Classroom Resource

Getting to Know You: Developing Short Biographies to Build Community

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

2, 3, 4, 5

Overview

Students in a class form a type of community, and members must get to know one another for that community to thrive. When students and teachers share their backgrounds and interests early in the year, they develop a base for understanding that will support effective teaching and learning throughout the months that follow. This unit, which is designed for the first few weeks of school, helps build a classroom community. Students begin with a discussion about community and what it means to be part of a community. They then prepare interview questions to ask a classmate about their lives. Students interview a fellow classmate to compile biographical data about him or her and use a Web tool called Bio-Cube to organize the material. In a culminating activity, students use their completed Bio-Cube to introduce their partner to the class.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 2

ELA21.2.45e

Form and use frequently-occurring irregular plural nouns and verbs.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.2.45e

Vocabulary

  • Irregular plural nouns
  • Irregular plural verbs

Knowledge

  • Some nouns and verbs do not follow the regular pattern when forming a plural.

Skills

  • Form and use frequently-occurring irregular plural nouns, such as feet, children, mice, fish, teeth.
  • Form and use frequently-occurring irregular plural verbs.

Understanding

  • Some nouns and verbs are made plural by changing vowels, changing the entire word, or adding a different ending.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.2

Present information orally using complex sentence structures, appropriate volume, and clear pronunciation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.2

Vocabulary

  • Present
  • Orally
  • Complex sentence structure
  • Appropriate volume
  • Clear pronunciation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Clear oral communication requires the speaker to use complex sentence structures, appropriate speaking volume, and correct speech pronunciation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Form complex sentences, use appropriate voice volume based on the situation or environment, and use clear pronunciation when sharing information orally.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Presenting information orally requires them to use complex sentences, an appropriate voice volume for the setting, and speaking words clearly.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.35

Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical plot, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, and dialogue, and providing a sense of closure.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.35

Vocabulary

  • Personal narratives
  • Fictional narratives
  • Logical plot
  • Transitional words and phrases
  • Sensory details
  • Dialogue
  • Closure

Knowledge

Students know:
  • A narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story.
  • A personal narrative tells about an event that was personally experienced by the author, while a fictional narrative tells a made up story.
  • A narrative story describes a sequence of events in a logical order (beginning, middle, end) and provides a sense of closure as an ending.
  • Narrative transitions indicate when and where the story is occurring.
  • Sensory details use descriptions of the five senses.
  • Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Write a personal narrative that recalls a personal experience or a fictional narrative with a made-up story.
  • Write a narrative with a logical sequence of events and sensory details.
  • Use appropriate transitional words and phrases in narrative writing.
  • Include dialogue in narrative writing.
  • Write a narrative that ends with a sense of closure.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Narrative writing includes predictable elements, like a logical sequence of events and an ending that provides the reader with a sense of closure.
  • Because narrative writing describes a chronological sequence of events, it includes transitions that indicate the time and place in which the story is occurring.
  • Narrative writing can be used to tell about something that happened to them personally or it can tell a story they made up.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.R1

Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.R1

Vocabulary

  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.9

Express ideas clearly and effectively to diverse partners or groups.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.9

Vocabulary

  • Express
  • Clearly
  • Effectively
  • Diverse

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Oral language and literacy skills.
  • Collaboration skills.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Clearly and effectively share ideas with others through speaking.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can communicate with a variety of people if they express themselves clearly.
Link to Resource
http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/getting-know-develop…

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

ReadWriteThink
Accessibility
License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

http://www.readwritethink.org/util/legal.html

Approved Date

raulstoncg
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