Unit Plan 25 (Grade 4 ELA): Reading Biographies & Timelines
Grade 4 biography unit: build timelines, explain cause/effect, identify main idea, analyze visuals, and write concise, objective summaries with key details.
Focus: Chronology, key events, main idea; visuals (photos/timelines)
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Informational)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
This week readers dig into biographies to understand a person’s life as a sequence of key events—and why those events mattered. Students will build timelines, explain cause/effect links, determine the main idea of a life or life stage, and interpret visuals (photos, captions, timelines, maps). By Friday, each learner will read a short biography, construct a clear timeline, state the main idea with key details, and explain how a visual deepens understanding.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Explain what happened and why in a biography using chronology and cause/effect links.
- Determine a text’s main idea and support it with key details; write a short, neutral summary.
- Interpret visuals (photos, timelines, maps) and explain what the visual adds to the text.
- Use note-taking organizers to track life stages and synthesize information.
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 4
- RI.4.3 (explain events, procedures, ideas; what happened and why)
- RI.4.2 (determine main idea and key details; summarize)
- RI.4.7 (interpret information presented visually and explain its contribution)
Success Criteria — student language
- I can place events on a timeline in order and tell why one led to another.
- I can say the main idea of a person’s life or a life stage and back it up with key details.
- I can explain what a photo/timeline/map adds that the text alone didn’t show.
- I can write a 4–5 sentence biography summary that is objective and focused.