Blue Willow - Unit 5 - Week 4

Oct 16, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious

Unit 5/Week 4 lesson materials for Blue Willow focus on reading comprehension, evidence-based discussion, vocabulary, and writing standards aligned to Grade 4 ELA. Students engage with the synopsis about Janey’s immigrant experience, her connection to a blue willow plate, and her hopes for belonging in a community school. Teacher instructions include close reading steps, guided Text Dependent Questions, and page-specific evidence responses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatDOCX

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Teacher Instructions

Before Teaching

Big Ideas and Key Understandings

Synopsis

Text Dependent Questions

Evidence-based Answers

Unit 5/Week 4 Title: Blue Willow Suggested Time: 5 days (45 minutes per day) Common Core ELA Standards: RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.3, RL.4.4; W.4.3, W.4.4, W.4.7, W.4.9; SL.4.1, SL.4.4, SL.4.6; L.4.1, L.4.2, L.4.4 Teacher Instructions Refer to the Introduction for further details. Before Teaching Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers, about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task. Big Ideas and Key Understandings It is important for all people to feel as if they’re part of a community. Synopsis Janey’s father is an immigrant worker and this forces Janey and her family to move around every few months. Janey finds a friend named Lupe and a place she would like to call home permanently. Janey has to go to Camp Miller School for immigrant children like herself and she finds once again she must learn whether the new teacher will be a friend or just another teacher like the ones before her. Read entire main selection text, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings. Re-read the main selection text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Vocabulary. During Teaching Students read the entire main selection text independently. Teacher reads the main selection text aloud with students following along. (Depending on how complex the text is and the amount of support needed by students, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of steps 1 and 2.) Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discuss the questions and returning to the text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and discussion (i.e.: whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work, etc.) Text Dependent Questions Text-dependent Questions Evidence-based Answers After rereading page 571, what do the words “migrant workers” mean? A migrant worker is someone who must move around to find work. Janey’s family takes a blue willow plate with them wherever they move. Why is the plate so important to Janey? (Pg. 571) To Janey, the plate is a reminder of a time when Janey and her family had a home. Janey finds a place that reminds her of the picture on the blue willow plate. What does she hope will happen? (Pg. 571) Janey hopes that she and her family will stay in this new place. Describe how Janey felt about attending her new school. What school did she really want to attend and why? (Pg. 572) Janey wasn’t glad to be going to the school. She wanted to attend the town school because that is where Lupe and all of the other children of the district attended. Janey’s dad told her she would go to the camp school because they would keep with their own kind. What did he mean by that and how did it make Janey feel? (Pg. 573) The camp schools were put there for migrant workers to use. It made Janey feel like she wasn’t part of the community. Janey says even if her dad would allow her to attend the district school it would not be enough for her anymore. In your own words, explain what Janey really wanted. (Pg. 573) Janey wanted to attend the district school because she is a member of the community and it is her right to go there. It wouldn’t be enough to just go to the district school, she wanted to feel part of the community. Provide evidence from the text to support the claim that Janey knew what the camp school would be like. (Pg. 573) No two of the children would have learned the same things and it would all be in a jumble. She would know some things the other boys and girls didn’t know and she would be expected to know things she had never been taught. Describe what the camp looked like to a partner. (Pg. 575) Note to Teacher: The teacher should explain what eaves are. The camp was comprised of row upon row of cottages. They were very close together and their eaves almost touched. The cotton plants were in every d

FAQs

What does “migrant workers” mean in the lesson?

A migrant worker is someone who must move around to find work.

Why is the blue willow plate important to Janey?

It reminds Janey of a time when she and her family had a home.

How does Janey test her new teacher, and how does the teacher respond?

Janey makes a test that involves showing her captive pet; when the teacher calls it a horned toad instead of a horned lizard, the teacher passes by showing understanding.

Oct 16, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious