ELA  /  1st Grade  /  Unit 5: Inspiring Artists and Musicians

Inspiring Artists and Musicians

In this inspirational biography unit, students read and learn about a diverse assortment of artists, musicians, and dancers, while focusing on identifying evidence from texts and illustrations.

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ELA

Unit 5

1st Grade

Unit Summary

In this biography-based unit, students read and learn about a diverse assortment of artists and musicians. By reading a wide variety of biographies, students are challenged to think about where people get their inspiration, and how a person's decisions and actions can change their life, especially when facing instances of prejudice and discrimination. Students are also challenged to think about how a person can be influential to others. It is our hope that this unit opens students' eyes to different life paths and passions, particularly those in the arts.

It is assumed that by the time students engage with this unit, they are inquisitive consumers of an informational text, asking and answering questions about key details. In this unit, students focus on understanding connections between individuals, events, ideas, and information in a text to better understand a person's life. While the standards do not name a particular text structure, students learn about cause and effect, chronology, and sequence when thinking about how different events in a person's life are connected. Students also determine the reasons an author gives to support a particular point in a text, noticing details in both the text and the illustrations that support a particular point about the artist or their life. 

When discussing the text, students engage with their peers' thoughts. Students learn how to build on others' talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others. Students also learn how to ask questions to clear up confusion about the topics or texts under discussion. Both focuses allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the content and their classmates' ideas.

Students build writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question using a variety of simple and complex sentences to show understanding of the content. Across the unit, students practice narrative, opinion, and informational writing. In narrative writing, students craft their own unique poems, inspired by the artwork from the unit. In opinion writing, students evaluate and critique famous works of art and songs. The unit concludes with students participating in a shared research project on Misty Copeland, building on the research and informational writing skills learned in previous units.

Please Note: In December 2025, this unit and its lesson plans received a round of enhancements. This unit is now 36 instructional days (previously 35 days). The writing projects and assessments have been revised. Teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for the updated pacing, sequencing, and content.

With this revisions, two texts have been added to the unit: Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud (ISBN: 978-0593093894, Teacher Copy) and Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki (ISBN: 978-1633450394, Teacher Copy - Assessment Text). Three out-of-print texts have been removed from the unit: Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum by Robert Andrew Parker, Rock & Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story by Sebastian Robertson, and Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens by Nina Nolan.

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Texts and Materials

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Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Rubrics

Resources for Lessons and Projects

Text Selection Rationale
All Course Materials

Assessment

The following assessments accompany Unit 5.

Content Assessment

The Content Assessment pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.

Cold Read Assessment

The Cold Read Assessment tests students' ability to comprehend a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer standards-based questions. The Cold Read Assessment can be given in addition to the Content Assessment as a pulse point for what students can read and analyze independently, a skill often required for standardized testing.

Unit Prep

Intellectual Prep

Unit Launch

Before you teach this unit, unpack the texts, themes, and core standards through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.

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Essential Questions

  • How can a person's decisions and actions change their life?
  • What makes a person remarkable?
  • How can art impact a person's life?

Reading Focus Areas

  • To understand events in a text, readers need to think about how multiple details are connected.

  • Authors include specific reasons in the text and illustrations to support points in a text.

Writing Focus Areas

Informational Writing

  • Participate in shared research and writing projects.

  • Organize facts and details in chronological order.

  • Draft an informational writing piece with 2–3 facts.

Opinion Writing

  • Determine 2–3 reasons to support an opinion.

  • Organize writing following the text structure for the writing genre.

  • Use topic-specific vocabulary within writing.

  • Choose the most appropriate additions to make opinion writing more clear.

Poetry Writing

  • Use descriptive words and details.

  • Use rhyming words and/or repetition to highlight an idea or feeling.

Speaking and Listening Focus Areas

  • Build on others' talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others.

  • Ask questions to clear up confusion about the topics or texts under discussion.

Vocabulary

Text-based

autobiographybiographycomposedenieddignityenragedgeniushumiliationsimproviseinfluentialinspirationlegacylongmuraloriginalpassionprejudiceradiantremarkableresourcefulsegregationstrongsuccessfultechnique

Literary Terms

repetition

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 5, view our 1st Grade Vocabulary Glossary.

Supporting All Students

In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the intellectual preparation protocol and the Unit Launch to determine which support students will need. To learn more, visit the Supporting All Students Teacher Tool.

Content Knowledge and Connections

  • A biography is a story about a real person's life written by another person.
  • There are many inspirational painters, each with their own style and technique.
    • Horace Pippin was a self-taught African American painter who painted about pivotal experiences in his life.
    • Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter known for his abstract "drop" paintings.
    • Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter known for his murals.
    • Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for her folk art and paintings that represented her dreams.
    • José Guadalupe Posada was a Mexican printmaker known for his calaveras, or skeletons.
  • There are many inspirational musicians, each with their own sound and genre.
    • Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader of jazz orchestras.
    • Marian Anderson was an African American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century.
    • DJ Kool (John Bowman) is an American DJ and rapper who produced several popular rap singles.
    • Carlos Santana is a Mexican and American guitarist whose music combines rock, jazz, blues, and Afro-Cuban rhythms with Latin sound.
    • Trombone Shorty is a well-known jazz trombone player from New Orleans.

