Fifth Grade - ELA
1: Relationships
Unit 1: Poetry
Lesson 1
What Is Poetry?
Students are given a defined list of poetry terms in the "Things to Know" section and complete multiple activities (Poetry Vocabulary, Poetry Techniques, Rhyming Patterns) that require them to identify, label, and record examples of syllable, line, stanza, couplet, quatrain, meter, rhyming pattern, weak rhyme, onomatopoeia, alliteration, metaphor/simile, and synonyms. Students are instructed to use a thesaurus to find synonyms for words from poems and to apply these language techniques when writing their own poems. Directions on activity pages ask students to write stanzas, label rhyming letters, mark syllable counts, and produce metaphor/simile examples, demonstrating use of domain-specific vocabulary in practice tasks.
Lesson 2
Parts of Speech and Rhymes in Poetry
Students identify and list action verbs from a poem and brainstorm strong, specific verbs related to an animal (Activity 1). Students record nouns and the adjectives that describe them and create illustrations based on those adjective-noun combinations (Activity 2). The "Things to Know" section explicitly tells students that "Strong verbs and interesting adjectives make a poem stronger and more effective," reinforcing precise word choice.
Lesson 3
Geography and Poetry
Students label states, cities, and bodies of water mentioned in the poems on a map, which requires them to use geographic names (e.g., Kentucky, Knoxville, Mississippi River, Florida Everglades). Students brainstorm a list of nouns related to their town for a seasonal poem, selecting specific words to describe local features. Students write an acrostic poem about their state and are asked to discuss the facts they included, encouraging use of place-specific terms.
Lesson 5
Figurative Language and Voice
Students learn and are given definitions for domain-specific vocabulary such as metaphor, simile, personification, and point of view. Students are asked to identify examples of figurative language in poems, write journal entries explaining how the author uses personification, and label the point of view of each poem (first, second, third). Students are prompted to write three metaphors and to use concrete sensory details in writing as listed in the skills.
Lesson 6
Art and Poetry
Students are asked to "Use concrete sensory details in writing" in the Skills section and to record a simile from a poem, which directs attention to precise descriptive language. Students answer questions prompting descriptive responses about culture, geography, mood, and vivid imagery, and they write poems (two couplets and an illustrated poem about their town) that require choosing specific sensory words and images. Students also are instructed to decide line breaks for song lyrics read as poetry, which involves attention to word choice and phrasing.
Lesson 7
Robert Frost
The lesson defines action verbs and linking verbs in "Things to Know" and directs students in the "Verbs in Poetry" activity to record action verbs from the poem "dog" and then write a poem using those verbs. The "Frost Poems" activity asks students to identify stanza counts, point of view, and label stanza types (couplets, quatrains, cinquain), which uses domain-specific poetry vocabulary. The "Who Is Robert Frost?" page asks students to record ten clues including "techniques used by Robert Frost," prompting attention to literary/poetic terms.
Lesson 8
You Come Too
Students are asked to choose words and phrases that describe pictures and then assemble them into poems (Activity 2), which requires selecting concrete nouns, interesting adjectives, and action verbs to create images. The plan asks students to explain their illustrations and the words from the poem that helped them draw it (Parent Plan), and the curriculum defines and has students identify figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification) and onomatopoeia. The review explicitly tells students that nouns, adjectives, and verbs help create images, directing attention to precise word choice for description.
Lesson 9
Write About What You Know
Students are prompted to use "vivid adjectives, interesting nouns, strong verbs, and visual imagery" when writing a free-verse poem, which teaches attention to precise word choice. Students record titles, words from poems, and figurative language phrases on "Book of Poetry" pages, practicing identification and use of poetic vocabulary. Students encounter and can note many domain-specific poetic terms (metaphor, onomatopoeia, iambic, sonnet, haiku, free verse, etc.) through the alphabetized activity pages, providing opportunities to learn and use those terms.
Lesson 10
Inspired
The Skills section asks students to "Adapt spoken language such as word choice, diction, and usage to the audience, purpose, and occasion," and to "Assess how language choice and delivery affect the tone of the message," which directs students to consider precise word choice. Activity 1 and the Parent Plan note that students compare Jack's poem to Walter Dean Myers's poem and observe specific word substitutions and structural similarities, so students practice noticing and choosing words. Activity 2 has students write a poem inspired by another poem, which requires selecting words and phrasing deliberately.
Final Project
Coffee House Poetry Reading
The lesson asks students to create a written program and to "write down a description of the setting," which requires choosing words to describe order, location, and atmosphere. The rubric includes criteria such as "Words were easy to understand" and the Skills list instructs students to "Assess how language choice and delivery affect the tone of the message" and to "Adapt spoken language such as word choice, diction, and usage to the audience, purpose, and occasion." The "Ideas to Think About" prompts ask students to consider techniques poets use and how poets appeal to the senses, implying attention to word choice and sensory language.
