Fourth Grade - ELA
1: Interdependence
Unit 1: Little House in the Big Woods
Lesson 1
Introducing the Story
Students are asked to recount a personal memory by using a pre-writing organizer and then write and illustrate that memory (Activity 2), which supports organizing a narrative and including descriptive details. Students add dates and biographical facts about Laura Ingalls Wilder to a timeline and locate Wisconsin on a map (Activity 1), which requires reporting factual information in sequence. Students read about Wisconsin and record plants and animals on a chart (Activity 3), which has students gather and use appropriate facts to support understanding of setting. The materials also state that students will "share written and oral products" and "discuss and sustain conversation on a topic," indicating opportunities to present information orally.
Lesson 2
Little House in the Big Woods
Students are prompted to answer selected chapter questions orally and to discuss remaining questions aloud, including sharing ways that Laura's family depended on natural resources. Students complete graphic organizers such as the "Life in the Big Woods vs. Life Today" chart and the "Natural Resources and Survival" sheet, recording resources and how each aided survival. Vocabulary and comprehension activities require students to locate facts in the text and use those facts to fill in answers and the story completion exercise.
Lesson 3
Winter Days and Winter Nights
Students read the chapter and are asked to answer two questions in a journal and two questions aloud in a discussion, which requires them to recount parts of the text and respond orally. Students complete 'Chores and Family Roles' and 'Homes Today and Yesterday' charts, organizing facts about characters and their own families and comparing similarities and differences. The Skills section lists "Use planning strategies to organize ideas," indicating students practice organizing information for responses.
Lesson 4
The Long Rifle
Students are asked to retell the chapter aloud (Question #2) and to make up and practice a story to tell the family (Activity 2). Students discuss and practice storytelling techniques that include using vivid details, exciting language, different character voices, and using hands and body when speaking. The skills list directs students to share an oral project through presentation and to adapt speech communication to audience, purpose, and occasion.
Lesson 5
Christmas
Students plan and compose three short paragraphs about Christmas using a graphic organizer that requires a main idea, topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence, which practices organizing a report or recount. Students are prompted to use descriptive details and supporting ideas (for example, describing food, gifts, and traditions) and to include transitional words to connect supporting ideas. Students orally give examples of declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences and predict events before reading, which involves speaking about the text and interacting with content.
Lesson 6
Sundays and Two Big Bears
The Skills section instructs students to use oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner and to recount or narrate, and it states students will share written and oral products. Activity 3 has students conduct bear research, record factual information in a paw-print organizer, and answer questions about how bears depend on the environment. The student activities ask students to write and then read aloud a five-senses poem and an acrostic poem, and the materials repeatedly prompt students to share their work orally.
Lesson 7
The Sugar Snow
Students are asked to summarize what happened in the chapter, which requires them to report or recount an experience. Students order and record the sequential steps Grandpa took to make maple syrup (Option 1 and Option 2), which requires organizing information and recounting a process. Students create a recipe card and complete sequencing and vocabulary activities, which require them to present information in step-by-step, logical order in writing and to use relevant facts from the text.
Lesson 8
Dance at Grandpa's
Students are prompted to describe what Laura's family does for fun and to answer comprehension questions about the chapter (e.g., describing Grandma's house and why Laura enjoyed visits). Students are asked to recount a time Pa played his fiddle and to record how different songs made them feel, and they may create and perform a two-verse song for their family. Students also draw a diagram of Grandma's house based on textual description and discuss the role of extended family and music in Laura's life and their own.
Lesson 9
Going to Town
Students answer comprehension questions about the chapter, including making lists of items the family bought and explaining character differences, which requires recounting text details. Students are asked to describe differences between Laura and Mary, say which character they are more similar to and give examples, and act out what each sister would do in various situations, which requires oral description and role-play. The life-application task asks students to visit a historic place and then write about their experience and describe its importance, which asks students to recount an experience with supporting reasons.
Lesson 10
Summertime and Harvest
Students are asked to describe the seasons aloud (Introduction, Wrapping Up) and answer comprehension questions after reading the chapters. Activity 2 and the Student Activity Page direct students to write vivid, descriptive words and illustrate each season, and Activity 3 Option 2 asks students to write two paragraphs about bees and to "read her paragraphs aloud." Activity 4 asks students to create and write their own version of a story and illustrate it, and the Skills list includes demonstrating learning through reports, illustrations, and dramatizations and organizing information with notes, charts, and labels.
Lesson 11
Finishing the Book
Students are asked to write a multi-paragraph letter to children of the future using an organizer that requires distinct paragraphs for who they are, family roles, entertainment, and environment. The rubric and editing steps require students to focus on content, paragraph clarity, comma usage, descriptive words and imagery, and to revise for stronger word choice. Students are instructed to read aloud "A Letter from the Author," to read and reread their own draft focusing on content and mechanics, and to read their final letter to their family.
Final Project
Pioneer Family Night
Students plan and lead a Pioneer Family Night where they must read two to three favorite sections aloud and explain why they chose them, tell a story about Laura's family, and describe the significance of storytelling. Students prepare and present explanations about how pioneers depended on natural resources and how music and dance were important, and they lead family members in a craft, song, or dance, using notes and a provided checklist to sequence tasks. The skills list and activity pages instruct students to practice reading aloud with fluency, comprehension, and expression and to present information in a sequenced, logical manner.
Unit 2: The Sign of the Beaver
Lesson 2
Alone
Students are asked to read Chapters 1 and 2 and answer three or four questions in a journal, which requires them to recount events and details from the text. The lesson directs the use of the remaining questions as discussion questions, prompting students to speak about the story. Students complete character timelines by recording words or phrases that describe characters' feelings, attitudes, and actions, organizing information across the book. The wrap-up asks students to discuss Matt's responsibilities and compare them to their own, prompting oral reflection.
Lesson 3
A Stranger
Students answer journal and discussion questions about Chapters 3–5, including questions that require recounting events (for example, what happened when Matt tried to get honey and who helped him). Students record words or phrases on a Character Timelines page to describe Matt's feelings, attitudes, and actions, and they write five sentences about characters, events, and setting that include prepositions and illustrations. Students explain how Saknis helped heal Matt's bee stings and describe natural remedies for listed conditions, which requires describing events and details from the text and environmental resources.
Lesson 4
A Treaty
Students are asked to describe what happened to Matt yesterday and who saved him, prompting an oral recount. Students read Chapter 6, answer journal questions (including questions that ask for evidence about characters' feelings and actions), and discuss remaining questions aloud. Activity 1 has students fill in Character Timelines, which asks them to organize events about Attean and Matt. Wrapping Up asks students to describe the treaty Matt and Saknis made and to make a treaty with a partner, encouraging spoken recounting and explanation.
Lesson 5
A Story
Students are asked to read Chapters 7-9 and answer comprehension questions in a journal and then discuss remaining questions orally, providing opportunities to recount text events. The lesson's listed skills include summarizing main ideas and identifying and discussing similarities and differences supported by referencing the text, which prompts students to use textual facts. Activities ask students to fill in character timelines, record and describe how they would use island resources (A Desert Island), and answer reflective journal prompts about differing perspectives, which require organized written responses and descriptive detail.
