Fourth Grade - ELA
1: Interdependence
Unit 1: Little House in the Big Woods
Lesson 1
Introducing the Story
The lesson defines domain-related terms ("historical fiction" and "setting") and asks students to define the word setting themselves. Students research Wisconsin and record examples of plants and animals on a chart, which requires identifying domain-specific terms (vegetation, species names). The skills section asks students to "use oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner," implying practice in presenting topic information.
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 word cards, sort them, and locate definitions in a dictionary. Students practice word analysis by circling suffixes/underlining roots and then fill in a cloze story using the vocabulary words in context. Students complete organizer pages (Natural Resources and Survival; Life in the Big Woods vs. Life Today) that require them to describe how specific resources were used, which asks them to record information using subject-related terms.
Lesson 3
Winter Days and Winter Nights
Students write specific chores and responsibilities (cooking, churning butter, hunting, fishing, cleaning dishes, making the bed) next to character names on the Chores and Family Roles charts, using the list of tasks provided. Students identify author word choices (verbs like "screamed" and "leaped") when answering how the author made the panther story exciting. Students compare and describe Laura's log cabin and their own homes, which requires reference to domain-related terms (e.g., log cabin, homestead) when listing similarities and differences.
Lesson 4
The Long Rifle
Students are asked to retell Pa's story aloud and to share an oral project through presentation, which gives opportunities to explain events and convey information. The activities instruct students to discuss and record differences between life in the Big Woods and life today, prompting explanatory writing or speaking about a topic. The lesson tells students to use vivid details and "exciting language" and to adapt speech to audience, purpose, and occasion, which encourages selecting clearer or more precise words when telling or explaining a story.
Lesson 6
Sundays and Two Big Bears
Students are asked to conduct bear research and record factual information in a paw-print organizer with labeled categories such as "Bear Habitats," "Types of Bears," "Bear Foods," and "Exact enemies," and to answer "Why do bears hibernate?" An example acrostic poem and notes include domain terms (e.g., "Brown bears," "Animalia kingdom," and a note about hibernation), and web links direct students to factual bear resources for research. Students are prompted to record facts from those sources and to write an acrostic and a five-senses poem related to the topic.
Lesson 7
The Sugar Snow
Students cut apart and complete a Vocabulary Mini-Book where they write a sentence from the book, record the dictionary definition, and create a new sentence for each domain-specific word (ladle, sumac, sap-related terms, etc.). Students practice using word reference materials: an explicit prompt shows the teacher demonstrating dictionary pronunciation and instructs students to use the dictionary to find pronunciations and meanings. Students sequence and record the steps of maple sugar production (Option 2) and write a recipe card with step-by-step directions, which require them to use precise procedural language and vocabulary related to maple sugar farming.
Lesson 8
Dance at Grandpa's
Students learn and use domain-specific vocabulary for dance and music: the Student Activity Page names and illustrates moves such as Circle Left, Do-si-do, Promenade, Right Arm Turn, and Left Arm Turn. Activity 4 introduces musical terms (verse, chorus) and asks students to decide on song mood and instruments, and Option 2 asks students to create and label a graph (title, labels) categorizing music genres. Question 1 asks students to draw and diagram Grandma's house based on textual description, which practices using descriptive vocabulary tied to the topic.
Lesson 9
Going to Town
Students are asked to generate five adjectives for each character (Activity 3), which gives practice in choosing descriptive words. Students compare historical shopping lists that include specific items (fabric, tobacco, galluses), exposing them to some domain-related terms. Students are asked to research Pepin, Wisconsin and write about a historic place and why it is important, which requires informative writing about a topic.
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 "describe the four seasons in the woods using vivid and descriptive words," which requires noticing and using descriptive language. Activity 3 directs students to read about bees online and "explore how bees use nectar from flowers and how they help pollinate flowers," and offers an option where students "write a paragraph that describes the interdependence between bees and flowers" and label important parts of an illustration. Students also are prompted to "label the important parts of the picture" when illustrating the bees-and-flowers interdependence, which asks them to attach words to domain-relevant elements.
Lesson 11
Finishing the Book
Students are asked to revise writing by clarifying ideas, adding descriptive words and phrases, and strengthening word choice. The rubric and editing steps direct students to improve creativity and the "use of interesting words and imagery," and to look up words in a dictionary when unsure of spelling. The writing organizer and tasks require students to produce focused paragraphs about specific topics (e.g., environment and family's dependence on it), which prompts word choice related to those topics.
Final Project
Pioneer Family Night
Students are asked to "explain how the pioneers were dependent on natural resources," to "explain the significance of music and dance to pioneers," and to "describe the significance of storytelling in Laura's family," which require them to convey information about the topic. Student activity pages prompt students to write notes and explanations for the cooking, craft, reading, music, and storytelling activities and to practice reading aloud and explaining favorite sections.
Unit 2: The Sign of the Beaver
Lesson 1
Background Information
Students are asked to research and record specific information in labeled sections such as "Plants," "Animals," "Habitats," and "Native American tribes that lived in the state," which requires naming domain-specific items. Students must fill in climate and average temperatures, list landforms and bodies of water, and create ten factual clue-statements about Maine, all of which invite use of precise geographic and ecological terms. Students also write a paragraph comparing perspectives (settler vs. Native American) and may compose a poem describing resource use on a homestead, tasks that require selecting words to explain ideas about environment and history.
Lesson 2
Alone
Students are directed to create vocabulary webs for words from the text, look up each word in a dictionary, identify part of speech, definition, synonyms/antonyms, root words, and write a sentence using the word. The Skills section explicitly teaches use of word reference materials to confirm decoding, verify spelling, and extend meanings. Activity pages require students to analyze words (notch, neglected, bellowing, abruptly, treaty, snare, contemptuous, savage) in context and record grammatical and morphological information.
