing information.
Lesson 5
Central Africa
Students are prompted to write 2-3 sentence responses about colonial history, natural resources, governments, and economies in the Colonization activity, which requires use of topic-specific terms (e.g., 'colonial history,' 'natural resources,' 'languages,' 'religions,' 'government,' 'economy'). The Skills section lists domain vocabulary and concepts students are to describe and analyze, including types of governments and the legislative, executive, and judicial functions. The Challenges of Government activity asks students to record metrics such as adult literacy rate, life expectancy, and people per doctor and to write a well-organized paragraph about natural environment, human needs, and conflict, encouraging the use of subject-specific concepts in writing.
Lesson 6
Central East Africa
Students are asked to write descriptive brochure pages about specific landscapes (e.g., savannah, Great Rift Valley, Olduvai Gorge) and to describe wildlife by choosing three animals and writing accompanying descriptions. Students must create a poster and a 2-minute public service/awareness speech about mountain gorillas or another regional issue, requiring them to convey factual information and reasons for concern. Students also label countries and capitals on a map and add facts to a current events journal, which involves using geographic and topic-specific terms from the reading.
Lesson 7
Southern Africa
Students are asked to use the definitions on pages 270-271 to define forms of government in their own words and to list the eight southern African countries under the appropriate system (Activity 4). Students complete a Venn diagram comparing apartheid in South Africa with segregation in the United States, writing words and phrases about each system (Activity 2). Students label countries and capitals on a map and use terms such as apartheid, provisional government, multiparty democracy, dictatorship, and monarchy throughout the activities and reading assignments.
Final Project
African News Report
Students are asked to review the "Things to Know" sections and vocabulary terms as part of studying for the unit test. Students must complete Final Project Notes and write news stories or broadcast scripts that include background sections on environment, natural resources, political systems, economic systems, and cultures, requiring use of topic-related terms. Rubrics require accurate background information and clear, engaging prose, and the News Report Citation page asks students to produce properly detailed citations.
Unit 2: The Atmosphere
Lesson 1
What Is the Atmosphere?
The lesson includes a Things to Know list that names domain-specific terms (atmosphere, matter, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, trace gases) and explains their meanings. Student tasks require labeling diagrams and using terms such as atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and to label where energy is absorbed, reflected, and converted. Multiple written prompts ask students to explain ideas (e.g., why air is considered matter; how the atmosphere interacts with other systems) that invite use of precise scientific vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Layers of the Atmosphere
Students are given a defined set of domain-specific terms in the "Things to Know" and image captions (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere, ozone layer, ionosphere, UV radiation, altitude, etc.). In Activity 1 students must label layers, record altitude and temperature values, and write "Unique Characteristics" and "Importance" for each layer, prompting use of precise vocabulary and quantitative descriptors. In Activity 2 students sort phenomena (weather, weather balloon, meteor, aurora, ISS) into layers and must "explain your reasoning using evidence from Chapter 2," requiring them to use specific terms to justify placements. The Option 2 answer key and model pages explicitly expect students to describe temperature patterns and explain why features belong to particular layers using layer-specific terminology.
Lesson 3
Air Pressure and Density
The lesson provides a focused vocabulary section ('Things to Know') that defines domain-specific terms such as density, altitude, temperature, air pressure, and barometer. Multiple student prompts require written explanations and use of those terms: students record observations in a journal, answer explanatory questions about why the can collapsed using terms like condensation and pressure, label high- and low-pressure areas on models, and support weather predictions with evidence referencing pressure, temperature, and air movement. Worksheets explicitly prompt completion of statements (e.g., "Air moves from areas of _______ pressure to areas of _______ pressure") and require students to explain particle-level motion using precise vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Energy from the Sun
Students are given domain-specific definitions (radiation, absorption, reflection, albedo, uneven heating, atmosphere) in the "Things to Know" section. Multiple student prompts require written explanations using vocabulary (e.g., Explain Your Thinking #5 asks students to use the words absorption, reflection, and energy; the final explanation directs students to use absorption, reflection, energy, uneven heating, atmosphere). Students complete extended written tasks (hypothesis, Analyze and Explain Your Model, Final Explanation) where they must apply those terms to explain phenomena and record their reasoning in tables and narrative answers.
Lesson 5
Heat Transfer in the Atmosphere
The lesson provides explicit definitions and domain-specific vocabulary (radiation, conduction, convection, convection currents, air currents, sea breeze, land breeze, density, electromagnetic waves) in the "Things to Know" and answer key sections. Multiple student tasks require students to identify heat transfer types and "explain how energy is moving," and the Sea Breeze activity explicitly instructs students to "Use the words radiation, conduction, and convection in your answer." Student writing tasks (scenario explanations, challenge question, hypothesis and procedure write-ups, and explanation prompts on activity pages) require students to produce written explanations using those terms.
Lesson 6
Wind and Global Circulation
Students are asked to define and use terms such as wind, Coriolis effect, Trade Winds, Jet Stream, Equator, rising/sinking air, and high/low pressure in the "Things to Know" and answer-key sections. In Activity 1 and the student map tasks, students label the Equator, draw and label Trade Winds and the Jet Stream, and explain how uneven heating and rotation create circulation. In Activity 2 students explicitly answer "What is the Coriolis effect?" and draw diagrams showing how it influences global wind patterns, and the answer key provides precise domain-specific definitions. The parent/answer-key language and multiple worksheet prompts require students to write explanations that use these specific vocabulary words.
Lesson 7
Air Masses and Weather Systems
Students are given a vocabulary-rich "Things to Know" list (air masses, fronts, Doppler radar, wind shear, tornado, hurricane, blizzard) and asked to identify and label those features on a weather map in the Weather Front Investigation. In the Severe Storms Case Study and associated activity pages, students answer questions that require using domain-specific terms (e.g., warm, moist air; cold, dry air; rotation; low pressure; satellites; forecasting models) to explain how tornadoes and hurricanes form. The Snowstorm in a Jar and snowfall-data activities ask students to explain phenomena using scientific concepts such as density, convection, and wind shear, and the optional "Your Weather at Home" asks students to draw and label fronts using correct symbols and vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
The lesson includes an explicit vocabulary list (carbon footprint, climate change, fossil fuels, renewable energy, stewardship) and definitions in the "Things to Know" section. Student tasks repeatedly prompt use of domain concepts: Climate Data Analysis asks students to describe CO2 trends (graph labeled in ppm) and global temperature changes (°C) and to explain links between fossil fuel use, greenhouse gases, and temperature. Designing Solutions and reflection prompts ask students to explain how their solutions reduce emissions or lower a carbon footprint and to discuss renewable energy and stewardship.
Final Project
Atmosphere Escape Room Challenge
Students are directed to review "Things to Know" sections and to "pay particular attention to the words in bold," which signals focus on key vocabulary. Student activities require use of domain-specific terms: labeling a diagram with provided terms (e.g., "Hot air rises," "Rising air current"), matching atmospheric layers (Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere), and answering items about concepts like Coriolis effect, Doppler radar, humidity, and condensation. The escape room and final test ask students to write clue prompts and to "describe how sunlight impacts the weather in the troposphere" and to "explain what it means to be a good steward... describe two specific actions," all tasks that require using scientific vocabulary to explain ideas.
Unit 2: A Girl Named Disaster
Lesson 1
Nhamo
Students are asked to label a Southeastern Africa map with specific geographic names (Zambezi River, Lake Cabora Bassa, Mozambique Channel) and to shade and identify bordering countries, which requires use of domain-specific geographic terms. As a Cultural Commentator, students write journal entries describing customs, homes, clothing, beliefs, food and other cultural elements, which prompts them to name cultural features. In the Mozambique Trivia option, students must generate ten questions and answers across categories (e.g., geography, religion, government, health) that require specific content vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Sickness
The lesson lists the skill "Understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing" and provides a Vocabulary Picture Dictionary activity that asks students to write their own sentences using each target word. Students are asked to record four or five bits of background information as an Investigator in a journal, which requires writing about book-related topics. The wrapping-up section gives a domain-specific fact about cholera and prompts students to consider and explain reasons why survival rates differ.
Lesson 6
Abandoned Farm
The Personal Narrative Rubric explicitly asks for "vivid words and phrases, including interesting adjectives and strong verbs" and includes a "Word Choice" category that asks students to use a variety of effective vocabulary. The Line Locator activity has students find and explain lines that they believe are "examples of good writing," which would lead students to notice precise wording and strong diction in text.
Lesson 7
Baboons
Students are asked to research baboons and write an 8–10 sentence exhibit plaque explaining how baboons live and interact, which requires informing readers about social dynamics. Students can also create a guidebook to African animals, writing 1–2 sentences about each selected species and pasting pictures, which calls for explanatory description and factual information. The Parent Plan notes checking that students included information about baboon social dynamics, directing them to focus on domain-related content.
Lesson 8
Survival
The lesson's skills list tells students to choose language that is "precise, engaging, and well suited to the topic and audience," and the drafting tips explicitly tell students to "Use sensory details -- no boring words" and to "Use a thesaurus to find synonyms." The Things to Know section defines the domain-specific term "calabash," and the summarizing activity requires students to write concise four- to five-sentence summaries of chapters. The drafting activity asks students to focus on expressing ideas first and to employ figurative and descriptive language when composing their personal narrative.
Lesson 9
The Leopard
Students are explicitly asked to "revise drafts to ensure precise word choice" and to "choose language that is precise, engaging, and well suited to the topic and audience" in the Skills section. Revision tips instruct students to focus on improving word choice and transitions, and the Style items on the revision checklist ask students to use strong verbs and figurative language. Students also practice identifying figurative language in the reading task, reinforcing attention to specific word choices and style.
Lesson 10
A Rude Awakening
Students are asked to "review the vocabulary words from the book," which provides an opportunity to attend to word choice. Students write a postcard (4–6 sentences) that must "reflect what you know about the geography of the island" and describe survival and personal change. Students create storyboard panels and write a sentence describing each scene, with directions to accurately reflect the culture and geography of Nhamo's village.
Lesson 12
A New Beginning
Students are given a Word Box of vocabulary (belligerently, sated, protruding, profound, riveted, precarious, pariah, constrict) and complete fill-in-the-blank sentences using those words on the Student Activity Page. The lesson instructs students to "review all the vocabulary words...making sure you know their definitions and that you can use them effectively in a sentence." The unit test and answer key include correct sentence usages of the vocabulary, showing students practice applying word meanings in context.
Unit 3: Australia and Oceania
Lesson 1
The Rainbow Serpent
Students read text that contains domain-specific terms such as "Dreamtime," "oral tradition," "archaeologists," and "artifacts" (Reading and Questions; Activities). The Comparing Creation Stories activity and student worksheet ask students to describe who the creator is, the order of creation, how humans were made, and similarities/differences, which directs students to write explanatory responses about creation narratives. The Option 1 retelling task asks students to create a presentation (picture book, dramatization) based on the story and to use the explanation of Aboriginal symbols (pp. 60-61) as inspiration, providing opportunities to use culturally specific vocabulary in their retellings.
Lesson 2
Overview of Australia and Oceania
Students label geographic features (The Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Great Barrier Reef) on a large map, which exposes them to geographic terminology. In Option 2 students complete a table labeled "Population Density," calculate it, and answer questions using that term. In Option 1 students summarize "Government" and "Economy" for each country, encountering terms such as "multiparty democracy," exports, and specific commodities in the provided answer key. Students also write Current Events Reports that ask for region/country identification and a brief summary, where domain vocabulary would be appropriate.
Lesson 3
Australia and Papua New Guinea
Students must record and compare specific government terms (constitution creation date, branches of government, head of the executive, legislature names, and major political parties) in the Government of Australia Venn-diagram activity. In the timeline activity students place dated historical events using domain-specific historical terms (e.g., Explorer James Cook, convicts, independent commonwealth, Aboriginal Australians granted the right to vote). The Reporter's Notebook requires students to research a current Aboriginal issue, list three relevant facts, and note sources such as the "Closing the Gap" program, prompting use of policy- and rights-related vocabulary. The map and map-labeling activity asks students to label physical features (rivers, mountains, grasslands, forests) and use geographic descriptors when coloring and annotating the map.
Lesson 4
Stories of the Yorta-Yorta People
Students are asked to research an Australian animal and complete the "Amazing Australian Animals" page that requires naming the animal, listing its habitat and foods, providing five facts, and explaining how it is adapted to its environment. The "Stories from My Backyard Planning Page" and the Uluru letter option require students to organize and write explanations (short story or letter) about natural or cultural topics. The Current Events Report asks students to summarize news and identify significant people and regions, which requires informational writing and some topic-specific terms.
Lesson 5
New Zealand
Students read specified textbook pages and answer comprehension questions that require terms such as "volcanically active," "glaciers," "hydroelectric," "Maori," and "Polynesia." Students label New Zealand and its physical features on a map, which requires naming landforms, bodies of water, and climate-related vocabulary. Students research Maori artifacts and write responses about materials, age, use, and connections to natural resources, prompting use of domain-specific terms related to culture and environment.
Lesson 6
Peoples of the Pacific Ocean
Students complete a Galápagos Island Animal Field Guide that asks for Scientific Name, Habitat, Size, Description, Food Source, and a section on How it is well-adapted to its environment, requiring use of scientific and domain-specific terms. In the Animal Diagram option students must write both the common and scientific names, label three key anatomical features, and write explanations linking features to function (adaptations). Students also label countries and capitals on maps and answer prompts about natural resources, jobs, and environmental impacts, which requires geographic and economic vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Polar Regions
Students are asked to label maps with specific geographic and scientific terms (e.g., Vinson Massif, Vostok Station, Amundsen-Scott, Palmer, McMurdo, reserves of oil and gas, coal mining, permanent pack ice) and to use the map key symbols for ice sheets, ice shelves, mountains, and research stations. The "Life in the Arctic" activity prompts students to describe the Arctic climate, challenges to meeting basic needs, and natural resources, which requires use of terms like nomadic lifestyle, herds, reindeer, and thawing/marsh-like conditions. The current events report asks students to identify the region/countries mentioned and to write a 2–3 sentence summary of a news story about Antarctic research, which encourages use of domain-specific vocabulary related to scientific research and polar topics.
Final Project
Celebrating Australia and Oceania
Students create brochures, museum-planning pages, and three-part presentations that require them to explain governments, economies, natural environments, cultures, and Aboriginal history. Students complete written responses on the unit test asking them to describe the earliest human settlement of Australia and to summarize an Aboriginal story and explain its relationship to the natural world. Students use planning pages that ask them to list at least three important ideas for topics (Government, Economy, Natural Environment, Cultures) and a rubric that requires accurate descriptions of those topics.
Unit 3: The Lithosphere
Lesson 1
Shifting, Drifting, and Spreading
Students read a "Things to Know" section that defines domain-specific terms (lithosphere, plate tectonics, scientific theory, asthenosphere, isostasy, continental drift, mid-ocean ridges). Students answer targeted reading questions that require them to define and explain terms (e.g., "What is a scientific theory?", "What is isostasy?", "What is continental drift?", "What causes mid-ocean ridges?"). Students complete activities (Isostasy demonstration and Sea Floor Spreading model) and write or describe observations, with parent prompts asking them to explain model parts using vocabulary (e.g., identifying which slit represents a mid-ocean ridge and explaining why stripes represent magnetic strips).
Lesson 2
Plate Interactions
Students read explicit definitions and domain terms in the "Things to Know" section (plate boundaries, divergent, convergent, transform, rifts, fold mountains, oceanic/continental crust, lithosphere). Students answer targeted content questions (e.g., "What do divergent boundaries create?" and "How do fold mountains form?") that require use of domain-specific vocabulary. Students are asked to explain plate interactions in a written table or verbally demonstrate and explain mountain formation to a parent, which requires them to name and describe geological processes.
Lesson 3
Rocks and Minerals
Students label the rock-cycle diagram with specific technical terms (Weathering/Erosion, Deposition, Heat/Pressures, Magma/Lava, Compaction/Cementation, Melting, Cooling, Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Igneous). Students answer content questions requiring use of domain vocabulary (e.g., to define mineral criteria, name common minerals, and explain how igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks form). Students record and describe rock and mineral properties using precise terms on activity pages (luster, streak, hardness, cleavage/fracture, grain size) and create index-card labels with rock/mineral names and descriptions.
Lesson 4
Seismic Waves
Students read a "Things to Know" section that defines seismic waves, body waves, P-waves, S-waves, and surface waves. Students answer specific questions that require use of those terms (e.g., difference between focus and epicenter; differences between P- and S-waves). In Option 1 students must explain what a hazard is and how an earthquake triggers it, and in Option 2 students must describe how their seismograph design will work and list materials and limitations, which invites use of domain-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Earthquake and Volcano Research
Students are given domain-specific definitions in the "Things to Know" section (e.g., volcano, magma vs. lava, and the four types of volcanoes). Student worksheets explicitly prompt students to identify the type of volcano or the type of fault that caused an earthquake and to record technical details (date, location, damage, lives lost). Presentation and report options require students to include and explain those technical terms (example slides and report use terms like "composite cone," "landslide," and "ash" in context).
Lesson 6
Geologic Time
Students read a "Things to Know" list that defines domain-specific terms such as geologic time, relative age, fossils, and index fossils. Students answer Question #1 asking for the difference between relative and absolute age, requiring use of those vocabulary terms. The Parent Plan and Skills section asks students to interpret the geologic time scale, law of superposition, and unconformity and to construct a scientific explanation based on rock strata evidence. The activities require students to label or describe layers, folds, faults, erosion, and to explain what the remaining parts can tell a scientist.
Lesson 7
Pedosphere and Soil
Students are introduced to domain-specific terms in the "Things to Know" section (pedosphere, soil, stewardship, soil erosion) and are directed to read about the 12 soil orders (e.g., Gelisols, Mollisols, Alfisols, Entisols). In activities students measure and label sand, silt, and clay percentages, record pH and nutrient levels (nitrogen, potash, phosphorus), and use the texture triangle and state-soil resources to name soil types. Students must write comparison explanations, complete Venn diagrams, and a "Difference Statement" that require use of those technical terms.
Final Project
Our Lithosphere and Pedosphere
Students are prompted to define the lithosphere explicitly on an activity page and to explain what tectonic plates are, how they move, and what happens at their boundaries. Several activity pages require students to write about the rock cycle, identify rocks and minerals in their area, and describe local soil including pH, texture, and nutrient content. The unit test asks targeted questions using domain terms (e.g., lithosphere vs. asthenosphere, pedosphere, P- and S-waves, volcano types, relative vs. absolute age) and the answer key provides precise definitions. The grading rubric requires explanations that name layers of the Earth, plate interactions (divergent, convergent, transform), rock types, and soil properties, indicating expectations for domain-specific vocabulary use.
Unit 3: The Hobbit
Lesson 1
Bilbo Baggins
Students are given eight target words with definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and antonyms and asked to learn and use them. Students play a vocabulary-cube game that requires them to recite definitions, name parts of speech, give synonyms/antonyms, and "use correctly in a sentence." Students write answers to reading questions in complete sentences and record events on "Events of the Journey" pages, which require short explanatory writing about chapters and locations.
Lesson 2
Trolls
Students are prompted to "Write a sentence that you think best characterizes Gandalf," with example descriptive words (powerful, intelligent, helpful, wise, etc.), which asks them to choose precise adjectives. Students are instructed to "Review your vocabulary words," indicating attention to word knowledge. Students create five interview questions for J.R.R. Tolkien and must "consider why each question would be an important one," and they must explain images on a collage, requiring explanation and selection of representative language.
Lesson 3
The Elves
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (foreshadowing, flashback, independent clause, compound sentence, coordinating conjunctions) and are asked to name the seven coordinating conjunctions. Students locate and record examples of foreshadowing and flashbacks from the text on a chart and answer comprehension questions in complete sentences. Students complete the "Working with Independent Clauses" activity where they combine sentence pairs using a comma and coordinating conjunction and justify which conjunctions work.
Lesson 4
Gollum
Students are directed to use a thesaurus and to record synonyms and associated words when they plan and write their riddles (Activity 2 and the riddle planning pages). The Skills list explicitly includes "Use a thesaurus to alternate word choices," and several student pages provide spaces for associated words and synonyms. The materials also ask students to review vocabulary and the "Things to Know" section (definitions of thesaurus and runes).
Lesson 5
Wolves, Goblins, and Eagles
Students are asked to answer comprehension questions in complete sentences and to write a brief description of chapter events, which requires composing informative text. The lesson explicitly teaches and practices grammatical and domain-specific terminology related to sentence clarity (terms such as "run-on sentence," "fused sentence," "comma splice," "independent clause," "coordinating conjunction," and "FANBOYS") and has students edit a paragraph to correct these errors.
Lesson 6
Skin-Changer
Students are asked to write a descriptive paragraph about a new Middle-earth race, explaining human and animal characteristics and special abilities, and to display that paragraph with a model. Students copy and correct sentences in an editing activity, practicing grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The lesson also instructs students to review vocabulary words for the book and asks parents to check that students used figurative language techniques in their descriptions.
Lesson 8
Elvenking
Students practice sentence-level precision by copying and correcting sentences in Activity 1, including corrections of word choice, punctuation, and spelling. Students must write clear explanations of problems and solutions (explain the problem in two or three sentences, brainstorm solutions, list pluses and minuses, and state the best solution) in Activity 2. The lesson also directs students to "review vocabulary words" and to memorize coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and to describe compound and complex sentences.
Lesson 9
Men of the Lake
Students are asked to trace the journey on a map and "write a short description of the events in these chapters," which requires them to produce explanatory writing about the story. Students are instructed to "Record any examples of flashback or foreshadowing found in these two chapters on the chart," which requires identifying and labeling literary terms (domain-specific vocabulary). The activities also center on identifying and correcting "sentence fragments," which uses grammatical terminology and asks students to revise wording for correctness.
Lesson 10
The Dragon
Students correct word choice and spelling in the "Editing Sentences" activity, including distinguishing "lightning" vs. "lightening" and "heavyweight" vs. "heavy weight," which targets precise word use. Students are prompted to "Review vocabulary words" and the lesson defines a domain term (consumerism) in the "Things to Know" section. Students are asked to record two- or three-sentence descriptions of historical and current examples and to explain how ads appeal to consumer desires, which requires using topic-specific terms in short written responses.
Lesson 12
The Arkenstone
The lesson lists the six elements of a quest story (a precious object, a heroic seeker, a long journey, fierce guardians, tests that screen out the unfit, supernatural helpers), providing domain-specific vocabulary for literary analysis. The Parent Plan skills enumerate literary terms (plot, theme, point of view, characterization, mood, style) that students are expected to analyze. The Quest Cube activity directs students to identify those quest elements, create illustrations for each, and "explain to your parent how each element affects the theme and mood," requiring students to use the listed vocabulary in explanation. The editing-sentences task asks students to correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, which practices precision in language use.
Lesson 13
The Battle
Students are asked to read early literary reviews and "summarize the literary critic's response" in two or three sentences and to "Describe any literary elements that the reviewer alludes to." The parent directions prompt students to identify literary elements and themes and to read aloud their summaries, which requires naming elements (e.g., theme, plot, character) when describing the reviews. Students also answer comprehension questions in complete sentences, reinforcing precise sentence-level expression.
Final Project
Responding to Literature
Part III directs students to "Use the correct vocabulary word in the sentences from the book," listing eight specific words (e.g., flummoxed, recompense, ominous) so students must apply precise word meanings in context. Multiple sections instruct students to review the vocabulary words for the unit and to study them for the test. The outline, prewriting web, and rubric emphasize writing style, clarity, and supporting ideas with textual evidence, which encourages careful word choice and revision.
Unit 4: Ancient Asia
Lesson 1
The Caste System of Ancient India
Students read definitional passages in the "Things to Know" section that introduce domain-specific terms (reincarnation, karma, dharma, varnas/caste names, Eightfold Noble Path, nirvana, Brahmans, Kshatriyas, etc.). Students label maps and timelines with precise geographic and historical terms (Indus Valley, Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Path of the Aryans, dates such as 1700 BC and 563 BC). Students complete comparison activities (cut-and-paste table or graphic organizers) that require placing and explaining religion-specific concepts and roles (priestly role, caste expectations, karma, Eightfold Noble Path, rewards like nirvana).
Lesson 2
Life and Culture in Ancient India
Students are given a focused vocabulary list in "Things to Know" that defines Sudras, Srenis, outcastes/dasas, Sanskrit, and the Vedas. Students read chapters and answer comprehension questions that require use of domain-specific terms (e.g., explaining why Sanskrit is Indo-European, defining the Vedas, identifying the Mahabharata). Students rehearse and perform a scripted play in which they speak as Sudras and outcastes and use caste-related vocabulary (Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Sudra, outcaste) in context.
Lesson 3
Life in Ancient China
Students label and map domain-specific geographic terms (Huang He/Yellow River, Chang Jiang/Yangtze, Grand Canal, Great Wall, Zhongdu/Beijing, Xianyang, Luoyang, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Dongguang). Students place timeline cards with dynasty names and dates (Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song) and summarize accomplishments for each dynasty on the "Life Under Different Chinese Dynasties" page. Students answer content questions using specific historical vocabulary (e.g., "Mandate of Heaven," "standardized coin system," "civil service") and write a short explanatory summary of the Tao Te Ching and its meaning about wealth in a student-created booklet.
Lesson 4
Culture in Ancient China
Students read content that names and explains domain-specific terms (e.g., Silk Road, Confucius, printing, compasses, stirrups, paper) and answer comprehension questions citing those terms. Students add labeled timeline cards (Birth of Confucius, Buddhism Reached China, Invention of Printing, etc.), which requires correct use of event vocabulary and dates. Students create a map that must show an accurate list of goods traded to and from China using specific product names (silk, tea, spices, gold, silver, precious stones).
Lesson 5
Life in Ancient Japan
Students read passages that define and use domain-specific terms (for example, the text defines "shogun," describes the "uji," and names clans like Yamato). Students label maps with geographic terms and cities (Honshu, Hokkaido, Heian, Edo) and list natural resources and traded goods (iron, bronze, silk, rice), requiring use of content vocabulary. Students write explanatory responses about who the uji, emperors, noble families, and shoguns were and create a flow chart or graphic organizer describing shifts in power with dates and details, which calls for using historical vocabulary to inform.
Lesson 6
Culture in Ancient Japan
Students are asked to describe Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism in a structured table (Activity 2), prompting use of terms such as kami, meditation, Five Right Relationships, and cremation. The Cultural Exchange activity (Activity 3) asks students to list cultural components that traveled from China to Japan and shows domain-specific items (e.g., Chinese writing, the tea ceremony, paper, Buddhism, Confucianism). Reading questions and prompts require identification and use of specific vocabulary (kanji, haiku, samurai) and Activity 4 asks students to write a classified ad describing duties and qualities of Japanese warriors, which encourages use of precise, topic-specific terms.
Final Project
Puppet Show or Presentation
Students are asked to study vocabulary terms and "Things to Know" as preparation for the unit test and final project. Students must write a script for either a puppet show or a multimedia presentation and the project rubrics explicitly evaluate that the script/presentation is "clear and well-written" and "informative and well-written." The unit test and belief-matching activity include domain-specific terms (e.g., dharma, kami, Eightfold Noble Path, Silk Road) that students must know and use to answer questions.
Unit 4: Ecosystems and Ecology
Lesson 1
What Is in an Ecosystem?
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary with definitions in the "Things to Know" section (ecosystem, biome, biotic, abiotic, producers, consumers, decomposers, autotrophs/heterotrophs). Students are asked to label and classify components in the "Survey Table" (noting abiotic/biotic and P/C/D) and to write brief descriptions of components. Students must answer explanatory questions (e.g., difference between ecosystem and biome) and create diagrams that require labeling organisms and abiotic factors and using arrows to show energy/matter flow.
Lesson 2
Diversity within Ecosystems
Students are given explicit vocabulary definitions (e.g., "Diversity," "Aquatic," "Terrestrial") in the Things to Know section. Students are directed to identify and label components as Producer, Consumer, Decomposer and as Biotic or Abiotic in the Survey Table and Ecosystem Factors table. Students are instructed to write a paragraph for each ecosystem that must mention the biome, location, and notable biotic/abiotic factors, which requires use of domain-specific terms.
Lesson 3
Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific vocabulary in the "Things to Know" and "Things to Review" sections (e.g., photosynthesis, carbohydrates, biomass, trophic level, food chain, food web, energy pyramid, producers, consumers, decomposers). Students are asked to apply these terms in comprehension questions and explanations (for example, Question #4 asks students to explain differences between producer, consumer, and decomposer) and to reference concepts like biomass, trophic levels, and energy transfer in activities and discussion prompts. Activities require students to use vocabulary while performing calculations and describing energy/mass transfer (e.g., exploring biomass, describing energy flow with buckets labeled by trophic level).
Lesson 4
Ecosystem Relationships
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (niche, competition, symbiosis, parasitism, commensalism, mutualism) in the "Things to Know" section. Students are prompted to classify organisms as producers, consumers, or decomposers and to identify types of consumers on the student activity page. Questions and activities require students to explain concepts (e.g., why niches matter, differences between parasitism and mutualism) using those terms and to describe organism interactions and habitats in writing.
Lesson 5
Ecological Succession
Students are presented with a list of domain-specific terms and definitions in the "Things to Know" section (natural succession, primary succession, secondary succession, pioneer species, herbaceous plants, climax community, cycle). The Skills section explicitly includes that students should "Use oral and written language to communicate findings and defend conclusions," and the Reading and Questions require written answers to conceptual questions. The Activities require students to write captions and descriptions for images in a slideshow or portfolio, which asks them to describe stages of succession in writing.
Lesson 6
Natural Hazards and Natural Disasters
Students are asked to read definitions and explanations that use domain-specific terms such as "natural hazard," "natural disaster," "succession," "extinction," "carbon dioxide," and "upwellings." Students respond to focused questions that require explanations using those terms (e.g., Q1 relates CO2 to temperature, Q2 references upwellings and food chains, Q3 names primary and secondary succession). Students must write a paragraph explaining island repopulation and create image captions that describe stages of primary succession and volcanic disturbance, which prompts use of scientific vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Succession and Natural Disasters
Students are asked to caption pictures "in terms of the stages of succession" and to identify which stage each graphic represents, which requires describing ecological stages and naming primary or secondary succession. Students must include descriptions of why changes occurred between post-disaster and contemporary pictures and write a prediction paragraph about the ecosystem 20–30 years in the future, prompting explanatory use of content-specific concepts (e.g., soil development, pioneer species, climax community). The activities require students to communicate findings in written captions, paragraphs, and an online slideshow or portfolio pages, reinforcing use of scientific explanation.
Lesson 8
A Carbon Journey
Students are given explicit domain-specific vocabulary and short definitions in the "Things to Know" section (decomposition, carbon fixation, cellular respiration). The writing and comic activities require students to represent carbon as CO2, glucose, cellulose, and to show photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and trapping of carbon; students are asked to use chemical formulas optionally and to include informational captions and speech bubbles that name these processes. The activity checklists and student activity pages prompt students to portray carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, photosynthesis absorbing carbon, carbon within consumers, respiration releasing CO2, and decomposition, all of which require use of precise scientific terms.
Lesson 9
Ecosystems and Their Environments
The "Things to Know" section explicitly defines domain-specific terms such as habitat, adaptation, evolution, specialized species, generalized species, and extremophile. The lesson text and questions repeatedly use and require understanding of terms like biotic/abiotic factors, producers/vegetation, biome, rainfall, temperature, and soil. Activities ask students to read source pages, answer conceptual questions, and record changes and results on activity sheets comparing ecosystems, which requires applying these scientific terms in explanations.
Lesson 10
Cause and Effect in the Ecosystem
The lesson provides explicit definitions for domain-specific terms such as biomagnification, bioaccumulation, pollutant, and toxicant in the "Things to Know" section. Students are asked to answer questions that require use of these terms (e.g., explaining how biomagnification reveals the importance of the food chain) and to respond to "Questions to Ponder" that ask what the vinegar represents and how a toxicant affects producers. The Student Activity Pages require students to write predictions, record results, and explain significance of producers, which creates opportunities to use domain vocabulary in explanations.
