Fourth Grade - ELA
1: Interdependence
Unit 1: Little House in the Big Woods
Lesson 1
Introducing the Story
The lesson provides explicit definitions in Facts and Definitions (historical fiction; setting) and asks students to define and review the word setting (Activity 3). Students are asked to record domain-specific vocabulary about Wisconsin (plants and animals) on the 'Setting: Wisconsin' chart. The memory pre-writing organizer prompts students to describe feelings, which encourages use of emotion words in their writing.
Lesson 2
Little House in the Big Woods
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (brindle, scalded, temptingly, eaves, pity, solemnly, catechism, mending) and asked to cut out vocabulary cards, sort them, read them in context, look up and record dictionary definitions, and underline suffixes and root words. Students complete a cloze story using those words and answer chapter questions in writing or orally, using the vocabulary in context. The Skills section explicitly asks students to increase reading and writing vocabulary through word study and to use word reference materials to verify spelling and extend meanings. The Natural Resources activity asks students to list resources (deer, tree, salt, fish, garden, etc.) and describe how each aided survival, engaging students with domain-specific topic vocabulary.
Lesson 3
Winter Days and Winter Nights
Students are asked in Question #4 to identify what words or phrases the author used to make the story more exciting, and the guidance explicitly points to verbs like "screamed" and "leaped" and phrases describing the panther such as "enormous slashing claws." In Activities 1 and 2 students record and label chores and responsibilities (cooking, churning butter, cleaning dishes, hunting, fishing, chopping wood, mending) next to character names and their own family members, requiring use of domain-specific vocabulary about household and farm tasks. Activity 3 asks students to reread a descriptive paragraph about Laura's home and then describe similarities and differences, engaging them with descriptive language from the text.
Lesson 5
Christmas
Students are prompted to use transitional words and phrases such as "for example," "another," and "also" when composing paragraphs. The reading questions and sample answers encourage descriptive vocabulary (e.g., snow described as "glittering" and "sparkled") and identify domain-related nouns (wood, berries, apples, cloves) when discussing resources and gifts. The writing tasks require students to write sentences and paragraphs about the chapter, which asks them to produce language tied to the topic and environment.
Lesson 6
Sundays and Two Big Bears
Students are asked to conduct bear research and record domain-specific information in labeled sections such as "Bear Habitats," "Types of Bears," "Bear Foods," and "Why do bears hibernate?", which requires them to encounter and use topic-specific terms (e.g., hibernate, habitats, types). Students define and practice the academic terms "fact" and "opinion," and are asked to locate factual and opinion statements in the book and make their own factual and opinion statements. Students write and read aloud a five-senses poem and an acrostic using the word BEARS, providing opportunities to produce descriptive language and domain-related vocabulary orally and in writing.
Lesson 7
The Sugar Snow
Students are given a list of vocabulary words with definitions (ladle, bugle, petticoats, glimpses, greedy, whetstone, sumac, chaff) and are asked to locate each word in the text, write the sentence from the book, record the dictionary definition, and create a new sentence for each word in the Vocabulary Mini-Book activity. The directions require students to pronounce vocabulary words and to use a dictionary to find correct pronunciations and extend meanings. In the Maple Sugar Farming and recipe activities, students sequence and describe steps using domain-specific terms related to maple sugar production, reinforcing topic-specific vocabulary in context.
Lesson 8
Dance at Grandpa's
Students are asked to describe the feelings Pa's fiddle brought out and to record how eight to ten different songs made them feel, which requires using emotion vocabulary (e.g., nervous, excited, depressed). The Student Activity Page for square dancing names and describes domain-specific action terms (Circle Left, Do-si-do, Promenade, Right/Left Arm Turn) and provides illustrations so students can learn and perform those terms. Activity 4 asks students to decide on a song's mood and to label a graph of musical genres, prompting use of mood and genre vocabulary in speaking and writing.
Lesson 9
Going to Town
Students identify descriptive language when answering questions about how the author describes the woods in spring (e.g., birds begin to sing, grass grows green, forest filled with wild flowers). Students make lists of five adjectives for Mary and Laura and are asked to give examples of adjectives before beginning, reinforcing use of descriptive words. Students act out situations for each sister, practicing words that describe actions and states (e.g., behaviors at a restaurant, playing, doing schoolwork).
Lesson 10
Summertime and Harvest
Students are asked to "record the words and phrases the author uses to describe the environment and the people in each season" and to "write interesting and descriptive words and phrases for each season," which requires identifying and using descriptive vocabulary. In the Bees activity, students read about honeybees, explore how bees use nectar and help pollinate flowers, and are asked to label important parts of an illustration or write paragraphs describing interdependence, which exposes them to domain-specific terms like nectar, pollinate, and honey. Students are also prompted to write and read aloud paragraphs and to title and label illustrations, providing opportunities to use academic and domain-specific words in speaking and writing.
Lesson 11
Finishing the Book
Students are directed to "reflect upon and revise writing (with assistance) by clarifying ideas, adding descriptive words and phrases, sequencing events and ideas, and strengthening word choice," which asks them to choose and improve vocabulary. Students are asked to look up unknown words in the dictionary during editing and are evaluated on "use of interesting words and imagery" in the rubric, prompting them to select more precise or vivid words in their letters.
Final Project
Pioneer Family Night
Students are asked to explain how pioneers were dependent on natural resources and to discuss how pioneers used natural resources when leading the orange clove craft. Students must describe the significance of music, dance, and storytelling and explain why selected book sections are their favorites, which requires using topic-related words (pioneer, natural resources, square dance, storytelling). The activity pages include specific domain words and items (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, orange clove decoration) that students will name and refer to while preparing and presenting.
Unit 2: The Sign of the Beaver
Lesson 1
Background Information
Students are asked to research and record information about Maine's climate, landforms, bodies of water, plants, animals, habitats, and Native American tribes in the Student Activity Pages. Students are prompted to write a paragraph about being a settler or Native American and to write a poem describing how they would use resources on a homestead, which requires them to use topic-related vocabulary (e.g., homestead, resources, woodlands). The activities direct students to locate Maine on a map and record the year 1768 on a timeline, which involves using geographic and historical terms.
Lesson 2
Alone
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (notch, neglected, bellowing, abruptly, treaty, snare, contemptuous, savage) and directed to create vocabulary webs where they read words in context, look them up in a dictionary, choose definitions and parts of speech, and record synonyms/antonyms and root/prefix/suffix information. Student activity pages require students to write sentences using each word and to identify grammatical information. Students also record words or phrases that describe characters' feelings, attitudes, or actions on character timelines, and are prompted to discuss the connotations of charged words like "savage."
Lesson 3
A Stranger
Students are asked to record words or phrases to describe Matt's feelings, attitudes, and actions on the Character Timelines page, prompting selection of vocabulary that signals emotions and actions. The Natural Remedies activity names domain-specific conditions (bee stings, snake bite, poison ivy, sunburn) and asks students to describe remedies, which requires use of topic-related terms and environmental vocabulary. The lesson defines "natural remedies" and asks students to research and describe remedies, giving explicit opportunities to use domain-specific language. Students also write sentences that include prepositions and identify subjects and predicates, practicing use of parts of speech in context.
