Fourth Grade - ELA
1: Interdependence
Unit 1: Little House in the Big Woods
Lesson 1
Introducing the Story
Students are asked to write an account of an early memory and complete a pre-writing organizer that prompts them to describe the memory, list who was involved, and note feelings and lessons learned, which practices descriptive detail to develop an experience. Students define and research the story setting (Wisconsin) and record plants and animals, practicing descriptive language about time and place. Students are invited to role-play as Laura Ingalls Wilder and 'introduce yourself and tell about your family and your life as a pioneer,' giving an oral opportunity to show a character's responses to situations.
Lesson 2
Little House in the Big Woods
Students complete a fill-in-the-blank narrative using vocabulary words such as "temptingly," "scalded," and "solemnly," practicing descriptive word choice in a story context. Students answer chapter questions that require describing settings and events (for example, what the girl's house was made from and how Laura describes the attic). Students record differences between life in the woods and life today and explain how natural resources were used, which requires them to describe experiences and events.
Lesson 3
Winter Days and Winter Nights
Students are asked to answer journal questions and discuss Question #4, which asks how they felt when reading the story of Grandpa and the panther and what words or phrases the author used to make the story more exciting. The lesson points out specific descriptive verbs and phrases (for example, verbs like "screamed" and "leaped" and the description "enormous slashing claws") for students to notice and discuss. Students also engage in oral discussion and written responses about how language creates excitement and character reactions.
Lesson 4
The Long Rifle
Students are asked to retell aloud Pa's story about getting lost in the woods and to make up and practice an original adventure story to tell the family (Reading and Questions; Activity 2). The guidance for storytelling explicitly tells students to use vivid details, exciting language, and to give characters different voices, and to practice using hands and body when speaking (Activity 2 discussion points).
Lesson 5
Christmas
Students are asked to identify how the author describes the snow, including specific descriptive phrases (e.g., "almost buried," "glittering," "sparkled"). Students are directed to write two examples of each sentence type related to the chapter and to compose three short paragraphs with main ideas and supporting details, encouraging use of descriptive supporting ideas (for example, descriptions of food). Students plan their paragraphs using graphic organizers that prompt topic sentences and supporting details, which can include descriptive details about events or traditions.
Lesson 6
Sundays and Two Big Bears
Students are asked to write a five-senses poem from a character's point of view (the "Least Favorite Day of the Week" activity) and are given a model poem written from Laura's perspective, which requires sensory description to convey experience. Students answer comprehension questions that require explaining characters' reactions (e.g., why Laura and Mary disliked Sundays; why Laura wasn't punished; comparing Pa's and Ma's encounters with bears), prompting students to analyze and recount character responses. The lesson's skills section and activities ask students to compose poetry and to recount or narrate events orally and in writing, supporting practice in descriptive writing and retelling of events.
Lesson 8
Dance at Grandpa's
Students are asked to draw a diagram of Grandma's house based on Laura's description, requiring them to extract and use descriptive details from the text. Students answer questions about why Laura enjoyed her grandparents' house and the role of extended family, prompting them to infer and describe characters' responses and motivations. Activity 2 has students listen to different songs and record how each song made them feel, practicing descriptive language about experiences and moods.
Lesson 9
Going to Town
Students read descriptive text about the woods in spring and answer a question that requires locating and paraphrasing the author's descriptive language (Question #1). Students generate descriptive details about characters by listing five adjectives for Laura and five for Mary and by drawing each sister (Activity 3). Students also act out how each sister would respond in specific situations (eating at a nice restaurant, playing at a park, doing schoolwork, cleaning the bathroom), practicing showing character responses through performance.
Lesson 10
Summertime and Harvest
Students are asked to "describe the four seasons in the woods using vivid and descriptive words" and to record the words and phrases the author uses to describe environment and people (Activity 2 / Seasons on the Farm). Students can write paragraphs describing the interdependence between bees and flowers and what the world would be like without bees (Activity 3, Option 2), which practices descriptive development of events and consequences. Students are prompted to create their own version of "The Boy (or Girl) Who Cried...," answer story-planning questions about characters and events, and write and illustrate the story in a journal (Activity 4).
Lesson 11
Finishing the Book
Students are asked to revise writing by "clarifying ideas, adding descriptive words and phrases, sequencing events and ideas, and strengthening word choice," which explicitly directs them to practice description. The letter organizer and rubric ask for "use of interesting words and imagery" and require paragraphs describing jobs, entertainment, and environment, which gives students opportunities to write descriptive detail. The skills list also includes producing work that follows genres such as personal narrative and friendly letter, which can involve descriptive development of experiences.
Final Project
Pioneer Family Night
Students are directed to prepare and tell a story and to invite other family members to take turns telling stories (Storytelling Activity and Checklist). Students practice reading aloud two to three favorite sections and explain why they are favorites, and they are asked to explain the importance of storytelling in Laura's family. The skills list includes using oral and written language to recount or narrate and to share written and oral products.
Unit 2: The Sign of the Beaver
Lesson 1
Background Information
Students are asked to write a free-verse poem (Option 2) that describes ways they would use resources on a homestead, which requires descriptive language about settings and actions. Students are asked to draw and label a homestead (Option 1) and "include details of the environment," prompting concrete descriptive detail. In Activity 2 students must write a paragraph choosing whether they would be a settler or a Native American, which asks them to explain reactions and viewpoints in a historical situation.
