Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
UnitFour—LearningThroughReading:TheAmerican
Revolution
January(Level3ReadingBenchmark:R/S)
Welcome to the Unit
Inthisunitstudentsseethattheycanreadtolearnandthattheycanundertakeinquiry
throughreading.Atitsheart,thisunitisabouthelpingstudentsreadwithpurpose,
decidingwhatinformationismostimportanttoholdontoandhowtoorganizethat
information,comparingandcontrastinginformationfromdifferenttextsandfinally,
decidinghowtosynthesizetheirlearningtoteachothers.Thespineoftheunitisalignedto
VolumeIIofNavigatingNonfictionfromtheUnitsofStudyforTeachingReading,Grades3‐5
byLucyCalkinsandKathleenTolan.Youwillseewehaverevisedtheunittobeexactly
alignedtograde‐specificexpectationsoftheCommonCoreandtofocusonspecificfourth
gradesocialstudiescontent.(Theunitiswritteninsuchawaythatyoucouldalterthe
socialstudiescontent,switchinginadifferenttopic‐‐butindoingso,muchofthespecificity
ofthisunitwouldbelost.)
ThisunithasbeendevelopedinconjunctionwiththeTCRWPwritingcalendarofunitsas
wellastheTCRWPcontentareacalendarofunits.Wewanttounpacktheseconnectionsso
thatyougetasenseofhowthethreeworkincombinationwithoneanother.Inthethird
unitofthecontentareacalendar,aroundmidDecember,studentsbeganstudyingthe
AmericanRevolution.Thus,asthisreadingunitstarts,studentshavebeenstudyingthe
AmericanRevolutionforabouttwoweeksorsointhecontentarea.Weexpect,then,that
theywillhavealreadygottenabroadunderstandingofsomeofthebasicinformationofthe
AmericanRevolution(thecauses,forexample,andsomeofthekeyturningpoints).Nowin
thisunit,theywillbuildonthatgeneralknowledgeandbegintostudyparticularaspects
(relatedsub‐topics)oftheAmericanRevolutioninmoredepth.
Atthesametimeasthisreadingunitstarts,studentswillbeginthewritingworkshopunit
inwhichtheywillwriteresearchreportsontheAmericanRevolution(aunitbasedonthe
newUnitsofStudyBookBringingHistorytoLife,Grade4byLucyCalkinsandAnnaGratz
Cockerille).Inthefirstbendofthatunit,studentswillwriteabouttheAmericanRevolution
inbroadstrokes,drawingontheirlearningfromthecontentareawork.Thenasthat
writingunitmoveson,studentswillwriteaboutsubtopicsrelatingtotheAmerican
Revolution‐‐likely,thesameonestheywillhavebeenstudyinginreadingworkshopduring
thisunit.Thus,eachofthethreeunitsrelyonandbuildoneachother.Thegoalisfor
studentstotransferandapplytheirlearningfromonesubjecttoanotherseamlessly.
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1 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
2 Studentscometothisunitwiththeirpreviouslearninginreadinginformationaltexts.In
theunitbeforethisone,theydevouredhighinterestnonfiction,buildingnonfictionreading
lives,andworkedtostayclosetothetextthroughsummarizingandpayingattentiontothe
underlyingstructuresoftexts.Studentsworkedtosynthesizetheirlearningacrosspages
andacrossbooksandtogrowideas.Inthisunit,then,theywillbuildonandextendthat
priorlearningaboutreadinginformationaltextsastheyengageinreadingnonfictionabout
aparticulartopic(inthiscase,aboutdifferentaspectsoftheAmericanRevolution.)
Overview EssentialQuestion:HowcanIuseeverythingIknowaboutresearchtolearnallIcan
aboutoneaspectoftheAmericanRevolution?
 BendI:LearningaboutAnAspectoftheAmericanRevolutionthrough
Reading
HowcanIorganizemylearninglifesoIcanresearchtolearn,synthesizeacrosstextsand
teachotherswhatIamlearning?(approx.1week)

BendII:ResearchingaDifferentAspectoftheAmericanRevolution
HowcanItransferandapplywhatIhavejustlearnedaboutresearchinginordertotakeon
anewresearchventure,thistimewithmoreindependence? (approx.1weekorless)

BendIII:RereadingCriticallyandDesigningaProjecttoTeachOthers
HowcanIbegintolookathowdifferentauthorspresentdifferentinformation,including
noticingthefactsandperspectivestheyincludeorexclude?HowcanIthinkabouthowan
author’streatmentofthesubjectswaysreaders’thinkingabouttopics?(approx.1.5‐2
weeks)
InBendOneofthisunitstudentswillformresearchteamsonsub‐topicsofinteresttothem
relatedtotheAmericanRevolution,andthey’llsetforthonaninquiry.Theywillsurvey
theirmaterials,learningtoreadeasiermaterialsfirsttobuildbackgroundknowledgeand
gainvocabulary.Asstudentsusewhattheyhavelearnedofnote‐takingstrategies,theywill
holdontoandorganizeinformationandteachotherswhattheyarelearning.
AfteraweekorsoofstudyingoneaspectoftheAmericanRevolution,studentswillmoveto
studyingadifferentaspect.InBendTwo,abendintendedtobequickerandshorterthan
BendOne,studentswilltakeonstudyingasecondaspectoftheAmericanRevolutionwith
greaterindependence.Theywilltransferandapplyallthattheyhavelearnedinthefirst
bendasyouteach,raisingtheleveloftheirresearchandnote‐takingwork.Theywillalso
applywhattheyhavelearnedfromthewritingworkshoptotheirreading,forexample,
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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
noticingwaysinwhichauthorspopouttheirmainideasbyelaboratinguponthem,by
usingquotations,andbyhighlightingdetailsthatpromoteideastheybelieveareimportant.
Attheendofthisbendstudentswillengageinmini‐presentationstoteachotherswhat
theyarelearningaboutthisnewsubtopic.
InBendThreeoftheunit,youwillchargestudentstoraisetheleveloftheirworktonew
heights.Youwillletthemknowthattheywillnowchooseoneoftheaspectsrelatedtothe
AmericanRevolutiontheyhavestudiedsofartodoamoreindepthcriticalstudy.Asthey
decidewhatismostimportanttoknowabouttheparticularaspectoftheAmerican
Revolutionthattheyarestudying,theywillcometoseethatdifferentauthorshavechosen
topresentinformationinsimilaranddifferentways.Youwillsupporttheminlooking
morecloselyathowauthorspresentinformation,includinghelpingstudentstoseehow
thepointofviewthatanauthortakesonatopicinfluenceshowinformationispresented.
Studentswillconsiderwhenviewsaremoreandlessnuancedandrereadmorecritically.
Studentscanusetheirlearningtodevelopmorepagesfortheirinformationalbooksin
writingworkshop.
CCSS/LS Standards Addressed in this Unit
Thisunitaddressesmultiplestandards.Thereareafewwewanttoespeciallyhighlight.As
studentswillbestrengtheningtheirskillsatcomparingandcontrasting,examininghow
differentauthors’pointsofviewinfluencehowinformationispresented,theywillbe
addressingStandard4.6.Studentswillalsobeconsideringtherelationshipsofevents,
includingtheircausesandconsequences,whichisexpectedbyStandard4.3.Throughout
theunit,studentswillbeworkingtogroundtheirideasintext‐basedevidence,referring
explicitlytoexamplesanddetailsinthetext,asexpectedbyStandard4.1,andthey’llbe
integratingdifferenttextstospeakandwriteaboutatopic,asexpectedbyStandard4.9.In
addition,thisunitalsoaddressesResearchingtoBuildKnowledgeStandards.Studentswill
beconductingshortresearchprojectstoresearchdifferentaspectsrelatingtothe
AmericanRevolutiontobuildtheirknowledgeofthattopic(Standard4.7).Also,theywill
alsobetakingnotesfrommultiplesourcesandcategorizinginformation,allthewhile
keepingtrackoftheirsources,whichStandard4.8expects.
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3 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
Getting Ready Hereisthebasicprepworkneededforthisunit:
 Ifyouhaveit,studyVolumeIIofNavigatingNonfiction,fromtheUnitsofStudyfor
TeachingReading3‐5series‐‐thatisthespineofthisunit.Also,ifyouhaveit,study
BringingHistorytoLifeinthenewUnitsofStudyforTeachingWriting,Grade4
series,asthatunitcanserveasyourconcurrentwritingworkshop.Also,you’llwant
tostudytheunitfromthecontentareacalendarfor4thgradeonteachingthe
AmericanRevolution,asitcanserveasyoursocialstudiesworkduringthistime.
 EnsurestudentshaveatleastabasicorientationtotheAmericanRevolutionprior
tolaunchingthis
 GatherResources(Includingtextsstudentscanread)ondifferentaspectsofthe
AmericanRevolution
 Formresearchteamspriortothestartoftheunit
 Choosereadaloud(s)
StudythethreeunitsontheRevolutionaryWar(Reading,WritingandSocialStudies)
andnotehowthethreeunitsworktogether
Asmentionedabove,thisstudyoftheAmericanRevolutionhasbeendesignedtounite
threesubjectareasinyourcurriculum‐‐butitcanalsobeself‐standing,aslongasyourclass
hadalreadystudiedthetopic(theAmericanRevolution)foratleasttwoweekspriortothis
unit’sstart.Theunitsinreading,writingandthecontentareashavebeendevelopedin
conjunctionwitheachotherandarestrengthenedbyarelianceoneachother.Familiarize
yourselfwiththeBringingHistorytoLifefromthenewUnitsofStudyinOpinion,
InformationandNarrativeWriting,aswellaswiththecontentareacalendarsothatyou
takefulladvantageoftheopportunitiesforinterdisciplinarywork.
EnsureStudentsHaveatLeastaBasicOrientationtotheAmericanRevolution
ThisunithasbeendesignedtoworkhandinhandwiththeunitontheAmerican
Revolutionhappeninginthecontentarea‐‐butthereallyessentialthingisthatyour
studentsentertheunitalreadyknowingsomethingabouttheAmericanRevolution.We’ve
purposefullytimedthisunitsothatstudentshaveanorientationtotheRevolutionandthe
wholeclasshasatleastsomecommonknowledge.