Unit 2: The View from Saturday
Lesson 2
Florida
Students are asked to locate word meanings using a dictionary and record definitions on note cards for a Vocabulary Cube, then practice using each target word correctly in sentences during a game. The loggerhead sea turtle plaque activity requires students to research facts (using an encyclopedia or provided link) and include 4-6 important details, with the student page explicitly listing the common and scientific names (Caretta caretta). Parent/teacher prompts direct students to review vocabulary definitions and read aloud the plaque they wrote.
Lesson 4
Report Writing
Students are directed to research a turtle species and respond to focused outline prompts about habitat, food sources, predators, defenses, life cycle, and relationships with humans. The materials require students to use multiple sources, organize information into an outline, and produce a report that provides "adequate details and information." The rubric and editing steps ask students to revise for ideas and provide details, and students are told to use a dictionary to check words.
Lesson 6
Adventures in Wonderland
Students are asked to write a storyline for "Ethan's Story," which requires composing extended text. Students complete a bubble map about friendship and then "write a short paragraph" that uses words from the bubble map and includes a topic sentence, supporting details, a concluding sentence, and at least one simile or metaphor. Students also identify and produce similes/metaphors and practice choosing words on the bubble map, which involves selecting descriptive vocabulary for their paragraph.
Lesson 7
Annie
Students are introduced to theater-specific vocabulary (dialogue, character, scene, script, stage directions) and explanations of stage directions versus dialogue. Students are instructed to write a script, record lines for each character, and place stage directions in parentheses, demonstrating use of script conventions. The script example models how to format dialogue and stage directions, and Activity 3 asks students to write phrases explaining character connections.
Lesson 8
The Souls
The lesson defines adverbs and explains that adverbs tell when, where, how, and to what extent, and it explicitly lists the skill 'Identify and use adverbs.' The Round and Flat Characters activity names and defines the domain-specific literary terms 'round' and 'flat' characters and asks students to list characters and write three things they know about each. The adverb cooking activity requires students to write sentences using adverbs, and the character activity requires students to use the terms 'round' and 'flat' when describing characters.
Final Project
An Afternoon Tea
Students are asked to "Use strong verbs in your invitations to make them more interesting," and the rubric for the Invitation explicitly lists "Use of strong verbs," "Use of similes or metaphors," and "Inclusion of an idiom." The Parent Plan instructs caregivers to "Review examples of idioms, similes, and metaphors, and discuss what it means to use strong verbs," which directs students to practice precise word choice. Students also choose specific teas and plan food items ("Pick a special tea for each guest"), which could encourage naming particular tea types and menu items.
Unit 3: American Tall Tales and Legends
Lesson 1
Story Genres
The lesson provides explicit genre vocabulary and definitions (tall tales, myths, trickster tales, legends) and asks students to write the title of a story beneath each definition (Activity 1), which requires recognizing and matching domain-specific terms. Activity 2 lists elements of culture (homes, food, transportation, the arts, government, jobs, environment, traditions) and asks students to record five cultural details from a folktale, prompting students to identify cultural vocabulary. Activity 3 has students place story titles into labeled U.S. regions (Northeast, Southeast/South, Midwest, Southwest, West), reinforcing regional/domain vocabulary in a mapping task.
Lesson 2
Tales and Legends of the Northeast
Students record words and phrases that describe three main women characters on character webs and fill out a bio-poem about John Chapman after researching his life. Students research John Chapman using linked reference sites and create a Venn diagram comparing the Johnny Appleseed legend to the real man. Students also identify and create hyperboles, which requires choosing descriptive language for characters.
Lesson 3
Tales and Legends of the South
Students are given definitions of key literary terms (e.g., "Figures of speech are phrases that depart from their literal meaning," "The protagonist..." and "The antagonist...") in the Things to Know section. The Skills list explicitly includes "Define figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification) and identify its use in literary works." Activity 2 (Figures of Speech) asks students to translate figures of speech and, in Option 2, to use those figures in sentences that show contextual meaning. The Trickster Character page asks students to produce "Three words or phrases to describe the trickster," prompting selection of descriptive vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Tales and Legends of the Midwest
Students are asked in "Author's Language" to list three sentences that helped bring John Henry to life, which has them analyze specific word choices. The "Unnecessary Sentences" activity has students identify and remove irrelevant sentences, practicing concision and focus in writing. Activities such as "Wagon Ride," "Man vs. Machine," and the Mississippi mapping task require students to produce lists or journal responses about historical/informational topics that include domain terms like "steamboat," "Westward Expansion," and "Mississippi River."
Lesson 6
Tales and Legends of the West
Students identify and match myth characters and descriptive labels on the "Myth" activity page (e.g., Pele -- ruler of the fire gods; Hiiaka -- creative god who taught humans the hula, lei-making, and many chants). The skills section explicitly states students will "increase reading and writing vocabulary through discussion," and the storytelling activity asks students to use "exciting language" and transition words when retelling stories. The volcano and Hawaii activities introduce domain terms (volcano, erupt, lei-making, Pele) which students encounter and use in hands-on projects and oral retellings.