Lesson 4
A Treaty
Students are asked in the ABCs activity to select an object word for each letter and write and illustrate it, which prompts them to produce and record vocabulary items. The Interdependence in Relationships page asks students to think about and answer questions using the term interdependence and to describe how they give and take in a relationship. Reading questions ask students to describe characters' feelings and provide evidence, which requires using descriptive words and phrases to explain emotions and states of being.
Lesson 5
A Story
Students are asked to record and describe how they would use natural resources for items (knife, home, food) on the "A Desert Island" page, prompting use of domain-specific terms about resources and tools. Students answer comprehension questions and note that Attean taught Matt "how to make a snare for rabbits," exposing them to a domain-specific term tied to hunting and survival. Students discuss changes in dependence on the environment and "technological advances," which engages general academic vocabulary related to environment and technology.
Lesson 6
The Beaver
Students read a Facts and Definitions sentence that uses domain-specific language: "The beaver is a woodland animal that chews trees and builds dams to modify its environment." The Beaver Research activity asks students to locate information and record details in labeled boxes such as "Habitat," "Food," "Adaptations," and "Predators." The research worksheet also prompts students to answer targeted questions like "Why do beavers use trees to make dams?" which encourages use of topic-specific terms.
Lesson 7
Real Life Learning
Students are given a targeted list of vocabulary (chagrined, placid, distress, grave, suspicion, kindling) and instructed to write definitions and create a symbol for each word on the "Vocabulary Memory Game" page. The activity directs students to look up definitions after reading the words in context, cut the cards apart, and play a memory game in which a player must use the matched word in a sentence. The lesson also lists "Increase vocabulary through word study" as an explicit skill.
Lesson 8
The Bear
Students are asked to 'use exciting words and body language' when practicing a campfire story, which encourages expressive word choice. In the dance activity, students describe how dance reflects the mood of the music, prompting use of mood- or action-describing words. The reading questions and summaries include domain-specific nouns and action verbs (e.g., bow and arrow, bear claw, shot, rattle, stomp), which students read about and may reference in responses.
Lesson 9
Attean's Past
The lesson explicitly defines the word "stereotype" in the Facts and Definitions section. Students are prompted to discuss how characters hold and break stereotypes and to answer directed questions using the term on the Student Activity Page. The activity asks students to describe a stereotype they have observed or held, requiring them to use and explain that specific academic term in writing and discussion.
Lesson 10
Manitou
The lesson defines key terms such as "Values" and explains imagery, and it asks students to record three passages where the author creates vivid images (Word Pictures), which requires attention to descriptive language. Question #4 explicitly identifies the domain-specific term "manitou" and Question #7 asks about feelings (ashamed, disgraced), prompting students to use words for emotions and states. The Values activity requires students to record three values for each character and describe what the character did or said to demonstrate those values, prompting use of topic-related vocabulary in writing and discussion.
Lesson 13
The Return
Students are given explicit definitions for setting, theme, characters, plot, problem, and resolution in the "Facts and Definitions" section. Students fill in a "Story Elements" activity page and record character timelines, which requires them to label and write about those domain-specific literary terms. Journal prompts and discussion questions ask students to describe plot events, problems, and resolutions, reinforcing use of those literary vocabulary words in writing and discussion.
Final Project
The Sign of the Beaver Movie
Students are asked to focus revision by clarifying ideas, adding descriptive words and phrases, and strengthening word choice, which requires them to select better vocabulary. Students are prompted to write a movie synopsis using "exciting, dramatic language," and the rubric explicitly asks whether the synopsis uses such language. Students design costumes and sets that must reflect environmental resources, which invites use of topic-related words (e.g., resources, environment, plants, animals).
Unit 3: Native American Animal Stories
Lesson 1
Myths, Legends, and Folktales
Students are asked to record explicit definitions for the domain-specific terms "legends," "folktales," and "myths" in a journal and later define those terms during the wrap-up. Students reread myths/folktales and complete an "Elements of Culture" chart using columns labeled with domain-specific categories (Transportation, Housing, Food, Activities/Entertainment, Music/Dance/Art, Religion, Stories, Customs). Students retell stories and discuss cultural vocabulary when explaining why storytelling entertained people and what cultural elements are present.
Lesson 3
The Natural World
The lesson explicitly defines domain-specific words such as adaptation and camouflage in the Facts and Definitions and again in Activity 6 where students compare mythical and scientific explanations. In Activity 6 students are asked to read about other camouflaged animals, list three names, and describe how they are camouflaged, which requires using those domain-specific terms in context. The retelling activity prompts students to use "interesting words" and vary tone, and comprehension questions include emotion words (e.g., proud, boastful) that students must use to describe characters.
Lesson 5
Legends from Other Cultures
The lesson's Skills list includes "Record and recognize synonyms and antonyms for words," and the Grammar Practice activity has students match words (watched/saw, ailing/sick, sleepy/drowsy, outwitted/fooled, strolled/walked). Grammar Practice Part A asks students to record examples of sentence types and Part B to record proper nouns from the stories, which requires using story vocabulary. Activity 1 asks students to draw animals in their ecosystems and describe lessons, and the reading passages name domain-specific animals (e.g., tapir, sloth, caiman, jaguar, anaconda), exposing students to topic-specific terms.
Final Project
My Own Myth
Students are asked to research a natural occurrence online or in an encyclopedia to learn more about it, which can expose them to domain-specific vocabulary. The rubric specifically checks for the "use of interesting words," and the skills list includes composing sentences with "interesting, elaborate subjects" and editing writing for standard grammar and usage. The rough-draft and editing steps require students to revise content and word choice when focusing on organization, content, and grammar.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Ben and Me
Lesson 1
Ben Franklin and the Colonies
Students label and color the thirteen colonies on a map, which requires use of domain-specific place names (e.g., New Hampshire, Pennsylvania). Students discuss and write about concepts such as electricity, colonies, government, British Parliament, Revolution, and freedom in Activities 3, 4, and 5. Students are prompted to describe Benjamin Franklin's scientific contributions and personality, with example adjectives (smart, hardworking, curious, patriotic) provided in the answer key.
Lesson 2
Setting the Record Straight
Students are directed to select ten unfamiliar words from the first eight chapters, copy a sentence from the book that contains each word, look up and write the definition, and compose a new sentence using the word. Option 2 asks students to create new sentences that could fit the book's context (Amos, Ben, Philadelphia, inventions), which ties vocabulary use to the topic. The activities encourage students to locate vocabulary in context and produce their own sentences to demonstrate understanding.
Lesson 3
Swimming
Students copy the author's sentences that describe the hat and circle the adjectives (Activity 2), which engages them in identifying descriptive vocabulary. Students list modern inventions (motor boats, water skis, flippers, snorkels, tubes) and create a new invention, naming materials that will work in water (Activity 3), which prompts use of domain-specific terms. Students plan either a descriptive advertisement paragraph or a commercial script and are asked to look through magazine ads and 'discuss the types of words and phrases' used, which asks them to choose language for a purpose.