Lesson 11
Matter and the Food Web
Students read and answer guided questions that require explaining processes using terms like the carbon cycle, Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy, trophic levels, producers, consumers, decomposers, biomass, and heat loss. Students write a hypothesis and record results in the Matter Changes Forms activity, answer discussion questions explaining causes (e.g., evaporation) and conservation of mass, and create food web diagrams that must represent and label the flow of matter and energy between producers and consumers.
Lesson 12
Adaptability and Survival
Students are asked to record and present scientific names and the organism's primary place in the food chain (primary, secondary, or tertiary consumer), which requires use of domain-specific terms. The assignment instructs students to review the unit vocabulary and to include ecosystem details (climate, geography, food sources, predators) and a written paragraph explaining causes and prevention of extinction, which encourages use of precise explanatory language. Students must assemble a presentation or portfolio that includes labeled images, maps, and captions, prompting use of technical labels and terms.
Lesson 13
Invasive Species
The lesson includes a vocabulary-style "Things to Know" section that defines native species, invasive species, invasive generalists/specialists, and biodiversity. Student tasks require students to describe a species' impact, list areas where it occurs, and provide a brief description of effects on other plants, which asks for content that can use domain-specific terms. The unit test asks students to name abiotic factors, draw an ecological pyramid with producers/consumers, explain stages of primary succession, and produce a carbon cycle diagram — all tasks that require use of scientific vocabulary to explain processes.
Unit 4: A Single Shard
Lesson 1
Korea
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list and complete the "Vocabulary Words in Context" activity where they read definitions and insert words into a paragraph, practicing contextual use. Students label and color a map of East Asia, naming Korea, neighboring countries, and seas, which requires use of geographic terms. Students use web sources to record information on "Elements of Korean Culture" charts, placing historical and contemporary details into labeled categories (e.g., Housing, Religion, Food).
Lesson 3
Hard Work
Students encounter domain-specific words such as kiln, clay, and spades in reading questions and answers (for example, the question notes that clay is cut away from the river bank with spades). Students practice sentence correction on passages that include content words related to pottery and setting (kiln site, frozen, crutch). The parent plan and skills list ask students to summarize or paraphrase information and to present information in a consistent format, which requires restating ideas clearly.
Lesson 4
Food and Pottery
Students learn and practice grammatical terminology related to pronoun case: they identify and use subjective, objective, and possessive pronouns and work through exercises that require choosing between pronoun forms. Students read and apply rules for tricky constructions (compound objects, subject complements) and use the 'Who and Whom' substitution strategy to decide correct forms. Students are asked to add new information about ancient Korean culture to an "Elements of Korean Culture" page, implying a place for informative writing about the topic.
Lesson 5
The Royal Emissary
Students are asked to identify and sequence specific steps for making pottery and to write directions for a process, which requires them to use procedural language. The student activity pages list and require handling domain-specific terms (for example: glaze, kiln, potter's wheel, incise, drain the clay, mix the clay with ash), exposing students to technical vocabulary. Instructions emphasize clear, simple writing and logical sequencing of steps, guiding students toward precise procedural explanations.
Lesson 6
Village Life
Students research the author and write a short paragraph explaining how the author's experiences influenced her writing, which asks them to produce an informative/explanatory text. The Parent Plan lists that students should "demonstrate the mechanics of writing... and appropriate English usage (e.g., pronoun reference)." The lesson includes an extended pronoun-agreement activity in which students correct sentences and learn about indefinite pronouns, number, and gender agreement.
Lesson 7
Opportunity
Students correct sentences for grammar, spelling, and punctuation in the Sentence Correcting activity, which addresses precision in language. Students are instructed to review vocabulary words from Lesson 1 and to use some of these words in a future writing project. Students are asked to check that they can use each vocabulary word correctly in a sentence. Students create a mini-book in which they write explanations beneath flaps about how opportunities benefited Tree-ear, an activity that requires explanatory writing.
Lesson 8
Korean Pottery
Students are introduced to the domain-specific term "celadon" with a clear definition and are directed to museum pages and other resources where they can read descriptions and view images of celadon pottery. Students practice making language clear and precise by identifying and correcting unclear pronoun antecedents and vague references (e.g., fixing sentences where "he," "she," or "this" are ambiguous). Students complete a design task where they match color to the defined term "celadon" and decorate a kimchi pot using observed motifs, which reinforces use of specific vocabulary in a visual and research-based context.
Lesson 11
Relationships
Students practice selecting precise descriptive words in the "Relationship Words" activity by cutting out and gluing at least three words per relationship and are asked to support those words with examples from the text. In the "Relationship Web" activity students must write one adjective on each connecting line and provide two text-supported sentences describing each relationship. The sentence-correcting exercise has students rewrite sentences with correct grammar and stronger phrasing.
Final Project
Comparison and Contrast Writing
The Skills section explicitly instructs students to "revise writing to improve organization and word choice after checking the logic of the ideas and the precision of the vocabulary." The end-of-unit test Part B requires students to use vocabulary words (insolence, connoisseur, skepticism) in sentences related to the novel, and Part A asks for domain-specific content (the pottery-making process and the green glaze "celadon"). The lesson also directs students to review vocabulary words, use a flashcard site to study them, and use editing/revising activities (proofreading symbols and a Handy Guide to Writing) that include correcting wrong-word and word-choice errors.
Unit 5: Asia Today
Lesson 1
Russia East of the Ural Mountains
Students are asked to label a large map of Asia with specific geographic terms (e.g., The Ural Mountains, Mt. Everest, Yellow River, Yangtze River, Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, various seas and oceans), which requires use of domain-specific place names. In Option 1 students record traditional and resource-driven economic activities (e.g., fur trade, logging, mining, oil and gas) using economic and resource vocabulary. In Option 2 students may write a short story or complete a comparison sheet about daily life in eastern Siberia that asks them to address basic needs (housing, clothing, transportation, food, water) and can involve naming cultural and environmental terms from the reading.
Lesson 2
Turkey and Cyprus
Students record and use government vocabulary directly in the data chart (e.g., entries like "Multi-party Democracy," "Islamic Republic," "One-party State," and "Absolute Monarchy"). Students label and graph numeric, domain-specific data (adult literacy rates and life expectancies) on provided graph templates and answer comparison questions about those measures. Students also list major industries/exports (e.g., "Oil & Gas," "Tourism," "Manufacturing") in the chart and use those terms when completing the bar-graph and industry-count activities.
Lesson 3
The Middle East
Students read assigned pages that include domain-specific terms (desert, oases, desalination, monarchies, oil, Tigris and Euphrates) and are asked to label countries and capitals on a regional map. Students complete Current Events Report pages that require a 2–3 sentence summary and separate responses about government, economy, culture, and environment. The prompts and example answers (e.g., descriptions of city layout, survival strategies, and the role of oil) present opportunities to use subject-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Central Asia
Students read specific informational text about Central Asia that names environmental topics such as the impact of irrigation on the Aral Sea, pollution affecting Caspian Sea caviar, and industrial/agricultural pollution in Kazakhstan. Students are asked to write informative products—a poster or a 30-second radio/TV advertisement—and explicitly instructed to answer what is happening, why it is a problem, and what people should do. Students label and color a map using geographic feature terms (e.g., grasslands, mountains, forests) when mapping countries and capitals.
Lesson 6
East Asia and Japan
Students are asked to write explanatory pieces: they create an illustrated flow chart or a poem that describes the steps of rice production (Activity 2) and complete comparison charts that explain government, economy, and culture in ancient and modern China and Japan (Activity 4). Students label countries and capitals on a map and color geographic features (Activity 1), which requires use of geographic terms. The parent/answer keys and activity descriptions include domain-specific terms (e.g., emperor, one-party state, shogun, rice cultivation, flooded fields) that students are expected to reference in their responses.
Lesson 7
Mainland Southeast Asia
The lesson provides explicit definitions of key domain vocabulary ("Things to Know" defines natural resources, capital resources, and human resources) that students must understand. Students are asked to categorize and label economic activities using those terms in the Economics Chart (Option 1) and the Economics Flapbook (Option 2), requiring them to name activities as "natural resource-based" or "based on capital or human resources." In the Farming activity students must describe and compare farming methods (e.g., terraces, irrigation, slash-and-burn), which asks for use of agriculture-specific terms in written explanations and labeled sketches.
Lesson 8
Maritime Southeast Asia
Students are given explicit domain terms in the materials (for example, the lesson defines "maritime" and discusses terms like "typhoons" and "Wallace's Line"). Students label countries and capitals on a map and color geographic features, which requires using geographic vocabulary (coast, mountain, forest, low-lying). The Measuring Indonesia activity asks students to convert distances using scale language and units (miles, inches, feet), and the Cultures activity asks students to record history, languages, religions, and ethnic identities using provided fact boxes.
Lesson 9
The Indian Ocean
Students read pages that define and use domain-specific terms such as "atoll," "coral," "limestone skeletons," and "marine polyps" (Question #1 asks them to explain coral island formation using those concepts). Students label maps and are prompted to color geographical features with terms like grasslands, forests, and mountainous regions in Activity 1. Students complete the "Environmental Threats" activity and poster where they must describe monsoon rains, pollution, and tourism as threats, using those topic-specific terms in their responses and product.
Final Project
A Tour of Asia
Students are told to "review maps, vocabulary terms, 'Things to Know,' and activity pages" before the unit test, indicating they will study relevant terms. Unit test prompts ask students to explain how environmental factors (landforms, bodies of water, weather, natural resources, geological events) influence culture, requiring use of domain-related vocabulary in written paragraphs. The final project asks students to write country summaries including government, economy, natural environment and wildlife, and population statistics, which requires use of precise, subject-specific terms.
Unit 5: Earth Cycles and Systems
Lesson 1
Matter and Energy
Students are given explicit definitions of key terms (matter, energy, radiant energy, electromagnetic energy) in the "Things to Know" and are asked to "Define matter and energy" as a stated skill. Students answer content questions that require use of domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., naming thermonuclear fusion as the Sun's energy source and identifying electromagnetic energy forms such as radiation, heat, and light). In the activity, students record measurements and write explanations using table headings like Mass and Change in Mass, prompting use of precise scientific terms in their observations.
Lesson 2
Energy and Its Source
The lesson defines the domain-specific terms conduction, convection, and radiation in the "Things to Know" and review sections. The Student Activity Page asks students to "Explain how you think heat is transferred" and to name "What is this type of heat transfer called?", prompting use of the vocabulary in explanations. The Parent Plan provides model explanations using precise terms (e.g., molecules, kinetic energy, electromagnetic radiation) that students can emulate.
Lesson 3
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (autotrophs/producers, heterotrophs/consumers, decomposers) and names processes such as photosynthesis, chemosynthesis, fixing, and cellular respiration. The Student Activity and Parent Plan require students to include specific vocabulary words (energy, producers, consumers, decomposers) on their ecosystem diagram and to represent directionality and changes in mass. Reading questions ask students to explain concepts (how producers get energy, why the energy pyramid is shaped like a pyramid, limitations of diagrams), prompting use of content vocabulary in responses.
Lesson 4
Matter and Plants
Students are prompted to label diagrams and cutouts with domain-specific terms such as water, carbon dioxide, energy/sunlight, oxygen, producer, primary consumer, and secondary consumer. The lesson text and questions use vocabulary like photosynthesis, carbohydrate, trophic level, biomass, and respiration, and students answer questions that require using those terms (e.g., explaining why only ~10% of energy passes to the next trophic level). Option 2 explicitly instructs students to write labels (beginning of cycle, carbon dioxide, water, oxygen, energy, producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer) on manipulatives.
Lesson 5
Carbohydrates, Plants, and Energy
The lesson provides domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (e.g., "Carbohydrates," "starch," "cellulose," "chemical bond," "producers," and "photosynthesis") in the "Things to Know" and "Wrapping Up" sections. Students are asked to write an inquiry question, record predictions, test results, and explanations on the Potassium Iodide Test student activity page. Reading questions and prompts (e.g., explain what happens to energy, why cycling of carbon is important) require students to produce written explanations that could incorporate the provided scientific terms.
Lesson 6
Intro to Earth's Cycles
Students are directed to read sections focused on the cycling of water, nitrogen, and carbon and to 'pay attention to information about the cycling' and the diagrams, encouraging use of cycle-specific terms. Assessment questions ask students to explain phenomena using domain vocabulary (e.g., evaporation, photosynthesis, nitrifying/denitrifying bacteria) and provide specific answers that model precise terms. The activities require students to create a Venn diagram comparing water, nitrogen, and carbon cycles and to label or note shared processes and organisms, and the student pages include element cards with labels and atomic information (Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen).
Lesson 7
Oxygen Production and Life
Students write and fill in the chemical equations for photosynthesis and cellular respiration, using symbols and domain terms (CO2, H2O, O2, glucose). Students label and manipulate drawings showing components labeled as 'H2O Water', 'CO2 Carbon Dioxide', 'Carbohydrate (glucose)', 'Diatomic Oxygen Molecule', and 'Plant'. Students answer written questions and a scenario response that ask them to explain interdependence and consequences using terms like photosynthesis, cellular respiration, producers, and autotrophic.
Lesson 8
The Carbon Cycle
The lesson defines domain-specific terms in the "Things to Know" section (decomposition, detritus, detritivore, carbon store, decomposers). Students answer explicit questions (e.g., Why are decomposers important?) and complete written tasks (predictions, daily observation records, a brief explanatory paragraph, and Decomposer Observations) that require describing processes like photosynthesis and decomposition. Parent guidance and sample answers model use of terms such as photosynthesis, carbon dioxide, and carbohydrates that students can adopt in their writing.
Lesson 9
The Water Cycle
Students are given a "Things to Know" list that defines domain-specific terms (evaporation, condensation, sublimation, evapotranspiration). The lesson asks students to "Explain the different ways that water is released up into the atmosphere" and provides model answers that use precise vocabulary. Students build a solar still and complete a "Questions to Consider" worksheet that prompts written explanations of processes (evaporation, condensation, transpiration) and asks them to answer in complete sentences. The parent notes reinforce using terms when reviewing students' answers (e.g., identifying evaporation and condensation in the still).
Lesson 10
Energy, Food Chains, and Food Webs
Students are asked to include and write out photosynthesis and respiration equations, specifying carbon dioxide, water, sunlight/energy, glucose, and oxygen. Students must label trophic levels (producers, primary/secondary/tertiary consumers) and show energy transfer on food chains and food webs. The lesson text and parent sections define and use domain-specific terms (producer, consumer, decomposer, detritivore, abiotic, ecological community, food chain/web) and prompt students to include nitrogen, carbon, and water cycles in their diagrams. Student activity pages require writing the process occurring between organisms and organizing organisms by trophic level, prompting use of scientific vocabulary in their explanations and diagrams.
Lesson 11
The Nitrogen Cycle
Students are asked to track a nitrogen atom through an interactive and to label stages and molecules (e.g., nitrogen gas, NH3, ammonium, NO2-, NO3-) and processes (nitrification, ammonification, nitrogen fixation, denitrification) on the Student Activity Page. Students fill in blanks that require domain-specific terms and identify roles of bacteria and decomposition in nitrogen transformations. Students also explain how N, P, and K affect plant parts, answer questions about eutrophication, and calculate nutrient amounts from fertilizer labels, which requires use of technical vocabulary.
Final Project
A Sustainable Farm
Students match and define domain-specific terms on the unit test (autotrophs, heterotrophs, decomposers, photosynthesis, leaching, nitrogen fixation, etc.), and order events that require correct use of that vocabulary to explain cycles. Students must create diagrams of the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles and write explanations of how their farm incorporates each cycle, including labeled descriptions of sustainable techniques (e.g., cover crops, crop rotation, no-till, composting). The parent notes and study guidance encourage quizzing on key terms and review of the Unit Review Sheet, reinforcing precise use of technical vocabulary.
Unit 5: Independent Study
Lesson 1
Independent Study Introduction
The Student Activity Pages require students to research a controversial topic, record information from multiple sources, and write an argumentative essay and develop a presentation. The Argumentative Essay Rubric explicitly includes a "Word Choice" category that evaluates the use of precise and effective language. The Research Process rubric asks students to use note-taking methods and multiple resource types, which encourages engagement with topic-specific information and terminology.
Lesson 2
Bias and Propaganda
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms such as "bias" and "propaganda" in the "Things to Know" section. In Activity 1 students read two contrasting news articles and are asked to identify which types of bias techniques are used and to provide examples, recording findings on a "Detecting Bias" handout. Activity 2 and Day 2 ask students to read about propaganda techniques, answer journal prompts about the techniques used, and in Activity 3 identify propaganda techniques in advertisements and explain their effectiveness on a provided handout.
Lesson 5
Writing the Essay
The lesson tells students to "define any terms that relate to your topic" in the background information of the introduction, prompting students to identify and clarify relevant terminology. Students are instructed to "fine-tun[e] the essay for voice, word choice, and conventions" and to "get a dictionary and look up and correct the spelling of any word," which directs attention to precise word use. The revision guidance asks students to insert transitional words (e.g., however, moreover, therefore) to create cohesion and clarity, giving practice with precise connective language.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Greece and Rome
Lesson 1
Early Greece
Students read content that names domain-specific terms (Minoans, Mycenaeans, Knossos, citadel, fresco, Bronze Age) and answer directed questions asking for those specifics. Students label a map with place names (Crete, Knossos, Mycenae, Troy) and add timeline cards with dated labels (First Settlement of Greece, The Minoans, Mycenaeans). Students create an informational product (a Mycenaean merchant sign) that asks them to include at least two exported goods such as wine, olive oil, metal weapons, or metal art pieces.
Lesson 2
Ancient Greece
Students encounter domain-specific words in the text and tasks: the "Things to Know" section defines terms such as hoplites, phalanx, and democracy. Student activity pages and instructions require students to read and use naval-tactics vocabulary (periplous, rake, ram, diekplous) and build/label trireme models, and map activities ask students to add named places (Athens, Sparta, Delphi) and update a map key. Activities asking students to compare Athenian direct democracy and representative democracy and to note items like ostraka, assembly, and council create opportunities to use historical vocabulary in writing (diary entries, Venn diagram, posters, timeline).
Lesson 3
Everyday Life in Ancient Greece
Students are prompted to identify a god or goddess by name and domain and to list associated symbols in the "Voices of the Greek Gods" activity, which requires use of deity-specific vocabulary. The lesson text and questions introduce specific terms (e.g., monologue, chiton, himation, Oracle at Delphi) that students read and can incorporate into writing. In Activity 3 and the "Famous Ancient Greek" pages, students must describe what a person was "Best Known For" and explain contributions, prompting use of discipline-specific terms (philosopher, mathematician, historian, etc.).
Lesson 4
The Hellenistic World
Students are asked to identify and use historical terms when answering reading questions (e.g., Macedonia, Hellenistic Age, Aristotle) and to add labeled timeline cards for Phillip II, Alexander, and the Hellenistic Age. In the Greek Architecture activity, students see labeled parts (frieze, pediment) and are directed to color and draw columns in Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles, exposing them to domain-specific architectural vocabulary. The monument activity asks students to explain why they incorporated particular elements, prompting the use of content-related language to describe Alexander's achievements.
Lesson 5
Ancient Rome and the Roman Republic
Students read a "Things to Know" section and readings that introduce and define domain-specific terms such as patricians, plebeians, Senate, consuls, the Twelve Tables, dictator, and the Punic Wars. Students must place dated events (e.g., Punic Wars, Twelve Tables, Caesar crosses the Rubicon) on timeline cards, which requires using precise dates and event names. Students produce explanatory work—filling a compare/contrast chart about Rome's origins, creating a pros-and-cons list about Brutus's action, or delivering a 3–5 minute persuasive speech—that requires them to explain historical events using relevant terminology.
Lesson 6
The Roman Empire
Students answer direct questions that require domain-specific terms (e.g., questions asking what Pax Romana and Romanization were, and what S.P.Q.R. stands for). Students label maps with period-specific labels (Roman Empire 27 BC, Road Network, Shipping Routes) and add timeline cards with dated terms (Rule of Augustus, Five Good Emperors, Height of the Roman Empire). Students complete written tasks that invite use of historical vocabulary, such as writing a diary entry as Augustus or comparing emperors' accomplishments and challenges.
Lesson 7
Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
Students read texts and teacher notes that include domain-specific terms (for example: paterfamilias, abacus, aqueducts, villa, plebian, patrician, gladiator, Mithras, Isis) and are asked to underline or mark important ideas while reading. Students complete a chart in the "Religion in Rome" activity that asks for key features and key figures of different religions, and they complete a "Famous Ancient Roman" page that asks for Roman names and what the person was best known for. Students write informative products (letters, scripts, research notes, and a mosaic description) that must include historically accurate details about housing, education, work, and daily life.
Lesson 8
The End of the Empire
Students sort labeled factors into "Internal" and "External" categories (e.g., "agricultural problems," "rise of Christianity," "Visigoths"), which requires recognizing and using domain-specific terms. Students add labeled timeline cards (e.g., "The Division of the Roman Empire (284 AD)," "The Fall of the Western Roman Empire (476 AD)") that use precise historical vocabulary and dates. In Option 2 students read and analyze biblical passages about persecution and answer questions that ask them to interpret and explain ideas using relevant terms such as "persecution," "emperor," and "state gods."
Final Project
A Greek and Roman Menu
Students are asked to produce informational and explanatory products such as a 5–10 minute oral report comparing Greek and Roman governments, a news article reporting on changes in government, and a short research essay explaining how ancient governments influenced the 21st century. The rubric explicitly requires that the Main Course be "well-written, using appropriate organization, correct grammar, and accurate spelling," and that the Appetizer "accurately explains governments of ancient Greece and Rome," which directs students to produce clear, accurate explanations.
Unit 1: Force and Motion
Lesson 1
Force
Students are presented with a clear list of domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (gravity, normal force, tension, friction, air resistance, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces). Students cut out and match cards that pair force descriptions with images and labels, and they paste labels into the "Fundamental Forces" quadrants. In the Target Practice activity students must identify and label forces on diagrams and "note which forces made the ball miss the target," and the parent notes explicitly encourage students to use the new terms when answering activity questions.
Lesson 2
Newton's Laws of Motion
Students are given a clear vocabulary set (inertia, equilibrium, balanced/unbalanced forces, mass, velocity, acceleration, F = ma, equal and opposite) in the "Things to Know" section. Students create a mini-book where they match law numbers, definitions, and draw illustrations, requiring them to label and use domain-specific terms. Multiple activities require written explanations using vocabulary (e.g., "Use Newton's first law to explain...", "Use all three of Newton's laws to explain..."), and students must draw force diagrams with arrows and label axes on graphs for the ramp activity.
Lesson 3
Graphing Motion
Students label axes with units (Time (s), Displacement (m), Velocity (m/s)) and plot data points to calculate slopes and velocities, which requires use of terms like velocity, displacement, acceleration, deceleration, and constant/irregular. The materials include a 'Things to Know' glossary defining domain vocabulary (constant, deceleration, irregular) and answer keys that model precise statements (e.g., "The object's velocity is 1 m/s," and acceleration = -10 m/s^2). Students are prompted to explain reasoning (determine if velocity is constant or irregular, decide whether forces are balanced or unbalanced, and "tell a story" that includes direction and velocity), which requires use of domain-specific vocabulary in explanations.
Lesson 4
Speed, Velocity, and Acceleration
Students are given explicit definitions and domain-specific terms (speed, velocity, acceleration, displacement, vector vs. scalar, force with magnitude and direction) and are required to use units (meters, seconds, m/s, m/s^2). Students must apply formulas for average velocity and average acceleration and complete calculations using those terms. Students are instructed to label graph axes (Time (s), Displacement (m), Velocity (m/s)) and to explain whether motion shows constant or irregular velocity/acceleration based on graphs and calculations.
Lesson 5
Centripetal Force and Terminal Velocity
Students are presented with a labeled vocabulary list (Things to Know) that defines centripetal force, centrifugal force, frame of reference, and terminal velocity and are asked to read and watch content that uses these terms. Students are prompted to write explanations in activity pages (Prediction/Results/Explanation) and to "describe the forces" from two different observers' perspectives using "the language of Newton's laws" with explanation boxes labeled Law #1 and Law #2. Students are asked to answer directed questions (e.g., why the feather falls slower on Earth) that require using domain-specific terms such as air resistance, inertia, mass, and equilibrium in their responses.
Lesson 6
Work
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (newton, joule, work, kinetic/potential energy, mechanical advantage) in the "Things to Know" and review sections. Activities require students to label measurements with proper units (newtons, grams, joules), apply formulas (F = ma, Work = Force × distance, MA = output/input), and answer explanatory questions in their science notebook (e.g., "explain the work for each kind of force utilizations", "Is weight a vector quantity? Why or why not?"). The parent/answer key repeatedly directs checking that students used correct units and vocabulary when explaining results.
Lesson 7
Newton in the Milky Way
Students are prompted to name specific forces (gravity, friction, normal force, air resistance, magnetism) on the "Analysis" page and to identify forces acting on the marble and ball bearing. Students must use Newton's second law (F=ma) to explain changes in the ball bearing's path and must list and apply Kepler's three laws on the "Kepler's Laws" activity sheet. Students also record and label measurements, plot data on a graph, and label axes, which requires use of precise measurement vocabulary (height, displacement, velocity, acceleration).
Final Project
Demonstrating Newton's Laws
Students label mini-golf holes using provided domain-specific labels that include precise definitions (Newton's First/Second/Third Laws, gravity, friction, acceleration, kinetic energy, applied force, simple machine, F=ma). Students create comic strips with written panels and prompts that require narration and explanation using terms such as inertia, balanced/unbalanced forces, mass, acceleration, and action–reaction. Students complete matching, "What Am I?", and short-answer items that require defining and using scientific terms (e.g., acceleration, kinetic energy, inertia, newton, potential energy, applied force, friction). Students give a family tour and explain each hole and concept aloud, using the technical vocabulary from the label set.
Unit 1: Greek Myths
Lesson 1
Ancient Greece
The Skills section explicitly directs students to use knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes to understand content-area vocabulary and to determine meanings of grade-level academic words. Activity 2 (Beyond Roots II) has students read Set 1 root-English card pairs, play matching/recall games, and take an online quiz on the roots' meanings. The Decoding Greek Messages activity has students translate Greek text to English and write messages in the Greek alphabet (answer key: "Mount Olympus is the home of the Greek gods and goddesses"), giving practice with domain-specific Greek terms.
Lesson 2
The Gods and Goddesses
Students match vocabulary words (crone, indomitable, oracle, furrows, etc.) to definitions and create folded vocabulary strips with a motion, practicing the words in context. Students answer reading-comprehension questions in complete sentences about myths and write short descriptions on character cards explaining what each god or goddess rules over (Option 2). The Parent Plan explicitly directs students to use knowledge of Greek and Latin roots to understand content-area vocabulary and to clarify word meanings through definition, example, or restatement.
Lesson 3
The Stories
Students read and use flashcards and Go Greek cards that name gods, list domains, symbols, and short descriptions (for example, Zeus: king of the gods; Poseidon: God of the sea; symbols listed for Athena and Hades). Students are asked to write an acrostic poem about a chosen god or goddess and to design pottery that reflects the gods' stories and symbols, prompting them to think about and apply symbols and domain terms. The sentence-editing activity has students correct specific vocabulary and word choice (e.g., 'mischievous', 'quiver'), which reinforces accurate word usage.
Lesson 4
Minor Gods, Nymphs, Satyrs, and Centaurs
Students practice vocabulary and word usage in the Sentence Editing activity by correcting spellings and terms (e.g., "nymphs," "constellation"). Students play Beyond Roots II Set 2 vocabulary games and take a quiz to test knowledge of roots and meanings. Students are asked to review god and goddess character cards and to write a descriptive paragraph ("Life Without Fire") and a short scripted play, which require them to use words from the myths in their writing.
Lesson 5
Mortal Descendants of Zeus
Students identify and label myth conventions using prompts titled with domain-specific terms (e.g., "A hero," "One or more gods or goddesses," "A monster," "A maiden or beautiful princess") on the "Conventions of a Myth: Perseus" activity page. Students are directed to play Beyond Roots II card games and retake roots quizzes, which provide practice with word roots and vocabulary related to the unit. The final project requires students to write their own myth that follows conventions, implying students will produce explanatory/writing work about the topic.
Lesson 6
Vainglorious Kings
Students are asked to review vocabulary words and character cards and to practice Beyond Roots II Set 3 cards through games and two online quizzes, which provides direct vocabulary study. Students complete a Sentence Editing activity that requires correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation and are told to answer reading questions in complete sentences. Students also produce written products (Venn diagram explanation, comic-book cover description, 60–90 second trailer script, comparative chart) that require composing explanatory or comparative text.
Lesson 7
The Trojan War
Students are asked to retell/summarize the Trojan War aloud using named characters (Paris, Helen, Achilles, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera, Zeus) and props, which requires using character names and story-specific terms. The Skills section tells students to apply language conventions during oral presentations and to deliver oral summaries that include main ideas and significant details. The lesson directs students to review vocabulary words, god and goddess cards, and the roots and meanings from the Beyond Roots II activity and to take quizzes on root meanings.
Final Project
A New Twist on an Ancient Myth
Students are asked to study and use vocabulary words (indomitable, cavorted, draught, flitting, furrows) and to match root meanings on quizzes and activities. Students must use three vocabulary words correctly in sentences on the unit test and complete root-matching exercises that practice domain-related word parts. Students are directed to "revise drafts to ensure precise word choice and vivid images" and to "select your words carefully" when drafting their myth.
Unit 2: The Middle Ages
Lesson 1
Introduction to Medieval Europe
Students label timeline cards and trace the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages using the unit's timeline pages and colored markers, explicitly using period names and event labels. Students complete a feudalism pyramid using a provided word box (lords, serfs, peasants, counts, soldiers) and an answer key that defines relationships and flows of resources and services. Students label a map with specific medieval groups (Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Vikings, Moors, etc.) and draw arrows showing migrations, and Option 2 requires students to write diary/letter entries that explain relationships among named social classes.
Lesson 2
Monarchs
Students read a focused text that defines key terms (e.g., "A monarchy is...", "Common law...") and are asked comprehension questions that prompt use of those terms (e.g., questions about marriage, inheritance, and who could poke fun at the king). In Option 1, students complete a two-column activity comparing "Before the Magna Carta" and "After the Magna Carta," answering questions about who made laws, whether the king had to obey laws, and available recourse. In Option 2, students create a Magna Carta word cloud and answer questions about which large words stand out and which groups the document focuses on, drawing attention to domain-specific vocabulary like "nobility" and "church."
Lesson 3
Knights and Warfare in the Middle Ages
Students read specific pages that describe knight training, weapons, and siege techniques (pages 24–48) and are asked to review descriptions of weapons (pages 28–30, 42–45) before planning an attack. In the Planning a Siege activity students must select siege weapons, label troop movements, and write a well-organized paragraph explaining details of the attack and likely defenses. In the Castle Defense Game students cut out and use cards and a die labeled with domain-specific terms (trebuchet, battering ram, siege tower, tunneling, cannon, ladders) and must match attacks to appropriate defenses.
Lesson 4
Castles and Feasts
Students read chapters that repeatedly use domain-specific terms (e.g., keep, Great Hall, bedchamber, garderobes, moat, arrow loops, garrison, tapestries, trencher, potage). Students answer explicit comprehension questions using these terms when explaining castle placement, sleeping arrangements, kitchen placement, and feast etiquette. Students design a castle floor plan that requires them to decide placement of specific features (keep, kitchen, towers, walls, moat, garderobes, stables, forge, garrison) and may label or describe those features. The tapestry option asks students to create a scene reflecting social classes, warfare, or a historical event, prompting use of culturally specific vocabulary in their depiction and discussion.
Lesson 5
Village and City Life
Students read content that repeatedly uses domain-specific terms (e.g., tithe, parish, guild, apprentice, journeyman, master craftsman, bubonic plague, garderobe) in the reading and question sections. Students are asked to write informational pieces such as help-wanted ads for a journeyman and an apprentice that require naming job roles, expectations, durations, and wages, which prompts use of precise occupational language. Activities asking students to compare medieval and modern hygiene or to analyze the impact of the plague require students to describe causes, roles, and consequences using specific historical vocabulary.