Lesson 6
The Beaver
Students answer comprehension questions orally and in journals about Chapters 10–11, prompting them to recount events (e.g., how Attean fished and how the boys' relationship changes). Students complete a Venn diagram comparing two stories and fill character timelines, which requires organizing similarities/differences and sequence of events. In the Beaver Research activity, students locate facts from books or the internet and record habitat, adaptations, food, and reasons beavers build dams, using factual details to support understanding.
Lesson 7
Real Life Learning
Students are asked to answer reading questions orally in a discussion or in their journals, which requires them to recount events from Chapters 12 and 13 (e.g., how Attean taught Matt to make a bow). Students create a "Rules of the Forest" book in which they list rules Matt learned and illustrate them, organizing content across pages. During the Vocabulary Memory Game, when a player gets a match she must use the word in a sentence, prompting spoken use of vocabulary and short oral responses.
Lesson 8
The Bear
Students are asked to think of a personal event that would make a good campfire story and to practice telling it using exciting words and body language (Activity 2, Option 2). The Skills section explicitly lists that students will "Share written and oral products in a variety of ways" and "Identify (with assistance) the purpose, the audience, and the appropriate form for an oral or written task." The Flood Stories double-bubble map and Character Timelines provide graphic organizers for organizing and comparing story details.
Lesson 9
Attean's Past
Students are asked to summarize what happened in previous chapters, which requires recounting events from the text. Students answer selected questions in their journal and use remaining questions as discussion prompts, prompting oral responses about plot and character. Students participate in a final discussion about what the book teaches about stereotypes, and the skills list asks students to support interpretations or conclusions with examples from the text.
Lesson 10
Manitou
Students answer comprehension questions in a journal and participate in discussion questions drawn from Chapters 19–20, which prompts them to recount events (e.g., Attean's journey, definition of manitou). Students record three vivid passages on the "Word Pictures" page and illustrate them, practicing use of descriptive details and imagery from the text. Students list and describe values for Matt and Attean and explain how they demonstrate those values in their own lives, using facts or actions from the story to support their ideas. The wrap-up directs an oral exchange where students are asked how Native American culture differs from their own and what they would like or find difficult about living in that culture.
Lesson 11
A Choice
Students are asked to develop five interview questions for Matt and five for Attean and to role-play interviews, which requires them to recount events and speak as the characters. Students are asked to add information to character timelines, which prompts them to organize events chronologically. Students are prompted to discuss which character they are most similar to and to reflect in a journal on favorite, scariest, saddest, and happiest parts, which requires using story details to support their responses.
Lesson 12
Persuasive Writing
Students are asked to write a letter or speech to Matt that includes the three best reasons for their decision and provide support for each reason (Activity 2). Students create two advantage lists to organize ideas for and against Matt's choices, decide a position, draft a letter/speech, revise, and produce a final copy (Activity 1, Activity 3). The Letter or Speech Rubric requires that students address Matt, give three reasons, provide support for each reason, and evaluates organization and sentence-level conventions.
Lesson 13
The Return
Students are asked to finish the novel and to say whether they would recommend it to someone else and explain why, which prompts them to speak about the text. Several discussion questions are suggested for verbal use and the wrapping up asks students to discuss what they enjoyed, their feelings about characters, and possible alternate endings. Students complete a "Story Elements" page (setting, theme, characters, problem, resolution) and a "Solving Problems" page that require them to identify and describe story details that could be used in an oral recount or explanation.
Final Project
The Sign of the Beaver Movie
Students write a 6–8 sentence movie synopsis that must use "exciting, dramatic language" and accurately describe the setting and main characters, and they revise it using a rubric. Students plan and write a labeled script for a scene between Attean and Matt, organizing dialogue by speaker. Students create a movie poster, design costumes and a set, which require selecting descriptive details and facts from the book to show setting, character, and resources from the environment. The skills list also requires students to "share written and oral products" and to "present dramatic interpretations," implying opportunities to present organized material aloud.
Unit 3: Native American Animal Stories
Lesson 1
Myths, Legends, and Folktales
Activity 2 asks a parent to tell a myth, pause at a suspenseful point, then have the child finish and retell the story to the adult, giving the child practice in oral storytelling. The instructions encourage use of voices, body gestures, and acting to make the telling engaging, and the wrap-up asks the child to define myth/legend/folktale and name examples. The Student Activity Page asks students to read a myth or folktale and identify elements of culture, prompting students to select relevant details from the text.
Lesson 2
People and Animal Stories
Students complete a Story Map (Activity 3) that requires them to organize main characters, setting, problem, events, resolution, and ending, which supports organizing a recount of a story. Students compare and discuss pairs of stories using a Venn diagram and guided compare/contrast questions (Activity 4 and Option 1), prompting them to use similarities, differences, and story details. Students record facts and lessons in journal activities and Elements of Culture charts (Activities 1, 5, 7), which requires identification and use of appropriate facts and descriptive details to support main ideas or themes.
Lesson 3
The Natural World
Students are asked to retell the butterfly story to someone who has never heard it, using a paper bag, natural materials, and a completed butterfly as props (Activity 3). Students are directed to write a short script, practice a puppet show with specific speaking parts, and present it to the family (Activity 8). The lesson also instructs students to vary tone, use body language and interesting words, and to choose appropriate volume and rate (Skills list, Activity 3, and Life Application).
Lesson 4
Survival Stories
Students answer guided comprehension questions in a journal about each story (e.g., identifying the man's problem, why the whale was important, and the Kiowa–buffalo relationship), which requires them to recount events and cite facts. Students write sentences explaining why the Indians hunted and where people get food today, and they draw animals and write a sentence describing each animal's role in its survival story, practicing use of descriptive details. Students complete an "Elements of Culture" chart and research the history of the buffalo, organizing factual information about cultural elements and survival needs. Students may create a poem from an animal's perspective, practicing storytelling and use of relevant descriptive detail.
Lesson 5
Legends from Other Cultures
Students are prompted to summarize the Brazilian story and to answer comprehension questions in their journals, which requires them to recount key events and main ideas. Students are asked to discuss questions aloud (e.g., why folktales use animals, describe the lesson Kalulu learned) and to compare creation myths using a double-bubble map, which asks them to organize similarities and differences. The skills list explicitly includes "Retell a spoken message by summarizing or clarifying," and grammar activities ask students to locate sentence types and proper nouns from the stories.
Final Project
My Own Myth
Students choose a natural occurrence and are asked to read about it to gather information, then brainstorm and record elements (natural phenomenon, characters, setting, problem, solution) on an "Organizing the Myth" page. Students write a rough draft and use a rubric that checks organization, descriptive content (interesting words, descriptive settings, explanations of natural phenomena), and correctness of grammar and spelling. Students edit drafts focusing on organization and content, produce a final typed copy, and are given an opportunity to share their myth with an audience.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Ben and Me
Lesson 1
Ben Franklin and the Colonies
Students are asked to locate information about Benjamin Franklin and record details on a timeline and a kite-shaped activity page, which requires them to gather and recount facts (birth/death dates, contributions, personality, physical description). The lesson includes multiple oral prompts where students are asked questions (e.g., ask if he has heard of Ben Franklin, what 'freedom' means, what he remembers about Philadelphia) and a wrap-up prompt asking the child what he has learned, which elicits spoken recounting. Students are also asked to write a poem contrasting Philadelphia yesterday and today and to list "instead of" ideas in a journal, which require organizing descriptive details in writing.