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4 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
GatherResourcesonDifferentAspectsRelatingtotheAmericanRevolution
Youwillneedtogatherbooksthatyourstudentscanreadandothermaterialsonthe
AmericanRevolution(presumably,youalreadyhavequiteabitgatheredforthecontent
areawork).Inthecontentareas,studentswillhopefullyhavebeenstudyingvideoclipsand
maps,listsofstatistics,images,andsoon.Theycanbringallofthethinkingandnote‐taking
theyhavedonearoundthosetextstobearontheirnewwork,buttheprimarythingyou
wantthemtodointhereadingworkshopistoread.Thatis,theyshouldbereadingbooks,
articles(digitalorprint),bookchapters,etc.Studentswillnottendtoreadentirebooks
fromcovertocoverbutinstead,theywillpursueasubtopicacrossacollectionofbooks.
Thatis,anygivenstudentwillbeapttoreadonechapterofonebookandthenmoveto
anotherchapterinanotherbook,followingasubtopicthatthestudentisresearching(say
theDeclarationofIndependence).Althoughstudentswillreadtextsotherthanbooks,
becausethisisthereadingworkshopyouwillprobablyemphasizethatduringthistime,
studentsneedtomarshaltheirattentionforextendedreading.Itcan’tbethenormfora
studenttoporeoverafewphotographsforanentirereadingworkshopsincethenthat
student’svolumeofreadingwillbegintoslip.Thevalueofasimultaneoussocialstudies
unitisthatstudentswillhaveatimeandplace,elsewhereintheday,tolearnfromfilm,
video,photography,maps,thestudyofartifactsandthelike‐‐allvaluableformsofresearch.
FormResearchTeamsPriortotheUnitStarting
Inthedaysleadingupthisunit,youmighttalkuptheteamworkaspectofit,letting
studentsknowthattheyareabouttoembarkonanexcitingresearchprojectandthatwill
havetheopportunitytoworkinteams.Beforetheunit,youmaywanttoposttopicsof
interestandletstudentsbegintochoosewhichonetheywanttoresearch.Someteachers
letstudentspicktheirtopthreechoicesandthenmakeafinaldecisionforthem,doing
theirbesttotakestudentinterestsintoaccount.Thepointisthatyoumightneedtoengage
inalittlebehindthescenesengineeringbeforeteamslaunch.
Thesesuggestionsforpossibletopicsofinquirymightworkforyourclassandwilldirectly
alignwithandsupportthesub‐topicsmentionedinBringingHistorytoLife:
TheBostonMassacre
TheBostonTeaParty
TheMidnightRide
TheDeclarationofIndependence
TheContinentalCongress
TheBattlesofLexingtonandConcord
TheBattleofTrenton
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5 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
WomenintheRevolution
SpiesoftheRevolution
NativeAmericansintheRevolution
Ofcourse,yourlistmaylooklongerand/ordifferent.Theimportantpartistohavethe
resourcestosupportinquiriesonthistopic.
Ideally,you’llwantyourstudentstobetakingnotesononlyonesideofthepapersothey
canscissorapartandcategorizewhattheyhavelearned.Someteachershavestapledloose‐
leafpapertogethertomakeshortresearchbookletsforstudents.
ChooseReadAloud(s)
You’llwantyourreadaloudstomirrortheworkyourstudentsaredoingsoyou’llwantto
chooseafewtextsaboutoneaspectoftheAmericanRevolutionforyourfirstbendanda
fewtextsaboutasecondaspectduringthesecondbend.Thatis,werecommendyou
pursueawhole‐classinquiryyourselfinordertodemonstratetostudentshowtoread
acrossbooks.Inatleastthefirstbendoftheunit,wesuggestthatyoumightreadaboutthe
BostonMassacresincethistopicbecomesthefocusoftheteacher’sdemonstrationtextin
thesecondbendofthewritingworkshopunitwesuggest.Wesuggestthatyoumightread
fromTheRevolutionaryWarbyJoshGregoryfromScholastic’sCornerstonesofFreedom
series.ItisaguidedreadinglevelS,anditsLexileis800L,soanyonewhoisconcerned
withLexilelevelswillbesatisfied.Tomodelthekindofworkthestudentsaredoing,we
suggestthatyoudon’treadthetextcovertocover.Insteadyoucanshowstudentshowyou
arepurposefullychoosingsectionsfromthetextthatyouwanttostudy,sectionsthatcan
helpyoulearnaboutthespecificaspectoftheAmericanRevolutionthatisyourfocus(in
thiscase,theBostonMassacre).Readaboutyourinquirytopicinafewbooks.Wealso
recommendLiberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBeganbyPenner(780L/GuidedReading
LevelS).You’llseethattheauthorworkstogetthereadertofeelsomesympathyfor
Britishtroopswhileotherauthorsdonotwanttoengenderthatsamesympathy.George
VersusGeorge:TheAmericanRevolutionasSeenFromBothSidesbySchanzer(1120L/
GuidedReadingLevelT)andGiveMeLiberty:TheStoryoftheDeclarationofIndependence
byRussellFreedman(1070L/NoGuidedReadingLevel)arebothwell‐withintheLexile
levelexpectedatthegradebandandwesuggestthatyoumightreadexcerptsfromthese
booksaswell.Youwillseehowwehaveincorporatedsectionsofthemintotheteachingof
theunit.
Duringthesecondpartoftheunit,whentheclasswillstudyyetanotheraspectofthe
AmericanRevolution,youmightchooseanotheraspecttoreadabout,lookingperhapsat
theMidnightRideofPaulRevere.Manyofthesametextsthatyoureadinthefirstbendcan
beusedduringreadaloudandclosereadingsessionsinthesecondbendasyouwillfocus
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6 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
ondifferentsectionsofthetext.Inaddition,youmaywanttomodellookingatsome
primarysources;youmightusedocumentswhichshowtheBritishweregivenordersto
attack.ThepicturebookTheMidnightRideofPaulReverewhichpresentsthefamouspoem
byHenryWadsworthLongfellowalsoincludesprimarydocumentsrelatedtotheMidnight
Ride.YoumightalsoreadexcerptsfromRevere’sownfirsthandaccountoftheMidnight
Ride,whichcanbefoundatthefollowinglink:
http://ahp.gatech.edu/midnight_ride_1775.html.Thistextcanbequiteengagingwhen
presentedasareadaloudorasharedreading,asitcontainsagreatdealofdramaticaction.
Assessment You’llneedtodecidewhatyouwanttoassessinthisunit.Presumably,you’llcontinueto
trackstudents’progressupthegradientoftextdifficulty,soyouwillcontinuetogive
studentsrunningrecords,checkingforindicationsthattheyarereadytomoveuplevelsof
textdifficulty.Youneedtohaveaneyeforapproximatelyhowmanylevelsyouhope
particularstudentsareapttoprogressthroughwhileinyourcare.Thosewhoentered
fourthgradereadingbelowthebenchmarklevelsforyourgradewillhopefullyprogressup
somethinglikesixlevelswithinthisyear,andotherswillprogressupmorelikefourlevels.
OnepossibilityforyourformativeassessmentistogiveoneoftheTCRWP’sinformal
assessmentsininformationalreadingalignedtoinformationalreadingstandards1,2,4,5,
6,8,and9ontheCCSS(dependingonquestionsaskedduringtheassessment).Theseare
availabletoschoolswhoworkwiththeProjectclosely.Theseassessmentsallowfor
studentstoreadtextsindependently,then,afterreadingindependently,theassessment
involvesthemineachansweringquestionsdesignedtoaddressparticularstandardsinthe
CCSS.Theimportantthingabouttheseassessmentsisthattheyalsoenableteachersto
assessstudents’abilitiestoaddressgrade‐specificstandardsevenifthestudentreadsata
levelwhichisconsideredbelowgrade‐level.YoucanthenusetheInformationalReading
LearningProgressiontotrackstudents’progressonskillsthatareimportanttotheCCSS.
IfyougavetheTCRWP’sPerformanceAssessmentinNonfictionReadingandOpinionWriting
priortothestartofyourfirstnonfictionreadingunitearlierthisyear,likelyyou’llwantto
againgivethatassessment(oranadaptedversionofit)attheendofthisunit.
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7 Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
BendI:LearningaboutAnAspectoftheAmericanRevolution
ThroughReading
8 Themaingoalofthisbendistosupportstudentsintakingonaresearchprojectfor
themselves,takingnotes,organizinginformationandpayingattentiontowhendifferent
sourcesgiveconflictinginformation.
Tostartthisworkoff,then,onthefirstdayoftheunit,youmightgatherstudentsinthe
meetingareaandaskthemtositwiththeirteams.You’llwanttoissueagenerous
invitation,welcomingstudentsintotheworthyworkofresearch.Youmightsaysomething
like,“You’vebeenworkingtogetabigpictureofthe
AmericanRevolutionoverthepastfewweeks.So,youknow
“SotodayIwanttoteachyouthat
somebasicsaboutit‐‐likesomeofthemajorcausesandsome
whenreadersgetstartedona
ofthepivotalturningpoints.Andthat’saprettygoodstart,
researchproject,theyfigureouthow
togetthemselvessetuptoreadingin
butit’sonlyastart.Toreallytrytounderstandanytopic,you
waysthatletthemlearnalltheycan
havetodigdeep,right?Youcan’treallydigdeepinatopicas
abouttheirtopic.Onewaytheydo
HUGEasthewholeAmericanRevolution!”(Hereyoumight
thatisbygettingalayofthelandof
theirtextsandmakingaplanforwhat
spreadyourarmswidetodemonstratehowvastofatopicthe
toread.”
Revolutionis).“Researchers,insteadoftryingtogettheir
armsaroundHUGEtopics,oftentrytobecomeexpertsona
partoraspectofthehugetopic,inthiscaseoftheAmericanRevolution.Thentheybecome
expertsenoughtoteachothersaboutthesubtopicthey’vestudied.Afewdaysago,Iasked
youtochooseanaspectoftheRevolutionthatyouwantedtostudymoreandyougotinto
teams.You’resittinginthoseteamsnowandtodayisthedayyougetstarteddiggingdeep,
workingwithyourteamtolearnasmuchasyoucanaboutyoursub‐topicsoyourteamcan
teachothersaboutit.”Afteraconnectionlikethat,youcouldnameyourfirstteaching
point:“SotodayIwanttoteachyouthatwhenreadersgetstartedonaresearchproject,
theyfigureouthowtogetthemselvessetuptoreadinginwaysthatletthemlearnallthey
canabouttheirtopic.Onewaytheydothatisbygettingalayofthelandoftheirtextsand
makingaplanforwhattoread.”Thenyoumightdemonstratethisworktostudentsby
usingthetopicthatwillbecometheclassresearchtopic.