Lesson 2
Alone
Students answer comprehension questions that require description (e.g., Question #2 asks them to "Describe Matt's home" and Question #6 asks how Matt depended on his environment). Students complete character timelines in which they record words or phrases that describe the characters' feelings, attitudes, and actions and track changes over time. Students write sentences in vocabulary webs for target words, practicing descriptive word choice and usage.
Lesson 3
A Stranger
Students are asked to record words or phrases describing Matt's feelings, attitudes, and actions on a Character Timelines activity, which directs them to describe character responses. Reading questions ask students to explain character behavior (for example, why Matt lied and how Saknis helped him after the bee attack), prompting students to describe events and responses. The prepositions writing activity requires students to write five sentences about characters, events, and setting, encouraging descriptive sentence-level writing about story events.
Lesson 5
A Story
Students are prompted to explain characters' responses in multiple comprehension questions and journal prompts (e.g., why Attean did not like being taught to read; what upset Attean about the captive kneeling; why Matt identifies with Robinson Crusoe). The journal activity asks students to reflect on how Matt and Attean see the story differently and to write about a time they connected with a character, which asks for description of reactions and perspectives. The 'A Desert Island' page asks students to describe how they would use natural resources, giving practice with descriptive writing about experiences.
Lesson 7
Real Life Learning
Students are asked to record descriptions of what they learned about Matt and Attean on a "Character Timelines" page, which asks them to describe characters and events. Students answer chapter questions in a journal or orally, including describing how Attean taught Matt to make a bow and what Matt and Attean discovered in the woods, practicing descriptive recounting of experiences. Students create a "Rules of the Forest" book where they list rules and illustrate them, requiring them to describe survival actions and events in writing.
Lesson 8
The Bear
Students read chapters and answer questions that require descriptive responses (e.g., describing how Attean looked different when he returned to invite Matt to the feast and describing the Indians' dance). Students analyze how characters' words and actions affect others through the stated fact "Characters' words and actions have effects" and the Cause and Effect activity where they write effects for given causes. Students practice oral storytelling in Activity 2 (Option 2), where they plan and perform a personal event using exciting words and body language to make the story more interesting.
Lesson 9
Attean's Past
Students answer a comprehension question asking how Matt describes the Indian village, which requires them to attend to and articulate descriptive details. Students are asked to write in a journal and to describe and illustrate an alternate way of keeping track of time, giving practice with descriptive writing. The 'Stereotypes' activity asks students to describe how characters break stereotypes and to describe a stereotype they have observed or held, which prompts descriptive explanation of character responses.
Lesson 10
Manitou
Students are instructed in a "Word Pictures — Imagery" activity where they record three passages that create vivid images and illustrate them, which engages them in recognizing and working with descriptive language. In the "Values" activity students write what a character did or said to demonstrate a value, tying character actions and speech to responses and motivations. Reading questions ask students to explain changes in a character's feelings and how Attean plans to find his manitou, prompting analysis of character responses to events.
Lesson 11
A Choice
Activity 3 asks students to develop five interview questions for Matt and five for Attean and to pretend to be each character, responding as the character would; this requires students to produce character responses in a Q&A/dialogue format. Activity 2 asks students to write or illustrate favorite, scariest, saddest, and happiest parts of the story, which prompts descriptive writing about events and emotions. The reading questions ask about characters' actions and exchanges (for example, what Attean gave Matt and vice versa), which students must reference in their responses.
Final Project
The Sign of the Beaver Movie
Students are asked to write a movie script for a scene between Attean and Matt, with a page formatted into columns for each character to record dialogue. Students must write a movie synopsis using "exciting, dramatic language," and the synopsis rubric asks that they accurately describe the setting and main characters. Students design costumes and a set, which requires them to describe environmental resources, props, and visual details for scenes.
Unit 3: Native American Animal Stories
Lesson 2
People and Animal Stories
Students read stories that include spoken lines (for example, the provided pages of "The Frog Prince" contain explicit dialogue) and answer comprehension questions about characters' actions and feelings. Students complete a Story Map for "The Dogs Who Saved Their Master," identifying main characters, setting, problems, events, and resolution, and they complete the "Animal Characters" and "An Animal Tale" pages where they list five human characteristics and facts about an animal, supporting descriptive thinking.
Lesson 3
The Natural World
In Activity 8 (A Puppet Show) students are prompted to write a short script for the puppet show based on the story, with Rabbit and Possum given five or six lines each and Chief Bear one or two, which requires students to compose spoken lines for characters (dialogue). In Activity 3 (Retelling a Story) students retell the butterfly story using props and are reminded that storytellers use body language, interesting words, and varied tone, which prompts students to use descriptive language and expressive techniques to develop events and show character responses.
Final Project
My Own Myth
The rubric in the rough draft activity asks students to use interesting words, make characters interesting, and provide descriptive settings, which requires students to write descriptive details. The Organizing the Myth page asks students to list characters, describe the setting, outline the problem, and explain how the problem is solved, prompting students to develop events and character responses in their planning. The activities require students to draft, revise content, and focus on content during editing, which engages students in developing experiences and events through description.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Ben and Me
Lesson 1
Ben Franklin and the Colonies
Students are asked to describe Benjamin Franklin's physical appearance and personality on the biography activity page, prompting use of descriptive detail. Students analyze elements of historical fiction by identifying descriptions, characters, setting, and plot from a novel they have read, which requires recognizing descriptive techniques. Students write a poem contrasting Philadelphia 'yesterday' and 'today,' which prompts them to produce descriptive language about place and time.
