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Treasure Island Unit Plan

Elementary Language Arts Methods
Hilary Dingman, Courtnay Gillingwater, & Sarah Tibbo
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Table of Contents
Critical Introduction p. 3
Outcomes and “I Can” Statements p. 4
Concept Map p. 7
Modeled Writing Lesson Plan p. 8
Interactive Writing Lesson Plan p. 10
Literacy Center & Word-study Activity p. 16
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Critical Introduction
In planning this unit, we anticipate the time of year to be anytime after the winter break. This
way, students already have a clear understanding of the classroom rules and expectations and
will be more comfortable supporting each other in reading this adventure book. As well, this is
an appropriate time of year because they will be have already learned the ideas and organization
write traits, so they can apply this to writing letters, poems, and have background knowledge
about cross-curricular topics to complete related activities. This unit is also well prepared for
diverse learners in the public-school system in New Brunswick as is evidenced by the variety of
activities, texts, and topics that we cover.
The theme of adventure and exploration is the central premise for this Language Arts unit
based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and it was chosen because exploration is
also the basis of the Grade 4 Social Studies curriculum. Therefore, it is easy to have cross-
curricular activities that cover outcomes from both subject areas while managing time
effectively. Exploration also engages students in reading, which has been shown to be important
for inspiring students to be life-long readers. Having material that relates to students’ interests
promotes a positive learning environment. Furthermore, focusing on exploration connects
students with past explorers, which makes it realistic, and gives accurate context for this fictional
text. As well, the theme encourages students use their imagination in creating diverse products
(e.g., poems, visuals, performances), which increases their multiliteracy skills.
When deciding on an anchor text for this unit, we wanted to utilize a text that would engage
as many learners as possible, but especially those who are typically less interested in reading. In
selecting Treasure Island, it appeals to many students because of its central theme of adventuring
to new places and having new experiences. This is something most students can relate to,
whether it is through physically travelling or trying something new, and therefore they can
connect with the reading. Also, the book has a fast-paced plot, packed with twists and turns that
keep readers entertained as they explore the world of pirates and searches for buried treasures. If
we are to encourage reading in our classroom, it is useful for young readers to have books that
are engaging – and a book that has pirates, interesting characters, and takes readers to a new
place is the perfect fit! Moreover, students have the opportunity to peruse and interact with a
variety of texts. For example, there is a visual version of this book included, as well as a video
and informational text to appeal to an assortment of students and learning styles. By having a
diverse selection of related texts, students can enrich their learning and have a more positive
learning experience.
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Grade 4 Outcomes and “I Can” Statements:

Language Arts NB Outcomes:

1. Students will be expected to speak and listen to explore, extend, clarify, and reflect on their
thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.
• explore and discuss their thoughts, ideas, and experiences and consider those of their
peers
I can discuss my thoughts, feelings, ideas, and experiences and I can listen to my
peers do the same.
2. Students will be expected to communicate information and ideas effectively and clearly, and
to respond personally and critically.
• engage in and respond to oral presentations (e.g., retell a story, sing a song)
I can tell you my ideas and show you what I know through presentations, stories,
songs and other creative ways.
3. Students will be expected to interact with sensitivity and respect, considering the situation,
audience, and purpose.
• show an awareness of the kinds of language appropriate to different situations and
audiences
I understand and respect that others are different from myself and I can
communicate to different audiences clearly.
4. Students will be expected to select, read, and view with understanding a range of literature,
information, media, and visual texts
• read widely and experience a variety of children’s literature with an emphasis in genre
and authors
I can choose interesting texts that relate to one another.
• select, with growing independence, texts appropriate to their interests and learning
needs
I can choose texts that are right for me.
• use pictures and illustrations, word structures, and text features (e.g., table of contents,
headings and subheadings, glossaries, structures of narrative and expository texts, key
ideas, margin notes) to locate topics and obtain or verify their understanding of
information
I can use things like pictures, table of contents, glossaries and more to explore
my text and learn more about it.
7. Students will be expected to respond critically to a range of texts, applying their understanding
of language, form, and genre.
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• respond critically to texts by

