Curriculum / ELA / 4th Grade / Unit 6: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans / Lesson 14
ELA
Unit 6
4th Grade
Lesson 14 of 25
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Explain what life was like on the frontier for Buffalo Soldiers and freed Black people.
Book: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson — Chapter 6
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
What was life like on the frontier for Buffalo Soldiers and freed Black people? Use details from the text and illustrations 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
Who were the Buffalo Soldiers? How did they win "the respect of both their peers and their enemies" (p. 48)?
What details does the author include to show how the Seminole Indians and other Indian tribes were treated?
What was the Homestead Act? Was everyone welcomed out West? Explain why or why not.
Read the quote from page 51. "Abraham Lincoln said once that if some of us can enjoy the fruits of freedom while our brothers and sisters are still bound by their countrymen, then none of us are truly free." What did Abraham Lincoln mean by this statement? Do you agree or disagree with him?
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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.4.7 — Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
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.
L.4.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
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 13
Lesson 15
Explain who is speaking in the prologue and why the author would choose to write this way.
RI.4.6 RI.4.8
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)
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.4.7 RI.4.8
Explain how the author uses details and illustrations to build a deeper understanding of slavery.
RI.4.7 RI.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.4.3 RI.4.7 RI.4.8
Explain where Frederick Douglass found his inspiration and drive.
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.4.8
Analyze the details an author includes to support a quote by Harriet Tubman.
RI.4.3 RI.4.8
Explain the significance of the quote "Harriet Tubman’s name will never lose its distinction."
Informative Writing – 2 days
Write a multiple-paragraph essay about how courageous individuals create and drive change.
W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.2.d W.4.2.e
Explain the events that led up to the South being ready for a fight.
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.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.4.3 RI.4.7 RI.4.8 SL.4.1
Discussion
Analyze and discuss unit essential questions by stating a claim and supporting the claim with details from multiple sources.
RI.4.9 SL.4.1 SL.4.4 W.4.9
Informative Writing
Write a multiple-paragraph essay to answer a unit essential question.
Defend how Reconstruction was supported by segregationist beliefs.
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.4.3 RI.4.8 SL.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.
Informative Writing – 6 days
Research and present about an African American leader.
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.4.7 RI.4.8 SL.4.1 SL.4.4 SL.4.5 W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.2.d W.4.2.e W.4.7 W.4.8 W.4.9
Assessment
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