Curriculum / ELA / 4th Grade / Unit 6: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans / Lesson 2
ELA
Unit 6
4th Grade
Lesson 2 of 25
Jump To
Explain the significance of the statement: "It should have been a proud moment for everybody, but, honey, we didn’t have much to celebrate." (p. 13)
Book: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson pp. 8 – 13
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
Read the following sentence from page 13:
"It should have been a proud moment for everybody, but, honey, we didn’t have much reason to celebrate."
Explain the significance of this statement. What should have happened so that the founding of the country could have been a proud moment for everyone?
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
How does the author start the text? What does the author want the reader to realize? On page 9, what does it say about our country that there is "nary a black face" in any of the pictures?
What led to the start of the American Revolution? Why was the narrator upset by the colonists' use of the word slaves?
Describe the important role Black people played in the American Revolution. What happened to Black people and enslaved people after the American Revolution? Were they treated fairly?
What is the significance of the illustration on page 11?
Assess student understanding and monitor progress toward this lesson's objective with an Exit Ticket.
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
affairs
n.
(p. 13)
work or activities done for a purpose
privilege
a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others
"fruits of labor"
phrase
the outcome of your work
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.4.5 — Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
RI.4.7 — Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
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.
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 1
Lesson 3
Explain who is speaking in the prologue and why the author would choose to write this way.
RI.4.6 RI.4.8
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.4.7 RI.4.8
Explain how the author uses details and illustrations to build a deeper understanding of slavery.
RI.4.7 RI.4.8
Analyze what evidence the author includes to support the statement that abolitionists "lit a fire inside many a slave to take their freedom."
RI.4.3 RI.4.7 RI.4.8
Explain where Frederick Douglass found his inspiration and drive.
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.4.8
Analyze the details an author includes to support a quote by Harriet Tubman.
RI.4.3 RI.4.8
Explain the significance of the quote "Harriet Tubman’s name will never lose its distinction."
Informative Writing – 2 days
Write a multiple-paragraph essay about how courageous individuals create and drive change.
W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.2.d W.4.2.e
Explain the events that led up to the South being ready for a fight.
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.4.7
Explain why the chapter was titled "Lincoln’s War" and if Lincoln’s actions helped or hurt the conditions for enslaved people.
RI.4.3 RI.4.7 RI.4.8 SL.4.1
Discussion
Analyze and discuss unit essential questions by stating a claim and supporting the claim with details from multiple sources.
RI.4.9 SL.4.1 SL.4.4 W.4.9
Informative Writing
Write a multiple-paragraph essay to answer a unit essential question.
Defend how Reconstruction was supported by segregationist beliefs.
Explain what life was like on the frontier for Buffalo Soldiers and freed Black people.
Explain what effect the Great Migration had on the lives of African Americans and the challenges they faced in their new communities.
Describe the progress African Americans made in the early twentieth century.
Describe how the experience of fighting in World War II changed the people who returned home and how it changed the country.
Explain why the author titles the chapter "Black Innovation."
RI.4.8
Explain how Jim Crow was dying.
Explain why the author titles the last chapter "Revolution" and why what happened was a revolution.
RI.4.3 RI.4.8 SL.4.1
Explain the significance of the final quote in Heart and Soul.
Debate and discuss unit Essential Questions.
Write a multiple-paragraph essay to answer a unit Essential Question.
Informative Writing – 6 days
Research and present about an African American leader.
RI.4.3 RI.4.5 RI.4.7 RI.4.8 SL.4.1 SL.4.4 SL.4.5 W.4.2 W.4.2.a W.4.2.b W.4.2.c W.4.2.d W.4.2.e W.4.7 W.4.8 W.4.9
Assessment
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