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ES Literacy Shared Text Grade 4: Intervention

Week 1

Day 1 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title:Robo-Ride” (Nonfiction)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • Teaches how driverless cars function, compares them to traditional cars, and gives a timeline of when they may be available to the public.
    • A includes facts demonstrating that driverless cars are safer than cars driven by humans.
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Text Features
    • Discuss how the author’s use of the text feature increases the reader’s understanding of the main idea.
    • The diagram helps the reader understand how the driverless car works. The diagram explains and provides details about the driverless car.

Day 2 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title:Robo-Ride” (Nonfiction)
  • Question 1:
    • How does the diagram help readers understand the main idea?
      • Sample answer: The diagram helps the reader understand how driverless cars work.
        • Shows the “sensors and cameras” that driverless cars will rely on mentioned in paragraph 2.
        • Explains how technology will be used to eliminate “the need for a
          person behind the wheel.” (paragraph 2)
        • A rotating sensor creates a 3-D map of the car’s surroundings, including lane markings and curbs. An antenna uses GPS signals to track the car’s location.
  • Question 2:
    • Why does the author include paragraphs 3 and 4?
      • Sample answer: The author includes paragraphs 3 and 4 to show how safe the driverless car is.
        • “90 percent of car accidents are caused at least in part by human error, such as distracted driving.”
        • “So far the cars have logged more than 300,000 miles— and traveled more hours without an accident than the average U.S. driver.”

Day 3 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title:Pass, Shoot, Dribble, Dunk: A New Basketball Doesn’t Make the Team” (Nonfiction)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • NBA attempts to replace LB with SB, but SB was harder to control and bounced strangely.
    • NBA returns to using LB. A thinks that the return to LB was the right decision for now.
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Point of View
    • Discuss the use of text features to develop the author’s point of view of the subject.
    • “There’s more to basketball than ball handling. Leather balls play better than synthetic ones.”

Day 4 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title:Pass, Shoot, Dribble, Dunk: A New Basketball Doesn’t Make the Team” (Nonfiction)
  • Question 1:
    • What problem did the NBA hope to solve by developing balls made of synthetic material?
      • Sample answer: The NBA hoped to solve the problem of all balls not bouncing and feeling the same.
        • The NBA hoped to manufacture basketballs that were all exactly alike. Leather basketballs have many more variations than synthetic basketballs.
        • “They made the switch because they wanted every basketball they use to feel and bounce the same. Not all leather balls are exactly alike in weight or how they bounce, but the synthetic balls are.” (paragraph 1)
  • Question 2:
    • What is the author’s point of view on this topic?
      • Sample answer: Despite efforts to fix the problems with leather balls, they are still the best option for now.
        • “In January, the NBA went back to using the traditional leather balls/ they aren’t perfect, but for now, that’s just the way the ball bounces.” (paragraph 8)
        • Scientists investigated both friction and bounce. They found that
          perspiration gets absorbed into leather balls and stays on the surface of synthetic balls. Scientists also found that the logo caused the new balls to bounce strangely.

Week 2

Day 1 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title:Mercury and the Woodsman” (Folklore)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • W loses his axe and M rewards him for his honesty; when W’s friend tries to also get a golden axe M punishes the friend for dishonesty, showing honesty is rewarded and dishonesty is punished.
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Word Choice
    • Discuss how the author’s word choice highlights each character’s actions.
    • The second woodsman is described as “envious” and he “deliberately” loses his axe in the river. Discuss how these words deepen the understanding of the second woodsman.