Lesson 3
Swimming
Students are asked to copy sentences that describe the hat and circle the adjectives that describe it (Activity 2), and then illustrate and label the hat based on the author's description, which gives practice with descriptive details. Students are asked to write a descriptive paragraph advertisement for a new swimming invention (Activity 3, Option 1), which requires use of descriptive language. Students are offered the choice to write a script for a commercial (Activity 3, Option 2) and to discuss the types of words and phrases used in commercials, which can involve writing spoken lines.
Lesson 4
Electricity
Students are asked to write a first-person paragraph about a vision that must include at least ten adjectives, four adverbs, a variety of sentence lengths, and correct capitalization and punctuation, which practices descriptive language. The Fact and Fiction activity asks students to record a factual and a fictional event from each chapter, prompting differentiation between real/imagined events. Students are also asked to verbally summarize chapter events, which engages them in recounting sequences and responses aloud.
Lesson 5
Electrifying
Students are asked to write a first-person account of flying the kite that describes what happened and their feelings and ideas, which requires descriptive development of an event. The chapter questions prompt students to describe events and character reactions (e.g., what happened when Amos was on the kite; describe the kite), and the Experiment with Lightning student page asks students to describe what happened and explain why. Activity 1 asks students to record a factual and a fictional event from each chapter, which asks students to produce descriptive narrative material about events.
Lesson 7
France
Students answer Question #6 analyzing how Amos describes mice from different countries (e.g., Sophia as beautiful and French peasant mice as downtrodden), which asks them to identify and interpret descriptive language. Students record factual and fictional events from the chapters in Activity 1, practicing selection and differentiation of events. Students devise and write a step-by-step rescue plan in Activity 2 that requires them to describe actions, steps, and when force or power should be used, developing events and characters' responses in a procedural narrative form.
Lesson 8
Amos's Account
The lesson requires students to write a first-person account from Amos's point of view and to list five thoughts, opinions, and feelings Amos would have about the event, which practices showing character responses. The Writing Rubric checks for the use of descriptive language and inclusion of ideas and feelings from Amos's perspective. The skills and revision directions ask students to refine word choices and create vivid images, supporting practice in description to develop experiences and events.
Lesson 9
The Rescue
Students fill in the "Ben and Amos Bags" organizer by listing appearance, personality, uses of power, likes, and dislikes for each character, which requires them to produce descriptive details about characters. Students are asked to write a new verse of "Yankee Doodle" from Amos's account about the mice and their rescue efforts, an activity that asks them to write in a character's voice and can employ descriptive language. The wrap-up prompts ask students to summarize what happened in the chapters and to say how Amos and Ben felt after the rescue, which requires students to state character responses to events.
Final Project
An Interview or Party for Ben
Students are asked to write ten interview questions and answer them as Ben Franklin, with space on the activity pages for question-and-answer dialogue. Students practice and act out the interview (playing Ben and responding to questions) and are prompted to share two maxims and explain their importance. In the birthday-party option students must explain why a chosen gift would suit Ben, write directions for a party game, and compose a song about Ben's influence, all requiring descriptive explanation of events and responses.
Unit 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lesson 2
Edmund Discovers Narnia
The lesson asks students to write a paragraph describing how a favorite food tastes (Activity 2, Option 1) and to write a paragraph describing how the White Witch would try to convince them to eat it, including thinking about what words and descriptions she would use (Activity 2, Option 2). Students are instructed to answer chapter questions in a journal, including questions about how Edmund treated Lucy and the queen's attitude and changes in tone, which prompt students to describe characters' responses. The Wrapping Up prompt asks students to describe the characters of Edmund and the White Witch, prompting descriptive writing about character reactions and traits.
Lesson 4
The Lion
Students are asked to record words and phrases that describe a lion from a chosen myth or folktale and then use a Venn diagram to compare that lion to Aslan, which practices descriptive development of a character. Students answer guided questions about what each child felt upon hearing the name "Aslan" and reflect on character feelings, which addresses showing characters' responses to situations. Activity 3 directs students to write a paragraph or song describing an animal character, including its human characteristics, moral alignment, and role, which requires using description to develop experiences and events.
Lesson 5
A Disappointment
Students are prompted to describe the White Witch's appearance and actions (hair, skin, eyes, mouth, actions) and to write phrases or sentences about what good or bad things she made happen and how others felt. Activity 2 asks students to write a sentence that describes a sinister way each villain uses his or her power and to list and describe other villains from books or movies. The vocabulary cube and journal questions require students to produce spoken and written sentences (e.g., use a vocabulary word in a sentence; answer three or four journal questions about events).
