Curriculum › English Language Arts ›Grade 4

Grade 4 English Language Arts · Level 5, Write, Research & Present

Discuss, Listen, and Build on Ideas

Prepare for collaborative discussions, follow roles/rules, ask and answer relevant questions, build on others’ ideas, paraphrase oral/media information, and identify a speaker’s reasons/evidence.

How the lesson starts: Discuss, Listen, and Build on Ideas

1. Treehouse Club

   The Treehouse Club has one big question today. Should they build a bird feeder or a rain barrel? Last meeting, everyone talked at once, and nobody listened. Today, the club learns to really listen.

2. Paraphrase what you hear

   Rafi explains an idea. Lulu paraphrases it. She says it back in her own words, with the same meaning. Now Rafi knows she understood. Paraphrasing is like a mirror for ideas.

3. Keep the meaning

   Which paraphrase keeps Rafi's meaning? We must refill it often, or birds won't come. Yes! Birds hate feeders changes the meaning. Seed costs a lot adds something Rafi never said. Keep the meaning, not the exact words.