5th Grade: Literacy and Social Studies

Grade and Subject(s)

Overarching
Understanding
Goals

What motivates people to action in the face of great danger or cost?

1
2

What kinds of values and beliefs does one need to have in order to fight for change?
What are ways that protestors can weather adversity?

3
4

Would you have the courage to become politically involved today?

Freedom
Riders

Generative Unit Topic

Unit-Long
Understanding Goals
Sequence of
Understanding
Performances

Who were
the
Freedom
Riders?

1
UG
s

What
motivated
them?

How and why

did they come
together for
social change?
What were the
demonstrations
like?

Understanding
Performances
K-W-L chart

Introductory
Performance(s)

Guided Inquiry
Performance(s)

#1
an
d
#3

#2
an
d
#5

Culminating
Performance(s)

Skill

Gallery walk with large-scale

photos & sound clips; chart paper
for students to record reactions
Discussion followed by read aloud
of Ruth and the Green Book

What
were the
results
of their
efforts?

How and
when do
you draw
on
courage
in your
own life?

Ongoing
Assessments
Criteria: Journal writing;
participate in discussion and
asking questions; record timeline
accurately in journal
Feedback: Informal; teacherstudent and student-student
during whole-class discussions

Timeline students record

timeline in journal as drawn in
class each day
Students work on summarizing
text & note taking
Sources: newspaper articles &
documentary
Letter writing inspired by Jim
Zwergs letter to his parents big
picture & details

Criteria: Graphic organizers fully

completed; students contribute
to discussions
Feedback: informal from teacher
during small group work; selfassessment for letter writing
using criteria sheet

Criteria: Fits traditional structure

of haikus, cinquains, and
#2 Revisit K-W-L chart; add in the L
acrostics as indicated on graphic
organizers
,
Writing response: Why were the
Feedback: first draft is critiqued
#4 Freedom Riders important?
by a classmate using criteria
Strands
,
sheet. Final draft is critiqued by
student and teacher. Writing
x 1 Using note
an taking to summarize informational text
assignment is reflective and
d
shows development of
2 How to contribute to discussion
knowledge.
#5

Students have poetry reading

Poetry writing

x Major Focus

Reinforced

Unsupported/Required