4th Grade, Room 224
Medina Elementary School
Ms. Benton, Ms. Keenan, Ms.Woodard
language & literature unit
Dear students and families,
Fourth grade students at Medina Elementary School will begin the second of three Language and Literacy Units for the year in early January, with completion targeted for early April. The overarching Language and Literacy theme for all fourth graders in the Bellevue School District this year is Curiosity. Unit Two introduces the subtheme “I Explore.” Using a variety of strategies, students will learn to identify character traits and use evidence to support their thinking. This unit is taught at the same time as the Oregon Trail Storypath social studies unit, and will allow students to continuing their investigation of the Western Movement.
Literacy learning is most powerful when tied to specific content. Woven into the I Explore literature unit will be a whole-class exploration of Persevering in the Face of Adversity. This exploration will support students’ development of key reading, writing, and communication skills, as well as encourage higher-level thinking. The central questions that will guide students as they read, discuss and write about character traits and persevering in the face of adversity are:
- What does it mean to persevere in the face of adversity?
- What character traits must an individual possess or develop in order to persevere in the face of adversity?
- How do we learn to persevere despite obstacles or adversity in our own lives?
How you can support our students during this unit of study: In conjunction with the Oregon Trail unit, students will be asked to interview their parents or grandparents to learn when and why their family or ancestors immigrated to the United States. With your assistance, students will be asked to consider their ancestors/parents reasons for leaving their homeland, and the perceived risks and rewards involved. Students will ask about adversity encountered by the individual interviewed, and how the individual was able to persevere. During our course of study, students will also reflect upon and compare/contrast their ancestors’ reasons for immigrating with the reasons emigrants chose to take the Oregon Trail.
A good topic of dinner conversation might be to ask your child what problems his or her character has encountered most recent on the Oregon Trail, how the problem was solved, and what character traits were important in helping to persevere in the face of adversity.
Thank you for your interest and support!
Heidi Benton (Student Teacher), Andrea Keenan, Kim Woodard
Interesting websites to learn more about individuals who faced adversity on the Oregon Trail and as early settlers in Washington Territory
The Oregon National Historic Trail. As the harbinger of America's westward expansion, the Oregon Trail was the pathway to the Pacific for fur traders, gold seekers, missionaries and others. Today, more than 2,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen in the vast undeveloped western lands – reminders of the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of early American travelers and settlers.
http://www.nps.gov/oreg/historyculture/ index.htm and http://www.nps.gov/oreg/
Whitman Mission National Historic Site. The Whitman mission was important to early Oregon Trail travelers. Those who were sick, tired, or hungry or who needed a wagon fixed would make the side trip to the mission. Some would spend the winter with the Whitman's before continuing on to the Willamette Valley.
http://www.blackpast.org/ and http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/bush-george-1789-1863 and http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/harris-moses-black-1800-1849
Learning Targets
1. Generalization: Students will develop their own concepts of what it means to persevere in the face of adversity. Specifically:
- Students will understand that persevering requires traits such as strength of character, self-confidence, determination and courage.
- Students will understand that the support of family, friends and/or other members of the community is often essential to individuals, and to us, in our efforts to persevere.
- Students will understand that a clear vision of a bright future, coupled with a strong desire to achieve one’s dreams is often vital to one’s efforts to persevere.
2. Generalization: Students will understand that every individual faces challenges during their lifetime, and that each of us must learn how to persevere in order to successfully tackle the challenges we face.
3. Civic & Social Competence Skills: Students will develop their citizenship skills; actively listening to the ideas of others, contributing meaningfully to discussions, thinking critically, working collaboratively and self-sufficiently to reach consensus and solve problems.
4. Skill/Process: Students will successfully write a summary of main ideas from the text, Boston Jane, respond to expository and narrative prompts, and write poetry, based on all the readings from this unit.
- Students will be able to identify and provide examples of key characters traits, particularly those tied to perseverance using the text and a variety of reading strategies taught during this unit.
- Students will be able to show how individuals can change over time, use the text and a variety of reading strategies taught during this unit to identify and provide examples of characters’ changes in perspective, self-concept, and ability to persevere.
Annotated Book List
Shared Read-Aloud Historical Fiction Novel (each student has a copy of the book)
Holm, Jennifer L. Boston Jane, An Adventure. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2001.
Sixteen-year-old Jane Peck has ventured to the unknown wilds of the Pacific Northwest to wed her childhood idol, William Baldt. She is ill-prepared for the rough pioneer life and colorful characters that wait her in Washington Territory.
Read-Aloud Historical Fiction Novel (one copy of the book per table group)
Taylor, Theodore. The Cay. New York, NY: Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc. 1969.
It is the winter of 1942. The ship carrying 12-year-old Phillip from the island of Curacao, just off the cost of Venezuela, to the United States is torpedoed by a German submarine. Phillip is pulled onto a life raft with only one other person and a cat for companionship. This is the story of their struggle to survive, and of Phillip’s efforts to adjust to his blindness and to understand the dignified, wise and loving old man who is his companion.
Secondary Text
Coerr, Eleanor. The Josefina Story Quilt. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1986.
The story of a young girl named Faith and her pet hen, Josephina’s long, hard journey along a wagon trail to California.
Loeper, John. Meet the Wards on the Oregon Trail. New York, NY: Benchmark Books, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1999.
The story of the Wards, an American family who followed the Oregon Trail to California in 1853 in search of a better life. Includes period songs, rhymes, recipes.
MacLachlan, P. Sarah Plain and Tall. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1985.
When their father invites a mail order bride to come and live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by her and hope she will stay.
Preus, M., Lunge-Larsen, L, and Arroyo, A. The Legend of the Ladyslipper. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
A Native American Folk tale about the perseverance and courage of a young girl.
Soto, Gary. The Skirt. New York, NY: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; 3rd printing edition (1992).
Miata is proud of her family's Mexican heritage. Lately, she has been practicing with her folklorico dance troupe for a performance, and she has even brought her costume to school to show her classmates. But on the Friday before the show Miata forgets her decorative skirt on the school bus.
Stefoff, R. The Oregon Trail in American History. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishing, 1997.
Suitable for more advanced readers, this book includes source documents, illustrations from the 1840s, photos and text covering topics such as “Life on the Road” and ”The Oregon Trail Today”, with a Time Line.
Thompson, L. The Oregon Trail. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing LLC, 2005.
Age-appropriate overview with photos (e.g. Cayuse Chief Five Crows), paintings, text and statistics (e.g. Causes of Death). The book includes a short section titled “Key People in the History of The Oregon Trail,” a Time Line and a glossary.
Woodruff, E. Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trails. New York, NY: Dell-Yearling, 1994.
This story, set in 1851, follows two brothers as the elder brother follows the Oregon Trail and the younger brother awaits his letters and the time when he will be able to join his brother in Oregon Territory.