Final Project
Your Own Tall Tale or Legend
Students are asked to "use real geographical details and maybe even some real state history" when composing their folktale, and they are directed to "record ten details about the setting" described by geographical features and culture. The rubric specifically asks, "Did I include geographical and cultural details in my story?", prompting students to include domain-related facts. Students are also instructed to use a dictionary when unsure of spelling and to use transition words effectively, implying attention to word choice and clarity.
2: Diversity and Interdependence
Unit 1: The Cay
Lesson 1
Story Context
Students match boat names (Destroyer, German U-boat, Schooner, Lifeboat, Oil Tanker) with pictures and descriptions on the "Types of Boats" page, directly practicing domain-specific vocabulary. Students label the Dutch Islands on a map and research Curaçao, which requires use of geographic and historical terms (Curacao, Netherlands, Axis/Allied Powers). Students write an informational paragraph for a travel brochure and answer journal questions about World War II causes and participants, providing opportunities to use topic-specific language in explanatory writing.
Lesson 2
Curacao
Students are asked to learn and record definitions for targeted vocabulary (dike, cargo, lulled, rage, mental, outrageous) and to write definitions from context before checking dictionary meanings (Activity 1). The lesson repeatedly directs students to review these vocabulary words and to infer word meanings from roots, prefixes, and suffixes (Skills and Things to Know). Students answer comprehension questions in complete sentences, which requires some use of precise wording when describing events and people in the chapters.
Lesson 3
Overboard
Students are asked to "use strong verbs and vivid adjectives" when writing a paragraph describing what happened to Phillip, which prompts precise word choice. Activity 2 asks students to rewrite a paragraph to vary sentence lengths and to remember comma rules when combining clauses, encouraging careful language construction. Activity 3 has students translate Timothy's dialect and the lesson defines "dialect," giving practice with vocabulary and word meanings in context.
Lesson 4
Land
Students work with a "Types of Sharks" matching activity that names species (e.g., Great White, Whale, Bull, Nurse, Hammerhead, Goblin, Tiger) and provides descriptive, domain-specific terms (e.g., filter feeder, torpedo-shaped body, snout, bottom-dwelling). In the "Shark Research" activity students must choose one shark, list three important facts and two related ideas on a web, and draw the shark in its habitat, which requires locating and recording factual, topic-specific information. The activities also ask students to organize ideas using mapping/webbing, which is intended for use in presenting information about the shark.
Lesson 5
Stranded
Students read the nonfiction book Coral Reef Food Chains and are asked to illustrate a coral reef and label the living things in their picture, which requires naming domain-specific organisms. Students complete a Survival activity in which they illustrate resources from the coral reef and write descriptions of how each resource could be used, prompting use of topic-related vocabulary. The prepositional-phrase activities include sentences that name setting elements (shore, coral reef, lobster, shelter, raft) that expose students to domain words in context.
Lesson 7
Different Cultures
In Activity 2 students are asked to color and label coral reef organisms and to classify each animal using provided group headings (vertebrates, invertebrates, echinoderms, mollusks, arthropods). Option 2 requires students to design a chart separating vertebrates from invertebrates and to research and place creatures into the correct classes. The activity materials include short, domain-specific definitions (e.g., "Fish: live in water, covered with scales"; "Mollusk: soft body, usually covered with hard shell") that students use when labeling and sorting.
Lesson 8
Fishing
Students are asked to write two journal entries from Phillip's perspective that must rely on hearing, touch, smell, and taste and the Parent Plan asks caregivers to check for "interesting, descriptive adjectives and strong verbs," which focuses student use of precise descriptive language. Activity 1 provides specific domain vocabulary and facts about hurricanes and tornadoes (e.g., size, wind speeds, eye, rotate) and requires students to conduct a simulation that demonstrates differences, giving students an opportunity to explain using those terms. Activity 3 asks students to list five items for a hurricane survival kit and "describe why" they would include each, prompting explanatory writing about a weather topic.
Lesson 9
The Storm
Students are prompted to focus on word choice through the writing rubric and guidance: the rubric section 'Interesting Words' asks whether students use adjectives and interesting verbs and whether they 'hook' the reader. Activity 2 states the focus of the essay will be on 'sentence structure, interesting words, and mechanics.' The 'Things to Review' list explicitly reminds students to review 'the importance of a good hook, varied sentence lengths, varying the beginning of the sentence, and using interesting words.'
Lesson 10
Survival
Students are instructed to revise their drafts by 'selecting more interesting words to make the writing more descriptive and engaging,' and to focus on varying sentence length and beginnings. The Activities require students to produce a final copy and to describe three items that represent Timothy, which asks students to generate descriptive explanations. The rubric and the 'Handy Guide to Writing' are referenced as resources for improving language and conventions.
Final Project
For Timothy
Students are asked to write a monument inscription (usually under 20 words) and a formal eulogy, with rubric criteria that rate inscription clarity, accuracy, thoughtfulness, and eulogy clarity and emphasis on important words and phrases. The Skills and parent guidance ask students to use details, examples, and to emphasize ideas in oral presentations and to speak formally using good grammar. The project requires students to choose words that reflect Timothy's character and to rehearse reading aloud to ensure clarity and emphasis.
