HOMESCHOOL AND DISTANCE LEARNING
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1: Interdependence

Unit 1

Unit 1: Little House in the Big Woods

Students are instructed to "Demonstrate understanding by using a variety of complete sentences (declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory) in writing and speaking." Activity 2 has students review sentence types and write two examples of each type on the "Types of Sentences" page. Activity 3 requires students to write three short paragraphs and to "use at least one example of each of the types of sentences" in their writing.
Students are asked to write their own sentences for vocabulary words in the Vocabulary Mini-Book. Students must summarize the chapter and create a recipe card with step-by-step directions, which require composing sentence-level writing. Students also write ordered steps for the maple sugar process and record sentences from the book on activity pages.
Students are asked to write a multi-paragraph letter to children of the future using an organizer that specifies paragraph structure, which requires them to produce sentences. The rubric and editing steps require students to check spelling, punctuation, and comma usage and to reread focusing on grammar and spelling. The activities require drafting, revising, and producing a final copy, so students practice composing and editing sentence-level writing.
Unit 2

Unit 2: The Sign of the Beaver

Students are asked to write a paragraph describing whether they would want to be a settler or a Native American, which requires producing complete sentences. Students are asked to list ten facts about Maine worded as clues (for example, "I have a lot of trees."), which involves writing declarative sentences. Students have an option to write a poem or other written work about using resources on a homestead, giving additional opportunities to produce sentences in different genres.
The lesson asks students to write five sentences about the story that each include a preposition and to underline the preposition, circle the subject, and circle the predicate, which requires producing full sentences and attending to sentence structure. The Skills list explicitly includes "Recognize correct sentence structure," and the instructions define complete subject and predicate so students must identify sentence parts. The Life Application and activities (Options 1 and 2) have students generate sentences aloud and in writing, reinforcing production of sentences with prepositional phrases.
The Vocabulary Memory Game asks students to write definitions and then, when they get a match, use the vocabulary word in a sentence. The Reading and Questions section directs students to answer questions in a journal or orally, requiring sentence production. Activity 1 and Activity 3 ask students to record descriptions for character timelines and list rules in a small book, which involves composing written sentences.
Students are instructed to "Compose elaborate written sentences and use appropriate end punctuation" and to "Edit writing for standard grammar and usage," which requires them to produce and revise sentences. Students must write a draft letter or speech that includes reasons and supporting sentences, and the rubric asks whether their sentences have correct punctuation, vary in length, and have different beginnings. Students are prompted to read their draft and make corrections, using the rubric as a guide, and to produce a final copy.
Unit 3

Unit 3: Native American Animal Stories

The lesson explicitly explains that a relative pronoun begins a dependent (relative) clause and gives examples showing a main sentence plus a relative clause (e.g., "The Golden Gate Bridge, which opened in 1937, is almost two miles long"). Students are asked to complete a "Relative Pronouns" activity page by filling blanks in sentences and to "Write two sentences of your own, each using a different relative pronoun." Students also write short scripts for a puppet show, retell stories using props, and record problems and solutions in a journal, which require producing sentences in context.
Students are prompted to write sentences in multiple activities: they answer comprehension questions in their journal, write a sentence about why the Indians hunted and a sentence describing where most people get their food, and complete the Ecosystems activity where they write a sentence for each animal's role. The student activity pages provide lines for student-written sentences (for example, four lines for the whale, two lines for the buffalo, and four lines for the alligator). Students also respond to short-answer questions about each story, which requires producing brief written sentences.
Students are asked in the Skills list to "Demonstrate understanding by using a variety of complete sentences." In Grammar Practice Part A (and Option 2) students record examples of declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences and, in Option 2, use ending punctuation. Students are also instructed to answer comprehension questions in a journal and to summarize stories, which requires producing written sentences.
The lesson's Skills list directs students to "Compose sentences with interesting, elaborate subjects" and to "Edit writing for standard grammar and usage, including subject-verb agreement." The Rough Draft Rubric's Grammar and Spelling category requires students to check subject-verb agreement, capitalization, comma usage, and correct spelling. The Organization criteria ask students to check sentence length variety and to produce a specified number of sentences per paragraph, and the editing step tells students to reread focusing on grammar and spelling errors.

