Module 13: Rural vs. City-Language Arts 3 - Course Guide

Module Overview:

In this module, learners will explore the topic "Rural vs. City" while sharpening their reading and writing abilities. We will focus on new spelling patterns for long vowel sounds and the /air/ sound, alongside building vocabulary through context clues. A major part of our work will involve learning to draw thoughtful conclusions about characters and themes based on evidence from the text. In our writing, learners will write a compare-and-contrast essay comparing rural vs. urban. They will practice using commas in lists, and master the use of articles like "a," "an," and "the." Finally, we will continue our focus on penmanship with cursive practice for the letters x and z.

Module Materials:

Lesson # Lesson Title Material(s)
1 13.1 Rural vs. City timer
Language Arts Notebook
highlighters (assorted colors)
2 13.2 Rural vs. City Language Arts Notebook;
3 13.3 Rural vs. City timer
Language Arts Notebook
4 13.4 Rural vs. City Language Arts Notebook;
5 13.5 Rural vs. City Language Arts Notebook;

Module Objectives:

Lesson # Lesson Title Objective(s)
1 13.1 Rural vs. City
  1. Identify less common long a vowel teams (ea, eigh, ei) and the /air/ sound spelled with vowel teams + r patterns.
  2. Use context clues to find the definitions of vocabulary words.
  3. Explain what it means to draw conclusions while reading.
  4. Explain how commas are used in series and lists.
2 13.2 Rural vs. City
  1. Apply long a vowel team patterns and /air/ vowel teams + r patterns to spell words correctly.
  2. Use vocabulary words correctly in sentences.
  3. Draw conclusions about characters in a text.
  4. Use commas in a series correctly in a sentence.
3 13.3 Rural vs. City
  1. Analyze words by mapping sounds to letters in long a vowel teams and /air/ vowel teams + r patterns.
  2. Draw conclusions about theme and plot structure.
  3. Use commas in a series.
  4. Revise a compare-and-contrast essay.
4 13.4 Rural vs. City
  1. Use vocabulary words in sentences.
  2. Draw conclusions about characters’ motivations.
  3. Identify and use the correct article (a, an, or the) with nouns.
  4. Demonstrate proper letter formation of lowercase cursive letters x and z.
5 13.5 Rural vs. City
  1. Recall spelling words by mapping sounds to letters in long a vowel teams (ea, eigh, ei) and /air/ vowel teams + r patterns.
  2. Draw conclusions based on key details in a text.
  3. Create a published version of your compare-and-contrast essay.
  4. Demonstrate fluency with grade-level text.

Module Key Words:

Key Words Spelling Words Vocabulary Words
context clue
fluency
graphic organizer
draw conclusions
comma
series
compare and contrast
article
rough draft
revise
edit
comma in a series
publish
commas in a series
 vein
great
break
wear
weight
neighbor
veil
steak
reins
heir
freight
sleigh
bear
pear
beige
eight
 city
dull
intend
patience
rural
avoid

Module Assignments:

Lesson # Lesson Title Page # Assignment Title

Learning Coach Notes:

Lesson # Lesson Title Notes
1 13.1 Rural vs. City As students learn new vocabulary words today, encourage them to connect to the words by writing sentences with the words that are specific to them. When your learner makes a connection with a new word, it is easier for them to remember that word. Encourage additional practice by asking your learner to answer questions with the vocabulary words in them, such as: What do you avoid? Would you like to live in a rural area? What do you intend to do after school today? When do you have to show patience?
2 13.2 Rural vs. City Students will learn to draw conclusions to better understand a story. Specifically, students will look at the characters in a story and draw conclusions about them. Choose a familiar story for your learner and have them draw conclusions about the characters. They can draw conclusions about how the characters change throughout the story, about the relationships they have with other characters, or about their motivations, feelings, and actions. As your learner practices drawing conclusions, it will become a natural step for them to take to understand more about stories they read.
3 13.3 Rural vs. City Students will practice using commas in a series again today. To help reinforce this concept, use books and other written materials that you have at home. Ask your learner to point out examples of commas in a series. You can also have your learner gather related items (three kinds of fruit, for example) and write a sentence about them, using commas correctly to list them. Continue to reinforce this skill, and encourage your learner to check for correct comma use in their own writing.
4 13.4 Rural vs. City Students will practice the skill of drawing conclusions with a new story. They will read the story on their worksheet and then answer questions. Encourage your learner to read the story multiple times as they answer the questions. Guide them to use clues from the story to help them draw conclusions. Students will shift gears in their grammar skills to learn about articles and how to use them. Continue to review how to use commas in a series by having your learner identify this comma use while reading and by drawing attention to series of items in spoken examples.
5 13.5 Rural vs. City Students will continue practicing the skills they learned this week to demonstrate mastery. As your learner reads the Module Story for the last time, encourage them to pay close attention to the plot and characters so that they can draw conclusions later in the lesson. Students will use their grammar skills to correct errors in comma use and article use. Encourage careful reading and comprehension of the paragraph to support your learner in this activity.

Module Guiding Questions:

When a student starts a lesson ask them questions to check for prior knowledge and understanding and to review concepts being taught. At the end of the lesson ask the questions again to see if their answer changes.

Lesson Title Question
13.1 Rural vs. City
  1. What are some less common long a vowel teams?
13.2 Rural vs. City
  1. How does making real-life connections to vocabulary words help you better understand the words?
13.3 Rural vs. City
  1. How do you use commas in a series?
13.4 Rural vs. City
  1. What does it mean to draw conclusions?

Module Video Questions:

When a student watches a video take time to ask them questions about what they watched. Suggested questions for the videos in this module are listed here. Suggestion: Have the student watch the entire video first all the way through. Then have them watch the video a second time, as they watch it pause the video and ask the questions.

Lesson Title Video Question

Module Suggested Read Aloud Books:

Take time to read to your student or have them read aloud to you. Read a different book each day. While reading the book point out concepts being taught. You may purchase these books or find them at your local library. Suggested things to discuss while reading the book:

  • What is the main idea?
  • What are three things new you learned?
  • How does this book relate to what you are learning about?

# Book Author Lexile Level
1 Town Mouse, Country Mouse Jan Brett
2 Country Kid, City Kid Julie Cummins

Module Outing:

Take some time to apply what your student is learning to the real world. Suggested outings are below.

# Outing
1 Take your learner to a local city and/or rural town so that they can compare and contrast the differences between urban and rural areas.