Unit 2: A House of Tailors
Lesson 2
Dina in Germany
The lesson provides an explicit vocabulary list (ruffian, garnet, trousers, infantry, skiff, unwary) and directs students to look up each definition in a dictionary. Activity 1 asks students to create a picture map for vocabulary words and to explain their picture maps, and the Parent Plan skill states students should identify key words and discover their meanings. The lesson also notes that learning new vocabulary will make students' writing more interesting, linking vocabulary study to communication.
Lesson 4
Welcome to New York
Students are asked to identify and list "interesting adjectives" and "strong verbs" from the text and to sort words and phrases by the five senses (Activities 1 and the Student Activity Page), which requires choosing precise descriptive language. Activity 3 directs students to use "interesting, descriptive adjectives and strong verbs" to write a paragraph describing a street and to read the paragraph aloud, pointing out words that appeal to each sense. The "Things to Know" section and Activity 2 explicitly teach domain-specific grammar vocabulary (coordinating conjunction, independent/dependent clause, FANBOYS) and practice correct comma use when combining clauses.
Lesson 6
A New Hat
Students study and practice specific vocabulary (coarse, whir, jostling, blustery, maneuvered) by looking up definitions, roots/prefixes/suffixes, synonyms/antonyms, writing sentences, and creating/rolling vocabulary cubes. Students are directed to use a dictionary and thesaurus to clarify meanings and usage, and to play games and use the vocabulary in conversation. The lesson asks students to fill information on the page "The City and the People of New York in 1870," which accompanies the vocabulary work.
Lesson 7
Sickness
Students are prompted to research smallpox and complete specific prompts such as "What are the symptoms?", "How is it spread?", "Who discovered the vaccine?", and "What is the vaccine?", which requires use of domain-specific terms. A reading question asks how Dina described vaccination, eliciting a technical description ("to puncture the skin with a needle filled with cowpox disease"). The "Finding the Right Words" activity asks students to choose the most effective language to describe situations, explicitly teaching precise word choice.
Lesson 9
A Letter
The rubric asks students to consider word choice questions such as whether they use words that appeal to the reader's senses and whether they create images with their words, guiding students to select descriptive language. The Skills section explicitly lists that students should "use concrete sensory details in writing," and the Organizing Your Ideas activity directs students to develop topic sentences and supporting details that require focused word choice.
Final Project
Today and Yesterday or Story Quilt
Students are instructed in Part 1 to "record important information and vivid words and phrases that describe the city" while researching New York. The poem rubric lists "Use of vivid language" and requires fact-based information and reflection on how immigration shaped the city. The Parent Plan skills note that students should "use various reference materials (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus...) as an aid to writing," supporting word choice and vocabulary development.
Unit 3: My Side of the Mountain
Lesson 1
Preparing for the Adventure
The lesson introduces domain-specific terms such as "ecosystem," "temperate forest biome," and "deciduous trees," and asks students to find information about the Catskill Mountains and their seasons. Students are asked to observe, examine, and record data about ecosystems and to present information on graphic organizers (e.g., the "Seasons in the Catskill Mountains" pages and the plot diagram). Several activities require students to write descriptions or journal entries about seasonal activities, plants, and animals, which provide opportunities to use subject-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Learning to Survive
Students study a list of domain-specific vocabulary (bough, combustible, ventilate, etc.) with definitions and practice those words through a cut-and-match Vocabulary Memory activity. Students read Smokey the Bear fire-safety rules and are instructed to summarize the major points on a 'Building a Campfire' poster that must be clear and quickly understood. Parents are prompted to review the vocabulary and ask how students selected information for their poster, reinforcing word review and selection of key content.
Lesson 3
Making a Home
Students are asked to learn and memorize a list of natural roots (aqua, bio, geo, hab, hydr, nat, terr, vor, etc.), pick words containing those roots, and use each in a sentence related to science or nature. In the Wilderness Survival activity, students must explain how each listed item would help Sam survive and rank items from most to least important, which requires them to use vocabulary tied to survival and natural resources. The Forced Analogy task asks students to generate nouns related to the deciduous forest and craft comparisons to wilderness survival, encouraging use of biome-related terms in explanatory sentences.
Lesson 4
A Baby Falcon
Students are taught common roots and affixes (Parent Plan skills) and complete a Prefixes activity where they underline prefixes, think of other words with the same prefix, and write sentences using those words. In Activity 1 students describe an animal's personality and explain the relationship they would have with it, requiring descriptive word choice. The Bird Feeder activity asks students to closely observe birds, which could produce observational vocabulary tied to a topic.
Lesson 6
Autumn
Students are asked to "pretend that you are an ornithologist" and research falcons and how they interact with other organisms, then give a short presentation (speech + poster/clay models/PowerPoint) about those relationships. The materials explicitly define the domain term "ornithologist" in the Things to Know section. Students also complete prefixes/suffixes/roots activities and write meanings for words (e.g., uninhabitable, plentiful) to build precise word understanding that supports informative explanations.
