Alabama ELA Standard: 4.LF.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.

Depth and Complexity Frame Intro: Order

Willy Wonka’s factory looks like madness, but underneath it all is a careful plan. Students watch Wonka fill out a frame about himself, then fill out their own: their roles, their patterns, their rules, and their hardest decisions.

Holiday Worksheets

Writing prompts, non-fiction analysis, and science topics related to Christmas and Hanukkah.

Order to Chaos: Dominoes or Dam?

Sometimes outside forces turn order into chaos. But sometimes chaos comes from within.

Earth’s Layers: Who Contributes The Most?

Earth’s layers will disagree about which one contributes the most to the planet’s success.

Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative

Sometimes we want order, but sometimes we need chaos!

Introducing Order and Chaos

Introduce Order by exploring “written” vs “unwritten” rules.

What If… Unreliable Water?

What would the consequences be if a town’s tap water became… unreliable?

What If… No Sleep?

What would the consequences be if no one had to sleep anymore?

Not Like The Others: Types of Volcanoes

Which of these types of volcanoes is not like the others?

Not Like The Others: Deserts

Which of these deserts is not like the others?

Ultimate (or Inception) Tic Tac Toe

What if each square on a Tic-Tac-Toe board had another Tic-Tac-Toe board inside of it?

Analyze Paragraphs: Baseball

Three paragraphs about baseball. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

Analyze Paragraphs: Cucumbers

Three paragraphs about cucumbers. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

Analyze Paragraphs: Wolverines

Three paragraphs about wolverines. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

The Pros and Cons of Producers and Consumers

Sure, students might know the difference between a producer and a consumer… but have they considered how they feel about each other? What, in a producer’s opinion, are the pros and cons of a consumer?

Holiday vs Holiday (from a Mascot’s Perspective)

Want something to do during the holiday season that is both fun and involves thinking? Get students writing about what a snowman would think about Halloween or what a ghost would think about Thanksgiving.

Student Introductions With Depth and Frames

Want to introduce the tools of Depth and Complexity and learn more about your students and introduce the Frame graphic organizer? Have I got the activity for you!

Upgrading Compare and Contrast Writing

Upgrade compare and contrast writing with just a couple of key words.

Create A Civilization: From Hunter Gatherers to Farmers

What happens when your civilization suddenly has a surplus of food? Think of the possibilities!

Create A Civilization: The River

The Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Seine, the Thames, and now… your river!

Create A Civilization Introduction

Your students build a civilization from scratch — rivers, flags, calendars, currency, government. Social studies, science, and writing woven into one year-long project.

Create A Creature

Create a new creature based on the adaptations of existing creatures from the same biome.

Teach Non-Fiction Writing Structure With Fractals

Did you ever notice that the structure of an essay is very similar to the structure of a paragraph? Hmm…

Grade 4

Literacy Foundations

Standards