− asking questions and formulating understandings
− discussing texts from the perspective of their own experiences
− identifying instances where language is being used, not only to entertain, but to manipulate,
persuade, or control them
− identifying instances of prejudice and stereotyping
I can understand a text by asking questions.
I can tell you how I relate to a text.
I can see stereotypes in texts.
8. Students will be expected to use writing and other forms of representation to explore, clarify,
and reflect on their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and learnings; and to use their imaginations.
• use strategies in writing and other ways of representing to
− formulate questions and organize ideas
− generate topics of personal interest and importance
− discover and express personal attitudes, feelings, and opinions
− compare their own thoughts and beliefs to those of others
− describe feelings, reactions, values, and attitudes
− record experiences
− formulate goals for learning
− practise strategies for monitoring their own learning
I can creatively express my organized ideas, ask questions, and reflect on my
experiences.
• experiment with language, appropriate to audience, purpose, and form, that enhances
meaning and demonstrates imagination in writing and other ways of representing
I can use language creatively and write with my imagination.
9. Students will be expected to create texts collaboratively and independently, using a wide
variety of forms for a range of audiences and purposes.
• create written and media texts, collaboratively and independently, in different modes
(expressive, transactional, and poetic) and in a variety of forms
− recognize that particular forms require the use of specific features, structures, and patterns
I can write different types of texts on my own and also with others.
10. Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other
ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision, and effectiveness.
• demonstrate an understanding of many conventions of written language in final
products − correctly spell many familiar and commonly used words
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I can spell and use word wall words the right way.

Social Studies Outcomes:

SCO 4.2.1: Examine the stories of various explorers of land, ocean, space, and ideas.
I can describe historical voyages and why they happened.
SCO 4.3.1 Examine major physical features of the world.
I can identify continents, islands, mountain ranges, and rivers around the world.
SCO 4.3.2 Describe the main characteristics of rivers, islands, mountains, and oceans.
I can explain details of a river, an island, a mountain, and an ocean.
SCO 4.3.3 Examine the relationship between humans and the physical environment.
I can talk about how humans use the physical environment.
Math Outcomes:
SCO: N3: Demonstrate an understanding of addition of numbers with answers to 10 000 and
their corresponding subtractions (limited to 3 and 4-digit numerals) by:
• using personal strategies for adding and subtracting
• estimating sums and differences
• solving problems involving addition and subtraction.
I can estimate, add and subtract 3 and 4-digit numerals.
SCO: N6: Demonstrate an understanding of multiplication (2- or 3-digit by 1-digit) to solve
problems by:
• using personal strategies for multiplication with and without concrete materials
• using arrays to represent multiplication
• connecting concrete representations to symbolic representations
• estimating products.
I can demonstrate how to multiply a 2 or 3-digit number by a 1-digit number with
and without manipulatives.
I can estimate the product of a multiplication problem.
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Related Texts
Word Activities
• My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Boggle: Create words from
• The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton
mixed up letters. Bonus points
• Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island:
for word wall words!
A Choose Your Path Book by Blake
• Charades: Pick a word from the
Hoena
bag and act it out without Phonemic Awareness
• Pirateology: The Pirate Hunter's
Companion by Dugald Steer & Illustrated
speaking. • Word Sort: Students
• Word Match: Find a partner and will sort words from
by Ian Andrew
match words to their definition. the world wall based
• How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
• Pirate Poetry: Knock over words on their syllables.
• Pirates Love Underpants by Claire • Pirate Rap: Students
and use them to write a poem.
Freedman will create a pirate
• Pirates Love Underpants by Claire themed rap, using
Freedman words that rhyme.
• Fun Pirate Jokes For Kids by Peter • Pirate Voice: Using
Crumpton Treasure Island their best pirate voice
• Growing Pattern Pirate Song by Jack By: Robert Louis
the class will sound
Hartman (video) out challenging world
Stevenson wall words.
• Explorers who Made it...or Died Trying by
• Treasure Hunt:
Frieda Wishinsky
Students will develop
Writing Activities clues using rhyming
Extending Activities couplets.
• Write an apology letter
• Paper dyeing: Students dye paper with a tea
to Dr. Livesey from Jim
bag, write on it, and compare it to other
• Pirate journal entry about paper types. Cross-Curricular
what students would do • Pirate Flag: Create a pirate flag that shows Activities
if they traveled to their pirate personality.
Treasure Island. • Prime-Time Special: Students are news • Learn how to pack for a
• Write a poem or a song reporters and interview a main character of voyage by choosing
about events in the book your choosing. items to go on your ship.
• Treasure Island mad-libs • Hidden Treasure: Students have to find the • Design your own island
that reinforces the parts hidden treasure by reading a map. with various landforms
of speech. and landmarks
• Million dollar word math
Word Wall • Multiplication scavenger
treasure sailing monkey plank parrot Captain hunt around the
Silver direction crocodile cannon England adventure classroom
pirate crew explore ocean cove sea • Compare and contrast
peg leg buccaneer ship battle island first mate Treasure Island with a
foe gold Canadian island.
friend anchor
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Modeled Writing Lesson Plan (substituted for Shared Reading)