Lesson 4
Electricity
Students read Chapters 5 and 6 about Franklin and electricity and answer comprehension and journal questions that require use of topic words such as printing, almanac, Philosophical Society, and electric shock. Students discuss what a printing press is, explain the power of the written word, and are asked to visit a newspaper or printing office or to teach a younger child, providing opportunities to use domain-related vocabulary orally. Students must write a first-person paragraph that requires use of at least ten adjectives, four adverbs, and four conjunctions, which practices deliberate word choice and parts-of-speech usage.
Lesson 5
Electrifying
The Facts and Definitions section names domain-specific terms such as "electrical charge" and "electrons," and the experiment explanation uses phrases like "electrical discharge called lightning." The Student Activity Page directs students to rub a balloon and describe what happened, linking the activity to the explanation that the balloon builds up an electrical charge that jumps to the light bulb. The kite activity introduces terms "gravity," "lift," "low pressure," and "high pressure" and asks students to write a first-person account, providing contexts for using topic-specific vocabulary. Reading questions and journal prompts ask students to describe events and explain causes, creating opportunities to use academic and domain-specific words in writing and discussion.
Lesson 6
War
The lesson lists grade-appropriate, domain-specific vocabulary (parliament, eloquence, manifesto, rumblings, quaint, aristocrats, enlist, fickle) and asks students to place those words into a context-rich paragraph (Activity 2). Students are asked to read the completed paragraph aloud and to consult a dictionary for pronunciation and meanings, and the Skills section explicitly directs students to develop vocabulary through reading and use reference resources. The activities also connect the vocabulary to the historical topic (revolutionary war), showing usage basic to that topic.
Lesson 8
Amos's Account
Students are instructed to "revise drafts in order to achieve a sense of audience, refine word choices, and create vivid images," which asks them to select and improve vocabulary. The writing rubric explicitly checks whether vocabulary from the story and descriptive language were included. Part 1 directs students to use transitional words (first, then, after that, next, lastly, finally) when sequencing events and to list Amos's thoughts, opinions, and feelings, prompting use of emotion-related words.
Lesson 9
The Rescue
Students are directed to list two or three words or phrases that characterize Amos and Ben Franklin in labeled categories ("dislikes," "appearance," "uses of power," "likes," "personality"). They decorate grocery-sack representations with illustrations, words, and phrases and place 3–5 items in each bag, then explain the significance of each item. Students also write a new verse for "Yankee Doodle" from Amos's perspective, which requires choosing words and phrases to describe events and characters.
Lesson 10
Back Home
The lesson explicitly lists "Increase vocabulary by studying author's craft" as a skill and directs students to Activity 2, where they locate each of Ben's maxims in context, provide interpretations, interview adults for additional interpretations, and write their own maxim. Activity 3 asks students to identify examples of characters, setting, plot, theme, and descriptions from the book, prompting them to use domain-specific labels (e.g., "historical fiction," "setting," "plot") and support those terms with textual examples.
Final Project
An Interview or Party for Ben
Students are asked to write ten interview questions and answer them about Ben Franklin, including prompts specifically about his inventions, electricity, and his role as a founding father, which requires use of domain-specific terms. Students must write two of Ben's maxims and explain their importance, and they must create a card, gift explanation, or song describing how Ben used his power and intelligence to improve the country. The activities require students to produce written and oral products about topics (inventions, electricity, Philadelphia) that are basic to the subject matter.
Unit 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lesson 1
The Professor's House
The lesson provides an explicit vocabulary list (inquisitive, enchanted, sledge, logic, distress, dominions, prophecy, fraternizing, superior, and reign) and a Vocabulary activity that requires students to write each word on a note card and look up definitions using an online dictionary. Skills explicitly state that students will "increase reading and writing vocabulary through word study and book discussion" and "use word reference materials (e.g., dictionary, glossary) to confirm decoding skills, verify spelling, and extend meanings of words." Activity directions tell students to select the definition that best fits the fantasy context and to drop endings such as -ed and -ing.
Lesson 2
Edmund Discovers Narnia
Students are asked to create and label a map of fantasy lands, including bodies of water, landforms, and a compass rose, which prompts use of geographic terms. Students are prompted to write a paragraph describing how a favorite food tastes or to write persuasive language the witch would use, which asks them to select descriptive and emotive words. Students record examples of good vs. evil from each chapter and illustrate them, which requires describing actions, motives, and power dynamics in text.
Lesson 4
The Lion
Activity 2 directs students to find a short lion story, "record words and phrases that describe the lion in the story," and use a Venn diagram to compare that lion to Aslan. The Student Activity Page presents domain-specific names and concepts (griffin, sphinx, Acker, lion of Judah) that students read about and can draw vocabulary from. Activity 3 asks students to write a paragraph or song describing an animal's human characteristics, moral alignment, and role, which requires choosing descriptive words and phrases.
Lesson 5
A Disappointment
The lesson lists specific vocabulary (cinema, ventured, schemes, treachery, forfeit, prodigious, vile, perish) for students to learn. The skills section requires students to use word reference materials to confirm decoding, verify spelling, and extend meanings. Activities ask students to create a picture dictionary with definitions and images, to roll a vocabulary cube and use words verbally and in writing, and to write descriptive words/phrases and sentences about villains. Journal prompts and the life-application task require students to record and describe villains using vocabulary from the unit.
Lesson 6
A Gift from Father Christmas
Students are prompted to include at least three vocabulary words in their drafts and the rubric explicitly asks, "Did you use three vocabulary words in your writing?" Students are instructed to focus revisions on "verbs that show action" and "interesting and descriptive adjectives," and to look up the spelling of words they do not know. Students are asked to revise for precise word choices and to run spell check before producing a final copy.
Lesson 8
Deep Magic
Students are asked to record words and phrases that appeal to the five senses and cause an emotional response in the Imagery activity, including provided examples like "grinning and leering," "straining and tugging," and "shrieked with triumph." In the Four Siblings activity students must list five words or phrases that describe each character, prompting selection of descriptive vocabulary. The activities explicitly direct students to locate and note sensory, action, and emotion words from the text.
Lesson 9
Back to Life
Students are asked to summarize and answer comprehension questions that use and elicit precise verbs and phrases (e.g., "nibbled away," "came back to life," "breathed on them"). Activity 2 provides a labeled list of traits for a Christ-like figure (e.g., "healing others or bringing others back to life," "sacrificing oneself"), and students are asked to describe three ways Aslan resembles a Christ-like figure using that list. Activity 3 asks students to research lion habitats, which requires use of domain-specific terms related to animal habitats.
Final Project
Narnia Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to write multiple products (short stories, journal entries, a national anthem, a paragraph about tensions, text-message exchanges, and summaries) that require selecting words to convey actions, emotions, and states of being. Students create domain-related products (e.g., a flag, model of a creature, anthem, crowns) that invite use of topic-specific vocabulary related to Narnia. Students share written and oral products, which provides opportunities to use and produce academic and domain-specific language in context.
