Understanding By Design Unit Template
(Revised & adapted)
Title of Unit / Unit 6 – Review of Writing Genre / Grade Level / Grade 4Subject / Writing / Time Frame / May 5 – End of June
Developed By / Cybi Ip and the 4th grade teachers
Stage 1 - Identify Desired Results
Narrative about this Unit of Study: (including the Big Idea)
In this unit, students will have an opportunity to review the different writing genres that were taught throughout the year. They can either create a fictional narrative with a historical fact, develop an opinion writing, or respond to literature. It’s up to the teachers to decide what the needs of their students are and choose one of the genres as the unit focus. Students will develop their writing using the rubric of the genre and follow the writing process to create their writing.
Learning Outcomes – Identified Primary Standards
What relevant goals will this unit address?
CCLS Writing Standards: (Teachers should focus on what the needs of individual student along with the below standards.)
W 4.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
W 4.5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
W 4.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline- specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Language Standards (Ongoing)
LS4.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (where, when, why).
b. Form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am walking; I will be walking) verb tenses.
c. Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.
d. Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).
e. Form and use prepositional phrases.
f. Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.*
g. Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their).*
LS4.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Use correct capitalization.
b. Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
c. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
d. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
LS4.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
a. Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.*
b. Choose punctuation for effect.*
c. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group
discussion).
Speaking and Listening Standards
SL4.1E Seek to understand and communicate with individuals from different perspectives and cultural backgrounds.
SL 4.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.
SL 4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Understandings
What understandings about the big ideas implied in the PLOs are desired? / Essential Questions
What provocative questions will foster inquiry into the content?
Students will understand that...
· Authors may present information implicitly and explicitly to extend their thoughts and views about the topic
· Reasons and evidence further the authors’ points
· Authors may write informational text to express their opinion about the topic
· Informed opinions are based on facts
· Knowledge requires the reader’s effort to seek out the facts through research
· Literary Responses allow writers to share what they think about two different writers’ approaches to the themes of books they’ve read
· Thesis statements help focus a piece of writing around a clearly stated big idea
· Summaries can be focused for a particular purpose, such as giving a reader the gist of the plot in a way that shows the theme
· Examples and evidence from the text makes the writer’s ideas more convincing
· Good writing has a logical flow from one idea to the next
· Although narratives have common features they are presented in many different ways
· The elements of narratives influence how the story unfolds; setting, characters, plot, sub plots, etc. / Opinion Writing –
· How do writers make their intention/purpose known?
· How do writers organize and structure their ideas to report information?
· How do writers utilize different types of informational text, for example, science vs. social studies to gather information to best supports their ideas?
Response to Literature –
· How do writers compare and contrast what different authors are saying about the same theme?
Fictional Narratives –
· How do you take an idea or experience and make it engaging for the reader?
· How does a narrative unfold?
Knowledge:
What knowledge will student acquire as a result of this unit? / Skills
What skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Students will know...
· Information may be presented explicitly by the author
· Information may be implied by the author and the reader must make an inference
· Authors give their opinions by expressing their thoughts and feelings
· Facts are expressed in concrete language
· Facts can be verified by anyone
· Readers research facts from trusted informational media sources
· The readers must synthesize information from a variety of sources to know more about the topic
· How to construct an organized essay consisting of introduction, body, and conclusion
· How to support their ideas using evidence from the text
· How to create a literary response with a common theme
· Fictional narrative is a sub-genre of narrative
· Fictional narratives have essential inclusions; an orientation, characters, setting, clear sequence of events and a conclusion
· Authors use literary techniques and devices (eg; figurative language, alliteration, simile, metaphor, etc.) to make their writing engaging / Students will be able to…
· Identify multiple informational genres and their purpose using features, structure and content vocabulary
· Identify and interpret the author’s point of view/opinion by examining the facts
· Determine important facts as a way to understand the topic or the author’s opinion
· Craft a thesis statement that reflects a significant thematic similarity or difference between two books
· Write a summary that specifically captures the gist of the author’s theme (i.e., that focuses on what growing up challenge the character faced and how they responded to it)
· Share opinions and wonderings with othersto help clarify writing
· Convince readers to accept your interpretation of the author’s text through the use of textual evidence and examples
· Utilize a range of strategies to revise and edit
· Use class resources to help organize writing (Thematic Unit Chart, read aloud charts, book club work)
· Logically organize writing respond to feedback by making changes to writing
· Brainstorm an engaging topic and ideas to write about
· Plan for writing using a range of graphic organizers
· Draft writing from their plan
· Revise their writing using a revision checklist (refer to Block 4)
· Editing using a fourth grade checklist (refer to Block 5)
· Identify and apply publishing techniques from mentor authors to final product
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Task
Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate the desired understandings, knowledge, and skills?
