Curriculum / ELA / 4th Grade / Unit 6: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans / Lesson 1
ELA
Unit 6
4th Grade
Lesson 1 of 25
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Lesson Notes
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Explain who is speaking in the prologue and why the author would choose to write this way.
Book: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson — Prologue (p. 7)
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
Who is speaking in the prologue, and who is the "honey" whom she is addressing?
Why did the author choose to tell the history through this voice?
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Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
Read the sentence from page 7. "Most folks my age and complexion don't speak much about the past." What does the word "complexion" mean? How does the author explain why folks of her age and complexion do not speak of the past?
On page 7, the author writes, "You have to know where you come from so you can move forward." Why is this important? What lessons can be learned from studying the past?
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
"swallow your pride"
phrase
(p. 7)
to decide to do something even though it will make you feel embarrassed or ashamed
cringe
v.
to feel disgust or embarrassment, often by showing a movement of your face or body
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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.
RI.4.8 — Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
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.
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.
Next
Explain the significance of the statement: "It should have been a proud moment for everybody, but, honey, we didn’t have much to celebrate." (p. 13)
Standards
RI.4.6RI.4.8
RI.4.3RI.4.5RI.4.7RI.4.8
Explain how the author uses details and illustrations to build a deeper understanding of slavery.
RI.4.7RI.4.8
Analyze what evidence the author includes to support the statement that abolitionists "lit a fire inside many a slave to take their freedom."
RI.4.3RI.4.7RI.4.8
Explain where Frederick Douglass found his inspiration and drive.
RI.4.3RI.4.5RI.4.8
Analyze the details an author includes to support a quote by Harriet Tubman.
RI.4.3RI.4.8
Explain the significance of the quote "Harriet Tubman’s name will never lose its distinction."
2 days
Write a multiple-paragraph essay about how courageous individuals create and drive change.
W.4.2W.4.2.aW.4.2.bW.4.2.cW.4.2.dW.4.2.e
Explain the events that led up to the South being ready for a fight.
RI.4.3RI.4.5RI.4.7
Explain why the chapter was titled "Lincoln’s War" and if Lincoln’s actions helped or hurt the conditions for enslaved people.
RI.4.3RI.4.7RI.4.8SL.4.1
Analyze and discuss unit essential questions by stating a claim and supporting the claim with details from multiple sources.
RI.4.9SL.4.1SL.4.4W.4.9
Write a multiple-paragraph essay to answer a unit essential question.
Defend how Reconstruction was supported by segregationist beliefs.
Explain what life was like on the frontier for Buffalo Soldiers and freed Black people.
Explain what effect the Great Migration had on the lives of African Americans and the challenges they faced in their new communities.
Describe the progress African Americans made in the early twentieth century.
Describe how the experience of fighting in World War II changed the people who returned home and how it changed the country.
Explain why the author titles the chapter "Black Innovation."
RI.4.8
Explain how Jim Crow was dying.
Explain why the author titles the last chapter "Revolution" and why what happened was a revolution.
RI.4.3RI.4.8SL.4.1
Explain the significance of the final quote in Heart and Soul.
Debate and discuss unit Essential Questions.
Write a multiple-paragraph essay to answer a unit Essential Question.
6 days
Research and present about an African American leader.
RI.4.3RI.4.5RI.4.7RI.4.8SL.4.1SL.4.4SL.4.5W.4.2W.4.2.aW.4.2.bW.4.2.cW.4.2.dW.4.2.eW.4.7W.4.8W.4.9
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