English Language Arts Overview (Sept. 4-12)
Unit 1 Week 1
Essential Question: Where do good ideas come from?
Stories: The Princess and the Pizza, Tomas and His Sons, and The Dragon Problem
Genre: Fairy Tale & Fable
Comprehension Strategy: Making Predictions
Comprehension Skill: Sequence
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues (synonyms)
Grammar: Types of Sentences
Vocabulary Words:
1) brainstorm 2) flattened 3) frantically 4) muttered 5) official 6) original 7) stale 8) gracious
Spelling Words: (short vowels)
1. flat 2. cash 3. band 4. bell 5. left 6. shelf 7. wealth 8. grim 9. mill 10. hint
11. plot 12. dock 13. blot 14. odd 15. sum 16. plum 17. bluff 18. crunch 19. build 20. gym
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English Language Arts Overview (Sept. 11-21)
Unit 1 Week 2
Essential Question: How do your actions affect others?
Stories: Experts Incorporated, Speaking Out to Stop Bullying, and The Talent Show
Genre: Realistic Fiction and Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Make, confirm, or revise predictions
Comprehension Skill: Problem and Solution
Vocabulary Strategy: Idioms
Grammar: Subjects and Predicates
Vocabulary Words:
1) accountable 2) advise 3) desperately 4) hesitated 5) humiliated 6) inspiration 7) self-esteem 8) uncomfortably
Spelling Words: (long a)
1. major 2. clay 3. stray 4. today 5. bail 6. rail 7. drain 8. faint 9. claim 10. pale
11. face 12. graze 13. cane 14. slate 15. ache 16. steak 17. break 18. eight 19. they 20. obey
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English Language Arts Overview (Sept. 24-Oct. 5)
Unit 1 Week 3
Essential Question: How do people respond to natural disasters?
Stories: Earthquakes, Tornado, and A World of Change
Genre: Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Reread
Comprehension Skill: Compare and Contrast
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues (multiple-meaning words)
Grammar: Simple and Compound Sentences
Vocabulary Words:
1) alter 2) collapse 3) crisis 4) destruction 5) hazard 6) severe 7) substantial 8) unpredictable
Spelling Words: (long e)
1. evening 2. zebra 3. breathe 4. league 5. squeaky 6. healer 7. sleek 8. indeed 9. reef 10. deed
11. speech 12. wheeze 13. concrete 14. scheme 15. belief 16. chief 17. honey 18. donkey 19. family 20. weary
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Unit 1 Week 4 (October 8-26; excluding the Autumn break)
Essential Question: How can science help you understand how things work?
Stories: The Big Race, A Crash Course in Forces and Motion, The Box-Zip Project
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction & Science Fiction
Comprehension Strategy: Reread
Comprehension Skill: Cause and Effect
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues (definitions and restatements)
Grammar: Clauses and Complex Sentences
Vocabulary Words:
1) accelerate 2) advantage 3) capabilities 4) friction 5) gravity 6) identity 7) inquiry 8) thrilling
Spelling Words: (long i)
1. climb 2. minding 3. pies 4. die 5. height 6. sigh 7. fright 8. slight 9. drive 10. file 11. kite 12. prime 13. pride
14. slice 15. twice 16. wipe 17. pry 18. sly 19. shy 20. spy
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Unit 1 Week 5 (October 29-November 9)
Essential Question: How can starting a business help others?
Stories: Kids in Business, Starting a Successful Business, Dollars and Sense
Genre: Persuasive Article & Procedural Text
Comprehension Strategy: Reread
Comprehension Skill: Main idea and Key details
Vocabulary Strategy: Suffixes
Grammar: Run on Sentences
Vocabulary Words:
1) compassionate 2) enterprise 3) exceptional 4) funds 5) innovative 6) process 7) routine 8) undertaking
Spelling Words: (long o)
1. bolt 2. mold 3. toll 4. shadow 5. flow 6. mows 7. lower 8. blown 9. quote 10. mole 11. stone
12. stove 13. chose 14. sole 15. store 16. goal 17. groan 18. load 19. roasting 20. woe
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Unit 2 Week 1 (Nov. 12-23)
Essential Question: What are some messages in animal stories?
Stories: The Secret Message, The Fox and the Goat, The Fisherman and the Kaha Bird
Genre: Folktale and Fable
Comprehension Strategy: Ask and Answer Questions
Comprehension Skill: Theme-Central Message or Lesson
Vocabulary Strategy: Root Words
Grammar: Common and Proper Nouns
Vocabulary Words:
1) attracted 2) dazzling 3) fabric 4) greed 5) honest 6) requested 7) soared 8) trudged
Spelling Words: (prefixes)
1. unblock 2. unborn 3. unchain 4. unload 5. unlock 6. recall 7. relearn 8. resell 9. rewash 10. rewind
11. imperfect 12. indirect 13. incorrect 14. illegal 15. overact 16. overheat 17. subway 18. premix
19. preplan 20. supersize
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Unit 2 Week 2 (Nov. 26-Dec. 7)
Essential Question: How do animal characters change familiar stories?