Unit 3: The BFG
Lesson 1
In the Middle of the Night
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (lavatory, dormitory, hedges, patriotism, transfigured, tremendous, suspiciously, repulsive). Students complete Activity 1 (Vocabulary Giant) where they match each word to a written definition and are instructed to reread the sentence in the novel and use context clues to determine meanings. Students are prompted in Activity 2 (option 2) to brainstorm words related to nighttime and mystery and to write a song or poem, providing an opportunity to select and apply vocabulary in original writing.
Lesson 2
Snatched
Students are asked to copy the author's descriptive passage (Option 2) and to illustrate it, exposing them to descriptive vocabulary such as "desolate wasteland," "pale yellow," "great lumps of blue rock," and "dead trees...like skeletons." Question 2 prompts students to identify Sophie's feeling, with the provided answer using the emotion word "terrified." In Activity 2 students gather and record information under domain-related labels (Location, Language, People, Homes, Buildings, Similarities, Differences, Other), which requires selecting and using topic-related words.
Lesson 4
Ears and Snozzcumbers
Students are asked to identify and record quotes from Sophie and the BFG (Activity 1), which requires noticing authors' word choices. The lesson provides a color-symbolism list and asks students to discuss emotions tied to colors and select a color scheme for their dream illustration (Activity 2). Students take a focused listening walk and write descriptions of sounds and a paragraph about using a powerful sense of hearing, which asks them to produce vocabulary that describes sensory experiences (Activity 3).
Lesson 5
Time with the BFG
The lesson explicitly defines "carbonation" and explains that carbon dioxide dissolved in a liquid causes fizz (Facts and Definitions; Activity 3). Activity 3 directs students to follow a recipe using measurements and to discuss carbonation, and the Life Application asks students to identify carbonated beverages at the grocery store, prompting use of the domain-specific terms. The "Quotable Quotes" task and the compare activity (appearance, personality, power) require students to record quotes and describe characters, encouraging use of descriptive vocabulary about actions, emotions, and states.
Lesson 6
Catching People and Dreams
The "Interpreting the BFG" activity asks students to substitute correct words where the giant uses the wrong ones and to correct his grammar, giving direct practice in choosing accurate word forms. The Life Application directs students to invent alternative words for ordinary words and then use them in context, which asks students to produce and test vocabulary. Activities ask students to describe how a dreamer would respond (Activity 2) and to name and describe how a new giant catches humans (Activity 3), requiring students to select descriptive words about emotions, actions, and topic-specific behaviors.
Lesson 7
A Nightmare for Fleshlumpeater
Students sort a provided word list into tangible and intangible categories (e.g., dream, intelligence, safety, honor, love) and must write examples that demonstrate intangibles, which requires them to use and explain vocabulary. Students are asked to list tangible and intangible items in their journals (Option 2), giving them a written opportunity to use grade-appropriate words. Students identify quotable lines from Sophie and the BFG and read labels on jars holding dreams, exposing them to varied word choices and domain-related terms about dreams and giants.
Lesson 8
A Dreamy Plan
Students are given a specific vocabulary list (aghast, cloak, vanish, petrified, dexterity, ingenuity, flinch, brooch) that includes words signaling precise actions, emotions, and states (e.g., aghast, petrified, flinch, vanish). Students match those words to definitions, cut and glue pairs into a journal, and complete a cloze paragraph that requires accurate word choice. Students are also asked to write an original paragraph using the vocabulary and to use resources such as beginners' dictionaries, glossaries, and technology to determine meanings and confirm pronunciations.
Lesson 9
The Palace
Activity 1 asks students to identify and record quotes from Sophie and the BFG, which requires them to notice specific words and phrases used by characters. The Cause and Effect activity explicitly notes that "Sophie continually corrects the giant's grammar and vocabulary," indicating students will attend to word choice and usage. Activity 2 directs students to find information about a chosen city (buildings, important places), exposing them to domain-specific place vocabulary.
Lesson 10
A Breakfast Fit for a Queen
Students are asked to use the ratio 1:4, with the lesson defining a ratio as "the proportional relationship between two amounts" and asking them to calculate scaled sizes and capacities (Hosting a Giant activity). Students identify and record quotations from Sophie and the BFG (Quotable Quotes), which requires noticing words and phrases in context. Students brainstorm and select five adjectives to describe the queen and provide textual support for each adjective (Characterizing the Queen activity), practicing use of descriptive vocabulary tied to text evidence.
Lesson 11
Fighting Giants
Activity 2 has students read about the branches of the U.S. armed forces, label four papers Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, and take notes on the power and roles of each branch, which exposes students to domain-specific vocabulary and requires them to use those terms. The Skills section lists taking simple notes and using multiple sources, which requires students to collect and record subject-specific words and phrases. Activity 1 (Quotable Quotes) has students identify and record quotes, exposing them to the characters' word choices.
Final Project
Recipe for a Dream or Newspaper Report
The Dream in a Jar directions require students to "use at least three vocabulary words from a provided list," and the rubric lists "use of vocabulary words" as an assessed content criterion. The skills section asks students to "focus reflection on target elements by using descriptive words and phrases" and to "use oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner," which supports using varied vocabulary. Option 2 instructs students to use formal English and avoid slang and contractions, emphasizing word choice in writing.
3: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Stories from Africa and Asia
Lesson 1
Meerkats in Botswana
Students are prompted to research Botswana and record information in a four-circle graphic organizer (Land, Language, Animals, People), which requires locating and noting domain-specific terms. Students must label maps with geographic terms (Africa, Botswana, Gaborone, Kalahari Desert) and read factual descriptions that use domain words such as habitat, adaptations, burrows, camouflage, and claws. In writing tasks students are told to write a descriptive paragraph or a short story that includes at least five facts about meerkats, and in the craft activity they discuss adaptation functions using words like absorb, shield, dig, balance, and camouflage.
Lesson 2
Meeting Precious
Students study a targeted vocabulary list (battered, massive, beckoning, gingerly, stout, vantage, nimble, spindly, imploringly) and complete activities that require matching words to definitions and spelling them in a crossword. Students may create their own crossword and write definitions, requiring dictionary use and active word study. Students research ostriches, cobras, and meerkats and fill a chart with categories (Kind of Animal, Diet, Predators, Defense, Habitat, Special Characteristics), which requires use of domain-specific terms.
Lesson 3
The Surprise
Students encounter and discuss domain-specific animal vocabulary (meerkat, cobra, scorpion, hind legs) in reading questions and the Life Application documentary. The Facts and Definitions section defines the term "zoologist," and Activity 3 asks students to pretend to be a zoologist, find names of African animals, choose one to research, and write a paragraph about it. Activity 4 introduces the academic literary term "authorial intrusion" and asks students to find and discuss examples in the text.
Lesson 4
A Missing Cow
The Facts and Definitions section defines "story conflict" and explicitly lists the domain-specific labels man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. self. Activity 2 directs students to identify which type of conflict appears in the book (man vs. nature) and to generate man vs. nature conflicts for pictured natural settings. The Introduction and reading questions use descriptive words (e.g., "aggressive," "stern," "laughed") and Activity 3 asks students to write dialogue and stage directions, which requires students to produce words that signal actions and emotions.