Lesson 7
Newspaper Reporter
Students are instructed to "use descriptions to make the scene come alive" and to "provide plenty of details and descriptions," and the rubric explicitly asks if the writing contains "effective descriptions" and "plenty of details and descriptions." The activities require students to include direct quotations and to craft a clear first paragraph with basic information (who, what, when, where), which encourages choosing clear and specific wording for informational clarity.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students complete explicit vocabulary tasks: they make a chart defining prefixes, suffixes, and roots, create a memory game with definitions, and find words with affixes in passages. Students produce explanatory products such as a food web, classification of plants and animals with attributes, and written descriptions of interdependence that require naming relationships and interactions. The Skills section directs students to use knowledge of roots and affixes to analyze complex words and to write to inform, tying vocabulary work to informative writing.
3: Discovery and Survival
Unit 1: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Lesson 1
Barbados to Connecticut
The lesson provides a vocabulary list (disembark, quenched, impression, nonplussed, frippery, impulse, infectious, conspicuous) and directs students to review definitions. Activity 3 instructs students to use each vocabulary word in a sentence about the first two chapters of the book. The parent plan asks adults to review the sentences to check that the vocabulary words were used correctly, and the skills list includes "Expand vocabulary through reading."
Lesson 2
The Woods
Students read informational passages and historical fiction that include domain-specific terms (Puritans, colony, plantations, slavery, climate) and answer comprehension questions referencing those terms. Students are asked to take notes in a journal about the Connecticut Colony using linked informational resources and to complete a "Barbados vs. Connecticut" comparison chart that lists vocabulary-like descriptions (e.g., "slaves work on plantations," "a climate with definite seasons"). The activities require organizing content-specific information when comparing geography and culture.
Lesson 3
Meeting House
Students encounter domain-specific terms in the Things to Know section (e.g., "Meeting House," "Connecticut," "Royalists/loyalists") and see labeled geographic vocabulary on the Connecticut maps (counties, rivers, ports, Long Island Sound). Students are asked to record three ideas in a journal about how geography and climate affected colonists and to compare colonial and modern maps, which requires using geographic terms. The personal narrative activity and Parent Plan prompts ask students to focus on word choices and use concrete sensory details to make writing vivid.
Lesson 4
William
Students make a journal list of colonists' daily chores, naming tasks and resources used to survive (Activity 1). Students list three reasons a colonist might be a Royalist and three reasons for a free government in labeled columns, using terms like "Royalist," "Free Government," and "loyalist" (Activity 2 and Student Activity Page). Students review and discuss the reasons and daily tasks, verbally using the domain-related words and comparing perspectives (Wrapping Up and Parent Plan prompts).
Lesson 5
The Meadow
Students practice precise word choice and vivid language in the Skills section and the Show, Don't Tell activity, where they rewrite sentences using action verbs, descriptive nouns, sensory details, and dialogue. The Skills list explicitly tells students to "Edit writing to ensure appropriate word choice" and to "Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately to make writing vivid or precise." The Descriptive Clauses activity teaches grammatical vocabulary (independent/dependent clause, descriptive clause) and how to punctuate clauses to clarify meaning.
Lesson 6
The Widow
Students are given a vocabulary word list (malicious, drudgery, forfeit, reconcile, arrogance, mockery, quizzical, exquisite) and instructed to create a Vocabulary Picture Dictionary where they write each word and its definition and draw a picture to remember it. The plan asks students to add unfamiliar words they encounter, review the words daily, and use each vocabulary word in a sentence. Students also complete a Venn diagram comparing Quaker and Puritan beliefs, which requires using domain-specific terms about religious practices and authority.
Lesson 7
A Bird
Students are asked in Activity 3 to brainstorm descriptive phrases about a painting and to "use interesting language" in their descriptions. Activity 2 asks students to identify a metaphor and to compare the Jamaican bird to Kit, which requires selecting specific descriptive comparisons. Activity 1 asks students to write dialogue and pay attention to word choice while punctuating speech correctly.
Lesson 8
New England in the Fall
Students identify and define literary terms (simile, personification, imagery) and practice underlining similes and circling personification in a descriptive passage. Students paint a scene and write three descriptive sentences using sensory details and figurative language, and they are asked to consider whether their word choices show rather than tell. Students list colonists' complaints about the new governor and answer comprehension questions that use domain-specific terms such as "royal governor," "Royalist," and "charter."
Lesson 10
A Witch Hunt
Students read content that includes domain-specific terms (e.g., Salem Witch Trials, Puritan, witchcraft, hysteria, hallucinations, fungus) in the Things to Know and Activity 1 explanation list. Students are asked to brainstorm reasons, record ideas in a journal, and write explanations for the three most likely causes on the Student Activity Page, which requires them to produce informative explanations. Activity 2 asks students to rewrite a paragraph to correct sentence-level problems, giving students practice in producing clearer written explanations.
