This unit helps to build a community of readers and writers, establish routines, and build foundational skills.

Students will  understand: 

• People can be deeply affected by their interactions with the natural world.
• When people make personal connections to nature, they may be inspired to try to preserve it.
• Human actions can have a negative effect on the environment, but communities can work together to restore and protect ecosystems.
• Key conservationists in history have had a big impact on the ways people in the U.S. and around the world relate to nature.

Students will be able to: 

• Ask questions and create mental images. Reread to clarify or confirm understanding. Read on to clarify or confirm understanding.
• Determine a central idea and how it is conveyed through details. Analyze how a key idea is developed in a text. Compare and contrast authors’ presentations of events. Analyze features of poetry.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Interpret figures of speech, focusing on personification.
• Respond to a text-based prompt with an informative/explanatory essay.
• Use subjective pronouns, objective pronouns, and possessive pronouns. Recognize and correct vague pronouns. Focus on spelling and punctuation.
• Practice reading with speed/pacing (fast) and confirm or correct word recognition and understanding. Study word patterns, including strategies for reading big words, short vowels, and closed syllable patterns.
• Engage effectively in whole-class discussions. State, clarify, and support ideas in a constructive conversation. 

Students will  understand: 

• Characters’ responses to events can shape the plot, just as characters can be shaped by events and their interactions with others.
• All fiction genres, whether dramas, traditional tales, or historical fiction, contain a protagonist, or leading character, who drives the narrative.
• The challenges a character faces—as well as how that character responds—form the basis for the theme, or message, the author wants to communicate.
• How an individual faces a challenge reveals important insights into that person’s character. 

Students will be able to: 

•  Draw inferences and make connections. Stop and think about the author’s purpose. Read out loud to support comprehension.
• Provide a summary of the text. Analyze how part of a text contributes to the development of the plot. Describe a character’s response to plot events. Compare and contrast texts in different forms and genres. Determine the theme of a poem.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Demonstrate understanding of connotations and nuances of word meanings.
• Write an argument essay based on a text-based prompt.
• Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person. Recognize and correct vague pronouns. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.
• Practice reading with speed/expression and pausing (short pauses). Study word patterns, including long vowels, open syllables, and vowel-consonant-e syllable patterns.
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, and support ideas in a constructive conversation.

Students will  understand: 

• Different societies take different approaches to government.
• Different principles guide different governments.
• The roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizens are influenced by the form of government under which they live.
• A person has expectations for how government and society will function, and society has expectations for how a person behaves. These expectations can vary among different countries and cultures. 

Students will be able to: 

• Distinguish between important and unimportant information. Summarize and synthesize information. Read more slowly and think about the words. Reread to clarify or confirm understanding.
• Analyze how a section of text contributes to the development of ideas. Determine the author’s point of view or purpose. Analyze how a key event is developed in a text. Determine central ideas and key details. Cite text evidence to support inferences and analysis. Integrate information from multiple texts. Analyze the author’s word choice and structure in a poem.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Determine the meaning of figurative language.
• Engage in process writing with an informative/explanatory essay.
• Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements. Use punctuation to separate items in a series. Maintain consistency in style and tone. Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.
• Practice inflection/intonation (pitch) and phrasing (units of meaning in complex sentences) while reading. Study word patterns, including r-controlled vowels (/âr/, /är/, /ôr/, er, ir, ur) and vowel-r syllable patterns.
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, and support ideas in a constructive conversation.

Students will  understand: 

• Every story—both real and fictional—has a point of view that affects the way it is told.
• ple’s—and characters’—points of view are influenced by their life experiences.
• People come from diverse backgrounds and have diverse values and traditions, so they may view experiences in different ways.
• Hearing and understanding others’ perspectives is crucial to positive social interaction. 

Students will be able to: 

• Ask questions and create mental images. Read on to clarify or confirm understanding. Stop and think about the author’s purpose.
• Explain how an author develops a point of view. Cite text evidence to draw inferences about point of view. Compare and contrast how different texts approach similar themes. Provide a summary of the text.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Determine the meaning of figurative language, focusing on metaphors.
• Write a narrative journal entry based on a text-based prompt.
• Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style. Recognize variations from Standard English. Identify and use strategies to improve expression in conventional language.
• Practice expression through anticipation/mood and speed/pacing (slow) while reading. Study word patterns, including consonant -le syllable patterns, variant vowel /ô/ (au, al, aw, alt, alk, all, ough), and vowel team syllables.
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, and support ideas in a constructive conversation.

Students will  understand: 

• Technological advancements have both positive and negative effects on people, the economy, and the environment.
• Design and engineering innovations have transformed the study of life science, physical science, and earth science.
• Recent technological advancements have allowed us to gain greater insight into human history.
• New technological innovations may offer solutions to some problems, but also raise issues of global equity. 

Students will be able to: 

• Draw inferences and distinguish between important and unimportant information. Read out loud to support comprehension, and read more slowly while thinking about the words.
• Analyze how a key idea is developed. Trace and evaluate an author’s argument, claims, and evidence. Integrate information in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose and explain how it is conveyed in the text. Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Use Greek and Latin roots and context clues to determine word meaning.
• Engage in process writing with an argument essay.
• Use appropriate pronoun number and person. Recognize and correct vague pronouns. Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive).
• Practice pausing at full stops and expression through anticipation/mood while reading. Study word patterns, including adjective suffixes (-ous, -ive, -able, -ial, -al, -less), Greek roots (bio, hydro, atmo, photo), and noun suffixes (-ology, -ist, -er).
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, and support ideas in a constructive conversation.