Day 2 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title:Mercury and the Woodsman” (Folklore)
  • Question 1:
    • What lesson is learned from reading this text?
      • Sample answer: The reader learns that honest actions are rewarded and dishonest actions are punished.
        • In the first half of the text, the author describes the events about the honest woodsman who loses his axe in a river, and how Mercury rewards his honesty: “Mercury promptly rewarded the man for his honesty by giving him the golden and silver axes as well.”
        • In the second half of the text, the author describes a greedy
          woodsman’s attempt to recreate the same events, however Mercury punishes the woodsman for his deceitfulness: “Mercury, not pleased with the man’s dishonesty, held on to the golden axe, and refused to recover the original.”
  • Question 2:
    • Why does Mercury refuse to give back the second woodsman’s axe?
      • Sample answer: Mercury refused to give back the axe because the woodsman was dishonest.
        • “When Mercury produced a golden axe, the man greedily stretched out for it claiming, “That’s mine.”
        • Mercury was not pleased with the man’s dishonesty and did not give him his axe back.
        • The author describes the second woodsman as envious. He “deliberately” loses his axe in the river.

Day 3 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title: “The Fox and the Grapes” (Folklore)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • F wants juicy grapes, but when he is unable to get them he quickly speaks negatively saying they were likely sour.
    • Teaches the reader that when we can’t get what we want we are sometimes dishonest and convince ourselves whatever we wanted wasn’t desirable anyway.
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Dialogue/Descriptive Language
    • Discuss how the author uses dialogue and descriptive language to show Fox’s change in attitude about the grapes.
      • “Mmm, that’s just the thing to take care of my thirst,” said the fox.
      • “I didn’t want those old grapes anyway. I’m sure they are sour.”

Day 4 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title: “The Fox and the Grapes” (Folklore)
  • Question 1:
    • Why does the Fox declare, “I didn’t want those old grapes anyway. I’m sure they are sour.” ?
      • Sample answer: Fox says this as an excuse for not being able to reach the grapes.
        • He leaped with all his might but still missed. (paragraph 1)
        • At first sight, Fix described the grapes as “juicy,” but when he couldn’t reach them he changed his opinion of the grapes.
  • Question 2:
    • What lesson does this folktale teach?
      • Sample answer: Readers learn that sometimes when people don’t get what they want, they sometimes tell themselves that they didn’t want it anyway.
        • “…he leaped with all his might. But again he missed the grapes.”
        • And he walked away with his nose in the air, saying, “I didn’t want those old grapes anyway. I’m sure they are sour.”

Week 3

Day 1 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title:If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking” (Poem)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • S expresses that doing kind acts for others gives life meaning.
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Repetition
    • Discuss how the author’s use of repetition supports the main idea.
    • Repetition in both lines 2 and 7 of “I shall not live in vain” highlights the speaker’s belief that acts of kindness and goodness prevent a life from being lived in vain. ○ Repetition of the word “one” (lines 1, 3, 4, 5)

Day 2 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title:If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking” (Poem)
  • Question 1:
    • What is the author’s purpose for writing this poem?
      • Sample answer: The author’s purpose for writing the poem is to show how even small acts for others give life substantial meaning.
        • “If I can stop one heart from breaking,/ I shall not live in vain.” (lines 1-2)
        • “If I can ease one life from aching…/I shall not live in vain.” (lines 3 and 7)
  • Question 2:
    • How does the author use repetition to demonstrate the main idea of the poem?
      • Sample answer: The author uses repetition to show that acts of goodness make life meaningful.
        • The author repeats the phrase “I shall not live in vain” in lines 2 and 7.
        • The repetition of “one” (lines 1, 3, 4, 5)

Day 3 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title:Dreams” (Poem)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • S commands readers to “Hold fast to dreams,” because a life without dreams loses purpose and meaning.
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Text Structure
    • Discuss how the author uses examples to highlight that a life without dreams cannot be fulfilling.

