CSDE Model Curricula Quick Start GuideEquitable and Inclusive Curriculum  The CSDE believes in providing a set of conditions where learners are repositioned at the center of curricula planning and design. Curricula, from a culturally responsive perspective, require intentional planning for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the development of units and implementation of lessons. It is critical to develop a learning environment that is relevant to and reflective of students’ social, cultural, and linguistic experiences to effectively connect their culturally and community-based knowledge to the class. Begin by connecting what is known about students’ cognitive and interdisciplinary diversity to the learning of the unit. Opposed to starting instructional planning with gaps in students’ knowledge, plan from an asset-based perspective by starting from students’ strengths. In doing so, curricula’s implementation will be grounded in instruction that engages, motivates, and supports the intellectual capacity of all students.Course Description:  In the English Language Arts Model Curriculum, there is a balance of informational and literary reading and writing types across the grade levels. In addition to developing students’ abilities to read and comprehend a variety of texts, it is equally important to devote adequate time to engage students in producing clear and coherent writing. Included in each of the units are the Speaking and Listening Standards and the Language Standards, which are essential for supporting the development of reading and writing skills and abilities. Through purposeful interactions, students will actively engage in rigorous conversations, refine speaking and listening skills, and build their knowledge of language structures. In this course, students will analyze text structures of informational/explanatory texts, including historical, scientific, and technical texts, and synthesize information from multiple sources to refine background knowledge and inform the production of research writing. This course also focuses on identifying themes and how authors communicate messages. There is an emphasis on figurative language through the study of literature, including mythology and fantasy. Students will identify and analyze author's craft and structure and use this as a springboard for their writing. The foundational reading skills for this grade will focus on reading unfamiliar multisyllabic words and reading grade-level text with sufficient accuracy and fluency.  Aligned Core Programs: The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) in partnership with the State Education Resource Center has engaged with providers of high-quality instructional resources to develop alignment guidance for the CSDE English Language Arts (ELA) Model Curriculum. The guidance documents provide information about how instructional content aligns with and supports the implementation of the ELA Model Curriculum. The instructional materials referenced in the alignment guidance documents meet the expectations as a core comprehensive resource as determined and reported by EdReports. Use of the instructional materials from these publishers is not required, as the selection of materials is a local decision. If your resources are not listed below, you are encouraged to review EdReports to ensure the alignment of your instructional materials to the Connecticut Core Standards. Strong alignment of instructional materials has the potential to support student engagement with meaningful grade-appropriate content.   Great Minds-Wit and Wisdom-Grade 4Imagine Learning EL Education Grade 4Additional Course Information:  Incorporated in each of the English Language Arts Model Curriculum units are the Writing Standards, with the expectation that adequate instructional time will be devoted to engaging students in producing and publishing various types of writing. Students need time to perform the intellectual work required for composing, which includes talking about their ideas, analyzing information, and organizing and presenting thoughts precisely and accurately. Developing the ability to analyze author’s craft requires multiple opportunities to engage with texts, so that students can apply literary devices and techniques in writing and make decisions around text structure and language use. When considering writing instruction, it is essential to give attention to the language skills (e.g., spelling, vocabulary, background knowledge, syntax) that directly contribute to writing production. Although writing needs dedicated instructional time, each unit supports an integrated approach to writing instruction by including complementary Speaking and Listening Standards, and Language Standards in service to the writing demands called for in each unit.Students will benefit from additional guidance during writing instruction, especially when spelling, word choice retrieval, fluently generating ideas, and executive functions are challenging. For example, working at the sentence level can help students develop the skills to compose complete compound and complex sentences, and use coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions in their writing. Sentence expansion activities can support students in writing with greater precision and accuracy. To produce lengthier pieces of writing, students may need support working through the planning and prewriting stages of the writing process and applying specific writing strategies. We must also be mindful of how executive function influences a writer’s capacity to work through the multiple steps and tasks of