5th/6th Grade Complete English Language Arts Quarter - Human Rights

Class Experience
What are human rights? How do people know when their human rights are threatened and what can they do about it? Students will explore these ideas while they develop their ability to read and understand complex text, close-reading both fiction and non-fiction texts to launch their study of this topic.

This class uses Engage New York curriculum, developed by the New York State Education Department for educators and parents who want their learners to experience a rigorous, comprehensive curriculum that develops college and career readiness through the mastery of 21st century literacy skills.

**Exact pacing through the course material may vary depending on class composition and other factors.

Readings:
Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz (a coming of age story set in Mexico and rural California during the early 1930s)
"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights"
"Teaching Nepalis to Read, Write, and Vote"
"From Kosovo to the United States"

Writing:
Answers to comprehension questions in complete sentences providing evidence from the text
Analytical Essay
Two-voice poem
Readers Theater script

Note- Objectives are listed in the week they are introduced, but will continue to be addressed and reinforced throughout the 8 weeks of the class and into Part 2 of the course.

*Students should have access to a Google account so they can edit shared documents.

Videos:
"For Every Child," UNICEF 2010

Week 1
Reading:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Objectives:
Effectively engage in a discussion with peers
Follow class norms when participating in discussion
Summarize a literary or informational text
Use a variety of strategies to read grade-appropriate words and phrases I don’t know
Use context clues to help me determine the meaning of words
Use common Greek and Latin affixes (prefixes) and roots as clues to help me know what a word means.
Determine the meaning of content and academic words or phrases in an informational text
Determine the main idea(s) of informational or literary text based on key details and close reading practices
Accurately explain important connections between people, events, or ideas in a  historical, scientific, or technical text
Explain some main events that relate to the history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 
Summarize Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Accurately use academic vocabulary to express ideas
Write for a variety of reasons, including to deepen my understanding of human rights

Week 2
Reading:
"Teaching Nepalis to Read, Plant, and Vote"

Writing:
Answer comprehension questions in complete sentences providing explanation and evidence from the text.
Explain which human right you think was being upheld or challenged using reasons and evidence from the text to support your opinion

Objectives:
Use quotes to support inferences in literary text
Use quotes to explain the meaning of informational and literary texts
Compare and contrast multiple accounts of the same event or topic
Choose evidence from informational and literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Make inferences using quotes from the text
Cite examples of where human rights were upheld or challenged in a firsthand account
Explain how specific articles of the UDHR relate to a firsthand account

Week 3
Reading:
"From Kosovo to the United States"
Esperanza Rising

Writing:
Answer comprehension questions in complete sentences providing explanation and evidence from the text, including quoting and paraphrasing the text
Expository essay 

Objectives:
Explain what a text says using quotes from the text.
Determine the meaning of literal and figurative language (metaphors and similes) in text
Define historical fiction
Compare and contrast literary elements using details from the text 
Discuss answers to questions with peers, providing evidence to explain my ideas
Answer questions about the setting of a novel based on evidence from the text.
Answer questions about a main character based on evidence from the text.
Answer comprehension questions based on text that I have read independently
Identify situations where a character’s human rights are challenged
Write informative/explanatory texts

Week 4
Reading:
Esperanza Rising, cont.

Writing:
Answer comprehension questions in complete sentences providing explanation and evidence from the text, including quoting and paraphrasing the text..

Objectives:
Describe how characters' or a narrator's point(s) of view influence the description of events in literary text
Determine a theme based on details in the text
Use context clues to help me determine why the author chose specific words in a literary text
Determine what metaphors the symbols of the chapter titles represent in a literary text
Explain how a character responds to challenges 
Create a visual image of the setting of a literary work

Week 5
Reading:
Esperanza Rising, cont.