Lesson 3
A Stranger
Students are asked in Activity 2 to write five sentences about characters, events, and settings that include a preposition and to mark subjects and predicates, which practices choosing words that show relationships. Activity 3 prompts students to describe natural remedies for specific conditions (bee stings, snake bite, poison ivy, sunburn) and to research ingredients found in the environment, which can require naming plants or substances. The Facts and Definitions section defines "natural remedies," giving students a basic domain-related term to use.
Lesson 5
A Story
The lesson's Skills section directs students to "Summarize main ideas from written or spoken texts using succinct language," which asks students to practice concise informational writing. The "A Desert Island" activity asks students to "Describe the natural resources you would use," requiring students to name and explain resources. The journal prompts in the Past and Present activity require students to explain perspectives and write about how people see the same story differently, which involves choosing words to inform and explain ideas.
Lesson 6
The Beaver
Students are directed to complete a "Beaver Research" page that includes labeled sections such as Habitat, Food, Adaptations, Predators, and a prompt asking "Why do beavers use trees to make dams?" Students are told to use the internet or books to research and "record the information on the page as you find it." The activities ask students to discuss how and why beavers use natural resources and what people could learn from beavers and indigenous markings.
Lesson 7
Real Life Learning
Students are asked to write definitions for specific vocabulary words (chagrined, placid, distress, grave, suspicion, kindling) on the "Vocabulary Memory Game" page and to create a symbol to help remember each word. Students must cut the cards apart and play a memory game in which, when a player gets a match, she must use the word in a sentence. The skills list explicitly includes "Increase vocabulary through word study," and Activity 3 asks students to write rules and illustrate them in a "Rules of the Forest" book, requiring students to compose explanatory statements about survival.
Lesson 9
Attean's Past
The lesson defines the term "stereotype" and asks students to answer specific questions and write responses on the Student Activity Page about how characters break stereotypes. Students are asked to write in a journal to describe and illustrate a new method for keeping track of time and to fill in character timelines, which require explanatory writing about the topic. The activities require students to explain examples (e.g., how most white people viewed Indians, how Matt broke the stereotype), prompting use of the vocabulary term "stereotype."
Lesson 13
The Return
Students write brief explanatory responses in a journal recommending the novel and explaining why or why not. Students complete labeled "Story Elements" pages using domain-specific literary terms (setting, theme, characters, problem, resolution). Students describe how Matt solved problems using natural resources on the "Solving Problems" activity, requiring them to explain cause/effect and solutions with subject-specific terms (e.g., snares, moccasins, firewood).
Final Project
The Sign of the Beaver Movie
The lesson's Skills list explicitly tells students to clarify ideas, add descriptive words and phrases, sequence events and strengthen word choice, which directs students to use more precise language during revision. The Movie Synopsis activity asks students to write a short descriptive synopsis and includes a rubric item asking whether they used "exciting, dramatic language" and whether the synopsis accurately describes setting and main characters, prompting targeted word choice and accurate description. The revision/conference step instructs students to make corrections and improve their rough draft, providing practice in selecting clearer wording.
Unit 3: Native American Animal Stories
Lesson 1
Myths, Legends, and Folktales
Students are asked to record explicit definitions of the domain-specific terms 'legends,' 'folktales,' and 'myths' in a journal. Students use an "Elements of Culture" chart with labeled columns (Transportation, Housing, Food, Religion, Stories, Customs, etc.) to identify and record cultural terms from texts. Students retell stories and discuss cultural elements and reasons why particular story parts are interesting, which requires using those story-related vocabulary items in oral responses.
Lesson 2
People and Animal Stories
Students are asked to record cultural elements in labeled charts (e.g., Transportation, Housing, Food, Clothing, Language, Values and Beliefs, Institutions, Social Organizations), which requires naming and describing cultural concepts. Students must research and record the geographical locations of tribes on a map and complete journal entries and story maps that explain characters, problems, resolutions, and the animals' importance. Several writing tasks (journal entries, 'Lessons from Animals', 'An Animal Tale') ask students to explain topics and describe what people learned from animals.
Lesson 3
The Natural World
The lesson defines the domain-specific terms adaptation and camouflage and models a scientific explanation that uses those terms. In Activity 6 students read the scientific explanation, compare it to the myth, and are asked to list three camouflaged animals and describe how camouflage helps them survive. The Relative Pronouns and answer-key sentences include examples that use specific nouns (sunlight, pollen, pine needles) which shows domain vocabulary appearing in written exercises.
Lesson 4
Survival Stories
Students are asked to "use written language to report information on a topic" and to answer comprehension questions about animals (e.g., whale, buffalo, alligator) and their roles. Students complete an "Elements of Culture" chart with labeled columns (food, tools, transport, language, clothing) and fill an "Ecosystems" page drawing animals and writing sentences describing each animal's role. Students also write sentences about why Native Americans hunted, where people get food, and may list how Native Americans depended on specific animals (bison, seal, caribou).
Lesson 5
Legends from Other Cultures
Students practice vocabulary skills by recording and recognizing synonyms and antonyms in the Grammar Practice activity and matching word pairs. Students write summaries and answer journal questions about the stories (e.g., summarizing the Brazilian tale, answering comprehension questions), and they complete an Elements of Culture chart and a double-bubble comparison map to explain cultural and story details. The Pan Gu activity asks students to label and illustrate what story elements become, which requires naming specific story elements (breath → wind, voice → thunder, etc.).
Final Project
My Own Myth
Students are instructed to read about their chosen natural occurrence online or in an encyclopedia to learn more, which exposes them to content knowledge and potential domain vocabulary. The rough-draft rubric's Content category explicitly checks for the "use of interesting words," prompting students to consider word choice. The Organizing the Myth activity asks students to describe the "Natural Phenomenon," which requires them to record and explain topic-related details.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Ben and Me
Lesson 2
Setting the Record Straight
Students are asked to locate ten unfamiliar words from the first eight chapters, copy a sentence from the book that contains each word, write the definition, and create a new sentence using the word (Finding Vocabulary Words activity). Option 2 asks students to write new sentences that could fit the book's context (about Amos, Ben, Philadelphia, inventions), encouraging contextualized use of vocabulary. In the Something New activity, students must describe the function of their invented items, which requires them to choose words to explain how their inventions work.