Lesson 2
Setting the Record Straight
Students are asked to answer three or four comprehension questions in a journal, which requires them to gather information from Chapters 1 and 2 and organize responses. The "Fact and Fiction" chart directs students to record a factual event and a fictional event for each chapter, prompting them to identify appropriate facts and relevant details from the text. The lesson notes that remaining questions can be used as discussion questions and asks the child what she learned, providing opportunities for oral discussion or recounting of the text.
Lesson 3
Swimming
Students are asked to read chapters aloud and answer comprehension questions, which has them recount events (e.g., what happened to Amos, why people thought Ben drowned). Students are prompted to discuss chapter questions and to respond to wrap-up prompts about what they learned, providing opportunities to report on the text. Students are asked to write a script for a commercial (Option 2) and to discuss language used in ads, which supports planning an organized spoken presentation and using descriptive language.
Lesson 4
Electricity
Students are asked to verbally summarize the events that occurred in the chapters they read, which requires them to recount an experience orally. Students respond to assigned journal questions about the chapters and discuss answers, practicing reporting information and explaining ideas. Students are asked to teach a younger child or read to them and to design and present a reward, which involves planning and speaking to an audience about a topic.
Lesson 5
Electrifying
Students are asked to share what they know about electricity and to answer and discuss four or five guided chapter questions, which prompts them to recount events from the text (e.g., what happened when the lightning struck, what Amos experienced on the kite). The lesson directs the teacher to "facilitate a discussion on the chapters" and to ask the child how Franklin exerted his power and what he learned, which requires oral responses. Students are also asked to describe what happened in the Experiment with Lightning activity and to discuss uses of electricity in homes and communities.
Lesson 6
War
Students read Chapters 9 and 10 and answer questions in a journal, practicing recounting chapter events in writing. Students are asked to read a vocabulary paragraph aloud and to use pronunciation resources, which gives practice speaking clearly. Students explain orally why the colonists went to war and discuss chapter questions, giving opportunities to recount events and state facts versus opinions.
Lesson 7
France
Students are asked to use some comprehension questions in a discussion ("Use the remaining questions in a discussion") and to summarize what happened in the chapters he read today, which requires recounting the text. Several questions prompt students to cite evidence (e.g., "How did the French feel about Ben Franklin? How do you know?"), asking for supporting facts. Activity 2 asks students to devise and write a step-by-step rescue plan, which requires organizing a sequence of events to recount or report an action.
Lesson 8
Amos's Account
Students plan their account by listing an event, ten facts, five ideas/opinions/feelings, and a sequence of events with transitional words, which supports organization and use of facts and descriptive details. Students use a three-paragraph outline (what led up to the event, the event, outcomes) to organize their recount. Students draft, revise, and edit their first-person account using a rubric that checks for inclusion of factual information, ideas and feelings, descriptive language, and clear paragraph descriptions. Students are asked to read Amos's account to family or another audience as a wrap-up activity.
Lesson 9
The Rescue
Students are asked to give a summary of what happened in the two chapters and to discuss how Amos and Ben felt, which requires recounting events orally. Students answer selected comprehension questions in discussion and journal responses, and they participate in the "Ben and Amos Bags" activity where they explain the significance of items they place in and pull from the bags. Students also sing and can perform "Yankee Doodle" and write a new verse from Amos's perspective, and the skills list explicitly includes sharing written and oral products.
Lesson 10
Back Home
Students are asked orally what they have learned and what they enjoyed most, prompting them to recount the book. Students are asked to describe some of the main events in the book, which requires retelling key points. Students complete a "Fact and Fiction" activity where they list a factual and a fictional detail from the chapter and an "Elements of Historical Fiction" activity where they provide examples (characters, setting, plot, theme, descriptions) that support main elements of the genre. Students are instructed to interview adults for interpretations of maxims, requiring them to speak and gather supporting perspectives.
Final Project
An Interview or Party for Ben
Students write ten interview questions and answer them in character as Ben Franklin, focusing on specific topics (his influence, inventions, electricity, role as a founding father, and Philadelphia). Students write two of Ben's maxims and explain why they are important, and in the party option they create a card, explain a gift, write a song about his contributions, and write directions for a game. Students practice answering questions, dress and act like Ben, and present the interview to an audience, sharing their written and oral products.
Unit 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lesson 1
The Professor's House
The introduction asks the child to share what he knows about the story or what the story might be about, prompting oral recall. Activity 4 directs the child to answer selected questions in discussion with an adult and to answer others in a journal or online, creating opportunities to recount text events aloud. The Wrapping Up section asks the child to summarize the events that occurred and to discuss the book's genre, which involves speaking about main ideas and themes.
Lesson 2
Edmund Discovers Narnia
Students are prompted to describe orally what Lucy learned from Mr. Tumnus and to describe the characters of Edmund and the White Witch, which requires them to report ideas aloud. The lesson includes discussion prompts (e.g., questions to use for discussion) that require students to recount events such as what happened when Lucy returned from Narnia. Students record examples of good vs. evil from each chapter and illustrate them, producing organized chapter-by-chapter notes that could be used in a report. Students also write descriptive paragraphs (about tasting a favorite food or how the witch would persuade them), practicing use of descriptive details to support ideas.
Lesson 3
Always Winter and Never Christmas
Students read Chapters 5 and 6 and answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., describing Mr. Tumnus' home, the robin encounter, and why Edmund lied), and are asked to respond in a journal and in discussion. The Wrapping Up section directs parents to ask the child what the children discover and what can be assumed about the witch, prompting oral recounting. Activity 1 asks students to list and illustrate examples of good vs. evil from the chapters, which requires selecting and describing elements from the text.
Lesson 4
The Lion
Students are asked to answer specific discussion questions aloud and in their journals about Chapters 7 and 8 (e.g., where the robin led the children, who Aslan is, what happened to Edmund). The teacher prompt asks the child to describe what she learned about Aslan and the Beavers, which requires recounting events and describing characters. Activity 2 has students record words and phrases that describe a lion in a selected myth and use a Venn diagram to compare that lion to Aslan, which asks for relevant descriptive details to support comparisons.
Lesson 5
A Disappointment
Students are asked to summarize what the children learned from Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and to recall what happened to Edmund, which requires them to report on text events orally. The lesson instructs adults to select questions to facilitate a discussion and to have students answer assigned questions in a journal, providing prompts for recounting events and character actions. The Vocabulary Cube activity requires students to use a vocabulary word verbally in a sentence, giving practice with spoken sentence production. Wrap-up prompts ask students to describe the White Witch's castle and recall Father Christmas's gifts, encouraging oral description of details.
Lesson 7
Spring
The lesson asks the child to discuss Chapters 11 and 12 and select questions to facilitate a discussion about the text, which requires oral response. One activity asks the child to develop and present an award to a real-life hero and "explain why he is awarding it," explicitly requiring an oral presentation. The Wrapping Up prompt asks the child to "describe how the environment in Narnia is changing and how Edmund is changing," inviting an oral recounting of events and character change.
Lesson 8
Deep Magic
Students are asked orally to describe Aslan and to answer discussion questions (e.g., "Tell your child to describe Aslan" and "Ask your child to describe what Aslan had to endure and why..."). Students record sensory words and phrases on the Imagery page and illustrate a scene, which asks them to identify and use descriptive details that support emotional meaning. In the A Powerful Leader activity, students research a historical leader, list up to ten facts, and decide whether the leader is more like Aslan or the White Witch, which requires gathering relevant facts to support a main idea.