Writing:
Answer comprehension questions in complete sentences providing explanation and evidence from the text with quotes and paraphrasing
Two-voice poem

Objectives:
Explain what a strike is and why workers strike
Make arguments for and against striking
Explain about characters' perspectives in writing
Explain the structure of a two-voice poem
Compare and contrast two main characters in a literary text
Contrast how two characters respond to challenges, using a two-voice poem format.
Collaborate with peers to plan and draft a two-Voice Poem
Use the writing process to produce clear and coherent writing that is appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
Give specific, kind feedback that will help other students make their writing better.
Use feedback that I receive from others and self-reflection to improve my writing.

Week 6
Reading:
Esperanza Rising, cont. 

Writing:
Answer comprehension questions in complete sentences providing explanation and evidence from the text as quotes and paraphrasing
Analytical essay (3 paragraphs) about how a character changes over time as illustrated by his/her evolving response to events

Objectives:
Adapt my speech for a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate
Explain themes in a literary text
Perform my two voice poem
Analyze how a character responds to a key event and what this shows about his/her nature
Write an informative/explanatory three paragraph essay in which each paragraph has a clear topic sentence, a body, and a conclusion
Write an informative/explanatory three paragraph essay that analyzes how a character responds to two key events and compares and contrasts her response to events over time
Write or speak about a topic using information from a variety of sources
Recognize the differences between different types of narratives (poetry, drama, or other texts) and their connections to larger concepts (such as culture and personal experiences)
Define Readers Theater.
Identify the purpose of Readers Theater.
Participate in a Readers Theater.
Identify how a Readers Theater script differs from a novel.

Week 7
Reading:
Esperanza Rising, cont.

Writing:
Answer comprehension questions in complete sentences providing explanation and evidence from the text with paraphrasing and quotes

Objectives:
Compare and contrast a novel and a script
Share my opinion about different types of narratives
Recall relevant experiences or summaries
Write an opinion piece
Share my opinion about the effectiveness of narrator dialogue
Compare and contrast stories in the same genre for approach to theme and topic
Describe the similarities and differences between a novel and a script.
Describe the connections between the UDHR and a script or a novel.
Describe the author’s motivations for creating a script
Describe the role of a narrator in a script
Share my opinions about a novel and a script
Document what I learn about a topic by sorting evidence into categories
Summarize key articles of the UDHR from previous learning.
Identify passages of a text that relate to specific articles of the UDHR.
Justify my reasons for selecting specific passages from a text
Ask questions so I’m clear about what is being discussed
Explain what I understand about the topic being discussed
Choose an article from the UDHR to focus on for my Readers Theater
Determine additional passages I may need in order to develop a script on a single theme
Evaluate how well the passages I selected reflect the themes of the UDHR.

Week 8
Reading:
Esperanza Rising, cont.

Writing:
Answer comprehension questions in complete sentences providing explanation and evidence from the text with quotes and paraphrasing
Script for Readers Theater, narrative text

Objectives:
Narrow my text selection, related to a theme
Write an introduction to my script.
Justify my selection of text.
Write narrative texts about real or imagined experiences or events
Introduce the narrator/characters of my narrative
Organize events in an order that makes sense in my narrative
Use appropriate transitional words, phrases, and clauses in a narrative text
Use dialogue and descriptions to show the actions, thoughts, and feelings of my characters
Write a draft of my script
Use sensory details to describe experiences and events precisely
Use peer feedback to make decisions about how to improve my script
Write a title for my script
Act out the title of my script so my peers can guess it
Use narrative techniques to write a complete section of my group’s Readers Theater script
Revise my script, based on feedback
Write a conclusion to my narrative
Choose visuals that contribute to my audience’s understanding of the characters, setting, problem, and/or mood of the play
Practice performing a script
Revise the conclusion of a script for a performance.
Practice to refine my performance, based on feedback
Speak clearly and with expression for a performance.
Perform my Readers Theater script for an audience

I recommend that students engage in a minimum of 15 minutes (30-60 minutes is much better!) of additional independent reading per day as this has been strongly correlated with strong literacy and cognitive skills, and good school and professional performance.

My approach- I establish a collaborative, supportive classroom environment in which we are fellow travelers in a shared learning adventure. We respect each individual's unique set of "superpowers" and challenges as being valuable to the work at hand.