2: Force and Power

Unit 1

Unit 1: Ben and Me

Activity 3 directs the student to write a paragraph using correct capitalization and punctuation and a variety of sentence lengths, which requires producing sentences in writing. Skills and activities ask the student to use writing to express ideas and to verbally summarize chapters, which require forming sentences orally and in print. The paragraph task specifies first-person writing and sentence variety, prompting the student to compose multiple sentences of differing lengths.
Students are prompted to write answers to chapter comprehension questions and journal prompts (Questions #1-#10). Students are asked to record a factual and fictional event from each chapter, describe what happened in the lightning experiment, and write a first-person account of kite-flying, which require composing sentences to express ideas.
Students are asked to answer two or three chapter questions in their journal after reading Chapters 9 and 10, which requires them to write responses (Reading And Questions). In Activity 3 (Fact and Opinion), students are directed to write two facts and two opinions that Amos shares, which requires composing written statements. The Life Application has students cut out sentences from articles and ads and sort them as facts or opinions, engaging them with sentence-level material.
The lesson requires students to revise and edit their drafts (Part 3) and lists "edit for correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and features of polished writing" as a skill. The Writing Rubric Mechanics section asks students to check capital letters, commas, correct punctuation, sentence beginnings, and logical order, and students are instructed to make changes and corrections to improve clarity and accuracy. Students are asked to produce a multi-paragraph account and to consult the rubric during a writing conference to address mechanical issues.
Unit 2

Unit 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Students are asked to answer chapter questions in a journal, which requires writing short responses. Students are asked to write a paragraph describing how a food tastes or how the witch would persuade them, which requires composing multiple sentences. Students record examples and draw symbols in the 'Good vs. Evil' chart, which involves writing sentence-level explanations for each chapter.
Students are asked to answer three or four journal questions about the chapters, which requires them to write responses (Questions #1-#7). Activity 2 asks students to write a sentence describing how the White Witch uses her power and to write sentences describing other villains. The Vocabulary Cube and Life Application activities require students to use vocabulary words in a sentence verbally and then record the sentence, and to write a sentence describing each villain they list.
Students are asked to write journal answers to questions about Chapters 11 and 12 and to write a paragraph describing a time they were tempted to do something wrong (Activity 4). Students are asked to write sentences using possessive nouns on the Student Activity Page and to write a letter option to a chosen hero (Activity 2, Option 2). Students are instructed to "write to discover, develop, and refine ideas" and to "write to record ideas and reflections," which involves producing written sentences and longer responses.
Unit 3

Unit 3: The BFG

Students answer selected comprehension questions in a journal, producing written responses about the chapters. Students write a descriptive piece about a vivid dream and choose a color scheme, composing sentences to explain why the dream would be good for the giant to capture. Students record sounds during a nature walk and write a paragraph describing how they would use an enhanced sense of hearing to help others.
Activity 4 (Interpreting the BFG) asks students to "correct the giant's grammar" and "reword phrases that are incorrect," providing specific sentences for students to revise. Several provided items require sentence-level correction (for example, "Little chiddlers who is building sandcastles on the beach." and "Even poisnowse snakes is never killing each other."), and the Skills section lists "Gain increasing knowledge of grammar."
Students are asked to answer three journal questions and discuss three others, requiring written sentence responses. The lesson includes a fill-in-the-blank paragraph activity (Option 1) and an advanced option where students must write a paragraph using target vocabulary (Option 2), both of which require composing sentences. The activity pages with prompts (e.g., "The queen is __", "If I were queen, I would __") direct students to write responses in sentence form.
Students answer three chapter questions in their journal and discuss others, producing written responses to comprehension questions. Students record quotations and write answers in the "Quotable Quotes" and "Hosting a Giant" activity pages, which require composing sentences to describe sizes, uses, and plans. Students brainstorm five adjectives describing the queen and provide textual support, and they complete sentence prompts such as "One way I am very different from the queen is:" and "I am most similar to the queen in that we both:".
Students are instructed to write multi-paragraph products (three paragraphs with specified sentence counts) and to draft, edit, and revise their writing. Rubrics and directions require correct capitalization, punctuation, and grammar and ask for formal English (avoid contractions and slang). Students are asked to produce final typed copies, which implies practice producing standard written sentences.