Lesson 9
Back to Life
Students are asked to summarize what Lucy and Susan observed, which requires them to report key events from the text. Students are instructed to answer three or four questions in a journal and then discuss remaining questions, giving them opportunities to recount the text in writing and orally. In Activity 2 students are asked to describe three ways Aslan resembles a Christ-like figure using a provided list of traits, which prompts use of relevant facts and descriptive details to support a main idea.
Lesson 10
Back Through the Wardrobe
Students are asked to describe and illustrate a new route to Narnia and then act out the situation as one of the siblings, which requires recounting or telling part of the story orally. Students discuss differences between the book and the movie and answer selected comprehension questions in a journal, which requires reporting on the text and giving reasons. The Skills section explicitly lists presenting dramatic interpretations and sharing written and oral products, and it asks students (with assistance) to identify purpose, audience, and appropriate form for oral or written tasks.
Final Project
Narnia Think-Tac-Toe
Students select three projects and complete them, then share their projects with family and other interested people. Before presenting, students summarize the book for their audience, which requires reporting on the text. The Skills section lists that students will "Share written and oral products in a variety of ways" and "Read aloud with fluency and expression," indicating opportunities for oral reporting and practice with fluency.
Unit 3: The BFG
Lesson 2
Snatched
Students are prompted in Wrapping Up to "describe what happened in today's chapters" and to predict what will happen next, which asks them to recount events from the text. Activity 2 directs students to locate London and record information under labeled categories (Location, Language, People, Homes, Buildings, Similarities to America, Differences from America), which asks students to gather and organize facts about a topic. The Skills section includes responding to text in discussion, which implies opportunities to speak about the story.
Lesson 3
The BFG
Students read two chapters and answer three or four comprehension questions in their journals and then use remaining questions as discussion prompts to explain events and character differences. Students respond orally to wrap-up prompts asking how the BFG is different from other giants and why he did not use force, requiring them to recount and explain text-based reasons. Students identify and record important lines in the Quotable Quotes activity, locating exact words from the text that support main ideas.
Lesson 4
Ears and Snozzcumbers
Students are asked to answer specific comprehension questions in a journal and to identify and record quotes from Sophie and the BFG, which requires recounting text details. Students are prompted to write about a vivid dream and to write a paragraph describing how they would use an imagined power of hearing, which asks them to report an experience or idea in writing. The skills list explicitly includes sharing written, visual, and oral products and responding in discussion, indicating opportunities to tell or report orally and in writing.
Lesson 5
Time with the BFG
Students are asked to summarize what happened in previously read chapters, which requires them to recount an experience. Students answer selected comprehension questions in a journal and discuss others aloud, providing opportunities to report on the text. Students compare the BFG and the Bloodbottler in specified categories (appearance, personality, power) and record quotes, which prompts use of facts and descriptive details to support comparisons.
Lesson 6
Catching People and Dreams
Students read two chapters and answer selected questions in a journal, providing opportunities to recount events (Reading And Questions). Students are asked to discuss Dream Country, describe how the BFG captures dreams, and read a section aloud when creating a new giant (Introduction; Activity 3), which gives chances to tell a story or recount a text orally. Activities require students to identify quotes, describe dream responses on the back of the jar page, and write how a new giant catches human beans, prompting use of descriptive details in writing (Activity 1, Option 1, Activity 3).
Lesson 7
A Nightmare for Fleshlumpeater
Students are asked to answer comprehension and opinion questions either verbally or in their journal (e.g., questions about what the BFG did, whether it was right, and what Sophie would do), which requires recounting events and explaining reasoning. The Skills section explicitly lists using oral or written language to recount or narrate. Students compare and discuss two texts (The BFG and Jack and the Beanstalk) and select quotes, which requires them to describe similarities/differences and cite textual details. Activity 2 asks students to list intangible items and provide tangible evidence for each, prompting them to support ideas with examples.
Lesson 8
A Dreamy Plan
Students are asked to answer three comprehension questions in a journal and to use the remaining three questions in a discussion, which requires them to speak about the text. Students are prompted to think of and discuss Sophie's plan and to describe how the Queen of England is similar and different from the President, prompting oral comparison and explanation. Option 2 asks students to write a paragraph telling an encounter with a giant, which practices recounting or telling a story using vocabulary and narrative structure.
Lesson 9
The Palace
Students are asked to answer three chapter questions in a journal and discuss the other three questions aloud, which supports recounting and reporting about the text. The Skills list explicitly names demonstrating learning through oral and written reports, dramatizations, and displays, indicating opportunities for oral presentations. Wrapping up directs students to summarize the chapter events and predict what will happen next, which requires organized recounting of the text.
Lesson 10
A Breakfast Fit for a Queen
Students are asked to answer chapter questions in a journal and participate in discussion, which requires recounting events from the chapters. Students must select five adjectives to describe the queen and support each with at least one example from the text, requiring use of relevant facts and descriptive details. Students are prompted to "pretend to be the queen" and act out responses to given situations and the skills list explicitly includes "oral ... reports" and dramatizations, providing opportunities for spoken presentation.
Lesson 11
Fighting Giants
Students are prompted to discuss selected comprehension questions aloud (e.g., "Use the other questions in a discussion" and "Ask your child what the role of the armed forces is"). Students are asked to take notes from multiple sources about the U.S. armed forces and to decide which branch they think would be most interesting and why, which supports gathering facts to share. An extension asks students to prepare four or five interview questions and interview someone who has served, which requires oral questioning and interacting with a speaker.
Final Project
Recipe for a Dream or Newspaper Report
The lesson explicitly asks students to write organized reports: Option 2 has students write a three-paragraph newspaper cover story with 5–8 sentences per paragraph, sequence events (what happened, how the Queen found out and responded), and include quotes and details. The Skills list states students will "use oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner; recount or narrate; and report information on a topic," and it also asks students to "share written, visual, and oral products." The Dream in a Jar option requires students to write three paragraphs describing the beginning, middle, and end of a dream and to include descriptive detail and vocabulary words to support ideas.
3: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Stories from Africa and Asia
Lesson 1
Meerkats in Botswana
Students are prompted in Option 1 to write a descriptive paragraph about a meerkat that includes five facts, which has them organize facts and descriptive details to support a main idea. Students in Option 2 are asked to write a short story that includes at least five facts, combining storytelling with factual detail. Students are directed to locate Botswana and record notes in a four-circle graphic organizer (land, language, animals, people), which has them organize information for a topical report. Students are asked to discuss adaptations and to answer "what he learned," providing opportunities for brief verbal recounting.
Lesson 2
Meeting Precious
Students read chapters and answer questions in a journal and participate in a discussion using the remaining questions, which requires them to recount events and describe settings and characters orally. Students are asked to describe Precious's family and home and explain similarities and differences to their own lives, prompting spoken comparison and recounting. Students research and list five facts about ostriches and cobras or fill a chart comparing three animals, producing factual content that could be reported aloud.
Lesson 3
The Surprise
Students are asked to answer questions in a journal and participate in discussions about Chapters 3 and 4, including summarizing what happened and predicting what comes next. Activity 4 directs students to find examples of authorial intrusion and discuss why an author might use that device. Activity 3 asks students to pretend to be a zoologist, choose an animal to research, and write a paragraph describing why they would study it. The Life Application asks students to watch a video and discuss similarities and differences between real meerkats and the book's meerkat.
