Unit Overview/Summary FOCUS: 

In this unit, students learn about new or improved technologies that have been developed to meet societal needs and how those inventions have changed people’s lives. Students conduct authentic research on a topic of their choice to build their own knowledge and teach others through writing. Students learn about and analyze text structures and visual elements authors use to convey complex ideas. Students learn to understand information read in historical, scientific, or technical texts and describe the connections between two or more people, events, ideas, or concepts in historical, scientific, or “how to” texts. Students write an informative essay to explain the societal need for an invention and how that invention impacted people’s lives. 

Unit Duration:

35 days (30 days instruction; 5 days reteaching/enrichment) based on 130 minutes to 180 minutes per day