Lesson 11
The Trial
Students are asked to pretend they are in a court trial and make up three arguments to defend Kit, providing support for each argument on the provided activity page. The Skills section instructs students to use oral and written language to present information in a clear, concise manner. The Parent Plan prompts encourage students to present arguments as if in court and to sound convincing to persuade listeners.
Final Project
Narrative Essay
The lesson explicitly instructs students to use "vivid and precise" verbs and to include "specific, sensory details" in narrative writing. The Narrative Essay Rubric includes an "Interesting Words" category that asks students to use adjectives and adverbs for interest, strong verb usage, words that "show rather than tell," and words that appeal to the senses. Multiple writing tasks (introductory, body, and concluding paragraph guidance) prompt students to choose descriptive language and strong verbs when composing and revising.
Unit 2: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Lesson 1
Train Station in Paris
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (decrepit, agitated, automaton, frayed, artificial, disheveled, horologist) and complete a three-part Vocabulary activity where they match words to meanings, identify prefixes/suffixes, and generate additional words with those affixes. Students are directed to research Paris and then produce an informative product (a three-day travel itinerary) that asks them to describe what they will find at each place and explain why each place is important. The lesson also asks students to look up unknown definitions in a dictionary, reinforcing precise meanings of domain-specific terms.
Lesson 3
Memories
Students are asked to write a personal memory and explicitly told to "communicate your emotion and the details," which asks them to choose descriptive language in their journal writing. Students complete a "Two Versions" graphic organizer that labels literary categories such as Characters, Setting, Events, Message/Moral, and Mood/Tone, prompting them to use literary terms when comparing versions. Students are also asked to summarize what has happened in the story and to compare the original Andersen text with a revised or filmed version, activities that require descriptive and content-specific vocabulary.
Lesson 4
The Key
Students are asked in Activity 1 to "describe on a note card what specific task your automaton would do," requiring them to name parts or actions (the activity text also mentions gears and programming). The Parent Plan discussion includes the term "horology (making clocks)," introducing a piece of domain-specific vocabulary. The Skills list asks students to "use traditional structures for conveying information" and to "provide a context that enables the listener to imagine the circumstances," which supports informative explanation.
Lesson 5
A Box
Students locate and record sentences containing target vocabulary words (dredge, armoire, divert, enveloped, celestial, rediscovered, sizeable) and guess meanings using context clues and knowledge of prefixes and suffixes. Students look up dictionary definitions and record actual meanings to compare with their guesses. Students research Georges Méliès, take factual note cards with dates, organize facts chronologically, and compare the historical information to the story.
Lesson 6
Prometheus
Students are asked to retell the myth of Prometheus and to write about similarities between Hugo and Prometheus on the "Two Thieves?" page, which prompts explanation of reasons for stealing and consequences. Students brainstorm ways humans use fire (Option 1) or how life would differ without fire (Option 2), activities that require describing uses and effects of fire. The lesson defines the term "theme" and asks students to write about the purpose of characters and family members, prompting explanatory writing that could include topic-specific terms like "myth," "Titan," or "fire."
Lesson 7
Six Months Later
Students are told to "think carefully about your word choice, creating suspense, vivid details, and action in the story," and they are asked to compose a synopsis and a short creative story using a Story Organizer. The lesson's skills list directs students to "use concrete sensory details" and to "compose a draft that conveys major ideas and maintains focus ... with specific, relevant supporting details." Activities require students to record information, provide three reasons a book deserves an award, and describe discoveries and resulting changes for characters, which encourages precise descriptive writing.
Final Project
Hugo Mini-Projects
Students complete a Prefixes & Suffixes section where they create a chart listing each prefix/suffix, their meanings, and example words, design a game to remember affixes, or write sentences using affix meanings. The Parent Plan and Skills list directs students to use reference materials (dictionary, thesaurus) and to know common roots and affixes derived from Greek and Latin to analyze word meanings. Research and Movies mini-projects ask students to create informative cards or explanatory products about early cinema, actors, or automatons, which will require content-specific vocabulary.
Unit 3: The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
Lesson 1
From Massachusetts to California
Students practice vocabulary knowledge with a listed set of words (boarder, imminent, ravine, arithmetic, ballad, outlaw) through a matching exercise and a Picture Vocabulary Game that asks them to draw clues and use a dictionary if unsure. Students are asked to "Use reference aids to clarify meanings and usage of vocabulary words" and the Skills section notes increasing reading and writing vocabulary through word study. Students conduct research about the California Gold Rush and answer specific informational questions on the "What's the Rush in California?" page.
Lesson 3
An Entrepeneur
The lesson includes an explicit synonyms activity where students must select eight words from a paragraph, look up synonyms in a thesaurus, and record originals and replacements. The Parent Plan and Skills list state students should "Apply an understanding of synonyms when writing" and "Use a thesaurus to find synonyms," and the Wrapping Up section reviews the definition of a synonym. The lesson also defines the domain-specific term "entrepreneur" and asks students to brainstorm and plan ways to make money, which could surface domain vocabulary related to business.
