Students will do the following things throughout the course of this course:

Reading:
Use skills and practices of close reading
Summarize a literary or 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

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

Use quotes to support inferences in literary text
Use quotes to explain the meaning of informational and literary texts
Choose evidence from informational and literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
Make inferences using quotes from the text

Determine the meaning of literal and figurative language (metaphors and similes) in text
Compare and contrast literary elements using details from the text 
Answer questions about the setting of a novel based on evidence from the text
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
Explain themes in a literary 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
Compare and contrast two main characters in a literary text
Analyze how a character responds to a key event and what this shows about his/her nature
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)
Explain the structure of a two-voice poem
Define Readers Theater.
Identify the purpose of Readers Theater
Participate in a Readers Theater
Identify how a Readers Theater script differs from a novel
Compare and contrast a novel and a script
Share my opinion about different types of narratives
Recall relevant experiences or summaries
Define historical fiction
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
Summarize key articles of the UDHR from previous learning
Identify passages of a literary work that relate to specific articles of the UDHR
Justify my reasons for selecting specific passages

Answer comprehension questions based on text that I have read independently

Writing:
Accurately use academic vocabulary to express ideas
Explain about characters' perspectives in writing
Write for a variety of reasons, including to deepen my understanding of human rights
Use the writing process to produce clear and coherent writing that is appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
Write informative/explanatory texts
Contrast how two characters respond to challenges, using a two-voice poem format
Use feedback that I receive from others and self-reflection to improve my writing
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 about a topic using information from a variety of sources
Write an opinion piece
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
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
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
Revise the conclusion of a script for a performance

Speaking:
Adapt my speech for a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate
Perform my two voice poem
Act out the title of my script so my peers can guess it
Practice performing a script
Practice to refine my performance, based on feedback
Speak clearly and with expression for a performance
Perform my Readers Theater script for an audience

Working in Groups:
Effectively engage in a discussion with peers
Follow class norms when participating in discussion
Discuss answers to questions with peers, providing evidence to explain my ideas
Collaborate with peers to plan and draft a two-Voice Poem
Give specific, kind feedback that will help other students make their writing better
Ask questions so I’m clear about what is being discussed
Explain what I understand about the topic being discussed

Social Studies:
Explain some main events that relate to the history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by making a human timeline with peers
Summarize Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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
Compare and contrast multiple accounts of the same event or topic
Explain what a strike is and why workers strike
Make arguments for and against striking
Document what I learn about a topic by sorting evidence into categories

Human rights is an essential topic to explore with learners in order to develop educated, thoughtful citizens who are prepared to do their part towards developing a better world. In order to understand the importance of human rights, and the social structures designed to uphold them, it’s necessary to look at some examples of where human rights have been violated. These examples necessarily involve people treating other people poorly, and such content can be disturbing for sensitive learners.

The focus of the class is not on people’s mistreatment of each other, however, but rather how we can prevent and change such behavior with social structures and an empathetic, informed public. The development of empathetic, informed citizens can begin in the fifth grade! Students can see themselves as being empowered to do their parts to reshape the world so that all human’s rights are upheld.

If a student is upset by any content included in the course:
1) We may discuss in class why some information is disturbing, and that the unsettled emotions are a sign that we are able to understand the feelings and situations of other people and are thus developing empathy. We will discuss how empathy is important in people so they can imagine how the world can be made a better place for all.
2) We may redirect, discontinuing our work on the source of the discomfort until I have had a chance to talk privately with the student and her/his parents and reached a comfort level that allows continued participation.

I’ve taught in public school settings for over 20 years. Much of that time I have served minority, mixed cultural, and economically disadvantaged communities. I have an abundance of experience successfully navigating sensitive content areas with students who may have strong feelings about that content. I have a good awareness of my students’ emotional states and have developed methods for calming and redirecting them. 

The world is not a perfect place, and by the time students are in fifth grade they are generally well aware of this fact. At the same time, students at this age are becoming interested in strategies for solving problems. In order to develop such strategies, students must adequately understand the problem, just as in math. I encourage students to see themselves as beginning global citizens, acquiring the skills and knowledge to make the world a better place for all.

One thing that unites all people is that we all have innate human rights and we’ll all need to work together to protect them. The first step is knowing what they are, why we have them, and what can go wrong. Then we’ll be alert to the ways we can protect and defend them for ourselves and all people.

*Within my classroom I cultivate and nurture a culture of mutual respect for all learners. This extends to respect for each other’s ideas and feelings. As the adult guide in the class, I ensure that every student is treated kindly and with sensitivity at all times by all learners and by myself. 

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"