Lesson 5
A Good Idea
The lesson defines adjectives and adverbs and has Activity 3 where students list verbs (hop, leap, jump), generate adverbs (quickly, slowly, softly), and make sentences pairing verbs with adverbs to show manner. Activity 4 directs students to read the African Wildlife Foundation website about animals and to write descriptive sentences or a short story that must include at least three adjectives and two adverbs. The Getting Started and Wrapping Up prompts ask students to describe and compare the geography and wildlife of Africa and the United States, prompting use of topic-related language.
Lesson 6
African Bush Diorama
The book report rubric explicitly asks students to 'use interesting adjectives and adverbs' and to describe main characters, setting, and plot, prompting students to select descriptive language. The diorama activity asks students to find descriptions of the book's setting and to construct animals (including a meerkat), which encourages using topic-related words about the African bush. The organizing pages require a paragraph comparing Precious's life to that of a U.S. child, which asks students to produce language that contrasts and describes states or conditions.
Lesson 7
Japan
Students read A Kids Guide to Japan and answer questions that require using content words such as climate, rice, fish, vegetables, and traditions and specific cultural terms (bonsai, origami, kimono, Shichi-Go-San). Students label a Map of Japan with place names and geographic terms (Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto, Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Sea of Japan, Pacific Ocean), practicing domain-specific vocabulary. Students create written products (an acrostic poem, a travel poster, and a Venn diagram) that require them to select and use words and pictures to describe cultural similarities and differences.
Lesson 8
Peace Day
Students are asked to find definitions for specific Japanese domain words (kimono, tatami, oba chan, furoshiki, O Bon, kokeshi) and record the sentence from the book that contains each word. Students create a picture dictionary by illustrating words, arranging them alphabetically, and stapling them into a small book, which requires them to identify and use the terms. The Skills section directs students to use word reference materials (e.g., dictionary, glossary) to confirm decoding, verify spelling, and extend meanings of words.
Lesson 9
The Secret is Out
The Skills section explicitly lists "Develop vocabulary through reading," and Activity 4 provides definitions for cancer and leukemia and names treatments (medication, radiation, chemotherapy). Several comprehension questions ask students to describe Sadako's feelings (e.g., "very nervous," "dizzy") and to explain how her family learned her secret, prompting use of words that signal actions and states. The activity that asks students to read about cancer prevention online and make a list requires them to encounter and record domain-specific health vocabulary.
Lesson 11
O Bon
Students practice forming and writing present, past, and progressive verb forms in Activity 3 and on the Student Activity Page using verbs such as LOOK, FEEL, CELEBRATE, and MAKE, with modeled examples (e.g., "Sadako was making paper cranes," "They are eating"). Students record Japanese cultural elements in Activity 1 and use domain-specific terms (O Bon, kimono, lantern, bean cakes, pickled plums) when discussing or journaling in Activity 2. Students are asked to write journal entries or songs that require them to use cultural vocabulary to describe how ancestors are remembered.
Lesson 12
Racing the Wind
Students are given a definition: "Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry," and are asked to write haiku using prescribed syllable patterns and to read them aloud, which requires choosing words to create images and convey feelings. Students complete a "Japanese Cultural Elements" chart, recording information they learn about culture (which would include terms like Folded Crane Club, Children's Peace Monument, and monument). Comprehension questions and activities reference domain-specific terms such as "radiation poisoning" and "monument," which students read about and discuss or sketch.
Lesson 13
Precious and Sadako
Students are asked to cite a description, a quotation, a phrase another character uses, and a word or phrase that describes each character (Activity 1 and the Student Activity Pages). The activity pages include explicit fields for "Character's Action," "Character's Quote," "A word or phrase another character uses to describe the character," and "Two personality traits," which prompt students to identify words/phrases that signal actions, emotions, or states. Option 2 of Activity 3 requires students to write an eight-sentence, first-person letter explaining an event and how the character felt, providing practice in using emotion/feeling language in writing.
Unit 2: Holes
Lesson 1
Texas and Desert Biomes
The lesson provides an explicit vocabulary list (wasteland, juvenile, systematic, excess, precipice, preposterous, venom) and directs students to cut, alphabetize, write synonyms or antonyms using a thesaurus, and use each word in a sentence aloud. The lesson defines the domain-specific term "biome" and asks students to record names of desert plants and animals, describe adaptations, and write a paragraph about a chosen desert. The wrap-up requires students to read the vocabulary aloud and use each word in a sentence, reinforcing both general academic and domain-specific terms in speaking and writing tasks.
Lesson 2
Camp Green Lake
Students are given a list of legal terms (judge, lawyer, trial, arrested, conviction, sentence, court, justice, jury) and complete a matching activity that connects each term to its definition; they are also told they can look up unfamiliar terms in a dictionary. The Skills section states students will "increase sight word recognition, along with reading and writing vocabulary, through word study and reading." Activity 4 asks students to record details and illustrate characters, and Activity 1 asks students to name and describe inventions, prompting use of topic-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 3
Digging
Students cut out, order, label, and glue the four soil layers (topsoil, weathered material, subsoil, bedrock) and match each label to a written definition in the Dirt activity, providing direct practice with domain-specific vocabulary. The student pages explicitly list the keywords (Topsoil, Bedrock, Weathered Material, Subsoil) and ask students to draw or place those labels next to the corresponding illustrations. In the Nicknames activity, students write journal entries describing their own or family nicknames and explain why they like or dislike them, giving an opportunity to use descriptive and emotional language in writing.
Lesson 4
Caveman
Students are given an explicit definition of "fossil" and asked to discuss what archaeologists can learn from fossils and rocks. Students are asked to identify and discuss different rocks and geologic regions in the Skills section, which requires use of domain-specific terms (e.g., geologic, formations). Students are introduced to the academic term "imagery" and asked to record the author's descriptive language about the yellow-spotted lizard and illustrate it, prompting use of descriptive vocabulary.
Lesson 5
KB
Students are asked to identify and explain verbal and situational irony and to create two ironic sentences, which requires use of the domain-specific term "irony" and its meanings. Students rewrite sentences with elaborated subjects and practice ordering multiple adjectives using a provided adjective-order taxonomy, so they use descriptive vocabulary in context. Students practice possessive forms by completing sentences and playing a possessive punctuation game, requiring them to apply grammatical vocabulary (e.g., 'possessive noun', "'s", "s'").
Lesson 6
Sunflower Seeds
Students are asked to conduct "Rattlesnake Research" by writing questions and finding answers using books or the Internet, which requires them to encounter and record domain-specific information about rattlesnakes (for example, "venom" is mentioned in the chapter questions). Students write shape poems about rattlesnakes and are reminded that poems should use language that appeals to the senses and emotions; Option 2 requires alliteration with the letter "s." The Facts and Definitions section defines "shape poem" and "alliteration," giving students explicit terminology to use when discussing poetic form.
Lesson 7
Zero
Students are asked to discuss and write about westward expansion and pioneer life (Activity 2), which uses domain-specific terms such as ranchers, farmers, merchants, miners, outlaws, pioneers, and hardships. In journal writing options students must describe their occupation and journey in the Old West, which requires them to use topic-specific words and phrases. The comprehension questions and Activity 3 ask students to find and use the author's descriptions of Green Lake, exposing them to historical and domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., peach trees, lake, Warden, Camp Green Lake).