Lesson 4
A Ballad
Students are given explicit definitions of parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, article, interjection) and practice identifying them by underlining words in a paragraph. Students are instructed in poetry-specific terms (ballad, stanza, rhyming patterns ABAC/ABCB/AABB, syllable counts) and asked to compose a multi-stanza ballad using those constraints. Students are asked to choose an Old West character and produce written work (a ballad) that applies poetic vocabulary and form.
Lesson 6
Clyde Claymore
Students create vocabulary cubes for the words cacophony, vex, varmint, suitor, devour, and cajole, writing definitions, synonyms, and a sentence with a blank on cube faces. Students must use a word in a sentence or give its definition during the Vocabulary Cubes game, and parents check definitions and synonyms against an answer key. Students review and discuss the vocabulary words during the wrap-up and are asked to explain items chosen for a character.
Lesson 7
Loss
Students are asked to create a raccoon craft, construct it, and then "list the materials and write and illustrate the directions for creating the raccoon," requiring them to produce step-by-step instructions and specific material names. The Skills section explicitly lists "Give precise directions and instructions," and the Parent Plan directs others to "check your child's directions" and to test them by having someone follow them. The Wrapping Up/Things to Review prompts students to discuss whether it is challenging to write directions that are clear.
Lesson 10
A Library
The lesson explicitly defines a cause-and-effect relationship in "Things to Know" and asks students to identify four examples of cause and effect in Activity 1, requiring them to label "cause" and "effect." Activity 3 asks students to describe Lucy at the beginning and end of the novel and explain what caused the change, which asks for descriptive and explanatory language. The parent/skills section references identifying elements of fiction and making inferences, which relate to using literary terms when discussing the text.
Final Project
Persuasive Essay
Students read a modeled persuasive essay titled "Recycling" that uses domain-specific terms such as "nonrenewable resources," "fossil fuels," "landfills," "pollute," and "wildlife." Students complete graphic organizers that ask them to list arguments and "Supporting Evidence," and skills/skills checklists state that students should "use details, examples, anecdotes, or experiences to explain or clarify information" and "provide adequate details and information to support [their] arguments."
4: Systems
Unit 1: A Wrinkle in Time
Lesson 1
A Unique Family
Students are asked to record elements of science fiction on an "Elements of Science Fiction" chart, using labels such as "Advanced technology," "Alternate settings," and "Aliens/strange beings," which exposes them to domain-specific vocabulary. The vocabulary activity has students circle prefixes/suffixes, guess word meanings, and look up actual definitions for words like "inadvertently," "vulnerable," and "inexorable," giving explicit practice with precise word meanings. The "Things to Know" section lists genre-specific terms and elements that students are to review and use when identifying evidence from the book.
Lesson 3
Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which
Students are asked to "describe each one, putting it in words as best you can" and to "share your descriptions and illustrations" for ideas beyond human comprehension, which requires choosing words to explain complex concepts. A Parent Plan prompt instructs parents to "discuss the words and phrases he used to explain them," prompting attention to word choice. The Skills list includes "Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres" and "Use established criteria to edit for language conventions," and Activity 3 asks students to "review the elements of science fiction" and write plot ideas, which involves using genre-related language when describing ideas.
Lesson 4
Tesser
Students are instructed to underline interesting words and phrases in a descriptive passage and then illustrate the creature, which requires attention to precise descriptive language. The Skills section explicitly lists using adjectives (comparative and superlative) and adverbs appropriately to make writing vivid or precise. Activity 1 gives students categorized transitional words and has them rewrite sentences using those transitions, and the reading questions define domain-specific terms like "tesser" and "protagonist."
Lesson 5
The Thing
Students are asked to reread the section where Mrs. Whatsit describes the five dimensions and to "explain the five dimensions in your own words" in a journal, which requires them to use terms like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th dimension and tessering. The Things to Know and Activity 2 explicitly list and name dimensions (line, flat shape, cube, time as 4th dimension, tessering as 5th), and students are asked to explain these aloud to a sibling or parent and to draw pictures to support their explanations.
Lesson 6
Camazotz
The lesson provides an explicit vocabulary list (trepidation, dais, temporal, resilience, talisman, sadist, arrogance, annihilate, ominous, imperceptible) and requires students to match those words to definitions in a vocabulary crossword. Students are instructed to rewrite simple sentences to be more descriptive by adding verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and conjunctions in the Elaboration activity. The parent prompts ask students to use each vocabulary word in a sentence verbally and to locate meanings/pronunciations/derivations of unfamiliar words.
Lesson 7
Man with the Red Eyes
Students practice word-generation and vocabulary related to a topic in Activity 1 by brainstorming as many words as possible related to "water" and categorizing those words. Students identify and mark transitional words and phrases in a summary in Activity 2, thereby attending to precise connective language. Students edit a paragraph in Activity 3, correcting verb forms, plurals, and adding transitional words to make wording clearer and more coherent.