Lesson 3
Swimming
Students copy sentences that describe the hat and circle the adjectives that describe it, then label the different parts and draw the hat inside and out to practice descriptive labeling. Students list modern swimming inventions (motor boats, water skis, flippers, snorkels, tubes) and design a new invention that would require less work in the water, drawing or building a model. Students write a descriptive advertisement paragraph or a commercial script for their invention and examine magazine ads to discuss and choose the types of words and phrases used in persuasive/descriptive language.
Lesson 5
Electrifying
Students read chapters and answer guided questions that reference electrical phenomena (e.g., "If lightning and electricity were the same thing," descriptions of lightning, and descriptions of being "shocked by the lightning"). The facts and experiment pages explicitly name domain-specific terms such as "electrical charge," "electrons," "negatively charged," "electrical discharge," "static electricity," and describe air pressure and gravity when discussing kites. Students are asked to describe what happened in the experiment and to answer "Why do you think this happened?," and to write a first-person account of flying the kite in their journals.
Lesson 6
War
Students are given a list of domain-specific vocabulary (parliament, manifesto, enlist, aristocrats, eloquence, etc.) and a Skills statement that instructs them to develop vocabulary through reading and to use dictionaries and other resources to build word meanings. In Activity 2 students place those vocabulary words into a paragraph about Benjamin Franklin and read the paragraph aloud, and Skills also direct students to confirm pronunciation. Students also write brief journal answers to chapter questions and record factual and fictional events and facts vs. opinions on activity pages.
Lesson 8
Amos's Account
Students are asked to revise drafts specifically to "refine word choices" and create vivid images, which requires attention to precise language. The writing rubric requires inclusion of vocabulary from the story and checks for use of descriptive language, prompting students to attend to word choice. Students are directed to list ten facts and to sequence events using transitional words, which encourages selecting clear, specific language for factual reporting and sequencing.
Lesson 9
The Rescue
Students are asked to characterize Ben and Amos by recording two or three words in labeled categories (dislikes, appearance, uses of power, likes, personality) and to decorate bags with "words and phrases" that represent each character. Students must choose a factual event and a fictional event and record them on a Fact and Fiction page, requiring selection of appropriate language. Students are asked to write a new verse for "Yankee Doodle" from Amos's account and to give a summary of the chapters, which require composing text that conveys ideas about the rescue.
Lesson 10
Back Home
The lesson includes a stated skill to "Increase vocabulary by studying author's craft," and Activity 2 asks students to locate maxims in context, provide interpretations, and write their own maxim, which requires choosing words to express ideas. Activity 3 (Elements of Historical Fiction) asks students to fill in examples under headings like Characters, Setting, Plot, Theme, and Descriptions, which uses domain-specific literary terms and asks students to record explanatory examples.
Final Project
An Interview or Party for Ben
Students write ten interview questions and answer them as Ben Franklin, with prompts that explicitly ask about electricity, inventions, his influence, and his role as a founding father. Students write two of Ben's maxims and explain why they are important. Students also plan and write a birthday card, explain a gift choice, compose directions for a game, and write a song describing how Ben used his knowledge and influence.
Unit 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lesson 1
The Professor's House
The lesson lists targeted vocabulary (inquisitive, enchanted, sledge, logic, distress, dominions, prophecy, fraternizing, superior, and reign) and directs students to look up definitions and record them on note cards (Activity 2). Skill statements tell students to 'increase reading and writing vocabulary through word study' and to 'use word reference materials (e.g., dictionary, glossary)' to verify spelling and extend meanings. Option 2 of Activity 3 asks students to brainstorm important details and write a short newspaper article about C.S. Lewis, which is an informative writing task where vocabulary could be applied.
Lesson 2
Edmund Discovers Narnia
Students are asked to create and label a map of the fantasy lands (Activity 1), which requires naming lands, bodies of water, and landforms and drawing a compass rose. Students write a paragraph describing how wonderful a food tastes or how the witch would persuade them (Activity 2), which involves choosing descriptive words and persuasive language. Students record examples of the struggle between good and evil for each chapter (Activity 3), which prompts them to select and note terms related to power, force, and moral conflict.
Lesson 4
The Lion
Students are asked to read a related lion myth or folktale and "record words and phrases that describe the lion in the story," which targets selection of descriptive language. Students must use a Venn diagram to compare the lion in the found story to Aslan, requiring them to note similarities and differences in characteristics. In Activity 3 students write a paragraph or song describing an animal character, answering prompts about human characteristics, goodness/evilness, and role, which asks them to choose words to convey specific traits.
Lesson 5
A Disappointment
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (ventured, schemes, treachery, forfeit, vile, perish, cinema) and explicit vocabulary activities. Students create a picture dictionary with written definitions and images and make a vocabulary cube that requires them to use each word orally and in writing. Students write descriptive phrases and sentences about the White Witch and other villains, and are instructed to use word reference materials to verify spelling and extend meanings.
Lesson 6
A Gift from Father Christmas
The instructions tell students to revise drafts to achieve precise word choices and vivid images, and to focus on verbs that show action and descriptive adjectives. The activity requires that the draft include at least three vocabulary words, and the rubric explicitly asks "Did you use three vocabulary words in your writing?" and assesses use of interesting/descriptive adjectives and action verbs. Students are asked to record ideas for three paragraphs and then edit for word choice, spelling, and grammar during revision and final copy steps.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked to write explanatory texts: a letter to a hero that gives examples of heroic deeds, a paragraph about a time they chose to do the right thing, and journal answers describing environmental changes and character traits. Students must design and present an award and explain why the person deserves it, requiring descriptive explanation. The skills list includes writing to develop and refine ideas and analyzing characters, and multiple activities prompt students to produce informative descriptions about people and events.