Lesson 6
Religion in Medieval Life
Students read texts and prompts that include domain-specific terms (e.g., "pilgrims," "holy relics," "Crusades," "Reconquista," "heretics," "Cathars," and "ampullers"). Students must write explanations on the "Dissent and the Church" page identifying who each group was, why they were dangerous, and what consequences they faced, which requires use of those terms. Students also produce written responses for the Crusades and Reconquista activities (imagined perspectives, motivations, timelines, and summaries) where they are expected to describe historical events using relevant vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Monasteries
Students read pages 105–114 that describe monks, monasteries, and Gothic cathedrals and introduce terms such as Divine Office, scriptorium, novice, oblate, abbot, illuminated letter, stained glass, Gothic, and flying buttress. Students answer directed questions that ask them to describe the Divine Office, the role of monasteries, and Gothic architecture, and they write a diary entry using descriptions from the reading, creating opportunities to use domain-specific vocabulary in responses and writing.
Lesson 8
The End of the Medieval Era
Students are asked to define the word "Renaissance" (Question #1) and to read a short text about the end of the Middle Ages, which exposes them to domain terms. The wrapping-up paragraph lists medieval hierarchy terms (serfs, vassals, lords, monarch, monks, bishops, Pope, hierarchies) that students are prompted to compare to modern social structures. Activity pages ask students to explain the influence of the Middle Ages on modern items and to name and describe our own era using 5-7 descriptive adjectives and written explanations.
Final Project
A Medieval Fair or Map
Students are directed to review the "Things to Know" sections where vocabulary terms and important facts are listed, and the Unit Test and study guide include domain terms such as feudalism, Crusades, guilds, and Magna Carta. Students must write 2–3 paragraph scripts for historical interpreters or create and verbally walk through a map, explaining features like feudalism, the role of the church, trades, and defenses. Planning pages explicitly instruct students to "be sure to explain feudalism," "explain the guild system," and to include information about occupations, religion, and daily life. Rubrics for both the fair and the map evaluate historical accuracy and inclusion of specific topic information (e.g., feudalism, occupations, religion), which requires students to use subject-specific concepts in their presentations.
Unit 2: Light and the Eye
Lesson 1
Lines of Light
Students read explicit definitions such as "Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that people can see" and the "Things to Know" section defines reflection, luminous vs. non-luminous, angle of incidence, and angle of reflection. Students construct a ray-making tool, observe reflected rays, and answer analysis questions asking how the angle at which rays strike relates to the angle at which they reflect. The lesson also prompts students to "Review the definitions introduced" and to discuss findings with a parent, reinforcing domain-specific vocabulary in discussion and observation.
Lesson 2
Translucence and Shadow
Students read explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section (opaque, transparent, translucent, penumbra, umbra) and encounter the term gnomon in the sundial reading. Students answer directed questions that require use of these terms (e.g., explain how transparent and translucent differ; define umbra vs. penumbra; name the gnomon). Students categorize household items as transparent/translucent/opaque, label their shadow drawings with object and time of day, and write a two-paragraph mystery story or create labeled artwork that must identify the object and the lighting conditions.
Lesson 3
Refraction and Lenses
Students read explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section (refraction, lens, concave, convex) and answer comprehension questions asking for those definitions. Students must write explanations for the magic-trick activities using the "Shhh! Here's How It's Done" sheet, which prompts written explanations and diagrams about why the penny appears/disappears. Students are asked to explain focal points and angle concepts in the Lens Bend Demonstration and to "explain why each [object] directs light rays differently" during the wrap-up, which requires use of domain-specific terms like focal point, refraction, and angle of reflection/incidence.
Lesson 4
How Human Eyes Work
Students label diagrams and draw the eye using specific terms such as cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina, rods and cones, and optic nerve. Students answer directed questions using domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., identifying the retina and rods in response to reading questions). Students are asked to "Explain how the retina works and why your brain has to flip images right side up," which requires them to use the anatomical and optical terms to describe the process.
Lesson 5
Animal Eyes
Students are presented with explicit definitions (Things to Know) for terms such as "predators," "prey," and "binocular vision." Students complete activities that ask them to answer questions (e.g., how eye type helps predators/prey), describe why an animal fits a chosen category, and discuss results of experiments, which invite use of domain-specific concepts. The student pages include prompts and columns labeled for "Predators (Forward-Facing Eyes)" and "Prey (Opposite-Side Eyes)," encouraging students to sort and write using those terms.
Lesson 6
Color and Perception
Students read passages that introduce and use domain-specific terms such as visible spectrum, wavelengths, scattering, absorption, reflect, retinal cells, and additive colors. Students answer directed questions that require explanations using these terms (e.g., explain why the sky is blue, define the visible spectrum, describe additive colors). Multiple activities ask students to write observations, conclusions, and explanations (e.g., describe what appears on the paper/ceiling, explain why the water with milk appears blue), and the answer keys model use of precise vocabulary like "scattered" and "shortest wavelength."
Final Project
Tools of the Eye
Students are prompted to explain the science behind their tool and answer guided questions on the 'Tools for the Human Eye' pages (e.g., 'What science principles about light and vision make the tool work?'). The unit test contains questions that require domain-specific terms (e.g., refraction, retina, binocular vision, visible light spectrum, opaque, luminous). The rubric asks students to 'Explain the science that makes the tool work' and to record procedures and observations, which require describing optical effects such as direction, color, and function of light.
Unit 2: Tales from the Middle Ages
Lesson 1
Medieval Times
Students are prompted to examine a map and record observations in labeled sections such as "Jobs," "Clothing," "Homes," "Inventions & Technological Advancements," and "Military Defense," which require naming medieval concepts. The Answer Key lists domain-specific terms (e.g., farmers, guards, monk, cloaks, tunics, plow, mill, lord, vassals, knights, serfs) that students can use when completing the worksheet. Students are asked to write 3–4 sentence commentaries from the perspectives of a knight, a lord, and a peasant, which requires explaining feudal relationships and roles using relevant vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Special Delivery
Students are asked to "spend a few minutes reviewing the vocabulary words for the novel" and to read definitions and provide correct definitions, which requires them to identify and say domain-specific words. The lesson explicitly defines the term "ballad" as "a narrative set to music," giving a clear example of domain-specific vocabulary. The Parent Plan repeatedly prompts caregivers to have students share and explain passages they select, which can involve naming literary terms and discussing word meanings.
Lesson 5
A Baby
Students are taught grammatical terms such as "active voice," "passive voice," "past participle," "prepositional phrase," and "grammatical subject," and they practice recognizing these forms in sentences. Students convert passive sentences to active form and convert active sentences to passive form in guided exercises (Option 1 and Option 2). Students locate instances of passive voice in the text and explain why the author used passive constructions, providing opportunities to use domain-specific grammar vocabulary when analyzing sentences.
Lesson 6
The Inn
Students are asked to "Review the vocabulary for the novel," which directs them to attend to word meanings used in the text. The lesson uses domain-specific content (Middle Ages food, peasants, nobles, feudal system, imported spices) in readings, discussion prompts, and the medieval recipes activity, encouraging students to talk about historical food practices. The sentence-combining activity asks students to revise and create compound and complex sentences, which supports more precise sentence-level expression.
Lesson 7
An Angel or a Saint
Students read background information that names and explains domain-specific concepts such as domesticated animals, plowing, manure, fertilizer, livestock, serf, manor, and the custom called Heriot. In Activity 2 students are asked to draw three medieval domesticated animals and write examples of how each animal influenced the economics of peasants' lives, which requires explanatory writing about historical/economic relationships. In Activity 1 students practice sentence elaboration (adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, descriptive clauses), strengthening their ability to choose more precise and descriptive language in writing.
Lesson 9
Cast of Characters
Students are asked to summarize characters in 1–2 (and in one organizer 7–15) sentences and to supply an "example of descriptive language used by the author," which requires attention to word choice and precision. The Activities section explicitly teaches parallelism, tense consistency, and active vs. passive voice, and students correct and revise sentences to make wording more exact. The Parent Plan Skills statement directs students to use a variety of complete sentence structures and consistent tenses, reinforcing precise sentence-level language.
Lesson 10
Point of View
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms such as first-person, third-person, second-person, limited, omniscient, objective, subjective, and perspective. Students are asked to find two first-person and two third-person books, determine whether third-person narrators are limited or omniscient, judge where narrators fall on the objective/subjective spectrum, and share their findings with a parent. The Parent Plan asks parents to check that students can describe how they determined narrator type and where it falls on the spectrum, which requires students to use the vocabulary to explain their reasoning.
Lesson 11
Village Life
Students practice correcting passive voice, verb tense shifts, and non-parallel constructions on the "Spotting Errors" page, directly focusing on choosing clearer, more precise grammatical forms. On the "More Homophones" page, students define homophone pairs, identify parts of speech, and write sentences that demonstrate correct word choice. Students read monologues and a descriptive paragraph that includes domain-related words (e.g., jousting, glassblower, blacksmith, minstrels), which exposes them to topic-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 12
Glassblowers, Tanners, and Snigglers
Students practice choosing stronger words and expanding simple sentences into detailed ones using prompts for how, when, and where (the Painting Sentences activities). The materials direct students to "pick a word to paint," "work with words or phrases," "refine wording," and "check spelling and punctuation," which requires selecting more precise vocabulary and phrasing. Students are asked to relate painted sentences to characters and monologues from Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, connecting word choice to historical contexts.
Final Project
Life in the Middle Ages Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to review a vocabulary list and complete Part I of the unit test, which requires using specific Middle Ages vocabulary words correctly in fill-in-the-blank sentences, with an answer key provided. Students must create a story cube using six Middle Ages–related vocabulary words and use them to generate a creative story. Students are asked to draw and label a castle blueprint, identifying important features and their purposes, and to write summaries, monologues, book reviews, and descriptive paragraphs that call for domain knowledge and precise descriptions.
Unit 3: The Age of Discovery
Lesson 1
Why Was There an Age of Discovery?
Students read texts that include domain-specific terms (for example, Crusades, Reconquista, navigators, mapmakers, cartography) and add timeline cards and labeled map features such as voyages sponsored by Henry the Navigator, Granada, and Istanbul. Students write 1-2 sentence explanations for five motivations (Religion, Competition, Wealth, Glory, Knowledge), prepare and deliver a speech using index cards labeled with those domain terms, and complete a graphic organizer that connects motivations with written notes along arrows.
Lesson 2
New World Empires
Students read text passages that use discipline-specific terms (Inca, Aztec, Tenochtitlán, Machu Picchu, Cahokia; words like domesticated, irrigation, tribute) and answer content questions about those topics. Students label maps and timelines with specific place names and events (Pachakuti, Montezuma I, Height of Aztec Empire) requiring use of those terms. Students complete comparison charts or Venn diagrams about government, religion, economy, and sanitation, which prompt them to write about topic-specific concepts. Students in Option 2 take organized notes under headings such as Agriculture, Trade, Mounds, and Beliefs & Symbols, guiding use of domain vocabulary in their notes.
Lesson 3
European Explorers
Students are asked to label geographic features (Canary Islands, Bahamas, St. Lawrence River, Hochelaga, Stadacona) and draw explorer routes, requiring use of place names and map vocabulary. Students complete Explorer Trading Cards with fields such as "What he was looking for," "What he found," and "Relationships with native people," which prompt use of terms like Aztec, Inca, and Roanoke. Activity 4 asks students to record factors explaining Spanish conquest and the provided answer key includes domain-specific terms (e.g., cavalry, metal armor, siege, ransom, civil war) that students are expected to identify and note.
Lesson 4
The Consequences of Contact
Students are asked in Activity 1 to draw arrows and label exchanges (e.g., "tobacco," "smallpox," "potato," "cows, pigs, horses," and amounts of gold/silver) between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In Activities 2 and 3 students must write arguments, supporting facts, and brief opening/closing statements for a debate, which requires using factual terms about contact and its consequences. In Activity 4 Option 1 students perform calculations using terms like "mortality rate" and population estimates, applying numerical, domain-specific language to quantify deaths.
Lesson 5
Copernicus and Changes in Science
The lesson's "Things to Know" defines key terms such as the scientific method and heliocentric system, and the readings (Newton at the Center) introduce Copernicus' findings and related vocabulary. Guided questions ask students to explain Francis Bacon's idea of science and to name Copernicus' discoveries, prompting use of terms like observation, experimentation, orbit, and axis. Activity 4 requires students to draw diagrams of the medieval (geocentric) and Copernican (heliocentric) models, which requires representing and labeling domain-specific concepts. The "A Personal Introduction" activity asks students to present Copernicus' background and scientific findings orally or in writing, encouraging use of content-specific language to explain ideas.
Lesson 6
Galileo
Students are directed to "read the definitions in bold print throughout the text," indicating exposure to domain-specific terms. The comprehension questions include a direct vocabulary question ("What is inertia?") and other items that require using scientific terms (e.g., air resistance, parabola). Activity 2 has students perform Galileo's falling-bodies experiment and note effects "due to air resistance," connecting hands-on observation to specific terminology.
Lesson 7
Isaac Newton
Students read assigned chapters that explicitly name domain-specific concepts such as gravity, calculus, color theory, and Newton's three laws of motion (Questions 1-2 and Activity 1). Student Activity Pages and questions prompt use of technical terms: e.g., "What does a telescope do?," "Was barometric pressure mentioned?," and prompts about thermometer scales. Timeline and activity labels name specific inventions and figures (telescope, microscope, barometer, thermometer; Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, Daniel Fahrenheit), requiring students to identify and refer to those domain-specific terms.
Final Project
Discovery Research Project
Students are told to review the "Things to Know" sections for important facts and vocabulary and to study biographies and timelines (Activity 1, Option 1). The unit test includes an item asking students to define a key scientific term and multiple questions that require naming scholars (Copernicus, Galileo, Newton) and inventions (telescope, microscope) from the Scientific Revolution. The final project and its rubric require students to introduce scholars, explain historical significance, and deliver a clear presentation and demonstration, which expects use of content-specific terms.
Unit 3: The Solar System
Lesson 1
The Latest View of Our Solar System
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (light year, orbit, planet) and are introduced to category labels (Terrestrial, Gas Giant, Dwarf). Students sort 13 planets by those technical categories, sketch planets, and answer questions that identify criteria for categories (size, density, composition). Option 2 asks students to define characteristics using prompts (Size; Made of?; Dense?; Surrounded by objects?) and match descriptive planet profiles to category names.
Lesson 2
Our Sun
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (photosphere, sunspot, solar flare, solar prominence) in the "Things to Know" and "Things to Review" sections. Students must label maxima and minima on graphs, complete calculations about the length of sunspot cycles, and answer prompts that require written explanations (e.g., "Explain what a sunspot cycle is" and "Discuss what your data tells you about the average length of this cycle"). The student activity pages and answer key use and mark domain-specific vocabulary (M and m for maxima/minima, numeric cycle lengths), prompting students to use those terms when describing results.
Lesson 3
Earth, the Third Planet
Students are asked to record and explain specific planetary attributes (diameter, density, distance from the Sun, orbital period, rotational period, temperatures, moons, rings, unique features) on the Planetary Passport and board-game cards, requiring use of terms like "orbital period" and "rotational period." Students read definitions of axis and super-Earths and answer targeted questions using precise facts (e.g., "23.5 degrees" tilt; water as solid, liquid, gas). Students create explanatory products (cards, a slideshow/animation, or a physical model) that must show the tilt, rotation, and orbit and identify seasons, which prompts use of domain-specific vocabulary in their presentations.
Lesson 4
Satellites and Telescopes
The lesson provides a glossary-style "Things to Know" section that defines domain-specific terms such as geostationary orbit, topographic map, spectral analysis, and reflectance curves. Students answer guided Reading and Questions that require use of those terms (e.g., explain geostationary vs. polar orbits; identify that map colors represent elevation). The student activity asks learners to add spectral analysis to their topographic map and to "match the color with what an ultraviolet telescope would see," and to "explain how satellites make it possible to create topographic maps," which prompts use of technical vocabulary in responses.
Lesson 5
Meteorites and the Moon
Students read definitions in the 'Things to Know' section that explicitly define meteoroid, meteor, meteorite, Moon, and tidal bulge. Students answer targeted questions that require use of those terms (e.g., distinguishing meteors vs. meteorites, explaining what causes the tidal bulge). Students create a slideshow, animation, or physical model and are prompted to show the tidal bulge, the Moon's orbit, and why there are two high tides per day, which requires them to refer to domain-specific concepts.
Lesson 6
Other Terrestrial Planets
Students are asked to read content that defines a terrestrial planet and describes Mercury, Venus, and Mars using scientific terms (e.g., atmosphere, carbon dioxide, orbital and rotational periods). The Planetary Passport activity requires students to record specific domain‐specific data in labeled fields such as Diameter, Density, Distance from the Sun, Orbital Period, Rotational Period, and Surface Temperatures. The board game cards ask students to write and answer questions using those same technical prompts (e.g., "What is Mercury's orbital period?"), prompting use of precise vocabulary in their responses.
Lesson 7
Gas Giants
Students are asked to fill a "Planetary Passport" table that requires specific quantitative and technical entries (Diameter, Distance from the Sun, Hours in a Day, Orbital Period, Moons, Temperatures, Rings, Appearance). The "From Earth to Eris" game cards prompt students to answer domain-specific questions such as diameter vs. Earth, density, orbital period, and rotational period. Activity prompts for the vacation poster or short story require students to include information on atmospheric composition, hazards, and comparisons of being "heavier/lighter," drawing on vocabulary from the readings (for example, ammonia hydrosulfide and ring bands labeled A–G).
Lesson 8
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids
Students are asked to record and compare specific physical and orbital properties on the "Planetary Passport" (fields include Diameter; Distance from the Sun; What is a Day Like?; What is a Year Like?; Moons; Rings; Temperature; Apparent Color). The "From Earth to Eris" cards prompt students to answer targeted questions using domain terms such as diameter, density, orbital period, and rotational period for Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. The reading and discussion prompts use vocabulary like dwarf planet, asteroid belt, gas giants, and Kuiper belt that students must reference when answering questions and comparing planets.
Lesson 9
Men on the Moon and Beyond
Students are asked to write a report on a repurposed space technology and to complete activity pages that require naming components and technical details (e.g., the cochlear implant's four main parts: microphone, speech processor, transmitter/receiver/stimulator, and electrode array). Students must record materials and a step-by-step procedure for building a spacecraft model, which requires precise procedural language. Reading and question prompts ask students to identify specific space program terms and milestones (Apollo program, NASA, International Space Station, Cassini-Huygens), which encourages the use of domain-specific vocabulary.
Final Project
Solar System Model and Test
Students answer test questions that require specific domain vocabulary and precise distinctions (for example, explaining how meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites are related and naming planet categories). The parent plan provides correct terminology (e.g., terrestrial planets, Gas Giant planets, dwarf planets) and characteristics used to sort planets (size, density, composition), which students must recall. Students must write a "Written Plan for a New Solar System Model" and respond to prompts asking how the model will show relative sizes, distances, and orbits, requiring descriptive, topic-specific language. The grading rubric explicitly asks for "showing or describing the relative sizes of the planets and objects," "relative distances," and "how the planets orbit the Sun," linking assessment to descriptive use of content vocabulary.
Unit 3: The Prince and the Bard
Lesson 1
Introduction to The Little Prince
Students learn and define domain-specific words such as "prestigious" and the four persuasion techniques: glittering generalities, flattery, dares, and promises. Students complete activities that require them to match technique names with descriptions, collect or write examples, and write their own ad copy (Option 2). Students also practice precise punctuation by writing sentences that use parentheses correctly, including composing a complete sentence inside parentheses.
Lesson 2
Meeting the Little Prince
Students are given explicit vocabulary definitions for apparition and edification in the "Things to Know" section, so they learn specific word meanings. Students are asked to answer comprehension questions in complete sentences and to create a Venn diagram labeling what children and adults want to know about a friend, which requires them to choose and write descriptive phrases. The parentheses activity asks students to analyze authorial word choice and punctuation effects, prompting attention to precise wording and nuance.
Lesson 3
The Flower and Other Planets
Students are given a definition of ellipses and directed activities that require them to recognize, insert, and justify ellipses when reconstructing or shortening passages. Students must find instances of ellipses in the text, note chapter/page, write the sentence, and explain the effect of the ellipsis. Students also choose named persuasion techniques (flattery, dares, promises, glittering generalities) and plan or perform a 30-second persuasive message, using those technique labels in their work.
Lesson 4
Earth and Other Planets
Students correct sentences that include domain words (e.g., "geographer," "geographies") in the Sentence Editing activity and are given a vocabulary note defining "ephemeral." In the Model a Planet activity students describe a planet, list resources, and outline problems and solutions, which asks for concrete details. The Two Views adult option explicitly suggests including facts, figures, and measurement (e.g., "measure the distance ... to the nearest centimeter").
Lesson 5
Making Friends on Earth
Students are asked to paraphrase major ideas and supporting evidence in formal and informal presentations (Skills). Students complete Part III by writing two sentences that use italics to emphasize a word or short phrase, practicing deliberate word choice for emphasis. The lesson defines the word "monotonous" and requires students to answer comprehension questions in complete sentences, prompting attention to wording.
Lesson 6
Saying Goodbye
Students are given a definition of the literary term foreshadowing in "Things to Know" and are prompted in discussion questions to identify whether the author foreshadowed the ending. Students edit sentences for grammar, spelling, and punctuation in Activity 1, practicing precise word-level and sentence-level language. Students write a poem or an artist's description explaining the little prince's departure (Activity 2) and answer comprehension questions that require clear explanatory responses about motives and evidence.
Lesson 7
Introduction to Shakespeare
Students are asked to restate confusing Shakespearean lines in today's English and focus on overall meaning, which practices translating archaic vocabulary into clearer language. Students answer a question identifying the meaning of Early Modern English pronouns ("thou"/"thy" = you), showing explicit attention to domain-specific words. Students complete activities that require using brackets to define or clarify underlined words, and they research and explain the use of the notation "[sic]," demonstrating work with precise notation and vocabulary within quotations.
Lesson 11
Watching the Play
Students read Act 4, Scene 2 using both a modern translation and the original text, exposing them to terms like "Act," "Scene," "comedy," and "tragedy." The "Things to Know" section defines genre terms and introduces the phrase "moral flaw," giving domain-specific labels students can use. Questions require students to answer in complete sentences and to explain why the play is a comedy, prompting use of genre vocabulary in explanation. Discussion prompts ask students to evaluate key scenes and how well the animated tale tells Shakespeare's story, encouraging verbal use of story-specific terms.
Lesson 12
Tragic Love
Activity 2 (Persuasive Vocabulary) asks students to create a persuasive message and to "Choose 2-3 of the vocabulary words you've learned from this unit that will work in your message." The lesson supplies a specific list of domain-specific words (e.g., pestilence, presage, ephemeral) and tells students to use those vocabulary words in their message. The Wrapping Up step asks students to share their message and explain why they chose the vocabulary words.
Final Project
Love Letters
The unit contains a Part B vocabulary task that asks students to use the words presage, acclamation, and ephemeral in sentences tied to The Little Prince, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. The answer key refers students to a master vocabulary list for definitions, indicating explicit practice with domain-specific literary terms. The student activities also require writing an outline and a persuasive essay that ask for evidence and quotations from the texts, which could provide contexts to apply precise vocabulary.
Unit 4: Elizabethan Europe
Lesson 1
Europe at the Time of Elizabeth's Birth
Students read passages and questions that define and use domain-specific terms such as Reformation, indulgences, purgatory, sacraments, Protestant, and Catholic (Reading pages 8–13 and the Q&A on indulgences and faith vs. works). Students write explanations comparing Martin Luther's views to Catholic teachings in Activity 2, which asks them to respond directly to statements about Church practices using Luther's perspective. Students research and compose a biographical poem in Activity 4 that is expected to include accurate information about Luther's beliefs (e.g., baptism, communion, faith alone) and thus draws on historical vocabulary.
Lesson 2
The Renaissance and Elizabeth's Childhood
Students read passages that introduce domain terms (e.g., Renaissance, secular humanism, printing press, Silk Road, Scientific Revolution) and answer comprehension questions that require use of those terms. In Activity 3 students label a map with events and places (Gutenberg, Marco Polo, Wittenberg, Constantinople) and attach event squares, requiring precise geographic and historical labeling. In Activities 4 and the Digital Art Field Trip students write 2–3 sentence gallery descriptions and complete fields for title/artist/year/website and explain why they selected works, which requires using domain-specific names and descriptive language.
Lesson 3
Becoming Queen
Students plan a symbolic coronation gift and write about its meaning using a provided list of flower, color, and object meanings (e.g., rosemary = remembrance, pearls = purity), which prompts use of historical-symbolism vocabulary. In the blackwork embroidery options, students work with domain-specific textile terms and materials (e.g., Aida cloth, embroidery hoop, stitches, blackwork patterns) and may stitch or design using those terms. The reading and short-answer questions ask students to describe historical events and roles (e.g., Protestants burned at the stake; Elizabeth fashioned a "virgin queen" image), which requires factual, topic-specific language.
Lesson 4
Religious Turmoil
Students read passages and questions that use domain-specific terms such as "Act of Uniformity," "papal bull," "excommunicated," "Puritans," "the elect," "Protestant," and "Catholic," and are required to answer questions using those terms. Students add timeline cards labeled with figures (Desiderius Erasmus, John Calvin, William Tyndale) and the Act of Uniformity, which requires recognition and use of precise historical names. Students color-code and label a map of Elizabethan Europe as Protestant, Catholic, or divided, practicing correct vocabulary for religious affiliation.
Lesson 5
International Affairs
Students read text that names and explains domain-specific terms such as Counter-Reformation, Council of Trent, Jesuits, privateers, and Triangular Trade. Students label and complete a Triangular Trade map with specific trade terms (e.g., Manufactured Goods, Cloth, New World Goods) in Activity 3. Students write genre tasks (diary entries, proposals, monologues) that prompt use of historical roles and vocabulary (Privy Council, Jesuit priest, colonizer, Spain/Portugal's New World wealth).
Lesson 7
The End of Elizabeth I's Era
Students read content using domain-specific terms such as "the Pale," "Protestant Reformation," "Counter-Reformation," and references to events like the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the question answer key. Students answer focused comprehension questions that require use of those historical terms and write informational products (an epitaph mini-book or an adjective-with-example analysis) summarizing Elizabeth's accomplishments and leadership. Option 2 explicitly asks students to provide concrete examples to support descriptive adjectives, which encourages precise description of historical events.
Lesson 8
The Making of the Modern World
Students interact directly with domain-specific vocabulary in the cut-and-paste Option 2 boxes (e.g., "printing press," "Protestant Reformation," "Age of Discovery," "scientific method," "vernacular"). Students are instructed to "highlight the most important words" in those boxes and then place them on the Medieval vs. Modern chart, prompting identification of precise terms. Students are asked to "write your ideas about how those things are connected on the line" in Activity 2, which asks them to record connections using the labels and key vocabulary. The provided answer key models concise, domain-specific phrasing (e.g., "The printing press allowed ideas to travel quickly," "Bible translated into the vernacular").
Final Project
An Elizabethan Lapbook
Students label maps (England, Spain, France, and specific locations) and assemble a Map mini-Book, write 1-2 sentence summaries of historical events and one sentence about their importance to Elizabeth I in the Historical Events mini-book, and create timeline entries with 7–10 important dates. Students describe the Triangular Trade by identifying trade goods, flows, and slavery, and compose 2–3 details for people in the Family Album mini-book. The rubric and project requirements ask for accurate information on history, economics, and culture and include a unit test with short-answer questions about the Reformation, Renaissance, and Elizabeth I.
Unit 4: Technological Design
Lesson 1
What Is Technology?
Students read explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (artifact, hardware, methodology, technique, system of production, social-technical system) in the "Things to Know" and introductory sections. Students apply these terms by sorting and classifying a provided list of technologies into four categories on activity pages and by arranging labeled images into category grids. Students are prompted to give a rationale for category choices during parent-guided discussion, which requires using the vocabulary to explain classifications.
Lesson 2
Technological Innovator
Students are asked to sort inventions into four explicit categories (Artifacts or hardware, Methodology or technique, Systems of production, Social-technical systems), labeling items on a chart using those domain terms. The lesson provides explicit definitions for domain terms such as "perspective" and "proportion," which students read and apply. Students answer questions about how da Vinci used proportion and the perspectograph, requiring them to describe technical ideas (e.g., proportions of color to indicate distance).
Lesson 3
Meaningful Technological Designs
Students are asked to write informational paragraphs about an inventor and the invention (Part 1) and to write about the rationale, tests/trials, or patents associated with the device (Part 3), which require factual, topic-specific explanation. The Answer Key and activity details include technical terms and domain vocabulary such as nitroglycerin, diatomaceous earth, aneroid/mercury barometer, lithography, Carrier Chiller, vitascope, patents, experimentation, and observation. The "Things to Know" section gives precise definitions for terms like benefit, meaningful, and harmful that students must use when evaluating designs.
Lesson 4
Necessity vs. Luxury
Students label each technology on the activity charts using the provided domain-specific category terms: artifact or hardware (A), methodology or technique (M), system of production (SP), and social-technical system (ST). Students are directed to research devices with targeted search phrases such as "What is the microprocessor?" or "How does a smoke alarm work?" to learn technical definitions and functions. The provided answer keys model the classification language (A, M, SP, ST) and students must answer explanatory questions about how a technology solved a problem and whether it is a necessity or luxury, which prompts engagement with technical concepts.
Lesson 5
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention
Students are asked to produce explanatory directions and diagrams (Option 2) that teach someone how to produce perspective, which requires describing procedures and spatial relationships. Students are asked to build and use a device to measure wind speed (Option 3) and to advise festival coordinators, which requires reporting measurements and interpreting scale. The lesson text defines and uses domain-specific terms such as proportion, scale, linear perspective, innovation, and technological design and includes discussion prompts that ask students to explain how those concepts influenced design choices.
Lesson 6
Da Vinci's Inventions
The lesson provides explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section for terms such as scientific principle, risk, benefit, design constraint, and testing protocol. The "STANDARDS" rubric and multiple Student Activity Pages require students to rate and write evidence under category headings labeled with domain-specific terms (Scientific Principles, Risks, Benefits, Constraints/Limitations, Testing Protocols). Activities ask students to provide descriptions, explanations for ratings, and to revisit and briefly explain changes to their evaluations, which prompts use of those specific terms in student responses.
Lesson 7
Contemporary Design Approaches
Students are asked in "Things to Know" to review definitions of terms such as scientific principle, risk, benefit, design constraint, and testing protocol. Student activity pages require students to identify and write about Scientific Principles, Risks, Benefits, Constraints/Limitations, and Testing Protocols in the Rating and Evidence columns for vacuum cleaners, televisions, and computers. The "Engineering on a Budget" activity asks students to research a problem and write brief descriptions of possible solutions, which prompts them to use domain-related concepts and terminology.
Lesson 8
Engineering
Students read explicit definitions of "engineering" and "manufacturing" in the "Things to Know" section and encounter domain-specific terms such as prototype, constraints, protocol, redesign, cushioning/framing/bonding materials throughout the activity instructions. Students use a structured Student Activity Page with fields like Trial Results, Reason, and Modification Recommendations to document and explain test outcomes. Students are asked to prepare notes and an engineering presentation discussing how solutions meet needs and societal impact/trade-offs, which provides an occasion to use technical vocabulary to inform an audience.
Lesson 9
Modeling an Idea
Students are asked to "review the vocabulary and concepts covered in this unit" as part of test preparation (Activity 2). Students perform tests describing outcomes (e.g., brick moves, brick sticks, brick tips over) and are asked to "explain how they achieved a working model" and to "publish the results" by completing activity pages. The procedure explicitly uses domain-related terms in tasks (e.g., placing the brick on sandpaper for "friction testing") and includes modeling process terms (Aim/Research Focus, Design Process, Testing, Model Fit and Improvement) that students must define and apply.
Final Project
Final Exam and Model Bridge
Students are asked to define and give examples for four categories of technology and to organize historical and modern designs into those categories, requiring use of technical terms. Students must explain and evaluate a technological device (camera obscura) using headings such as Scientific Principles, Risks, Benefits, Constraints/Limitations, and Testing Protocols. Students are required to list and briefly describe the steps of the engineering and modeling processes and to prepare an engineering presentation that includes rationale and tradeoffs for design choices.
