ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (1) 1 :

1. Engage in collaborative discussions about topics and texts with peers and adults in small and large groups, utilizing agreed-upon rules.

[ELA2021] (1) 43 :

43. Use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing with guidance and support from adults, working both individually and in collaboration with peers.

[ELA2021] (1) 42 :

42. Participate in shared research and writing projects to answer a question or describe a topic.

a. Recall information from experiences to contribute to shared research and writing projects.

b. Gather information from provided sources.

[ELA2021] (1) 3 :

3. Ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information to confirm understanding in response to information presented in audible, text, or digital format.

[DLIT] (1) 19 :

13) Create a research-based product collaboratively using online digital tools.

Examples: Find simple facts about a specific topic, create a slide that contains facts located in trade books or other sources.

[DLIT] (1) 6 :

R6) Produce, review, and revise authentic artifacts that include multimedia using appropriate digital tools.

[ELA2021] (1) -2 :

R4. Use digital and electronic tools appropriately, safely, and ethically for research and writing, both individually and collaboratively.

The students will go on an in-school scavenger hunt to get to know the many kinds of people that make up an elementary school community. They will work in small groups and use digital cameras to take pictures of the workers they find. By completing the scavenger hunt, the students will gain a better understanding of how we are all dependent on one another in a small community.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (0) -5 :

R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

[ELA2021] (0) 1 :

1. Actively listen and speak using agreed-upon rules for discussion, with guidance and support.

a. Use speech that is understandable with only grade-appropriate errors.

b. Use word endings to indicate plurals, possessives, and verb tenses in speech.

Examples: dogs, brother's shirt, jumped

c. Use age-appropriate irregular plurals in conversation.

Examples: foot/feet, tooth/teeth, mouse/mice

d. Listen to others and take turns speaking, carrying on a conversation through multiple exchanges.

[ELA2021] (0) 37 :

37. Actively participate in shared and independent writing experiences, for varied purposes and audiences, across different genres.

a. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create messages, lists, and labels for a drawing or illustration.

b. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create narratives with the events in chronological order and share feelings about the story, using drawing, dictating, and/or writing.

c. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create opinion pieces about a topic or text, state the opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide a sense of closure, using drawing, dictating, and/or writing.

d. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create explanatory texts or provide factual information about a topic, using drawing, dictating, and/or writing.

e. With prompting and support, compose writing for varied purposes and audiences, across different genres.

[ELA2021] (0) 39 :

39. Participate in shared research and writing projects to answer a question or describe a topic.

a. Include information recalled from personal experiences in research and writing projects.

b. Gather information from provided sources for research and writing projects.

[ELA2021] (1) -5 :

R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

[ELA2021] (1) 1 :

1. Engage in collaborative discussions about topics and texts with peers and adults in small and large groups, utilizing agreed-upon rules.

[ELA2021] (1) 42 :

42. Participate in shared research and writing projects to answer a question or describe a topic.

a. Recall information from experiences to contribute to shared research and writing projects.

b. Gather information from provided sources.

[ELA2021] (2) -5 :

R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

[ELA2021] (2) 1 :

1. Participate in conversations and discussions with groups and peers utilizing agreed-upon rules.

[ELA2021] (2) 46 :

46. Gather and use research to answer questions to complete a research product.

a. Create topics of interest for a research project.

b. Create questions to gather information for a research project.

c. Find information from a variety of sources.

Examples: books, magazines, newspapers, digital media

d. Define plagiarism and explain the importance of using their own words.

As students study the theme of community, they collect vocabulary words and key concepts. Students first talk about their community and then craft a definition of community. Students then examine several examples of the alphabet book genre and a variety of print and online texts. With the information they've found, students create alphabet books—individually, in small groups, or as a whole class—using an online tool. Their books relate each letter of the alphabet with a fact, keyword or phrase from their research, providing both an artifact that can be used to teach others about the subject and a demonstration of the knowledge gained in the unit that can be used for assessment. This unit focuses on the theme of community, but the idea can be adapted for any unit of study.