Unit 3: The BFG
Lesson 1
In the Middle of the Night
Students receive an explicit vocabulary list (lavatory, dormitory, hedges, patriotism, transfigured, tremendous, suspiciously, repulsive) and complete the "Vocabulary Giant" activity by matching words to definitions on the giant. Students are instructed to reread the sentence where a word is found in the novel and use context clues to determine meaning. In Activity 2 (option 2) students are asked to brainstorm a list of words related to nighttime and mystery before writing a song or poem.
Lesson 2
Snatched
Students are asked to copy the author's description of the giant's environment and to write their own description of a home for giants, which requires choosing descriptive words. Students are directed to locate information about London and record facts under labels such as "Location," "Language," "People," and "Buildings," which prompts use of topic-related vocabulary. The skills list includes using text to locate information for specific purposes and responding in writing, implying practice with choosing words to convey information.
Lesson 3
The BFG
Students are taught grammatical terms such as linking verbs and helping verbs and are given rules for subject-verb agreement in the 'Giant Talk' activity. They rewrite sentences to correct subject/verb agreement and choose correct helping verbs, demonstrating practice with precise verb forms. In 'Quotable Quotes' students record exact words from the text and are instructed that quotes are the exact words set off by quotation marks.
Lesson 5
Time with the BFG
Students are given a clear definition of carbonation and an explanation that carbonation occurs when carbon dioxide is dissolved in a liquid, using terms such as "carbonation," "carbon dioxide," "gas bubbles," and "fizz." The recipe activity asks students to follow measurements and make frobscottle, and a journal question explicitly asks how the frobscottle tasted and what pressure effect the drink causes, prompting use of related vocabulary. The activity comparing the BFG and the Bloodbottler asks students to describe "power" and differences in behavior, which can encourage use of specific descriptors.
Lesson 6
Catching People and Dreams
The "Interpreting the BFG" activity asks students to substitute correct words where the giant uses the wrong word and to correct grammar, giving explicit practice in choosing accurate words and phrasing. The Life Application asks students to invent alternative words and keep a list, then use them in context to see if others understand, which focuses attention on word choice. Activity 3 requires students to write a description of how a new giant catches human beans, prompting them to use descriptive language to explain a process.
Lesson 7
A Nightmare for Fleshlumpeater
Students sort a provided word list into "tangible" and "intangible" columns and are asked to select three intangibles and think of a tangible example that would demonstrate each one, practicing use and explanation of vocabulary. Students read and record quotable lines from Sophie and the BFG and read labels on dream jars, exposing them to specific words and phrases they can use. Students answer journal questions that ask them to describe characters, compare stories, and explain opinions (e.g., whether the BFG's action was right), requiring written explanation of ideas.
Lesson 8
A Dreamy Plan
Students receive focused vocabulary instruction with a list of target words (e.g., aghast, dexterity, ingenuity) and activities to determine meanings using dictionaries and glossaries. They practice matching words to definitions, filling words into a cloze paragraph, and cutting/pasting pairs into their journals. An advanced writing option requires students to write a paragraph that must use the specified vocabulary words, and the Queen/President activity prompts students to write comparative explanatory responses.
Lesson 9
The Palace
Students are asked in Activity 2 to write a plan for how the BFG and Sophie could save children in a specific U.S. city and to find information about buildings, important places, and people that can be included in the plan. The skills list includes generating and recording ideas for writing and writing for different purposes and audiences, and the Quotable Quotes activity has students identify character language. The Life Application and Cause and Effect activities ask students to record decisions and outcomes, which requires selecting language to describe events.
Lesson 10
A Breakfast Fit for a Queen
Students are asked to brainstorm and select five adjectives to characterize the queen and to support each adjective with at least one example from the text, which asks them to choose precise descriptive words and justify them with evidence. The Hosting a Giant activity requires students to use the ratio concept (1:4) and perform measurements and capacity calculations, exposing them to and asking them to apply domain-specific math vocabulary (ratio, capacity). The skills list and journal prompts ask students to demonstrate learning through written reports and journal answers, which creates opportunities to use specific language in explanatory writing.
Lesson 11
Fighting Giants
Students read and answer questions that name and describe branches of the armed forces (e.g., "The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are branches of the armed forces"). In Activity 2 students research the U.S. armed forces, label four papers Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines, and take notes about the power and roles of each branch. Activity 3 asks students to label countries and landforms on maps, which requires use of map-related vocabulary and labels.
Lesson 12
Snozzcumbers
Students answer journal questions about specific chapters and record events, quotes, and characters' actions to support themes, requiring them to describe and explain story elements. Students write five interview questions about Roald Dahl, which asks them to pose focused, informational queries. In the "Directing the BFG" activity, students choose actors and explain reasons for casting choices, asking them to provide explanatory language; a brief definition notes that a director "casts the actors."
Final Project
Recipe for a Dream or Newspaper Report
Students are instructed in the "A Dream in a Jar" activity to "use at least three vocabulary words from a provided list," and the rubric explicitly evaluates "Use of vocabulary words." In the "London Times" option students are told to use formal English (avoid slang and contractions) and to read current event articles to sense the tone, and the rubric requires inclusion of at least three of the giant's quotes and correct language conventions.
3: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Stories from Africa and Asia
Lesson 1
Meerkats in Botswana
Students are asked to write a descriptive paragraph or a short story that must include at least five facts about the meerkat, and they complete a research graphic organizer about Botswana (land, language, animals, people). The activities ask students to locate Botswana and label Gaborone and the Kalahari Desert, and to discuss meerkat adaptations using terms such as dark stomach, dark circles around the eyes, tail, claws, closable ears, and camouflage. Students are directed to use Smithsonian and National Geographic Kids resources for scientific information about meerkats.
Lesson 2
Meeting Precious
Students complete targeted vocabulary work: the lesson lists nine challenging words and has students match words to definitions in a crossword, or create their own crossword with definitions. Students gather and record factual information about ostriches, cobras, and meerkats by listing five facts for each animal and by filling a chart with categories like Diet, Predators, Defense, Habitat, and Special Characteristics. The Skills section explicitly names "Extend vocabulary through word study," indicating students practice word meanings and usage.
