5.1 Communities Create Heroes
Subject: ESL
Length: 6 weeks
Stage 1 - Desired Results
Unit Summary
In this unit, students will read tall tales and reflect on who is a hero in their community. The students
will also make connections to characters in tall tales and focus on describing the setting, characters,
and problem and solution of the stories.
Content Standards and Learning Expectations
Listening and Speaking
L/S.5.1 Listens and responds during a read aloud from a variety of narrative texts to comprehend,
identify, and describe characters and setting.
L/S.5.2 Identifies and uses homophones and recognizes figurative language.
Reading
R.5.2 Applies context clues, reference sources, and other vocabulary expansion strategies to assess
word meaning; uses prefixes and suffixes to determine the meaning of words.
R.5.3 Distinguishes main character from supporting characters, compares and contrasts character
traits, and describes setting in fiction.
R.5.5 Identifies sequence of events and cause and effect, organizes plot, makes predictions and
connections, and recognizes problem and solution in narrative and expository text.
Writing
W.5.1 Applies common spelling patterns and structural analysis to correctly spell words.
W.5.5 Follows the writing process; applies prewriting strategies to generate ideas; uses the dictionary
as an aid in the writing process; identifies spelling, capitalization, and ending punctuation errors.
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings:
• Community is created by a sense of
connection between its members and their
dedication to the improvement of their
community.
• Stories can teach us lessons and connect us
to our community history.
• The mythical heroes of tall tales can shape
the culture of a community.
• Setting can define characters and change the
mood of a story.
Good writing takes hard work and requires
multiple drafts, revisions, and editing before
it is published.
Essential Questions:
• What creates community?
• Why do people tell stories?
• What makes a hero?
• How does the setting affect a story?
• What do good writers do?
Content (Students will know…)
• Simple homophones (allowed/aloud,
beat/beet, aunt/ant, ate/eight, board/bored,
break/brake, buy/ bye/by)
• Different types of references to understand
unknown words (context clues)
• The difference between main character and
supporting characters
Skills (Students will be able to…)
• Listen and respond during a read aloud from a
variety of narrative texts to comprehend,
identify, and describe characters and setting
• Apply context clues to determine meaning of
unknown words (such as homophones)
• Apply reference sources, and other vocabulary
expansion strategies to assess word meaning
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5.1 Communities Create Heroes
Subject: ESL
Length: 6 weeks
• Adjectives to describe the character traits of
heroes (brave, strong, kind, helpful,
courageous, funny, thoughtful, determined)
• Prewriting strategies to generate ideas
(brainstorming through a word web, using
graphic organizers, discussing topic with a
peer, freewriting)
• Spelling Patterns such as blends (bl-, gl-, pr-,
sk-, sc-, pt, -ie, -ou)
Content Vocabulary
• Community member
• Neighborhood
• Hero
• Tall tale
• Setting
• Define
• Homophone
• Main character
• Supporting characters
• Blends
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Distinguish main character from supporting
character orally and in writing
Compare and contrast character traits orally
and in writing
Describe the setting in fiction
Make predictions and connections while
reading
Recognize problem and solution in narrative
and expository text
Apply common spelling patterns and structural
analysis to correctly spell words
Follow the writing process (drafting, revising,
editing and publishing)
Use the dictionary as an aid in the writing
process (identify spelling, capitalization, and
ending punctuation errors)
Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
“My neighborhood hero is…”: Exploring the
Writing Process
• Introduce the writing process by asking
students “what do good writers do?” See as
a class what parts of the writing process they
remember. Cut out arrows and have
students use each other to come up with the
order of the steps of the writing process
(drafting, revising, editing and publishing).
Have groups share and explain why they
ordered it in a certain way. As a closing, show
the correct order of the writing process and
make it a circular process (where after
publishing, comes brainstorming because
writers continue writing and do not stop
after they publish one piece)
• Brainstorming: have students share what
they do to come up with their ideas to write.
Create a class list of ways of brainstorming
(examples: draw pictures, use a picture, use
a memory, create a word web of ideas, use a
timeline, compare and contrast, free write
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Other Evidence:
• Inference chart for vocabulary (See
Attachment: 5.1 Other Evidence – Vocabulary
Inference Chart) on word wall
• Spelling test weekly based on blends (See
Attachment: 5.1 Learning Activity – Blends)
• Use a word square (See Attachment: 5.1 Other
Evidence – Word Square) for each vocabulary
word from the reading
• Character comparison chart (See Attachment:
5.1 Graphic Organizer – Character Comparison
Chart)
• Reader’s Response Letter: Write a reader’s
response letter that shares personal
connections to a fictional text that can answer
the essential question: “What makes a good
member of a community?” (See Attachment:
5.1 Other Evidence – Dialogue Journal as a
graphic organizer to find examples of
connections)
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5.1 Communities Create Heroes
Subject: ESL
Length: 6 weeks
on a topic, use 5W questions to interview a
peer) Have students brainstorm on topic “A
hero is…?” to find traits or qualities of
heroes. Add these words to the word wall.
Have students select a brainstorming
strategy that the prefer
• Drafting and Revising: Now that they have
brainstormed traits of a hero, have the
students write for 20-30 minutes on the topic
“My neighborhood hero is…” To Revise, have
students share with a peer and have peer
share “what you did well was….” “what I
didn’t understand was…” Have students
rewrite their paragraphs to include the
suggestions from their peer. Also, suggest
that students include any vocabulary words
from the word wall of character traits of
heroes that would make their writing
stronger.