Lesson 6
A Gift from Father Christmas
Students are instructed to write three paragraphs that describe a problem, how they received a gift, and how the gift can be used for good, which requires developing experiences and events. Students are prompted to revise for vivid images, precise word choices, descriptive adjectives, and action verbs, and the rubric explicitly asks whether ideas are interesting and descriptive and whether descriptive adjectives and action verbs were used. Students are guided to edit punctuation and spelling and to use ending punctuation to show excitement or questions, supporting expressive description.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked to analyze characters, including their traits, feelings, relationships, and changes, and to answer journal questions about how the White Witch treats Edmund and how the environment changes as he rides in the sledge. Students are prompted to describe how the environment in Narnia is changing and how Edmund is changing during the wrapping up. Students are asked to write a personal paragraph in their journal about a time they were tempted and chose to do the right thing, and to write a letter describing heroic deeds for Activity 2, both of which require descriptive writing about experiences or responses.
Lesson 8
Deep Magic
Students are asked to complete an 'Imagery' activity in which they record words and phrases that appeal to the five senses from the scene of animals capturing and killing Aslan and then illustrate the scene, which practices using descriptive detail to develop an experience. On the 'The Four Siblings' page students list five words or phrases that describe each character and explain which character they are most similar to, which practices descriptive characterization and showing responses. The 'Wrapping Up' prompt asks students to describe what Aslan had to endure and why he willingly allowed it, prompting written description of events and character motives.
Lesson 10
Back Through the Wardrobe
Activity 1 asks students to "describe and illustrate the next route" the children will discover and then "act out the situation as one of the siblings," which requires students to produce description and perform character responses. Activity 2 asks students to write a movie review (describing what they enjoyed and could be better) or to list characters and "add a brief explanation for each casting choice," which requires descriptive justification. The lesson's Skills list explicitly includes "Present dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, or plays" and sharing written and oral products, supporting opportunities for dramatized responses.
Final Project
Narnia Think-Tac-Toe
Several student choices require writing from a character's perspective (e.g., "Write a journal entry as one of the characters that was lost and searching for a way out" and the follow-up entry after return), and one activity explicitly asks for a short dialogue-like exchange: "Write six text messages that could be exchanged between the main character and another character." Other prompts ask for narrative work (e.g., "Write a short story…") and imaginative pieces (e.g., "Pretend that you are Edmund. How do you think you would want your reputation to be?"), which invite use of descriptive detail and character response.
Unit 3: The BFG
Lesson 1
In the Middle of the Night
Students are asked to identify the words and phrases the author uses to describe the giant (Question #4), which has them analyze descriptive language. Students are prompted to write a paragraph comparing how the street looks at night versus day (Activity 2, Option 1), giving direct practice in using description. Students may compose a song or poem about the "witching hour" after brainstorming nighttime and mystery words (Activity 2, Option 2), which practices descriptive and evocative language.
Lesson 2
Snatched
Students are asked to copy the author's setting description and then write their own description of a suitable giant home (Options 1 and 2), which has them practice descriptive writing about experiences and environments. Students answer comprehension questions about what happened to Sophie and how she felt (Questions #1 and #2), which has them identify and explain character responses to events. The lesson's skills list also asks students to respond to stories in discussion, writing, and through movement, music, art, and drama, suggesting opportunities to express character reactions in varied modes.
Lesson 3
The BFG
Students identify and record direct spoken lines by Sophie and the BFG in the "Quotable Quotes" activity, reinforcing the use of quotation marks and capturing dialogue. In "Giant Talk" students rewrite and correct the giant's spoken sentences, practicing mechanics of quoted speech and subject-verb agreement in dialogue. In "Giant Geography" students write what they think the giant would say about people from their state, producing descriptive, character-voiced statements.
Lesson 4
Ears and Snozzcumbers
Students are asked to write about a vivid dream and illustrate it (Activity 2), which requires descriptive detail about experiences and emotions. Students take a focused nature walk and then write a paragraph or song describing how they would use a power of hearing to help others (Activity 3), practicing description of events and responses. Students identify and record quotes from Sophie and the BFG (Activity 1) and are asked to describe the BFG, engaging with existing dialogue and character description.
Lesson 5
Time with the BFG
Students are asked to identify and record quotes from Sophie and the BFG (Activity 1), which has them locate examples of dialogue. Activity 2 directs students to compare the BFG and the Bloodbottler by appearance, personality, and power, prompting students to produce descriptive notes about characters. Reading questions ask students to recount events and character responses (e.g., how the Bloodbottler reacted to the snozzcumber and what happened to Sophie), which requires attention to how characters respond in situations.
Lesson 6
Catching People and Dreams
Students identify quotes of Sophie and the BFG (Activity 1), which requires recognizing and locating character dialogue. Students rewrite and correct the BFG's spoken lines on the "Interpreting the BFG" page, substituting correct words and rewording phrases from the giant's speech. Students describe how a dreamer would respond to a dream (Option 1) and describe how a new giant catches human beans (Activity 3), which asks for descriptive development of events and character actions.
Lesson 7
A Nightmare for Fleshlumpeater
Students are asked to identify quotes from Sophie and the BFG in the "Quotable Quotes" activity, which directs attention to actual dialogue. Student Activity Pages for "Jack and the Beanstalk" include dialogue between Jack and his mother and descriptive narrative passages that students read and discuss. Several journal prompts and comprehension questions ask students to recount events, explain characters' actions (e.g., whether the BFG was right to blow the nightmare), and compare characters across texts, encouraging analysis of character responses and events.