Lesson 3
The Surprise
Activity 3 asks students to pretend to be a zoologist, find names of a variety of African animals, choose one to research, and write a paragraph describing why they would study that animal, with an option to illustrate or model it. The Facts and Definitions section defines 'zoologists,' and Question #3 asks students to identify scientifically accurate information about meerkats, prompting attention to animal-specific facts. The Editing activity has students correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, which supports clearer written expression.
Lesson 4
A Missing Cow
The lesson defines "story conflict" and explicitly lists types (man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self) in the Facts and Definitions section. Activity 2 asks students to identify which type of conflict is in the book and to think of man vs. nature conflicts for several natural settings on the Story Conflict student page. The questions and activities prompt students to use the term "man vs. nature" when describing conflicts and to write brief explanations of conflict scenarios for each pictured setting.
Lesson 5
A Good Idea
Students read information from the African Wildlife Foundation website and are asked to pick an animal and write about it (Activity 4). Students must write a few descriptive sentences on a poster or a short story that include at least three adjectives and two adverbs (Activity 4, Options 1 & 2). Students practice choosing precise descriptive words through the adverbs/adjectives activity where they generate verbs and adverbs and combine nouns and adjectives into sentences (Activity 3).
Lesson 6
African Bush Diorama
The Book Report Rubric includes the item 'Do you use interesting adjectives and adverbs?', which prompts students to select descriptive, precise words. The editing step instructs students to read their draft, confer about writing, and make changes to improve content and grammar, supporting revision of word choice. The skills list includes 'Use oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner,' which supports deliberate language selection in writing.
Lesson 7
Japan
Students are asked to locate and label specific geographic and historical terms on a Map of Japan (Hiroshima, Sea of Japan, Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Pacific Ocean, etc.), which requires use of domain-specific vocabulary. Students read and answer questions that use specific historical terms such as "Pearl Harbor," "atomic bomb," and "Hiroshima," and they are asked to explain why Japan and America were at war and why the atomic bomb was deadly. Students are instructed to use written language to report information and to create products (a travel poster, acrostic poem, and Venn diagram) that would require naming cultural and geographic elements of Japan.
Lesson 8
Peace Day
Students are given a list of domain-specific Japanese words (kimono, tatami, oba chan, furoshiki, O Bon, kokeshi) and asked to learn their meanings. In Activity 1 students make a picture dictionary: they find definitions, record the sentence from the book containing each word, illustrate each term, alphabetize the pages, and staple them into a small book. The Skills section instructs students to use word reference materials (dictionary, glossary) to confirm decoding, verify spelling, and extend word meanings. Several student activity pages provide spaces for students to write definitions and sentences for each target word.
Lesson 9
The Secret is Out
The lesson includes a skills goal to "Develop vocabulary through reading" and provides domain-specific definitions (e.g., "Cancer is a disease...", "Leukemia is a cancer of the blood"). Activity 4 asks students to read about cancer prevention online, discuss treatments (medication, radiation, chemotherapy), and make a list of ways their family could live healthier. Several tasks require students to record information or write (journal responses to questions, a Venn diagram comparing lives, and an option to "write a paragraph" about a special ability).
Lesson 10
Kenji
Students are asked to write a get-well card and are prompted to review the form for letter writing (greeting, date, first person, closing, signature), draft and edit their card, and include Japanese cultural elements. The lesson's skills list explicitly says students will compose a variety of written products, including letters, and identify purpose, audience, and appropriate form for a written task. Activities ask students to summarize events and reflect on Sadako's situation, which requires selecting words to convey ideas in their writing.
Lesson 11
O Bon
Students read chapters that name and describe cultural terms (O Bon, kimono, lanterns, bean cakes, rice balls) and answer comprehension questions about those elements. Students record information on a "Japanese Cultural Elements" chart and choose to write journal entries or songs that require describing how ancestors are remembered in Japan and America. The activities require students to use vocabulary related to culture and celebration when comparing traditions and describing foods and rituals.
Unit 2: Holes
Lesson 1
Texas and Desert Biomes
Students practice vocabulary by cutting out listed words (wasteland, juvenile, systematic, excess, precipice, preposterous, venom), writing synonyms or antonyms for each, and using each word orally in a sentence. The lesson defines the term "biome" and asks students to record names of animals and plants indigenous to deserts and to write a paragraph describing geographic location, rainfall, and adaptations. The skills list also requires students to use oral and written language to report information and to compile notes into outlines, reports, or summaries.
Lesson 2
Camp Green Lake
Students match and define a list of legal terms in the "Legal Terms" activity and are given the legal vocabulary in the Facts and Definitions section, with an instruction to look words up in a dictionary if unfamiliar. Students complete informational writing tasks such as the "An Inventor" page where they name an invention, describe how it solves a problem, list materials, outline steps, draw and label parts, and explain how it will change lives. The skills section explicitly states increasing reading and writing vocabulary through word study and reading, which connects vocabulary work to writing tasks.
Lesson 3
Digging
Students identify and label domain-specific vocabulary for soil layers (topsoil, subsoil, weathered material, bedrock) using the provided keywords list. Students cut out, order, and glue illustrated soil layers and match each layer to its written definition, and Option 2 asks them to draw and label the layers themselves. The activity includes an answer key for review and prompts students to examine dirt they dig up and discuss observations using layer concepts.
Lesson 4
Caveman
Students are given a clear definition of the term "fossil" and are prompted to discuss what archaeologists can learn from fossils and rocks, introducing domain-specific vocabulary (fossil, archaeologists, impressions, geologic). Students are asked to record the author's description of the yellow-spotted lizard and illustrate it, requiring attention to precise descriptive language (imagery). Students create a model fossil and follow procedural directions that use content-related words (imprint, dough, impressions), and they write journal responses about the characters and their futures.