Unit 4: Newton at the Center
Lesson 1
Features of Non-Fiction
Students are instructed to read pages describing features of non-fiction and to highlight the main ideas and then highlight the names of each feature in orange. Students complete an activity page in which they fill in definitions for domain-specific terms such as table of contents, index, headings, graphics (graphs, diagrams, charts, photographs, captions), sidebars, bold words, and margins. The Parent Plan lists expected student responses (precise definitions for spreads, margins, table of contents, index, headings, and types of graphics), indicating students will identify and define vocabulary used to describe non-fiction text features.
Lesson 2
Newton and Math
Students are asked to rewrite Newton's Inverse Square Law in their own words (Day 2, Question 4), which requires restating a technical scientific statement. Activity 4 directs students to prepare a 2-minute oral summary of a calculus page, identifying the main idea and explaining what the graph shows, and the parent notes mention integral calculus and the "skinny rectangle" technique. The lesson provides a "Things to Know" vocabulary list (eccentric, annus mirabilis, etc.) and extensive instruction on parts of speech and sentence diagramming so students practice precise grammatical phrasing.
Lesson 3
Newton and Light
Students read content that contains domain-specific terms (for example, the Things to Know entry defining 'corpuscles' and the reading that explains spectroscopy, spectrum, and elements). Students are instructed to note unfamiliar words and their page numbers as they read, prompting vocabulary identification. Students must use accurate terminology when preparing an oral presentation about diagramming sentences and are asked to review sentence-diagramming sections to ensure their terminology is accurate.
Lesson 4
Newton and Motion
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (inertia, force, Newton's three laws, gravity) in the "Things to Know" and "Things to Review" sections, which students are directed to review. Students are asked to take notes on "unfamiliar words" as they read and to summarize important information from the text, which prompts attention to vocabulary. Activities require students to describe events from the book and to write headlines or dramatize perspectives, providing opportunities to use content-related language in writing and speaking.
Lesson 6
Math and Science Take Flight
Students read a NASA aerodynamics page and Chapter 21 about Bernoulli, take notes on unfamiliar words, and are given a clear definition of Bernoulli's principle in "Things to Know." Students complete a Student Activity Page that asks them to define "lift," list materials and procedures, and draw conclusions about how the demonstration explains airplane flight. Students are asked to create their own numbered list of instructions for a demonstration and to summarize for a parent how an airplane wing works.
Lesson 7
Using Newton's Work
Students are asked to use Simple Machines Vocabulary cards and discussion questions (Activity 2) and then identify which simple machines are involved when they explain a mechanical device to a parent, which requires naming and applying domain terms. The "Things to Know" section provides definitions of scientific terms (temperature, conservation laws, element, E=mv²), giving students explicit domain vocabulary to read and reference. Students must produce an oral summary (Activity 5) and a 1–2 paragraph sidebar about an artist (Activity 6), tasks in which they can apply precise descriptive language and domain-specific vocabulary about art or science.
Final Project
Lobby for Newton
Students are explicitly asked to incorporate unit vocabulary into their writing: Activity 4 instructs students to "use at least two of the vocabulary words from this book," and the unit test (Part B) requires students to use three vocabulary words in a sentence about Newton. The Technical Writing Rubric requires students to list 2–3 relevant areas of Newton's studies and explain their relation to current industries, which prompts use of domain-specific concepts in explanatory context. The Outlining and brainstorming activities direct students to gather observations, examples, and quotations to support each area, guiding them to place vocabulary in explanatory writing.
Unit 5: Modern Europe
Lesson 1
Introduction to Europe
Students label countries, capitals, and geographic features (for example: Norwegian Sea, White Sea, Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Caspian Sea, Aegean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, English Channel) on a poster-sized map. Students complete a scavenger-hunt worksheet that asks them to identify which countries use the euro, name the European Economic Community (the precursor to the EU), locate the EU administrative center (Brussels), and explain symbols on the EU flag. Students add pages to a "Quick Guide to Europe," implying they will write informational entries about individual countries and their economies, geographies, and cultures.
Lesson 2
Scandinavia and Finland
Students are given explicit definitions of terms such as "material culture," "non-material culture," "cultural diffusion," "invention," and "innovation" in the "Things to Know" section and are asked to classify cultural changes using those terms. The Quick Guide pages prompt students to write about geography, climate, how geography and natural resources influence the economy, and to provide examples of material and non-material culture, requiring use of domain-specific vocabulary. Activity 1 requires students to label countries and capitals and identify geographic features (fjords, forests, lakes, coasts) while Activity 2 has students connect those geographic features to industries using terms like shipping, lumber, fishing, tourism, and architecture.
Lesson 3
The British Isles
Students are prompted to identify and define domain-specific terms on multiple activity pages (e.g., "What is an MP?", "What are the three parts of Parliament?", "How does a bill become law?"). Students fill Quick Guide and country pages with items like Form of Government, Official Language(s), and answer questions that require use of parliamentary vocabulary (Prime Minister, House of Commons, House of Lords, Peers, Royal Assent). The provided answer keys and note-taking prompts reinforce precise labels and factual terminology drawn from the readings and videos.
Lesson 4
The Low Countries, Germany, and France
Students are asked to complete 'Quick Guide' pages that prompt specific fields such as Population, Official Language(s), Form of Government, Geography and Climate, and questions about how natural resources influence the economy, which require use of geographic and social-studies vocabulary. Students must label countries and capitals on a map and produce informative products: an environmental poster with a brief statement and a reason, or a newspaper with three news summaries (2–3 sentences each) including headlines and sources. The activity prompts include terms like 'material culture,' 'non-material culture,' and 'diffusion,' which lead students to engage with domain-specific concepts.
Lesson 5
Spain, Portugal, and Italy
Students are asked to complete "Quick Guide" pages for Portugal and Italy with fields such as Population, Official Language(s), Form of Government, Geography and Climate, and prompts about how geography and resources influence the economy. The activity pages explicitly ask students to identify material vs non-material culture and to indicate whether a cultural change is due to diffusion or invention/innovation, using domain-specific terms. Students also label countries and capitals on a map, which requires use of geographic vocabulary and precise naming.
Lesson 6
Switzerland and Austria
Students read descriptions of the Alps, Switzerland, Austria, and international organizations (ICRC, UN, WHO) and complete Quick Guide pages asking for Population, Official Language(s), Form of Government, and Geography and Climate. Students answer prompts that require explaining how geography and natural resources influence the economy and how people have addressed mountainous-region problems (e.g., farming on slopes, tunnels and bridges for transportation). Students match scenarios to international organizations and record examples of organizational activities, which requires use of terms like Geneva Conventions, humanitarian aid, tuberculosis eradication, and counter-terrorism plans.
Lesson 7
Slovenia, Croatia, Belarus, Baltic States
Students cut out and study multiple vocabulary cards (e.g., Head of Government, Executive Branch, Democracy, Bicameral/Unicameral, Judicial Branch, Political Party, Monarchy, Dictatorship) and play the Card Swipe game to match terms with definitions. Students complete worksheets that require them to write the "Form of Government," "Executive Branch," "Legislative Branch," "Judicial Branch," and "Political Parties" for specific countries (Belarus, Norway, and a third country). Students produce written products — a three-article "European News" newspaper with 2–3 sentence summaries, a Venn diagram comparing governments, and campaign posters/platforms — that invite use of government-related vocabulary and factual description.
Lesson 8
Central Europe
Students complete "Quick Guide" pages that prompt them to record population, official language(s), form of government, and geography and climate, which requires use of domain-specific terms. Students answer questions about how geography and natural resources influence the economy and whether cultural change occurred through diffusion or innovation, using social-studies vocabulary. In the music activity, students identify instruments and describe mood and adjectives conveyed by pieces, prompting use of precise descriptive language about music.
Lesson 9
Ukraine, Moldova, Caucasian Republics
Students are prompted to name and describe geographic features, climate, and natural resources (e.g., plains & steppes, mountains, rivers, coal, gas, oil, metals) on the activity pages and in the 'Quick Guide to Europe.' Students must explain how those features affect industrial, agricultural, and tourist economies by completing the 'Geography of Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasian Republics' activity, and the provided answer key models domain-specific terms (Dnieper, Dniester, Caucasus Mountains, steppes, industrial/agricultural/tourist economy). The worksheet also asks students to identify diffusion versus invention when describing cultural change, which requires use of disciplinary vocabulary.
Lesson 10
Southeast Europe
Students are prompted to complete Quick Guide and activity pages with headings such as "Official Language(s)", "Form of Government", and "Geography and Climate," which requires naming domain-specific political and geographic terms. Students must categorize a cultural change as diffusion or invention/innovation and identify examples of material and non-material culture, which asks them to use social-studies vocabulary correctly. Students complete latitude/longitude tasks using precise coordinates and label capitals and physical features on a map, which requires use of geographic terminology and numeric locational language.
Final Project
A Quick Guide to Europe
Students label countries and EU members on blank maps and complete test items that use domain terms such as "cultural diffusion," "material culture," and "non-material culture." Students answer short- and extended-response questions about forms of government, the euro, and geographic features, and must write a 5–6 sentence introduction that explicitly mentions geographies, governments, economies, and cultures for their Quick Guide.
Unit 5: Energy
Lesson 1
Introduction to Energy and Matter
Students match energy terms with definitions in the "Energy Vocabulary" activity and then make index-card term/definition pairs to study. Students use their vocabulary cards to sort items into "energy source" vs "form of energy" and to complete the "Survey of Energy in Your Neighborhood" table, recording the form of energy and evidence for each phenomenon. Students also answer written questions (e.g., identifying energy carriers) that require use of domain-specific words like radiant, kinetic, thermal, chemical, and mechanical.
Lesson 2
Energy Transfer
Students sort and label domain-specific vocabulary (Activity 1 vocabulary cards) into potential and kinetic categories and use an answer key that lists energy forms (kinetic: electrical, radiant, thermal, sound, mechanical; potential: nuclear, chemical, mechanical). Students answer direct questions defining and distinguishing terms (e.g., energy vs. power; potential vs. kinetic; conservation laws) in the Reading and Questions sections. Students label a diagram in Activity 3 with specific energy terms (thermal, radiant, mechanical, chemical) and trace energy pathways, requiring use of those technical terms.
Lesson 3
Electricity
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms in the "Things to Know" section (e.g., energy carriers, circuit, electromagnet, electromagnetic induction, turbine) and AC/DC are defined in the reading questions. Students are prompted to use vocabulary cards in Activity 1 when brainstorming ways electricity is used. Several activities require students to apply technical terms: the lemon battery explanation uses terms like +electrode, -electrode, voltage and chemical reaction, and the "Inside a Power Plant" activity asks students to fill blanks using a word bank of technical vocabulary (coiled wire, magnets, generator, turbine).
Lesson 4
Radiant Energy
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (e.g., electromagnetic radiation/waves, photon, photovoltaic cell, semiconductor, frequency, wavelength) in the "Things to Know" and parent-plan review sections. Students label and build a model of the electromagnetic spectrum on the activity page and arrange/cut-and-paste boxes that require use of technical terms. Students answer targeted questions that require precise terms to explain processes (e.g., Question #1 uses "hydrogen atoms fuse...nuclear fusion," Question #2 uses "photovoltaic cells" and "electric current," Question #3 uses "turbine" and "generator").
Lesson 5
More Renewable Power Sources
Students are given explicit definitions for domain terms (wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy) in the "Things to Know" section. Students answer guided questions that require use of technical vocabulary (e.g., reservoir, turbine, generator) when explaining how a dam creates electricity. Students build and demonstrate models (pinwheel and water wheel) and are prompted by parent questions to describe energy transfer using domain-specific terms (kinetic mechanical energy, overshot/undershot wheel).
Lesson 6
Nuclear Power
The lesson includes explicit domain-specific terms in the 'Things to Know' (e.g., nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, uranium, plutonium, neutrons, chain reaction, control rods, reactor, turbine, radioactive waste) and defines several of them. The Reading and Questions require students to write answers that use those terms (e.g., defining nuclear fission and explaining how a reactor generates electricity with a model answer that uses neutrons, fission, heat, steam, and turbine). The activities ask students to build and compare controlled and uncontrolled chain-reaction models and to describe how a nuclear power plant works, which prompts students to use relevant vocabulary in explanations and demonstrations.
Lesson 7
Fossil Fuels and Biomass
Students read explicit explanatory passages and definitions (e.g., Things to Know: descriptions of natural gas, petroleum, peat, coal, and biomass) that introduce domain-specific terms. Students answer targeted questions that require using content terms (e.g., identifying what fossil fuels are and differences between fossil fuels and biomass). Students create products (a poster, demonstration explanation, or creative presentation) that ask them to describe formation, extraction, uses, and advantages/disadvantages, which naturally call for domain-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Powering Our World
Students read definitions and explanations of technical terms such as power grid, substations, and megawatts, and are asked to find and identify those elements on the power grid diagram. Students create a pie chart labeling each energy source and its percentage and fill a chart listing advantages and disadvantages for named domain-specific sources (wind, hydropower, coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, geothermal, biomass). Students engage with a simulation that uses terms like MW and are instructed to read a Quick-Start Guide and challenge scenarios that use grid vocabulary.
Final Project
Energy Conservation
Students are asked to review vocabulary cards made in Lesson 1 and to study the unit review sheet that lists definitions and key terms (e.g., radiant energy, potential vs. kinetic energy, renewable vs. nonrenewable). The Unit Test Part 4 explicitly instructs students to write a paragraph using specific terms such as advantage, disadvantage, renewable, nonrenewable, environment, economy, and global warming/climate change. The letter/email task and parent guidance require students to address concepts like renewable and/or non-renewable sources, sustainable practices, cost, and efficiency of energy in a formal persuasive format.
Unit 5: British Poetry
Lesson 1
Rhythm and Meter
Students are given a unit vocabulary list (munificence, mete, azure, turbid, cloying, façade, armistice, juxtapose) and are instructed to mark syllables and pronunciations for these words using Merriam-Webster. In the "Syllables to Stanzas" option, students are asked to choose two or three vocabulary words and write a line about each, then mark the syllables in two of their lines. The lesson also defines domain terms such as "modernism," "meter," and "iambic pentameter" in the Things to Know and parent discussion sections.
Lesson 3
Graphic Elements
Students are asked to identify and label graphic elements (capitalization, punctuation in the middle of a line, varying line length) and record example lines in Activity 1, which requires them to use terms like "capitalization" and "punctuation." The Student Activity Page explicitly lists the graphic-element categories students must analyze, prompting students to match textual examples to those labels. The Things to Know and parent notes define specific terms (e.g., "blank verse," "azure," "mete"), which students review and can reference when discussing the poems.
Lesson 4
Figurative Language
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific literary vocabulary (metaphor, simile, idiom, personification, onomatopoeia, connotation, turbid, cloying). Students label photographs with columns for Metaphor/Simile, Personification, and Other Figurative Language on the "Walk Like a Poet" activity page, requiring them to identify and name these devices. Students write a poem using personification and either metaphor or simile and are asked to consider the connotation of their word choices as they compose.
Lesson 6
Tone
Students read Chapter 9 and answer questions that use domain-specific terms: they describe Smith's poem as written in "unrhymed lines that vary in length" and compare rhyme and meter to Browning's monologue. The Things to Know and Things to Review sections introduce and prompt review of the term "free verse" and "graphic elements (e.g., capital letters, line length, word position)." The Activities ask students to consider how Smith separated speakers and to change line position as a graphic element, engaging them with vocabulary about poetic form and presentation.
Lesson 7
Themes
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (juxtapose, villanelle, elegy) in the "Things to Know" section and asked to review those definitions. Students study punctuation rules for hyphens, dashes, and colons and complete a cut-and-paste activity that requires them to match rule descriptions to the correct punctuation category. Students answer reading comprehension questions in complete sentences and are asked to memorize and recite a poem and explain why they chose it, which prompts oral explanation.
Final Project
Autobiography of a Poet
Students are asked to write a two-paragraph analysis of their own poem that must discuss images/events and the poem's structure and techniques, with examples referencing terms like "blank verse" and "repetition." The unit test (Part A and Part C) asks students to define and explain literary and grammatical terms (personification, iambic pentameter, uses of colons and hyphens). Part B of the test requires students to produce original lines using at least three advanced vocabulary words (munificence, juxtapose, armistice, etc.). The rubric requires a 2-paragraph analysis and assesses correct use of punctuation and mechanics, reinforcing precise language and domain-specific terminology in students' explanatory writing.
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Revolution
Lesson 1
Founding of the Colonies
Students read texts and a timeline that include domain-specific terms (e.g., "proprietary colonies," "royal colony," "Indentured servants/ slaves," "Puritans/Separatists," and "Triangle Trade") in the "Things to Know" and Q&A sections. Students label a map with colony names and founding/royal dates, requiring use of precise proper nouns and historical terms. Discussion prompts and comprehension questions ask students to explain causes of migration, colonial governance, and the Triangle Trade, encouraging use of relevant vocabulary in responses.
Lesson 2
Southern Colonies
Students read texts and teacher notes that use and define domain-specific terms (for example, the lesson explains the difference between "indentured servants" and "enslaved people," and uses terms like tobacco, indigo, plantations, Virginia Company, charter, and Middle Passage). Students are asked to produce explanatory writing and products — a 2–3 paragraph diary/letter from an American Indian perspective, a recruitment poster for indentured servants, a comparative chart (Tobacco vs. Silk/Flax), a Venn diagram comparing voyages, and timeline entries — which require students to explain historical situations.
Lesson 3
The Middle and Northern Colonies
Students analyze the Mayflower Compact by creating a word cloud and answering interpretation questions, exposing them to phrases like "civill body politick" and other document-specific terms. Students review a detailed table of the 13 colonies that lists reasons for founding and early economic activities using terms such as plantation agriculture, proprietary colony, royal colony, and Quaker. Students write their own compact (Option 2), complete a Venn diagram comparing colonies, and fill in a Salem Witch Trials table that asks them to evaluate explanations using terms like hallucinations, mental illness, and fungus.
Lesson 4
Daily Life in the Colonies
Students read chapters that include domain-specific terms (for example, bodices with stays, petticoats, paniers, flax, wool, tricorn hat, mobcap, wattle-and-daub) and answer comprehension questions that require identifying and describing those items. The activity answer key and student pages list specific colonial goods and sources (e.g., wool, hosiery, fine lace, tea, straw tick, dipped candles), prompting students to match goods with their origins. Students plan and create colonial costumes or props (e.g., candle holder, braided rug, miniature wattle-and-daub house), which requires recognizing and working with technical names of objects from colonial life.
Lesson 5
Town and Country
The lesson defines and uses domain terms such as "subsistence crops" and "cash crops" in the Things to Know section and names specific crops (tobacco, indigo). Option 1 directs students to write detailed procedural lists (soil preparation, planting, pests, harvesting, processing) that require specific agricultural vocabulary. The Student Activity Page lists occupations (blacksmith, cooper, apothecary, chandler, etc.) and asks students to describe "What They Did" and give reasons, prompting use of trade-specific terms. The Colonial Crafts activity asks students to think about materials (grown locally, made locally, imported), encouraging use of material-source vocabulary.
Lesson 6
Leading Up to Revolution
Students are asked to complete Activity 2: Resistance, which provides a table listing specific acts and policies (Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act, Quartering Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act, Coercive/Intolerable Acts) and prompts them to explain "What It Did and Why the British Might Have Enacted It" and "Why Colonists Might Have Objected to It." The lesson text and "Things to Know" sections repeatedly use and define domain-specific terms (e.g., non-importation, boycott, taxation, duties, Boston Tea Party, Coercive/Intolerable Acts). The parent/answer key language models precise phrasing for many items (e.g., "direct tax," "duties paid on goods," "taxation without representation"), which students can read and refer to while completing activities.
Lesson 7
Independence
Students read and analyze primary and secondary historical texts (Declaration of Independence, Patrick Henry's speech, readings on the First Great Awakening) and discuss their content. In Activity 2, students print Jefferson's rough draft, identify 3–5 significantly revised sections, and suggest 2–3 edits, requiring attention to specific wording and editorial marks (strikethroughs and bracketed additions). Option 1 and discussion prompts ask students to explain connections between religious language/ideas and political views, and Option 2 asks students to choose and perform a powerful paragraph, focusing on the impact of specific phrasing.
Lesson 8
Fighting the War
Students read primary- and secondary-source accounts that include domain-specific terms (for example: Continental Army, militia, Minute Men, privateer, encampment, French navy, Treaty of Paris). Students answer brochure questions that prompt use of terms and distinctions (e.g., "How were the Minute Men different from the militia?"; "What role did French forces play?"). Students write explanatory products (a letter from the battlefield, a timeline entry, and a brochure) in which they are asked to explain causes, daily life, and battle scenes, tasks that invite use of precise historical language.
Final Project
Living History
Students are asked to name specific colonies, identify British acts (e.g., Stamp Act, Intolerable Acts), and describe causes, events, and battles in written and oral forms, which requires use of historical terms. Students must match colonial occupations with their work and answer short-answer/essay prompts that call for specific historical details and terminology. Rubric criteria ask for accuracy, clarity, and thoughtful answers to audience questions, which reinforce use of correct domain-specific information during presentations and assessments.
Unit 1: Atoms
Lesson 1
Invisible Matter
Students study and practice domain-specific vocabulary: they create illustrations for terms, cut out and match word/definition cards, and are expected to recite correct definitions for words such as atom, element, matter, structure, and property. Students answer content questions (e.g., explain what is happening to the milk jug, what change is happening to the water) that require use of vocabulary related to particles, states of matter, and mass. Students record observations and masses and discuss how particle behavior explains their results, providing opportunities to use terms like water vapor, particles, and energy.
Lesson 2
Atomic Structure
Students learn and practice domain-specific terms through the Things to Know section and the Vocabulary Review activity, which lists and asks them to match and manipulate cards for terms such as nucleus, electron, neutron, proton, atomic model, and neutral. Students label and construct atomic models (fluorine, sodium, oxygen sample) using those exact terms and follow directions that reference orbitals, shells, protons, neutrons, and electrons. In Activity 3 (Option 2) students are asked to research scientists and write brief summaries of discoveries, providing a direct opportunity to use precise scientific vocabulary in explanatory writing.
Lesson 3
Properties of Matter I
The lesson provides a clear glossary ("Things to Know") that defines domain-specific terms such as conductivity, ductile, luster, malleable, metal, nonmetal, periodic table, and thermal. Students are prompted to use those terms when completing the Element Characteristics activity page by marking malleability, ductility, and luster, and by writing predictions and "Before/After" observations for conductivity. The answer key and parent discussion questions also model use of domain vocabulary (e.g., identifying aluminum and copper as ductile and conductive).
Lesson 4
Solid, Liquid, Gas: What's the Difference?
Students are given a "Things to Know" list with precise definitions for domain-specific terms such as atmospheric pressure, solid, liquid, gas, plasma, melting point, and boiling point. Students are asked to complete charts and list characteristics of gases, liquids, and solids (Option 2) using their book and other resources, which requires selecting and recording technical attributes. Students must answer follow-up questions comparing states of matter and create diagrams/illustrations representing particle behavior, which invites use of the provided vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Properties of Matter II
Students encounter and use domain-specific terms (density, solubility, volume, mass, weight, melting point, boiling point) in the "Things to Know" list and throughout activities. Students apply precise formulas (D = m/v; V = l × w × h; sphere and pyramid formulas) and convert units (milliliters to cubic centimeters) when calculating density and volume. Students match vocabulary to definitions and pictures in the Vocabulary Review and categorize properties as dependent or independent of amount, and they record measurements with units (grams, cm³) on data tables and activity pages.
Lesson 6
The Recurring (Periodic) Table of Elements
Students are given and use domain-specific terms and definitions (atomic number, atomic mass, electron configuration, metalloid, inert/noble gases, protons, electrons, neutrons, orbitals/shells) in the "Things to Know" and explanatory sections. Students complete tables and answer questions that require labeling elements with atomic number, atomic mass, numbers of protons/electrons, and electron shell counts using precise vocabulary. Activity prompts explicitly tell students to "use the vocabulary you have learned" when creating a visual aid and to describe similarities/differences (e.g., electrons on the outer shell, properties of metals vs. nonmetals).
Lesson 7
Classifying Matter
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms such as "compounds," "mixtures," "fixed proportions," and "chemistry" in the "Things to Know" section. Students read and interpret chemical formulas (e.g., NaHCO3, CaCO3, C12H22O11) and fill a table identifying elements and subscripts in Activity 1. Students perform observations and answer questions using technical vocabulary (e.g., "chemical reaction," "combustion," "reactants" and "products") in Activity 2 and the answer keys.
Lesson 8
Final Project
Students are given multiple vocabulary lists (e.g., atom, element, proton, electron, malleable, conductivity, density, atomic number, atomic mass, noble gas) and instructed to "review the following terms." Students complete matching exercises, unit-test short answers, and create "Atomic Cards" requiring element name, symbol, atomic number, and atomic mass. In the Survey Details and Getting Specific activities, students must record "Properties" and the "Reason for Material," which require them to describe materials using domain-specific terms.
Unit 1: Abigail Adams
Lesson 1
Getting to Know Abigail Adams
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (confidences, lucrative, wistfully, foreboding, affliction, fortitude, entail) with definitions and example sentences drawn from the text. Students must plan and write a letter using either five or all seven vocabulary terms, with instructions to use each term correctly in context and to produce a coherent, connected piece of writing. The lesson suggests topics for an "intellectual" letter (e.g., the book, current events) so students can use the vocabulary to discuss subject-matter content.
Lesson 2
John and Abigail Adams
Students are asked to identify and record bibliographic information and sources (Question #1 and #3 ask for full citation information and source identification). The text defines and uses domain-specific terms related to writing and documentation (topic sentence, transition, supporting sentences, concluding observation, citation, endnote, bibliography, plagiarism) in the "Things to Know" and reading sections. Activities require students to analyze sentence functions, correct paragraph sentences, and list pros/cons using evidence from the reading, which engages them with the writing-vocabulary used to explain and organize information.
Lesson 4
Continental Congress
The Parent Plan Skills explicitly state that students will "Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general, academic, and domain-specific words and phrases." Activity 2 (Vocabulary Review) directs students to mark familiarity for a list of words, look up definitions as needed, and write sentences using each word. The vocabulary list and the instructions to write sentences provide direct practice in using words in context.
Lesson 5
Remember the Ladies
Students are asked to analyze primary source letters using historian categories that include author/creator, type of source, content, context, point of view/bias, purpose, and audience, which exposes them to domain-specific terms. Activity pages require students to write a summary of the letter, answer questions about how the author used the letter, and explain which parts of the letter illuminate aspects of Abigail Adams's life, prompting use of analytic vocabulary (e.g., primary source, bias, context). The Parent Plan and Skills sections explicitly list evaluating reliability and validity of sources (publication date, coverage, language, point of view) as a skill to utilize, which directs students to consider and explain source credibility using disciplinary language.
Lesson 6
Separation
Students are presented with a labeled vocabulary list (protocol, abolish, destitute, sedition, apprehension, abhorrence, disconsolate, impudence) and asked to familiarize themselves with those terms. Students complete a crossword puzzle using a word bank and are encouraged to look up unfamiliar words, reinforcing recognition and meanings. The Skills section explicitly states that students will "acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general, academic, and domain-specific words and phrases," linking vocabulary work to instructional goals.
Lesson 7
Education
The lesson explicitly defines and teaches grammatical terms (gerunds, participles, infinitives) and asks students to identify them in sentences (underline gerunds, circle participles, underline infinitives and indicate their function). The paragraph analysis activity asks students to label sentence functions using precise rhetorical phrases (e.g., "States the main point," "Supplies background information," "Explains"). The activities require students to use the grammatical vocabulary to describe how verbals function in sentences.
Lesson 8
Genre
Students read a "Things to Know" list that defines genre-related terms (adventure, historical fiction, mystery, myth, science fiction, realistic fiction, satire, parody, graphic novel, allegory), exposing them to domain-specific vocabulary. In the "Matching Genres" activity, students apply those genre terms by sorting book descriptions and matching them to the correct labels. In the "Experimenting with Genre" task, students must summarize a nonfiction scene and then rewrite or retell it in a chosen genre, which asks them to use genre vocabulary when categorizing and producing text.
Lesson 9
The Vice Presidency
The Skills section lists and names many genre terms (adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, myths, etc.), so students are introduced to domain-specific vocabulary about literary genres. The Reading and Questions include explicit historical terms and explanations (e.g., "vice president," "cast a vote in the Senate only in case of a tie," and customs about debate), which expose students to precise vocabulary about the vice presidency. Activities ask students to read original letters and write a diary entry and book blurbs, tasks that require them to use content-related words (e.g., correspondence, friendship, influence) in writing.
Lesson 10
Presidential Politics
Students complete Activity 2, a compare-and-contrast chart titled "Federalists and Republicans," which asks them to record leaders, views of federal vs. state power, whom each party endorsed, and views of the French Revolution—tasks that require use of political/domain-specific vocabulary. The provided answer key lists explicit domain terms (Federalists, Republicans, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, federal government, states, elites, common man), which students are expected to use when filling the chart. The Parent Plan skills section explicitly states that students should "Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general, academic, and domain-specific words and phrases."
Lesson 11
Later Life
Students read Chapters 21–22 about John and Abigail Adams and answer factual questions that require naming historical items (for example, explaining what the Sedition Act did). Students complete a Venn-diagram or create artwork comparing Peacefield (the Adams farm) and the President's House, pulling details and labels from the readings and linked historical websites. The extension quote and references use historical terms such as "Executive Mansion"/President's House, giving students exposure to domain-specific vocabulary in context.
Lesson 12
Remembering Abigail Adams
Students are asked to write a 6–8 sentence eulogy or obituary about Abigail Adams, drawing on chapters read and important themes in her life, which requires them to convey information about a historical topic. The activity asks students to "be sure to use the grammatical concepts you have covered," and parents are instructed to review the written memorial for correct verb tenses, voices, and moods. The reading and activity materials provide content about Abigail Adams (roles, events, influence) that students must use to inform their writing.
Final Project
A One-Person Play
Students are directed to review "All of the vocabulary terms covered in previous lessons" on the study guide and the unit test includes an 8-word vocabulary section (e.g., abolish, sedition, entail) that students must fill in contextually. Students must state dates and "provide accurate dates and historical information" for scenes in their one-person play and are required to quote from at least one primary source. The rubric and instructions ask students to explain anything the audience may not be familiar with, which prompts use of precise explanatory language about historical events.
Unit 2: Civics
Lesson 1
The Origins of American Government
Students read and analyze primary historical texts (Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, selections from the English Bill of Rights) that contain legal and governmental terms. Students sort phrases from those documents into categories (Limits, Rights, Responsibilities) and write whose limits/rights/responsibilities are being defined, which requires identifying roles and terminology (king, Parliament, nobles, everyday people). Students take structured notes on the Articles of Confederation, summarizing sections in their own words and answering prompts about power distribution and potential problems.
Lesson 2
The Constitutional Convention
Students answer guided reading questions that require use of domain-specific terms (for example, questions and answers explicitly reference the Articles of Confederation, the Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, Federalists, and Anti-Federalists). Students research and complete 'Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists' pages asking for connections to Federalism and biographical details that call for use of historical vocabulary. Students prepare an Anti-Federalist 30-second speech and complete activities about Federalist No. 10 and modern factions, tasks that prompt them to name and explain concepts like faction, representation, House, and Senate.
Lesson 4
The Executive Branch
Students read Article II and several amendments and answer specific questions that require use of constitutional terms (e.g., "oath," "22nd Amendment," "reprieves or pardons," "State of the Union," "25th Amendment"). Students create a mini-book summarizing the executive branch by answering prompts (eligibility, term length, oath wording) that require precise factual language. In Option 1 students match department job descriptions to department names and fill in current cabinet members, using domain-specific department and agency vocabulary.
