Unit Overview
Six Complete Units
Click any unit to expand its full design. Each follows the shared anatomy from the framework and contains multiple lessons. Unit 1 and Unit 3 link to fully built multimedia sample lessons.
Unit 1 · Reading Like a Detective
Essential Questions: How do careful readers uncover what a text does not say directly? How does evidence support an inference?
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Quote accurately when explaining a text.
- Draw inferences supported by evidence.
- Determine theme and summarize.
- Compare characters, settings, and events.
✅ Success Criteria
- I can find clues (text evidence) in a story.
- I can make an inference and prove it.
- I can state a theme in my own words.
- I can summarize without retelling everything.
Standards: RL.5.1 (quote accurately & infer), RL.5.2 (theme & summary), RL.5.3 (compare story elements).
Key Vocabulary: inference, evidence, theme, summary, character trait, point of view.
Performance Task: "Case File" — students act as literary detectives, collecting text evidence to solve a question about a character's motivation and presenting their findings.
Assessments: diagnostic inference check · formative evidence quizzes & exit tickets · summative Case File + rubric.
Differentiation: leveled texts, sentence stems for evidence, audio support; advanced readers analyze a second text.
Extensions: write a "missing scene" using inferred details; cross-curricular mystery in science observation.
Lessons:
- Lesson 1.1 — Making Inferences from Evidence ▶ Fully built sample
- Lesson 1.2 — Quoting Accurately to Explain a Text
- Lesson 1.3 — Determining Theme
- Lesson 1.4 — Summarizing Without Retelling
- Lesson 1.5 — Comparing Characters & Performance Task
Unit 2 · Informational Text Investigators
Essential Questions: How do authors organize information to make ideas clear? How do we combine information from multiple sources?
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Determine main ideas and supporting details.
- Explain text structures (cause/effect, compare, problem/solution).
- Use text features and visuals to locate information.
- Integrate information from several texts.
✅ Success Criteria
- I can find the main idea and prove it with details.
- I can name how a text is organized.
- I can use headings, charts, and captions.
- I can combine facts from two sources.
Standards: RI.5.1, RI.5.2 (main idea), RI.5.5 (structure), RI.5.7 (use multiple sources/visuals).
Key Vocabulary: main idea, supporting detail, text structure, text feature, source, synthesize.
Performance Task: "Research Brief" — students investigate a topic across two sources and produce a one-page brief with a main-idea statement and visual.
Assessments: diagnostic text-feature check · formative structure sorts · summative Research Brief + rubric.
Differentiation: graphic organizers, highlighted texts, vocabulary front-loading; advanced students evaluate source reliability.
Extensions: build an infographic; connect to a social-studies topic.
Lessons:
- Lesson 2.1 — Finding the Main Idea
- Lesson 2.2 — Text Structures
- Lesson 2.3 — Using Text Features & Visuals
- Lesson 2.4 — Synthesizing Two Sources
- Lesson 2.5 — Research Brief Performance Task
Unit 3 · Opinion Writing & Argument
Essential Questions: How do writers persuade with reasons and evidence? What makes an argument convincing and fair?
🎯 Learning Objectives
- State a clear opinion (claim) on a topic.
- Support the claim with logically ordered reasons and evidence.
- Link ideas with transitions.
- Write a concluding statement.
✅ Success Criteria
- I can write a claim that takes a clear side.
- I can give reasons backed by evidence.
- I can connect ideas with linking words.
- I can end with a strong conclusion.
Standards: W.5.1 (opinion writing with reasons/evidence), W.5.4 (clear writing), SL.5.4 (present an opinion).
Key Vocabulary: claim, opinion, reason, evidence, counterargument, transition, conclusion.
Performance Task: "Persuasive Pitch" — students draft, revise, and deliver an opinion essay and a short spoken pitch on an authentic school topic.
Assessments: diagnostic claim-vs-fact check · formative paragraph drafts & peer review · summative essay + pitch with rubric.
Differentiation: sentence frames, claim banks, organizer scaffolds; advanced writers add and rebut a counterargument.
Extensions: publish a class op-ed; debate format for the pitch.
