Strategies
This unit will be cross-curricular connecting social studies and language arts. The curriculum unit will connect to the following language arts topics: media messages, persuasive writing, oral language, and research. In social studies the unit will cover the state government and products and industries of Virginia.
Graphic organizers
Graphic organizers will be used for a variety of the activities throughout the unit to scaffold and organize the students’ thinking. I envision using a custom graphic organizer to analyze advertisements to determine the target audience. Students will use graphic organizers for prewriting.
Guest speakers/ interviews
Guest speakers will visit the class ideally in-person, but given the pandemic, this will be done through Zoom® this year. The guest speakers will present to the students and then the students will pose questions. The speakers will represent different viewpoints. I anticipate someone who represents a tobacco lobbyist and another who represents public health.
Role play/ drama
Students will use role play or drama to simulate the process from when a bill is introduced until it either becomes a law or fails. I plan to create a template for the “play,” and the students will use research or persuasive writing to fill in the gaps. The active role the students will play and acting out the scenes will help them to understand the process at a much deeper level. In the event that the students are not in-person, the collaboration will be done through Zoom or Google Classroom so the students can collaborate either by video or by working on a common Google Slide or Google Doc. For the play, the students would videotape their scenes and I will compile it into a movie.
Writing Process
The students will use the writing process to develop persuasive pieces as well as informative essays. The students will use a graphic organizer to brainstorm or prewrite. I also use a second graphic organizer to help them formulate paragraphs with a topic sentence, details, and a closing sentence. This is difficult for fourth graders as they are still learning this structure. Then the students will write their first draft, edit, and compose their final draft.
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