Lesson 5
The Legislative Branch
Students are asked to explain the legislative process in a flow chart or song and to include specific procedural terms (e.g., bill being sent to committee; votes in both the House and the Senate; president signs, vetoes, or pocket vetoes). Activity 2 requires students to look up a real bill and record Bill Number, Title of Bill, Sponsor(s), committee(s) that reviewed the bill, and what happened to the bill. The reading and question sections define and ask about domain-specific terms (for example, asking "What is a pocket veto?" and who may introduce a bill), which requires students to read and reference precise vocabulary.
Lesson 6
The Judicial Branch
Students read constitutional text and White House and Federal Judicial Center webpages that use terms such as judicial review, appeals, civil, criminal, and bankruptcy. In Activity 2 students complete a Landmark Cases activity page that asks them to name the case, summarize the conflict and the court's decision, and identify the legal precedent — tasks that require use of legal and historical terminology. In Activity 3 students draw arrows and write specific checks and balances, using terms such as veto, appoint, impeach, pardon, and declare unconstitutional (with red/blue coding instructions referencing those actions).
Lesson 7
State Government
Students are asked to identify and record formal governmental terms and facts (e.g., executive, legislative, and judicial branches; the governor; the name and structure of the state legislature; number of members; frequency of elections; names and parties of representatives; number of justices on the state Supreme Court). The "Things to Know" section explicitly names the three branches and identifies the governor as head of the executive branch, and multiple activity pages prompt students to write brief biographies and descriptions using these terms.
Lesson 8
Local Government
Students are asked to name their county and municipality and to describe "Our Local Government," which requires them to identify elected positions (mayor, council, board of commissioners) and local offices. In the "Whom Would You Call" activity students must match concrete scenarios (permits, zoning, wastewater, animal shelter, recycling) to the correct local office and record office names and phone numbers. The Things to Know and activity pages use domain-specific terms such as municipal, county, ordinance, zoning, permit, board of commissioners, and strategies like picketing, boycotts, and sit-ins, and students must use these terms in their brochure and research responses.
Lesson 9
Citizenship
Students are prompted to summarize the president's position and the positions of at least one senator or representative on an issue in the Action Plan federal-level page. Students use party websites to identify and summarize each party's stance on selected issues and to compare positions in the Political Parties activity. Students research an issue and write four facts, explain why it matters, and draft action plans at federal, state, local, and citizen levels, which requires describing governmental roles and responses.
Final Project
Government Lapbook
Students are instructed to review the "Things to Know" sections of each lesson as "good terms and concepts to memorize," which directs them to learn domain-specific terms. Students assemble mini-books about the executive, legislative, and judicial branches and create a mini-book with a flowchart or song about how a bill becomes a law, tasks that require using government-specific vocabulary (e.g., veto, override, judicial review). Students complete a unit test that asks them to match landmark cases to the precedents they established and to answer questions referencing the Articles of Confederation, the Bill of Rights, Federalists/Anti-Federalists, and other domain concepts.
Unit 2: Chemical Reactions
Lesson 1
Atomic Theory and Chemical Formulas
Students are given explicit domain-specific definitions in the "Things to Know" and "Things to Review" sections (e.g., atomic theory, closed system, conservation of mass, combustion). The Observation Guide directs students to record observations using specific descriptors and codes (e.g., "No reaction," "bubbling," "heat," NC, C, I T, D V) and to pair increases/decreases with specific traits like mass (M), volume (V), or temperature (T). Questions to Consider and activity prompts ask students to explain causes (for example, why heat is important for ignition) and to record and interpret changes in temperature, volume, and mass.
Lesson 2
Chemistry and Patterns
Students read explicit definitions and labels such as "chemical reaction," "reactant," "product," "physical properties," and "chemical properties" in the "Things to Know" section. Students encounter domain-specific reaction types and symbolic equations (Synthesis: A+B⟶AB; Decomposition: AB⟶A+B; Combustion: C10H8+12O2⟶10CO2+4H2O) that demonstrate formal chemical notation. Assessment questions require students to name reactants and products and to describe what happens during a chemical reaction, and an illustrated chemical equation (baking soda + vinegar with molecular formulas) exposes students to chemical formulas and terminology.
Lesson 3
Understanding Reactions
Students are asked to read and write chemical equations (e.g., 2H2O → 2H2 + O2; 2H2O + 2NaCl → H2 + Cl2 + 2NaOH) and to label reactants, products, coefficients, and subscripts. Students classify reactions by type (Synthesis, Decomposition, Displacement/Neutralization, Combustion) and fill in atom counts before and after reactions on the Student Activity Page. Students draw molecular models and label atoms with element symbols (e.g., H, O, Fe, Na, Cl) and identify byproducts using terms like sodium hydroxide, chlorine gas, and hydrogen gas.
Lesson 4
Combustion and Extinguishers
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms (combustion, oxidation, endothermic, exothermic, capillary action, antioxidant) in the "Things to Know" and review sections. The lesson shows a balanced chemical equation for paraffin combustion and labels reactants/products, giving precise chemical vocabulary (CO2, H2O, C25H52). Student tasks require using these terms to explain observations (identify endothermic vs. exothermic, explain why the candle goes out, match parts of the fire triangle) on the Student Activity Page and in the question set.
Lesson 5
Acids and Bases
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms (acid, base, pH, ion, hydrogen ion (H+), hydroxide (OH-), neutral) in the "Things to Know" section. In Activities 1 and 2, students must record pH guesses, observed colors, and pH ranges and must label substances as acidic, basic, or neutral on the Student Activity Page. The reading questions ask students to explain what happens when acids and bases dissolve and to define the pH scale, requiring use of the technical vocabulary.
Lesson 6
Physical and Chemical Properties, Part I
Students are asked to label chemical equations with states of matter and to write names and symbols for elements (Activity 2 and Activity 3), which requires use of domain-specific notation (e.g., Fe, H2O, (s)/(l)/(g)). The materials introduce and require use of vocabulary such as catalyst, specific heat, density, decomposition, and chemical reactivity, and students answer questions that prompt use of those terms (Activity 4, Activity 5, Activity 6). The Periodic Table activity explicitly directs students to write equations in word, molecular, and partial-charge formats, requiring precise, discipline-specific representations.
Lesson 7
Physical and Chemical Properties, Part II
The lesson provides explicit definitions and domain vocabulary (e.g., electrical conductivity, electrolysis, magnetism, solubility, solute, solvent, solution, ions, electrodes, anode, cathode, electrolyte) that students read and encounter. Students are asked to answer content questions in writing, complete data tables (battery voltage, electromagnet trials, solubility results), classify elements using a periodic table (metal, metalloid, nonmetal), and "make a statement" or list practical examples linking properties to everyday uses. Several student prompts require written explanations or observations (e.g., discussion questions, "make a statement about how physical properties may influence magnetism", and compare predictions with results).
Lesson 8
Periodic Characteristics
Students are asked to write the symbol and name of each element in reactants and products and to record each element's material type (metal, nonmetal, metalloid) and group number, which requires use of domain-specific terms. Students record pH values, identify acids, bases, salts, precipitates, reactants, and products, and answer direct questions (e.g., what happens when an acid and base react?) that require technical vocabulary. The activity pages and answer key provide definitions (neutralization, precipitate, alkali) that students are expected to use in their responses.
Lesson 9
Scientific Argumentation
Students are asked to read and sort statements that include scientific terms (e.g., carbon dioxide, diffusion, concentration, equilibrium, effervesce) and to label them as claim, evidence, or justification. Students analyze chemical equations and formulas (CaCO3, C2H4O2, NaHCO3, H2CO3, etc.) and are asked to write a claim, record observations/evidence, and write a justification based on those observations. The "Things to Review" and discussion questions explicitly name domain-specific concepts (acid/base, salt, endothermic, gas production, temperature change) that students must use when explaining results.
Lesson 10
Synthetic or Natural?
The "Things to Know" section explicitly defines domain-specific terms (toxicity, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, phytochemical, ADR, analgesic) and clarifies 'natural' versus 'synthetic'. Reading questions require students to explain concepts using terms like vulcanization and Bakelite. Activity 2 asks students to classify substances (cholesterol medicine, antioxidants/BHA, sulfites, human-growth hormone, fertilizer) into categories and to write Risk/Benefit and Value explanations, prompting use of topic-specific vocabulary.
Final Project
Chemistry in Action
The lesson repeatedly lists and asks students to learn domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., atomic theory, chemical reaction, conservation of mass, pH, ion, endothermic/exothermic, density, specific heat, solubility, electrolysis). Students are instructed to create cue cards for vocabulary, to "understand and recognize each term," and to "apply related vocabulary" when analyzing chemical equations and reactions. Research prompts require students to record the chemical name and formula, explain "how the chemical nature of the substance work[s]," and identify naturally occurring counterparts, and the presentation slides explicitly require chemical names/formulas and descriptions of benefits and risks.
Unit 2: Animal Farm
Lesson 1
What Is a Theme?
The lesson explicitly defines and uses domain-specific terms (topic, plot, theme, preface, foreword, table of contents) and asks students to read introductory material and answer questions using those concepts. Students sort and categorize example phrases into Topics, Plots, and Themes, practicing precise distinctions between those literary terms. Activity prompts ask students to describe the cover art, report what they learned from the preface/introduction, and answer questions about the book using the provided vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Major's Dream
Students review and label nine parts of speech in Activity 1, identifying verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and verb phrases in sample sentences from the text. Students are instructed to choose one adjective per character in Activity 2 and provide a textual example that led them to that adjective, practicing selection of descriptive words tied to evidence. The Student Activity Pages and answer keys require students to consider how a word is used in a sentence and to mark precise grammatical roles (e.g., verb phrase, prepositional phrase).
Lesson 3
The Rebellion
Students are given explicit definitions of pronouns, antecedents, interrogative pronouns, and relative pronouns and are directed to identify and use them in writing. Students complete exercises that require replacing repeated nouns with personal pronouns and underlining pronouns and indicating their antecedents. Students are asked to label relative clauses and circle interrogative pronouns, practicing precise grammatical terminology and usage.
Lesson 4
Work on the Farm
Students are asked in Activity 1 to compare farm work before and after the rebellion and to "use specific examples from the text to support your points," which prompts use of concrete agricultural terms (e.g., plowing, planting, harvesting). The provided answer key and reading questions refer to domain-specific terms such as "threshing machine," "treaded out grain," "bits and reins," and specific job descriptions (directing/supervising). Activity 2 labels and defines parts of letters (sender's address, salutation, enclosure) and has students place and correct those parts in jumbled and error-finding exercises, requiring use of correspondence-specific vocabulary and conventions.
Lesson 5
The Battle of the Cowshed
Students practice precise language through the "Agreeable Pronouns" activity, where they identify unclear antecedents and correct pronoun-antecedent agreement in sentences. The lesson explicitly teaches domain-specific grammar terms such as "antecedent," "indefinite pronouns," and agreement in "number, gender, and person." Students also write a two-minute informative speech (or create a detailed battle map) that asks them to explain roles, events, and lessons from the Battle of the Cowshed.
Lesson 6
Comrade Napoleon
Students research key Russian Revolution figures and complete guided activity pages that ask for roles, birth/death dates, "connection to Animal Farm," and "specific evidence" supporting those connections, which requires use of historical terms. The materials define and explain domain-related vocabulary such as "satire," "centralized power," "propaganda," and "intimidation," and the answer key models linking those terms to characters like Napoleon. Students also complete a writing/research task (timeline and connections) that asks them to make analytical links between history and the novel.
Lesson 7
Changes on the Farm
Students read Chapter 6 and answer focused questions that require explaining changes in work and leadership (e.g., describing hours, trade arrangements, and Boxer's slogan). Students complete a "Leadership on the Farm" organizer and short-answer questions that ask them to describe leadership styles and interpret Orwell's intentions, prompting explanatory writing about concepts like power, fairness, and productivity. The provided answer key uses domain-related terms such as "propaganda," "scapegoating," and "intimidation," which students could encounter and potentially use in their responses.
Lesson 8
The End of the Rebellion
Students are asked to write from Napoleon's perspective in a persuasive memoir, where they must be forceful and use examples and appeals to convince readers. Students review and identify differences between business letters and friendly letters and then write a friendly letter using an appropriately informal voice or a business letter with a formal, professional tone. The activities require students to choose appropriate formats and tones (e.g., 'business letter' vs. 'friendly letter') and to justify those choices.
Lesson 9
The Battle of the Windmill
Students are asked to apply parts of speech and to use pronouns correctly, which supports clearer and more precise language. Students are required to write a formal business letter with explicit directions to be concise, professional, and courteous, which directs them to control tone and word choice. Students are given the option to include an enclosure such as a chart showing possible profits, which asks them to produce explanatory material that could use specific business or numerical vocabulary.
Lesson 10
Boxer's Fate
Students are asked to complete a plot diagram labeled with literary terms such as "Set the Stage," "Rising Action," "Climax," "Falling Action," and "Conclusion," which requires use of domain-specific plot vocabulary. The skills section directs students to "cite the textual evidence" and "determine a theme or central idea," and Activity 2 asks students to identify specific incidents as evidence supporting stated themes. Several pages instruct students to "be specific," "show and tell," and to write 1–2 sentences describing the theme, prompting concise explanatory writing.
Final Project
Animal Farm Letter
Students are asked to study and identify parts of speech, pronoun types, and proper pronoun case (Activities 1 and 5) and to correct pronoun errors on the unit test, which targets grammatical precision. Students must apply conventions of standard English in writing and mechanics (Parent Plan Skills and rubric) and are explicitly prompted to edit for style, clarity, and grammar during the revising steps (Activity 4). The rubric's Mechanics and Ideas criteria require students to use accurate spelling, punctuation, and appropriate language to support their ideas in the letter.
Unit 3: The Antebellum West
Lesson 1
America in 1800
Students are asked to define the term antebellum (Question #1) and read a short explanation in the "Things to Know" section that gives the Latin origin and historical meaning. Students answer content questions about population changes and Andrew Jackson's opposition to the Bank of the United States, which reference domain-specific historical concepts. Students create a labeled map that requires identifying states, territories, disputed lands, and claims by Spain, France, and the United Kingdom, using specific geographic and political terminology.
Lesson 2
The Early Presidents
Students read primary and secondary texts containing domain-specific terms (e.g., "Monroe Doctrine," "Missouri Compromise," "Louisiana Territory") and complete writing tasks such as summarizing Jefferson's inaugural paragraphs and answering analysis questions. Students use a graphic organizer to note party supporters, important issues, and policies and complete a comparison worksheet that asks them to "write down words used by the author to describe the nation." Students also create slogans and short written responses about speeches and policies.
Lesson 3
The Beginnings of Westward Expansion
Students answer specific factual questions about the Northwest Ordinance (official title, date, population thresholds, which states resulted, and policy on slavery), which requires use of correct terminology and numeric details. Students complete an American Indian crossword using tribal names (Potawatomi, Shawnee, Miami, etc.), directly practicing domain-specific vocabulary. In the Daniel Boone activity, students choose adjectives, craft a tagline, and plan a movie poster that asks them to describe Boone and his experiences using descriptive language.
Lesson 4
The Louisiana Purchase
Students are asked to label all states in 1804 using modern abbreviations and to identify and label the geographical features that form the northern, eastern, and western boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase (e.g., Mississippi River, Rocky Mountains, 49th/50th parallel). Students must draw the Corps of Discovery route and add dates and descriptions to a timeline or create a top-10 list summarizing events in their own words. Students also complete a Venn diagram comparing tribes and write a journal entry describing animals, geography, plants, and people encountered, all tasks that require using specific historical and geographic terms.
Lesson 5
The War of 1812
Students are asked to read the Monroe Doctrine passages in bold and summarize each bold section in their own words, which requires restating historical ideas (Activity 3). Students read four perspective essays and complete a Comparing Perspectives chart with prompts about why groups fought, how they responded, and outcomes, which prompts explanatory writing using content-specific topics (Activity 2, Option 2). Students watch a documentary and write a short review from a chosen perspective, answering questions about representation, bias, and what was learned, which requires them to explain historical events and perspectives in writing (Activity 1 and Option 1).
Lesson 6
The Trail of Tears
Students read primary and secondary documents that include domain-specific terms (e.g., Indian Removal Act, Trail of Tears, Treaty of New Echota, Worcester v. Georgia, Manifest Destiny) and are asked to identify reasons and objections drawn from those texts. Students record at least four arguments in their own words on the "Support and Opposition for Indian Removal" activity page, requiring them to explain the topic. Students summarize personal narratives and write a brief summary or create a poem/song about an event, which asks them to convey specific historical details and explanations.
Lesson 7
Border Conflict and the Mexican War
Students are asked to define "manifest destiny" directly (Question #1 asks what the term meant and provides a definition). Students analyze two paintings about Manifest Destiny and answer questions that require them to describe what the artist was trying to say and how a critic might respond (Manifest Destiny Paintings activity). Students write an explanatory plaque for Enrique Esparza that requires a summary sentence and an explanatory sentence, which asks them to explain memories and convey meaning about the Alamo.
Lesson 8
The Gold Rush and Further Expansion
Students are asked to read historical accounts and complete writing tasks (a 3–5 minute personal narrative monologue and a letter from a gold miner) that require describing the process of panning for gold, mining camp conditions, and reasons for heading west. A reading question asks students to explain how the law of supply and demand related to the Gold Rush, and discussion prompts ask how people pan for gold and whether miners were successful. The materials include domain-specific terms in texts and prompts (e.g., Pony Express, telegraph, handcart expedition, prospectors) that students must reference in their responses.
Lesson 9
Life in the Mid-Nineteenth Century West
Students read content that includes domain-specific terms (for example, cholera, Pony Express, suffrage, polygamy, water rights) in the assigned chapters and question answers. Students complete an Image Analysis worksheet that asks them to describe setting, objects, people, and mood, which prompts use of descriptive language. Students produce written work (timeline entries and a 2–4 paragraph creative writing option) where they may incorporate historical terms and precise descriptions.
Final Project
A Westward Migration Story
Students are asked to write explanatory text for storyboard panels and art-gallery cards describing historical scenes and the significance of images, and rubrics require inclusion of appropriate historical context and U.S. government actions. Short-answer test questions ask students to describe how the Pony Express worked, hardships of westward travel, and the concept of Manifest Destiny, requiring informational explanations. Rubric criteria evaluate organization, conciseness, and correctness of text and require explanations of motivation, expectations vs. reality, and cultural differences, which prompt use of subject-related content in student writing.
Unit 3: Energy and Matter
Lesson 1
Introducing Energy
The lesson provides explicit definitions and domain-specific vocabulary in the "Things to Know" section (conduction, convection, radiation, energy storage/potential energy, matter, mechanism). Students answer directed questions that ask them to name types of energy and explain how solar radiation and photovoltaic cells work, requiring use of terms like "fusion," "radiation," and "photovoltaic." The Student Activity Page and Activity 2 require students to write a short justification (3–5 sentences) explaining their hypothesis using evidence, which asks students to explain results using the unit vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Convection and Conduction
Students read Sections 3 and 4 and are prompted to "be aware of the terms associated with energy," with explicit definitions provided for Law of Conservation of Energy, thermal equilibrium, conduction, convection, dissipation, density, and convection cells. Students answer direct questions (Q1–Q5) that ask for definitions and examples (e.g., "What is conduction? Give one example." and "What is convection? What causes it?"). Students perform activities that require them to predict, observe, and explain outcomes (e.g., which set-up heated faster; order of quarters falling from spoons) using concepts like conductor/insulator, heat flow, and density.
Lesson 3
Energy Transfers
Students are asked to read and answer explanatory questions that use domain-specific terms (e.g., chemical energy, chemical bonds, electro-chemical energy) and to explain how listed chemical energy sources enable work. In Activity 1 and the student pages, students identify and label battery components (Manganese Dioxide, Zinc), depict electrons traveling in a wire, and describe electron excitation and photon release (images six through ten). In Activity 2 Option 2 students must write brief atomic-level descriptions for each image, requiring use of terms like electrons, atoms, molecules, excitation, and photon.
Lesson 4
Electromagnetic and Sound Waves
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms (frequency, amplitude, pitch, wavelength, absorption) and are prompted to refer to these definitions when completing activities. In Activity 2 and Activity 3 students must identify how changes in wavelength and amplitude affect pitch and volume and answer explanation questions about why the changes occur. In Activity 1 students collect data, graph temperature vs. time, and are instructed to create a labeled legend and axes, requiring precise labeling and use of terminology such as absorption and specific heat.
Lesson 5
Kinetic and Potential Energy
The lesson provides an explicit vocabulary list (Kinetic energy, Potential energy, Mechanical energy, Chemical energy, etc.) and repeated "Things to Know" definitions that students read. The Vocabulary Review activity has students match terms, definitions, and images, then produce brief definitions and identify terms from images. The Reading and Questions and activity pages require students to explain differences and relationships (e.g., kinetic vs. potential energy, influence of height) and to record observations and predictions using domain-specific terms.
Lesson 6
Energy and Machines
Students label and write brief descriptions of each simple machine (Option 1) and identify machine types within complex devices (Option 2), requiring use of terms like inclined plane, lever, pulley, screw, wedge, and wheel and axle. In Activity 2 students measure effort arm and load arm, use the mechanical advantage formula, "show your work," and use terms such as fulcrum, effort arm, load arm, and mechanical advantage. In Activity 3 students classify household devices by heat loss and explain their rationale using the term efficiency and related concepts.
Lesson 7
Conservation
Students are asked to record observations and answer explanatory questions that require use of domain-specific terms (e.g., identify KE, PE, thermal on the energy graph; explain when KE=0 and PE=0). Activity prompts (Prediction, Questions to Ponder, and Pendulum Simulation) ask students to explain why swings behave a certain way, to name components of the system (pivot, rope, bucket) and to describe effects of friction and gravity using the simulation's labels. The wrap-up and answer key explicitly name and describe terms such as potential energy, kinetic energy, thermal energy, closed/isolated system, friction, and gravitational potential energy, which students must refer to in their answers.
Lesson 8
Energy Sources and Sustainability
The lesson provides an explicit vocabulary list with precise definitions of domain-specific terms such as fossil fuel, non-renewable energy resource, renewable energy resource, sustainability, and inexhaustible. Students sort cue cards into renewable, non-renewable, and inexhaustible piles and are asked to justify classifications (for example, explain whether tidal or hydroelectric power is inexhaustible). Students complete written tasks that require listing three advantages and disadvantages of solar power, recording data about solar potential, and summarizing a recommendation for their home—tasks that require using the energy vocabulary to explain reasoning.
Final Project
Harnessing the Wind
Students are given explicit vocabulary lists across the study guide sections (e.g., conduction, convection, potential energy, kinetic energy, efficiency, renewable/non-renewable, wind power). The Final Exam includes a vocabulary part that asks students to write the correct term for examples of energy transfer and other short-answer items that require domain terms. The Presentation Guidelines require students to explain how wind energy is transformed, describe how wind turbines work (drawing a diagram or using their model), and discuss benefits and practicality—tasks that prompt use of scientific vocabulary in explanation.
Unit 3: Einstein Adds a New Dimension
Lesson 1
Expository Writing
The lesson explicitly describes expository writing as using "formal, concise, or summary, exact language," which directs students to value precise wording. Students examine book features that define terms (glossary and sidebar definitions) and identify that sidebars can provide definitions of unfamiliar terms. In the index activity, students choose search terms (e.g., deciding that "Forces" is a better index term than "atoms" or "weak nuclear forces") and evaluate which domain-specific terms work best to locate information.
Lesson 2
Descriptive Writing
Students are asked to identify and underline effective words and phrases in a descriptive paragraph and to copy them if preferred, which focuses attention on word choice and precision. The activities and tips explicitly instruct students to use strong verbs, select appropriate adjectives, consult a thesaurus for better words, and write descriptive phrases that appeal to one or more senses. The Student Activity Page has targeted tasks requiring students to add sensory-specific adjectives and multi-sensory phrases for given nouns, and Activity 2 asks students to write a coherent descriptive paragraph using spatial transition words.
Lesson 3
The Curies' Discoveries
Students complete a vocabulary activity that asks them to define domain-specific terms, provide synonyms/similes, and use the words in an example sentence (e.g., incongruity, cogitate, cathode ray, radioactivity). The note-taking option models and asks students to record technical definitions and terms (radioactivity, radioactive decay, pitchblende, photons, Bose-Einstein statistics) in their own words. The highlighting/annotation option directs students to mark key terms, label definitions ("defn"), and annotate technical phrases directly in the text.
Lesson 4
Process Writing
The lesson's Skills list explicitly states students will "Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain a topic." The Option 2 planning page asks students to record "Terms or concepts that need explanation," prompting identification of domain-specific terms. Reading questions and answers (e.g., "What is quantum mechanics?" with a concise definition) provide models of using domain vocabulary and precise definitions. The process-writing guidance also instructs students to choose words appropriate to the reader, which touches on precision of language.
Lesson 5
Envisioning Fission
Students are asked to take notes on specific scientific concepts such as what E=mc² means, the law of conservation of mass and energy, Rutherford's ideas about the atom, Szilard's "Eureka!" moment, and what a nuclear chain reaction is. In Activity 1 students record scientific events (e.g., discovery of the neutron, first particle accelerator, first human-made nuclear reaction) on a timeline, which requires identifying and labeling domain-specific events and terms. The Internet-search section instructs students to use precise search terms (e.g., "nuclear fusion" vs. "fusion") and to judge whether sources are understandable, which prompts attention to specific wording and technical language.
Lesson 6
Cause and Effect Writing
Students read texts and answer questions that use and require scientific terms such as "nuclear fission," "U-235," "U-238," "chain reaction," "atomic bomb," "particle accelerator," "ether," "electromagnetic wave," and references to experiments (e.g., Young's double-slit). Question prompts ask students to explain scientific significance and sequences of events using details from the book, and the sample planning/organization pages model using those domain-specific examples and page-numbered citations. The Skills section also instructs students to "develop the topic with relevant...definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples," which supports use of precise or technical terms.
Lesson 7
Relativity
Students look up and write definitions in their own words for specific scientific terms (fissile material, uniform motion, frame of reference, relativity, invariant) in the Domain-Specific Vocabulary activity and provide examples or drawings. Students compare two versions of experiment instructions to identify concise, precise technical writing and are instructed to name and define terms the first time they are used. Students design a poster that must include at least three domain-specific terms, define them for a younger audience, and use text+graphics to explain a scientific concept.
Lesson 8
Comparison and Contrast Writing
The Parent Plan lists a skill to "determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context," which asks students to engage with domain vocabulary. Option 2 asks students to compare or contrast people or concepts covered in the book and to use specific information from the book (including page numbers and quoted phrases), so students are directed to work with technical content (e.g., "Theory of General Relativity," "speed of light," "spacetime"). The planning and organization pages require students to provide "specific descriptions or examples" and to craft topic sentences and supporting details, which supports precise expression of ideas.
Lesson 9
Avoiding Plagiarism
The paraphrasing guidance explicitly tells students that "if the source uses technical terminology, you don't need to find different wording for those terms" and that they should still rewrite sentence structure when paraphrasing. The lesson uses a targeted example about "luminosity," asking students to choose the most precise paraphrase and explaining why the best choice distinguishes luminosity from apparent brightness. Activities require students to paraphrase and summarize scientific chapters (redshift, Cepheid stars, luminosity) and to rewrite captions and passages while preserving technical meaning.
Lesson 10
Problem and Solution Writing
The reading introduces and explains domain-specific astronomy terms (neutron stars, supernovas, black holes, quasars, pulsars) and the sample paragraph uses technical terms such as "photons" and "quantum packets" while explaining their meaning. The comprehension Questions #1–#4 require students to define and explain terms (e.g., event horizon, supermassive black hole, Type 1a supernovas) in their answers. The Parent Plan and skills list explicitly ask students to develop topics with relevant facts and definitions, which implies using precise terminology when explaining content.
Lesson 11
Citing Sources
Students read and answer questions that define domain-specific terms such as bit, qubit, and Boolean logic and explain their meanings. The Things to Know section explicitly defines citation terms (parenthetical citation, Works Cited, caption) that students must use. In Activity 1 students check and correct parenthetical citations and create Works Cited entries (using MLA) and in Activity 2 students create graphics and are instructed to label parts and include captions to clarify technical information.
Final Project
Research Paper
Students are directed to use domain-specific vocabulary in their writing: the Research Rubric explicitly lists "Word Choice - Use of domain-specific vocabulary." The Unit Test Review provides a list of science terms and concepts for students to study and apply. The Unit Test includes a short-answer question asking students to explain the importance of domain-specific vocabulary in technical writing, and the skills list includes "Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain a topic."
Unit 4: Antebellum America
Lesson 1
North and South, 1820
Students read a "Things to Know" list that names and defines domain-specific terms (antebellum, Erie Canal, cotton gin, Underground Railroad, abolition, mill girls). The Reading and Questions section asks students to answer targeted questions (e.g., how the cotton gin changed production; risks/benefits of building the Erie Canal) that require use or understanding of those terms. Activity 1 directs students to fill a Venn diagram comparing economic activities and regional features (e.g., cotton, canals, mills), encouraging students to record region-specific vocabulary as they view the film.
Lesson 2
The Rise of Capitalism
Students read primary and secondary texts that use domain-specific terms (e.g., bank, constitution, Congress, stockholders, protective tariff, money supply, Panic of 1819) and answer guided questions about capital, investment, and the Bank of the United States. Students create a word cloud of Jackson's veto message and identify prominent words such as "bank," "constitution," "Congress," and "stockholders." Students sort statements on a chart entitled "Who Would Support the National Bank?" that require recognizing vocabulary like "stabilize the money supply," "constitutional," and "elitist/anti-republican."
Lesson 3
Technology and Infrastructure
The lesson includes a "Things to Know" section that defines domain terms such as "infrastructure" and "The Industrial Revolution," giving students explicit domain-specific vocabulary and short definitions. Several writing tasks (the letter to a relative, the Erie Canal advertisement, and the mill girl diary) instruct students to "be specific," provide "detailed, historically accurate information," and to describe work, conditions, risks, and benefits, which prompts use of precise description. The assembly-line activity has students measure and analyze productivity and efficiency, exposing them to domain-related quantitative language (time, averages, efficiency).
Lesson 4
Immigration and Migration
Students use census data to create a color-coded map that labels countries of origin and draws lines proportional to immigrant numbers, which requires working with terms like "Total Foreign" and country names. Students read passages and background notes that explicitly name historical terms (for example, "Irish Potato Famine" and "Underground Railroad"). Students plan and perform first-person oral retellings of historical figures, which asks them to recount specific events and could involve using period-specific or topic-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Education and Women's Rights
Students read historical texts and answer focused questions that require explanatory responses (e.g., describing Sarah Pierce's school, the Seneca Falls Declaration, and Sojourner Truth's meaning). Students plan and write five interview questions and research answers to at least three of them, producing researched explanatory writing about historical reformers. Students add cards to a timeline, which requires summarizing historical information into concise explanatory text.
Lesson 6
Art and Literature
Students read historical chapters and answer specific comprehension questions that require explaining authors' meanings (e.g., Melville) and distinguishing poetic forms (Whitman and Dickinson). Students respond in writing to targeted prompts about Emerson's ideas and Thoreau's values and must give three textual examples that illustrate Transcendentalist values. Students produce written work for Option 2 (compose a Transcendentalist-inspired poem) and write 2–3 sentences describing observations in the Audubon backyard naturalist activity; the drawing instructions also use technical art terms (shading, strokes, direction of feathers).
Lesson 7
The Agrarian Economy and Slavery
Students are asked to explain how the cotton gin changed life for different groups (cotton planters, enslaved African Americans, abolitionists, textile mill owners, consumers) in Activity 1, which requires use of terms like "cotton gin," "planters," and "abolitionists." Option 2 explicitly describes and asks students to compare pre- and post-cotton-gin production processes using terms such as "short-staple" and "long-staple" cotton and "ginning." Activity 2 has students graph population categories labeled White, Slave, and Free Non-White and answer analytical questions, and Activity 5 asks students to prepare a speech responding to pro-slavery arguments (naming Hammond, Douglass, etc.), which implies use of domain-specific political and social vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Building Tensions
The lesson includes explicit vocabulary and definitions in the "Things to Know" section (e.g., definitions of secession and a description of the Kansas-Nebraska Act). Reading questions require students to define and explain domain-specific terms and concepts such as popular sovereignty and the Dred Scott decision. Activity 2 asks students to summarize arguments for and against allowing slavery in new territories on a two-column activity page and to create a rally sign or flyer that encapsulates a main argument, which could involve using historical terms.