Lesson 8
A Dreamy Plan
Students are directed to identify and record a quote from Sophie and a quote from the BFG in Activity 1, which requires attention to characters' spoken lines. In the journal and discussion questions (e.g., Question #4 and Question #3) students describe characters' plans and how Sophie convinced the BFG, which asks them to explain characters' responses to situations. Option 2 (Advanced) asks students to write a paragraph describing an encounter with a giant and to use specified vocabulary words, which asks for descriptive writing about events or experiences.
Lesson 9
The Palace
Students are asked to identify and record quotes from Sophie and the BFG in Activity 1, which requires locating and analyzing actual dialogue spoken by characters. The skills list and reading questions prompt students to identify the importance of setting and to analyze characters' traits, feelings, relationships, and changes, which supports using description to understand events. Activity 2 asks students to write a plan that includes knowledge of buildings, places, and people, giving students a task that can involve descriptive details about setting and events.
Lesson 10
A Breakfast Fit for a Queen
Students are asked to identify and record direct quotes from Sophie and the BFG in Activity 1, which has them locate and consider characters' spoken words. In Activity 3 students brainstorm adjectives describing the queen, provide textual support, and are prompted to act out (dramatize) how the queen would respond to a situation, practicing oral portrayal of character responses. The skills list explicitly includes dramatizations and written/oral reports as expected student productions.
Lesson 11
Fighting Giants
Activity 1 asks the child to identify and record a quote from Sophie and a quote from the BFG, which has students locate and note instances of dialogue. Several comprehension questions ask students to explain what characters did or thought (e.g., what the BFG thought soldiers should do; what Sophie did to Fleshlumpeater), prompting attention to characters' responses to events.
Final Project
Recipe for a Dream or Newspaper Report
The London Times option requires students to "write a detailed description of the event in three paragraphs" that explains what happened and "how the Queen, BFG, and Sophie used their power," which asks students to describe characters' responses. The directions explicitly require "an interview with the BFG using three quotes that reflect his speech," and the rubric lists "Inclusion of at least three of the giant's quotes." The rubric also assesses "description detail," linking student-written description to development of events.
3: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Stories from Africa and Asia
Lesson 1
Meerkats in Botswana
Students are asked in Option 1 to write a descriptive paragraph about a meerkat that includes five facts, and in Option 2 to write a short story about a meerkat that must include at least five facts. Students discuss meerkat adaptations and their functions before creating a craft, which supports using descriptive details about characters and settings. Student activity pages provide lined space and prompts for drawing and writing that guide students to produce descriptive text about the meerkat and its habitat.
Lesson 2
Meeting Precious
Students read chapters of a narrative and answer a journal question asking how the narrator describes Botswana, which requires identifying and interpreting descriptive language. Students answer questions about how Precious feels and reacts when she realizes other children are poor, which asks them to identify character responses to situations. The skills list prompts students to relate plot, setting, and characters to their own experiences, and the 'Precious and Me' activity asks students to write similarities and differences between themselves and the character, engaging with characterization and setting.
Lesson 4
A Missing Cow
Activity 3 asks students to write a script for the scene where Pontsho brings Kosi to school, explicitly directing them to "write the dialogue between the Precious and Pontsho and any stage directions you want to include." The activity also asks students to act out the script with a family member. Reading questions note characters' reactions (e.g., teachers laughed; principal's reaction), which students can represent in dialogue and stage directions.
Lesson 5
A Good Idea
Students practice descriptive writing through a focused review of adjectives and adverbs and an activity that has them pair verbs with adverbs to create sentences. Students are asked to write a personal paragraph recounting a challenging situation (Activity 2), which practices narrating events. Students are also required, in Activity 4 Option 2, to write a short fictional story that must include at least three adjectives and two adverbs, emphasizing description in storytelling.
Lesson 6
African Bush Diorama
The Book Report Rubric asks students to "describe the main characters" and "describe the setting" and asks, "Do you use interesting adjectives and adverbs?", which prompts students to use descriptive language. The organizing pages require a four-paragraph report with a first paragraph focused on characters and setting and a second paragraph focused on plot, supporting practice in developing events and descriptions. The editing step asks students to revise for content, grammar, and organization, which can reinforce use of descriptive details.
Lesson 11
O Bon
Students are asked to write a journal entry in character as an American child and as a Japanese child after celebrating O Bon, which requires them to portray experiences and responses (Activity 2, Option 1). Students are prompted to answer comprehension questions about how characters feel and react (e.g., how Sadako responded to food, how the family celebrated O Bon) and to read aloud with intonation and expression, practices that support conveying character response. Students can also create songs that express why people remember loved ones and the meaning of O Bon, which invites descriptive expression of traditions and emotions (Activity 2, Option 2).
Lesson 13
Precious and Sadako
Students are asked in Activity 3 Option 2 to write a first-person letter from one character to another that explains an important event, the circumstances, and how she felt, which requires descriptive recounting of experiences and character responses. In Activity 1 students record a 'Character's Quote' for each character, citing quotations that reveal character insight. The activity pages also prompt students to write a 'Description of character' and note a 'Character's action,' requiring them to gather descriptive details about characters and events.