Lesson Map

12
Lesson
Writing

3 days

Overview

Write an opinion piece critiquing a piece of artwork with 2–3 reasons to support an opinion.
Day 1 - Brainstorming

Brainstorm an opinion of an art piece and determine 2–3 reasons to support the opinion. 

Materials
  • Main Idea and Details Graphic Organizer (GK–5)
  • Main Idea and Details Graphic Organizer Sample Response (G1, U5, L12)
  • Mentor Text 1 (G1, U5, L12)

Standards

L.1.1.gL.1.2.aL.1.6W.1.1W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 2 - Drafting

Draft an opinion piece critiquing an art piece that states an opinion, includes supporting reasons, and provides a concluding statement.

Materials
  • Mentor Text 1 (G1, U5, L12)
  • Nonexemplar Mentor Text (G1, U5, L12)
  • Opinion Text Structure Worksheet (G1, U5, L12)

Standards

L.1.1.gL.1.2.aL.1.6W.1.1W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 3 - Revision & Editing

Revise an opinion writing piece that critiques a piece of artwork by adding opinion phrases, linking words, and explanations. 

Materials
  • Revision Text 1 (G1, U5, L12)
  • Revision Strategy Menu (G1, U5, L12)

Standards

L.1.1.bL.1.1.gL.1.2.aL.1.6W.1.1W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

23
Lesson
Writing

3 days

Overview

Write an opinion piece critiquing a piece of artwork with 2–3 reasons to support an opinion. 
Day 1 - Brainstorming

Brainstorm an opinion of a musician and determine 2–3 different reasons to support the opinion.

Materials
  • Main Idea and Details Graphic Organizer (GK–5)
  • Mentor Text 3 (G1, U5, L23)
  • Flyer Template (G1, U5, L23)

Standards

L.1.1.gL.1.2.aL.1.6RI.1.3RI.1.8W.1.1W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 2 - Drafting

Draft an opinion piece stating why a musician should be celebrated by stating an opinion, including supporting reasons, and providing a concluding statement.

Materials
  • Flyer Sample Response - Day 2 (G1, U5, L23)
  • Mentor Text 3 (G1, U5, L23)
  • Flyer Template (G1, U5, L23)
  • Exemplar Main Idea and Details Graphic Organizer (G1, U5, L23)

Standards

L.1.1.gL.1.2.aL.1.6W.1.1W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 3 - Revision & Editing

Revise an opinion writing piece by changing repeated nouns to a variety of nouns, synonyms, and pronouns.

Materials
  • Revision Text 3 (G1, U5, L23)
  • Changing Repeated Nouns Worksheet (G1, U5, L23)
  • Changing Repeated Nouns Wheel (G1, U5, L23)

Standards

L.1.1.gL.1.1.iL.1.2.aL.1.6W.1.1W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

26
Lesson
Writing

5 days

Overview

Research Misty Copeland and write a biography to teach readers about her passion, challenges, and legacy.
Day 1 - Brainstorming

Begin researching Misty Copeland. Collect facts about her passion, challenges, and legacy to include in a biography about her life.

Materials
  • Biography Research Project Notetaker (G1, U5, L26)
  • Mentor Text 4 (G1, U5, L26)

Standards

L.1.1.bL.1.6RI.1.3W.1.2W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 2 - Planning

Plan a biography by organizing notes in chronological order.

Materials
  • Biography Research Project Notetaker (G1, U5, L26)
  • Biography Planning Guide (G1, U5, L26)
  • Biography Research Project Notetaker Sample Response (G1, U5, L26)

Standards

L.1.1.bL.1.6RI.1.3W.1.2W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 3 - Drafting

Draft a biography about Misty Copeland's life that introduces a topic, includes facts in chronological order, and provides a concluding statement.

Materials
  • Biography Planning Guide Sample Response (G1, U5, L26)

Standards

L.1.1.bL.1.1.gL.1.6RI.1.3W.1.2W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 4 - Revising

Revise an informational writing piece by adding dates to introduce important events. 

Materials
  • Mentor Text 4 (G1, U5, L26)
  • Timeline: Important Events in Misty Copeland's Life (G1, U5, L26)

Standards

L.1.1.bL.1.1.gL.1.6RI.1.3W.1.2W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Day 5 - Publishing

Publish a biography about Misty Copeland's life. 

Standards

L.1.1.bL.1.1.gL.1.6RI.1.3W.1.2W.1.5W.1.7W.1.8

Projects

These projects are optional and serve as a great way to enrich students' experience and deepen their content knowledge in this unit. If teachers have flex days in their schedules, we strongly recommend any of the below options.

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

RI.1.2
RI.1.3
RI.1.6
RI.1.7
RI.1.8
RI.1.9
W.1.1
W.1.2
W.1.3
W.1.5
W.1.7
W.1.8
L.1.1
L.1.1.d
L.1.1.g
L.1.1.h
L.1.1.i
L.1.1.j
L.1.2
L.1.2.a
L.1.2.b
L.1.2.c
L.1.2.c
L.1.6
L.1.6
SL.1.1
SL.1.2
SL.1.4
SL.1.6

Supporting Standards

RI.1.1
RI.1.4
RI.1.10
L.1.1.b
L.1.1.c
L.1.1.e
L.1.2.d
L.1.2.e
L.1.4
SL.1.5
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