· At the beginning of the unit, teachers will use their MOSL data to inform their teaching.
· Review all necessary strategies in order to compose an opinion essay.
· In two weeks, before the MOSL assessment (5/16), students will already publish one piece of the opinion writing.
Rubric for Assessment: Rubrics from previous writing units will be revisited and used.
Other Evidence
Through what other evidence – student work samples, observations, quizzes, tests, self-assessment or other means – will students demonstrate achievement of the desired results?
Objective(s)
Related to knowledge, skills or both? / Listed Aim or Learning Intention of Each Lesson. / Assessment / Resources
Week 1: (Opinion Writing Review – Preparing for MOSL)
Focus: Note-taking, organizing, and summarizing ideas / · Students will identify keywords/ideas to take notes
· Students will gather information from text features (e.g. maps, illustrations, diagrams etc.)
· Students will organize their notes into related categories (at least 3 reasons with 3 supporting examples)
· Students will summarize the relevant ideas from multiple sources
· Students will use graphic organizers to form their informed opinion / Students will be asked to form an opinion based on the facts they reviewed in the previous lesson. Teacher will model an opinion organizer. Students will use the opinion organizer as an aid to plan their opinion piece. / 1. Island of Hope and Angel Island articles
2. Climbin’ Ryan and Natalya’s Happy Hugged Hens articles
3. I was Homeless with infographic articles
4. From tadpole to Frog and Butterfly House articles
5. Good Enough and Is it Worth it? articles
6. Should Girls Play on Boys’ Sports Teams and Parker the Pitcher articles
Week 2: (Opinion Writing Review – Preparing for MOSL)
Focus: Drafting the body paragraphs
Focus: Drafting Introduction and Conclusion
Focus: Revision, Editing, and Publishing / First paragraph –
· Students will form the first body paragraph using the first reason from the graphic organizer.
· Students will use sentence starters from lessons to form the first paragraph. Also students will use transitional words to link reasons and examples.
· Students will provide example to support their reason. Students need to explain how the example supports the reason
· Students will cite evidence from multiple sources using quotation marks or paraphrasing.
Second/third body paragraphs: teachers follow the above teaching points to help students form their paragraphs. It is up to the teachers to combine any TPs if necessary.
· Revisit the introduction and conclusion samples
· Students will draft the introduction to capture readers’ attention
· Students will draft the conclusion that restates their opinions with the summary of their reasons and examples from the body paragraphs. / Teacher will provide several examples of different openings to hook readers. Students will be provided with different texts and they will explore and list examples.
Teacher will model an opening paragraph, making sure opinion is included. Students will work on their own drafts of opening paragraphs, making sure to include their opinion.
Teacher will review the use of relevant details to support your opinion. Students will plan their first support paragraph: what fact, example, quote, or anecdote with come first?
Teacher will model various endings; back to opinion statement, leave with a suggestion. Students will draft several different endings and share with a partner to select the most effective ending.
Teacher will model revision of paragraphs, making sure each paragraph has its own vision and focus. Students will continue to draft their opinion with attention to paragraph focus and structure.
Teacher will review writing conventions. Students will edit, and then check with a partner to catch remaining errors. / Teachers may reproduce the suggested anchor charts (see below) in their classroom as they need.
Week 3: (Response to Literature – Historical Fiction) / · Model your response based on the prompt you have selected.
· Show them how you read the prompt and list what you have to do to cover.
· Students read their prompt and plan out what they have to cover in order to write the response
· Model how you write a strong introduction
· Demonstrate how you include the main points that you will be writing about in your essay.
· Students draft their introduction
· Model how you go back to your plan to identify then draft the details
· Model how you go back to the text to find evidence to support your details
· Students go back to their plan to identify then draft their details
· Students find evidence from the text to support their details
· Model how you use transitional words to enhance your writing
· Students revise their writing to include transitional words
· Model how you write a strong conclusion
· Students draft their conclusion
· Bring students together share their conclusion
· Model how you check writing for punctuations and spellings (Use a student sample as an example)
· Students edit their writing / · Bring students together share their work.
Universal Design for Learning
REPRESENTATION
The ‘what’ of teaching & learning.. / ACTION & EXPRESSION
The ‘how’ of teaching & learning… / ENGAGEMENT
The ‘why’ of teaching and learning…
Writing Checklist / Teacher modeling/Shared Writing / Monitoring checklist
Evaluation / Small groups/peer critique / Peer feedback for revising and editing
Graphic organizers / Independent Writing / Publish As You Go
Writing samples / One-on-one conferencing
Writing Checklist / Teacher modeling/Shared Writing / Monitoring checklist
From: Wiggins, Grant and J. McTighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (pbk)
Anchor Charts