Final Project
A Poster Session
Students are asked to write summaries of economic, cultural, and political differences for a poster and to include at least one map, graph, or table to represent data, which requires them to describe topics using relevant content. The unit test short-answer prompt (Question 15) requires students to describe specific technologies (cotton gin, steam locomotive, Erie Canal, telegraph) and explain who benefited or was harmed, prompting use of domain-specific terms. The poster template and rubric require accurate, well-chosen information and inclusion of quotations with speaker names, which encourages students to locate and present historically precise details.
Unit 4: Biochemistry
Lesson 1
Introduction to Biological Chemistry
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary with definitions in the "Things to Know" section (e.g., biochemistry, organic compound, covalent bond, allotropes, carbon cycle, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, autotroph, heterotroph). Students are asked to write characteristics of carbon and compare graphite vs. diamond, which require using those terms in their responses. Students must create a flow chart tracing a carbon atom and "describe what is happening at each step," and they must record and calculate calorie data in a food journal, requiring precise numeric reporting.
Lesson 2
Building Blocks
Students read explicit definitions and building blocks for carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins (e.g., amino acids, nucleotides, fatty acids, CH2O formula) and are asked to write the names of biomolecules on activity pages. Students categorize pictured foods and substances by biomolecule type, record observations from lipid and starch tests, and answer reflection questions that prompt use of terms like starch, lipid, carbohydrate, and nucleic acid. The materials include labeled tables and an answer key showing expected domain-specific labels.
Lesson 3
Organic and Inorganic Molecules
Students are prompted to record the Chemical Symbol or Formula and the Function(s) in the Human Body for two selected substances (zinc, salt, iron, potassium, magnesium), which requires use of domain-specific terms (e.g., Zn, Fe, NaCl, enzymes, hemoglobin). The Diet Survey asks students to classify foods by biomolecule (protein, lipid, carbohydrate) and to note inorganic compounds such as sodium and minerals from Nutrition Facts labels, prompting use of precise nutrition vocabulary. The parent plan and activity text repeatedly use and expect students to use specific scientific terms (e.g., enzymes, hemoglobin, sodium, potassium, magnesium).
Lesson 4
Feedback
Students are introduced to and asked to use domain-specific terms such as homeostasis, equilibrium, feedback, osmosis, diffusion, solute, concentration, tonicity, hypertonic, hypotonic, isotonic, ghrelin, peptide YY, leptin, vasoconstriction, pyrexia, hyperthermia, and hypothermia. Students fill tables and scenario responses requiring them to name hormones and describe responses (e.g., identify ghrelin vs. peptide YY/leptin and describe hunger/fullness) and to label solution types and water flow (hypertonic/hypotonic/isotonic) for cells. Students write claims, evidence, and justifications for the osmosis experiment, using precise vocabulary to explain observations and causal mechanisms. The answer keys and parent guides model exact terminology and definitions for students to replicate in their explanations.
Lesson 5
Exposure and Feedback
Students are given a focused vocabulary list in the "Things to Know" section (chemical agent, cytotoxic, dose, lachrymatory, potency, pulmonary, toxicity, vesicant) and a Vocabulary Review activity that requires matching terms to illustrations. In Activity 2 students research chemical agents and record technical details (Type of Agent, Dose for Toxicity, Sources) using domain-specific measures such as ppm and lethal doses. In Activity 3 students must record Type of Agent, make a Diagnosis, and list Treatments, requiring them to identify and apply the correct technical terms when explaining cases.
Lesson 6
Immune Response, Part I
Students are presented with a focused vocabulary list in the "Things to Know" section that defines domain-specific terms such as pathogen, host cell, nucleic acid, lymphatic system, inoculation, immunity, and parasitic. The virus diagram and construction activity label parts ("nucleic acid," "protein coat," "glycoproteins") and require students to identify and discuss which part is most important and how a virus duplicates. Activities and answer keys require students to use terms like vaccination, Pasteurization, Koch's Postulates, and phagocytosis when researching historical scientists and answering guided questions.
Lesson 7
Immune Response, Part II
The lesson provides an explicit vocabulary list (macrophage, pathogen, antigens, T-cells, T-helper, cytotoxic T-cells, B-cells, antibodies, B-memory cells) with definitions and asks students to define these terms (Option 2). Students must label illustrations, draw a B-cell with antibodies attached, and complete true/false items that require rewriting false statements correctly, which requires using accurate terminology. Students are also asked to summarize the immune response (list or flow chart) and write a report in the Mystery Ailment activity about the cause and epidemiological methods, requiring use of domain-specific language to explain causes and processes.
Lesson 8
Intake and Health
Students complete a detailed "Nutrient Amounts" table that includes domain terms such as "enzyme function," "metabolism," "hormonal signaling," and lists specific acceptable intake amounts and deficiency/excess effects. Students answer Alcohol Research questions that ask them to "describe 3 possible long-term health risks" and to "look up any terms you're not familiar with," prompting use of technical vocabulary (e.g., BAL, neurological, cardiovascular). The provided answer keys and tables include precise, domain-specific language and numerical intake values that students are expected to record.
Final Project
Analyzing Your Food Journal
The lesson includes multiple directed vocabulary review lists (autotroph, allotrope, covalent bond, amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, proteins, feedback, homeostasis, etc.) and instructs students to "review the following vocabulary terms" and be "familiar" with them. The unit assessment requires students to match descriptions to biomolecules, identify hormones (ghrelin, peptide YY, leptin) and label a carbon atom/trace the carbon cycle, which requires using domain-specific terms accurately. The final project and presentation require students to write a brief summary of the purpose of each biomolecule, provide examples, and include a written investigation about the biochemical significance, acceptable consumption rates, and impacts of overconsumption of lipids.
Unit 4: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Lesson 1
Introduction to Mark Twain and the Novel
Activity 3 asks students to read 10 vocabulary words from Chapters 1–21 in context and select the best definition, and the parent plan instructs checking correct definitions. The Skills list includes determining the meaning of words and phrases and analyzing the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. The lesson requires students to record summaries and answer analytic questions in a journal about slavery, dialect, and Mark Twain, and the Things to Review suggests practicing vocabulary and using the words in sentences together.
Lesson 2
Point of View
Students read explicit definitions and examples of narrative perspectives (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person limited/omniscient/objective) and note the pronouns that signal each type. Students complete practice items that require them to identify and label point of view in multiple passages and to record titles and corresponding point-of-view categories in a table. Students write answers in a journal about character perspectives and compare sketches to explain how viewpoint changes interpretation, using vocabulary like "point of view," "first person," and "pronouns."
Lesson 3
What is Narrative Writing I
Students are prompted to consider word choice and connotation (for example, the distinction between "clever" and "smart" and the effect of Twain's use of a slur) and to analyze how those choices affect readers' perceptions. Students analyze quotes in the "And You Can Quote Me on That" activity to explain what the dialogue and wording reveal about characters. Students practice showing emotions through specific language in the "Show, Don't Tell" activity and in the narrative-writing option that requires choosing words and dialect to reveal feelings.
Lesson 5
Expository Writing
The Skills section asks students to "Establish and maintain a formal style" and to "Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information" which require attention to language use. Activity 1 and the slideshow ask students to record types of writing and their definitions, prompting use of precise genre vocabulary (e.g., descriptive, process, cause/effect, compare/contrast). Activity 2 directs students to compare and contrast Huck and Jim, provide textual evidence, think about dialect and themes, and write a clear introductory "hook" and topic sentence, which encourages organization and choice of words to convey comparisons and evidence.
Lesson 6
The Power of Persuasion
Students are introduced to and asked to identify and use terms such as "thesis statement," "reasons," "evidence," "similes," and "metaphors." Students practice writing sentences that provide reasons, explanations, and different evidence types (e.g., statistics, anecdotes, quotations) and analyze how an essay uses evidence to support a thesis.
Lesson 7
Persuasive Writing
Students are asked to define nine vocabulary words taken from the novel and to write a sentence using each word (Activity 2). Parent notes ask reviewers to check that the child used the words correctly and related sentences to the novel. Vocabulary definitions are provided "based on how they are used in the story," which prompts students to consider word meaning in context.
Lesson 8
Hiding the Money
Students label and assemble three collages with headings Persuasive Writing, Narrative Writing, and Expository Writing and sort sample texts from magazines, newspapers, online articles, and encyclopedias into those categories. Parents are instructed to ask the student to explain the pieces of the collage and why specific pieces fit particular categories, prompting students to use category terms and justify choices. The raft activity lists technical materials (e.g., 1/4" and 3/16" dowels, drill, hatchet) and directs students to follow construction steps, exposing students to some domain-specific terms.
Lesson 9
Irony
The lesson defines the domain-specific terms verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony and provides examples for each. Students are instructed to take notes and record scenarios in an "Irony Chart," categorizing video and novel examples by type. Students analyze examples to make sure they "match the definitions," create original examples of each type, and explain irony examples to a parent.
Lesson 10
Figures of Speech
Students are taught domain-specific vocabulary for figurative language (pun, hyperbole, oxymoron, simile, idiom) in the "Things to Know" section and the Skill statements in the Parent Plan. Students practice applying those terms by labeling expressions from Huckleberry Finn in the "Figurative Language in the Novel" table, creating their own examples on the Activity pages, and underlining instances in "Fred's Letter" using color-coded categories. Discussion prompts ask students to explain how figurative language enhances a story, encouraging use of the vocabulary in oral or short written responses.
Lesson 11
Mark Twain's Influence
Students are asked to identify and use figurative language (irony, pun, oxymoron, idiom, hyperbole) in Activity 3 and to record these techniques on the Story Map under "Figurative Language Techniques." Students compare and contrast dialect in recorded slave narratives with Jim's dialect and take notes about dialect and figurative language in Activity 2. Students are instructed to emulate Twain's language choices and to use engaging language when composing their one‑page narrative.
Lesson 12
The Movie Adaptation
Students are asked to take notes during the film, observing changes the director or actors have made regarding character, plot, language, setting, or dialect. Students must compare and contrast the novel and the film and decide whether the directors' and actors' choices were good, then address why they think those changes were made. Discussion prompts ask students to describe how the movie and book are similar or different and to explain why directors might change scenes, dialogue, or endings.
Final Project
Cultural Biography
Students are asked to "Use 3 vocabulary words in sentences related to the character" on the Cultural Biography poster and to "write a sentence related to the story that uses one of six different vocabulary words" on the Story Blocks (Block 3: Vocabulary). The unit test asks students to "pick three vocabulary words learned in the unit and use each one in a sentence." Students are also prompted to "Write an expository sentence about something you learned about slavery or dialect," which targets use of topic-related language.
Unit 5: Civil War
Lesson 1
Sectional Differences
Students read texts and resource pages that repeatedly use domain-specific terms such as "Missouri Compromise," "Compromise of 1850," "Dred Scott Decision," "Kansas-Nebraska Act," and "Fugitive Slave Act." Students are asked to write an explanatory letter (Option 1), complete a stakeholder classification or summary (Option 2), and fill in a Lincoln/Douglas chart, all of which require summarizing historical positions and explaining causes using those terms. Students also label and color a map of 1860 states and territories and add timeline cards, which requires correctly naming states/territories and situating events with the appropriate vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Moving Toward War
Students are given a direct definition of the term "secession" in the "Things to Know" section and encounter domain terms such as "states' rights," "nullification," "sectionalism," and "Confederate States of America" throughout the reading questions and activities. Students must summarize Daniel Webster's and John C. Calhoun's views and answer reading questions that use terms like "anarchy" and "secession," requiring them to explain historical positions using those terms. The "North and South by the Numbers" activity asks students to complete charts and answer questions using economic and demographic terms (railroad tracks, manufacturing output, urban population, firearms production), which involves applying domain-specific vocabulary to explain differences.
Lesson 3
The Start of the War
Students are instructed to take concise notes on Jefferson Davis's inaugural address and to summarize each paragraph in their own words, which requires choosing clear language. Students read excerpts of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural and write brief explanations comparing which leader would appeal to various historical actors. Students create an illustrated timeline of Fort Sumter with one-sentence summaries of events and complete a leadership activity that asks for three adjectives in military, political, economic, and social/cultural categories.
Lesson 4
Early Days of the War
Students read passages that explicitly use domain-specific terms such as "Anaconda Plan," "ironclad warships," and specific battle names (Shiloh, Fort Donelson, First Battle of Manassas). Students complete battle-card prompts that ask for "important people," "outcome," "significance," and "new technology," and they must write notes for Union and Confederate effects and justify numerical evaluations. Students add events to a timeline and retell vivid events in a dramatization or artwork, producing explanatory prose or spoken explanations about the battles and experiences.
Lesson 5
Wartime Strategies
Students read texts and answer focused questions that require use of domain-specific terms (e.g., naming campaigns and goals such as the Peninsular Campaign, capture of Richmond, Antietam, Emancipation Proclamation). The Student Activity Pages ask students to list "important people," "outcome," "significance/purpose," and "advantages" for specific battles and campaigns, prompting use of historical vocabulary (battle names, leaders, strategic terms). The provided answer key models specific terminology (e.g., "reinforcements," "invasion," "seize the city," "Emancipation Proclamation").
Lesson 6
The Emancipation Proclamation
Students read focused historical passages (pages 44–53 of McPherson) that introduce domain-specific terms and concepts such as the Emancipation Proclamation, enlistment of African American troops, the 54th Massachusetts regiment, Fort Wagner, and battlefield outcomes. Students answer a direct question about the changes created by the Emancipation Proclamation using terms like "freed slaves," "enlist," and "soldiers." Students compose a first-person letter as a 54th Massachusetts recruit or a note and care package for Susie King Taylor, which requires explaining motivations, fears, and wartime experiences using historical details and terminology.
Lesson 7
Gettysburg and Beyond
Students read pages 53–73 of Fields of Fury and answer questions that explicitly reference domain-specific terms (e.g., Minie ball, muskets, rifling, railroad, telegraph, Emancipation Proclamation, embalming, "total war"). Students watch the Civil War film and discuss guided questions that prompt use of technical vocabulary about weaponry, medicine, transportation, and military strategy. Students add entries to Civil War battle cards and a timeline, requiring them to name key people, outcomes, and significance using historical terms.
Lesson 8
The War's End
Students read passages and questions that include domain-specific terms such as Freedmen's Bureau, Black Codes, the 13th/14th/15th Amendments, and battle names like Petersburg, Atlanta, and Mobile Bay. Students complete short-answer questions (e.g., about Sherman's damages, the role of the Freedmen's Bureau, and the Black Codes) that require writing factual explanations using those terms. Students complete battle cards and a Reconstruction activity that ask for explanations of outcomes and reasons, situations that call for use of precise historical vocabulary and concepts.
Final Project
Civil War Card Game
Students read their battle cards aloud and announce scores, which requires them to speak using Civil War content. Students complete multiple-choice and matching items that require identifying specific domain terms (e.g., Anaconda Plan, March to the Sea, Peninsular Campaign, 54th Massachusetts). The parent guidance asks students to explain the rationale for the Union/Confederate numbers on their battle cards, prompting them to use content knowledge in explanation.
Unit 5: Microbiology and Cell Theory
Lesson 1
Cell Theory
Students are presented with explicit domain-specific terms (cell, cell membrane/plasma membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, macromolecules, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, single-celled, multicellular) in the lesson text and the "Things to Know" list. In Activity 1, students label a cell diagram using a provided word box, directly practicing precise names for cell parts. In Activity 2, students mark objects as cellular or non-cellular and write supporting evidence, requiring them to use the term "cellular" and related vocabulary to explain their reasoning. Reading comprehension questions ask students to identify where new cells come from and to name types of human cells, prompting use of domain-specific vocabulary in written answers.
Lesson 2
Introduction to Plant and Animal Cells
Students read definitions in the "Things to Know" section that name and define organelle, eukaryote, mitochondrion/mitochondria, cell wall, vacuole, chloroplast, and pigments. Students label cell parts on the coloring/cut-and-paste activity and answer targeted short-response questions (e.g., roles of vacuoles, purpose of chloroplasts and mitochondria) that require use of those terms. In the chromatography activity students identify and mark specific pigment names (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotene, lutein, neoxanthin, violaxanthin, pheophytin) on the blotting paper and explain why pigments are important.
Lesson 3
The Structures of Eukaryotic Cells
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (cilia, cytoskeleton, flagellum, ribosomes, equilibrium, homeostasis, osmosis) in the "Things to Know" section. Students complete vocabulary tasks: matching organelle names to descriptions, labeling diagrams, and creating a cell model with labeled organelles and brief descriptions. Students answer focused content questions (e.g., functions of lysosome, cytoskeleton, smooth ER, protein trafficking, mitochondria/ATP) that require use of technical vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Protists
Students read texts that define and use domain-specific terms (e.g., protists, microorganism, eukaryotic, heterotroph, pseudopods, cilia, flagella, chloroplasts, mitochondrion). Students answer content questions using those terms (e.g., identifying protozoa as heterotrophs and naming modes of movement) and complete a chart labeling structures of Amoeba, Euglena, Paramecium, and Volvox. Activity 2 asks students to explain the significance of specific organelles (nucleus, cell membrane, mitochondrion, chloroplasts), prompting use of precise vocabulary to explain function.
Lesson 5
Prokaryotes
Students read texts and watch a video that explicitly name and define domain-specific terms such as prokaryote, nucleoid, plasmids, flagella, pili, capsule, archaea, extremophiles, ribosomes, cytoplasm, and chromosome. Question sets require students to identify and use precise terms (e.g., naming nucleoid and plasmids, listing coccus/bacillus/spirillum shapes, and explaining biochemical differences between archaea and bacteria). In Activity 1 students must write a paragraph describing similarities and differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells that includes size and which organelles are shared or unique, and the parent answer key lists specific vocabulary to use. Activity 2 requires students to create a hypothesis, use terms like control and temperature, and record observations and conclusions using scientific language.
Lesson 6
Understanding Microbes
Students read multiple resources that use domain-specific terms (e.g., genome, RNA, DNA, capsid, envelope, spike proteins, micrometer/nanometer, nucleus, immune system) and answer guided questions that require those terms (Questions 1–6 ask about transmission, viral parts, entry mechanisms, genome copying, and examples). Students create explanations in Activity 2 by evaluating the "Characteristics of Life" resources and completing a student activity page titled "CRITERIA FOR LIFE" and "DO VIRUSES MEET THE CRITERIA FOR LIFE?", which requires them to state a conclusion and give reasons using scientific concepts. The size-model activity labels samples "Virus," "Bacteria," "Animal Cell," and "Plant Cell," reinforcing correct terminology while students compare scale.
Lesson 7
Specialized Cells
Students read passages and guided pages that use and name domain-specific terms such as specialization, organelles, red blood cells, white blood cells, skeletal/smooth/cardiac muscle, biceps, triceps, contractile filaments, nucleus, contract, and relax. Students answer directed questions that require naming cell types and their functions and complete a "Specialized Cell" activity page where they must describe a cell's features and functions. Students research a chosen cell for a short Human Cell Atlas-style entry and build a muscle model while describing contraction/relaxation using the correct anatomical terms.
Lesson 8
Mitosis
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms in the "Things to Know" section (mitosis, chromosomes, interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, spindle, mother/daughter cell). Students are instructed to number and label each stage in Activity 1 and to label model parts (chromosomes, centrioles, spindle fibers, nuclear membrane) in Activity 2. The optional extension asks students to create presentations using text and narration and requires each stage to be accurate and clearly labeled/narrated, reinforcing use of precise vocabulary.
Lesson 9
Biological Hazards and Infectious Disease
Students are presented with explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (parasite, contagion, mutagen, carrier, vector, virus, bacteria) in the "Things to Know" and Student Activity pages. Students cut out and match vocabulary cards to images in Activity 2, requiring them to identify and apply precise technical terms. Students use those terms when diagnosing a patient in Activity 3 and when writing hypotheses and conclusions for the antimicrobial experiment, including citing evidence for their conclusions.
Lesson 10
On Their Shoulders
Students read assigned pages of What Is Cell Theory?, which include domain-specific terms (for example, the origin of the word 'cell' from Latin cellulae). Students work with activities labeled "Antimicrobial Properties," observe agar in petri-dish illustrations, and record "Substance: ____" and draw results, exposing them to terms such as agar, bacteria, microbes, and microscope. Students are asked to complete a Conclusion section and give a rationale using evidence from their experiment, requiring written explanation about scientific observations.
Final Project
Outbreak Prevention
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary lists and definitions (e.g., glycoprotein, phosphoprotein, RNA; cell organelles; infection vocabulary such as parasites, contagions, mutagens, carrier, vector). Students are asked to label diagrams and complete short-answer test items that require use of those terms (unit test labeling of cells and infection vocabulary, questions about organelle functions). Students must research infections and complete tables and an explanatory task (Activity 2 research table and Activity 5 'Stopping the Spread') where they must describe causes, symptoms, and prevention using scientific terms.
Unit 5: Elijah of Buxton
Lesson 1
Introduction to the Novel
The lesson includes a dedicated vocabulary activity (Activity 2) where students study a list of words (commence, daft, truck patch, vile, smarting, brogans, flimflam, plaits) with definitions and illustrate each word on index cards. The "Things to Know" and lesson text explicitly define the term "flashback" and explain the Underground Railroad, providing domain-specific terms and context. Students are also asked to write informational pieces (a 6-8 sentence journal entry or a 6-8 sentence persuasive speech) about the Underground Railroad and the Buxton settlement, which are opportunities to use precise or domain-specific language.
Lesson 2
The Preacher
Students are asked to "use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language" as a stated skill in the Parent Plan. In the Frederick Douglass activity students re-read his passage, circle vivid adjectives, and analyze repeated verbs to see how word choice makes writing persuasive. In the "Showing Emotion" activity students must brainstorm effective descriptive words (not naming the emotion), choose at least two verbs that show actions, and write a short paragraph repeating powerful verbs to convey feeling.
Lesson 4
Tone and Mood
Students are given lists of sample tone and mood words and asked to identify and use those words in analysis (e.g., the "Tone and Mood Samples" page and the activity that asks students to describe Elijah's tone and cite words that created that tone). Students complete an exercise that asks them to write two sentences describing the same scenario in two different tones, which requires choosing precise words to convey attitude. In the "Accounts of Slavery" activity students read quotes and images and are asked to "write some words or brief phrases that explain what you learned," prompting explanatory responses about slavery.
Lesson 5
Colorful Language
Students read definitions of idiom, simile, metaphor, personification, pun, and hyperbole and identify examples from Elijah of Buxton. Students are asked to notice and choose precise verbs and phrases (e.g., 'slapped,' 'mashed,' 'peering') and to write a 6–8 sentence narrative that uses precise words, effective verbs, descriptive details, and sensory language. Students must create a visual display labeling the six figures of speech with examples or produce a carnival advertisement that uses each of the six figures of speech, requiring use of the domain-specific labels and examples.
Lesson 6
Symbolism
The lesson defines precise language and gives multiple clear comparisons of general versus precise phrasing (e.g., "The big dog lunged..." vs. "The enormous dog, appearing as tall as a small pony..."). Students are asked to use a thesaurus and to write 2–3 sentence descriptions of objects and feelings using precise words and at least one simile or metaphor. Option 2 requires students to replace words in song lyrics with more precise choices and then perform the revised song.
Lesson 7
The Importance of Education
Students read passages containing vocabulary words and are asked to determine word meanings from context, write definitions, and compare them to given definitions. Students discuss vocabulary with a parent and are prompted to use the words in other situations. The student activity page asks students to categorize vocabulary (e.g., parts of speech, everyday objects) and Activities 1 and 2 require students to produce spoken or written work (an interview or a play scene) about illiteracy and the importance of education.
Lesson 8
Transitions and Characters
Students practice using a variety of transition words and phrases through a detailed Transitions List, fill-in-the-blank sentences, and exercises that ask them to identify and insert transitions that show time, contrast, and emphasis. Students edit and correct sentences for precise grammar and word choice in the Sentence Editing activity. Students are asked to choose two words that describe each main character, which requires selecting descriptive vocabulary to convey character traits.
Lesson 10
Allusions and Authors
The lesson defines an allusion, provides multiple literary and biblical examples, and asks students to use the term when analyzing references in Elijah of Buxton. A Student Activity Page directs students to write 2–3 sentences explaining an allusion's origin and connection to the book, requiring brief explanatory writing. The Skills section asks students to discuss effects of literary devices (flashback, allusion, irony, symbolism) and to analyze how a modern work draws on myths or religious works, prompting use of literary vocabulary. The Sentence Editing activity has students correct grammar and word forms, which practices more precise wording in short sentences.
Final Project
Personal Narrative
Students are required to use two vocabulary words from the unit in their finished narrative, and the Student Activity rubric explicitly checks that the author uses at least two vocabulary words. The Skills list and writing directions instruct students to "use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details," and to communicate tone with "strong verbs and adjectives," which students must apply during revision. The activities ask students to add transitions, symbols, a flashback, and figures of speech and to ensure vocabulary words are used effectively during drafting.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: History of Your State
Lesson 1
Your State's Natural History
Students are prompted to research geologic (physiographic) provinces using linked NPS pages and to record the province name and features on a Student Activity Page. They are asked to "Describe how at least one major feature of this geologic region was formed," to label biomes on their state map, and to complete field-journal entries noting soil, plants, and animals. These tasks require students to identify and write about domain-specific topics such as geologic provinces, biomes, ecosystems, and soil texture.
Lesson 2
Flora and Fauna
Students are prompted to record the scientific name for every plant and animal entry (many activity pages begin with a "Scientific Name" field). Students must answer specific, domain-focused prompts such as soil preference, bloom time, growth habit, parts that are poisonous, what an animal eats, life cycle, and why a species is invasive or threatened. The lesson requires students to use field guides, library research, or reliable online sources to find factual information and to credit image sources.
Lesson 3
Native Populations
Students are asked to record the "Name of the group of people" and to describe specific historical details such as where the people lived, how communities were organized, housing, clothing, and food traditions. The Modern Information section asks students to identify federal/state recognition, tribal lands or reservations, leaders, and contemporary issues. The activities and links use and reference culture-specific terms and structures (for example, tipi, longhouse, wigwam, pueblo) that students will encounter while researching and creating models or artwork.
Lesson 4
The History of Your State
Students are instructed to take organized, clear notes that include the date, location, key participants, issues at stake, and historical significance for each topic. Students must write 3-4 well-crafted sentences for each section of their poster or timeline explaining events and their significance. The Parent Plan and activity prompts repeatedly reference specific historical eras and topics (e.g., colonial period, Revolution, Civil War, Reconstruction, Great Depression, World War II, Civil Rights era) that students will identify and relate in their writing.
Lesson 6
Your State by the Numbers
Students locate and record demographic and census terms such as population, population density, race, age, home ownership, and commute times when they complete the QuickFacts activity and County Population Data worksheet. Students create and label a map key with population categories and write county names and population figures, using numeric categories (e.g., 0-100,000, 100,000-200,000). Students are asked to write a paragraph comparing state budget items and to answer reflective questions about population trends and surprising census facts.
Lesson 7
Your State's Economy
Students are prompted to research and list their state's top industries and at least three natural resources and to describe their economic roles in short sentences. Students must find and record their state's gross state product (GSP) in millions, the percentage of national GDP the state represents, and the state's rank in GSP per capita. Students identify three top non-government employers and describe the kind of business each runs, and they write a thank-you letter after a field trip that asks them to state at least two new things they learned about the state's economy.
Unit 1: Genetics and DNA
Lesson 1
The Importance of DNA
Students read defined vocabulary in the "Things to Know" section (definitions of trait, genetics, heredity, variations, genes, DNA) and are directed to read pages 32-36 and 44-50 that overview DNA, genes, and chromosomes. Students answer specific content questions (e.g., describe DNA's double-helix structure, name the four bases, explain chromatin wrapping around histones) that require use of domain-specific terms such as nucleotides, cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine, histone proteins, chromatin, and alleles. The extraction activity and its explanatory italics use technical language (e.g., cell membranes, nucleic acids, soluble/insoluble) and prompt students to explain why procedural steps work, encouraging use of precise scientific terms.
Lesson 2
Inheritance
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (allele, dominance, recessive, homozygous, heterozygous) that students read and can use. Students record allele combinations using precise notation (TT, Tt, tt) in the "Delving Deeper" activity and label traits as dominant or recessive on the Parent and Sibling charts. Students are asked to write hypotheses about whether traits are dominant or recessive and to answer short written questions about Mendel's conclusions.
Lesson 3
Generations, Probability, and Change
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (e.g., genotype, phenotype, Punnett square, pedigree, homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, recessive, allele, probability). Students answer targeted questions that require use of these terms (e.g., "Is the mother homozygous or heterozygous?", identifying which offspring show dominant vs. recessive traits). Students use pedigree symbols and Punnett squares to label genotypes and calculate percentages of offspring expressing dominant or recessive traits, linking vocabulary to analysis.
Lesson 4
Reproduction and Change
Students encounter and use domain-specific vocabulary throughout the lesson: the "Things to Know" section defines terms (e.g., gamete, haploid, diploid, meiosis, crossing over, recombinant chromosomes, allele, genotype). Activity 4 explicitly has a multi-page vocabulary review and matching exercises that require students to match terms to precise definitions. Multiple reading and question tasks ask students to write answers explaining processes (e.g., "What does haploid mean?", "How does the body use DNA to make proteins?", "Why does crossing over increase genetic diversity?"), requiring use of those technical terms in explanatory responses.
Lesson 5
From Generation to Generation
Students are asked to review and use the terms phenotype and genotype and are told to use phenotypes and genotypes to help answer questions about family genetics. In Activity 1 students describe each trait and mark whether it is dominant or recessive, using domain-specific terms such as dominant, recessive, allele, melanin, phenotype, and genotype. In Activity 2 students must explain why an allele is dominant or recessive and discuss inheritance patterns using genotype examples (e.g., Bb, bb). The Wrapping Up and Things to Review sections restate precise definitions (genotype, phenotype, dominance/recessiveness) for students to apply.
Lesson 6
Diversity and Adaptation
Students are given a focused glossary in the "Things to Know" section that defines domain-specific terms such as adaptation, biodiversity, competition, natural selection, genetic variation, genome, genetic mutation, population, and species. Students are instructed to "use definitions to support their choices" when categorizing examples as variation or adaptation, which prompts them to apply precise vocabulary in reasoning. The Parent Plan and Questions to Discuss prompt students to "explain how she knew to classify each description" and to answer guided questions using concepts like genetic make-up, adaptation, and competition.
Lesson 7
Inheritance and Environment
Students are given explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section (genetic transmission, biological inheritance, incomplete dominance) and are introduced to terms such as allele, genotype, phenotype, mutation, and mutagens in the reading and questions. Activities require students to explain differences between single-gene and multifactor disorders, complete Punnett squares using genotype notation (RR, RY, YY; CC, CS, SS), and fill investigation and diagnosis charts using disease-specific vocabulary (symptoms, causes, genetic component). The answer keys and parent plan repeatedly use and model domain-specific vocabulary across investigations of genetic diseases and environmental influences.
Lesson 8
Cloning
Students read explicit definitions and terminology in the Getting Started and Things to Know sections (e.g., cloning, genetically identical, asexually, fertilized egg, gene, cell, organism). The assigned reading (pages 98–107) focuses on genetic advances and related vocabulary (DNA fingerprinting, gene therapy, genetic modification) that students must investigate. Activities require students to explain how cloning works (Activity 1 and Activity 2) and to answer conceptual questions and make pros/cons lists (Questions and Activity 3), which provide opportunities to use domain-specific terms in explanation.
Final Project
A New Organism
Students are given a listed set of key terms (homozygous, genotype, phenotype, DNA, alleles, mutation, adaptation, natural selection, dominant, recessive, heterozygous) and are instructed to review vocabulary cards and make cue cards. Students are told to assign allele letters (e.g., C/c) and to write genotypes (e.g., Ll = long feathers) in multiple activity tables. Students complete Punnett squares, pedigree analyses, and short-answer exam questions that ask for definitions and explanations (e.g., "What is phenotype?", "What is the difference between dominance and recessiveness?").