Unit 2: Holes
Lesson 2
Camp Green Lake
Students are asked to describe characters directly in questions (e.g., QUESTION #7: "How would you describe Mr. Sir?" and the wrap-up prompt asking what they think about the main character). The "The Happy Campers" activity requires students to record things they learn about each boy and illustrate physical appearance, which prompts descriptive notes. The Inventor and other activities ask students to write descriptions (e.g., how an invention solves a problem and how it will change lives), giving practice with descriptive writing.
Lesson 3
Digging
Students are asked to write in a journal about characters (e.g., record information about the boys, describe why they have a nickname, and whether they like it) which requires descriptive writing about people and responses. Students answer comprehension questions about characters' feelings and actions (for example, how Stanley felt after digging his first hole), prompting them to identify and describe character responses. Skills list includes "Relate plot, setting, and characters to personal experiences" and "Make inferences and draw conclusions about characters," which directs students to use description and inference in writing and discussion.
Lesson 4
Caveman
Students are instructed to record the author's description of the yellow-spotted lizard and illustrate it (Activity 2), which has them practice imagery and detailed description. The lesson's skills list and reading questions direct students to analyze characters, their traits, feelings, relationships, and changes, and students answer journal prompts about characters' actions and motivations from Chapters 8–12.
Lesson 5
KB
Students practice description in the "Elaborated Subjects" activity where they underline subjects and rewrite sentences with added adjectives and locating details, and they write three elaborated sentences about the desert. Students encounter and create examples of verbal irony including a quoted line, "Oh, great! We get to dig another hole today," moaned Stanley, and are asked to produce two sentences containing verbal irony. Students are asked to analyze characters, including traits and feelings, which supports noticing how description reveals responses.
Lesson 6
Sunflower Seeds
The lesson asks students to write shape poems and reminds them that a poem uses language that appeals to the senses and emotions and should create images and feelings, which supports practice with descriptive language. The Skills section lists writing stories or poems to entertain, indicating students will practice expressive/descriptive writing. The Wrapping Up prompt asks the student to describe how Camp Green Lake is changing Stanley, requiring students to explain characters' responses and internal changes.
Lesson 7
Zero
Students are asked in Activity 2 (Option 1) to write a paragraph describing their experiences and occupation in the Old West and in Option 2 to write a letter describing their journey, job, and hardships, which requires use of descriptive detail. Activity 3 asks students to find the author's description of Green Lake and draw past and present scenes, asking them to compare similarities and differences, which practices interpreting and producing descriptive setting details. The Skills list explicitly includes "Describe how the setting affects the characters and plot of a story," reinforcing work with description.
Lesson 10
The Mary Lou
Students practice description through explicit figurative-language tasks: the Skills list includes "Use figurative language in writing," Activity 1 asks students to identify and explain similes and metaphors, and Activity 2 Option 2 asks students to write a poem or song containing similes and a metaphor and then identify them. The Wrapping Up prompt asks students to describe what happens to Stanley and to think of a simile and metaphor the author could have used. The lesson also asks a student to read aloud using intonation and expression, which engages spoken characterization.
Lesson 11
The Thumb of God
Students practice punctuating and recognizing dialogue in the "Missing Punctuation" activity by inserting quotation marks, commas, and apostrophes into sentences such as "I am not stupid Zero said" (expected: "I'm not stupid," Zero said.). Students answer comprehension questions about what characters say and why (e.g., "What did Zero tell Stanley as he was sick? Why do you think he decided to tell him?"), prompting analysis of how dialogue reveals character responses.
Final Project
Welcome to Camp
Students are instructed to write two descriptive paragraphs that require naming the camp, describing its geography, sleeping and eating quarters, and staff, and explaining activities and how they build character. Students are asked to design a uniform and a welcome pack and to write a camp song or chant, all of which require creating descriptive details about the camp environment and routines. The skills list also explicitly includes relating plot, setting, and characters to personal experiences, supporting descriptive work.
Unit 3: Stories from Europe
Lesson 3
The Sea King's Daughter
Students are asked to read The Sea King's Daughter and answer questions about character feelings and motivations (e.g., explaining how Sadko felt about his city and why), which asks them to interpret characters' responses. Activity 5 (Reader's Theater) has students select roles, read through a script, and act out parts, which requires them to perform dialogue and portray character reactions. Activity 4 asks students to examine artwork and link images to story events, prompting descriptive observation of scenes and events.
Lesson 4
The Snow Queen
Students are asked in Activity 6 (The Script) to select a scene from the story and create a script, taking the important words spoken between characters and including them in their script. The directions explicitly tell students they may shorten or change conversations as long as the characters' interactions convey a similar message and stick to the plot. The script choices focus on dialogue-heavy scenes (e.g., Gerda talks to the sunshine, sparrow, river, the old woman, the crow, and the prince/princess), requiring students to reproduce and shape spoken interaction.
Lesson 5
Comparing and Contrasting Stories
Students are asked to take events from a story and retell them from the first-person point of view, writing 8–10 sentences. The lesson provides a first-person example (Fiona's viewpoint) that uses descriptive language to show events (e.g., being surrounded by leprechauns, turning in a circle, arriving in the throne room). Students are also asked to explain what difference the new point of view makes in the story.