Stories: Ranita, the Frog Princess, The Moonlight Concert Mystery, and The Ant and the Grasshopper
Genre: Drama and Mystery
Comprehension Strategy: Ask and Answer Questions
Comprehension Skill: Theme-Central Message or Lesson
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues: antonyms
Grammar: Singular and Plural Nouns
Vocabulary Words:
1) annoyed . 2) attitude . 3) commotion . 4) cranky . 5) familiar . 6) frustrated . 7) selfish . 8)specialty
Spelling Words: (digraphs)
1. thirty 2. width 3. northern 4. fifth 5. choose 6. touch 7. chef 8. chance 9. pitcher 10. kitchen
11. sketched 12. ketchup 13. snatch 14. stretching 15. rush 16. whine 17. whirl 18. bring 19. graph 20. photo
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Unit 2 Week 3 (Dec. 10-20)
Essential Question: How are all living things connected?
Stories: The Buffalo are Back, Energy in the Ecosystem, Rescuing Our Reefs
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction & Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Summarize
Comprehension Skill: Main Idea and Key Details
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues: Sentence Clues
Grammar: Irregular Plural Nouns
Vocabulary Words:
1) crumbled 2) droughts 3) ecosystem 4) extinct 5) flourished 6) fragile 7) imbalance 8) rippled
Spelling Words: (three-letter blends)
1. shred 2. shriek 3. shrimp 4. shrink 5. script 6. screw 7. screech 8. straighten 9. straps 10. strand
11. sprout 12. sprawl 13. sprang 14. splashing 15. splotch 16. thrill 17. throb 18. throat 19. thrift 20. through
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Unit 2 Week 4 (Jan. 7-18)
Essential Question: What helps an animal survive?
Stories: Animal Adaptations, Spiders, Anansi and the Birds
Genre: Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Summarize
Comprehension Skill: Main Idea and Key Details
Vocabulary Strategy: Prefixes
Grammar: Possessive Nouns
Vocabulary Words:
1) camouflaged 2) dribbles 3) extraordinary 4) poisonous 5) pounce 6) predator 7) prey 8) vibrations
Spelling Words: (r-controlled vowels) /ar/ and /or/
1. dart 2. guard 3. aware 4. backyard 5. argue 6. spark 7. target 8. smart 9. charge 10. carpet
11. warp 12. door 13. fort 14. morning 15. stork 16. cord 17. worn 18. stormy 19. core 20. bore
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Unit 2 Week 5 (Jan. 21-Feb. 1)
Essential Question: How are writers inspired by animals?
Stories: The Sandpiper, Bat, The Grasshopper Springs
Genre: Poetry
Comprehension Strategy: Literary Elements-Meter and Rhyme
Comprehension Skill: Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Figurative Language-Similes and Metaphors
Grammar: Combining Sentences-Subject Nouns
Vocabulary Words:
1) creative 2) brittle 3) descriptive 4) outstretched 5) metaphor 6) simile 7) rhyme 8) meter
Spelling Words:
1. sickly 2. hardly 3. quickly 4. slowly 5. carefully 6. wonderful 7. beautiful 8. graceful 9. spoonful 10. darkness
11. shapeless 12. ageless 13. illness 14. goodness 15. spotless 16. painless 17. weakness 18. darkest 19. clearest 20. thoughtful
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Unit 3 Week 1 ()
Essential Question: How can you make new friends feel welcome?
Stories: The Cricket in Times Square
Genre: Fantasy
Comprehension Strategy: Visualize
Comprehension Skill: Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues
Grammar: Action Verbs
Vocabulary Words:
1) acquaintance 2) cautiously 3) complementary 4) jumble 5) logical 6) scornfully 7) scrounging 8) trustworthy
Spelling Words:
1. herb 2. person 3. sternly 4. serpent 5. worse 6. pearl 7. dirty 8. birth 9. shirt 10. twirl
11. swirl 12. purse 13. curl 14. curve 15. curb 16. hurl 17. turkey 18. turnip 19. purpose 20. blurred
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Unit 3 Week 2 ()
Essential Question: In what ways can you help your community?
Stories: Aguinaldoˆ
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Comprehension Strategy: Visualize
Comprehension Skill: Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues
Grammar: Verb Tenses
Vocabulary Words:
1) assigned 2) generosity 3) gingerly 4) mature 5) organizations 6) residents 7) scattered 8) selective
Spelling Words:
1. wrinkle 2. wriggle 3. wrapper 4. wrench 5. answer 6. knead 7. knives 8. known 9. kneel 10. knew
11. plumber 12. combs 13. thumbs 14. lambs 15. condemn 16. resign 17. doubtful 18. hour 19. honesty 20. honor
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Unit 3 Week 3 ()
Essential Question: How can one person make a difference?
Stories: Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights
Genre: Biography
Comprehension Strategy: Reread
Comprehension Skill: Author's Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Synonyms and Antonyms
Grammar: Main and Helping Verbs
Vocabulary Words:
1) boycott 2) encouragement 3) fulfill 4) injustice 5) mistreated 6) protest 7) qualified 8) registered
Spelling Words:
1. center 2. once 3. scene 4. spice 5. circus 6. cement 7. police 8. certain 9. ounce 10. glance
11. germs 12. bridge 13. badge 14. strange 15. orange 16. ginger 17. wedge 18. arrange 19. sponge 20. village
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Unit 3 Week 4 (March 18-29)
Essential Question: How can words lead to change?
