Understand New Vocabulary Using Roots and Affixes
You will learn how to determine the meaning of grade-level academic English words derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes.
Poetry With Purpose
Students collaborate in small groups to discuss their peers’ poetry and assess the poetry according to the student-created rubric. The rubric assesses students’ ability to make meaningful connections to the poetic devices in their poetry. Through collaboration, they are building a culture of receptiveness among their peers.
Revising Sentences
Students will revise a simple sentence by copying it on a series of sticky notes and adding new words using glitter pens and star-shaped sticky notes.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Vertical Alignment
Click below to learn about the TEKS related to the unit and Research Lesson.
Rhyming with Visuals
The teacher will model how to recognize rhyming words by hearing them, seeing them, reading them, and writing them. Then the students will practice hearing, seeing, reading, and writing “at” word family words.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Related to the Unit
This unit connects to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) by fostering a continuance in the area of phonological awareness as begun in previous lessons and introducing the exploration of nursery rhymes, poetry, and lullabies through literature and language play.
Click below to learn about the TEKS related to this unit.
My Version of the Three Little Pigs
Students will create their own version of "The Three Little Pigs" using story elements on a Beginning, Middle, End (BME) story map. First, students will draft their story map with detailed pictures in sequential order, and then go back and add their words later. Once their story is completed, students will be able to retell their story to peers and their teacher.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Vertical Alignment
Click below to learn about the TEKS related to the unit and Research Lesson. The highlighted student expectation(s) is the chosen focus for the Research Lesson.
Understanding Poetry
You will learn how to find the meanings of words through analogy and other word relationships.
Analyze the Central Characters in Literary Text/Fiction
You will learn how the central characters’ qualities influence them and resolution of the central conflict.
Spelling
You will learn strategies to help you edit your writing for correct spelling.
Understanding Drama
You will learn how to make complex inferences in a play and use textual evidence to support your understanding.
Simile and Metaphor
You will learn how to explain the effect of similes and extended metaphors in literary text.
Imagery and Figurative Language (Grade 8)
You will learn how to make complex inferences and use textual evidence such as imagery and figurative language to support understanding.
Find Connections Across Texts Including Other Media
You will learn how to evaluate the role of media in focusing attention on events and informing opinions on issues as well as techniques used to create point of view, and how this impacts the audience.
Subordinating Conjunctions
You will learn how to use and understand the purpose of subordinating conjunctions.
Main and Subordinate Clauses
You will learn how to use and understand the purpose of main clauses and subordinate clauses.
Capitalization
You will learn strategies to help you edit your writing for correct capitalization.
Evaluate Graphics in Informational Text
You will learn how to evaluate graphics for their clarity in communicating meaning and achieving a specific purpose.
Retelling Facts and Making Inferences
In learning stations, students will work independently and collaboratively to make inferences and retell important facts from multiple expository texts.
Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions in an Anne Frank Digital Challenge
Students will work collaboratively on a digital challenge activity by reading short excerpts of nonfiction text and explore an online webpage where they will learn more about the life of Anne Frank and the World War II era. By answering inferential and organizational structure questions, regarding those topics, students will be in a race against each other to crack the code to a lockbox.
Punctuation
You will learn strategies to help you edit your writing for correct punctuation.
Tone is in the Fear of the Beholder: Reading and Writing Using Multimodal Mentor Texts
This resource is a demonstration lesson presented at the 2014 Write for Texas Summer Institute. It provides a snapshot of a four to five week unit that engages students in the reading and writing workshop model.