Lesson 4
A Missing Cow
Students are asked to write a script for a scene from The Mystery of Meerkat Hill, composing dialogue and stage directions for the episode where Pontsho brings Kosi to school. Students are instructed to act out the script with a family member, which requires them to orally recount and dramatize the event. Students answer comprehension questions in a journal and discuss story conflict types, organizing responses about events such as what happened when Kosi got out and what the family lost.
Lesson 5
A Good Idea
The Skills list tells students to present information in a sequenced, logical manner, to recount or narrate, and to share information and ideas, which prompts oral recounting. The Introduction and Reading & Questions sections ask students to describe what happened in the chapters, predict outcomes, and answer questions in discussion, providing opportunities to report on a text. Activity 2 asks students to discuss a personal challenging situation and to describe the 'other ways' they solved it, and Activity 4 asks students to create a poster or write a story that include descriptive details (three adjectives and two adverbs) and factual information about an animal.
Lesson 6
African Bush Diorama
The organizer directs students to write a four-paragraph book report with specified paragraph focuses (characters and setting; plot; comparison to life in the United States; opinion), requiring students to organize information in a sequenced, logical manner. The book report rubric asks students to summarize main events, describe main characters and setting, and use interesting adjectives and adverbs, prompting students to use appropriate facts and descriptive details to support main ideas. The lesson lists skills including "Use oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner" and "Share written, oral, and constructed projects in a variety of ways," implying opportunities to present.
Lesson 7
Japan
The lesson asks students to read A Kids Guide to Japan and answer factual comprehension questions, which requires gathering and reporting information from a text. The Skills section explicitly includes "Use written language to report information on a topic" and "Share written, oral, and constructed projects in a variety of ways," and the Venn diagram activity asks students to organize similarities and differences using words and pictures. The lesson also asks the child to "explain why Japan and America were at war" and includes "Read orally from familiar texts with fluency," which provide opportunities for spoken explanation and oral practice.
Lesson 8
Peace Day
Students are prompted to read the prologue and discuss that the story is based on a real person, and they are asked to answer three or four questions in their journal and use remaining questions in a discussion. Activity 2 asks students to describe why the Japanese celebrate Peace Day and to compare it to an American holiday, and wrapping up asks students to describe Sadako's family and what they learned about Japanese culture. Multiple graphic organizers ask students to record and organize cultural information from each chapter, supporting organized recounting in writing or discussion.
Lesson 9
The Secret is Out
Students are asked to answer three or four comprehension questions in a journal and to use remaining questions in a discussion, which requires them to recount events from the chapters. The wrapping up prompts students to explain Sadako's secret and how her family learned it, which asks students to report or recount a sequence of events orally. Option 2 of Activity 3 asks students to write a paragraph about a gift and to arrange a time to teach that skill to other children, which requires them to present and instruct peers.
Lesson 10
Kenji
Students are asked to answer three comprehension questions in their journal and then use the remaining questions in a discussion, and they are encouraged to develop two of their own questions to bring to that discussion. The Wrapping Up section asks students to summarize the events that occurred in the chapters and to reflect on Sadako's situation and her family's response. The listed Skills include identifying and discussing similarities and differences within and across selections and supporting them by referencing the text, which requires students to discuss text-based ideas aloud.
Lesson 11
O Bon
The lesson asks the child to read the chapter "Last Days" aloud and encourages use of intonation and expression, which practices oral presentation. The lesson prompts oral discussion (e.g., asking about favorite holidays, how the family remembers deceased members, and talking about what was learned about Japanese culture). Activity 2 asks the child to discuss how families remember loved ones and offers Option 2 for the child to write a remembrance song, which could be performed orally.
Lesson 12
Racing the Wind
Students answer directed comprehension questions in a journal and participate in discussion about Sadako, which requires recalling events and citing elements of the text. Students write haiku poems connected to the story and are asked to read their haiku aloud, with an extension to create a slideshow presentation of the haiku. Students design and sketch a peace monument and write a short wish, which asks them to summarize themes and express ideas related to the text.
Lesson 13
Precious and Sadako
Students are asked orally which character they most enjoyed and which character's home they would like to visit, and they are asked to explain how Precious and Sadako were similar and different after completing the comparison activity. Students record descriptions, quotations, character actions, words/phrases others use about the characters, and two personality traits for each character, gathering textual facts and descriptive details to support comparisons. Students are asked to explain three or four important events in each story and may write a first-person letter (at least eight sentences) recounting an important event with circumstances and feelings, demonstrating organized recounting and use of supporting details.
Unit 2: Holes
Lesson 1
Texas and Desert Biomes
The Skills section explicitly directs students to "use oral and written language to report information on a topic," and to "compile notes into outlines, reports, summaries." Activity 3 (Option 2) asks students to write a paragraph describing a desert's geographic location, rainfall, plants and animals, and adaptations, which requires organizing facts and descriptive details. The Wrapping Up section asks students to describe aloud what they learned and to use vocabulary words in sentences orally, providing opportunities for spoken reporting.
Lesson 2
Camp Green Lake
Students read Chapters 1–4 and answer selected comprehension questions in a journal, and remaining questions are used as discussion prompts for oral responses. Students complete the "Happy Campers" graphic organizer to record facts and illustrate character details, and they fill out the "An Inventor" page to name, describe, list materials, and outline steps for an invention. The wrapping-up prompt asks students to describe what they learned and what they think about the main character, prompting oral recounting of the text.
Lesson 4
Caveman
Students are asked to use oral and written language to answer open-ended questions and to answer four assigned questions in their journals and discuss the others, which provides opportunities to speak about the text. Students record the author's descriptive language about the yellow-spotted lizard and illustrate or model it, practicing use of descriptive details from the text. Students are asked to pretend to be a camper and write (and explain) what they want to do with their life, prompting them to recount an experience or future plan and explain reasons.
Lesson 5
KB
Students are asked to make a prediction before reading and then check that prediction after reading, which requires them to recount an experience and discuss outcomes. Students are prompted to answer and discuss comprehension questions with an adult (e.g., why Stanley found the tube, what the Warden is like), providing opportunities to report on text-based ideas. The wrap-up asks students to describe rules of possessives, review situational and verbal irony, and share examples of both, prompting brief oral explanation and sharing.
Lesson 6
Sunflower Seeds
Students are asked to answer half of the chapter questions in writing and then share their remaining answers verbally, which requires them to report about the text aloud. Students are prompted to read their shape poem aloud and pay special attention to the alliteration in their poem. Students are asked to describe how Camp Green Lake is changing Stanley and to discuss the irony, requiring an oral recounting of character development and thematic ideas.
Lesson 7
Zero
Students are asked in Activity 1 and in the Options for Activity 2 to write a paragraph or letter describing their imagined experiences, occupation, journey, and hardships in the Old West, which requires recounting an experience and including descriptive details. Activity 3 directs students to find the author's description of Green Lake, draw past and present versions, and discuss similarities and differences, prompting use of textual details to support ideas. The Wrapping Up prompt asks students to explain what they learned about the history of Green Lake and its people, providing an opportunity to report orally on a topic. The lesson Skills list explicitly includes "Share written products in a variety of ways," indicating students will present their work.
Lesson 8
Sam the Onion Man
Students answer four or five comprehension questions in their journal and participate in a discussion of remaining questions, requiring them to recount events and draw conclusions from the text. Students are asked in the Wrapping Up section to summarize the story of Kate Barlow and Sam the Onion Man, which asks them to report or recount the narrative. In Activity 1 Option 1, students write a speech to town members explaining why racism is wrong and why they should not punish Kate and Sam, which requires organizing ideas and using facts or reasons to support a main idea.
Lesson 9
Driving a Truck
Students are asked to answer four questions in a journal and to answer the remaining questions orally, which requires them to speak about the text. Parents are prompted to ask the child to summarize the chapters read and to give examples of adverbs in sentences, asking students to report verbally on what happened. Students participate in discussions about favorite parts and character comparisons and play an Adverb Game that awards extra points for making sentences about the book, providing additional spoken practice.
Lesson 10
The Mary Lou
Students are asked to read one chapter aloud and are reminded to use intonation and expression in their voice, giving direct practice in oral delivery. Students are asked to answer three chapter questions in their journal, selecting which to respond to, which requires them to recount and explain events from the text. Students are asked to describe what happens to Stanley as he leaves to find Zero, prompting an oral or spoken recount of events. Activity 2 (option 2) asks students to write a poem or song containing figurative language and then read it aloud to the family, providing additional spoken presentation practice.
Lesson 11
The Thumb of God
Students are prompted to answer three or four questions in a journal and then "share his answers," which requires verbal recounting of text events. The lesson asks the child to predict events, to respond aloud to wrap-up questions about what Stanley learned and what they would have done, and to answer comprehension questions (some requiring explanation). Activity 3 asks students to create a Venn diagram comparing two storylines, which asks students to organize similarities and differences about the text.
Lesson 12
Treasure and Lizards
Students are asked to summarize the last chapter they read and to read Chapters 42–45, then answer several comprehension questions in a journal and share remaining answers orally. In the "Conflict in Holes" activity, students choose three types of conflict from the novel, describe each conflict in writing, and illustrate them. The Wrapping Up prompts require students to describe what happened to Stanley and Zero, explain favorite parts and conflicts, and orally use homophones in sentences.
Lesson 13
Innocent
The lesson asks students to answer comprehension questions orally ("He can then answer the following questions orally or in his journal") and to predict the ending and identify irony, prompting spoken recounting. Activity 2 asks students to compare the movie and book and to discuss which they preferred and why, prompting spoken analysis of similarities and differences. Activity 3 has students put story events in sequence and identify problem, climax, and solution, which supports organizing a recount or retelling of the text.
Final Project
Welcome to Camp
Students are asked to write two organized paragraphs that specify required facts and descriptive details (camp name, geography, sleeping and eating quarters, staff, activities, character-building, and staff-camper interactions). Students create supporting artifacts (uniform design, welcome pack, camp song/chant, exercise routine, and a New Camp vs. Camp Green Lake comparison) that require selection and explanation of relevant details to support their main ideas. Students are asked to present their ideas to the family, giving them an opportunity to report orally on their project.
Unit 3: Stories from Europe
Lesson 1
Tradition Stories
Students are prompted to discuss definitions of fables, folktales, myths, legends, and fairy tales with a parent and to answer questions after watching a related video, which requires them to recount and explain story types orally. Students brainstorm a list of childhood stories they remember and sort those stories into categories on the "Story Traditions" activity page, which has them recall and organize information about texts. Students are asked to review different types of traditional stories and tell which type they prefer and why, providing an opportunity for spoken explanation and justification.
Lesson 2
Fiona's Luck
Students are asked in Wrapping Up to give a verbal summary of Fiona's Luck and to name and describe the story elements they identified. Activity 1 and Day 2 prompt students to tell what they learned about Ireland's culture and geography and to answer comprehension questions verbally. Activity 2 and the Fact and Fantasy activity require students to record three factual details from the story, which students can use when recounting the text.
Lesson 3
The Sea King's Daughter
Students are asked to verbally summarize The Sea King's Daughter and review its story elements, which requires recounting the text aloud. Students can perform parts in a Reader's Theater script and act out the story, providing practice in telling a story to others. Students complete a Fact and Fantasy activity and a Story Elements organizer (characters, setting, conflict, resolution, theme) that support organizing content and identifying factual details to use in a report.
Lesson 4
The Snow Queen
Students are asked to create a small informational book about Denmark that requires them to organize facts concisely (Activity 1). Students discuss differences between formal and informal speaking and are prompted to describe how they would speak differently in a formal talk (Activity 4). Students create a script from selected scenes of The Snow Queen after watching a stage excerpt, which requires selecting and organizing important spoken lines (Activity 6). The Wrap Up asks students to explain orally whether they would recommend the story and why, prompting a spoken response.
Lesson 5
Comparing and Contrasting Stories
Students are asked to briefly summarize each story and to discuss which story was their favorite and why, requiring them to report on a text orally. Students are asked to retell events from a chosen story in first person by writing an 8-10 sentence narrative and to explain what difference the new point of view makes, practicing recounting and use of narrative detail in writing. Students are prompted to discuss story elements and answer wrap-up questions comparing plot, characters, theme, and setting, which requires them to support opinions about texts.
Final Project
Writing Your Own Story
Students plan and organize a story using the provided Plot Organizer and Rough Draft pages that break the story into Beginning, Conflict, Events, and Resolution. Students use the Story Checklist to include characters, setting, theme/lesson, and a clear plot with conflict and resolution. Students are directed to use concrete words, sensory details, creative descriptions, and interesting verbs to develop experiences and support the theme. The materials conclude by inviting the child to read her story aloud to the family, providing an opportunity for oral presentation.
4: Exploration and Survival
Unit 1: Abel's Island
Lesson 1
Survival
Students are asked to "Use oral and written language to report on a topic" and to discuss river habitats and adaptations (Activity 2), describe memories of a river, and compare those observations to the book. Students write in a journal listing three things they would miss if shipwrecked and describe why (Activity 4), and complete the "Natural River Resources" chart listing resources and how they are used (Activity 3). Multiple prompts ask students to discuss differences in river life past vs. present and to describe animal characters and their traits (Activity 1), providing opportunities to recount experiences and report ideas aloud or in writing.
Lesson 2
The Storm
Students are asked to answer reading questions in a journal and to use some questions as discussion prompts, which requires them to recount events from Chapters 1 and 2. Students record the natural resources Abel uses and describe how he uses them on a multi-chapter organizer, which helps them collect facts and details about the text. The Skills section and vocabulary activities explicitly mention discussing and listening, indicating students will speak about the text during guided discussion.
Lesson 3
Where Am I?
Students are asked to answer comprehension questions in a journal and to use remaining questions in a discussion, which requires recounting Chapters 3 and 4. Question #8 asks students to support interpretations or conclusions with examples drawn from the text, prompting use of appropriate facts and details. Activities ask students to summarize what happened to Abel, fill a chart ("Using Natural Resources") to organize information, and describe and label parts of Abel's boats, which requires organizing and reporting information. Option 2 asks students to write and sing a "Sailing Song," providing an opportunity to present orally.
Lesson 4
Who Is Abel?
Students are prompted to answer three to four comprehension questions in a journal and to use the remaining questions as discussion prompts, which requires them to recount events and respond orally. Students are asked in the introduction and wrapping up to describe what Abel has tried, predict plans, and explain how Abel is changing, which elicits spoken retelling and reflection. In Activity 2, students provide textual evidence for character traits, illustrate Abel, and record descriptive words and phrases, linking facts and details to support main ideas.