Grade: 4 Topic: Descriptive Writing – Show don’t tell Time: 30 minutes
NB Curriculum Outcomes:
GCO 8: Students will be expected to use writing and other forms of representation to explore,
clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and learnings; and to use their
imaginations
SCO: experiment with language, appropriate to purpose, audience, and form, that enhances
meaning and demonstrates imagination in writing and other ways of representing
Materials:
- Treasure Island novel (on teacher’s desk)
- Whiteboard (and coloured markers)
Learning Outcomes:
I can show the reader my thoughts with descriptive language.
What to do:
Teacher does… Students do…

Before writing: The crew spied land, an island, up ahead.

Access prior knowledge by asking:
Who can remind the class what just
happened in our book, Treasure Island?

Read the following excerpt from chapter 12:

“There all hands were already
congregated. A belt of fog had lifted almost Second reading: students close their eyes and
simultaneously with the appearance of the imagine the islands as described.
moon. Away to the south-west of us we saw
two low hills, about a couple of miles apart,
and rising behind one of them a third and
higher hill, whose peak was still buried in the
fog. All three seemed sharp and conical in
figure.”

To introduce today’s topic of “Show, Don’t Students offer suggestions:

Tell” invite students to close their eyes and I saw an island, fog, mountains…
imagine the scene as you read it again. Yes.
What did you see when I read the Descriptive writing.
passage?
Did the words paint an image in your
mind?
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What do we call this type of writing?

Write the following sentences on the board:

My dog Allie likes to eat peanut butter. No, this paragraph is telling us, not showing.
She likes to go for walks. She has brown fur Showing, not telling; Painting a picture in our
and is small. One day she went to the vet. She mind; Using adjectives
was scared and was shaking.
Is this descriptive?
What does descriptive mean?

To demonstrate revision and adding details,

edit the paragraph using a different colour
marker, and explain the changes you make so Students observe the changes and listen while
students can hear the though process. you narrate what you’re doing.
I’m going to switch some words and add
detail so that you can really imagine Allie at
the vet clinic in your heads.
Recap the importance of adding details so that
the audience is able to picture the scene in
their head.
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Interactive Writing Lesson Plan (substituted for Shared Writing)

Grade: 4 Topic: Interactive Writing. Time: 35 minutes.

New Brunswick Math Curriculum Outcomes

GCO: 8. Students will be expected to use writing and other forms of representation to explore,
clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and learnings; and to use their
imaginations.
SCO: Experiment with language, appropriate to audience, purpose, and form, that enhances
meaning and demonstrates imagination in writing and other ways of representing.