Lesson 5
KB
Students are asked to rewrite sentences with elaborated subjects and to create elaborated sentences (including correct adjective order), which requires choosing more precise descriptive language. Students are given definitions of verbal and situational irony and are asked to identify, explain, and create ironic sentences, using the domain-specific vocabulary "verbal irony" and "situational irony." Students practice grammatical precision through the "Playing with Possessives" activity by forming correct possessive nouns and writing possessive statements.
Lesson 7
Zero
Students are asked to write a paragraph or a letter describing their experiences and occupation in the Old West, which requires them to inform about a historical topic in writing. The lesson prompts discussion of specific Old West roles and terms (ranchers, farmers, merchants, miners, pioneers, outlaws), exposing students to domain-specific vocabulary. Students record information about characters and compare Green Lake past and present, tasks that involve explaining and describing content.
Lesson 8
Sam the Onion Man
Students are asked to write an explanatory speech or poem about racism or racial equality (Activity 1), which requires them to explain a topic and could use topic vocabulary. The Facts and Definitions section explicitly defines "discrimination" and the Activities teach and ask students to use grammar terms such as "sentence fragment," "run-on sentence," "subject," "predicate," and "FANBOYS." The student pages ask students to correct run-ons and fragments and to rewrite a paragraph, giving practice with grammatical precision.
Lesson 10
The Mary Lou
Students practice identifying and explaining similes and metaphors on the 'Simile or Metaphor' activity page, determining what is being compared and describing the meaning of each figure of speech. Students complete a prefixes-and-suffixes table and fill-in-the-blank exercise where they add affixes to roots to create words that fit sentence contexts. Students answer three chapter questions in a journal and are asked to describe events from the chapters, and Option 2 asks students to write a poem or song containing similes and a metaphor and then identify them in writing.
Lesson 11
The Thumb of God
The lesson explicitly defines the term "index" and lists the skill "Understand how to use an index and a table of contents within a book." In Activity 1, students are directed to locate onion recipes using the index and to practice using the index to find specific words. Activity 3 asks students to create a Venn diagram comparing two storylines, which requires students to name similarities and differences between narrative elements.
Lesson 12
Treasure and Lizards
Students are asked to choose three different types of literary conflict (Person vs. Self, Person vs. Person, Person vs. Society, Person vs. Nature, Person vs. Unknown), label them, and write descriptions for each in the "Conflict in Holes" activity. Students write answers to journal questions about Chapters 42–45, summarizing events and explaining character actions. The Homophone Bingo and wrap-up ask students to provide pairs of homophones and use each word in a sentence, which practices careful word choice.
Lesson 13
Innocent
Students are asked to write a business (informative) letter to the state department using a Student Activity Page that explicitly labels parts of a formal letter (sender, address, date, recipient address, greeting, body, closure, signature). The Skills list requires students to "Write personal and formal letters that include date, proper salutation, body, closing, and signature," which directs use of letter-format vocabulary. Activity 3 asks students to separate events and identify the problem, climax, and solution, requiring them to use those literary terms (domain-specific vocabulary) when explaining plot sequences.
Final Project
Welcome to Camp
Students are asked to write two descriptive paragraphs that name the camp, describe its geography, sleeping and eating quarters, and staff, and explain activities and staff-camper interactions. Students design a uniform and must describe why it fits the environment and activities, and they create a welcome pack with five items chosen based on camp geography and activities. Students list five differences between their camp and Camp Green Lake and describe the importance of each difference, requiring explanatory language tied to specific camp features.
Unit 3: Stories from Europe
Lesson 1
Tradition Stories
The lesson explicitly defines domain-specific terms (fable, folktale, fairy tale, myth, legend, tall tale) in the Facts and Definitions and Activity 1 sections. Students are directed to categorize stories on the "Story Traditions" page and to write examples in the labeled boxes, requiring them to identify and apply those terms. Reflection prompts ask students to state which type of story they heard/read most and to explain which type is their favorite and why, prompting use of vocabulary in short written responses.
Lesson 2
Fiona's Luck
The lesson defines and has students practice the grammar term "prepositional phrase," includes a list of common prepositions, and asks students to write three sentences about Fiona's Luck each containing a prepositional phrase. The lesson provides a "Story Elements" activity where students record and label setting, characters, plot, conflict, resolution, and theme using literary vocabulary. The "Fact and Fantasy" activity asks students to list three factual details about Ireland, prompting use of content-specific details about culture and geography.
Lesson 3
The Sea King's Daughter
Students label and complete a Story Elements organizer that uses domain-specific literary terms (Characters, Conflict, Setting, Resolution, Theme). Students sort story details into a Fact vs. Fantasy page and record factual, domain-linked items (for example, the gusli, the Volkhov River, and Novgorod). Students locate Russia on maps and discuss cultural and geographic details, and they encounter domain-specific names and terms in the Activities about Russian art, the gusli instrument, and the opera.
Lesson 4
The Snow Queen
Students are explicitly told to "convey the information concisely" when creating a small book about Denmark and are given a clear example contrasting a precise, factual description with a vague, fluffy one. Students complete a vocabulary activity that has them match words to definitions and choose synonyms and antonyms, practicing precise meanings for story-related words. Students discuss differences between formal and informal English and are prompted to consider using "more advanced vocabulary" when speaking formally.
Lesson 5
Comparing and Contrasting Stories
Students read explicit definitions of point of view and first- and third-person pronouns and relate those terms to texts. Students identify and label the point of view in each story and on a story-elements snowflake, demonstrating use of the vocabulary (narrator, first person, third person). Students write an 8–10 sentence retelling from first person and complete a Comparing Story Elements page that asks them to name similarities/differences and to explain which stories are most similar or different using terms such as plot, characters, theme, and setting. Students also have a skills prompt to demonstrate understanding of words by relating synonyms and antonyms, which practices precise word relations.