Unit 1: The House of the Scorpion
Lesson 1
Cloning
Students research scientific sources about cloning and take note cards that include domain-specific terms (for example, a student note card defines cloning as making another creature with the exact same DNA). Students read and answer questions that mention cells in petri dishes, embryos, and clones, and they compile research from genomics and cloning fact‑sheet pages. The skills section and rubric ask students to use words, phrases, and clauses for cohesion and to support claims with accurate, credible sources, which requires engaging with topic-specific content.
Lesson 2
Revising and Editing
Students study a list of vocabulary words with definitions (disconsolately, caches, furtively, harangued, servile, rite, malevolence) and complete vocabulary activities that require them to demonstrate meanings (pose a figurine, write analogies). The Parent Plan explicitly states students will "acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases" and to "use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing." The revising/editing activity asks students to read their essays for clarity, formal style, and use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion among ideas.
Lesson 3
Cast of Characters
Students answer comprehension questions that define and explain text-specific terms such as "clone" and "eejit," showing they identify domain-specific vocabulary. Students write brief descriptions of Alacrán family members when creating a family tree, which requires selecting descriptive words and phrases. Students prepare and format a formal final draft of a persuasive essay and are directed to "establish and maintain a formal style" and to "use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion," which encourages attention to word choice and clarity.
Lesson 4
Rhetorical and Logical Fallacies
Students are given a clear glossary of domain-specific terms (fallacy, loaded terms, caricature, leading questions, false assumption, incorrect premise) in the "Things to Know" section. Students are instructed to read an essay on human cloning and to identify and underline examples of those specific fallacies using a color-coded scheme on the Student Activity Page. The Parent Plan provides an answer key that labels specific quotations from the essay with the corresponding domain-specific vocabulary, and students are asked to discuss examples of fallacies with a parent.
Lesson 5
Arguing the Issue
Students are asked to record each author's main arguments and to note any logical or rhetorical fallacies they find, which requires identifying and labeling terms such as "Loaded Terms," "Caricatures," "Leading Questions," "False Assumptions," and "Incorrect Premises." The parent answer guide models domain-specific vocabulary by listing authors' main arguments and explicitly labeling examples of leading questions, loaded terms, and false assumptions. The student activity pages and game require students to apply and name specific fallacy categories when analyzing or creating arguments.
Lesson 6
Societal Comparisons
Students are given explicit definitions for the terms "utopia" and "dystopia" in the "Things to Know" section and are asked to "Review the definitions and characteristics of utopian and dystopian societies." Students complete a Comparing Societies organizer that asks them to describe similarities and differences between Opium and the United States, and Option 2 requires students to "Write a descriptive paragraph of your society" to accompany a visual. The Parent Plan and discussion questions also use domain-related terms (e.g., clone, piggyback transplant, opium) that students are prompted to consider when explaining the book's themes.
Lesson 7
One-Act Play
Students are directed to write dialogue that "communicates to the audience" and to indicate stage directions, props, and lighting cues, which requires choosing clear language for action and setting. The instructions ask students to make clear which character is the protagonist and which is the antagonist, using domain-specific dramatic terms. Students read a sample one-act play and are asked to model elements such as dialogue, setting, and stage directions when creating their scenes.
Lesson 8
Family Crest
Students are directed to consult dictionaries and reference materials to find pronunciations, parts of speech, and precise meanings (Skills and Parent Plan sections). In Activity 2 students create index cards with each vocabulary word, record the part of speech and definition, and then produce an original sentence or illustration to practice the word in context. The family crest activity asks students to choose colors, symbols, and a motto and to discuss how those design choices emphasize a character trait, requiring students to explain their choices verbally or in writing.
Lesson 9
Science Fiction
Students are presented with explicit definitions and vocabulary such as "science fiction," "utopian/dystopian," "cloning," "hovercraft," "irrelevant evidence," and "pathos." Students complete a Student Activity Page in which they fill a table matching characteristics of science fiction to evidence from The House of the Scorpion and write a journal entry stating whether the book fits the genre. Students identify and highlight instances of irrelevant evidence in persuasive passages and write a short persuasive paragraph that uses examples of irrelevant evidence.
Lesson 10
Opium and Aztlán
Students list words and phrases that describe the physical places Opium and Aztlán and place those descriptions into a Venn diagram comparing Matt's life in both locations, which requires selecting descriptive vocabulary. Students identify and label pronoun types and terms (antecedent, reflexive, intensive, demonstrative, interrogative), answering targeted questions that use domain-specific grammar vocabulary. The reading passages and answer keys include specific domain words from the text (e.g., plankton, brine tanks, stink bugs) that students are asked to identify and relate to setting and action.
Lesson 12
El Día de los Muertos
Students read an informational page about El Día de Los Muertos that introduces culturally specific terms and symbols (altars, offerings, skulls) and explains their meanings. The lesson directs students to study "vocabulary terms from Lessons 2 and 8" as part of unit test preparation. Students are asked to create an ornament to commemorate someone and to "explain the importance of the items" they included when sharing with a parent.
Lesson 13
Unit Test and Essay Reflections
Students are asked to define four words from a provided list (disconsolately, furtively, harangued, rite, etc.) in their own words, which requires attention to word meaning. Students must identify and provide examples of logical and rhetorical fallacies from a labeled list (loaded terms, caricature, leading questions, etc.), using domain-specific rhetorical vocabulary. Students are prompted to write detailed short-answer responses and an essay reflection and to evaluate whether they used rhetorical or logical fallacies in their own writing.
Unit 2: Industrialization, Urbanization, and Immigration
Lesson 1
Urbanization and Migration
Students read texts and primary-source letters that include domain-specific terms such as "Great Migration," "sharecropping," "discrimination," "segregation," and references to factory jobs and urban population data. Students create explanatory products: they graph city population trends (including calculating percentages) and write a two-paragraph letter from the point of view of an African-American migrant explaining reasons for moving and experiences in the North. Discussion prompts ask students to explain push/pull factors and how communities change, which invites use of migration and urbanization vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Indian Wars in the West
Students are asked to pause the documentary and "write down the things that you learned... summarizing what she has learned," which requires them to produce explanatory writing. Students must design an informational sign about Wounded Knee that "must include both words and images" and whose "information... must be accurate and engaging," a task that asks students to convey historical information clearly. Activity pages ask students to write observations beneath photographs and answer questions that require explanatory responses about boarding schools and assimilation.
Lesson 4
New Industries
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms in the "Things to Know" section (the terms "sweatshop" and "robber barons" are defined). Students are asked to write responses and short pieces: jot notes on the film, write 4–6 questions about a film section, brainstorm at least three positive and three negative impacts of Carnegie, and produce a role-play describing the job and conditions in a sweatshop. The wrapping-up and parent plan sections repeatedly prompt students to discuss and review key industrialization concepts (e.g., factories, assembly lines, urbanization, steel, skyscrapers).
Lesson 5
Immigration
Students are asked to identify and record "push" and "pull" factors on the activity page, which requires them to label and cite evidence using that domain-specific terminology. Students read articles and primary-source letters that introduce terms such as nativism, Americanization, and the Ku Klux Klan and are asked to analyze reasons for joining such groups. Students watching the Ellis Island video are instructed to record 8–10 facts and statistics, exposing them to historical and technical vocabulary related to immigration processes.
Lesson 6
Social Problems
Students are asked to write one- or two-paragraph responses imagining the perspectives of immigrant workers, union organizers, or business owners, which requires explaining labor issues and positions. In Activity 3, students must create a poster that explains why a social problem is a problem, what a reformer proposes, and what voters should do — tasks that call for informative explanation about topics like public health, child labor, and suffrage. Photo-analysis prompts direct students to describe settings, people, and conditions in historical photographs, asking for detailed description and historical interpretation.
Lesson 7
Politics
Students perform numeric calculations using domain terms such as price per bushel, cost per acre, shipping cost, storage and transportation costs, and profit per bushel in Activity 1. Students are prompted to explain why farmers might want government regulation of railroad charges and why railroad owners might oppose regulation, using terms like railroads and grain elevator rates. Activity 2 lists Populist platform items using precise policy vocabulary (free coinage of silver, graduated income tax, government regulation/ownership of railroads and telegraph/telephone systems, unionize) and asks students to write sentences explaining which groups would support those policies.
Final Project
A Dramatic Performance or Scrapbook
Students are prompted on the unit test to explain "push factors" and "pull factors," and to identify the Great Migration and match inventors to their inventions, which requires use of domain-specific historical terms. The Character Planning worksheet and presentation index cards ask students to describe politics, labor unions, reform movements, and urban/industrial conditions, and the rubrics require discussion of politics, labor movements, and clarity of speech. The final project (dramatic presentation or scrapbook) requires students to write sentences, label pages (e.g., Coming to America, Work, Reform), and orally explain artifacts, creating multiple opportunities to use historical vocabulary in writing and speaking.
Unit 2: Living Organisms
Lesson 1
Levels of Organization
Students are prompted to identify and describe cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms on the "Levels of Organization" activity page, using labels and examples (cells, tissue, organs, organ systems, organisms). Students are asked to name and explain leaf components (blade, petiole, pigment, stoma) and limb components (skeleton/exoskeleton, muscles, joints) and to document research using linked resources. The text includes and uses domain-specific terms (flagellum, chitin, chloroplasts, respiration, xylem, phloem, cardiovascular, cardiac muscle) that students must apply when describing structures and functions in written responses.
Lesson 2
Structure and Stability
Students are directed to "describe what each of the following parts of a tree is and what it is for/how it functions," using a list of domain-specific terms (cambium, crown/canopy, heartwood, inner bark/phloem, outer bark, roots, sapwood, branches, trunk). Students must label a diagram or create and label their own drawing, placing those terms on a cross-section and exterior parts of the tree. Students answer Stability and Change questions that require explaining adaptations using terms related to water transport, roots, sap, and reproductive structures (e.g., how mangrove seedlings disperse).
Lesson 3
Plant Reproduction
Students are given explicit vocabulary lists (plumule, epicotyl, hypocotyl, radicle, cotyledon, testa, sepal, ovule, pistil, stamen, pollen, etc.) and are directed to label seed and flower diagrams using those terms. Students must write a sentence describing seed differences, sketch and label germinating seeds, and dissect and label parts after 7 days. In the flower activity students build a labeled model or create a mostly-visual presentation that must include the parts of the flower and describe the fertilization process using the appropriate terms.
Lesson 4
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Students are introduced to and asked to use domain-specific terms such as "biotic factors" and "abiotic factors," with definitions and examples (light, temperature, soil, water, germination, blanching) provided in the Things to Know and Parent Plan sections. In Activity 1 students record observations (plant height, color, germination) and make predictions on the Abiotic Factors activity page, and in Activity 2 students identify three abiotic and three biotic factors, describe their impacts, and answer reflective questions about their interactions. The Student Activity Pages include labeled tables and prompts that require students to name factors and describe effects over multiple days.
Lesson 5
Nutrition
Students are asked to label chloroplast parts and to answer targeted questions that require domain-specific terms (e.g., chlorophyll, stroma, thylakoid, grana, photosynthesis, glucose, CO2). The Things to Know and Activities sections list and use precise vocabulary for plant and animal nutrition (e.g., autotroph, heterotroph, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, monogastric, ruminant, rumen, reticulum, pseudo-ruminant, crop, gizzard, proventriculus). Students must produce a brochure or a report that requires inclusion of the animal's scientific name in italics and explanation of major organs/processes, and they label diagrams and summarize processes using technical terms.
Lesson 6
Respiration
Students read text that uses domain-specific terms (respiration, anaerobic, aerobic, glucose, ATP, fermentation, mitochondrion, chloroplast, stomata, CO2, ethanol) and answer questions that require precise definitions (e.g., distinguishing respiration vs. breathing). The student activity page includes the chemical equations for fermentation and respiration and asks students to explain what happened and what caused the balloon to inflate, prompting use of terms like carbon dioxide and enzyme. In Option 1 and Option 2 students arrange or create diagrams that include labels for organelles and substances (sun, glucose, O2, CO2, H2O, chloroplast, mitochondrion) and are asked to indicate where each process takes place.
Lesson 7
Stimulus and Response
Students are given domain-specific terms and definitions (stimulus, stimuli, taxis, tropism, phototropism, geotropism, hydrotropism, anterior/posterior, clitellum) in the Things to Know and video/reading prompts. Several student tasks require explanatory responses using those concepts, e.g., answering "Does this experiment demonstrate the principle of geotropism? If so, how?", explaining reaction-time results and their real-world implications, and creating a presentation on an animal perception (the "Sixth Sense" activity). Activity pages ask students to record data, compare results (light vs. gravity), and explain their observations in words and diagrams.
Lesson 8
Behavior
Students are given a clear list of domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (conditioning, spatial learning, habituation, sensitization, imprinting, trial-and-error, imitation, mimicry) in the "Things to Know" and throughout the activities. Students must apply these terms to identify learning types in scenarios on the "Animal Learning" activity page and explain distinctions (for example, imprinting vs. learned behaviors) in Part II. In the Animal Communication activity, students record a species' Latin name, primary form of communication, and details on an "Animal Communication Notes" page, and then write a 1–2 paragraph summary or create a poster describing how the animal communicates.
Lesson 9
Ecological Relationships
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (e.g., parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, predation, symbiosis, biotic/abiotic factors) in the "Things to Know" and answer key sections. Students practice these terms in targeted activities: Activity 1 asks students to identify and label examples of relationships and indicate who benefits, and Activity 2 has matching/memory or index-card exercises requiring students to write definitions or draw pictures for each vocabulary word. The parent/answer-key material supplies precise definitions that students are expected to learn and use when completing the tasks.
Lesson 10
Structural Similarities
Students are asked to complete a trait table with domain-specific headings (e.g., "multicellular," "vertebra," "hair/fur," "opposable thumb," "complex language") and then create a cladogram based on those traits. Students must list traits for each animal and "be able to explain the choices you made for each category," requiring use of those technical terms in explanations. The lesson explicitly instructs students to write scientific names using Genus and species capitalization rules and encourages use of a dictionary and the Animal Diversity Web to look up precise classification vocabulary.
Final Project
Exploring Living Organisms
Students are directed to "use the vocabulary cards from Lesson 9 and the 'Things to Study' sheet" to prepare for the unit test, and the "Things to Study" list explicitly names domain terms (e.g., parasitism, mutualism, autotroph, heterotroph, taxis, tropism, Linnaeus' taxonomy). The unit test requires students to match terms to definitions, label diagrams with technical names (flower anatomy, plant parts), and answer short-answer questions that ask for definitions and distinctions using domain vocabulary. The final project asks students to provide classification (Kingdom through Species), describe processes such as nutrition and reproduction, and create slides/booklet content that would draw on scientific terms and taxonomy.
Unit 2: Watership Down
Lesson 1
Preparing to Read
Students are given a list of domain-specific words from Watership Down and are instructed to record each word's definition, alternate definition, part of speech, synonym, and use the word in a sentence on a Vocabulary Cube. Students practice the words by playing a dice-style game that asks them to match definitions, identify parts of speech, give synonyms, or produce the word's meaning when prompted by a sentence. The Parent Plan and Skills section explicitly state that students should "acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases" and consult reference materials to clarify precise meanings.
Lesson 2
Foreshadowing
Students complete a "Rabbit Research" graphic organizer that asks for the scientific name, physical description, behavior, communication, reproduction, and lifespan of the European rabbit and are directed to an ADW article as a research source. Students are given definitions for foreshadowing and symbol and complete a "Foreshadowing and Symbolism" page where they describe what is being foreshadowed and identify symbols in passages (using the domain terms "foreshadowing" and "symbol"). Students record character descriptions, actions, quotes, and others' reactions on character cards, practicing descriptive, content-specific notes about the novel's animals.
Lesson 3
An Epic Journey
Students are asked in Activity 1 to write several sentences OR a short poem about Watership Down using at least 10 words that are either invented Lapine words or English words borrowed from other languages, and to use the Lapine Glossary. The Parent Plan skills list explicitly asks students to identify common words or word parts from other languages that are used in written English. The activity lists and examples of borrowed vocabulary (French, Spanish, German, etc.) that students must select and include in their writing.
Lesson 4
Comparing Rabbits
The lesson provides an explicit list of Latin roots and suffixes (e.g., dolere, ducere, -itude, -able) and asks students to write definitions for italicized words based on those components and passage context. Students complete a "Latin Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes" activity in which they determine word meanings and a parent note directs discussion of how those meanings reflect the Latin roots. Students also write several sentences making connections to the reading and complete Venn-diagram activities that require sorting and labeling characteristic terms for each rabbit group.
Lesson 5
Quotes and Creatures
Activity 2 directs students to research each living thing and record whether it is a producer or a consumer and, for consumers, whether it is herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore. Students are asked to create a food web (poster or computer diagram) showing how organisms are connected, which requires labeling trophic roles. The Parent Plan and linked 'Food Web: Facts' resource explicitly define producers and primary/secondary/tertiary consumers and the Skills section includes determining technical meanings of words and phrases.
Lesson 6
Dramatic Irony
Students practice vocabulary by hypothesizing meanings from Latin roots and affixes and then recording dictionary definitions (Activity 1). Students analyze examples of dramatic irony and write explanations of "what the reader knows," "what the characters believe," and the "effect on the reader" (Activity 2). One writing option asks students to write a postcard explaining information to a character, which requires them to explain ideas to an audience.
Lesson 7
Rabbit Societies
Students practice word meaning in context and precise definition work in the "Vocabulary: Multiple Meanings" activity by writing a context-based definition, recording two dictionary definitions, and starring the one that matches the passage. The skills list asks students to consult general and specialized reference materials to determine or clarify a word's precise meaning and part of speech, and to verify inferred meanings. In the Rabbit Societies activity students record leaders' positive and negative traits and justify choices when cutting/gluing boxes or when creating flags or campaign materials, which requires describing group characteristics.
Lesson 8
Folktales and Fantasy
Students read explicit definitions of myth, legend, and folktale in the "Things to Know" and use those definitions when analyzing stories, which exposes them to domain-specific literary vocabulary. In Activity 1 students summarize a folktale ("El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inle") and record its importance, requiring them to write an objective summary using literary terminology. In Activity 2 students conduct animal research using an "Animal Research" organizer with labeled categories (Habitat, Diet, Lifespan, Physical Appearance, Family Relationships, Predators and Defense) and are asked to consult and cite at least three sources, which prompts use of domain-specific biological terms.
Lesson 9
Characters
Students practice distinguishing denotation and connotation through the "Denotations and Connotations" activity page where they read passages and write the different senses of paired words (e.g., run/bolt, strange/marvelous, wild/savage). Students also record character personalities, strengths and weaknesses, and quotes on the "Character Planning" pages, requiring them to choose words that convey specific traits and tones.
Lesson 10
Setting
Students are asked to label names of landforms (rivers, mountains, deserts) on a map and to use words in a Venn diagram comparing Efafra and Watership Down, which requires naming physical characteristics. Students must write 2–4 sentence reflections explaining how details of the physical spaces give clues about the kinds of places they are. The Student Activity Page includes specific place vocabulary (jungle, watering hole, shrubs, mountains) that students will use when explaining or presenting their maps.
Lesson 11
Conflict and Escape
Students are asked to create a plot diagram that explicitly outlines the conflict, the rising action, the climax, and the falling action, using terms such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Students are given and must choose among labeled conflict types (man vs. nature, man vs. self, man vs. man, man vs. society), which are domain-specific literary terms. Students keep a Travel Tracker by mapping settings encountered during the rabbits' escape, which requires naming and representing setting vocabulary and sequence of events.
Lesson 12
Dramatic Enactment
Students play a Root Charade in which they act out Latin roots and the guesser can earn an extra point by naming an English word that uses that root, giving students practice identifying and producing vocabulary derived from Latin roots. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word," which directs student work on domain-related vocabulary. Students also write a 3–5 minute script for a dramatization, which requires them to make word-choice decisions for dialogue and action.
Lesson 13
A Fantasy Story
The rubric and directions explicitly ask students to "select powerful, specific words" and include a Word Choice criterion assessing use of strong, specific words that support a consistent mood. Students are instructed to create flashcards for Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes and the Study Guide requires knowing Latin roots and literary terms (connotation, denotation, foreshadowing, epic, myth, dramatic irony, symbol, fantasy, folktale). The unit test and study activities require students to apply vocabulary in context (vocabulary fill-in sentences, definitions, and Latin-root explanations).
Unit 3: The Great Depression and World War II
Lesson 1
The 1920s
Students read materials and web biographies that contain domain-specific historical terms (e.g., Harlem Renaissance, Great Migration, Prohibition, nativism) and are asked to explore connections among historical figures. Students create a network chart of five Harlem Renaissance individuals using names, places, and intersections, and add timeline cards (#117-120) which require placing and labeling historical events. The Parent Plan lists skills such as describing the Harlem Renaissance and analyzing causes and effects, which implies use of discipline-specific concepts in student work.
Lesson 2
The Great Depression
Students are asked to take structured notes on the "Bust" episode (including headings such as Dust Storms, Hoover, Henry Ford, hoboes) and to answer reading questions that cite specific events (e.g., stock market crash, Dust Bowl). In Activity 2 students must write short descriptions of photographs and create a photo exhibit, and in Activity 3 they add numbered cards to a timeline, all tasks that require conveying information about the Great Depression. The student prompts and reading questions repeatedly reference domain-specific terms (Dust Bowl, New Deal, stock market crash, sharecropper), which students will encounter and likely use in their writing.
Lesson 3
The Start of World War II
The assigned readings include domain-specific vocabulary and precise terms (e.g., "Blitzkrieg," "militarized the Rhineland," "incendiary bombs," "radar stations," and "Pearl Harbor") that students must read and understand. The lesson's comprehension questions require students to answer fact-based prompts using those historical terms (for example, asking how the Nazi government defied the Treaty of Versailles and what action led the United States to enter the war). Two activities (creating a recruiting poster and adding cards to a timeline) ask students to convey historical information, which provides opportunities to use domain-specific vocabulary when explaining events.
Lesson 4
1942
Students read texts and questions that include domain-specific historical terms (e.g., Battle of Midway, Battle of Coral Sea, Stalingrad, Bataan Death March, Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo Code Talkers). Students answer comprehension questions asking for the significance of specific battles and the Allies' goals for 1943, which requires them to refer to those precise events. Discussion prompts ask students to understand why codes or camouflage are useful, naming those domain concepts explicitly.
Lesson 5
The Homefront
Students read multiple sections labeled with domain-specific topics (e.g., the "Rationing" section, "Rosie the Riveter, the WACS, and the WAVES") and a "Things to Know" list that names terms such as rationing, victory gardens, war bonds, internment, Tuskegee Airmen, WAVES, and WACS. Students answer comprehension questions that invoke those concepts (e.g., why items were rationed, how women supported the war effort) and complete activities—such as a rationing exercise, a "Making a Difference" brainstorming page, and a scripted radio program—that require them to explain home-front actions. These readings and tasks expose students to domain-specific vocabulary and provide occasions to use those terms when explaining historical events and processes.
Lesson 6
1943
Students read chapters and sections that include domain-specific terms (e.g., Midway, Stalingrad, Operation Overlord, Admiral Nimitz, surrender) and answer comprehension questions that require use of those terms (for example, describing Nimitz's strategy and naming Operation Overlord). Students identify and label locations and event titles/dates on a world map, which requires naming historical places and events. The Parent Plan and skills list include topics and vocabulary (e.g., Executive Order 9066, Holocaust, Bataan Death March, Tuskegee Airmen) that students encounter in readings and discussion prompts.
Lesson 7
Victory in Europe
Students watch a World War II episode and take structured notes labeled with topic headings (Pearl Harbor, The Jeep, Women in the War Effort, The B-17), exposing them to domain-specific terms. The reading selection and follow-up questions require students to answer using specific events and vocabulary (e.g., D-Day/Operation Overlord, Battle of the Bulge, tides/moon timing for landings, atomic bomb). Students add events to a timeline and a World War II map, which requires identifying and naming historical events and military terms. The Parent Plan and skills list also reference domain-specific items (Executive Order 9066, internment, specific battles and military units) that students must recognize to complete activities.
Lesson 8
The Holocaust
Students are prompted to define "anti-Semitic" and to complete sentence prompts that require specific terms (e.g., Anschluss, Kristallnacht, Sonderkommando, Zyklon-B) on the guided note-taking pages. Students list other victim groups, explain the goal of ghettos, and note details about concentration camps, which requires using domain-specific vocabulary in their notes. Students also write descriptive responses for a museum field-trip page and fill Title/Artist/Year/Medium and reflection questions for artworks, asking them to explain what each piece shows about the Holocaust.
Lesson 9
Victory in the Pacific
Students read selections that include domain-specific terms such as Manhattan Project, atomic bomb, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Students answer directed reading questions that require explaining outcomes and military concerns using those terms (e.g., questions about Okinawa casualties and invasion estimates). Students complete an activity chart and a written prompt that asks them to weigh facts and advice and justify the decision to use atomic bombs, providing space for them to use topic-specific vocabulary in their explanations.
Final Project
Before and After World War II
Students are asked to write explanatory text for their exhibits, including a short paragraph in each During section about a major World War II event or theme and 2–4 sentence summaries for Politics, Economics, and Society & Culture. The unit test and answer key require knowledge of domain-specific terms (for example, identifying "Operation Overlord" and ordering events like D-Day and the dropping of the atomic bomb). The project rubric evaluates the inclusion of primary sources, historical accuracy, and well-written summaries, which requires students to present organized informational explanations.
Unit 3: A Dynamic Planet
Lesson 1
The Dating Game
The lesson provides explicit definitions and a vocabulary list (e.g., stratigraphy, principle of superposition, original horizontality, lateral continuity, geological column, relative/radiometric dating, parent/daughter isotopes, half-life, zone fossils). Student tasks require use of that vocabulary: students must explain the difference between relative and radiometric dating, conclude that layers follow the principle of superposition, and complete the Radiometric Dating activity using parent/daughter isotope ratios and half-lives. Hands-on and written activities (The Sands of Time conclusion, Relative Dating sorting, Radiometric Dating calculations and zone age-range questions) require students to use domain-specific terms to explain observations and results.
Lesson 2
Plate Tectonics
Students are given a vocabulary list (e.g., Lithosphere — the crust; Asthenosphere — the upper layer of the mantle) and a "Things to Know" section that defines tectonic plate terms (convergent, divergent, transform, subduction zone). Activity instructions require students to label diagrams (trench, volcanic arc, lithosphere, asthenosphere), describe the three types of plate boundaries in their own words, and add timeline cards that must include a title, date, and brief explanation. Reading and question prompts ask students to answer content questions using the domain terms (e.g., where ocean trenches form; age of ocean floors).
Lesson 3
The First Four Billion Years
Students encounter and are asked to use domain-specific terms such as Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, Precambrian, cyanobacteria, prokaryotes, eukaryotic, multicellular, photosynthesis, and Cambrian Explosion in the Things to Know section and the Reading and Questions (e.g., questions asking when life first appeared and how oxygen entered the atmosphere). Students place and label Timeline Cards of Life that explicitly name events and vocabulary (3.5 BYA prokaryotes, 2 BYA eukaryotic cells, 1.5 BYA multicellular life, etc.). Students answer content questions with precise phrases (e.g., "The Earth's crust was still molten," "Bacterial life appeared about 3.5 bya," and cyanobacteria produced oxygen), demonstrating use of domain terms in short responses.
Lesson 4
The Age of Visible Life
Students create and label a Geologic Column timeline using domain-specific terms (Phanerozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian) and write numeric ages (e.g., 545 mya). Students cut and add timeline cards that name specific events and fossils (index fossils, Permian-Triassic extinction, first amphibians, first birds) and answer directed questions that require naming periods and eras. Students read definitional statements (e.g., "Phanerozoic means 'the age of visible life'", definition of index fossil, explanation of radiometric dating) and use those terms when explaining the geologic column to a parent or placing time-rectangles in order.
Lesson 5
Digging for Clues
Students are asked to use a provided word box to label geological eras and fossil groups on the "Layers of Change" activity page, and Option 2 asks students to label blank rock layers and label/draw appropriate fossils. Several written questions ask students to explain relationships (e.g., "How do the fossils change as the layers go from older to younger?" and "How do paleontologists use this progression to support the theory of evolution?"). The parent/discussion prompts explicitly ask students to define "What is evolution?" and "What is the principle of superposition?", encouraging use of domain-specific terms.
Lesson 6
Natural Selection
Students are given explicit definitions for domain-specific terms such as species, natural selection, and artificial selection in the 'Things to Know' section. Students are asked to read about Darwin and answer direct questions that require explaining what natural selection is and what a species is. Discussion prompts and activity questions (e.g., describing natural selection, comparing artificial vs. natural selection) require students to use those terms when explaining concepts.
Lesson 7
Survival of the Fittest
Students are given explicit definitions for key vocabulary such as "mutation," "genetic variation," and DNA described as a "set of instructions" in the Things to Know and question/answer sections. The colored-dots activity asks students to record observations across generations and answer questions about genetic variation and selective pressures, prompting use of terms like mutation, genetic variation, and natural selection. The lesson includes domain-specific examples (sickle-cell anemia video, peppered moth) that connect vocabulary to scientific explanations students must summarize.
Lesson 8
Convergent Evolution
Students read text (pages 26-35) that defines convergent and divergent evolution and uses domain-specific terms (e.g., natural selection, gills, lungs, cartilage, ichthyosaur, blowhole) in explanatory contexts. Students complete a "Convergent Evolution Research" activity where they must record species names, habitats or challenges, and describe how adaptations are similar and different. Students choose between writing a paragraph that explains environmental challenges and anatomical similarities/differences or creating a poster with detailed anatomical drawings and brief descriptions, which requires describing biological features precisely.
Final Project
Fast Forward
Students are told to "understand all of the terms and definitions on the 'Unit Review Sheet'" and to be able to list the four major eons and define evolution and convergent evolution. Students must "explain the geologic column and the principle of superposition" and "explain relative and radiometric dating with methods used," and the unit test and rubrics require providing lines of evidence for evolution. Students produce informative products (written explanations on the unit test and 5–10 minute talks/slideshows for the final project) that ask for accurate scientific descriptions and examples.
Unit 3: The Book Thief
Lesson 1
The Author and Narrator
The Skills section asks students to determine meanings of words and phrases (including figurative and connotative meanings) and to analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. In Activity 1 (World War II Detective) students research factual topics (When, Where, Sides involved, What was the Holocaust?) that require use of domain-specific terms such as Axis, Allies, Holocaust, and dates. Activity 2 asks students to produce an informational product (poster or 90-second radio spot) that must contain factual biographical information about the author and be appropriate in words and presentation, which involves selecting language for an informative purpose.
Lesson 2
Similes and Metaphors
Students look up six vocabulary words from Part I and are directed to "write the definitions in your own words" and copy them into a mini picture dictionary with a symbol for each word. The Similes and Metaphors activity asks students to identify comparisons, classify phrases as similes or metaphors, choose quotes and "explain why they're similes or metaphors and describe the effect," and to write their own simile or metaphor based on an image. The Parent Plan lists target skills: determine meanings of words and analyze figurative language to infer literal and figurative meanings.
Lesson 3
Burning Books
Students research and answer directed questions about specific terms such as "Kommunist," "Aryan," "Mein Kampf," "anti-Semitism," and the "yellow stars," requiring them to learn and refer to those domain-specific words. Students read and use an infographic titled "Understanding Nazi Ideology" that defines terms like Lebensraum, autarky (economic self-sufficiency), and social Darwinism. Students analyze Nazi propaganda posters and must identify target groups, the posters' goals, and what makes each poster effective, which requires using precise descriptive vocabulary about persuasive techniques and audience.
Lesson 4
The Value of Books
The lesson explicitly instructs students in word choice and descriptive language: it defines descriptive writing and directs students to use vivid adjectives, simile, and metaphor (e.g., "Vivid adjectives... figurative language like simile or metaphor"). Students are asked to mark effective images that appeal to the five senses and to use a thesaurus to find stronger, more descriptive words. The Five Senses Writing activity has students generate and revise specific sensory adjectives and synonyms for a concrete object (a candy).
