Preparing for the Worst: Natural Disasters
ELA
Unit 2
4th Grade
Lesson 23 of 24
The following assessments accompany Unit 2. For more guidance, see the Summative Assessments and Assessments Accommodations & Modifications Teacher Tools.
Content Assessment
The Content Assessment measures students' understanding of the unit's content knowledge and vocabulary. It should serve as the primary assessment for the unit.
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.
Fluency Assessment
The Fluency Assessment measures students' oral reading fluency with a passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. See the Assessing Reading Fluency Teacher Tool for more guidance.
Lesson Map
Write two paragraphs that describe the causes and effects of volcanic eruptions.
Use details from a text to support a main idea.
- Two Paragraph Outline
Standards
W.4.2.aW.4.2.bW.4.4
Use details from a text to support a main idea.
- Two Paragraph Outline
Standards
W.4.2.aW.4.2.b
Write a short narrative about a young person dealing with a natural disaster.
Brainstorm ideas for a story by identifying the setting, character, and conflict.
- Narrative Brainstorming Graphic Organizer
Standards
W.4.3W.4.3.aW.4.5W.4.8
Orient the reader at the start of a story by including specific setting details.
- Narrative Brainstorming Graphic Organizer
Standards
W.4.3W.4.3.aW.4.5
Show a narrator's thoughts and feelings through dialogue and description.
- Narrative Brainstorming Graphic Organizer
Standards
W.4.3W.4.3.aW.4.3.bW.4.3.cW.4.5
Transitional words and phrases are used to show the sequence of events in a story.
- Temporal Words and Phrases Mentor Text (G4, U2, L12)
Standards
L.4.1.bW.4.3W.4.3.aW.4.3.bW.4.3.cW.4.5
Research and report on a recent natural disaster.
Generate questions that are broad, not boring, about a chosen topic.
- Research Brainstorming Template (G4, U2, L24)
Standards
W.4.7W.4.8
Take notes and categorize relevant information from print and digital sources.
- Research Brainstorming Template (G4, U2, L24)
Standards
W.4.7W.4.8
Generate a strong topic sentence for each paragraph by using the notes to determine the main idea of each paragraph.
- Two Paragraph Outline — students may need more than one copy if they decide to draft more than two paragraphs
- Research Brainstorming Template (G4, U2, L24) — completed previous day
Standards
W.4.2.aW.4.2.bW.4.2.eW.4.7
Include facts and details to develop a topic.
- Two Paragraph Outline
Standards
W.4.2W.4.2.aW.4.2.bW.4.2.eW.4.7
Delete unnecessary information that obscures meaning.
Standards
SL.4.1W.4.5
Text features reinforce the main idea of a text.
Standards
SL.4.1W.4.2.a
