ALEX Classroom Resources

ALEX Classroom Resources  
   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (4) 6 :
6. Read grade-level text orally with appropriate pauses, phrasing, stress, intonation, rate, and integration to support comprehension.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: English Language Arts (4)
Title: Rumpelstiltskin Storybook Text: Fairy Tales Old and New
URL: https://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ela_characters_detail/fairy_tales/
Description:

As you watch this updated snippet of the story of Rumpelstiltskin, take note of the characters, setting, and what happens in the story.

After the video, check out the additional activities below for the classroom and for the home, and watch the “Guided Viewing” version for parents to get additional tips for helping your students understand the English Language Arts concepts in the video.

Designed to help students learn to describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

You can access a pdf of the story by clicking on the following link: Rumpelstiltskin Storybook Text



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: English Language Arts (4)
Title: Character Motivation - Duke
URL: https://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/vtl07.la.rv.text.lpmotiduke/character-motivation-duke/
Description:

Students complete a chart describing Duke Ellington’s motivations for playing the piano and describe how these motivations changed his attitude toward playing the piano.

This resource provides students with an opportunity to analyze character motivation. 



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (5) 19 :
19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5)
Title: Character Traits: Rise and Shine: Literacy Time
URL: https://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/character-traits-video/rise-and-shine-literacy-time/
Description:

2018 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, Randi House, discusses how authors reveal personality and physical traits to help us learn more about the characters in stories. Ms. House shares an example of how she might be described if she were the character in a story and encourages students to think about words that might be used to describe themselves. The worksheet that accompanies this video provides a space for students to describe a character’s thoughts, speech, attitude, and actions, as well as a place for students to illustrate the character’s physical appearance. This worksheet can be used in conjunction with any novel or short story.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (3) 33 :
33. Write personal or fictional narratives with a logical plot (sequence of events), characters, transitions, and a sense of closure.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (4) 35 :
35. Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical plot, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, and dialogue, and providing a sense of closure.
Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 4)
Title: Storytelling with Words and Pictures
URL: https://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ilwmht18-ela-storytelling/storytelling-with-words-and-pictures/
Description:

In this interactive lesson, students learn the basics of how stories are structured, gain vocabulary about storytelling elements, and explore how the arts, specifically drawing, can be a valuable way for students to tell stories. By the end of the lesson, each student will have written a story with a clear setting, conflict, and resolution. They will have reflected on the process of storytelling, and are given the (optional) opportunity to create a comic.

This resource guides students as they create an original narrative. 



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) 17 :
17. Use grade-level academic and domain-specific vocabulary in writing.
[ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (3) 34 :
34. Write informative or explanatory texts about a topic using sources, including an introduction, facts, relevant details with elaboration, and a conclusion.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (4) 36 :
36. Write informative or explanatory text about a topic using sources, incorporating academic vocabulary, and including an introduction, facts, details with elaboration, and a conclusion.
[ELA2021] (5) 23 :
23. Determine and analyze themes of various culturally-diverse literary texts, supporting analysis with textual evidence.

a. Analyze common themes of diverse texts with support from textual evidence.

b. Summarize a story or drama, describing how the plot unfolds and how characters respond to challenges or change their thoughts and actions and citing textual evidence.
[ELA2021] (5) 35 :
35. Write informative or explanatory texts using multiple sources to examine a topic, conveying ideas and information clearly and incorporating a strong organizational structure, relevant details, and elaboration.
Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5)
Title: Understanding Character: The Life of Percy Julian
URL: https://aptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/midlit11.ela.spljulian/understanding-character-the-life-of-percy-julian/
Description:

In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills, students watch video dramatizations of Percy Julian's struggles with racism and how he refused to let it limit his possibilities in life. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore English language arts and focus on understanding character. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.

This resource guides students as they analyze the character of Percy Julian and provides students with the opportunity to identify key details and learn new vocabulary.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: English Language Arts (4)
Title: Making Inferences
URL: https://www.roomrecess.com/Lessons/MakingInferences/Video.html
Description:

This classroom resource provides a teaching video on making interferences. The video teaches the students to use their own life experiences with the information the author gives them to make an inference. This classroom resource includes a game to help with understanding.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: English Language Arts (4)
Title: Describing a Setting
URL: https://youtu.be/GWu1rhO5_Zg
Description:

In this video, students will learn how an author develops a setting by using words and phrases to create a “mental picture” of where the text takes place and what the place is like. Students will use the poem "The Land of Nod" by Robert Louis Stevenson to identify how the author describes the land of Nod by drawing on specific details.   



