Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Grade 4 - Trimester 3 Unit 1
This is one unit that will address some of the standards in this Trimester.
Additional units would follow this related to the Social Studies and Science Content Standards.
Grade
4
Title/Theme
Big Idea(s)
Writing
Good writers can creatively develop real or imagined
experiences.
Reading
Good readers read a wide range of literature and informational
text in order to discover a real-life connection.
Growth and Change
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Social Studies:
New discoveries and opportunities bring about growth and
change.
Science:
The earth is constantly changing through natural and
unnatural processes.
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Essential Questions
Where do writers get ideas for their stories?
In what ways do writers bring ideas to life?
What elements are included in an engaging narrative?
How do authors create a theme to connect with an
audience?
How do authors create real-life connections?
What were some of the changes that occurred after the
Spanish and Mexican periods?
How did the discovery of gold change life in California?
In what ways did the discovery of gold affect the
development of California’s statehood?
How are rocks and minerals formed?
In what ways is the surface of the earth changed?
How does water reshape earth’s surface?
Unit Overview
(outline of lessons, bulleted topics, and/or cross-curricular connections)
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Weeks 1-2
Reading Text: Boss of the Plains T.E. 217 A
Teacher Read Aloud TE 216 G "What's For Dinner?" Read this article to the class to provide background knowledge about life in a
covered wagon. Model journaling with Rachel's Journey. Journals start in week 3.
Preparing to Read section on TE p. 216 will also help to launch this unit. Student text pg. 216-217 "Go West!" Teach vocabulary TE
217B. Vocabulary from Boss of the Plains would work well for many of the writing activities contained in this unit.
Theme: Skill lesson on theme is found on Learn Zillion (*See Link Below).
Writing Narrative Text:
“Valley of the Moon,” Social Studies book pg 186-189; “Write Response: Dangers of Traveling” see T.E. Pg 189
(Resource Read, Write, Think as option for publishing writing - Newspaper)
Earth Science:
Unit C Chapter 6 Lesson 1-2 How are Rocks and Minerals Formed? What are Minerals? In addition to reading the text,
students can read the Content Readers in Science "Minerals and Rocks- Below, "The World of Rocks and Minerals" - On Level, and
"Mining Rocks and Minerals"- Above-Level. There are discussion questions at the end of the books that can be used in many different
ways.
Social Studies: Unit 3 Chapter 5, Lessons 1-2
Access Prior Knowledge T.E. 177P, Create a web like the one shown on p. TE 177P
Read Lessons 1 and 2, "Americans Move West", pages 190-194. "Trails to California" pages 198-203.
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Weeks 3-4
Reading Narrative Text:
Sarah, Plain and Tall - Novel. TE pgs. 183K-183L
Writing Narrative Text:
Start writing a journal to document a journey to California. One page of text written each week that will be
complied by week 6 to create a story of a trip West. Use modeled writing strategies incorporating dialogue, paragraphing, character
development.
Social Studies TE p. 211. "Write a Script." This is an additional writing idea.
Earth Science:
Unit C Chapter 6, Lesson 3, "How are Rocks Classified?" Use the "Make a Mineral Chart" on page 241 in the HM TE.
Social Studies:
Unit 3 Chapter 5, Lessons 3 and 4 Mexican American War-read text and have discussion using questions on page 211
and 217. Make a chart of all the information gathered in chapter 5 and 6 to use in journal writing activity.
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Weeks 5-6
Reading Narrative Text:
Skylark (The sequel to Sarah, Plain and Tall) Houghton Mifflin Anthology: Theme 6
Writing Informational Text:
Narrative Writing Prompt: Imagine you have discovered a time machine that can take you backwards in time to
the California Rush. Write a story about your trip in the time machine. What happens to you when you get there? Would you like to stay
there? (K12 Reader > Composition > Writing Prompts > Narrative Creative Writing Prompts > My Trip In a Time Machine)
Earth Science:
Unit 3 Chapter 6 Lesson 4; Narrative writing TE 215, "Rock Cycle" writing prompt / performance task. Use the Rock Cycle
Animated Link below.
Social Studies:
Unit 3 Chapter 6. Lessons 1-2
Capacities and/or Practices
1. They demonstrate independence.
2. They build strong content knowledge.
3. They respond to the varying demands of
audience, task, purpose, and discipline
7. They come to understand other perspectives
and cultures.