Lesson 5
Perseverance
Students practice generating and organizing ideas using planning strategies and a three-paragraph Reflective Writing Organizer that guides topic sentences, supporting details, and conclusions. Students compose a draft that conveys major ideas and use a Reflective Writing Rubric that asks them to include interesting, descriptive words and clear, easy-to-follow ideas. Students are prompted to describe the story's conflict verbally and are given the option to share their writing with family, which provides an opportunity for oral recounting.
Lesson 6
Surprises
Students are asked to fill in the chart "Using Natural Resources" using information from Chapters 9 and 10, which requires them to gather facts from the text to support ideas. Students cut apart and order Abel's routines and then write a schedule for their own day, organizing events and explaining the order. In Activity 3 students select five items, then pull out each item and describe why they selected it and how they will use it, requiring oral explanation and reasoning.
Lesson 7
Threats
Students read Chapters 11–12 and answer guided comprehension/journal questions about Abel's feelings, actions, and how he adapts to threats, practicing recounting events from the text. Students discuss predator/prey relationships and are prompted to describe threats Abel faces and how he is adapting, and to list three adaptations for Abel and explain how each aids his survival. Students complete a chart ("Using Natural Resources") and play a vocabulary game that requires them to use words in sentences aloud, providing opportunities to speak content from the text.
Lesson 8
The Dead of Winter
Students are asked to "use oral and written language to report on a topic" in the Skills section and to fill in the "Using Natural Resources" chart and answer the Hibernation student-page questions in complete sentences, which requires organizing information from Chapters 13 and 14. The Hibernation Experiment asks students to record resting and after-exercise pulse, breaths, and temperature in a table and answer comparative questions, prompting them to describe and explain findings. The lesson repeatedly prompts discussion and encourages the child to research and discuss hibernation, which requires speaking about the topic and citing facts from the text.
Lesson 9
The Newcomer
Students are asked to prepare a script to re-enact a scene (Activity 3) that includes lines, stage directions, a set description, and three props, and to reread pages 93–96 to discuss action and dialogue. The Skills statement directs students to use oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner. Students are prompted to describe the major event from prior reading and to complete a chart "Using Natural Resources" and a Venn diagram comparing Gower and Abel, which require recounting events and organizing information from Chapters 15 and 16.
Lesson 10
Escape
Students are prompted to discuss whether Abel will get home and to explain how the island changed him (Activity 3), describing Abel before and after and explaining what caused the change. The wrapping up asks students to describe a situation in their own life that caused change and to explain how and why it changed them, which requires recounting an experience and providing supporting details. Several prompts (predicting Abel's event, discussing name meaning, and comparing old/new Abel) require students to speak about the text and their ideas aloud.
Lesson 11
Home at Last
Students answer specific comprehension questions about Chapters 19 and 20 (e.g., how Abel got off the island, what he discovered, what he said), which requires them to recount events. Students are asked to write an alternate ending in a journal, describing a new way Abel could have left the island, which asks them to organize a story and include realistic details. Students complete a Theme Bubble Map where they identify a main theme and cite evidence from the text to support that theme, practicing organization of main ideas and supporting details.
Final Project
Your Own Deserted Island
Students plan and produce organized products: they write a descriptive paragraph about the island, list items and resources, compose a letter recounting feelings, and create a numbered step-by-step escape plan. The rubric asks whether the escape steps are in logical order and whether the paragraphs include descriptive vocabulary, adjectives, and adverbs. The skills list explicitly includes using oral language to recount or narrate and sharing a written and an oral project.
Unit 2: Pedro's Journal
Lesson 1
Exploring with Columbus
Students are asked to read the Author's Note aloud and discuss the genre of historical fiction, prompting oral explanation of ideas. Students organize findings about Columbus using the "Columbus, The Man" activity sheet (positive/negative characteristics) and the "Historical Fiction" bubble map, listing factual and fictional elements and deciding if the book is more fact or fiction. Students trace Columbus' route on a map and record dates and important events, and they respond verbally to wrap-up prompts about what they learned and whether their opinions changed.
Lesson 2
August
Students are asked to answer questions about Pedro's journal in a written journal and to use a six-column chart titled "The Journey" to record geographic location, attitudes, and important events for each month, which requires organizing information from the text. Students are prompted to discuss selected questions and describe their feelings about the ocean, providing opportunities to speak about the text and experiences. Students choose a writing prompt to recount a personal ocean experience or to list ten factual ocean facts and then write a descriptive paragraph, which requires using facts and descriptive details to support ideas. The skills list explicitly includes "Use oral or written language to recount or narrate."
Lesson 3
September
Students are asked to describe orally how Pedro's journey began and to summarize what happened to Columbus and the crew in September, which requires recounting events. Students answer specific comprehension questions in their journals (e.g., signs of land, the meteor sighting, why men mistrust Columbus), providing opportunities to use facts and descriptive details. Students fill out a "The Journey" sheet and write journal responses and a short paragraph using vocabulary words, and they are asked to make up and (optionally) share their own myth or omen about a meteor.
Lesson 4
October
Students practice reading aloud lines with quotation marks and using "voices" (voice inflections), which provides direct speaking practice. Students answer guided comprehension and journal questions and are prompted to draw and write journal entries about the island and their reactions, which requires recounting experiences and noting details. Students complete a bubble-map organizer to record words or phrases describing the native people and the white men, which supports organizing information for a report. The wrap-up prompts ask students to explain the rules of quotation marks and describe how the book portrays the native people, eliciting short oral or written explanations.
Lesson 5
Journal Writing
Students are prompted to select an important recent event and answer guided questions about how it changed them, their feelings, and what someone could learn from it. Students complete a Pre-Writing organizer where they list ten facts about the event, three feelings, and possible quotes, which structures content and details. Students write a journal entry using the organizer, include the date, and are asked to read their entry and determine whether they communicated the importance of the event and their observations.
Lesson 6
November
Students are asked to explain the interactions among the crew and the natives and to answer specific journal/discussion questions about Pedro's journal entries, which requires them to recount events and give reasons. Students complete the "Surviving Life at Sea, Surviving Life on Land" organizer and the prompt "I would rather be ___ because ___," requiring them to state preferences and justify them. The wrapping-up prompts ask students to state what Pedro is learning about the natives and Columbus, prompting oral or written summary of main ideas.
Lesson 7
December
Students are prompted to answer three or four questions in a journal and to use other questions in a discussion about the novel, including describing the sailors' encounter and what Pedro did on Christmas Eve. The Skills section explicitly asks students to answer relevant questions and make contributions in small or large group discussions. Students are also asked to explain differences between expected and actual treasures and to respond to prompts (predicting what might happen to Pedro), which require verbal explanation or discussion.
Lesson 8
The Island of the Skog
The lesson asks the child to read The Island of the Skog aloud and to read the anthem aloud, providing practice in oral delivery. The discussion questions (Q1–Q7) require students to recount events, compare the story to Pedro's Journal, and reference the text, which prompts use of facts and supporting details. Activity 1 (graphic organizer) and the Skills statement ask students to use planning strategies to generate topics, organize ideas, and identify/support similarities and differences by referencing the text.