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ARTS] VISA (4) 1 :
1) Individually brainstorm multiple approaches to an art problem.

Examples: Create lists, sketches, or thumbnail-sketches.

[ARTS] VISA (4) 5 :
5) Document, describe, and create real or imagined constructed environments.

Example: Design a futuristic art room, town, or planet.

[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: Arts Education (4), English Language Arts (4)
Title: Making a Range of Values for Setting
URL: http://artsedwashington.org/curriculum/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Fourth-Grade-Lesson-5.pdf
Description:

Students will analyze art and identify time, place, and mood.  They will sketch a setting from a familiar story.  They will use light, medium, and dark values to create a watercolor wash.  Assessment rubric, letter to parents, examples of artwork, and lesson plan included in PDF.  



   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] ALA (4) 14 :
14 ) Analyze the modern Civil Rights Movement to determine the social, political, and economic impact on Alabama.

•  Recognizing important persons of the modern Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr.; George C. Wallace; Rosa Parks; Fred Shuttlesworth; John Lewis; Malcolm X; Thurgood Marshall; Hugo Black; and Ralph David Abernathy
•  Describing events of the modern Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, the Freedom Riders bus bombing, and the Selma-to-Montgomery March
•  Explaining benefits of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Brown versus Board of Education Supreme Court case of 1954
•  Using vocabulary associated with the modern Civil Rights Movement, including discrimination, prejudice, segregation, integration, suffrage, and rights
[SS2010] USS6 (6) 9 :
9 ) Critique major social and cultural changes in the United States since World War II.

•  Identifying key persons and events of the modern Civil Rights Movement
Examples: persons—Martin Luther King Jr.; Rosa Parks; Fred Shuttlesworth; John Lewis (Alabama)

events—Brown versus Board of Education, Montgomery Bus Boycott, student protests, Freedom Rides, Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March, political assassinations (Alabama)

•  Describing the changing role of women in United States' society and how it affected the family unit
Examples: women in the workplace, latchkey children

•  Recognizing the impact of music genres and artists on United States' culture since World War II
Examples: genres—protest songs; Motown, rock and roll, rap, folk, and country music

artists—Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Hank Williams (Alabama)

•  Identifying the impact of media, including newspapers, AM and FM radio, television, twenty-four hour sports and news programming, talk radio, and Internet social networking, on United States' culture since World War II
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (6) 3 :
3. Explain how authors use setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view to contribute to the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry, using textual evidence from the writing.
Subject: Social Studies (4 - 6), English Language Arts (4 - 6)
Title: Hank Aaron Reading Comprehension - Online
URL: https://mrnussbaum.com/hank-aaron-reading-comprehension-online
Description:

This reading comprehension activity from MrNussbaum.com contains a historical passage about Hank Aaron.  Students can read this passage as an introductory lesson or as an assessment using the questions included.  Students receive immediate feedback on multiple-choice questions. Students may click on "listen" to have the passage read to them. 



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) -1 :
R5. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.
[ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (3) 26 :
26. Use text comparisons (text to text, text to self, and text to world) to make meaning.

a. Use prior knowledge to determine similarities between texts they are reading and texts they have previously read.

b. Compare different versions of the same story.
[ELA2021] (3) 38 :
38. Compose and develop a well-organized paragraph with a topic sentence, details to support, and a concluding sentence.
[ELA2021] (4) -3 :
R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (4) 32 :
32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, both independently and with support, demonstrating grade-level proficiency.
[ELA2021] (5) -3 :
R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.
[ELA2021] (5) 19 :
19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
[ELA2021] (5) 32 :
32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, independently and with grade-level proficiency.
Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5)
Title: Examining Plot Conflict Through a Comparison/Contrast Essay
URL: http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/examining-plot-conflict-through-802.html
Description:

Students explore picture books to identify the characteristics of four types of conflict: character vs. character, character vs. self, character vs. nature, and character vs. society. Next, students write about conflict in their own lives and then look for similarities among all the conflicts shared by the class, ultimately classifying each conflict into one of the four types. Finally, after investigating the compare and contrast format, students conclude with a compare and contrast essay that focuses on two conflicts—one from their own experience and one from a picture book or story that they have read.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) -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] (3) 1 :
1. Contribute meaningful ideas to discussions with groups and peers utilizing agreed upon rules.

a. Elaborate on responses in conversations and discussions.