Learning Objectives:
I can…
• Identify my audience.
• Write with a purpose.
• Form an (apology) letter.
Materials:
Tools Location
Computer. On the teacher’s desk.
Interactive White Board. Set up at the front of the room.
Book: Treasure Island. On the teacher’s desk.
Writing Journals. On the white shelf at the back of the room.
Pencils. On the black trolley at the front of the room.
Interactive Writing Record(s). In the filing cabinet underneath the desk.

Before:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Students Will Do
• The teacher will activate the students’ • The students will activate their prior
prior knowledge. knowledge.

“As you know, we have been

reading Treasure Island as a
class.”

“Now what is something important “Jim abandoned Dr. Livesey.”

that happened in the previous
chapter?”

“You are right! Now while we

read this next chapter I want you
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to think about how Jim might have

felt, after deserting his friend Dr.
Livesey.”

• The teacher will set a clear direction • The students will listen while the
and purpose for the lesson. teacher sets a clear direction and
purpose for the lesson.
“As a class we are going to
pretend to be Jim and will write a
letter of apology to Dr. Livesey.”

“We will explain our reasons for

leaving the blockhouse and will
inform him of what we have done
since our departure in order to
justify our decision to flea.”

“Before we start to read who “A letter needs a… (greeting,

remembers what a letter body, closing, signature).”
contains?”

“The letter also needs to contain a

clear voice (who is writing this
letter and who is it for).”

• The teacher will read Treasure Island

out loud, reminding students of the
certain details that they need to
include in their letter.

During:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Students Will Do
• The teacher will use the students’
input to co-construct a text.
• The teacher will question and prompt
students to explain their ideas and
form them into phrases or sentences.
• The teacher will share the pen with the
students.
• The teacher will use think alouds as
necessary.

“Who are we pretending to be “We are pretending to be Jim

while writing this letter?” when writing this letter.”
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“Who is the letter for? Who is our “We are writing the letter to Dr.
audience?” Livesey.”

“How should we start the letter?” “How about ‘Dear. Dr. Livesey,’
for the greeting?”
“Does anyone have any ideas for
a greeting? Remember a greeting
is how we say hello.”

“For the body, what kinds of

things should we include?”

“What reasons did Jim have for

learning Dr. Livesey?”

“Is there anything Jim has done

since, to make it up to Dr.
Livesey?”

“What should we include in our

closing?”

“Remember our conclusions

briefly sums up our important
points.”

“What is the last thing our letter

needs?”

After:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Students Will Do
• The teacher will reread the text.
• The teacher will instruct the class to
read the letter together.

“Now that we have written out

letter to Dr. Livesey, lets read it
together.”

• The teacher will revisit the purpose of

the lesson.

“Can you tell from what we have

written, that this is a letter from
Jim to Dr. Livesey?”
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“From our writing, is it clear why

we are writing this letter?”

• The teacher will engage the students in

a conversation about the text.

“What components of this written

piece make it clear that it is a
letter?”

• The teacher will allow the students to

practice what they have learned.

“In your own writing journal, I

would like to write a letter back to
Jim from the perspective of Dr.
Livesey.”

“Do not forget the structure of a

proper letter, and the voice that
you are trying to convey.”

“Keep in mind the person you are

embodying, and the audience that
you are writing for.”

“I will be circulating the room if

you need any help at all.”

Evaluation:
What the Teacher Will Do
Interactive Writing Record:
• The teacher will make note on the
students’ strengths and needs
following the interactive writing
lesson.
What the Students Will Do
Interactive Writing Record:
• The students will engage and
participate in the activity to the best of
their ability.

Differentiation:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Student Will Do
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Verbal (contribution): Verbal (contribution):

• The teacher can allow students who • The students can share their ideas
do not yet feel comfortable in their verbally with the class.
writing abilities to share their ideas
verbally with the class.
• The teacher can write their ideas
down for them.