Wesuggestthatyoumightengineerthingssothatthetopicthewholeclassstudies(the
BostonMassacre,forexample)isalsothetopicthatreaderswhoneedmoresupportalso
research.Thatway,yourdemonstrationcanscaffoldtheirwork.Onthisfirstdayofyour
readingunit,youmightlayoutthetextsyouhavegatheredfortheclassdemonstrationset
andshowstudentshowyoutakeabroadsurveyofthem.“SoI’vedecidedthatweasaclass
mightstudytheBostonMassacresolet’slookthroughthesebookstodecidewhatpartswe
shouldreadthatwillhelpuslearnmoreaboutthatevent.”Youmightleafthroughafewof
thebooksandthenputatableofcontentsupfromLiberty!HowtheRevolutionaryWar
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
Began.onthedocumentcamera.“Hmmm..seehere,howoneofthechaptersinthetableof
contentsis“TheBostonMassacre”?Thisbookmakesiteasytofindasectionwecanusefor
ourresearch.Let’stryanother.”Then,putupthetableofcontentsfromTheRevolutionary
WarbyJoshGregory.“Thisbookdoesn’thaveachapterthatmakesitsoeasyforus.Idon’t
thinkitwouldbeinchapterone,‘ANewStartinAmerica.’butchaptertwo,‘Seedsof
Rebellion’isapossibility.Youmightfliptothatchapterandskimabittoconfirmthatthis
sectioncontainsinformationabouttheBostonMassacre.“Yes,here’sasubheading,‘The
BostonMassacre.’Itdefinitelywillhaveinformationwecanuse.Thatfeelslikeitwillbe
reallyimportantforustoreadaspartofourclassstudyonthatsubtopic.Maybeweshould
evenstartwritingdownsomebooktitlesandpagenumberssowehaveaplanforwhatto
read.”
Afteryoumodelthisforabitlonger,youmightgiveeachclubthechancetodosimilar
workontherugwiththeirsubtopics,leafingthroughthebooksandarticlesintheirbinsin
ordertoplanwhattoread.Youmightkeepstudentsontherugforabitlongerduringthis
lessonthanusual(besuretoexplainthatyouaredoingthis)sothatyoucanensureeach
teamisgettingitselfreadiedforastrongstart.Afteryoulisteninandcoachteams,you
mightcallstudentsbackandhighlightsomeofwhatyouheard.Youmightemphasizethat
readersaremakingplansforwhattoreadsothattheylearnthemosttheycanabouttheir
topics.Aspartofthat,they’relookingfortextsthatwillbeeasyforthemtoread,knowing
thatafterreadingtheeasiertexts,they’llbemoreabletotackletheharderones.Youmight
pickupLiberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBeganbyPennerandshowstudents.“Thisone
seemsabiteasierthantheothers,somaybeI’llstartwiththat.ThatwayIthinkIcanget
somebasicbackgroundandmaybelearnsomeofthevocabulary.ThenI’llmovetosomeof
theharderbooks.”Youcansendreadersofftobeginthiswork.(SessionXIIIofNavigating
Nonfictioncanalsoprovideadditionalsupportforhowtodemonstrategettingthelayofthe
landofatextset.)
Asreadersformintotheirteams,theywillhavealreadymadesomedecisions,soyoucan
expectthemtostartmovingimmediatelyintoreading.You’llwanttowatchhowstudents
getthemselvesstartedandhowtheyholdontoinformationtheyarelearning.You’llexpect
toseethemusingwhattheyknowofnote‐takingstrategiesfrompreviouscontentareaand
informationalreadingunits.Rememberthattheywillprobablylikelydonearesearch
projectbefore,whentheywereinthirdgrade.Theyshouldbeaccustomedtolooking
throughtexts,layingoutaplanforresearch,andforgettingthemselvesstarted.You’llwant
totakesometimetowatchthemworkingandconsideringwhattheyareholdingontofrom
previousunitsandyears.Aretheygettingthemselvesstarted,creatingaplanforreading
andthenchoosingwhatseemslikeslightlyeasierandperhapsbroadertextsfirst?Dothey
automaticallysetuptheirnotebooksfornotetaking?Dotheyjotthetitleandauthorofthe
booktheyarereading?Thisisallpreviouslearningandifyoudon’tseeithappening,you’ll
wanttocoachintothisworkrightaway.Aseriesofwholeclassvoiceoversandtable
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
complimentswillgoalongwayforhelpingyoutouchbasewithasmanymembersofthe
classaspossiblewhileensuringthatallaregettingstarted.Soyoumightforinstance,
voiceoverwhatyouseestudentsdoingwellthatcanhelptherest:
“Oh,IlovethatMagdalenaalreadyhassomenotesinhernotebook!”youmightannounceto
theclass.“Lookathergo.She’slistinginformationshe’salreadylearnedabouttheBoston
TeaPartyfromoursocialstudieswork.Fabulous!Ihopeeveryonehereisalsothinking
abouthowwhatyouhavealreadylearnedabouttheAmericanRevolutionmightbeuseful!”
“Wow‐‐Ralphhasaveryefficientsystemforplanninghisreading,”youmightsharealittle
later.“He’smarkeddifferentpagesofbookshewantstoreadandnumberedtheorder.He’s
reallysethimselfupforsuccess.Ihopethattherestofyouhavebeenthinkingaboutthe
bestwaytosetupaplanforyourself.”
Youmightalsocomplimentachildatatable,makingsuretherestofthemembersofthe
tablearewithinearshot.“IlovethatIseeyoulookingbackatthetimelinewemadein
socialstudies.Ihopethateveryoneisalsothinkingaboutresourcesweusedinsocial
studiesthatcanhelpwiththisnewwork!”
Youcanalsopulluptoastudentwhoseemstobedoingsomethingwellatatableand
complimentthestudent,makingsuretheothersatthetablearewellwithinearshot.Inthis
way,you’llhelpallofthestudentsgetontrackandstartworking.
Inwhatislikelytobetheshareonthefirstday,you’llwanttohelpallofthestudentsrecall
theirpreviouslearningabouttheAmericanRevolutionandremindthemthatallofthat
learningtheydidinsocialstudiescanhelpthemwiththisnewwork.Youmightpointtoall
ofthechartsyouhaveoutabouttheAmericanRevolutionandremindstudentsthatallof
theseresourcescanalsohelpthem.Youmightdemonstratelookingatatimeline:“So,ifI
amstudyingabouttheBostonMassacre‐‐Iamlookingatthistimelinetoseewhereinthe
courseofeventsrelatedtotheAmericanRevolutiontheeventthatIamstudyingfitsin.
Wow,soearlyinthetimeline.Oneoftheveryfirstoutbreaksofviolence.Somethingmust
haveledtothisfirstviolence.Hmm...thisismakingmethinkmoreabouttheBoston
Massacre’srelationshiptoothereventsonthetimeline.Itseemslikeitwassortofa
catalyst‐‐thatmeansitprovokedalotofactionsandchanges.YouknowI’mstartingto
thinkthatmaybeI’llneedtodoabitofreadingabouttheeventsthatcamebeforeandafter
theMassacretoreallythinkmoredeeplyaboutitscausesandconsequences.I’mgoingto
trytoreadthesectionsinmybooksthatcomerightbeforetheMassacre,forexample,to
trytofigureoutwhatledtoithappening.”Youcangivestudentssometimetothinkabout
theirowntopicsinlightoftheclass’timeline‐‐andthennudgethemtoscantheroomfor
otherchartsthatcouldhelpthemandtobeginimmediatelyusinganotherresourceaswell.
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
11 Ofcourse,youcouldhaveanentirelydifferentsharesession.Forexample,duringoneshare
ormid‐workshopyoumightteachyourstudents,“Readersthinkaboutalltheyknowwhen
theyarelearningaboutatopic.Ifyouarelearningaboutpenguins,youreviewallyouknow
aboutbirdsbecausethatcanhelpyouthinkaboutpenguins.Andifyouarelearningabout
PaulRevere,youthinkofallyouknowabouttheRevolution,becausethatallrelatestoPaul
Revere.”Youmight,then,channelchildrentopullouttheirsocialstudiesnotebooksand
scanoldnotes,askinghowtocodetheoldnotes(perhapsabouttheRevolutioningeneral)
thatarealsorelevanttotheirnewsubtopic.
Studentswillfindittobeaheadyandsometimesdauntingendeavortoresearchasubtopic
withtheirsmallgroup.You’llwanttofindwaystohelpthemkeeptheirenergyhigh
throughouttheprocess.Soyoumightteachstudents,saying,“TodayIwanttoteachyou
thatithelpsforresearcherstothinknotonlyabouttheirtopicbutalsoabouttheirwork,
talkingtogetheraboutquestionssuchas,‘Howcanwekeepourenergyhighduringthis
process?’Studentscanoffersuggestionswhichyoucanchart(youcanseeNavigating
NonfictionVolumeIIforsomeexamplesofchartsabouthowtokeepenergyhighduring
research)andyoucanletthemgobacktoworkagain.
Overthenextfewdays,asstudentsresearchandtakenotes,you’lllikelyseethereare
predictablewaysthatyou’llneedtoteachintothiswork.InEnergizeResearchReadingand
Writing,ChrisLehmansaysthatonesuchconcernmightbethatyouseestudentscopying
largesectionsoftext.Ifthisisthecaseforyourstudents,you’llwanttoteachalessonin
whichyouteachstudentssometipsaboutnote‐taking.“TodayIwanttoteachyouthat
researcherschooseonlywhatseemsmostimportanttojotdown,andtheyjotmostlyin
theirownwords,quickly,withoutfullsentences.”Youmightmodelthisbyshowing
studentshowyoureadachunkoftextthenlookupfromthebookandtrytosummarize
whatyoureadbylistingthemajorpoints(Youcanholdupyourhandandlistthepointson
yourfingersasamodelforstudentstofollow)thencomeupwithaideathosepoints
support.Youmightthenshowstudentshowyouquicklyjotdownwhatyouwroteandthen
decideonaheadingforthepointsyouhavelisted.So,youmight
remindstudentsthatyouwantedtodosomereadingoftheparts
“TodayIwanttoteachyouthat
researcherschooseonlywhat
ofthebooksthatcamebeforesectionsabouttheBoston
seemsmostimportanttojot
Massacretofigureoutwhatledtoithappening.Thenyoumight
down,andtheyjotmostlyin
readthefirstfewparagraphsofthesection“Lobsterbacks”in
theirownwords,quickly,
withoutfullsentences.”
