In this semester-long course, your child will have the opportunity to develop writing skills to become confident and competent communicators and thinkers. Students will read to build knowledge about the rainforest and analyze the author's craft in narrative writing to build proficiency in writing first person narratives about the rainforest. 

Skills Focus:

In Unit 1, they build background knowledge on biodiversity in the rainforest and rainforest deforestation to understand why scientists, like Meg Lowman, study the rainforest. Students closely read excerpts of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by Kathryn Lasky and other texts to identify text structure and practice summarizing the text. Having read texts about deforestation, students research using several print and digital sources to identify ways they can help the rainforest and the challenges associated with being an ethical consumer. They then participate in a collaborative discussion at the end of the unit. 

In Unit 2, students explore how authors of narrative texts about the rainforest help the reader to understand what it is like in the rainforest by analyzing author's use of figurative, concrete, and sensory language. 

Mid-end of summer break
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Unit 1: Building Background Knowledge: Why Scientists Study the Rainforest 
 
Week of August 8: 
Text: "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky 
Learning Target: I can infer the module topic and support my inferences with details and examples from the images and text. I can identify the characteristics of a narrative nonfiction text. 
Lesson 1: Discovering Our Topic: The Rainforest

Week of August 15
Text: "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky 
Learning Target:  I can describe the structure of a text. I can analyze a summary and explain how it is effective.
Lesson 2: Reading Information Texts: Describing Text Structure

Week of August 22
Text: "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky 
Learning Target: I can make inferences about a text and cite evidence from the text to support my inferences. I can describe the structure of a text. 
Lesson 3: Close Read: Pages 11-12

Week of August 29
Text: "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky 
Learning Target: I can describe the structure of an informational text. I can summarize an informational text.
Lesson 4: Reading Informational Texts: Summarizing a Text about the Rainforest

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Beginning of Fall Semester
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Week of September 12th: 
Text: "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky
Learning Target: I can compare the overall structure of two texts about the rainforest. I can make inferences about a text and cite evidence from the text to support my inferences, locating answers quickly and efficiently. 
Lesson 5: Reading Informational Texts: Comparing Texts about the Rainforest 

Week of September 19th: 
Text: "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky
Learning Target: I can make inferences about a text and cite evidence from the text to support my inferences. I can describe the structure of a text.
Lesson 6: Close Read: Pages 17-20 

Week of September 26th: 
Text: "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky
Learning Target: I can summarize an informational text. I can compare the overall structure of two texts about the rainforest.
Lesson 7: Reading Informational Texts: Summarizing a Website about the Rainforest

Week of October 3rd: 
Learning Target: I can summarize an informational text. I can compare the overall structure of two texts about the rainforest.
Lesson 8: Mid-Unit 1 Assessment Reading and Analyzing Texts

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Mid-Fall Break
No Classes the Week of October 10th
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Week of October 17th: 
Learning Target: I can prepare for a Science Talk about why scientists study the rainforest by identifying appropriate evidence from texts about the rainforest.
Lesson 9: Preparing for a Text-Based Discussion- Science Talk about Why Scientists Study the Rainforest

Week of October 24th: 
Learning Target: I can ask questions so I am clear about what is being discussed and to build my understanding of why scientists study the rainforest. I can review the key ideas discussed and draw conclusions.
Lesson 10: Text-Based Discussion- Science Talk about Why Scientists Study the Rainforest

Week of October 31st: 
Learning Target: I can research using several sources to answer the question: What can I do to help the rainforest? I can summarize information from a text. 
Lesson 11: Web Research- What Can we do to Help the Rainforest? 

Week of November 7th
Learning Target: I can research using several sources to answer the question: What can I do to help the rainforest? I can summarize information from a text.
Lesson 12: End of Unit 1 Assessment Part 1 (Web Research)

Week of November 14th
Learning Target:I can ask questions so I am clear about what is being discussed and to build my understanding of how we can help the rainforest. I can review the key ideas discussed and draw conclusions.
Lesson 12: End of Unit 1 Assessment Part 2 (Text-Based Discussion)

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Holiday Break: Thanksgiving 
No Classes the Week of November 21st
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Unit 2: Using Writing to Inform

Week of November 28th
Text: " The Dreaming Tree" by Amy Friedman 
Learning Target: I can find the gist of a narrative text. I can describe how a narrator's point of view influences how events are described in a narrative. 
Lesson 13: Reading Literary Texts: Describing the Influence of Point of View

Week of December 5th
Text: " The Great Kapok Tree" by Lynne Cherry 
Learning Target: I can recognize similes, metaphors, and idioms in a text. I can accurately quote from a text, give context for the quote, and explain what the quote means when drawing inferences from a text.
Lesson 14: Reading Literacy Texts: Interpreting Figurative Language 

Week of December 12th 
Text: " The Great Kapok Tree" by Lynne Cherry, "The Dreaming Tree" by Amy Friedman
Learning Target: I can recognize similes, metaphors, and idioms in a text. I can accurately quote from a text, give context for the quote, and explain what the quote means when drawing inferences from a text.
Lesson 15: Reading Literacy Texts: Comparing Figurative Language

Week of December 19th 
Text: " The Great Kapok Tree" by Lynne Cherry
Learning Target: I can recognize and explain the meaning of similes, metaphors, and idioms in a text. I can accurately quote from a text, give context for the quote, and explain what the quote means when drawing inferences from a text. I can describe how a narrator's point of view influences how events are described in a narrative. I can write a paragraph explaining the similarities of two literary texts about the rainforest.
Lesson 16: Assessment Unit 2- Reading and Analyzing Literary Texts 

~ End of Fall semester; my last Fall class will be on Wednesday, December 21st