Visual (contribution):
• The teacher can allow students who
cannot write in English yet, to
illustrate their interactive writing
instead.
Visual (contribution):
• The students can illustrate their
interactive writing.

Small Group Instruction: Small Group Instruction:

• The teacher could be working with a • The students can work in a smaller
small group of students who are group with the teacher, in order to
struggling, while the rest of the class receive further instruction.
are writing independently
• The teacher will have a greater
opportunity to support the students, as
they will most likely feel more
comfortable in this setting.

Notes for Next Time:

Overall Comments Suggestions
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Interactive Writing Record: Date: __________________

Name Observation Notes Needs Help With

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Literacy Centre: Pirate Poetry!

Treasure Island Literacy Unit
Courtnay Gillingwater. Hilary Dingman, Sarah Tibbo
February 14th 2018

Activity Instructions
1) Create and provide students with a collection of plastic or Styrofoam cups, each with a different word
written on it surrounding the theme of our text we are studying: Treasure Island.
2) Students individually or in teams of two must stack cups to make a target for the other team to try to
knock down with a soft ball or bean bag.
3) Each student then has to pick four or more words and write them on their pirate scroll.
4) Each student, or in groups of two, has to write a poem using their four chosen pirate themed words.
5) After the poem is written, they can draw a picture to accompany their poem.

Rationale
- Student can practice new vocabulary we are exploring from the Treasure Island unit.
- Provides opportunity to explore the writing of poetry with prompted words and themes.
- Students can explore and demonstrate knowledge of new vocabulary and concept surrounding themes
in Social Studies
- Students can create pictorial representations of their ideas.

Grade four SCO:

By the end of grade four, students will be expected to create written and media texts, collaboratively
and independently, in different modes (expressive, transactional, and poetic) and in a variety of forms.

Differentiation / Adaptations
- Depending on the levels and abilities of each student, you can differentiate by adding more or less
complex vocabulary for students to use. Some students can work on practicing basic vocabulary, while
others can use this as enrichment to explore new vocabulary
- By giving the students the option to choose their own four words from the selection, they can feel
more confident in their ability to write a poem.
- There is an option to add a word wall with definitions of each word. To make this more difficult, you
can also provide an accompanying text with the chosen vocabulary in the text highlighted so students
have to search for a word they do not understand in context on the text.

Materials
- One “scroll” per student: both the pirate poem and illustration sheets rolled together and tied to look
like a scroll
- 30+ paper cups with one word from the word wall written on each cup
- a “cannon ball” (small bean bag, plush toy, or cotton balls)
- optional: word wall with definitions or images to guide students if they need it
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Pirate Poetry!
What to do:
Stack the cups to make a target for you and your crewmates to attack!
Use one of the cannon balls to knock down the tower.
Pick up four (or more) of the cups you knocked down. Write these
words down in your Pirate Scroll. Use these words and your own words
to write a creative poem.
Once your poem is written, draw a picture to illustrate your poem!

My 4 words:

_____________________ _____________________ ____________________

_______________________

My Poem
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________
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Step 2: Illustrate your Poem

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Pirate Treasure
Friend Anchor
Foe Peg Leg
Captain Silver
First mate Gold
Island Map
Ship Battle
Sea Buccaneer
Ocean Cove
Crew Explore
England Adventure
Crocodile Cannon
Parrot Direction
Monkey Plank
Beach Sailing
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References

Extending Interactive Writing Into Grades 2–5. (2016, September 30). Retrieved February 03,

2018, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/extending-interactive-writing-grades-2-

Interactive Writing. (2017, August 23). Retrieved February 03, 2018, from

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/interactive-writing

Lynch, J., & Ferguson, K. (2017). Literacy: Reading, Writing, and Children's Literature,

Canadian Edition. Ontario: Oxford University Press.

Wall, H. (2008). Interactive writing beyond the primary grades. The Reading Teacher, 62(2),

149-152. doi:10.1598/rt.62.2.6