Penner’sLiberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBegan(pgs.12‐13),
andmightmodellistingthesemajorpoints:
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
Liberty!:HowtheRevolutionaryWarBeganbyPennerp.12‐13
NotEasytoBeaBritishSoldierinBoston
 Clothingwasn’tcomfortable‐‐(itchy,hotjackets;pantstootight)
 Hadtopassinspectioneverydayforappearance(ex.hadtopowderhair
+dipinanimalgrease‐‐smelly!)Ifuniformsnotclean‐‐whipped
 Paidonly2centsaday
 Iftriedtodesert‐‐executed
 Hatedandmadefunofbythecolonists
Youcanthenmodelreadinganotherchunk(inthistext‐‐youcanmodelreadingsomeofthe
marginaltextnotesonthesamepage)anddecidingwhetherthemajorpointsforthese
sectionsgoalongwiththeotherpointsyouhavelistedorifyouneedanewcategoryof
notes.Thenyoucanofferstudentsachancetotrythisworkwiththerestofthemarginal
textnotes.Youcanalsotalkwithstudentsaboutwhetherornottoincludedetailsthat
seemtangentialinyournotes.(Forexample,onthesepages,youmighttalkaboutthedetail
thatmarriedredcoatswereallowedtobringtheirfamilieswiththemandthatthewomen
nursedsicksoldiers.Whileinteresting,thisdetaildoesn’tseemtobeasimportantto
helpingyouunderstandhowtheBostonMassacrecameabout.)Asyouwatchstudentsgo
offtowork,youmayalsoneedtoremindthemtoreadovertheirnotestoseeiftheyhave
includedthenamesofkeypeople,keyplaces,keyevents.
You’llalsolikelyseethatyouneedtonudgestudentstocapturenotesusingotherforms
thanboxesandbullets.Soinashareormid‐workshop,youmightmodelreadinganother
sectionofyourtext(thenextsectionofPenner’stext‐‐TheBostonMassacre‐‐forexample,
startingonpage14)anddemonstratethinkingtostudentsabouthowboxesandbulletsdo
notseemlikethebestformtotakenotesforthissection.Youmightsaysomethinglike,
“Readers,IwasstartingtotakenotesonthenextsectionofthebookI’mreading‐‐the
sectioncalled“TheBostonMassacre”‐‐andIwasstartingtolistpointsinmyheadtogrow
ideaslikeIdidbefore,butthenIrealizedsomething.Irealizedthatthisdoesn’tseemtobe
thekindofsectionthatissetuplikeboxesandbullets.IthinkIneedtouseadifferenttype
ofnotetakingheretohelpmeholdontoinformation.Maybeyoucanhelpme.Willyoulook
atthistextcloselyandatthischartofdifferenttypesofnotetakingstructures?Let’sreread
thissectionofthetextclosely,andwillyouthinkaboutwhatformofnotetakingImight
usetohelpmeholdontotheinformationinthissection.”Youmightthenstartreadingfrom
themiddleofpage14,displayingthissectionofthetexttoyourstudents.
“Finally,onMarch5,1770,thesituationexploded.Itwasadarknight,coldand
snowy.AsoldierwasstandingguardinthesentryboxinfrontoftheCustoms
House.Aboycamealongandbeganshoutinginsultsathim.Thesoldierdashedout
ofhisboxandhittheboywithhismusket.Theboyranawaycrying.butsoonhe
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
camebackwithhisfriends.Theythrewsnowballsattheguardandscreamed“Lousy
rascal!Bloodyback!”
Youcanthengivestudentstimetotalkaboutwhattextstructuremighthelpyoutohold
ontothisinformationandthenhighlightsomeofwhatyouhaveheardthemsay.
Highlightingwhatyouhave“heard”(evenifyouhaven’texactly‘heard’it)willhelpyouto
steerstudentstowardwhatwilllikelybeahelpfultextstructureinthisinstance.“So,I’m
hearingalotofyousayatimelinemighthelpme,”youmightsay.“Thatmakesalotofsense
tome.Itseemslikeinformationisbeinggiveninthissectionlikefirstthishappened,then
this,thenthis.Thispartseemsorganizedusingachronologicaltextstructure,right?Soa
timelinecouldhelpmeholdontotheorderofevents.Andthen,whenIreadmorebookson
thistopic,Icouldkeepaddingeventsintomytimelineandevenlookingtoseeifother
authorsleaveoutsomeoftheevents!”
Youcouldalsoraiseanotherpossibilitytosupportstudentsforwhomawrittentimeline
maynotnecessarilybethebestwaytotakenotes.“Now,othersofyouhavesuggestedI
couldhavedoneabunchoflabeledsketches‐‐sortoflikeastoryboard‐‐toholdontowhat
happenedandthat’sareallyinterestingideaaswell.I’msurethereareotherpossibilities
also,butI’mthinkingI’mgoingtouseatimelinebecausethatfeelsbestforme.Whenyou
allgoofftoday,you’llwanttobethinkingabouthowauthorsaredeliveringinformation
andwhattypesofnotetakingstructuresfeelbestforyoutoholdontotheinformationfrom
thatsection.”
Ifallofthatseemslikealotofinstructionjustaroundthestructureofnote‐taking,youmay
wanttorecallthatonthehighstakesNYStestthisyear,somepremiumwasputon
studentsbeingabletoreadatextandthinkaboutthestructureunderlyingthattext.The
challengetothinkaboutthebestwaytostructureone’snotesisanauthenticwaytohelp
studentsbecomeaccustomedtoreadingandwritingwithanalertnesstotextstructures.
Categorizationisabigpartofstructure,andstudentswillalsolikelyneedhelpcategorizing
theirnotesontheirsubtopics.Youmayseeastudent,forexample,takingdownnotesfrom
onebookononepagethenmovingtoanotherbookandstartinganewpageforthose
notes.Ifthatisthecase,you’llwanttointerveneandhelpthatreaderseethathe/shecan
incorporatenewlearningintooldnotes.(Youmightdemonstratehowyoucanreada
sectionontheBostonMassacreandaddnewnotestotheonesyouhavealreadytaken.)
Youmightalsohavestudentscuttheirnotesupsotheycanpracticegroupingnotesthat
seesimilartogetherandthentapetheseintotheirnotebook(orabooklet).Or,youmight
provideindexcardsandletstudentstakenotesonthesethensortandcategorizethem.
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
14 Tosupportstudentsinsynthesizingtheirlearningrightaway,youcaninvolvethemin
teachingotherswhattheyhavelearned,inwhatwilllikelybeyourshareonthesecondor
thirddayoftheunit(youcanseetheTeachingShareinSessionXIVofNavigating
Nonfiction,startingonpage108forfurthersupportonhowthisworkmightbetaught).
Likely,youwillhearduringthissharethatstudentsarenotusingthedomainspecific
vocabularytheyareencounteringintheirtexts.Ifthatisthecase,
thenyou’llnextwanttoshowstudentsthattheycanusethe
“TodayI’mgoing toteachyouthat
“lingoofexperts”whentalkingandwritingabouttheirtopics.
whenyoubecomeanexpertona
topic,itisimportanttobeginusing
(YoucanseeSessionXVinNavigatingNonfictionforfurther
thetechnicalvocabularyofthat
supportinhowtoteachthatlesson.)Youmightcraftateaching
subject.Evenifyouarejustreally
pointwhichsoundssomethinglike,“TodayI’mgoingtoteachyou
beginningtolearnaboutasubject,
youcanaccelerateyourlearning
thatwhenyoubecomeanexpertonatopic,itisimportantto
curveby‘talkingthetalk’.”
beginusingthetechnicalvocabularyofthatsubject.Evenifyou
arejustreallybeginningtolearnaboutasubject,youcan
accelerateyourlearningcurveby‘talkingthetalk’.”
AsCalkinsandTolansuggestinthatsession,youmightevenhaveeachteambeginto
inventwaystorecordnewtermswhichseemimportanttothetopicandtobegintomake
miniwordwallsorglossariesandkeeptheseinthemiddleoftheirtableswhentheyteach
eachother.
Youcanalsohelpstudentstoseethatwhilethenamesofpeople,places,andeventsmatter,
othertermsmatteraswell.Onewaytoknowatermisimportantisiftheauthorrepeatsit.
Youmightshowstudentsthattheycanactuallylifttermsfromthetextandraisetheir
writingandspeakingtonewheightsbytryingtousemoreofthewordsthattheauthorhas
used.Soifoneauthorhasrepeatedatermlikediscontentorifafewdifferentauthorshave
pointedoutthatthecolonistswerefullofdiscontentorthatBostonhadbecomethecenter
ofdiscontentwithBritishrule,thenstudentsshouldtrytousetheworddiscontentintheir
ownspeakingandwriting.Encouragethemtousethetermandthenunpackitandanalyze
itssignificancetowhattheyarelearning.Sostudentsmightexplainwhythecolonistswere
fullofdiscontentwithBritishruleandwhatresultedfromtheirfeelingthisway.Helping
studentstoacquireacademicvocabularyisasessentialashelpingthemtoacquiredomain
specificterms.You’llwantthemtonoticeandbegintolifttermslikeinfuriated,blockade,
casualty,rebellion,resentment,opposition,import,export,outrage,monarchinadditionto
termslikeLobsterback,Tory,CrispusAttucks,CaptainThomasPreston,JohnAdams,andso
on.
Anothersessioninthispartoftheunitwilllikelybeabouthelpingstudentstoseethat
note‐takingcaninvolvenotonlyrecordinginformationbutalsogrowingideas.Tosupport
thiswork,youmightremindyourstudentsofthepromptstheyhaveusedtogrowtheir
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
thinkinginotherunitsandhelpthemtoseethattheycandothatsameworkhere.You
mightsay,“TodayIwanttoremindyouthatreadersdon’tonlyusewritingtorecord
information,readersalsowritetogrowideas.Andtodothat,readerssometimesrelyon
thesame‘thoughtprompts’astheyusetogrowideaswhentalking.”So,ifyougobackto
yournoteson“NotEasytoBeaBritishSoldierinBoston,”youmightnowusesome
promptstogrowsomeideasoffthesenotesandshowstudentshowyoumightcreatea
newpageforthinking.Youmightwritesomethinglike:
“IusedtothinkthattheBostonMassacrewasalltheBritish
soldiers’fault.Theyaretheoneswhofiredatinnocentcolonists!