Stories: Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
Genre: Biography
Comprehension Strategy: Reread
Comprehension Skill: Author's Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Latin and Greek Suffixes
Grammar: Linking Verbs
Vocabulary Words:
1) address 2) divided 3) haste 4) opposed 5) perish 6) proclamation 7) shattered 8) tension
Spelling Words:
1. clams 2. mints 3. props 4. arches 5. dresses 6. parents 7. caves 8. glasses 9. hobbies 10. engines
11. couches 12. arrows 13. enemies 14. babies 15. ranches 16. patches 17. mistakes 18. supplies 19. mosses 20. armies
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Unit 3 Week 5 (April 1-12)
Essential Question: In what ways can advances in science be helpful or harmful?
Stories: A New Kind of Corn, The Pick of the Patch, Food Fight
Genre: Persuasive Article, Procedural Text
Comprehension Strategy: Reread
Comprehension Skill: Author's Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Greek Roots
Grammar: Irregular Verbs
Vocabulary Words:
1) advancements 2) agriculture 3) characteristics 4) concerns 5) disagreed 6) inherit 7) prevalent 8) resistance
Spelling Words: Compound Words
1. fishbowl 2. desktop 3. waterproof 4. snowstorm 5. bedroom 6. bedspread 7. clothesline 8. lookout 9. campfire 10. grandparent
11. loudspeaker 12. blindfold 13. yourself 14. undertake 15. yardstick 16. overhead 17. railroad 18. bookcase 19. newborn 20. overdo
Unit 4 Week 1 (April 29-May 10)
Essential Question: Why do we need government?
Stories: "A World Without Rules, See How They Run, and The Birth of American Democracy."
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction, Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Ask and Answer Questions
Comprehension Skill: Cause and Effect
Vocabulary Strategy: Latin Roots
Grammar: Pronouns and Antecedents
Vocabulary Words:
1) amendments 2) commitment 3) compromise 4) democracy 5) eventually 6) legislation 7) privilege 8) version
Spelling Words: Inflectional Endings
1. tasted 2. ripping 3. forced 4. flipping 5.tapped 6. flipped 7. scared 8. flagged 9. ripped 10. skipped
11. tapping 12. saved 13. skipping 14. scaring . 15. flagging 16. discussed 17. saving 18. tasting 19. forcing
20. discussing
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Unit 4 Week 2 (May 13-24)
Essential Question: Why do people run for public office?
Stories: "La Rue for Mayor; Bringing Government Home; The Time Specs 3000."
Genre: Fantasy, Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Make, Confirm, or Revise Predictions
Comprehension Skill: Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Idioms
Grammar: Type of Pronouns
Vocabulary Words:
1) accompanies 2) campaign 3) governor 4) intend 5) opponent 6) overwhelming 7) tolerate 8) weary
Spelling Words: Inflectional Endings (change y to i)
1. funnier 2. families 3. pennies 4. worried 5.replied 6. varied 7. marries 8. carries 9. easily 10. silliest
11. jumpier 12. emptier 13. merrier 14. applied . 15. cozily 16. sorriest 17. prettily 18. lazier 19. happiest
20. dizziest
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Unit 4 Week 3 (May 27- Jun. 7)
Essential Question: How do inventions and technology affect your life?
Stories: "The Moon Over Star; 3...2...1... We Have Spin-Off; A Telephone Mix-Up."
Genre: Historical Fiction, Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Make, Confirm, or Revise Predictions
Comprehension Skill: Point of View
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues-Synonyms
Grammar: Pronoun-Verb Agreement
Vocabulary Words:
1) decade 2) directing 3) engineering 4) gleaming 5) scouted 6) squirmed 7) technology 8) tinkering
Spelling Words: Different /u/ Sounds
1. mood 2. stoop 3. zoom 4. crew 5. stew 6. ruler 7. produce 8. issue 9. tutor 10. truth
11. bruised 12. juicy 13. suits 14. group 15. you'll 16. huge 17. crook 18. wool 19. used
20. should
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________Unit 4 Week 4 (Jun. 10-21)
Essential Question: How can you explain what you see in the sky?
Stories: "Wonders of the Sky, Why Does the Moon Change Shape, How It Came To Be"
Genre: Expository Text
Comprehension Strategy: Ask and Answer Questions
Comprehension Skill: Cause and Effect
Vocabulary Strategy: Context Clues
Grammar: Possessive Pronouns
Vocabulary Words:
1) astronomer 2) crescent 3) phases 4) rotates 5) series 6) sliver 7) specific 8) telescope
Spelling Words: Diphthongs /oi/ and /ou/
1. noises 2. voices 3. rejoice 4. annoy 5. destroy 6. voyage 7. mound 8. south 9. pound 10. hound
11. pouch 12. thousand 13. wound 14. grouch 15. cowboy 16. gown 17. frown 18. howling 19. flower
20. tower