Examples: use precise, descriptive language; build upon previously expressed ideas
[ELA2021] (3) 18 :
18. Demonstrate content knowledge built during independent reading of informational and literary texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through writing.
[ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (4) -6 :
R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.
[ELA2021] (4) 14 :
14. Demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (5) -6 :
R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.
[ELA2021] (5) 16 :
16. Demonstrate comprehension of varied literary and informational texts by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.
[ELA2021] (5) 19 :
19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
[ELA2021] (6) -6 :
R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.
[ELA2021] (6) 3 :
3. Explain how authors use setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view to contribute to the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry, using textual evidence from the writing.
Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 6)
Title: American Folklore: A Jigsaw Character Study
URL: http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/american-folklore-jigsaw-character-30524.html
Description:

Collaborative groups will read a variety of American tall tales, then report elements of their story to the whole class. Students add story information to a collaborative, whole-class character study matrix that summarizes all the stories. In a writing activity, students compare two characters of their choice. Support for English Language Learners (ELLs) is embedded in the guided collaborative process, while the content of the stories adds to all students' knowledge of American culture and history. The stories used in the lesson include well-known and lesser-known diverse characters. The lesson process is applicable to any set of related texts.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) -1 :
R5. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.
[ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (3) 33 :
33. Write personal or fictional narratives with a logical plot (sequence of events), characters, transitions, and a sense of closure.
[ELA2021] (4) -3 :
R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (4) 35 :
35. Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical plot, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, and dialogue, and providing a sense of closure.
[ELA2021] (5) -3 :
R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.
[ELA2021] (5) 19 :
19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
[ELA2021] (5) 34 :
34. Write personal or fictional narratives incorporating literary elements (characters, plot, setting, conflict), dialogue, strong voice, and clear event sequences.
Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5)
Title: Once Upon a Time Rethought: Writing Fractured Fairy Tales
URL: http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/once-upon-time-rethought-853.html
Description:

In this free resource from ReadWriteThink, students work together to craft a list of common fairy tale elements in order to determine what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale. They then explore and analyze a variety of tales, recording their information using a story map. The story map becomes a launching point for students' own fairy tales. Students use the characteristics of a known tale and change one of the literary elements to create a new tale, which includes a different set of characters, has a new setting, or includes a changed conflict or resolution. Finally, students publish and illustrate their new “fractured fairy tales” for others to enjoy.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (3) 33 :
33. Write personal or fictional narratives with a logical plot (sequence of events), characters, transitions, and a sense of closure.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
[ELA2021] (4) 35 :
35. Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical plot, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, and dialogue, and providing a sense of closure.
[ELA2021] (5) 19 :
19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
[ELA2021] (5) 34 :
34. Write personal or fictional narratives incorporating literary elements (characters, plot, setting, conflict), dialogue, strong voice, and clear event sequences.
Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5)
Title: Book Report Alternative: Examining Story Elements Using Story Map Comic Strips
URL: http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/book-report-alternative-examining-236.html
Description:

Knowing the elements of a story aids students in their understanding of what is taking place in the book or novel. When students comprehend the story elements of characters, setting, problems, events, and solutions, they become more involved in the story and take a greater interest in details. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they've read either read as a class or independently. The story strips that result provide a great way to evaluate students' understanding of important events and elements in a novel. The students enjoy the artistic aspect as well!

This lesson plan uses Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are as an example to model the process of creating the story map comic strips; however, any book you and your students have explored recently that demonstrates the elements of character, setting, problem, events, and solutions will work.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] LWT1 (1) 6 :
6 ) Compare ways individuals and groups in the local community and state lived in the past to how they live today. (Alabama)

•  Identifying past and present forms of communication
Examples: past—letter, radio, rotary-dial telephone

present—e-mail, television, cellular telephone

•  Identifying past and present types of apparel
•  Identifying past and present types of technology
Examples: past—record player, typewriter, wood-burning stove

present—compact diskette (CD) and digital video diskette (DVD) players, video cassette recorder (VCR), computer, microwave oven

•  Identifying past and present types of recreation
Examples: past—marbles, hopscotch, jump rope

present—video games, computer games

•  Identifying past and present primary sources
Examples: past—letters, newspapers

present—e-mail, Internet articles

[SS2010] LWT2 (2) 3 :
3 ) Use various primary sources, including calendars and timelines, for reconstructing the past.

Examples: historical letters, stories, interviews with elders, photographs, maps, artifacts

[SS2010] ALA (4) 6 :
6 ) Describe cultural, economic, and political aspects of the lifestyles of early nineteenth-century farmers, plantation owners, slaves, and townspeople.