ButnowI’mstartingtothinkthatmaybeitismorecomplicated
thanthat.MaybethecolonistswerenotasinnocentasIthought.
TheyhadbeentauntingtheBritishsoldiersforalongtimeeven
beforethisevent.ThisismakingmewonderifBritishsoldiers
wereangryabouthavingtobeinBoston.Perhaps,inaway,the
Britishsoldierswerejustasfrustratedasthecolonists,butfor
differentreasons.MaybetherewasjustallthisangerinBoston
andithadtogosomewhereandonenightthatanger
exploded...”
Youcanpointoutthatmaybethisworkhashelpedyoutogoonajourneyofthoughtand
hasbeguntohelpyouunderstandsomeofthecausesoftheBostonMassacre.Youmight
askstudentstopushthemselvestothinkaboutdetailstheyhavealreadylearnedandif
thesedetailssparkanysurprisingideasorquestionsormighthelpstudentstothinkabout
causesorconsequencesofpreviousinformation.Asstudentscontinuetowork,youcan
pushthemtocontinuetomakethesekindsofkeyconnectionsandgoonjourneysof
thoughttocometonewideas.
Somepromptsthatmighthelp:
 Iusedtothink...butnowIrealize...
 AtonepointIthought...andnowIthink...
 Myideasabout...arecomplicated.Onetheonehand,Ithink...Whileonthe
otherhand,Ithink...
(YoucanseeSessionXVIofNavigatingNonfictionformorepromptsandideasforteaching
alessonaboutwritingtothink.
Laterinthatday’sworkshoporinanotherday’sworkshop,youmaywanttoteachyour
studentsparticularhistory‐relatedthoughtpromptsthattheycanalsoaskthemselvesand
others‐‐text‐dependentquestionstheycanaskthemselvestopushthemselvestoconsider
causes,consequences,andtherelationshipsofeventsinhistory.
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution




Doesthatremindyouofanythingyouhavealreadylearned?
Whatmightbearesultof____?
Whatmightthatleadto?
Whatdoyouthinkcaused____?
Encouragestudentstoconstantlygobacktoresearchfurthertofindtheanswerstothese
questionsandtojotthesequestionsintheirnotes.Thiswork,ofcourse,isespecially
alignedtotheNewYorkState’sELA.
Yourreadaloudwillbeofkeyimportanceduringthispartoftheunit.Youwon’thavetime
duringeachreadingworkshoptodemonstratenote‐takingbutduringyourreadaloudyou
cancontinuetoreadsectionsoftheclasstextsetandmodeltakingnotes.Duringthistime,
weespeciallyencourageyoutoreadabouteventsleadinguptotheBostonMassacre
(sectionsaboutthetaxes,forexample,orsectionsabouthowtheBritishsentsoldiersto
stayinBoston)andtheconsequencesoftheMassacre(sectionsabouthowtheportof
BostonwasclosedorevensectionsontheBostonTeaParty)tosupportstudentsinseeing
therelationshipsofevents,includinghowoneeventcausesanother.(Youmightreadparts
ofYouWouldn’tWanttoBeattheBostonTeaPartyandpartsofGiveMeLibertyby
Freedman.)Duringyourreadalouds,you’lldemonstrategoingbacktonotesyouhave
alreadytakentoincludenewinformation.Showstudentshowyouaddheadingstoyour
notestoorganizethem.Youcanalsomodeltakingnotesusingdifferenttextstructures,
showingstudentshowyouconsiderwhichstructureofnotetakingwillbesthelpyouhold
ontotheinformationinasection.Studentswillcontinuouslyseeaexemplarmodelofthis
workwhichcangivethemavisionforwhattheyshouldbedoingintheirteams.
Asstudentsarereadingthroughtextsandtakingnotes,youmightteachthemthatoneway
readerssynthesizetheirlearningisbytalkingthrough‐‐andteaching‐‐whattheyare
learningtoothers.Thenyoucanchannelstudentstoteachtheothermembersoftheir
groupwhattheyarelearning.Thisworkcansupportstudents’abilitiestosummarizeand
helpthemtodetermineimportance(rememberthattheInformationalReadingLearning
Progressioncanhelpstudentsself‐assessandsetgoalsforthiswork.)Asyoulisten,you
mayneedtocoachstudentsintomovingawayfromjustreadingpartsofthetexttoeach
other.Itwillhelpimmeasurablyifyougivestudentsafewminutestoplantheirteaching
sessionbeforetheyteach,decidingonthemostimportantinformationtosharewithgroup
membersandcollectingwaystoelaborateoneachofthosepoints.Studentscanthenteach
eachothersomekeypoints,makingsuretoprovidesupportingevidence,details,andalso
toreflectonthesignificanceoftheircontentbydevelopinganideaortwoaboutthat
information.Aspartofthisyoucanteachstudentsthatonewaytodevelopakeypointisto
quotefromoneoftheirtextsinwaysthathighlightthekeypoint,orsupportit.Remind
themthatitisimportanttoexplainwhythatquoteseemsimportant.Youcanalso
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
encouragethemtomakeconnectionsbetweentheirlearningbyofferingthemsome
conversationprompts:
 ThatfitswithwhatI’mlearningbecause...
 That’sdifferentfromwhatIreadbecause..
 Whatyoujustsaidismakingmerealizethat...
 NowI’mstartingtohaveanewidea...
 Thisishelpingmetounderstandwhy...
 Thisconnectstowhatwelearnedinsocialstudiesbecause...
 Now,I’mwondering...
Studentswillbefillingthepagesoftheirresearchbookletswithinformationandtheirideas
andteachingeachotherwhatseemsmostimportanttoknowabouttheirtopics.Asthe
bendmoveson,you’llwanttonextshowstudentsthatsometimeswhenyoustarttoput
piecesofinformationtogether,someofthosesourcessaydifferentthings.(Studentshave
likelydoneabitofthisworkinthirdgradesoyoumightnowmakeitmorecomplexby
showingtwocategoriesofyournotesforstudentstocompareandcontrastwithnew
information.)Todemonstratethis,youmightshowstudentsthepagesaboutBritish
soldiersstationedintheBostonandTheBostonMassacrefromLiberty!Howthe
RevolutionaryWarBeganbyPennerthatyouhavebeenreadingduringreadaloud.Youcan
remindthemofsomeoftheimportantpointsthattheclasshasdiscussedthisauthorhas
madebyshowingthemtheclassnotes.
NotEasytoBeaBritishSoldierinBoston
 Clothingwasn’tcomfortable‐‐(itchy,hotjackets;pantstootight)
 Hadtopassinspectioneverydayforappearance(ex.hadtopowderhair+dipin
animalgrease‐‐smelly!)Ifuniformsnotclean‐‐whipped
 Paidonly2centsaday
 Iftriedtodesert‐‐executed
 Hatedandmadefunofbythecolonists
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
March5,1770:ThenightoftheBostonMassacre
__|________________________________________|________________________|______________________|__________
SoldierstandsguardSoldierhitsboy.Crowdstartstogather.Sentrycallsforhelp.
infrontofCustomsHouse.Boyrunsaway,comesMeetinghousebelltolls.CaptainJames
Boyinsultshim.backwithfriends‐‐throwSomethinkfire;othersPrescottbrings7
snowballsatguardbringguns.soldiers.Tellscrowd
andinsult.togohome.
___|_______________________________________|_____________________________________________|_______________________
CrowdkeepinsultingSuddenlyashotringsout.Prestonsaysstopfiring
soldiersandthrowrocks.(??)buttheykeepfiring.Threemen
Onemankilled(colonist).deadandtwomendyingattheend.
ThenyoumightputuppartofGeorgeVs.GeorgebySchanzer.Youmighttucksome
instructiononskimmingandscanninghereasyouletstudentsknowthatactuallythereis
nosectioninthisbookcalled“TheBostonMassacre,”butyouknowthereisusually
informationaboutthateventinanybookontheAmericanRevolution.Youcanletstudents
knowthatyoulooktofindwherethereisinformationabouttheBostonTeaParty(because
thatisusuallyaprettybig,easytofindsection)andthenstartedtoskimthepartsinthe
bookrightbeforethatbecauseusuallythosetwoeventsarewrittenaboutprettyclose
togetherinmostbooks.Youmightalsoaskstudentstonoticehowinterestingitisthat
thereisonlyonesmallparagraphinthisbookontheeventwhileinotherbooksitisan
entiresectionorchapterandhypothesizethatmaybethismightbethecasebecausethe
bookfocusesonGeorgeWashingtonandKingGeorgeandneitherwassignificantly
involvedintheBostonMassacre.
Youcanputuppage22ofthetextonthedocumentcameraandengagetheclassinclose
readingofjustthefirstparagraph,askingstudentswhatnewinformationorwhat
conflictinginformationtheyhavegainedfromthistextthattheothertextdidnotsay.
Studentsmightnotice,forexample,thatthisparagraphofGeorgeVs.Georgetellsthereader
thatBritishsoldierscausedtroubleinBostonwhenevertheywentoffduty‐‐stealing,
gettingdrunkandsoon.Youmightgivestudentsasecondactiveinvolvementbyreading
thesecondparagraphandthenlettingthemtalkagain.Thistime,theymightnoticethatthe
waytheeventsoftheBostonMassacrearelaidoutinthebookdoesnotexactlyaligntothe
classnotes.Forexample,thereisnomentionofoneboystartingthetrouble.Thereisno
mentionofCaptainJamesPrescotttryingtostopthesoldiers.Thisbooksaystherewasa
lumpofwoodthrownattheBritishsoldiersbutthereisnomentionofthatinLiberty!.You
canletstudentsknowwhensomethinglikethishappens,itmakesyourealizethatyou
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
wanttogotoathirdsourcetogetabetterunderstandingsinceeachoftheseversionsis
different.That’sworkyouwilldolatertoday.
Youcanalsoprovidesomepromptsforstudentstohelpthemdomoreofthiscompareand
contrastwork.
 Thistextsaysbutthistext(doesnotsay/alsosays)...
 Thistextconflictswithwhattheothertexthassaidby...
 Thistextbuildsonwhattheothertexthassaidby...