composing text, and the ability to sustain tasks and efforts to produce the many forms of writing. Navigating linguistically complex texts when conducting research projects and understanding and managing selective attention demands, including in working memory, may require additional scaffolds.Habits of Mind/SEIH/Transferable Skills Addressed in the Course: The integration of social, emotional, and intellectual habits is an important component in a K-12 education and contributes to students’ academic and personal success, and success in college, careers, and civic life. Social, emotional, and intellectual habits set the stage for all future learning, promoting intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive competence. Adult beliefs and mindsets, as well as school experiences, all influence the development of social, emotional, and intellectual competencies (The Education Trust). Since adults are responsible for establishing and sustaining student-centered, inclusive learning environments, they must first take stock of their strengths for establishing and maintaining healthy relationships with adults and students, including individuals across different perspectives and backgrounds (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL], n.d.). By understanding and applying social, emotional, and intellectual habits, students effectively negotiate daily tasks and challenges. Social, emotional, and intellectual habits assist students in setting and achieving positive goals, establishing and maintaining healthy relationships, and making responsible decisions. In addition, they support students’ ability to maintain focus and manage their learning irrespective of obstacles. Students must have the capacity to integrate social, emotional, and intellectual skills, attitudes, and behaviors throughout the course of the day.Embedded within each of the English Language Arts Model Curriculum units are the interrelated social, emotional, and intellectual habits, as provided in the Components of Social, Emotional and Intellectual Habits: Kindergarten through Grade 12 document. These habits, over time, will contribute to students’ academic and personal success and are exemplified as areas of development (e.g., identify and understand emotions of self and others; develop logic and reasoning), further organized by learning continua (e.g., empathy; critical and analytical thinking), and clarified by categories of indicators of evidence or developmental milestones (e.g., acknowledge needs of others and act accordingly; agree or disagree with others and give reasons why). By understanding how respect, empathy, responsible behavior, and other social, emotional, and intellectual habits support rapport building, educators can foster trusting relationships with and among students so that each student feels connected and cared for as a member of the classroom community. This sets the stage for all future learning by minimizing the types of social interactions that can activate threats in the brain and impede students’ sense of agency. Students are then empowered to practice self-management and other skills and competencies within their social context (Hammond, 2015).Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (n.d.). How Does SEL Support Educational Equity And Excellence?: Imagine A School Community That Fully Supports Students’ Learning And Development So That All Children Can Thrive. Fundamentals of SEL Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.The Education Trust. (August 2020).  Social, Emotional, and Academic Development through an Equity Lens. 

In this eight-week module, students explore animal defense mechanisms. They build proficiency in writing an informative piece, examining the defense mechanisms of one specific animal about which they build expertise. Students also build proficiency in writing a narrative piece about this animal. In Unit 1, students build background knowledge on general animal defenses through close readings of several informational texts. Students will read closely to practice drawing inferences as they begin their research and use a science journal to make observations and synthesize information. Students will continue to use the science journal, using the millipede as a whole class model. They begin to research an expert animal in preparation to write about this animal in Units 2 and 3, again using the science journal. In Unit 2, students will continue to build expertise about their animal and its defense mechanisms, writing the first part of the final performance task—an informative piece describing their animal, the threats to its survival, and how it is equipped to deal with them. With their new knowledge about animal defenses from Unit 1, students will read informational texts closely, using the same science journal to synthesize information about their animal. Unit 3 allows students to apply their research from Units 1 and 2 to write a narrative piece about their animal that incorporates their research. This narrative will take the format of a choose-your-own-adventure. For their performance task, students will plan, draft, and revise the introduction and one choice ending of the narrative with the support of both peer and teacher feedback. The second choice ending will be planned, written, and revised on-demand for the end of unit assessment.

**NOTE: The New York State Education Department shut down the EngageNY website in 2022. In order to maintain educators' access, nearly all resources have been uploaded to archive.org and the resource links above have been updated to reflect their new locations.**