• Editing: Tell them they will move onto the
next part of the writing process, editing.
Editing deals with “how does my writing
look?” meaning: Correct capital letters,
correct spelling, and correct punctuation.
Have a peer use the editing checklist (See
Attachment: 5.1 Writing Tool – Editing
Checklist) to correct each other’s second
draft by using a dictionary. Then have
students check their own paragraphs (See
Attachment: 5.1 Writing Tool – Paragraph
checklist).
• Publishing: Have examples of books,
newspapers, magazines, and a school
brochure. Share how all of these pieces of
writing went through the writing process and
were published. Publishing simply means
sharing your writing to an audience. Part of
publishing is how the writing is presented.
Study the models and ask, “Are there
illustrations? Photographs? A cover? How is
it shared?” Have students publish their
paragraph on their neighborhood by
illustrating their writing and put it together in
a class book or share by displaying it outside
the classroom.
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5.1 Communities Create Heroes
Subject: ESL
Length: 6 weeks
Character Connection Posters
Create and present a poster comparing a
character in a text that connects to the student
the most.
• Student compares and contrasts the main
character to self (See Attachment: 5.1
Graphic Organizer – Compare and Contrast)
Write a “who is who” 2-4 sentence
description of the main character and two or
three supporting characters in the book and
illustrate them
• Summarize and illustrate the setting,
problem and solution of the story
• Follow the writing process (brainstorming,
drafting, revising, editing, publishing) (See
Attachments: 5.1 Editing Checklist and 5.1
Paragraph Checklist)
Create a personal homophone book from 8 to
10 pairs of homophones
• Students search for homophones in their
reading in pairs, create a class list
• Select 8 to 10 examples of homophones from
the reading, or from teacher examples
• Create a book that has illustrations and
sentences for each homophone pair (See
Attachment: 5.1 Performance Task Homophone book organizer)
Stage 3 - Learning Plan
Learning Activities
Homophones
• Use worksheets (See Attachment: 5.1 Learning Activity – Homonyms Worksheets) as a basis for
selecting homophone pairs to study
• Create a class word wall of homophones, have an activity where with a pair, students select 3 to 5
homophones off the word wall and write a paragraph using all the homophones. Have a peer check
to see if the homophones were used correctly
• Based on the homophone pairs from the worksheets, students create illustrations of homophones
and a definition in their own words of each word
Vocabulary: Using Context Clues
• Model “What do I do with an unknown word?” using a fictional text. Use an inference chart (See
Attachment: 5.1 Other Evidence – Vocabulary Inference Chart) as a way of modeling your strategy
of using context clues to infer an unknown word
• Place vocabulary words and unknown words from the reading on a word wall display in the
classroom
• Have students illustrate the definition of the new words to have a visual in the classroom by the
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5.1 Communities Create Heroes
Subject: ESL
Length: 6 weeks
word wall
• Create a word web with the class (or in pairs) of all the connections they can make with a
vocabulary word (See Attachment: 5.1 Graphic Organizer – Word Web) Spelling
• Use blends to create cards so students can play games such as memory (print two copies of each
and students have them all face down and they have to find the pairs) (See Attachment: 5.1
Learning Activity – Blends)
• Use spelling words to create a story or comic that uses all the words
Character Traits/Setting/Problem and Solution/Predictions and Connections through Tall Tales
• Focus genre on tall tales to as a way of describing incredible heroes. Discuss how tall tale
characters were heroes that helped his/her community. Have students share who are people who
help their community (in the school or neighborhood) and create a list.
• Use a tall tale character map to describe the character traits of the tall tale hero (See Attachment:
5.1 Learning Activity – Tall Tale Character Map)
• Read a tall tale and share how a tall tale character solves problems that the community solves. To
build background, ask if the students know real heroes in their neighborhood who help solve
problems. Include how setting (time and place) help set up the problem. With the students, find
the time and place, the problem and solution (See Attachment: 5.1 Learning Activity – Story Map 2)
• Read aloud a tall tale and model predictions (taking a guess about what will happen next) and
connections (connections to self, another book, the world)
• While reading a tall tale, have students use a dialogue journal to keep track of their predictions and
connections to the story (See Attachment: 5.1 Other Evidence– Dialogue Journal)
Sample Lessons
• Lesson on Spelling Patterns to play game “go fish”: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroomresources/lesson-plans/spelling-patterns-fish-card-1046.html
• Lesson on homophones: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lessonplans/developing-understanding-homophones-284.html
• Lesson on Describing Characters with adjectives using Character Traits:
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/charlotte-wise-patient-caring176.html
• Lesson on comparing character traits from tall tales: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroomresources/lesson-plans/american-folklore-jigsaw-character-30524.html
• Lesson on Peer Editing: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/peeredit-with-perfection-786.html
Additional Resources
• Spelling strategies (See Attachment: 5.1 Resource – Spelling Strategies)
• Tall tales (See Attachment: 5.1 Resource – Tall Tales)
Literature Connections
• John Henry Races the Steam Drill by Paul Robert Walker
• Sally Ann Whirlwind by Mary Pope Osborne
• Paul Bunyan, the Mightiest Logger of Them All by Mary Pope Osborne
• American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
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Adapted from Understanding By Design by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe