Unit Plan 3 (Grade 4 ELA): Characters, Settings, and Events
Grade 4 ELA week: students describe characters, settings, and events with text evidence, analyze word choice and tone, and revise sentences for precision.
Focus: Describing characters, settings, events; word choice and tone
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Literature, Language)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
This week turns readers into literary detectives who zoom in on characters, settings, and key events and explain them with precise, text-based detail. Students examine how word choice and connotation create tone/mood and practice adjusting their own language for clarity and effect. By Friday, each learner will:
- describe a character/setting/event in depth with specific evidence,
- explain how particular words/phrases shape meaning or tone, and
- revise a short paragraph to use precise words and punctuation for effect appropriate to audience.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Describe characters, settings, and events in depth using specific textual details (actions, thoughts, dialogue, time/place cues).
- Determine/clarify meanings of important words and phrases in context and explain how they shape tone or mood.
- Revise writing to use precise word choice and punctuation for effect; choose language/register that fits audience.
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 4
- RL.4.3 (describe in depth a character, setting, or event, drawing on specific details)
- RL.4.4 (determine the meaning of words and phrases as used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters; explain effects on meaning/tone)
- L.4.3 (use knowledge of language to choose words/phrases precisely, choose punctuation for effect, and adjust formality)
Success Criteria — student language
- I can point to lines that show who a character is and explain how I know.
- I can describe where/when a story happens and how the mood feels, using the author’s words.
- I can tell what a word/phrase means in this text and how it affects the tone.
- I can revise a sentence to be more precise and use punctuation for effect that fits my reader.