Final Project
Writing Your Own Story
Students are instructed in the skills list to "use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely," which asks them to select precise language when describing characters, settings, and events. Students are reminded during the Rough Draft stage to "use creative descriptions and interesting verbs" as they expand plot ideas into full pages, practicing deliberate word choice. Students complete character, setting, theme, and plot organizers that require them to label and use literary terms (e.g., conflict, resolution) while planning and drafting.
4: Exploration and Survival
Unit 1: Abel's Island
Lesson 1
Survival
Students are asked in Activity 2 to read about river habitats and "look for the names of river plants and animals" as they read, which prompts identification of domain-specific terms. Activity 3 asks students to list river resources and "two or three ways that river resources can be used for survival" on a graphic organizer, which requires naming specific resources (e.g., fish, reeds, trees). The Skills section includes "Use oral and written language to report on a topic," indicating students will produce spoken or written reports about the topic.
Lesson 2
The Storm
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (verdure, capsized, cantata, ineptitude, temperate, parabola, melancholy, instinct) and explicit directions to write each word and its definition in a picture-dictionary (Activity 2). The Skills section states students will "Develop vocabulary by listening to and discussing both familiar and conceptually challenging reading selections." Students also record and describe natural resources Abel uses in the "Using Natural Resources" organizer, which asks them to describe how he uses those resources.
Lesson 3
Where Am I?
The Skills section explicitly lists increasing reading and writing vocabulary through book discussion. In Activity 2 students are asked to describe Abel's boats, label parts on a ship diagram, and match labeled letters to parts (sail, rudder, mast, deck, oars) on the Student Activity Page. Students are also asked to answer journal questions and fill a chart using information from Chapters 3 and 4, which requires locating and using topic-related words.
Lesson 4
Who Is Abel?
Students use map vocabulary and measurement language: the Facts & Definitions define a map scale and the Skills list asks students to draw maps that contain a title, compass rose, legend, scale, and grid system. In Activity 3 (Mouse Measurements) students calculate distances using the given scale (1/4 inch = 500 tails), convert tails to inches and feet, and draw a map to scale. In Activity 2 (Who Is Abel?) students record words and phrases describing Abel and are prompted to use evidence from the text when choosing descriptions.
Lesson 5
Perseverance
The Reflective Writing Rubric asks students whether they 'use interesting, descriptive words and phrases,' prompting attention to word choice during revision. The graphic organizers require students to write topic sentences, supporting details, and conclusions across three explanatory paragraphs, giving students practice composing focused informative writing. The lesson defines the literary term 'conflict' and asks students to describe the conflict, providing an explicit opportunity to use at least one domain-specific vocabulary word in their responses.
Lesson 7
Threats
Students complete vocabulary-card activities where they record a word's sentence from the book, definition, number of syllables, part of speech, root, and synonym/antonym. Students review common suffixes and use root words and structural cues to recognize words. Students play a vocabulary game that requires them to use target words in a sentence for extra points. Students list three adaptations for Abel and describe how each adaptation will aid his survival, which requires explaining ideas about adaptations.
Lesson 8
The Dead of Winter
Students are asked to research hibernation and to answer targeted questions such as "What is the difference between true hibernation and torpor?" and "What happens to an animal's body when it hibernates?", which require use of domain-specific terms (hibernation, torpor, pulse, breaths, temperature). The Hibernation Experiment directs students to measure pulse, breaths, and temperature and to reflect on what those measurements reveal about hibernation, prompting use of precise physiological vocabulary. The skills list includes that students should "use oral and written language to report on a topic," and the Hibernation student page requires answers in complete sentences, supporting written use of topic-specific language.
Lesson 9
The Newcomer
The lesson provides explicit definitions of theatrical domain vocabulary (script, set, prop, stage directions) and asks students to review and describe these terms. Students are instructed to prepare a script that must include lines, stage directions, a set description, and three props, and the Student Activity Page provides writing lines and spaces for listing props. The wrapping-up prompts ask students to describe the theatrical terms and to observe set and props when watching a play, encouraging use of the vocabulary in oral and written responses.
Lesson 10
Escape
Students identify and label parts of speech in Option 1 and Option 2, practicing nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Students fill blanks with appropriate words and decide whether each chosen word is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, which requires word-choice practice. Students write descriptive responses and acrostic poems about how Abel changed, explaining what caused the change and comparing before/after characteristics.
Final Project
Your Own Deserted Island
The rubric and activity pages explicitly ask students to use vocabulary and include adjectives/adverbs (Part 1 checklist mentions "vocabulary use" and adjectives/adverbs; Part 3 requires at least one vocabulary word and three adjectives/two adverbs). Students write explanatory paragraphs describing the island environment, resources, and survival methods and label an island map with a key and scale, which prompts use of map-related terms. The checklist asks whether vocabulary was used in each part, signaling that students must include vocabulary in their writing.
Unit 2: Pedro's Journal
Lesson 2
August
Students match and identify specific navigation instruments (Backstaff, Compass, Armillary, Quadrant, Sundial) with illustrations and descriptions in Activity 2, and are prompted to locate images and read more about unfamiliar instruments. Students record geographic location and important events on the Journey chart, noting concrete, topic-related details for each month. Students are asked in Option 2 to list ten factual pieces of information about oceans and then write a descriptive paragraph based on those facts, which requires organizing domain-related facts into prose.
Lesson 3
September
The lesson includes a boxed vocabulary list and explicit vocabulary activities: students fill in blanks using the provided words (Option 1) and are asked to "write a short paragraph using the words provided" (Option 2). The skills list directs students to "use vocabulary clearly to describe ideas, feelings, and experiences" and to "use resources and references... to build word meanings," and students are asked to look up definitions if unsure. The Meteors activity directs students to read a NASA page about meteors and to read cultural beliefs, then to write their own myth or omen, connecting content knowledge with vocabulary use.