Lesson 8
Sam the Onion Man
The lesson defines the domain-specific term "discrimination" and provides definitions for "sentence fragment" and "run-on sentence," which shows students are presented with at least some academic vocabulary and grammar terminology. Students answer comprehension questions that include verbs and phrases signaling actions and emotions (e.g., "loved each other," "stormed into the school," "ran into his boat and shot him"), requiring them to recognize and respond to those words in context. Students are asked to write a speech or poem about racial equality, tasks that require choosing words to express precise actions, emotions, or states of being.
Lesson 10
The Mary Lou
Students practice word formation by adding prefixes and suffixes in Activity 3, using a provided table and completing fill-in-the-blank sentences (e.g., regain, merciful, repetition). Students identify and explain the meanings of words and phrases within context when they determine whether sentences are similes or metaphors and describe what is being compared (Activity 1 and the Simile/Metaphor student page).
Lesson 12
Treasure and Lizards
Students play Homophone Bingo, place markers on the correct spellings for words in contextual sentences, and are encouraged to consult a dictionary for definitions. Students are prompted in the wrap-up to give a pair of homophones and use each word in a sentence, practicing accurate usage. Students choose three types of literary conflict (Person vs. Self, Person vs. Nature, etc.), write descriptions, and illustrate each, using domain-specific literary vocabulary.
Lesson 13
Innocent
Students are asked to write a business letter using and labeling parts such as sender's name, sender's address, date, recipient's address, greeting, body, closure, signature, and typed name. Students are asked to divide story events, sequence them, and explicitly identify the problem, climax, and solution for two storylines. The skills list asks students to write personal and formal letters and to put story events in proper sequence, reinforcing use of letter-format and narrative-structure vocabulary.
Final Project
Welcome to Camp
Students are asked to discuss and write about things people need to be successful in life, with suggested vocabulary such as "education, love, discipline, self-confidence, respect of self and others, positive role models, and a good work ethic." Students must write two descriptive paragraphs naming the camp, its geography, sleeping and eating quarters, staff, activities, and how activities build character. Students create a Welcome Pack, design a uniform, and write a camp song or chant, which require using domain-related terms (e.g., geography, uniform, staff, activities) and general academic language to explain choices.
Unit 3: Stories from Europe
Lesson 1
Tradition Stories
The lesson provides explicit definitions for domain-specific vocabulary such as fable, folktale, fairy tale, myth, and legend in Activity 1 and the Student Activity Pages. Students are instructed to brainstorm stories they remember and sort them into those categories on the "Story Traditions" page, using the provided definitions to decide placement. Reflection prompts ask students to name which type of story they heard/read most and to explain which type is their favorite and why, requiring use of the genre terms in written responses.
Lesson 2
Fiona's Luck
Students are asked to describe Fiona and provide evidence from the story, prompting them to use descriptive words (sample answers include hardworking, clever, determined). Students must record story-element vocabulary (setting, characters, plot, conflict, resolution, theme) on the Story Elements page. Students also identify facts and fantasy using domain-specific nouns from the story (e.g., leprechauns, throne room, potatoes) and write sentences that include prepositional phrases using a provided list of common prepositions.
Lesson 3
The Sea King's Daughter
Activity 3 asks students to identify and describe story elements using academic labels (Characters, Setting, Theme, Conflict, Resolution), requiring students to use those terms. Activity 2 (Fact and Fantasy) asks students to record factual details that include domain-specific words and names (the gusli, the Volkhov River, Novgorod), and Day 2 asks for factual vocabulary about Russia (capital, animals, land area). Activity 4 introduces terms related to music and literary history (ballads, composer, opera) and asks students to listen and connect those terms to characters and events.
Lesson 4
The Snow Queen
The lesson provides a targeted vocabulary list (cunning, fragment, enchanted, detained, mournfully, bewilder, provision, obstinate, eternity) with definitions and matching activities. Students are asked to choose or generate synonyms and antonyms for each word and may consult dictionaries or thesauruses. The skills list explicitly includes demonstrating understanding of words by relating them to antonyms and synonyms, and the Denmark booklet activity instructs students to use accurate, precise words when writing informative text.
Lesson 5
Comparing and Contrasting Stories
Students are given explicit definitions of domain-specific terms such as "point of view," "first person," "third person," and "narrator" and are asked to identify those terms in texts. Students are asked to label the point of view on their story-elements snowflake and to identify the point of view of each of the three stories. Students are required to retell selected events from a story in first person (writing 8–10 sentences) and to explain how the change in point of view alters the story; the skills list also includes relating words to antonyms and synonyms.
Final Project
Writing Your Own Story
Students are asked to list five adjectives for each character and write descriptive sentences, giving practice choosing descriptive vocabulary. Students are directed to record words and phrases that describe the setting and to use concrete words, sensory details, creative descriptions, and interesting verbs when composing their rough drafts. The skills list explicitly includes "Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely," which prompts students to focus on precise language in their writing.
4: Exploration and Survival
Unit 1: Abel's Island
Lesson 1
Survival
Students are asked in Activity 2 to read about river habitats and to look for the names of river plants and animals, prompting identification of domain-specific words. In Activity 3 students list river resources and describe how those resources can be used for survival (e.g., fish for food, reeds for baskets), requiring them to name and write topic-specific vocabulary. The Skills section asks students to use oral and written language to report on a topic and to describe character voice and traits, which encourages use of descriptive and emotion/state words in speaking and writing.
Lesson 2
The Storm
The lesson lists eight vocabulary words (verdure, capsized, cantata, ineptitude, temperate, parabola, melancholy, instinct) and provides a sample definition for verdure. Students are instructed to make a picture dictionary: write each word and its definition on the left page and draw an illustration on the right. Skills explicitly include developing vocabulary by listening to and discussing reading selections, and activities ask students to discuss vocabulary across Chapters 1–10.
Lesson 3
Where Am I?
The Skills section states students will "Increase sight vocabulary, reading vocabulary, and writing vocabulary through book discussion," indicating an intention for vocabulary development. Activity 2 asks students to label a boat diagram and to "label any parts that are found on the ship's diagram and on Abel's boat," with a Student Activity Page explicitly listing A: Sail, B: Rudder, C: Mast, D: Deck, E: Oars. Activity 1 and writing options (chart of natural resources and composing a "Sailing Song") require students to locate and use words from the chapters when describing resources, boats, and Abel's experiences.
Lesson 4
Who Is Abel?
Students are asked in Activity 2 to record words and phrases describing Abel's physical appearance and personality and to cite textual evidence, prompting them to select and use descriptive vocabulary about traits and emotions. The Facts and Definitions section and Activity 3 explicitly define and require use of the term "map scale," and students calculate and convert distances using scale, inches, feet, and the unit "tails," practicing domain-specific measurement vocabulary. The skills list asks students to analyze characters, traits, feelings, and changes, which supports choosing words that express emotions and states of being.