Studentsmightevengobacktolookatsomeofthetexts
“Readers,afteryouhavereada
theyhavealreadyreadtomorecloselycomparethe
coupleofsourcesonatopic,itis
informationtheyprovide.Youcancoachintothisworkby
helpfultocompareandcontrast
askingthemtonoticewhateachauthorhasmademost
thosesources,noticinghowthe
textsportraythetopicinsimilar
important.“Readers,afteryouhavereadacoupleof
ways‐‐andhowthetextsare
sourcesonatopic,itishelpfultocompareandcontrast
different.Thenyouwillwanttotry
thosesources,noticinghowthetextsportraythetopicin
tofigureoutwhytheauthorsmay
havemadedifferentcraft
similarways‐‐andhowthetextsaredifferent.Thenyouwill
decisions,thinking,‘Doesthis
wanttotrytofigureoutwhytheauthorsmayhavemade
relatetothedifferentcentralideas
differentcraftdecisions,thinking,‘Doesthisrelatetothe
theyaretryingtogetacross?’”
differentcentralideastheyaretryingtogetacross?’
Liberty!seemstomostwantreaderstoknowthatthe
Britishsoldiershadadifficultlife,forexample,whileGeorgeVs.Georgeseemstomostwant
readerstoknowthatsoldierscausedtroubleinBoston.Studentsmightaskeachother:
 Whatinformationisinthisaccountthatisnotintheotheraccount?
 Whatmajorpointsiseachotherauthormaking?Whatarethekeydetailseachother
isincluding?
Asyourstudentslookfordiscrepanciesorsimilaritiesintheirsources,you’llalsowantto
remindthemthatit’simportanttocontinuetobeabletosummarizeorsynthesizethe
majorpointsandidea(s)relatedtoyourtopic.Soyoumightnowshowstudentshowyou
doyourbesttosummarizewhatyouknowonthetopic,acrossallofyourtexts.When
informationconflicts,youcanacknowledgethatconflictinyoursummary.Soforexample,
yourownsummaryoftheBostonMassacremightincludetheacknowledgementthatno
oneisexactlysurehowthefiringstarted.“Thereseemstobesomedisagreementonwhat
actuallyhappenedorwhotookthatfirstshot.ButwhatisclearisthatBritishsoldiersfired
intothecrowdandfivecolonistswerekilled.”
Asthispartoftheunitheadstoaclose,youmightgivestudentsadaytoconsolidatetheir
notesandprepareapresentationofwhattheyhavelearned.Studentscancutupandput
theirnotestogether,decidinghowtogrouptheinformationthatseemsmostimportant.
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Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
Theycanteachtheothersintheclasswhattheyhavelearnedabouttheirtopicandyoucan
providesometimeaftertheseteachingsessionsforstudentstoagainmakeconnections
betweenwhattheyhavelearned.
BendII:ResearchingaDifferentAspectoftheAmericanRevolution
Youwillseethatthisbendisnotunlikethefirstone,thedifferenceliesinthefactthatnow
studentsareaskedtoworkwithgreaterindependenceonasecondsub‐topic.Youofcourse
coulddecidetoelongatethefirstbendinsteadofteachingthissecondbend,orto
encouragesomestudentstocontinuewiththeoriginalsub‐topicwhileothersswitchtoa
newone.Ourrationaleforthisbendcame,inpart,frompredictingthatyouwon’thave
enoughbooksthatyourstudentscanreadonanyonesub‐topictobeabletokeepthemin
booksonthatsub‐topicforlong.Hencetheideathatrotatingtopicsmightmakesense.
Thisbendshouldbeshorterthanthefirst.You’llexpectstudentstodrawonalltheyhave
learnedandapplyittothisnewworkwithmoreefficiency.
Beforelaunchingintothisbend,youwillneedtodecideonanewsubtopicthatyouwillbe
investigatinginyourwholeclassminilessonsalthoughyoucoulddecidethateventhough
thestudentsaremovingtoanewtopic,you’llcontinuetostudytheclasstopicfrombend
one.Ifyouaremovingtoanewtopic,youmaychoosetheMidnightRide,astherearesome
goodresourcesonthattopic.Inadditiontothetextsmentionedearlier,JeanFritz’sbook
AndThenWhatHappenedPaulRevere?givesaniceoverview.
So,onthefirstdayofthisbend,youwillwanttoletchildreninonthebigworkofthispart
oftheunit.“Inthefirstpartoftheunit,Ibasicallytookyoustepbystepthroughthe
researchprocess,”youcantellstudents.“ButtodayI
“ButtodayIwanttoteachyouthat
wanttoteachyouthatreadersneedtobeableto
readersneedtobeabletoorganize
organizetheirownresearchprojects,tobetheirownjob
theirownresearchprojects,tobe
theirownjobcaptainsfortheir
captainsfortheirlearning.”Bytheendofthat
learning.”
minilesson,youcansendstudentsofftobeginusing
everythingtheyhavelearnedaboutreadingand
researchtoread‐to‐learnaboutasecondaspectoftheAmericanRevolution.Youmightsay,
“AllIcantellyouisthatyouhavefourdaystolearnallyoucanaboutthissecondsub‐
topic,andbythenyoumustbepreparedtoteachothersaboutwhatyouhavelearned.”
Studentswillprobablymoveoffwithhighenergyandenthusiasm.Onewaytosupport
thosewhomayneedthemostscaffoldingistoletthemre‐studythesameaspectofthe
AmericanRevolutiontheyhavejuststudiedbutthistime,readingslightlymorecomplex
textsthantheyreadlasttime.Themajorworkofthisbendwilloccurinsmallgroupsas
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
youcoachstudentspastproblemsyounoticedduringthelastbendandsteerthemto
considerresourcesthatyouknowwillbehelpful.Earlyinthisbend,tosupporttheirwork,
youmightsay,“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatwheneverresearchersembarkonanew
project,theyoftenfindithelpfultomakeaWorkPlan.Theworkplanoverviewswhatthe
researcher(s)plantodo,andhowtheyplantodoit.”Thegoodnewsisthatthisteaching
willparalleltheteachingtheyaregettinginwritingworkshopastheylaunchintoanew
writingprojectwithgreaterindependence.Thenyoumightletstudentsthinkoverallthey
knowaboutreadingandresearchtothinkaboutwhatthestepsontheirWorkPlanmight
be.Thenyoucanjotyourownandletstudentsdiscussifthisissimilarordifferenttowhat
theywereplanning.
SoyoumightcreateaWorkPlanwhichlookssomethinglikethis:
____Lookoverthetexts,decidewhatpartstoreadtogetsomebasic
background
____Readtheeasiertextsfirst
____Takenotesonwhatseemsmostimportant(thinkaboutwhatstructure(s)
isbest)
____Makecategoriesofmynotes
____TeachmyteamwhatI’mlearningsofar
Youmightalsotypeupyourownworkplanandmakecopiesofitavailabletostudentswho
mightwantthatfurthersupport.
Asstudentswork,you’llwanttocheckinwithreaderstoseeiftheyareapplyingprevious
learning.Forexample,ifyoupulledagroupofstudentslasttimetohelpthemtonotice
repeatingvocabularytermsandusetheseintheirnotesandteachingsessions,you’llwant
toseethemnowactivelyworkingtoacquireandusenewvocabulary.Forthosestudents
whowereonlycopyingthetext,you’llwanttoseethemreadingforabitoftimethen
settingthebookdownandgivingthemselvesamomenttothinkaboutwhatseemed
importantbeforetakingnotes.Atwhatisprobablytheshareonthefirstday,youmightask
studentstotalkaboutwhatresourcesandchartstheythinkwillbemosthelpfultothemin
thisnewpartoftheunit.Rememberthatemphasizingusingchartsandresourcesisavery
concretewaytoemphasizetheimportanceoftransferringknowledgeacrossthe
curriculum.
You’llalsolikelyneedtohelpstudentscontinuetofigureouthowtoorganizetheir
learning‐‐whatcategoriestoincludeintheirnotes‐‐youmightsupplylittlebookletsnowto
letstudentslabelandbegintocollectnoteswithin.
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
Asyouwatchstudentstakenotesandteacheachother,youwilllikelyseewaysthat
studentscanmakebetteruseoftheirnotebooks.Youmightsee,forexample,thatstudents
seemtoputtheirnotesasidewhentheybeginteachingothersabouttheirtopics.Ifthisis
thecase,you’llwanttohelpstudentsseetheirnotesastoolsthatcanhelpthemteach
others.Youcancoachthemtoquotefromtheirnotesaswellasfromothertextswhenthey
teach.Inaddition,studentscanquotefactstheyhavejotteddownandtheirownideasafter
theyhearanotherstudent’steachingsessionandwanttoextendorchallengethatstudents’
ideas.Soonestudentmightoffer,“Well,somepeoplewouldsaythatthecolonistswerein
theBostonTeaPartywerebrave,butIdon’tagree.Righthereinmynotes,Iwrotethat‘if
thecolonistswerealldisguised,didtheyreallyhavecourage?Andtheyweretryingtoget
NativeAmericansintroublebecauseitsaystheyweredressedupasMohawkIndians.
That’snotbrave.’SoIdisagreethatthecolonistswerebrave.”
Studentscanalsoraisetheirworktonewheightsbyseetheirnotesasalivingdocument
thatcanberevisedandstrengthened.Theycandomorewiththeirnotesthensimplyadd
ontothem.Hereafewthingsresearchersoftendothatstudentscoulddoaswelltoraise
theleveloftheirnotetakingandtheirthinking:
 Researchersareinterestedineachothers’studies.Theysometimesswapnotebooks
andtakenotesoneachothers’notes.Thathelpsnotonlythepersonreadingand
learningfromsomeone’snotes,butalsothenote‐taker,becausethenote‐takercan
notewhatothersfindinteresting.
 Researchersfinditinterestingwhenadifferentresearcherhasdifferentinformation
orideasonatopic.Forexample,ifmembersofasmallgroupcomeupwithdifferent
reasonsfortheBostonTeaParty,itisinterestingtothinkaboutwhypeople’s
reasonsaredifferent.Researchersstopandchallengeotherresearchers.“Righthere,
youwrote...I’mjustnotsureaboutthat,becausethatwasn’tmyunderstandingofit.
Inmynotes,Iwrote....Let’sgobacktothatsectionoftextandlookatitagain
together.”Inthisway,bychallengingeachother,researcherscanhelpeachother
reviseinformationthatmaybeinaccurateormisleading,andcanalsothinkabout
whydifferentsourcesmightincludedifferentinformationonatopic.