3: Similarities and Differences

Unit 1

Unit 1: Stories from Africa and Asia

Students are asked in Option 1 to write a descriptive paragraph about the meerkat that includes five facts and in Option 2 to write a short story that includes at least five facts, requiring them to produce written sentences. Students record notes in the graphic organizer about Botswana (land, language, animals, people), which prompts them to write informational statements. The wrap-up asks students to tell what they learned about Botswana and the meerkat, prompting them to produce oral or written complete sentences.
Students are asked in Activity 2 to edit three paragraphs for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, which requires them to correct sentence-level problems. The provided answer notes explicitly tell students to add commas after 'shy' and 'nervous' and to insert a period after 'friend,' which directs students to fix a run-on/comma-splice. The Student Activity Page directs students to edit text to produce corrected sentences about Precious and her friends.
Students are asked to write a paragraph about a personal experience in Activity 2, and to answer questions in their journal and in discussion after reading Chapters 7 and 8. Activity 3 directs students to create two sentences from verb+adverb combinations and two sentences from noun+adjective combinations, providing practice composing sentences. Options 1 and 2 require students to write a few descriptive sentences on a poster or a short story that includes specific word types (adjectives and adverbs).
Students are required to write a four-paragraph book report using the provided "Organizing My Report" pages, which leads them to produce many sentences in a structured draft. The Step 2 Editing the Report directs students to read their draft, have a conference about their writing, and "make changes that will improve the content, grammar, and organization," which gives students an opportunity to revise sentence-level issues. The skills list includes using oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner, implying practice with sentence construction and sequencing.
Students are asked to answer three journal questions and develop two of their own questions, which requires composing written responses. Students must write a get-well card of at least eight sentences, draft it on notebook paper, and edit it before writing it in the card. The lesson prompts a review of letter form (greeting, date, first person, closing, signature), which supports producing correctly formed sentences in context.
Students are asked in Activity 3, Option 2 to write a letter of at least eight sentences in first person from one character to another, requiring them to produce multiple sentences. Students complete Student Activity Pages that prompt them to write a description of a character, note a character's action, and record quotes or phrases, which require short written responses. Students design test questions and an answer key in Activity 4, which requires composing questions and answer sentences.
Unit 2

Unit 2: Holes

Students are directed to use each vocabulary word in a sentence orally during the vocabulary activities and the wrapping-up step. Students are asked to write a paragraph (Option 2) describing a desert's geographic location, rainfall, and organisms, which requires producing connected written sentences. The Skills section explicitly includes using oral and written language to report information and compiling notes into outlines, reports, or summaries, indicating students will produce written sentences and short compositions.
Students are asked to answer journal questions after reading Chapters 21–24, which requires them to write responses to comprehension questions. Students are instructed in Activity 1 to record information about characters on "Happy Campers" pages and in Activity 2 to write either a paragraph describing experiences in the Old West or a letter to a relative describing their journey, job, and hardships. The Skills section includes "Share written products in a variety of ways," indicating students will produce written work to communicate ideas.
The lesson defines sentence fragments and run-on sentences and lists recognizing them as a targeted skill. Activity 2 directs students to discuss meanings, hear example fragments and run-ons, and learn fixes (splitting sentences or adding a comma + FANBOYS). The Student Activity Page asks students to identify sentences as run-ons or fragments, correct each one, and rewrite a paragraph to correct run-ons and fragments.
Students are asked to summarize chapters and compose text in a variety of forms, which requires producing sentences. In the Adverb Game students must supply an adverb and can earn points for using that adverb in a sentence (with extra points for sentences about the book). Activity pages ask students to write similarities and differences between characters and to fill in relative adverbs in sentence prompts.
Students complete Activity 2 "Missing Punctuation," where they insert ending punctuation, apostrophes, commas, and quotation marks into eight given sentences. The Student Activity Page lists eight unpunctuated sentences for students to correct (e.g., dialogue without quotation marks, a question missing a question mark, sentences missing commas around nonrestrictive clauses). Instructions explicitly tell students to insert the missing punctuation, and answer keys are provided for several corrected sentences.
Students answer three or four comprehension questions in their journal and share remaining answers orally, which requires them to produce written and spoken sentences. Students are prompted at the end to give an example of a pair of homophones and to use each word in a sentence, explicitly asking them to construct sentences. Students respond to open-ended questions (e.g., "Why do you think?") that require explanatory sentence production.
Students are asked to write two paragraphs describing the camp (name, geography, sleeping/eating quarters, staff, activities, character-building, and staff interactions), which requires composing multi-sentence descriptions. Other tasks ask students to write a camp song or chant, annotate a uniform description, and list five ways the new camp differs from Camp Green Lake, all requiring sentence-level writing. The student pages provide lined spaces and numbered prompts that guide students to produce written sentences and short paragraphs.
Unit 3

Unit 3: Stories from Europe

Students are taught what an independent clause is (a subject and verb that is a complete thought) in the Facts and Definitions. Activity 5 explicitly teaches that two independent clauses can be joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) and provides multiple exercises where students combine independent clauses into compound sentences. The lesson's wrap-up asks students to write a sentence that combines two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, providing direct practice producing complete compound sentences.
Students are asked to retell events from a chosen story in first person and "write only 8-10 sentences," which requires them to produce multiple written sentences. The Student Activity Page prompts students to list similarities and differences and to explain which stories are most similar or different, requiring written sentence responses. The activities also ask students to label point of view and explain differences between first- and third-person narration, prompting sentence-level explanations.