Final Project
Writing Your Own Story
The lesson's Skills list explicitly names "Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations." Students complete character pages where they list adjectives and write three sentences about each character and complete a Setting page where they record words and phrases and illustrate the place. The Rough Draft and Plot Organizer require students to describe events, conflicts, and resolutions and instruct students to "use creative descriptions and interesting verbs," guiding students to write multi-page drafts that develop events.
4: Exploration and Survival
Unit 1: Abel's Island
Lesson 1
Survival
Students answer specific character-development prompts (Activity 1) asking what animal would represent them, what physical and personality traits the animal would have, what character flaws it would have, and what challenge it would face. The activity explicitly asks about the character's "Voice: How would he or she speak?" and asks students to create a title and design a cover for their novel. Activity 4 asks students to write in a journal three things they would miss and describe why, which requires descriptive response to a character's situation.
Lesson 3
Where Am I?
Students are asked to describe the boats Abel built and what resources he used (Activity 2), which requires them to use descriptive details about events and objects. Question #2 prompts students to consider Abel's feelings about his clothes, asking them to explain whether his worry seems reasonable, which asks for interpretation of character response. Activity 3 Option 2 asks students to write a "Sailing Song" whose words should reflect Abel's experiences, encouraging expressive writing that can use description to convey events and emotions.
Lesson 4
Who Is Abel?
Students are asked to illustrate Abel and record words and phrases for his physical appearance and personality, citing evidence from the text (Activity 2 and the "Who Is Abel?" activity page). The lesson includes questions that prompt students to describe Abel's new home, how he is adapting, and how his self-opinion is changing, which requires descriptive detail. The skills list explicitly includes analyzing characters, drawing and discussing visual images based on text descriptions, and making inferences about characters and events.
Lesson 5
Perseverance
The lesson asks students to write three-paragraph reflective narratives and provides graphic organizers that require topic sentences, supporting details, and conclusions, which guides development of descriptive detail. The Reflective Writing Rubric asks whether students used "interesting, descriptive words and phrases" and whether ideas were "clear and easy to follow," directing students to use description to develop experiences. Activities prompt students to discuss and describe emotional content (for example, the "shadowed, more poignant part of life" option), which encourages use of descriptive language to show responses to situations.
Lesson 7
Threats
Students answer comprehension questions that ask how Abel feels about the environment and why (Q1) and why Abel speaks aloud or asks God questions (Q2, Q3), which require identifying character responses. The lesson notes Abel speaking (asking God about predators) and protecting himself with a spear, giving explicit instances of character dialogue and reaction to situations. In Activity 3 students must list and describe three adaptations for Abel, which requires them to use descriptive language to explain how those traits aid his survival.
Lesson 9
The Newcomer
Students are asked to prepare a script that includes lines for two characters, stage directions, a set description, and three props, so they write dialogue and descriptive stage information. Students are directed to reread specific pages and discuss the action and dialogue that occur there, and the activity provides an initial script example so students can see script format. Students are instructed to rehearse and 'weave in facial signals,' practicing nonverbal description of character responses.
Lesson 10
Escape
Students are asked to analyze characters including their traits, feelings, relationships, and changes, and Activity 3 directs students to describe Abel before and after the island and explain what caused his change. Students write acrostic poems that use descriptive words to portray Abel's before-and-after traits. Parts-of-speech activities require students to identify and select adjectives and adverbs, reinforcing use of descriptive language.
Lesson 11
Home at Last
Students answer a question identifying a line of dialogue (Question #4: "What did Abel say when Amanda first saw him?" with the quoted response). Activity 2 asks students to write an alternate, realistic ending and to "describe his new ending" in a journal, providing an opportunity to practice descriptive writing. The skills section notes that students will "respond to fiction by participating in creative interpretations," which aligns with producing a written alternate ending.
Final Project
Your Own Deserted Island
Students are asked to write a paragraph describing the environment of their island (Part 1) and to write a paragraph describing how they landed, what they have, and how they use natural resources (Part 2). The rubric and Part 3 require students to use descriptive language—asking for at least three adjectives, two adverbs, and a vocabulary word in the letter that expresses feelings. The activities require students to produce descriptive writing (environment description, survival paragraph, longing letter, and escape steps) that develop the experience of being stranded.
Unit 2: Pedro's Journal
Lesson 1
Exploring with Columbus
Activity 3 (Historical Fiction) asks students to fill a bubble map with "Two factual descriptions of characters" and "Two authentic descriptions of setting," requiring students to produce descriptive details about characters and settings. Activity 1 (Columbus, The Man) directs students to research and list positive and negative characteristics and actions of Columbus on an organizer, which has students describe character traits and reactions. Activity 4 asks students to record dates and important events along Columbus's route, which has students document and describe events in sequence.
Lesson 2
August
Students are asked to write a personal narrative about a trip to the ocean (Option 1) and to write a descriptive paragraph based on factual details about the ocean (Option 2), which requires them to use descriptive language. Students read Pedro's journal entries and answer questions about characters' attitudes and feelings; they also complete a chart recording Columbus', Pedro's, and the crew's attitudes and important events. The activities include discussion prompts that ask students to describe crew members' feelings and their own feelings about the ocean.
