Unit Plan 20 (Grade 4 ELA): Comparing Stories by the Same Author

Focus: Patterns in theme/setting/plot; author’s choices

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Literature, Writing—Informative)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

This week, readers become author detectives. Students compare two stories by the same author to spot patterns in theme, setting, and plot and to notice craft moves (narrator, word choice, recurring images). They’ll use what they notice to write a short explanatory comparison that states a clear claim (what’s similar/different), groups ideas logically, and uses linking phrases. By Friday, each learner will explain how an author treats similar ideas across texts and support their thinking with well-chosen details.

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

1. Compare and contrast how the same author develops themes, settings, and patterns of events across two stories.
2. Identify an author’s choices (narrator/point of view, repeated images, tone) and explain their effects.
3. Write a clear informational comparison with a topic sentence, grouped points, linking words, and a wrap-up.
4. Select precise text details that best prove a comparison point.

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 4

• RL.4.9 (compare and contrast treatment of similar themes/topics and patterns of events in stories)
• W.4.2 (write informative/explanatory texts—introduce a topic, group related information, use facts and linking words, provide a concluding statement)

Success Criteria — student language

• I can state how two stories are alike and different in theme/setting/plot.
• I can point to specific lines or moments that prove my comparison.
• I can write a well-organized paragraph (or two) that uses linking words like both, similarly, on the other hand, in contrast.
• I can end with a concluding sentence that echoes my main idea.