4: Exploration and Survival

Unit 1

Unit 1: Abel's Island

Students are asked to write answers to comprehension questions in a journal and on activity pages, producing written responses to questions (e.g., predictions, how Abel uses resources). Students fill in words in sentence contexts on the Predictions and Inferences pages and complete short-answer prediction prompts with written sentences. Students create a picture dictionary by writing vocabulary words and definitions on left-hand pages, which requires composing brief definitional sentences or phrases.
Students are prompted to write sentences for vocabulary words on the Chapters 11-20 Vocabulary Cards (each card includes a blank for "Sentence"). The vocabulary game awards extra points if a student can use the target word in a sentence. In the Adaptations for a Mouse activity and the wrapping-up questions, students must describe how adaptations aid survival and describe threats, which requires producing written or spoken sentences.
The Student Activity Page explicitly directs students to "Answer the following questions using complete sentences," and multiple question prompts require written sentence responses. The Skills section includes "Use oral and written language to report on a topic," which supports students producing written sentences. The Hibernation Experiment and journal/discussion questions ask students to write and discuss answers, providing opportunities to produce complete sentences in context.
Students are asked to prepare a script with lines for characters, stage directions, a set description, and three props, and several lines are provided for writing the script. Students are prompted to answer journal/discussion questions about chapters and to describe theatrical terms, which require composing spoken or written responses. The skills section explicitly names using oral and written language to present information in a sequenced, logical manner.
Students are asked to write three big questions and three little questions about Chapters 17–18, requiring them to compose written questions. Students identify underlined words in example sentences and fill blanks with appropriate parts of speech (Option 1 and Option 2), working within sentence frames. Students describe Abel before and after the island and write acrostic descriptions, which require them to produce multiword responses and sentences about character change.
Unit 2

Unit 2: Pedro's Journal

Students are asked to answer comprehension questions in a journal, which requires them to write sentence responses (e.g., answers to Questions #1–#5). Students are prompted to write a journal entry about what they would do with 10,000 Maravedis and to make up their own myth or omen about a meteor, both tasks that require composing sentences and paragraphs. The vocabulary Option 2 asks students to write a short paragraph using listed words, providing another opportunity to produce full sentences.
Students practice inserting quotation marks, commas, and periods into sentence examples (Activity 3 Part A) and then write two sentences using quotation marks (Part B). The Skills list includes "Use correct punctuation and capitalization," and examples/answers show complete quoted sentences such as "Alter course!" Columbus shouted. Students also record journal responses and compose short answers to questions, which requires producing written sentences.
Students are asked to answer seven comprehension questions in writing or discussion, which requires them to produce written responses to prompts. Students complete the 'Surviving Life at Sea, Surviving Life on Land' graphic organizer by listing disadvantages in two columns, and they complete the sentence prompt "I would rather be ___ because ___," which prompts sentence production. Several activities call for short written answers or journal responses that require composing sentences.
The lesson includes a Subject-Verb Agreement section that explains how to add an "s" to verbs for singular subjects and how verbs differ for plural subjects. In the activity pages students match subjects with predicates to make complete sentences (Part A) and fill in or add verbs that agree with subjects to complete sentences (Part B). Students are instructed to circle the subject and underline the predicate, and to add an "s" to verbs when needed, which requires producing or completing whole sentences.
Students are asked to write two or three sentences of dialogue and to write a conversation between Pedro and Columbus with at least five lines of dialogue, using alternative verbs instead of "said." The skills list explicitly includes "Use correct punctuation and capitalization," and the Student Activity Page gives sentence-start prompts (e.g., "Pedro declared,") and lines for students to complete their spoken lines.
Students answer three assigned journal questions about Pedro's Journey and complete "The Journey" journal pages, which requires them to write responses in sentence form. Students complete the Figures of Speech pages by recording comparisons, writing their own similes, and explaining idioms, which involves composing phrases and sentences. Students write a firsthand report pretending to be Pedro and then deliver it to an audience, requiring extended written and spoken sentence production.
Students are asked to write sentences using six vocabulary words on the Vocabulary Cube, which requires composing full sentences that include target words. Students must write three sentences that contain quotes from the book on the Quotes Cube and are reminded to use correct punctuation for quoted sentences. Several other cubes (Exploration, Historical Fiction, Survival) ask students to "record" or describe discoveries, facts, or survival strategies, which can involve writing explanatory sentences.
Unit 3

Unit 3: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Students practice combining short, choppy sentences using conjunctions in the "Combining Sentences" activities where they place commas and join sentence pairs. The lesson reviews the rule to "use a comma before a conjunction when the words on each side of the conjunction could stand alone as a sentence" and gives sentence pairs and prompts for students to combine them (e.g., "The rats learned how to read in the lab. The rats ran through mazes in the lab."). The provided answer key shows corrected combined sentences with commas when two independent clauses are joined (e.g., "Nicodemus wanted to go to leave NIMH, yet he also wanted...").