Unit 7 — The Big Outdoors
Description
Students investigate nature and the outdoors through poetry, informational texts, and narrative nonfiction. They explore elements of poetry, identify text organization, and make inferences about natural processes. Writing focuses on poetry with attention to word choice, line breaks, and imagery. Phonics instruction covers long vowel patterns (ea, ee for long e; ai, ay for long a). Students apply vocabulary strategies to understand shades of meaning and engage with nature-related texts. The unit emphasizes students' connection to and responsibility in natural environments.
Essential Questions
- How do you play a part in nature?
Learning Objectives
- Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to senses.
- Ask and answer questions about key details in texts.
- Describe the connection between information in texts.
- Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills.
- Know and recognize long vowel patterns.
- Write narratives (poetry) of several complete sentences.
- Use frequently occurring prepositions.
- Use words and phrases acquired through conversations and reading.
- Identify and produce rhyming words.
- Distinguish shades of meaning among adjectives.
Suggested Texts
- Rainy, Sunny, Blowy, Snowy — informational text (week 1)
- Storm Report — opinion writing (week 1)
- Sam & Dave Dig a Hole — fantasy (week 1)
- On Meadowview Street — realistic fiction (week 2)
- Deserts — informational text (week 2)
- Handmade — procedural text (week 2)
- Do You Really Want to Visit a Wetland? — narrative nonfiction (week 3)
- Grand Canyon — informational text (week 3)
- Water Cycle — song (week 3)
Supplemental Resources
- Printed word lists for long vowel patterns (ea, ee, ai, ay)
- Graphic organizers for poetry with spaces for sensory words and imagery
- Index cards for rhyming word activities
- Printed images or photographs of outdoor environments and weather
- Chart paper for recording nature vocabulary and observations
Language
Reading: Informational Text
Speaking and Listening
Writing
Students explore Earth and space sciences throughout Unit 5 by studying light and dark patterns, the water cycle, and seasonal changes. Students engage with informational texts about weather, habitats, and natural cycles to support their understanding of scientific phenomena.
Formative Assessments
- Elements of poetry analysis with attention to imagery and word choice
- Text organization and topic identification activities
- Make inferences about natural settings and processes
- Response to text: write descriptions and letters
- Writing conferences during poem drafting with focus on sensory language
Summative Assessment
End of Unit Assessment; Write a poem about nature
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding of sensory words and poetry elements through oral response, pointing to pictures, or matching words to images instead of written tasks. Visual supports such as word cards with pictures, sentence stems, and graphic organizers with illustrations may be provided to support comprehension and expression.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
During poetry reading and listening activities, provide picture-supported texts and audio recordings of nature poems so students can access content through multiple modes. For writing, allow students to dictate their nature poems or use sentence frames that support sensory language and imagery, reducing the barrier of handwriting while keeping the focus on word choice and expression. When working with long vowel patterns, offer visual word sorts and highlighted examples within connected text so students can see patterns in context rather than in isolation. Extended time and frequent check-ins during drafting and phonics practice will help students build confidence and demonstrate understanding of key concepts.
Section 504
Provide preferential seating during shared reading of poetry and informational texts to minimize distraction and support focus on oral language and phonics instruction. Allow extended time on phonics-based activities and written responses, and offer a quiet space for students who need reduced sensory input when composing their nature poems. A printed copy of any directions or word pattern references displayed on the board should be made available so students can reference them independently.
ELL / MLL
Support vocabulary development for nature-related language by pairing key words with photographs, illustrations, or real objects that represent outdoor settings and natural processes. Provide simplified, visual directions for poetry writing tasks, and encourage students to discuss their ideas about nature in their home language before composing in English to build conceptual understanding. During phonics instruction on long vowel patterns, use picture-word cards that connect sounds to familiar, concrete images, and preview unit vocabulary in small group settings before whole-class instruction.
At Risk (RTI)
Connect nature poetry and informational texts to students' own outdoor experiences to build engagement and activate prior knowledge before reading. During phonics instruction, provide additional practice with long vowel patterns through hands-on word-building activities that allow students to manipulate letters and hear the sounds before writing them. For poetry writing, offer sentence starters or simple structural models that support sensory language so students can experience early success while working toward independent expression of ideas.
Gifted & Talented
Encourage students to explore how poets make deliberate choices about structure, line breaks, and word precision by comparing multiple poems on similar nature topics and analyzing how different authors convey the same subject differently. In their own poetry writing, challenge students to experiment with more complex imagery, consider the emotional effect of specific word choices, or explore how shades of meaning among adjectives can shift the tone of a poem. Students may also investigate informational texts about a natural process in greater depth and consider how scientists and poets describe the same phenomenon in distinct ways.