Lesson 8
Father
Students label two diagrams of the human brain using a provided word box that lists domain-specific terms (cerebrum, cerebral cortex, corpus callosum, hypothalamus, medulla, cerebellum, spinal cord, etc.). Students are instructed to include a few words describing what each part does (for example, listing memory, language, and awareness for cerebral cortex). An answer key with labeled diagrams and a parts list is provided for checking labels and descriptions.
Lesson 9
The Beasts
Students are asked to describe items without using visual appearance in the "Communicating with the Beasts" activity, which requires choosing nonvisual, specific descriptive language (sensory and functional terms). Students complete focused perfect-tense exercises that require precise grammatical word forms and careful verb choice. Students fill theme graphic organizers and record evidence from the story, which requires selecting language to explain characters' actions and story events.
Lesson 10
Love
Students are prompted to identify and record story elements using terms such as protagonist, antagonist, setting, theme, and problem/solution on the story map and Problem Cards, which exposes them to domain-related vocabulary. The "The Problem" activity asks students to "describe your problem in as much detail as you can" and to answer specific prompts about who/what is causing the problem and its effects, requiring detailed explanatory writing. The Verb Tense activities instruct students to write and "elaborate on their sentences by adding interesting words, prepositional phrases, conjunctions, etc.," which encourages choosing more precise language.
Final Project
Science Fiction Short Story
The Skills section explicitly instructs students to "Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately to make writing vivid or precise," and the rubric requires "Use descriptive language for vivid visualization" and "Use active and exciting verbs." Activity 4 directs students to "try to use effective descriptions and dialogue" and gives specific tips for choosing stronger dialogue tags and structuring speech. The Elements of Science Fiction page asks students to provide examples for items such as "Advanced Technology" and "Alternate settings," prompting attention to topic-specific terms within the genre.
Unit 2: Lincoln
Lesson 1
Who Was He?
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (reticent, patronize(d), restless, temperamental, patent, serenity, emancipation, allegiance) and an activity that asks them to locate each word in the text, copy the sentence, and identify the correct definition from context. Students are directed to look up meanings and pronunciations using dictionaries and other reference aids. Parents are asked to have students use each vocabulary word in a sentence orally, and students complete vocabulary pages where they record sentences and definitions.
Lesson 2
Childhood
The lesson defines expository writing and asks students to gather at least eight examples of expository texts and explain how each one is expository, which requires students to describe features of informational texts. Activity 1 asks students to list ways the author performs each element of a biography, prompting them to explain Lincoln's life in terms of factual elements and context. Activity 2 has students identify and write participle phrases, practicing concise grammatical constructions that can make writing more precise.
Lesson 3
A Lawyer and Politician
Students read definitional material in "Things to Know" that contrasts state and federal government and answer questions that name specific political terms (e.g., Whigs, Democrats, Illinois House of Representatives, Stephen A. Douglas). Students are asked in Activity 1 to identify offices in their state government and to compare state and federal systems using a Venn diagram, which requires them to use government-related terms and distinctions.
Lesson 4
Slavery
Students are asked to "work on adding convincing and interesting words" when revising their speeches and the speech rubric explicitly asks, "Did I use convincing language?" Students must support each point with statistics, experiences, or quotations, which invites use of specific terms. The Special Notes prompt parents to explain terminology used in the book (for example, "Union" and "secession").
Lesson 5
Emancipation
Students read an excerpt of the Emancipation Proclamation and are asked to underline three important sentences and copy them into a journal with explanations, which requires attending to historical language such as references to emancipation, rebellion, and states. Students record important events about Frederick Douglass on note cards (Activity 4) and use those facts to compose a biopoem (Activity 5), prompting use of descriptive and factual language about a historical figure. Students create a Venn diagram comparing Lincoln and Douglass (Activity 6), which asks them to describe similarities and differences using content-specific ideas drawn from the texts.
Lesson 7
Assassination
Students read content that includes domain-specific terms (for example: "Confederacy," "Civil War," "Thirteenth Amendment," and "assassinated"). Students are prompted to fill out a 5 W's chart and then write a short newspaper report giving the facts about Lincoln's shooting, which requires organizing factual information precisely. Students are required to use at least one appositive in their report and practice combining sentences using appositive and participle phrases to produce clearer, more compact writing.
Unit 3: Independent Study
Lesson 4
Finding Information
The lesson directs students to locate glossaries and read definitions of important words related to their topic (Activity 2 and Activity 3) and explicitly tells students to "read the definitions of important words related to your topic so that you can use them in your report." The note-taking guidance and parent prompts ask students to rewrite information in their own words and to use glossary-defined terms when composing their report (Activity 4, Activity 3, Parent Plan sections). The bibliography and reference-book activities make students find and record domain-specific sources and terms (Parts of a Book, Activity 7).
Lesson 5
Writing Your Report
Students are instructed to use strong verbs and adjectives and to check that sentences remain focused on the main idea when revising, which supports more precise word choice. Students are directed to include facts and details from multiple sources and to use a Research Chart and outline to organize topic-specific information. Students read model paragraphs that contain domain-specific terms (e.g., Madagascar, fossa, CITES, Lemur Conservation Foundation), exposing them to technical vocabulary in context.