Lessons:
- Lesson 3.1 — Building a Strong Claim ▶ Fully built sample
- Lesson 3.2 — Reasons & Evidence
- Lesson 3.3 — Linking Words & Organization
- Lesson 3.4 — Conclusions & Counterarguments
- Lesson 3.5 — Revising & the Persuasive Pitch
Unit 4 · Narrative Writing Workshop
Essential Questions: How do writers pull readers into a story? How do details and dialogue bring a narrative to life?
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Orient a reader and establish a situation.
- Use dialogue, pacing, and description to develop events.
- Use transitions to sequence events.
- Write a satisfying conclusion.
✅ Success Criteria
- I can hook my reader and set the scene.
- I can use dialogue and sensory detail.
- I can order events smoothly.
- I can end my story in a way that feels complete.
Standards: W.5.3 (narrative technique), L.5.3 (style & sentence variety).
Key Vocabulary: narrator, dialogue, sensory detail, pacing, transition, resolution.
Performance Task: "Short Story Studio" — students plan, draft, revise, and publish an illustrated short story.
Assessments: diagnostic narrative sample · formative scene drafts & conferences · summative published story + rubric.
Differentiation: story maps, dialogue frames, word banks; advanced writers experiment with flashback or dual narrators.
Extensions: record an audiobook version; illustrate a graphic-story adaptation.
Lessons:
- Lesson 4.1 — Hooking the Reader & Setting
- Lesson 4.2 — Crafting Dialogue
- Lesson 4.3 — Sensory Detail & Pacing
- Lesson 4.4 — Sequencing with Transitions
- Lesson 4.5 — Conclusions & Publishing
Unit 5 · Poetry & Figurative Language
Essential Questions: How do poets use words to create images and feelings? What does figurative language really mean?
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Interpret figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification).
- Explain how word choice affects meaning and tone.
- Analyze structural elements of poems.
- Write original figurative language.
✅ Success Criteria
- I can spot and explain figurative language.
- I can tell how a poem's words make me feel.
- I can describe a poem's structure.
- I can write my own simile and metaphor.
Standards: RL.5.4 (word meaning & figurative language), L.5.5 (figurative language & nuance).
Key Vocabulary: simile, metaphor, personification, imagery, stanza, tone.
Performance Task: "Poetry Gallery" — students write and present a small collection using at least three figurative devices.
Assessments: diagnostic figurative-language sort · formative imagery quizzes · summative poetry collection + rubric.
Differentiation: annotated mentor poems, fill-in poem frames; advanced poets analyze tone shifts.
Extensions: spoken-word performance; pair poems with original art or music.
Lessons:
- Lesson 5.1 — Imagery & the Five Senses
- Lesson 5.2 — Simile & Metaphor
- Lesson 5.3 — Personification & Tone
- Lesson 5.4 — Poetry Gallery Performance Task
Unit 6 · Research & Presentations
Essential Questions: How do researchers find and trust information? How do we share what we learn clearly and responsibly?
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Conduct a short research project on a question.
- Gather, evaluate, and cite sources.
- Organize findings logically.
- Present with multimedia support.
✅ Success Criteria
- I can turn a topic into a research question.
- I can judge whether a source is trustworthy.
- I can take notes and cite where facts came from.
- I can present clearly with visuals.
Standards: W.5.7 (research projects), W.5.8 (gather & cite), SL.5.4–SL.5.5 (present with media).
Key Vocabulary: research question, source, credibility, citation, plagiarism, multimedia.
Performance Task: "Expert Showcase" — students research a question and deliver a multimedia presentation with cited sources.
Assessments: diagnostic source-evaluation check · formative note-taking & outline · summative presentation + rubric.
Differentiation: curated source sets, note templates, presentation scripts; advanced students compare conflicting sources.
Extensions: record a documentary-style video; host a class expo.
Lessons:
- Lesson 6.1 — From Topic to Research Question
- Lesson 6.2 — Evaluating Source Credibility
- Lesson 6.3 — Note-Taking & Citing
- Lesson 6.4 — Organizing Findings
- Lesson 6.5 — Designing the Presentation
- Lesson 6.6 — Expert Showcase