Lesson 9
January
Students read Pedro's journal entry and answer comprehension and discussion questions that require recounting events and describing characters (Questions 1–5). Students fill in a "The Journey" page, organizing details about the voyage. Students write a multi-line dialogue between Pedro and Columbus using descriptive verbs instead of only "said," practicing narrative recounting and correct punctuation. Students discuss the manatee ecosystem and threats and are asked to find pictures and list alternative dialogue words, engaging with factual details and descriptive language.
Lesson 10
February
Students are asked to pretend to be Pedro and write a firsthand report recounting the voyage, including how the crew survived, the discoveries they made, and what it was like to sail with Columbus. Students are instructed to look back at the information recorded on the "The Journey" pages to include appropriate facts and descriptive details. Students are directed to deliver the report to an audience (family), and the Skills section explicitly lists "Use oral or written language to recount or narrate" and "Share written and oral products in a variety of ways."
Final Project
Story Blocks
Students create eight themed "story cubes" (setting, characters, vocabulary, survival, similes, quotes, historical fiction, exploration) that require them to record facts, descriptive details, and textual evidence. Skills listed include using oral or written language to recount or narrate and using planning strategies (with assistance) to generate topics and organize ideas. The wrapping-up activity asks students to discuss the story by placing each block on a tower and explaining the information on the block, which prompts an organized recounting of the text.
Unit 3: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Lesson 1
Sickness
Students are prompted to answer three or four comprehension questions in a journal and to use the remaining questions in a discussion, which requires them to recount events and explain characters and environment. Students complete a Plot Flowchart by recording a major event for each chapter, organizing the sequence of events across chapters. In the Fantasy Genre activity students record elements (events, characters, descriptions) from a favorite fantasy novel on an activity sheet, providing opportunities to support ideas with descriptive details.
Lesson 2
Spring is Coming
Students record an event from each chapter on a Plot Flowchart, which requires them to organize and recount parts of the text. Students describe the setting, illustrate it, and explain how the survival of characters is threatened, prompting use of relevant descriptive details. Students conduct research about rats and mice and compare them in a Venn diagram or a self-developed format, which requires gathering and using factual information to support comparisons. The lesson includes discussion prompts and wrap-up questions that ask students to describe the setting and explain whether they would rather be a mouse or a rat, providing opportunities to report ideas verbally.
Lesson 3
A Visit to an Owl
Students answer guided reading and discussion questions about the chapters (e.g., what Jeremy told Mrs. Frisby, the owl's description, and why Mrs. Frisby was afraid). Students complete a Plot Flowchart by filling in an event from the chapters, which requires them to identify and sequence plot events. Students are asked at the end to describe what happened in the reading and to give two examples of homophones, using each in a sentence.
Lesson 4
Rats in the Rosebush
Students read specified chapters and answer three or four journal questions that require them to cite events and facts from the text. Students fill in a Plot Flowchart to organize sequence and main ideas and complete a bubble map listing five ways Mrs. Frisby showed bravery, using descriptive details from the story. Students are prompted to discuss remaining questions and to describe threats to Timothy and a time when they were brave, which requires recounting experiences and text events orally.
Lesson 5
Meeting the Rats
Students are asked to describe important events from the chapters on a Plot Flowchart, which requires them to recount and sequence events from the text. Students answer journal questions and participate in discussions about characters and events (e.g., describing Brutus and Nicodemus, explaining how the rats responded), offering opportunities to report on the text. Students complete the "Beyond Needs" page by listing examples and discussing how machines and inventions make life easier, which asks them to provide facts and examples to support ideas. Wrapping Up and Life Application prompts ask students to describe discoveries and identify examples, prompting oral description and discussion.
Lesson 6
A Plan for Mrs. Frisby
Students respond to guided journal questions about characters, events, and motivations from the chapters, requiring them to report facts from the text (e.g., who Isabella is, where the rats want to move the house, and why). Students complete a Plot Flowchart in which they describe important events from both chapters, which supports organizing a recount of the text. The lesson prompts discussion questions and asks the child to "describe the rats' plan" and participate in discussion, which creates opportunities for oral reporting.
Lesson 7
The Capture
Students are asked to describe important events on a Plot Flowchart and to write a summary in their journal of Nicodemus' story, which requires organizing main ideas and supporting details. The Reading and Questions section directs students to answer specific text-based questions (including one that asks for evidence) and to discuss remaining questions, prompting oral explanation. The Wrapping Up prompts ask the child to explain how the rats were captured and to discuss why scientists would want rats, requiring students to recount events and give reasons.
Lesson 8
Life at NIMH
Students are asked to answer comprehension questions in a journal and discuss those answers, including recounting events such as Justin's escape and how the rats were taught to read. Students complete a Plot Flowchart by describing an important event from the chapters, which requires organizing key events in sequence. The Wrap-Up asks students to describe what life was like for the rats and to explain whether the scientists were doing a good or bad thing, prompting students to recount and justify an opinion orally or in discussion.
Lesson 9
The Escape
Students read the chapters "The Air Ducts" and "The Boniface Estate" and answer comprehension questions in a journal that prompt them to recount plot events and factual details (e.g., reasons for delaying escape, tools used, and discoveries). Students are asked to record an important event from each chapter on a Plot Flowchart and to describe aloud how the mice were able to escape and what they did at Boniface Estates during guided discussions. Students participate in a simulation (following yarn blindfolded) and then describe how it felt, connecting personal experience to the text in spoken discussion.
Lesson 10
Amazing Rats
Students are asked to record an important event from each chapter on a Plot Flowchart, which requires them to organize events in sequence. The lesson directs students to answer journal questions and to discuss other questions aloud, prompting them to recount the rats' plan and describe the Main Hall. Activity 4 asks students to write a paragraph supporting an opinion with linking words and a concluding sentence, which practices using facts and descriptive details to support main ideas.
Lesson 11
The Plan
Students are asked to write a speech that states an opinion and includes three reasons, transitional phrases, and a conclusion (Activity 3), which requires organizing ideas and supporting them with reasons. Students answer directed comprehension questions and record events on a Plot Flowchart, which has them recount chapter events in sequence. Students create a pop-up and accompany it with a paragraph or write a poem/song describing a chosen place, which asks them to include descriptive details to explain why the place is ideal.
Lesson 12
Working in the Night
Students are prompted to summarize what they learned from the chapters and to answer guided discussion and journal questions about events and characters. Students fill in an event on a Plot Flowchart, which asks them to organize story events sequentially. The wrapping-up prompts ask students to describe when to use a comma before a conjunction and to discuss ways the rats were inventive, using examples from the text.
Lesson 13
A New Home
Students complete a Plot Flowchart and a Plot Diagram (including labeling rising action, climax, falling action, problem, and solution), which requires them to organize events from the text. Students answer guided discussion and journal questions about specific events and characters (e.g., why Nicodemus wanted Mrs. Frisby at the meeting, how the rats escaped), prompting them to recount parts of the story. Students compare the book with movies and are asked to tell and describe their favorite part and character, which invites verbal recounting and discussion.
Final Project
The Next Chapter or Book Float
Students plan and write an additional chapter by listing four major events, drafting character descriptions and setting details, and composing dialogue (Outlining the Chapter; Part 4: Writing the Chapter). The rubric asks students to use Thorn Valley's description, keep events focused on survival and inventiveness, and organize events so they flow, which requires using relevant facts and descriptive details to support themes. Students share their work orally by reading the chapter aloud for feedback, and Option 2 has students prepare and present a parade float and choose a song to accompany the presentation.