Lesson 3
September
Students are asked to describe how Pedro's journey began and to summarize what happened to Columbus and the crew, which requires descriptive recounting of events and character responses. Students write in journals answering comprehension questions about characters' reactions (for example, why the men and Pedro do not trust Columbus and how sailors interpreted the meteor), which engages them in describing responses to situations. Students are instructed to make up their own myth or omen about a meteor and to write short paragraphs using provided vocabulary words to describe ideas, feelings, and experiences.
Lesson 4
October
Students practice dialogue mechanics in the "Using Quotation Marks" activity by inserting quotation marks, commas, and periods, reading lines with voice inflections, and writing two sentences using quotation marks (including prompts to write a quote Pedro might say and one Columbus might say). Students record words or phrases describing "Native People" and "White Men" on a bubble map, and students are asked to draw the island and journal what their thoughts would have been—activities that ask for descriptive words, phrases, and pictures.
Lesson 5
Journal Writing
The Pre-Writing activity asks students to think of three quotes they can include in their journal entry and explicitly notes they can quote themselves or other people, providing direct practice with including dialogue. The Pre-Writing and Selecting an Event pages require students to list three feelings and ten facts about an event and to reflect on how the event caused strong feelings, prompting students to record descriptive feelings and observations. The Writing the Entry step instructs students to write the journal entry using the Pre-Writing organizer and to determine whether they communicated the importance of the event as well as their own feelings and observations.
Lesson 7
December
Students are asked to answer journal questions such as "Describe the encounter the sailors had with the natives on December 3rd," which requires them to write descriptive accounts of events and characters' actions. Students complete a "Treasures" activity in which they illustrate and label expected versus actual discoveries, practicing descriptive detail about experiences and objects. Students are also asked to answer questions about Pedro's actions (e.g., what he did on Christmas Eve), prompting them to explain character responses and events in writing.
Lesson 9
January
Students are asked to write a conversation between Pedro and Columbus with at least five lines of dialogue and to use words other than "said" when identifying the speaker. A student activity page provides alternative dialogue verbs (replied, shouted, argued, cheered) and sentence prompts beginning with "Pedro declared," and "Columbus explained," which require students to produce attributed dialogue with correct punctuation. Students also discuss and find pictures of manatees and are prompted to illustrate the manatee in its ecosystem, which provides descriptive content about the animals and setting.
Lesson 10
February
Activity 3 asks students to pretend to be Pedro and write a firsthand report explaining the crew's survival, discoveries, and what it was like to sail with Columbus, requiring students to recount experiences and provide descriptive detail. The Figures of Speech activities require students to identify, interpret, and create similes and explain idioms, which develops their use of descriptive language and imagery. The listed skill "Use oral or written language to recount or narrate" explicitly links student recounting and narration to the activities.
Final Project
Story Blocks
The Quotes Cube asks students to write three sentences containing quotes from the book and to create three quotes Pedro may have said, with a requirement to use correct punctuation and a verb other than "said." The Characters, Setting, Survival, and Exploration cubes require students to write descriptive phrases, illustrate settings, record survival strategies, and describe discoveries and cultural impacts. The Similes and Vocabulary cubes prompt students to produce descriptive language and figurative devices that could support development of experiences and events.
Unit 3: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Lesson 2
Spring is Coming
Students are asked to identify how the author describes the cat and to illustrate that description in their journal, which requires attending to descriptive details. Students record an event from each chapter on a Plot Flowchart, practicing clear event sequencing. Students describe and illustrate the setting and explain how Mrs. Frisby's family is threatened, which requires using description to explain events and character circumstances.
Lesson 4
Rats in the Rosebush
Students answer specific comprehension questions that require them to identify the owl's advice and reasons for his suggestions, which involves interpreting dialogue. Students complete a Plot Flowchart to sequence events and fill a bubble map listing five ways Mrs. Frisby showed bravery, which asks them to describe character actions and traits. Students also describe threats to Timothy and design a new home for the owl, which asks for descriptive thinking about characters and setting.
Lesson 8
Life at NIMH
Students are asked to write a dialogue between two scientists using specified scientific vocabulary (Activity 2, Option 2), and to complete a fill-in-the-blank scientist conversation using those vocabulary words (Activity 2, Option 1). Students answer comprehension questions that require explaining characters' actions and reactions (e.g., why scientists responded calmly when Justin escaped and how scientists taught the rats to read). Students also create a plot flowchart describing important events from the chapters.
Lesson 9
The Escape
Students are asked to write examples in their journal of how the rats are becoming more like humans and to explain what Nicodemus was like before and after NIMH, which requires descriptive writing. Students are prompted to describe how the mice were able to escape from NIMH and to record important events on a Plot Flowchart, which practices clear event sequencing and descriptive recounting. Students participate in a blindfolded navigation simulation and then discuss how the experience felt, prompting them to describe characters' feelings and responses to situations. Students make lists of needs beyond survival and explain motivations, which elicits descriptive explanation of experiences and events.
Final Project
The Next Chapter or Book Float
Students are asked in Part 3 to plan three conversations between characters and to make the dialogue realistic, using commas and quotation marks correctly. In Day 2, Part 4 students write a chapter that must describe four outlined events, include dialogue between characters, and describe how characters are surviving in and interacting with their environment. The rubric explicitly asks whether "the dialogue flow[ed]" and whether characters "act and talk in ways that were appropriate for their personalities," linking dialogue and description to development of events and character responses.