Academic Vocabulary
Tier 2
Tier 3
Content Standards (CCSS, Next Generation, etc.)
Priority Standards
Reading:
RL 4.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in in the text;
summarize the text.
RL 4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on
specific details in the text.
RL 4.6 Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated,
including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.
RL 4.9 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition
of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional
literature from different cultures.
RL 4.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poetry, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed
at the high end of the range.
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RI 4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, and quantitatively (e.g., in charts,
graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and
explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
RI 4.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak
about the subject knowledgeably.
Language:
L.4.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
listening.
L.4.3.a Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
L.4.3.b Choose punctuation for effect.
Writing:
W4.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
W.4.3a Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
W.4.3b Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the
responses of characters to situations.
W.4.3c Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events.
W.4.3d Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and
events precisely.
W.4.3e Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
W.4.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Science: Next Generation Standards
4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to
support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
4-ESS2-1. Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of
weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.
CA Science Standards- For Science CST testing Gr. 5
ES 4. The properties of rocks and minerals reflect the processes that form them.
ES 4.a. Students know how to differentiate among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks by referring to their properties and methods of formation (the rock cycle).
ES 4.b. Students know how to identify common rock-forming minerals (including quartz,
calcite, feldspar, mica, and hornblende) and ore minerals by using a table of diagnostic
properties.
ES 5. Waves, wind, water, and ice shape and reshape Earth’s land surface.
ES 5.a. Students know how some changes in the earth are due to slow processes, such as
erosions, and some changes due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic
eruptions, and earthquakes.
ES 5.b. Students know natural processes, including freezing and thawing and the growth
of roots, cause rocks to break down into smaller pieces.
ES 5.c. Students know moving water erodes landforms, reshaping the land by taking it
away from some places and depositing it as pebbles, sand, silt, and mud in other places
(weather, transport, and deposition).
History-Social Science
HS 4.3.3 Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the
physical environment (e.g., using biographies of John Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo,
Louise Clapp).
Supporting Standards:
**See ELD standards link below (Resources - EL) b
Reading:
RI 4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical
text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
RI 4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain specific words and
phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
Writing:
W9, W9a: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research. Apply grade 4 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Describe in depth a
character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g.,
a character’s thoughts, words, or actions].”).
VAPA (Visual Arts and Performance)
1.5 Describe and analyze the elements of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space,
value), emphasizing form, as they are used in works of art and found in the environment.
Medallions TE p. 303. Point of View
Calisphere Link - Photos of California Collections
“I can!” Statements (Learning Targets)
Writing:
I can write stories using a clear sequence of events and descriptive details. W.4.3
I can produce clear, developed and organized writing. W.4.4
I can write for different purposes, audiences and topics. W.4.4
Reading:
I can figure out the theme of a piece of fiction by thinking about the details in the text. RL.4.2
I can use specific details in a story to help me describe a character, setting or event in the story. RL.4.3
I can compare and contrast different stories by thinking about the different points of view. RL.4.6
I can tell the difference between first- and third- person narrators. RL.4.6
I can compare and contrast similar themes and events in different types of text to write or speak knowledgeably about the topic. RL.4.9/ RI. 4.9
I can interpret and use graphic information to understand nonfiction. RI.4.7
Language:
I can use commas and quotation marks appropriately in dialogue. L.4.2
I can choose precise words, phrases, and punctuations for effect. L.4.3.a, b
Social Studies:
I can explain how the gold rush affected the development of California. HSS 4.3.3
I can describe the effects the gold rush had on life in California. HSS 4.3.3
I can explain how the gold rush changed California’s physical environment. HSS 4.3.3
Science:
I can explain how different types of rocks are formed. Earth Science 4a, b
I can identify the causes of erosion and weather. NexGen 4-ESS1-1; Earth Science 5a, b
I can prove that water is constantly reshaping earth’s surface. NexGen 4-ESS2-1; Earth Science 5c
Formative
Time Machine Prompt (see Weeks 5-6
Social Studies) use SVUSD narrative
writing rubric.
Assessment
Performance Task
"Rock Cycle" writing task correlated to the
prompt on Science TE. p. 215.
Journal Writing Activity Weeks 3-6.
Summative
SVUSD Narrative Writing Performance
Task
Instructional Scaffolding
Suggestions
GATE
EL
SpEd/
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