Curriculum / ELA / 4th Grade / Unit 4: Examining Our History: American Revolution / Lesson 2
ELA
Unit 4
4th Grade
Lesson 2 of 24
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Defend if the colonies really were a land of liberty and equality.
Book: A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, Adapted by Rebecca Stefoff pp. 43 – 55
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
Based on details from A Young People's History of the United States, were the colonies a place of liberty and equality for all? Why or why not? Give two to three specific examples from the text to support your answer.
An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.
Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
Why did many poor whites find life in the colonies worse than they expected? Use the word indentured in your answer.
Compare and contrast what life was like for the rich and poor in the colonies before the American Revolution.
Why were colonists angry with the rich and powerful?
What was the rich elite fearful of, and what did they do about it?
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
class
n.
(p. 47)
people in a society who are at the same economic level
indentured
adj.
(p. 44)
required to work for a certain period of time
rebellion
(p. 46)
the act of fighting against a government, or disobeying rules
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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.4.6 — Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.4.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.4.4.b — Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph).
RF.4.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
RF.4.4 — Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
RI.4.1 — Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RI.4.4 — Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
RI.4.10 — By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4—5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
SL.4.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
W.4.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Lesson 1
Lesson 3
Defend if the actions of the French and Indian War support the idea that America was the land of liberty.
RI.4.3
RI.4.3 RI.4.6
Describe the relationship between the colonists and the British after the French and Indian War.
RI.4.2 RI.4.3
Summarize what happened during the Boston Massacre.
RI.4.2 RI.4.3 RI.4.6
Writing
Summarize what happened during the Boston Massacre. Use subordinating conjunctions to write more interesting and complex sentences in summaries.
RI.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.9
Analyze and explain the unrest felt by colonists in the lead up to the Revolutionary War.
Summarize what happened during the Boston Tea Party.
Discussion & Writing
Discuss and analyze unit-essential questions by preparing for and participating in a class discussion using evidence from the text.
SL.4.1
Use subordinating conjunctions to write more interesting and complex sentences.
L.4.1.f L.4.2.c W.4.9
Describe what happened at the First Continental Congress.
Defend whether one should side with the Loyalists or the Patriots.
SL.4.1 SL.4.3 W.4.1
Summarize the events in the days leading up to the start of the American Revolutionary War.
Summarize how the Battle of Bunker Hill showed both sides how terrible war would be.
Analyze why the Declaration of Independence was written and who it represented.
RI.4.2 RI.4.3 SL.4.1
Describe the role poor people, Indigenous people and black people played in the Revolution.
Explain the role of Indigenous people in the colonies once the European colonists arrived.
RI.4.2 RI.4.3 SL.4.3 SL.4.4
Analyze the role women played in the American Revolution and why they were referred to as everyday heroines.
RI.4.3 SL.4.1 SL.4.3 SL.4.4 W.4.9
Analyze the role of a few individual heroines in the American Revolution and why they were referred to as heroines.
Analyze the role of Black people during the American Revolution.
RI.4.2 RI.4.3 SL.4.3 SL.4.4 W.4.9
Analyze the role of Black heroes in the American Revolution and why they were important.
Informative Writing – 4 days
Write an informational report about a person that participated in the American Revolution, describing their cause, action, obstacle, and outcome.
SL.4.4 W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.d W.4.5 W.4.6 W.4.7 W.4.8
Assessment
Opinion Writing – 4 days
Write an essay defending if the colonists were or were not justified in declaring independence and fighting the Revolutionary War.
L.4.1.f L.4.2.a W.4.1 W.4.1.a W.4.1.b W.4.8 W.4.9
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