Day 4 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title:Dreams” (Poem)
  • Question 1:
    • Why does the author compare life to a “broken-winged bird” and a “barren field”?
      • Sample answer: The author compares life to a “broken-winged bird” and a “barren field” to show that a life without dreams cannot be fulfilling.
        • A bird is meant to fly and a field is meant to grow crops. If a field is barren or a bird has broken wings, neither can fulfill their purpose.
        • Likewise, life without dreaming is without purpose.
  • Question 2:
    • What is the theme of the poem?
      • Sample answer: The theme of “Dreams” is about what makes life meaningful. Having dreams is what makes life meaningful.
        • “For if dreams die/Life is a broken-winged bird/That cannot fly.”
        • Repetition of “hold fast to dreams” shows the importance of holding on to dreams.

Week 4

Day 1 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title:Car Troubles in China” (Nonfiction)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • G overcrowded roads—heavy traffic and air pollution
    • Gov. efforts to clean roads are based on money and luck
    • Limits on cars may be detrimental to economy
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Text Structure
    • Discuss how the different sections of the text support the main idea.
    • The first section describes the problem and the initial steps the government has taken to solve it. The section, “A Plan for Plates” compares the license plate plan in Guangzhou to the plan in Shanghai. The section, “A Slowdown in China?” highlights that although the efforts to reduce new cars on the road may improve the health of citizens, it could cause damage to the country’s economy.

Day 2 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title:Car Troubles in China” (Nonfiction)
  • Question 1:
    • How does paragraph 3 connect to the main idea of the text?
      • Sample answer: Paragraph 3 proposes a solution to the problem of overcrowded roads and air pollution caused by cars.
        • “The city’s government has taken drastic steps to try to clear the roads and the air.”
        • “Many people in Guangzhou now have to win a lottery just to drive a car!”
  • Question 2:
    • What is the author’s point of view on the car lottery?
      • Sample answer: The author believes that the car lottery may reduce the number of cars on the road, but may also cause harm to the country’s economy.
        • “The new plan is expected to cut the number of new cars on roads”
        • “Some experts think the limits on new cars will hurt the economy even further.”

Day 3 Focus: Read and Understand the Text

  • Title:Cougars on the Move” (Nonfiction)
  • Main Idea Jot:
    • C, once primarily found in the AW and S, are moving East.
  • Craft and Structure Focus: Text Structure
    • Discuss how the structure of the text helps readers understand the main idea.

Day 4 Focus: Responding to Literature in Writing

  • Title:Cougars on the Move” (Nonfiction)
  • Question 1:
    • How does the map help readers understand the main idea?
      • Sample answer: The map helps readers understand that cougar populations are moving east, further and further away from where they are known to be inhabitants.
        • “Some cougars have even been spotted in the East. Last year, a car hit a cougar on a road in Connecticut. Tests show that the same cougar had been seen by scientists in Minnesota in 2009.”
        • “Cougars, often called mountain lions, live throughout the American West. Now it looks like some of them are moving east.”
  • Question 2:
    • Why is paragraph 2 important to understanding the text?
      • Sample answer: Paragraph 2 is important because it helps readers understand why cougars were only present in certain parts of the country.
        • “Cougars once roamed most of the U.S. But in the 1800’s, hunters killed many of them. By 1900, the cats were gone from most of the nation.”
        • Cougars were only found in Western states and in southern Florida.
        • Now it looks like some of them are moving east.

What Else Do I Need?

  • Shared Text Selections:
    • Nonfiction: “Robo-Ride” from Scholastic News
    • Nonfiction: “Pass, Shoot, Dribble, Dunk: A New Basketball Doesn’t Make the Team” from National Geographic Kids
    • Folklore: “Mercury and the Woodsman” by Aesop
    • Folklore: “The Fox and the Grapes” by Aesop from What Your First Grader Needs to Know
    • Poetry: “If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking” by Emily Dickinson from
      Poetry Speaks: Who I Am
    • Poetry: “Dreams” by Langston Hughes from The Dream Keeper and Other Poems
    • Nonfiction: “Car Trouble in China” by Natalie Smith from Scholastic News
    • Nonfiction: “Cougars on the Move” by Karen Kellaher from Scholastic News

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