Lesson 4
October
Students are asked to record words or phrases the crew might use to describe the native people and vice versa in a two-bubble graphic organizer (Activity 2), which prompts them to generate descriptive vocabulary. Students are directed to learn about animals of San Salvador and are given links to a list of birds and amphibians, where they can find specific species names (Activity 4). Students also write journal responses and label drawings of the island and its animals, providing opportunities to use specific terms they find.
Lesson 7
December
Students are asked to answer three or four journal questions that require descriptive and explanatory writing (e.g., describe the encounter with natives, explain whether the crew believed they were in Asia). Students complete a "Treasures" activity in which they illustrate and label expected and actual treasures using domain-specific nouns explicitly listed in the materials (silk, gold, jewels, spices; cotton, spears, parrots, tobacco, monkeys, fish). Students are asked to explain differences between the treasures they hoped to find and those they found, prompting explanatory responses that can use content vocabulary.
Lesson 8
The Island of the Skog
Students are given the domain-specific term "prejudice" and its definition in the Facts and Definitions section. Students are asked in Activity 2 to write three ways the mice showed prejudice and three ways Columbus is prejudiced, requiring them to use that vocabulary to explain examples. Students complete a Comparing Stories organizer and write similarities and unique characteristics, which requires them to choose words to describe and explain relationships between texts.
Lesson 9
January
Students are asked to discuss manatees using terms such as "aquatic mammals," "ecosystem," "endangered species," and "adaptation," and to find pictures and illustrate a manatee in its ecosystem. The Manatee activity asks students to discuss threats to survival and to describe the manatee's unique adaptation (digits covered by skin forming a flipper). The "Instead of 'Said'" activity asks students to choose more specific verbs (e.g., "replied," "shouted," "argued") when writing dialogue.
Lesson 10
February
Students are asked to write a firsthand report as Pedro that explains how the crew survived, their discoveries, and what it was like to sail with Columbus (Activity 3), which requires informing an audience about the topic. The Figures of Speech activities define and have students identify and explain literary terms (figure of speech, idiom, simile) and create similes, so students practice and use domain-specific vocabulary related to figurative language.
Final Project
Story Blocks
Students select six vocabulary words presented earlier and write sentences containing those words on the Vocabulary Cube, giving direct practice using words in context. Students write names and two to three descriptive words or phrases for characters on the Characters Cube and record three threats and three survival actions on the Survival Cube, practicing content-focused descriptions. Students are prompted on the Quotes Cube to use a different verb than "said," which requires them to choose more precise words when reporting dialogue.
Unit 3: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Lesson 1
Sickness
Students analyze and record vocabulary on the "Vocabulary Word Search" pages by identifying root words, prefixes/suffixes, parts of speech, syllable counts, and choosing or looking up definitions. Students locate the vocabulary in context by citing sentences from the book and finding the words in a word-search, and Option 2 explicitly directs students to use a dictionary to look up definitions. The skills list includes "Increase vocabulary through word study," indicating students practice word analysis and meaning.
Lesson 4
Rats in the Rosebush
Activity 3 asks students to research information about owls and to design a new home for the owl, which requires gathering pictures and descriptions of owl habitats. Students are asked to answer journal questions and complete a plot flowchart and a bubble map describing Mrs. Frisby's traits, which require them to choose descriptive words to explain characters and events. The activities therefore ask students to find and use factual information about a topic (owl habitats) and to describe actions and traits in writing or drawings.
Lesson 5
Meeting the Rats
Students are asked in Activity 2 (extension) to find examples of simple machines and record them and to describe how each machine or invention makes life easier, which requires naming and explaining machines. The lesson supplies domain-specific examples (pulley, inclined planes, elevator, spiral stairway) in the possible answers that students can use. The student activity pages for 'Inventions' and 'Machines' and the 'Signs of Education' note ("sophisticated vocabulary") further emphasize vocabulary related to the topic.
Lesson 6
A Plan for Mrs. Frisby
Students are explicitly told that "a bushel is a way to measure dry products" and given the precise definition "a bushel is 2152.43 cubic centimeters," and that "a cubic centimeter measures volume, not weight." The "A Bushel" activity requires students to use the pounds-per-bushel values from a chart and perform calculations (e.g., multiply 1.5 times pounds per bushel of shelled corn). Activity 3 asks students to use knowledge of simple machines when devising a plan, invoking domain-specific concepts related to mechanics.
Lesson 7
The Capture
Students are asked to write a summary in their journal and a skills bullet explicitly names summarizing main ideas using succinct language. Question #2 has students identify tools as simple machines and name their types (wedge, lever, pulley). Activity 3 has students identify and generate meanings for acronyms (PBS, IRS, IQ, SCUBA, NASA, NIMH), practicing domain-specific abbreviations and vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Life at NIMH
Students are given a list of domain-specific words (DNA, steroids, injections, mutation, control, inspecting, breakthrough, laboratory) and asked to make vocabulary cards with definitions and use dictionaries to find meanings. Students complete a fill-in-the-blank scientist dialogue using those vocabulary words and are offered an option to write their own dialogue between two scientists that uses the terms. The skills section explicitly states increasing vocabulary through word study and using dictionaries.
Lesson 10
Amazing Rats
Students are given a "Tools and Machines" worksheet that lists domain-specific items (lathe, electric motors, circular saws, drills, grindstones, hammers, electric fan, plow) and are asked to write how the Rats of NIMH use each tool. Students are directed to research conductors and circuits and to brainstorm ways the mice could have gotten electricity, which invites use of electrical vocabulary. Students are asked to write a paragraph about their opinion of rats and to support reasons using linking phrases, demonstrating attention to word choice and organized explanatory writing.
Lesson 12
Working in the Night
Students are asked in Activity 2 to draw how the rats moved the house and, if familiar with simple machines, to label those used, which invites use of domain-specific terms (e.g., pulley, lever). The Skills list instructs students to compose elaborate sentences in written texts and to compose sentences with interesting, elaborate subjects, promoting more precise word choice. The wrapping-up prompt asks students to describe and discuss ways the rats were inventive and resourceful using examples from the text, which could prompt explanatory language.