Curriculum / ELA / 4th Grade / Alternate Unit 4: Politics and People: U.S. Government / Lesson 26
ELA
Alternate Unit 4
4th Grade
Lesson 26 of 29
Jump To
Analyze how Barack Obama showed that "holding fast to hope despite obstacles is the first step to making any dream come true."
Book: Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Pinkney pp. 224 – 231
We participate in the Amazon Associate program. This means that if you use this link to make an Amazon purchase, we receive a small portion of the proceeds, which support our non-profit mission.
Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.
Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
How did Barack Obama show that "holding fast to hope despite obstacles is the first step to making any dream come true" (p. 231)? How was Barack able to make his dreams come true?
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
What does it mean that Barack's "presence lit up the night" (p. 224)? Why does the author include this description?
How did Barack's speech at the Democratic National Convention impact his career?
What did Barack believe in? Why?
What role does hope play in Barack Obama's presidential campaign?
What does the phrase "Yes, we can!" mean to Barack Obama and his supporters?
What successes and challenges did Barack Obama have while president?
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
pessimism
n.
(p. 228)
a feeling or belief that bad things will happen in the future
optimism
(p. 227)
a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the future
Bring your most engaging lessons to life with comprehensive instructional guidance, detailed pacing, supports to meet every student's needs, and resources to strengthen your lesson planning and delivery.
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.4.8 — 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.4.4.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 25
Lesson 27
Describe federalism and why the United States chose it as a form of government.
RI.4.2 RI.4.3
Explain what plan the Constitution made for the government of the United States.
Describe a few of the rights protected by the Bill of Rights.
Writing
Write a paragraph explaining what the Constitution of the United States is and why it is important.
W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.2.e
Explain what the sections "What Does the Government Look Like?," "The Three Branches," and "Checks and Balances" are mostly about.
RI.4.2 RI.4.7
Describe why the executive branch is important and why the President's Cabinet is important.
RI.4.3 RI.4.8
Describe the difference between the Senate and House of Representatives and why they are both important.
RI.4.2 RI.4.3 RI.4.8
Explain how bills become laws and why there are so many steps.
RI.4.3
Explain what the Supreme Court is and why it's important using reasons and evidence from the text.
RI.4.2 RI.4.8
Discussion & Writing
Analyze and debate unit Essential Questions using details and understandings from the text.
SL.4.1 W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.2.e
Informative Writing – 4 days
Write an informational report about an act or amendment that is important in U.S. history.
L.4.1.f L.4.2 W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.5 W.4.6 W.4.7 W.4.8
Explain what candidates do to try and win an election.
RI.4.3 RI.4.7 RI.4.8
Debate if everyone has always had the right to vote.
Describe the evidence the author gives to support the point that "to be a woman in 1840 was to be less than a man."
Explain how an author uses reasons to show that a "once-promising strategy had reached a dead end."
Explain why the opposition to women's suffrage was so difficult to overturn.
Explain why the New York Times called the parade "one of the most impressively beautiful spectacles ever staged in this country"?
Explain who Harry Burn was and why he was important in the Women's Suffrage Movement.
Create a mini-poster highlighting the key contributions of a radical.
Explain why Dennis "Dioniso" Chavez was important.
Explain the role that Thurgood Marshall played in Brown v. Board of Education and what we can learn about him from his involvement in the case.
Explain how Thurgood Marshall wove equality into the fabric of American justice.
Explain who and what inspired Shirley Chisholm to get involved in politics and fight for change.
Explain who and what inspired Sonia Sotomayor to get involved in justice and fight for change.
Debate and analyze unit Essential Questions.
SL.4.1
Assessment
Writing – 5 days
Research a local or national election and decide who you would vote for and why.
SL.4.1 W.4.1 W.4.1.a W.4.1.b W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.2.e W.4.7 W.4.8
Create a free account to access thousands of lesson plans.
Already have an account? Sign In
See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.
Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.
Yes
No
Access rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free