Students will  understand: 

• A quest is a classic plot device in which a protagonist goes on a journey or search for something.
• The outer journey of the quest is usually accompanied by an inner journey, as the protagonist learns and grows.
• The lessons protagonists learn on quests can often be applied to real-life situations.
• Quest tales are a part of the oral or written tradition of nearly every known culture.
• Though a quest may be distinctly linked to a specific culture, these tales explore universal themes that can speak to all people.

Students will be able to: 

• Make connections and summarize and synthesize information. Reread to clarify or confirm understanding, and read on to clarify or confirm understanding.
• Analyze the structure of a text, focusing on poems. Describe how characters respond or change as the plot develops. Determine the theme of a text. Compare and contrast how texts in different genres approach a similar theme. Compare and contrast the experience of reading and listening to a text.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Use context clues to interpret figurative language.
• Write a narrative, informative/explanatory, and analytical argument response to text-based prompts.
• Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements. Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves). Maintain consistency in style and tone.
• Practice inflection/intonation (pitch) and dramatic expression while reading. Study word patterns, including silent letters (wr, kn, gn, h, w), noun suffixes (-ty, -tion, -sion, -ery, -ment), and negation prefixes (il-, im-, in-, dis-, ir-, mis- [not]; un- [opposite]).
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, and support ideas in a constructive conversation.

Students will  understand: 

• Great civilizations of the past have made significant contributions to modern society.
• The “golden ages” of civilizations produced many fascinating works of art, feats of engineering, monuments, and other artifacts.
• Artifacts from ancient civilizations provide an important window into the daily lives of ancient peoples.
• Analyzing the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of ancient civilizations helps us understand more about the modern age and how societies develop over time.
• Interpretations of history—including the designation of a civilization as “great”— depend on who is doing the interpreting and are subject to change as new information is uncovered. 

Students will be able to: 

• Apply metacognitive strategies. Stop and think about the author’s purpose. Read out loud to support comprehension.
• Trace and evaluate the author’s argument, claims, and evidence. Analyze how a particular sentence or section of text fits into the overall structure and contributes to the development of ideas. Cite evidence to support analysis of the text. Integrate information from two texts to develop a coherent understanding of a topic. Compare and contrast authors’ presentation of events.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Explore word relationships.
• Engage in process writing, focusing on narrative texts.
• Use punctuation to separate items in a series. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense. Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case, number, and person.
• Practice confirming or correcting word recognition and understanding, and vary speed/pacing while reading. Study word patterns, including vowel sounds (/ou/ and /oi/), Latin roots (aqua, amphi, liter, struct, spec, aud), and homophones.
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, support, evaluate, and compare ideas in a constructive conversation. 

Students will  understand: 

• Over geologic time, energy and forces inside and outside Earth continually alter Earth’s structure and are constantly reshaping Earth’s surface.
• Our knowledge of Earth’s geology and its connection to the universe is part of an ongoing scientific investigation.
• Our current understanding of Earth’s interior structure is based on both proven facts and yet-to-be proven theories.
• Earth inspires human exploration, but this exploration presents obstacles that must be overcome.
• The science fiction genre is full of tales of adventure and discovery; such tales are one way humans make sense of Earth and the universe.

Students will be able to: 

• Apply metacognitive strategies. Read more slowly and think about the words. Reread to clarify or confirm understanding.
• Analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and tone. Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story to listening to or viewing a story. Determine an author’s point of view and purpose. Determine key events and summarize. Analyze the overall structure of a text. Compare and contrast how texts approach similar topics.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of domain-specific words.
• Engage in process writing, focusing on a multimedia presentation.
• Recognize and correct vague pronouns. Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves). Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.
• Practice inflection/intonation (volume) and confirm or correct word recognition and understanding while reading. Study word patterns, including vowel patterns (/oo/ with ew, o, oo, ould, ull), words with final /әl/ and /әr/, and Latin roots (sur, sub, inter, dorm, vis).
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, support, evaluate, and compare ideas in a constructive conversation. 

Students will  understand: 

• Since ancient times, the trade of goods and services has been a major catalyst in the exchange of information, culture, and ideas among different groups of people.
• When people experience a scarcity of resources, or have needs and wants that exceed the resources available to them, they will seek those resources elsewhere.
• Throughout history, people have migrated in search of resources and economic opportunities.
• Today’s global economy is based on the international trade of goods, services, and resources, as well as ideas and innovations.
• Economic decisions impact individuals and society in different ways and there are costs and benefits to today’s global economy. 

Students will be able to: 

• Apply metacognitive strategies. Read on to clarify or confirm understanding. Stop and think about the author’s purpose.
• Cite textual evidence to support analysis and inferences. Integrate information presented in different media and formats. Determine an author’s purpose and point of view in a text. Determine central ideas and key details. Compare and contrast how different texts approach similar topics.
• Use context clues to determine the meaning of words and phrases. Explore word relationships (part/whole).
• Write a news report.
• Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements. Identify and use strategies to improve expression. Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.
• Practice inflection/intonation (stress) and phrasing (units of meaning in complex sentences) while reading. Study word patterns, including irregular past-tense verbs, compound words (hyphenated, closed, and open), and Latin roots (migr, fac, grat, luna).
• Engage effectively in whole-class and peer discussions. State, clarify, support, evaluate, and compare ideas in a constructive conversation.