Lesson 5
Perseverance
The lesson explicitly defines perseverance and instructs the child: "Explain that perseverance means to try consistently..." (Activity 2). Option 2 presents and discusses emotionally precise phrases such as "the inescapable sorrows, the speechless longings, the disappointments, the regrets, the cold miseries," asking the child to discuss their meanings. The Reflective Writing Rubric asks students to evaluate whether they "used interesting, descriptive words and phrases," prompting attention to word choice in writing.
Lesson 7
Threats
Students are given multiple vocabulary activities: they make Chapters 11-20 vocabulary cards recording each word's sentence from the book, definition, number of syllables, part of speech, and a synonym or antonym. The lesson lists domain-specific terms (behavioral adaptation, physical adaptation, camouflage, mimicry, climate adaptations) and includes vocabulary words that signal actions or states (e.g., subsided, communing, smugness, disbelief). Students review common suffixes and structural cues (root words, prefixes, suffixes) and play a game that awards points for correctly guessing and using words in sentences.
Lesson 8
The Dead of Winter
The lesson provides explicit definitions of domain-specific terms (hibernation and torpor) and asks students to find text passages explaining Abel's hibernation/torpor. Students are asked to research hibernation, answer directed questions on the Hibernation activity page using complete sentences, and fill a chart about Using Natural Resources, which requires applying topic vocabulary. The Hibernation Experiment has students record and discuss physiological terms (pulse, breaths, temperature, energy) and reflect on what can be learned about hibernating animals.
Lesson 9
The Newcomer
The lesson explicitly defines domain-specific theatrical terms (script, set, prop, stage directions) in the Facts and Definitions and repeats those definitions in Activity 3. Students are asked to prepare a script that includes lines, stage directions, a set description, and three props, and to rehearse using facial signals and lines, which requires use of those theatrical terms. The Wrapping Up and Life Application sections ask students to describe the terms and observe sets, props, and lines in a live play, prompting students to use domain-specific vocabulary in discussion and observation.
Lesson 10
Escape
Students identify underlined words as nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs in the Parts of Speech activity, and in the advanced option they fill in blanks (e.g., "Abel swam __________ across the river") choosing words that fit meaning and part of speech. Students create acrostic descriptions for Abel using descriptive words such as "Arrogant," "Brave," and "Eager," which requires selecting words that signal character traits and states of being. The wrapping-up task asks students to provide examples of noun, adjective, verb, and adverb, encouraging them to produce and use words in context.
Final Project
Your Own Deserted Island
Students are prompted to use vocabulary: the Part 1 rubric explicitly checks for vocabulary use and adjectives/adverbs, and Part 3 requires students to include at least three adjectives, two adverbs, and one vocabulary word in their letter. Students must describe the island environment and list resources (Day 1 and Day 2), which asks them to write topic-related descriptions and to label a map with a key and symbols. The rubric and activity pages require students to produce written paragraphs and labeled maps that include descriptive and topical language.
Unit 2: Pedro's Journal
Lesson 1
Exploring with Columbus
Students are asked to brainstorm and list characteristics of heroes and to research Columbus' positive and negative characteristics, which requires them to produce descriptive words (Activity 1 and the "Columbus, The Man" activity page). The lesson names and lists elements of the genre ("historical fiction," "authentic setting," "historical events") and asks students to fill a bubble map with examples of factual descriptions, fictional elements, historical events, and authentic setting details (Activity 3). The "Reasons for Exploration" page provides domain-specific reasons (e.g., expand Christianity, find a trade route, gold, animal furs) and directs students to write possible benefits and negatives, prompting use of topic-related vocabulary (Activity 2).
Lesson 2
August
Students match specific navigation instrument names (Backstaff, Compass, Armillary, Quadrant, Sundial) with illustrations and descriptions in Activity 2, and are asked to look up unfamiliar instruments and read about how they were used. Students record Columbus', Pedro's, and the crew's attitudes month-by-month on the Journey chart, requiring them to choose words that describe feelings or states. Students respond to a writing prompt asking them to describe their feelings about the ocean and to write a descriptive paragraph based on facts, which asks them to use vocabulary for emotions and factual topic-specific terms.
Lesson 3
September
The lesson provides a specific vocabulary list (uncharted, omen, mutiny, cargo, solemn, converted, shame, tempest, treachery, beckons) and directs students to look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary or use context to build meanings. Students complete a fill-in-the-blanks vocabulary exercise that requires choosing words to fit a passage about the voyage and an advanced option that asks them to write a short paragraph using the listed words. The skills and wrapping-up sections instruct students to develop vocabulary through reading and to review the meanings of the vocabulary words.
Lesson 4
October
Students are asked to record words or phrases the crew might use to describe the native people and words the natives might use to describe the white men using a double bubble-map (Activity 2). Students are directed to learn names of animals found on San Salvador (birds, lizards, iguanas, anoles, geckos) and to use web links to view lists and pictures, which exposes them to domain-specific terms (Activity 4). Reading questions ask students to explain why Columbus enjoys certain behaviors of the natives, which prompts students to identify emotions and motivations in the text.
Lesson 5
Journal Writing
Students are asked in the Pre-Writing activity to list three feelings they had about an event and to write ten facts and quotes, which requires them to choose words to express emotions and details. Activity 1 prompts students to reflect on whether the event caused strong feelings and to explain why, requiring them to name and describe emotional states. Activity 3 asks students to write a journal entry including their feelings and observations, encouraging use of emotion-related language in context. The skills list includes composing sentences with interesting, elaborate subjects, which can involve selecting more precise words and phrases.
Lesson 6
November
Students are asked to analyze characters' traits and feelings (Skills: "Analyze characters, including their traits, feelings, relationships, and changes") and answer questions about Pedro's emotions (Questions #2 and #4 ask how Pedro felt and why). Students must list disadvantages of life at sea versus life on land and explain their choice, which requires using descriptive vocabulary. The mask activity names and lists many concrete materials (rice, beans, leaves, pebbles, shells, tree bark, hay, dirt, feathers, popcorn kernels, sticks) and describes concepts like "ceremonial practices," "transform," and "oneness," exposing students to domain-specific terms about cultural artifacts.
Lesson 7
December
Students illustrate and label expected and actual treasures (silk, gold, jewels, spices; cotton, spears, parrots, tobacco, monkeys, fish), providing practice with domain-specific nouns. Students read journal entries and answer comprehension questions that require using those topic-specific words in writing. In subject-verb agreement activities, students select and add verbs (e.g., dreams, seem to be unhappy, grumble, names) that signal actions or states of being and apply correct verb forms.
Lesson 8
The Island of the Skog
The lesson provides an explicit definition of the term "prejudice" in the Facts and Definitions section. Activity 2 directs students to write three ways the mice showed prejudice and three ways Columbus is prejudiced, requiring students to identify and apply that domain-specific term in context. Activity 3 asks students to write an anthem reflecting mutual respect and care, giving students an opportunity to choose words that express relationships and feelings.