Examples: cultural—housing, education, religion, recreation

economic—transportation, means of support

political—inequity of legal codes

•  Describing major areas of agricultural production in Alabama, including the Black Belt and fertile river valleys
[ELA2021] (1) 23 :
23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.
[ELA2021] (2) 23 :
23. Identify the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Explain the plot of a narrative, using textual evidence to list the major events in sequence.

b. Describe the characters' traits, feelings, and behaviors in a story.

c. Describe the setting of a narrative, using textual evidence.

d. Identify the central message or moral of a story.

e. Identify the theme in myths, fables, and folktales.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: Social Studies (1 - 4), English Language Arts (1 - 4)
Title: Read "Dakota Dugout"
URL: https://amhistory.si.edu/ourstory/pdf/sodhouse/sodhouse_readdakota.pdf
Description:

In this learning activity, students read Dakota Dugout by Ann Turner. They look at an object that would have been important to a woman living in a sod house and try to determine what the object is.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] LWT2 (2) 11 :
11 ) Interpret legends, stories, and songs that contributed to the development of the cultural history of the United States.

Examples: American Indian legends, African-American stories, tall tales, stories of folk heroes

[SS2010] ALA (4) 11 :
11 ) Describe the impact of World War I on Alabamians, including the migration of African Americans from Alabama to the North and West, utilization of Alabama's military installations and training facilities, and increased production of goods for the war effort.

•  Recognizing Alabama participants in World War I, including Alabama's 167th Regiment of the Rainbow Division
•  Identifying World War I technologies, including airplanes, machine guns, and chemical warfare
[ELA2021] (2) 23 :
23. Identify the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Explain the plot of a narrative, using textual evidence to list the major events in sequence.

b. Describe the characters' traits, feelings, and behaviors in a story.

c. Describe the setting of a narrative, using textual evidence.

d. Identify the central message or moral of a story.

e. Identify the theme in myths, fables, and folktales.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: Social Studies (2 - 4), English Language Arts (2 - 4)
Title: Read "Follow the Drinking Gourd"
URL: https://amhistory.si.edu/ourstory/pdf/slavelife/slave_readgourd.pdf
Description:

In this activity, students will increase their knowledge about slaves, slavery, and the underground railroad by reading Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeannette Winters. Students will write and illustrate a poem or letter playing the role of a conductor, agent, or passenger on the underground railroad.



   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] LWT (0) 11 :
11 ) Identify symbols, customs, famous individuals, and celebrations representative of our state and nation. (Alabama)

Examples: symbols—United States flag, Alabama flag, bald eagle (Alabama)

customs—pledging allegiance to the United States flag, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner"

individuals—George Washington; Abraham Lincoln; Squanto; Martin Luther King, Jr.

celebrations—Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day

[SS2010] LWT2 (2) 2 :
2 ) Identify national historical figures and celebrations that exemplify fundamental democratic values, including equality, justice, and responsibility for the common good.

•  Recognizing our country's founding fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, John Adams, John Hancock, and James Madison
•  Recognizing historical female figures, including Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Harriet Tubman, and Harriet Beecher Stowe
•  Describing the significance of national holidays, including the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Presidents' Day; Memorial Day; the Fourth of July; Veterans Day; and Thanksgiving Day
•  Describing the history of American symbols and monuments
Examples: Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, bald eagle, United States flag, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial

[SS2010] ALA (4) 14 :
14 ) Analyze the modern Civil Rights Movement to determine the social, political, and economic impact on Alabama.

•  Recognizing important persons of the modern Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr.; George C. Wallace; Rosa Parks; Fred Shuttlesworth; John Lewis; Malcolm X; Thurgood Marshall; Hugo Black; and Ralph David Abernathy
•  Describing events of the modern Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, the Freedom Riders bus bombing, and the Selma-to-Montgomery March
•  Explaining benefits of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Brown versus Board of Education Supreme Court case of 1954
•  Using vocabulary associated with the modern Civil Rights Movement, including discrimination, prejudice, segregation, integration, suffrage, and rights
[ELA2021] (0) 27 :
27. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. With prompting and support, retell a text orally, including main character(s), setting, and important events in logical order.
[ELA2021] (1) 21 :
21. Identify the main topic and key details of literary and informational texts.
[ELA2021] (2) 4 :
4. Orally answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions about a text or conversation, using complete sentences to provide key ideas and details.
[ELA2021] (3) 22 :
22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.
[ELA2021] (4) 15 :
15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.
Subject: Social Studies (K - 4), English Language Arts (K - 4)
Title: Reading "Martin's Big Words"
URL: https://amhistory.si.edu/ourstory/pdf/mlk/mlk_reading.pdf
Description:

In this learning activity, students learn about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. A link to National Geographic's Xpeditions Atlas Maps is included. This activity is recommended to be used with Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport.



ALEX Classroom Resources: 16

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