 Researcherscanalsonoticethatwhenreadingthesamebook,listeningtothesame
videotape,differentthingswillseemimportanttodifferentresearchers.Itishelpful
totalkaboutwhyonepersonoranotherthinkssomethingisespeciallyimportant.
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
Asstudentsgainastrongerbackgroundontheir
“Readers,oncearesearcherhas
topics,youmightteachthemthattheywilloftenfind
readabunchofeasiertextsona
theycanprogresstohardertexts.“Readers,oncea
topicandstartedknowingmore
researcherhasreadabunchofeasiertextsonatopic
aboutthattopic,itisoftenpossible
toreadandunderstandtextsthat
andstartedknowingmoreaboutthattopic,itisoften
wouldatfirsthaveseemedtoo
possibletoreadandunderstandtextsthatwouldat
hard.Also,whenreaderstackle
firsthaveseemedtoohard.Also,whenreaderstackle
hardtextswithanotherperson,
sometimestheyhavemore
hardtextswithanotherperson,sometimestheyhave
success.”
moresuccess.”Youmightalsoteachstudentsthat
thereareparticularstrategiestheycanusewhen
tacklinghardertexts.Forexample,showstudentshowrightatthestartofatext,ithelpsto
youpreviewquicklyandthen‐‐evenbeforereadingthetext‐‐totrymakingaquick
summaryofthetext.Thenasyoureadon,whenpartsgetconfusing,itcanhelptopush
yourselfpastthem,continuingtosummarizewhatyouareabletoglean,evenifyouknow
youaren’tgraspingeverything.Bychannelingstudentstocontinuetosummarize,youhelp
themholdontothemajorpointsofatext.Toshowstudentshowtodothisyoumightputa
supercomplextextonthedocumentcameraandshowstudentshow,evenwhenareader
doesn’tknoweveryword,thereadercanstillcontinuetosummarizewhatheorshedoes
knowandholdontothegistofatext.
Thereareotherstrategiesthatsomereadingresearchersrecommendforhelpingstudents
tacklecomplextextandyoucantrythemoutandseeiftheyworkforyourstudents.For
example,somepeoplesuggestthatwhenreadingatextthatisabitoverwhelming,itworks
toreadthefirstandlastlineofeveryparagraph,summarizingwhatyoucanfromjustthose
linesinanefforttofigureoutofmainidea(s)andkeydetailsasyougo.Nomatterwhat,
youwillwanttohelpstudentsrecognizewhentheyfeelatextistoohard‐‐whentheystart
tofeeloverwhelmedorlosefocus,forexample‐‐andsotheydon’tjustplowalong,but
insteadtrytoaltertheirreading‐‐perhapsusingoneofthestrategieswe’vejustdescribed‐‐
sotheyworkhardtoholdontounderstanding.Youcanalsocontinuetodolessonson
dealingwithunfamiliartermsandondecoding,insmallgroupsthroughoutthisbendand
throughouttheunit,ifyoufindyourstudentsneedthis.
Likely,beforethisbendisover,you’llwanttoteachalessoninwhichyousaysomething
likethis,“Readers,todayIwanttoteachyouthat
“Readers,todayIwanttoteachyou
researcherspushthemselvestodrawonalltheyhave
thatresearcherspushthemselves
learnedfromanywhereaboutthetopictheyare
todrawonalltheyhavelearned
fromanywhereaboutthetopic
researching,andtheyreadacrosstexts,thinking,‘How
theyareresearching,andtheyread
arethelessonsIamlearningfromthesedifferenttexts
acrosstexts,thinking,‘Howarethe
thesameanddifferent?’Youwillwanttochannelyour
lessonsIamlearningfromthese
differenttextsthesameand
studentstorelyonlearningtheyhavebeendoingin
different?’
thecontentareasandeventobringsomeofthose
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
resourcesintoreadingworkshoptoenhancetheirresearch.Youcanlaydifferentbitsof
textagainsteachotherandsparknewideas.YoumightlayanetchingoftheBoston
MassacremadebyPaulRevereagainstabitoftextandmodelusingsomethoughtprompts.
Youmightsayaloud,orwritesomethinglike:
“ThisisshowingtheBritishsoldiersallfiringlikecrazyright
intothecrowdbutthatdoesn’tmatchwiththewaythetext
saidithappened.I’mthinkingPaulReveremadethistoget
peoplemadattheBritish.I’mrealizingthatsometimespeople
takeeventsandmakethemintoturningpoints.PaulRevere
andtheotherpatriotswantedtousethiseventtogetcolonists
madandgetthemtowanttofight.”
Studentscanbegintotryoutjuxtaposingsomepreviouslyreadtextsagainsteachother
andgrowingnewideas.Theycanalsolookbackattheirnotesontheirfirstsubtopicwith
theirnewlearninginmindandannotatetheirnoteswithnewthinking.
Asthebendends,studentscanagaintakesometimetoconsolidatetheirnotesandprepare
toteachothers.Youcanteachthembysaying,“Researchersandwritersneedtothink,
‘WhatarethemostimportantideathatIwanttoforward?’andtothink,‘HowcanIpopout
thereallybigideas,makingbywritingorsayingmoreaboutthem,maybebyusingtext
featurestohelpmakethoseideasmoreimportanttopeoplereadingandlisteningtome.’
Helpstudenttothinkaboutwhythesub‐topictheyhavefocuseduponseemsinteresting
andimportanttothem.Whyshouldpeoplecareaboutthissubtopic?Howdoesit
change/addtoaperson’sunderstandingoftheAmericanRevolution?Studentscan
considertheessentialquestionsraisedinsocialstudiestothinkabouthowwhattheyhave
studiedhelpsthemtothinkaboutanyofthosequestions:
 WhatwerethecausesoftheRevolutionaryWar?
 Whatweresomeofthecomplexissuespeopleinthecoloniesfacedatthetimeofthe
RevolutionaryWar?
 WhatweresomeofthedifferentpointsofviewheldatthetimeoftheRevolutionary
War?
 Howdidthewarchangelifeinthecoloniesforeveryone?
Youmightsetupstudentstojigsawwithmembersofothergroups‐‐teachingeachotherin
apanelformatbeforeengaginginconversationabouttheconnectionstheyareseeing.
Anotherchoiceistosetupapresentation“station”foreachgroupwheretheycanlayout
theirtexts,notes,andresourcesfromcontentareaworktouseasteachingtools.Students
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
25 cantaketurns“manning”thestationandrotatingthroughotherstations,listeningto
presentationsfromothers.
BendIII:GrowingIdeas
Bythispointintheunit,studentshavestudiedtwodifferentaspectsoftheAmerican
Revolutionandlikelyhaveaprettysolidunderstandingofeachone.InBendThreeyouare
goingtoteachreadersthattheydonotjustreadtolearnbutalsototalkbacktotextsby
askingquestionsandtryingtoanswerthem‐‐theyreadcriticallyandreadtogrowideas.
Youhavesomechoicesforwhatyourstudentscanstudyinthislastpartoftheunit.One
optionisthatifyourstudentshavestudiedtwosubtopics,theycannowchooseoneto
studymorein‐depth.However,iftheclassisdoingthewritingunitalongsideofthis
readingunit,thenyouwillwantthemtocontinuestudyingthetopic(theaspectofthe
AmericanRevolution)onwhichtheyarewritingtheirinformationbooks.Iftheyare
writinginformationalbooksthislastbendinreadingwillalsohelpthemtocontinueto
developpageswhichtheycanincludeintheirinformationbooks.Childrenwillbenotonly
writingbutalsotalkingwithpartnersorgroupsthatarestudyingthesamesubtopicto
discuss,debateandgrowideas.
Inthepreviousunitonhighinterestnonfiction,studentsworkedtobuildtheoriesand
interpretnonfiction.Now,theywilldrawonwhattheyhavealreadylearnedtobuild
theoriesandinterpretthehistoricaltextstheyarereadingwithgreaterindependence.
Thisworkisimportantandoftendifficult,thus,weareprovidingpracticeindoingit
acrosstheyear.Studentswillsynthesizetheirthinkingabouttheirbooksandpush
themselvestodevelopbigideasthattheycansupportwithinferencestheyhavemade
earlier.
Yourstudents’notebooksandbookswillbeburstingwithjottingsandPost‐its.Youmight
wanttobeginwithasessiononpausinginthemidstofreadingtoorganizeone’sthoughts.
ChildrenmightsortPost‐itsintopilesthatareabout
“TodayIwanttoremindyouthat
oneparticularofthesubtopicstheyhavestudiedsofar.
whenreaderslookataseriesof
Youmightthenremindyourstudentsthattheycan
ideasaboutabook(orsetofbooks)
lookforpatternsandnewideaswithinthisstackof
theycanaskthemselves,‘Whatdo
thesehaveincommon?Whatis
relatedPost‐its.Youmightsaysomethinglike,“TodayI
differentabouttheseideas?and
wanttoremindyouthatwhenreaderslookataseries
thentheyusetheanswerstocreate
ofideasaboutabook(orsetofbooks)theycanask
atheory.”
themselves,‘Whatdothesehaveincommon?Whatis
differentabouttheseideas?andthentheyusethe
answerstocreateatheory.”Oncechildrenhavedevelopedacoupleoftheoriesabouttheir
topicabouttheAmericanRevolution,theycanrevisitearlierpartsofthetextinlightof
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
theirtheories.Theycanalsoreadforward,gatheringmoreevidencetosupporttheir
theories,makingindividualtheorycharts.
Youmaywanttodemonstratesortingandbuildingtheoriesbasedonthesenotes.Asyou
lookatthesePost‐itstogether,firsthelpstudentstosortthislistfurther,lookingforideas
thatgotogether.Then,youcancoachyourstudentstothinkaboutwhatthesecombined
ideasareshowingusaboutthetopic.Youcancraftanexampleaboutthetopicofthe
AmericanRevolutionthattheclasshasbeenstudying(likely,theBostonMassacre).(For
furthersupportinhowtocraftsomenotestousetobuildtheoriesyoucanlookbackat
thepreviousunitandseethenotesandnewtheoriesaboutwolves.)