Lesson 9
January
Students practice using grade-appropriate verbs that signal actions and emotions in Activity 2: the student activity page lists alternatives to "said" (e.g., "replied," "shouted," "argued," "cheered") and asks students to write a five-line dialogue replacing "said" and using correct punctuation. The wrapping-up task asks students to list five words that can be used instead of "said," reinforcing use of precise speech verbs. In Activity 3 students encounter and discuss domain-specific vocabulary about manatees (e.g., "manatees," "endangered species," "aquatic mammals," "ecosystem," "adaptation," "flipper") and are directed to research pictures and threats to the species, providing context for using these terms.
Lesson 10
February
Students identify and explain idioms that convey states or feelings (e.g., "She woke up on the wrong side of the bed" = grumpy; "I held onto the sides for dear life") and analyze similes by recording the two things being compared. Students write their own similes and complete idiom explanations on the Figures of Speech activity pages. Students write and deliver a firsthand report as Pedro, which asks them to recount survival, discoveries, and what it was like to sail with Columbus, providing an opportunity to use topic-related language.
Final Project
Story Blocks
Students are asked to select six vocabulary words from the story and write sentences with them on the Vocabulary Cube, giving explicit practice using domain words in context. On the Quotes Cube, students must write quoted sentences from the book and compose additional quotes using a different word than "said," prompting them to choose more precise speech verbs. The Characters, Survival, and Exploration cubes require students to record descriptive words/phrases about characters, survival strategies, and discoveries, giving repeated opportunities to use domain-specific terms related to exploration and sailing.
Unit 3: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Lesson 1
Sickness
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (abandoned, furrowed, debt, gloomy, preferred, eavesdrop, desperately, astonished, recessed) and a stated skill to "increase vocabulary through word study." In Activity 2 students identify root words, prefixes/suffixes, parts of speech, and syllable counts, choose or look up definitions, and locate each word in the text or a word search. The materials provide example sentences from the book and an answer key with correct morphological analysis and definitions, and Option 2 explicitly directs students to use a dictionary to confirm meanings.
Lesson 2
Spring is Coming
Students are asked to conduct research on rats and mice using books and technology and to compare them in a Venn diagram, which requires reading and using factual domain information. Students must describe the setting and explain how the plowing of the garden and seasonal change threaten survival, prompting use of topic-related words (e.g., plow, tractor, survival, winter, spring). Students answer comprehension questions that require describing characters and events, which encourages use of descriptive words and phrases (e.g., Dragon has bright, yellow eyes; homes destroyed).
Lesson 3
A Visit to an Owl
Students practice correct spelling and use of homophones through guided activities (Option 1 and Option 2) that require filling blanks or writing sentences using pairs such as blue/blew, two/too, ad/add, aunt/ant, and dear/deer. Students are asked to think of two additional pairs of homophones and either define each word (Option 1) or use each word in a sentence (Option 2). Students are prompted to use prior knowledge to anticipate meaning and to give two examples of homophones aloud and spell them correctly during the Wrapping Up section.
Lesson 4
Rats in the Rosebush
The lesson explicitly defines the academic term "main character" and asks students to describe Mrs. Frisby, which requires use of that academic phrase. The bubble-map activity centers on the word "Bravery" and asks students to list five ways Mrs. Frisby showed bravery, prompting use of emotion/state vocabulary. The life-application prompt asks students to explain how they felt before and after a time they were brave, which encourages use of words that signal emotions or states. Activity 3 asks students to research and design a new home for an owl and to "observe and describe the habitats of organisms within an ecosystem," suggesting use of domain-specific habitat/ecosystem vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Meeting the Rats
Students are asked to describe characters using words such as "stubborn," "rude," "gentle," and "kind" in journal questions, which practices emotion/state vocabulary. Students list and describe machines and inventions (elevator, pulley, inclined plane, electricity, lights) in the "Beyond Needs" activity, using domain-specific terms about simple machines and technology. Students are prompted to give examples of irregular plurals and complete activities that require producing correct plural forms, which practices word use in context.
Lesson 6
A Plan for Mrs. Frisby
Students are given a definition of "bushel" and an explanation that a cubic centimeter measures volume, which they must use to answer questions on the "A Bushel" activity page. Students read and answer questions that require naming and comparing domain-specific resources (wheat, corn, oats, barley, rutabagas) and calculating pounds per bushel. Students must describe and illustrate where the rats want to move the house and devise a mechanical plan, which requires referring to measurement and resource vocabulary in context.
Lesson 7
The Capture
Students practice with acronyms by predicting and writing what letters stand for (PBS, IRS, IQ, SCUBA) and by inventing meanings for NIMH, showing explicit work with domain-specific labels and abbreviated terminology. Students answer Question #2 identifying tools as simple machines and naming types (wedge, lever, pulley), which requires using and applying specific technical vocabulary. Students also summarize chapters and list important events, which asks them to use succinct, grade-appropriate language to convey main ideas.
Lesson 8
Life at NIMH
Students are instructed to increase vocabulary through word study and to use dictionaries to find the meanings of words. Students write scientific vocabulary words (DNA, steroids, injections, mutation, control, inspecting, breakthrough, laboratory) on note cards with definitions on the back. Students practice use of those words by completing a fill-in-the-blank dialogue between two scientists and by writing their own scientist dialogue that uses the vocabulary in context.
Lesson 10
Amazing Rats
Students name and write about specific domain-specific tool and machine words (lathe, electric motors, circular saws, drills, grindstones, hammers, electric fan, plow) on the "Tools and Machines" worksheet and record how the Rats of NIMH use each item. Students research and brainstorm electricity concepts and vocabulary (conductors, circuits, electricity) in Activity 3 and may build a simple circuit. Students are asked to use general academic linking phrases ("for example," "in addition," "most importantly," "finally") when writing an opinion paragraph.
Lesson 11
The Plan
Students read about and discuss animal research and are asked to read arguments online and interview people, then record positives and negatives on a chart and write a speech taking a position. The speech task explicitly reminds students to use transitional phrases such as "for example," "one reason," "in addition," and "most importantly." Students also write descriptive paragraphs or poems/songs about an ideal environment, which requires choosing words to describe location and environment.
Lesson 12
Working in the Night
Students are asked to draw and label the simple machines used to move Mrs. Frisby's home (Activity 2), which requires use of domain-specific terms such as pulleys, bars, ladders, and rollers. The reading and comprehension questions include and require understanding of words like "electrocuted," "poison," "cyanide gas," "inventive/resourceful," and "discontent(ed)," and the wrap-up prompts students to discuss ways the rats were inventive using examples from the text. The Student Activity Pages contain sentences that include vocabulary such as "discontented" and "self-sufficient," which students must read and rewrite when combining sentences.
Lesson 13
A New Home
Students are asked to identify and record examples for labeled literary terms on the "Elements of Fantasy" activity (Setting, Characterization, Plot, Theme, Style and Tone), requiring recognition and use of those domain-specific words. Students are directed to complete a "Plot Diagram" using a provided word box with labels such as rising action, climax, falling action, problem, and solution, which asks them to select and apply those terms to the story. Students also fill a "Plot Flowchart" and choose events to place under those labeled parts, practicing use of plot-related vocabulary in context.