Lesson 5
The Accordion Player
Students practice choosing precise, specific words in the "Be Specific" activity by revising underlined phrases and replacing bland verbs (e.g., replacing "walk" with "stroll/trudge/stomp") and by rewriting adapted sentences from the book. Students read excerpts from the Nuremberg Laws and the Hitler Youth law and answer questions about citizenship, rights, and program purpose, engaging with historical terms like "Reich," "Nuremberg Laws," "Hitler Youth," and "Kristallnacht." The skills list also asks students to determine meanings of words and analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, which supports attention to precise language.
Lesson 7
The Seven-Sided Die
The lesson explicitly teaches domain-specific vocabulary by listing and defining common logical fallacies (Slippery Slope, Bandwagon Appeal, Genetic Fallacy, Hasty Generalization, Post Hoc, Appeal to Improper Authority) in the Things to Know and Activity 1 sections. Students are required to identify which fallacy is used in specific ads and examples, complete analysis pages that prompt them to "Identify any logical fallacies," and use fallacy types in writing lines for a political ad. The answer keys and Activity 2 prompt students to explain why an argument may have been effective using the fallacy terms, requiring students to apply the vocabulary in explanatory writing.
Lesson 8
The Thief Strikes Again
Students are asked to think about how "good writers use figurative language and word choice to create tone and to emotionally engage the reader," and they complete a "Describing the Ordinary" activity that requires writing original, precise descriptions. The Parent Plan directs students to "determine the meaning of words and phrases" and to "identify/evaluate the effectiveness of tone, style, and use of language." Students are also asked to "record any examples of propaganda" and to "review the definition of propaganda," which involves engagement with a domain-specific term.
Lesson 9
Close Calls
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to "paint" sentences by elaborating the predicate and subject, picking a word to "paint," and "putting on the finishing touches" by refining wording and checking spelling and punctuation; this directs students to choose more specific, descriptive words. The Parent Plan Skills state students should "determine the meaning of words and phrases... analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone," and Activity 1 asks students to identify figurative language and record examples, which draws attention to word choice and connotation.
Lesson 11
The Word Shaker
Students are asked to determine meanings of words and phrases and to analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (Skills section). Activity 2 directs students to find 2–3 effective adverbs, adjectives, and strong verbs and to explain why an example is effective, which requires attention to precise word choice. The lesson defines domain-specific terms (primary source, ghetto, allegory) in the "Things to Know" section and has students record examples of propaganda and compare primary sources with historical fiction on the "Primary Sources vs. Historical Fiction" page.
Lesson 12
The Teddy Bear
Students are asked to "jot down especially effective instances of figurative language (personification, simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, allegory, and symbolism)," which explicitly names domain-specific literary terms. The "Ideas to Think About" section asks students to consider how word choice and figurative language create tone and engage readers, prompting attention to precise language. The project options ask students to explain the significance of stops on a map or diagram and to choose the most important details, requiring students to produce explanatory writing about a topic.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are instructed in the "Teaching Figuratively" mini-project to define six figurative language devices and provide examples, which requires using and explaining domain-specific terms (personification, simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, allegory, symbolism). The "Propaganda Posters" activity asks students to analyze posters using prompts such as "How it is propaganda?", "What logical fallacies do you notice?", and how design and symbols add to the message, prompting use of specific rhetorical and disciplinary vocabulary. The parent notes and revision guidance ask students to use strong verbs, effective adjectives/adverbs, and to consult a Unit Review Sheet for concepts and vocabulary they will need for the final project.
Unit 4: Global Conflict and Civil Rights
Lesson 2
The Cold War and Communism
The lesson provides explicit domain-specific definitions in the "Things to Know" section (terms and definitions for the Cold War, communism, the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan). Day 2 reading questions ask students to summarize the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and answer content questions that use technical terms (e.g., Manhattan Project, atomic weapons, intercontinental ballistic missile). Activity 2 asks students to read primary-source material and create explanatory artifacts (a political cartoon or poster) that require understanding and using those historical terms.
Lesson 3
The Cold War
Students read texts and primary-source transcripts that include domain-specific terms (e.g., Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, Red Scare, HUAC) in the "Things to Know" and linked readings. Students answer focused content questions (e.g., identify what was being built in Cuba, explain how the crisis ended) and complete analysis pages that ask them to "List 3 facts," evaluate options, and "explain your rationale." Students write journal entries imagining support or opposition to anti-communist investigations, which requires them to describe historical events and positions in writing.
Lesson 4
Civil Rights
Students read texts that include and require understanding of domain-specific terms (e.g., "Jim Crow" laws, "segregation," Brown v. Board of Education) and answer comprehension questions that ask them to define or explain those terms and rulings. In Activity 1 students complete an organizer comparing Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks using full sentences and labeled categories (e.g., actions during arrest, age at time of arrest) that prompt use of precise historical descriptions. In Activity 2 students write a memorial poem or a newspaper clipping that must convey critical information about individuals' lives and deaths, which encourages use of historical vocabulary and factual phrasing.
Lesson 6
The Ballot
Students read a text that names and explains domain-specific terms such as Freedom Summer, COFO, poll taxes, literacy tests, voter registration, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Students answer specific reading questions that require them to state what the Voting Rights Act did and list tactics used to prevent African Americans from voting, using the vocabulary from the reading. Students complete activity pages and a role-play in which they must explain reasons, objections, and counter-arguments about participating in Freedom Summer, prompting them to use historically accurate terms in their responses.
Lesson 7
New Directions and Other Social Movements
Students read texts and guided questions that contain domain-specific terms (e.g., non-violence, boycott, unionizing, migrant, militant, SNCC) and answer comprehension questions about causes of tensions, roles of Stokely Carmichael, and working conditions for farm workers. Students complete a Venn diagram comparing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Black Panthers, writing facts and similarities that require use of precise descriptors (e.g., non-violent vs. militant, involvement of white activists). Students write a 2–3 minute persuasive speech about a farm-worker boycott that must include factual information, reasons to support the boycott, and at least one quotation from Cesar Chavez, providing an opportunity to use topical vocabulary (e.g., boycott, labor, pesticides, housing).
Lesson 8
Korea
Students read a webpage and answer comprehension questions that use domain-specific terms such as "38th parallel," "proxy war," "Soviet Union," "atomic bomb," and "armistice." The reading-and-questions section requires students to produce short explanatory answers about causes, global influences, and the war's end. Activity 2 asks students to write a proposal for public commemoration or a letter to a veteran, tasks that require explaining the war and its significance.
Lesson 9
Vietnam
The "Things to Know" section presents domain-specific terms and short definitions (e.g., "Domino Effect," "Agent Orange," "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution," "Tet Offensive"). The Reading and Questions require students to read State Department pages and answer factual questions that use and elicit those terms (e.g., asking what the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized and what "Tet" is). Activity 2 (adding timeline cards) and Activity 3 (reviewing veterans' interviews) expose students to historical vocabulary in chronological and personal contexts.
Final Project
A Time Capsule
Students are asked to write artifact description slips that answer "What is this artifact/document?" and "What will it help future archaeologists understand about this time period?", which requires explanatory writing about historical topics. Students must create written projects for the Vietnam War, the anti-war movement, and other activism (a fake letter, a speech, or a written list of goals), and plan brief remarks for a dedication ceremony explaining the importance of each object. The Time Capsule Rubric and activity pages require students to include and describe seven artifacts, prompting focused explanatory responses.
Unit 4: Human Body Systems
Lesson 1
Our Bodies
Students are instructed to focus on terms, definitions, and concepts and to use the graphics and their labels to understand body parts and systems. Activity 1 asks students to match system names to descriptions or to write their own short descriptions and to draw labeled arrows explaining interdependence. Option 2 and the Student Activity Pages require students to use a word bank and write brief descriptions of each system's main function. Activity 2 requires students to research decisions on KidsHealth and describe how those decisions affect specific body systems using domain-specific names (e.g., cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine).
Lesson 2
Cells, Tissues, and Organs
Students are required to name and explain parts using domain-specific terms in the reading questions (e.g., cell membrane, epithelial/connective/muscle/nerve tissue, osteoblasts/osteocytes/osteoclasts, phloem, xylem, vascular cambium). Students must label diagrams and write answers on the Earthworm Visual Dissection Guide and on the carrot dissection activity page, identifying tissues and organs by their scientific names. The bead-model activity asks students to create and draw cells, tissues, organs, and systems and to answer reflective questions that require use of correct biological vocabulary (for example, explaining why organs contain multiple tissue types).
Lesson 3
Musculoskeletal System
Students are asked to read text sections and a "Things to Know" list that defines terms such as synovial joint, synovial fluid, spongy bone, compact bone, and the three muscle types. In Activity 1 and the Movement pages, students must list or draw and label specific bones and muscles (e.g., deltoid, rectus femoris, humerus, femur) and describe which muscles acted on joints. In Activity 2 students match joint types (ball-and-socket, hinge, pivot, gliding) to body joints and mechanical analogs, requiring use of domain-specific joint vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Cardiovascular System
Students label and color diagrams using domain-specific terms (heart, superior/inferior vena cava, aorta, carotid arteries, jugular veins, pulmonary arteries/veins) and mark oxygenated vs. deoxygenated blood with red/blue pencils. Students answer content questions using precise vocabulary (plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, arteries, veins, capillaries, systole, diastole). Students build and explain models (pump or clay heart) and are asked to name heart sections and explain valve function using anatomical terms.
Lesson 5
Respiratory System
Students label and assemble a respiratory-system diagram using domain-specific terms (nasal cavity, pharynx, epiglottis, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, diaphragm, larynx). Students create a respiration flowchart that sequences inhalation and exhalation steps and names structures and processes (diaphragm contraction/relaxation, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, gas exchange, diffusion). Students carry out and record a red-cabbage indicator experiment and answer questions that require using terms like carbon dioxide, acidic/neutral/basic, tidal volume, oxygen percentage, and cellular respiration.
Lesson 6
Digestive System
Students read text and respond to questions that use domain-specific terms (e.g., epiglottis, chyme, bile) in the "Things to Know" and Q&A sections. Students are instructed to describe digestion steps in Activity 1, which names processes like peristalsis, churning, pancreatic juices, and bile. In Activity 2 students color, cut out, paste, and label organs (esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder), practicing correct anatomical vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Urinary System
Students answer directed questions that require domain-specific terms (e.g., renal artery, renal vein, inferior vena cava, ADH, aldosterone, nephron). Students must label a urinary system diagram with the specific structures: kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. In the comic-strip activity, students must describe the water droplet's path using precise anatomical and physiological terms (renal artery, nephron, ureter, bladder, urethra) and explain functional differences (fluid returning to blood vs. being collected as urine).
Lesson 8
Endocrine System
Students read domain-specific text and answer explanatory questions that require use of vocabulary such as hypothalamus, pituitary gland, hormones, growth hormone, and ADH. Students match glands, hormone names, and hormone functions on the Hormones activity, directly using terms like epinephrine, insulin/glucagon, thyroid hormone, and melatonin. Students label and place glands on an endocrine system diagram and draw small structures (pituitary, hypothalamus, pineal), reinforcing correct anatomical and vocabulary use.
Lesson 9
Reproductive System
Students are prompted to research and describe the functions of specific reproductive organs (ovary, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina, testicles, epididymis, vas deferens, scrotum, prostate, seminal vesicles, penis) on the Reproductive System Research Worksheet. Students must write a one-paragraph summary or prepare a two-minute oral presentation explaining those functions in their own words and ensure clarity and informativeness. The reading and questions use domain-specific terms such as embryo, fetus, fertilization, and placenta, and students order prenatal stages using length and developmental milestones.
Lesson 10
Immune System
Students read explicit definitions (Things to Know) of antigen, macrophages, and antibodies and answer direct questions that require use of these terms (e.g., role of the immune system, phagocytosis). Students complete labeling activities that require writing specific anatomical vocabulary for a lymph node (incoming lymph vessel, capsule, trabecula, germinal center, sinus, outgoing lymph vessel, incoming/outgoing blood supply) and label organs of the immune system (spleen, thymus gland, tonsils, adenoids). Optional interactive work and parent-guided discussion prompts ask students to explain terms like pathogen and antigen and to describe cell-mediated versus antibody-mediated immunity.
Lesson 11
Nervous System
Students label and explain parts of neurons (nucleus, cell body, axon, dendrites, myelin sheath, synaptic terminal) when they build a model or complete the interactive, and they must 'point out each part, providing its name and what it does.' Students identify and sequence the nerve impulse steps and place labels for synapse, neurotransmitters, and receptors on the activity page. Students label brain regions (frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal lobes, cerebellum, brain stem) and match each region to specific functions in the Brain Diagram activity and reading questions (e.g., cerebellum, meninges, cerebrospinal fluid).
Lesson 12
Balance in the Body
The lesson provides domain-specific vocabulary and definitions (homeostasis, thermoregulation, feedback mechanisms) in the "Things to Know" section. Students are required to identify organs and their systems in Activity 1 (e.g., hypothalamus, pituitary, pancreas, kidney) and to match those organs to regulatory functions. Activity 2 asks students to explain how the body restores homeostasis and to identify compounds (carbon dioxide, oxygen, glucose) and systems (cardiovascular, respiratory) involved, which prompts use of specific scientific terms. The Answer Key models precise terminology (endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, insulin, glucagon) students are expected to use.
Lesson 13
Human Growth and Development
Students read textbook pages that introduce terms such as puberty and genetics and answer questions that use those terms (Q1 and Q2). In Activity 2 students label boxes with specific environmental issues (examples given: lead, radon, pesticides, air pollution) and identify affected body parts, which requires naming toxins, organs, and describing consequences. The Parent Plan skills list asks students to "construct a scientific explanation based on evidence" about environmental and genetic influences, implying students will produce explanatory descriptions drawing on scientific concepts.
Final Project
Body Systems Presentation
Students are required to include system diagrams with major organs/components clearly labeled and to provide the function of each system and two ways each system is interdependent with other systems, which requires correct anatomical terms. Student activity pages include matching, labeling, and short-answer items (e.g., naming the pituitary gland, labeling neuron parts, matching systems to functions) that require use of domain-specific vocabulary. The project rubric evaluates Content for clarity and Conventions for spelling and grammatical accuracy, reinforcing precise word choice and correct technical terms.
Unit 4: To Kill a Mockingbird
Lesson 1
Historical Context
Students watch a video titled "Alabama in the 1930s" and are instructed to create a mind map labeled "Alabama in the 1930s," adding branches with words and examples as information is presented. The lesson's "Things to Know" and parent notes explicitly name domain-specific historical terms (Great Depression, WPA, Dust Bowl, Jim Crow, segregation, lynchings, Civil Rights, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks) that students are expected to include in their mind maps and discussions. Students read the first two chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird and answer questions that require recognizing historical vocabulary and contexts present in the text.
Lesson 2
Home and School
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list with definitions (e.g., assuaged, predilection, peril, antagonize, formidable, elusive) and a Student Activity Page that asks them to determine word meanings from context and then verify dictionary definitions. Students are asked to write a 6–8 sentence literature response referring to specific examples from the book and to record three personal events with brief explanations of how those might inspire a novel. The Parent Plan also directs review of vocabulary words and definitions.
Lesson 3
The Mystery of Boo
The lesson defines the term "hearsay" in the "Things to Know" section and reviews its meaning in "Things to Review." The Student Activity Page directs students to list five items under "Hearsay and Gossip" and five under "Personal Experience and Reliable Sources," requiring students to use those specific labels and concepts. The Parent Plan also models domain-specific phrasing by grouping evidence under "Hearsay and Gossip" and "Personal Experience and Reliable Sources."
Lesson 5
Surprising Talent
The lesson explicitly defines and uses domain-specific grammatical terms (simple subject, simple predicate, direct object, predicate noun, predicate adjective, linking verb) and instructs students to label these parts (d.o., p.n., p.a., adv., adj., o.p.). Students practice sentence diagramming with guided examples and answer keys that require placing and labeling subjects, predicates, objects, and modifiers. Part II directs students to underline/simple-subject and double-underline simple-predicate and to label adjectives, adverbs, articles, and objects of prepositions.
Lesson 6
Separate
Students are given explicit definitions of quotation, paraphrase, and summary and are asked to identify examples of each in Activity 1 (Part I). Students must produce a direct quotation and a paraphrase in Part II, practicing rewording and citation. Students analyze and write 2–3 sentences connecting a historical image of segregation to the text and create a caption that requires choosing descriptive language about race and segregation.
Lesson 7
A Moral Dilemma
Students are given a focused vocabulary list of domain-specific words (elucidate, amiably, mollified, volition, indicted, acquit, furtive, notoriety, irascible, connived) with definitions and example sentences. Students complete a Student Activity Page that asks them to write their own sentences using each vocabulary word. Parents are asked to review the child's sentences to confirm correct understanding and usage. The parent plan lists a skill to determine word meanings and analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
Lesson 8
Identity
Students diagram sentences and label parts of speech using domain-specific terms: adjectives, adverbs, modifiers, subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, and predicate noun. The activity directions and answer key show students placing modifiers on diagonal lines and positioning indirect objects under verbs, demonstrating use of precise grammatical vocabulary to explain sentence structure. The Parent Plan explicitly states students learned how to diagram adjectives, adverbs, and indirect objects, and the diagrams require students to identify and name these elements.
Lesson 9
Order in the Court
Students read and label a detailed "Order in the Court" page that defines courtroom roles and trial vocabulary (defendant, prosecution, jury, cross-examine, evidence, sentencing, appeal). Students complete a fill-in-the-blank activity ("The Trial") that requires selecting and inserting the bold legal terms into sentences about Tom Robinson's case. The parent plan and "Things to Know" explicitly direct students to learn definitions of legal terms and to apply those terms to describe trial events.
Lesson 10
Equal Rights?
Students read multiple authentic examples of Jim Crow laws and are asked to create a "Found Poem" using words and phrases from those laws, exposing them to domain-specific historical vocabulary (e.g., "separate free schools," "intermarriage"). The lesson's "Things to Know" and activities define Jim Crow laws and explain grammatical terms (compound subject, compound predicate), and the diagramming activity has students label and diagram sentences using terms like subject, predicate, direct object, adverb, and conjunction.
Lesson 11
The Mockingbird
The lesson defines the literary term "symbol" and asks students to identify examples of innocence being threatened and to complete a graphic organizer about the mockingbird symbol, which engages them with domain vocabulary about theme and symbolism. The diagramming activities require students to identify and label grammatical terms (independent clause, dependent clause, subject, predicate, direct object, subordinating conjunction, linking verbs, predicate adjective) and to mark clauses and conjunctions using specified colors and markings. The answer key and images model use of precise grammatical labels in sentence diagrams.
Lesson 12
Wise Words
Students are asked to choose five quotes and "explain each quote in your own words," which requires them to express meaning clearly in writing. Students write a 6-8 sentence diary entry from a character's point of view or create a Venn diagram comparing perspectives, both activities asking students to articulate and explain characters' thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Students also create a creative display and memorize a quote, practicing precise phrasing when presenting the idea to others.
Lesson 13
Text and Film
Students are asked to analyze and describe film techniques in Question 3 on the student activity page, which explicitly names domain-specific terms such as lighting, music, and camera angle and asks how the director used those effects to tell the story. Students are asked to write a short movie script that must include stage directions, lighting, props, and music directions, requiring the use of film/production vocabulary. Students must produce a one-sentence summary for a poster and answer compare/contrast questions, which require explanatory writing about differences between the book and film.
Final Project
Oral Book Presentation
Students study a targeted vocabulary list (assuaged, predilection, sojourn, Jim Crow laws, segregation, racism, etc.) with definitions and complete a vocabulary matching activity. The unit test asks students to choose historical-context terms and give examples from To Kill a Mockingbird, requiring them to use domain-specific terms to explain events. When planning slides and the oral presentation, students are instructed to highlight important terms or powerful quotations on slides and to record key points or key words on index cards for use during explanation. Students are also directed to revise presentations to remove unclear or wordy sections and to practice speaking clearly and precisely.
Unit 5: Technology Explosion
Lesson 1
Overview of Modern America
Students watch a documentary and answer comprehension questions that use content-specific terms (e.g., "space shuttle," "binary code," "Internet," "telegraph," "guerilla fighters," "inflation"). Students plan and write a 3–5 page illustrated essay or a National History Day project plan in which each paragraph must explain a technological development (e.g., The Telegraph, The Television, The Internet) and describe how it was an improvement and why it was important. The rubrics and project directions require accurate, clear writing, research using primary/secondary sources, and inclusion of specific subtopics, which encourage use of topic-related vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Demographics and Immigration
Students plot and label population data on line graphs and maps using terms like "percent of U.S. population," "difference," and city-region labels (Frost Belt/Rust Belt vs. Sun Belt). The activities ask students to calculate percentages for 1950 and 2010 and to color-code maps based on percentage ranges, requiring use of numeric and demographic vocabulary. The reading and activities explicitly refer to the "Immigration Act of 1965," "quotas," "migration," and "demographics," which students must consider when answering questions and writing short responses.
Lesson 3
The End of the Cold War
Students read U.S. State Department articles that include domain-specific terms (e.g., normalization of relations with China, Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty/SALT, détente, Camp David Accords) and answer direct questions that require those terms (Question #1 and #4). Students complete an activity page summarizing each president's foreign policy where the provided answer key uses precise historical vocabulary and labels for successes, challenges, and specific policies. Students also write short explanatory text for the Berlin Wall graffiti and draft a paragraph for a final project that asks for an overview and explanation of importance, tasks that require informative language about historical/technical topics.
Lesson 4
Leadership and Domestic Policy
Students are asked to analyze and compare two presidential speeches using an analysis table that prompts them to identify major topics, record powerful sentences, and explain their meanings. In the Landmark Court Cases activity, students must write a short summary, describe the court's decision, and explain who might benefit or oppose the ruling, which requires selecting appropriate legal or policy terms. The Environmental Activism task requires students to research reliable sources about an environmental issue and take a position, which may lead them to use topic-specific terminology in their persuasive slogan or explanations.
Lesson 6
Terrorism
Students answer focused content questions that require specific terms (e.g., identifying Al-Qaeda as the extremist group and naming Operation Enduring Freedom). Students write a short 5–10 sentence informal reaction paper after an interview (Option 1) and compose short paragraphs interpreting artifacts and explaining how they deepen understanding of September 11 (Option 2). These writing tasks ask students to describe events and explain meanings, which creates opportunities to use topic-specific vocabulary related to terrorism and 9/11.
Lesson 7
Modern American Culture
Students analyze enrollment data and are asked to compute and report percentages and create graphs using the NCES data in Activity 1, which requires use of quantitative terms like "percent" and graph-related vocabulary. In Activity 2 students are prompted to describe technological aspects of songs and explicitly given examples such as "electronic instruments, computerized effects," guiding identification of domain-specific features. In Option 1 students must write a paragraph explaining the development of a technology, how it improved on earlier options, and how it changed America, an activity that requires explanatory and topic-specific language.
Final Project
Illustrated Essay or National History Day
Students are asked to write an introductory paragraph that explains which three technologies they will discuss and why they are important, and a conclusion that sums up technological changes, which requires explanatory writing about technical topics. Students must include appropriate citations and edit their drafts to be "error-free, engaging, and well-written," and they respond to a short-answer test question asking them to describe an important technology and its impact. Students also complete a process paper planning research and explaining their topic choice, which involves organizing and explaining domain-related content.
Unit 5: Health and Nutrition
Lesson 1
Feelings
Students are given a definition of stress ("Stress is a condition or feeling experienced under demanding circumstances") and are told that hormones affect moods, providing domain-related terms such as stress, hormones, depression, impulsive, and irritable. Students are asked to identify causes of stress and evaluate whether responses are healthy or unhealthy in multiple scenarios, requiring them to explain situations and recommend better responses. The depression question lists specific symptoms (frequent sadness, difficulty concentrating, changes in eating or sleeping) that students must recognize and discuss.
Lesson 3
Healthy Body
Students are given explicit definitions in the "Things to Know" section (e.g., "A communicable disease is an infectious disease," "A pathogen is a germ," "A chronic disease is a disease with a long-term duration"). Students apply those terms in comprehension questions asking them to explain the difference between infectious and non-communicable diseases. Students use the vocabulary in hands-on practice by sorting disease names into labeled sheets titled "Communicable Diseases" and "Chronic Diseases," and by creating a research-based public awareness poster and a PSA that require explaining prevention and causes.
Lesson 4
Healthy Relationships
Students are asked to "summarize what you have read by creating a list, in your own words, of steps for resolving conflict" and to write a 2–3 sentence reflection on their conflict resolution, providing opportunities to produce explanatory writing. The lesson includes explicit definitions and domain terms such as "Bullying is attacking, threatening, teasing, or purposefully excluding someone" and references to STDs, HIV, HPV, abstinence, and FDA-approved prevention methods in the Things to Know and Skills lists. Students complete activity pages (e.g., "A Good Friend" chart and "Questions to Ask About a Potential Date") that require them to use relationship-related terms when evaluating and explaining friendships and dating choices.
Lesson 5
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs
The materials provide explicit domain-specific terms and definitions (e.g., "drug," "prescription drug," "over-the-counter," "illegal drug," "opioids," "addiction," "overdose") and a detailed answer key that uses technical vocabulary (tolerance, psychologically addictive, stimulant). Students are instructed to take structured notes on a Student Activity Page with columns for "What is it?" and "Effects of Abusing it," requiring them to identify and record precise characteristics of each drug. Students create written products (acrostic poem, PSA script, persuasive email, poster) that ask them to explain dangers and effects, which offers opportunities to use domain-specific vocabulary to inform others.
Lesson 6
Nutrition and Exercise
Students complete multiple activities that require use of nutrition vocabulary: Food Label pages ask students to read and calculate serving size, calories, fats, % Daily Value, and other nutrients. Students calculate BMI using the provided formula and compare BMI numbers to CDC BMI-for-age percentiles and weight-status categories. The Food Journal directs students to mark whole grain ("wg"), low-fat ("lf"), and meat ("m") and to categorize foods by grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, protein, and "other." Students must create a 10–12 minute teaching presentation that explains the food pyramid, the meaning and calculation of BMI, and how to interpret and use food labels.
Final Project
Personal Health Plan
Students write goals and explanatory action plans for physical and emotional health across multiple student activity pages, including spaces to restate goals and to describe specific actions they will take. The materials use and ask students to consider terms such as "Action Plan," "Obstacles and Plan," and "Accountability," and the skills list references domain-specific concepts like "caloric intake and expenditure." Students are prompted to describe strategies, track progress, and explain obstacles and plans in writing.
Unit 5: Great American Poets
Lesson 1
Poetry Basics
The lesson explicitly defines many domain-specific poetry terms (simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, line break, stanza, couplet, refrain, rhyme scheme, assonance, rhythm/meter) and directs students to explore and use them. Students are asked to identify and label those terms in poems (e.g., label rhyme scheme, mark stressed syllables, note iambic pentameter, annotate with terms like "hyperbole" and "near rhyme"). Students practice precise word choice by transforming prose into poetic lines and by creating phrases that use alliteration or onomatopoeia.
Lesson 2
Early American Poetry
Students are instructed to use a thesaurus to find synonyms for words like "acquainted" and "noiseless," choose which synonyms fit best or least well, and justify their reasoning on the Word Choice activity page. In the Comparing Texts activity students complete a Venn diagram and note differences in content, use of literary language, and purpose between Longfellow's poem and Paul Revere's first-person account. The comma and grammar review names domain-specific terms (dependent clause, participial phrase, FANBOYS) and asks students to match sentences to the correct comma rule, requiring application of those terms.
Lesson 3
Figurative Language
Students are taught a set of domain-specific literary terms (metaphor, hyperbole, irony, idiom, personification, imagery, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, simile) and asked to analyze examples in poems. Activity directions ask students to analyze idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes to infer literal and figurative meanings and to look up poems and answer questions using those terms. In Part II students are prompted to write a two-paragraph descriptive scene using simile or metaphor and other figurative techniques, and to complete poet cards by researching and recording factual information about poets.
Lesson 4
Poetic Forms
Students are asked to identify and mark patterns of unstressed and stressed syllables and to determine whether a poem uses iambic pentameter. They answer questions that require explaining whether a poem is a sonnet and comparing sonnet types by focusing on structure and iambic pentameter. The lesson defines domain-specific terms (sonnet, blank verse, iambic pentameter, rhyme scheme, haiku 5-7-5, limerick AABBA) and asks students to analyze poems (e.g., identify a ballad, classify 'Snow-storm' as blank verse) using those terms.
Lesson 5
Edgar Allan Poe
Students are asked to mark the end rhyme scheme and describe the internal rhyme pattern in Question #3, requiring them to identify and name poetic devices (rhyme scheme, internal rhyme). The Skills section and activity descriptions list poetic techniques and figurative language (rhyme scheme, meter, personification, etc.), which students encounter and may use when composing their own poem in Activity 3. The commas activity asks students to apply grammatical terminology (coordinate adjectives, nonessential information) and to explain their comma choices in writing, prompting use of domain-specific grammar vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Poetry Analysis
Students complete a Poem Analysis page that asks them to identify rhyme/rhyme scheme, sound devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia), figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, irony), imagery, tone and mood, and literal vs. symbolic meaning. A multi-page vocabulary activity has students match or create cards for terms such as sonnet, stanza, iambic pentameter, personification, and tone, with an answer key provided. The Skills and parent notes instruct students to determine meanings of words and phrases, analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, and to write a poem using poetic techniques and figurative language.
Lesson 8
Robert Frost
Activity 1 directs students to "jot down words and phrases" about sensory details, to use descriptive words, and to include at least one simile or metaphor so the reader can experience a scene in a new way. The lesson names and explains literary terms (assonance, alliteration, simile, metaphor) and punctuation terms (hyphen, dash, em dash, en dash) and asks students to analyze their effects in poems. The skills list and activities explicitly require students to write using poetic techniques and to analyze hyphens and dashes on the provided activity pages.
Lesson 9
Memorizing Poetry
The lesson defines and uses domain-specific poetic terms: the villanelle description names structural features such as "5 tercets and one quatrain," "two refrains," and specific rhyming patterns. The Student Activity Page asks students to identify whether a poem is an elegy and to compare how the two villanelles adhere to form, prompting use of those technical terms. The memorization activity instructs students to look up unfamiliar words and pronunciations, encouraging precise word knowledge.
Lesson 10
Poems about Poetry
Students are asked to look up key words they don't understand and to underline and reflect on striking phrases and images in poems, which requires attention to word choice and vocabulary. The skills list and activities require students to analyze idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes and to read and analyze poetry subgenres, prompting use of literary terms. Activity 3 explicitly teaches and has students practice the domain-specific punctuation mark ellipsis, including correct formatting and analysis of its stylistic effects.
Lesson 11
Editing Your Work
Students are asked to write a poem that explains how to use a punctuation mark or to write a punctuated poem and then describe why each punctuation mark was used (Activity 3, Options 1 and 2), which requires naming punctuation and explaining grammatical function (e.g., "the comma separates 2 coordinate adjectives"). Students are instructed to double-check capitalization, punctuation, and line breaks when reproducing poems (Tech Poem), encouraging attention to precise conventions. The parent/skill notes ask students to determine meanings of words and analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, which prompts close attention to word choice and vocabulary.
Lesson 12
Reciting Poetry
Students are asked to consider "Why is word choice key to creating effective poems?" and to use poetic techniques (e.g., rhyme scheme, meter) and figurative language when writing a poem, which directs attention to precise wording. Students complete a Five Senses Web to brainstorm sensory details, practicing specific descriptive language for sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch. Students also complete a Poet Research sheet that asks for the types of poetry a poet wrote and other factual details, which can require naming genre-specific terms.
Final Project
Poetry Journal
Students complete activities and assessment items that require them to identify and analyze domain-specific poetic terms and precise word meanings (e.g., questions on denotation vs. connotation, poetic forms, figurative language, and punctuation usage). The Skills section explicitly asks students to "determine the meaning of words and phrases" and to "analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone." Students also prepare poet cards and label journal pages, and they complete a punctuation review activity that asks them to match uses of commas, dashes, ellipses, and hyphens.