Ifyourstudentshavestudiedtwosubtopicsacrossthisunit,youcanpushthemfurther
(inwhatislikelytobeyourmid‐workshop)byaskingthem,first,totakeoutthePost‐its
they’vesavedfromtheirresearchoneachoftheirsubtopicsand,next,toreadacross
these,lookingtogrouplikeideastogether.Theycanalsolookforeithersimilaritiesor
differencesfromsubtopictosubtopic.So,now,theymightbedrawingconclusionsabout
howeachofthesubtopicsweresimilartooneanother(e.g.Patriotsriskedtheirlivesat
manytimesduringtheRevolution)andalsodifferent(TheBostonTeaPartywasanactof
violencejustliketheBostonMassacre,butintheTeaParty,noonedied.)Thiscompare
andcontrastworkcanbecomefeedintotheinformationalbooksstudentsarewritingin
thewritingworkshop,ifyoudecidetodothat.
Studentscanalsobegintoquestionandconsiderwhatlargerlessonseachbookmightbe
teachingabouthistoryandpowerandhumannatureandtheeconomyand...).Theycan
ask,asreadersdo,“WhatlessonsmightthisbookbeteachingnotjustabouttheAmerican
RevolutionbutaboutAmericanHistory?”Studentscan,bybuildingontheirinferences,
beginthinkingaboutbiglessonsreaderscanlearnfromthetext.Inthis,theywillbevery
closetostudyingthemes.
Nowthattheyhavegraspedsomeofthecontentrelatedtotheirresearchandbegunto
growideasandbuildtheories,thislastpartoftheunitaimstohelpthemtogobackto
someofthosesourcesandrereadthem,thistimemorecritically.Studentswillreread
materials,butthistimetheywillconsidernotjusttheinformationtheauthorwantedto
teachbutalsotheemotionoropinionaboutthatinformationtheauthorwantedtoconvey
andhowtheauthorwentaboutwritingthetextinsuchawayastoevokethosefeelingsor
thatopinioninthereader.Meanwhile,ofcourse,studentswillagainbeengaginginallof
theresearchpracticestheyhavealreadylearned,thistimewithgreaterindependence.
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
So,astheunitentersitsfinaltwoweeks,you’llwantto
gatherstudentsandletthemknowthebigjobaheadof
WhatIwanttoteachyoutodayis
them:“Rightnowyou’vestudiedtwoaspectsofthe
thatreadersdon’tjustthinkabout
theinformationinatext,theyalso
AmericanRevolutionandsoyouknowtwoaspectspretty
figureoutthepointofviewofthe
well.Butsofaryou’vereallyonlyreadthetextsonthese
authorofthattextandhowhe/she
aspectstolearninformation.WhatIwanttoteachyoutoday
mightbeswayingyoutothinka
certainwayaboutthetopic.”
isthatreadersdon’tjustthinkabouttheinformationina
text,theyalsofigureoutthepointofviewoftheauthorof
thattextandhowhe/shemightbeswayingyoutothinkacertainwayaboutthetopic.”You
mightthenteachstudentsthatonewaytofigureouttheauthor’spointofviewonatopicis
tolookforplaceswheretheauthor’sopinioniscomingthrough.Youmightshowthemtwo
sentences:
 “ColonistspulleddownthestatueofKingGeorgewhentheDeclarationof
Independencewassigned.”
 “Inabold,decisivemove,thecoloniststoredownthestatueofKingGeorgewhen
theDeclarationofIndependencewassigned.”
Youcanletstudentsknowthatthefirststatementisafact.Therearerecordstoshowthat
colonistsdidpulldownthestatueofKingGeorge.Thesecondstatementisafact,butitalso
includessomepartsofanopinion.Itincludesafeelingabouttheevent.Thewordsboldand
decisiveinthesecondsentencearecluestotheauthor’sopinion.Theauthorattributesthe
colonistswithwhataretraditionallyconsideredtobeadmirable,heroicqualities.
Thenyoumightshowstudentsanothersetofstatementsandletthemfindwordsthat
includepartsofanopinion.Youcanaskthemtotalkaboutwhatwordsmightbeclue
wordstotheauthor’sopinionandthendiscusswhattheythinktheauthor’spointofview
mightbe.Forexample:
TheBritisharetaxingourtea.Thisisanunfairtax.Wedidnotvoteonit.TheBritishare
tryingtostrangleourfreedom.
Youmightkeepstudentsontherugabitlongerforthislesson,sinceitisnotlikelythat
whentheygoofftoworktheywillfindsuchclearexamples.So,youmightnowprovide
anotheractiveinvolvement.YoucantypeuptwoparagraphsontheBostonMassacreand
showstudentstheseparagraphssidebyside.
“InMarch1770,anangrymobofAmericanrowdiesstartedtauntingeightofKingGeorge’s
soldiersandpeltingthemwithicysnowballs.Thensomeonethrewalumpofwoodata
redcoatandknockedhimflat.Theenragedtroopsbeganfiringintothecrowd,andfive
colonistswerekilled.”(p.22ofGeorgeVersusGeorge).
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
“OntheafternoonofMarch5,1770,agroupofboysbeginthrowingsnowballsatasentry
guardingthecustomshouse.Youareamongthecrowdthatgatherstowatchthefun.When
thesentrysummonshelp,asquadof8soldiersconfrontsthecrowdandopensfire,killingfive
civilians.”(p.10ofYouWouldn’tWanttoBeattheBostonTeaParty!
Likelystudentswillnoticethatwhileoneauthorhascalledthecolonists“anangrymobof
Americanrowdies”andsaidtheywere“taunting”thesoldiers‐‐showingapointofviewthat
seemstoplaceblameonthecolonistsforthetrouble,thesecondauthorcalledthema
“groupofboys”andsayswatchingthishappenwas“fun,”revealingapointofviewthat
blamesthe“boys”alotless.(Eventhewaytheauthorsdescribethesnowballsdiffer‐‐one
saystheyarebeing“pelted”‐‐theotherusesthesofter,kindertermof“throwing.”One
authorplacesthereaderatthescenewhiletheotherkeepsthereaderdistant.)
Studentscangoofftorereadtheirmaterials,payingcarefulattentiontowordsthatclue
themintotheauthor’sopinionandaddtotheiroriginalnotes.(Forstudentsthatstillneed
helpwiththis,particularlywhenthepointofviewismoresubtle,youcanshowthempage
19ofGiveMeLiberty!Pushthemtonoticehowtheauthorherecallsthesoldiers
“frightened”whileanotherauthorpaintsthemas“enraged.”)Bythispointinthecontent
areaunit,studentswillbelookingattheAmericanRevolutionthroughavarietyoflenses,
consideringmultipleperspectives,andtheworktheyaredoinginreadingworkshopwill
supportthis.
Asstudentsarebeginningtodiscussthekindsoflanguagechoicesthattheauthorshave
madeandwhatthoselanguagechoicesshowabouttheauthors’pointsofviewontopics
andevents,youwillalsowanttohelpstudentsdothisworkwithfirstpersonandthird
personaccounts,astheCommonCoreexpects.Soyournextlessonmightbeareviewof
thisone,onlythistime,youmightbringinaprimarydocument.Studentscanthinkabout
howafirstpersonaccountmighthaveaverydifferentfocusandwayofpresenting
informationonatopicthanathirdperson.Tomodelthisyoumighttakeaprimary
document(evenjustaparagraphofCaptainJamesPreston’saccountofwhathappenedat
theBostonMassacre)andanalyzeittoseehispointofview.Studentscannoticethathe
saysthatthecolonistsused“mostcruel”and“horridthreatsagainstthetroops.”(Besureto
previewthisprimarydocumentbeforeyoushowyourstudents‐‐therearesomeinstances
ofprofanityinthiseyewitnessaccount.)Youcanpushstudentstothinkaboutwhoisgiving
thiseyewitnessaccountandhowthatmightaffectthefocusandinformationprovided.
CaptainJamesPreston,wasafterall,theCaptainoftheBritishtroopsduringtheBoston
Massacre.Howmighthisaccountbedifferentinfocusandinformationthananauthor
writingabouttheBostonMassacretoday?
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Reading Curricular Calendar, Fourth Grade, 2013-2014
Unit Four—Learning Through Reading: The American Revolution
Onthisday,youmightgiveeachgroupofstudentsaprimarydocumenttheyhavealready
studiedinsocialstudiesandletthemdothispointofviewworkwiththesedocuments.
Notethattheseaccountsarelengthyandofcoursecomplex,soyoumaywanttochoose
shortexcerptsthatparticularlyshowcasethespeaker’spointofview.Ofcoursethereare
manyotherkindsofpointsofviewtoconsider,amongthempointsofviewofsome
remarkablewomenintheRevolution:MollyPitcher,SybilLudington,PenelopeBarkerand
LydiaDarragh.
Tosupporttheirunderstandingsofpointsofviewstudentsmightaskthemselvesand
others:
 Howwouldtheeventberecountedby(apersoninvolved)comparedtotheaccount
givenbyan(outsideobserver)?
 Whatarethedifferencesinfocusbetweenthetwoaccounts?
Youcouldalsoteachstudentstolookathowauthorshavechosentostructuretheirtexts
andwhatreasonsandevidencetheygivetosupporttheirpoints.Whatkindofreactionin
thereaderdothosechoicesleadto?OneauthorstartswithanecdotesofhowtheBritish
soldierswereconstantlypushedintogarbage;anotherauthorstartswithstatisticsofhow
manyBritishsoldiersweresenttothecolonies(4,000).Whatistheeffecteachwayof
startinghasonthereader?Somequestionsstudentsmightaskthemselvesandothers:
 Whatmighttheauthorhaveincludedthisdetailtoshow?
 Theauthorseemstobemakingthepointthat...Whichsentencehasevidence
supportingthatpoint?
 Whydoestheauthormostlikelysaythis?
 Whatreasondoestheauthorgivetosupportherpointthat…?
Studentswilllikelybenoticingthatsomeauthorshaveamorenuancedpointofviewthan
others.Someauthorspaint“thecolonists”asangrywhileothers(suchasIfYouLivedinthe
TimeoftheAmericanRevolution)showthattherearevariousperspectiveswithinthisone
group.Studentswillbegintonoticeandbecautiousoftermslike“thecolonists”or“all”or
“none”,whicharelessnuanced.
Asstudentsroundthehomestretchofthisunit,youcansupporttheminthinkingagain
abouttheimportanceoftheirsubtopic,askingthemtowriteandtotalkaboutitfurther,
drawingonallofthesourcestheyhavereadandcriticallyreread.Astheunitendsin
readingworkshop,studentscantakeallofthewritingtheyhavedoneontheirsubtopics
andbringittowritingworkshoptohelpthemdeveloptheirwriting‐‐addingmorelength
anddepthtotheirinformationalbooks.
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29