Nonfiction Focus: Pushes and Pulls and Speed and Direction In this unit, students will be introduced to informational texts and the difference between texts that tell stories and that give information. After exposure to informational texts, they will ask and answer questions about unknown words, identify parts of a text, and identify and compare similarities and differences between texts.
Students will also engage in telling and writing "How Tos."
Students will begin to recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question, making connections between two pieces of information in text.
Foundational Skills When completing writing tasks, students will use the rules of capitalization, differentiating between upper and lowercase letters. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the organization and features of print; demonstrate an understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds; and know and apply grade level phonics and word analysis skills. 1. Demonstrate understanding that a systematic, predictable relationship exists between written letters and spoken sounds; 2. Segment a spoken word into phonemes, e.g., given bat, produce the segments /b/ /a/ /t/; 3. Identify whether pairs of phonemes are the same or different, including pairs that differ only in voicing, e.g., /b/ and /p/; 4. Indicate whether a target phoneme is present in the initial/medial/final position of a spoken word, e.g., hear /m/ at the beginning of mat and /g/ at the end of bag; 5. Listen to one-syllable words and tell the beginning or ending sounds, e.g., given dog, identify the initial /d/ or final /g/; 6. Orally blend sounds to form words, e.g., given the sounds /k/.../a/.../t/, blend to make cat; 7. Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or basic code sound for every consonant 'b', 'bb' > /b/; 'd', 'dd' > /d/; 'f', 'ff' > /f/; 'g', 'gg' > /g/; 'h', 'hh' > /h/; 'j' > /j/; 'c', 'k', 'ck', 'cc' > /k/; 'l', 'll' > /l/; 'm', 'mm' > /m/; 'n', 'nn' > /n/; 'p', 'pp' > /p/; 'r', 'rr' > /r/; 's', 'ss' > /s/; 't', 'tt' > /t/; 'v' > /v/; 'w' > /w/; 'x' > /x/; 'y' > /y/; 'z', 'zz', 's' > /z/; 'ch' > /ch/; 'sh' > /sh/; 'th' > /th/ (thin); 'th' > /th/ (them); 'qu' > /qu/; 'ng', 'n' > /ng/; 8. Read and write any one-syllable short vowel CVC word, e.g., sit, cat, wet, not, cup; 9. Read, spell, and/or write chains of one-syllable short vowel words in which one sound is added, substituted, or omitted, e.g., at>bat>bad>bid; 10. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly; 11. Hold a writing utensil with a tripod (or pincer) grip and make marks on paper; 12. Trace, copy, and write from memory the letters of the alphabet accurately in lowercase form; 13. Use spatial words: there, here; in, on; in front of, behind; at the top of; at the bottom of; under, over; above, below; next to, in the middle of; near, far; inside, outside; around, between; up, down; high, low; left, right; front, back; 14. Recognize, isolate, and write the spellings for short vowel sounds; and 15. Recognize, isolate, and write single-letter, double-letter, and digraph spellings for consonant sounds.
Humanities Children learn to describe their neighborhood and both man-made (e.g., buildings) and natural (e.g., trees, flowers, animals, etc.) objects. They make a collection of different living and nonliving items (e.g., bugs and rocks), and they exchange these items with children from other schools in the world. (They can also build on the previous unit and exchange pictures of clothing and their families, for example.) They continue to realize that food, shelter, water, and clothing may look different in different places. There is also a continued emphasis on climate and weather— for example, on the fact that trees, flowers, buildings, and clothing can differ across cultures because of differences in climate or context. From Reimers, Fernando; Chopra, Vidur; Chung, Connie; Higdon, Julia; O'Donnell, E.. Empowering Global Citizens: A World Course.
Essential Questions
How can I use facts from a book in my informational writing? How can reading teach us about writing? How do we use research to answer questions? How do I share what I have learned with others?
Reading Informational RI.K.1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text RI.K.4. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. RI.K.9. With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures). RI.K.10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Reading Foundational RF.K.1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
Recognize and name all upper-‐ and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
RF.K.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
Recognize and produce rhyming words.
Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-‐syllable spoken words.
Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-‐phoneme (consonant-‐vowel-‐ consonant, or CVC) words.1 (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)
RF.K.3. Know and apply grade level phonics and word analysis skills and decoding words. Read common high-‐frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does). RF.K.4. Read emergent-‐reader texts with purpose and understanding.
Writing W.K.3. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.
Speaking and Listening SL.K.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Follow agreed-‐upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others, taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).
Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
SL.K.2. Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. SL.K.3. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. SL.K.4. Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and with prompting and support, provide additional detail. SL.K.5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail. SL.K.6. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. Language L.K.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
Print many upper-‐ and lowercase letters.
Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g. dog, dogs, wish, wishes).
L.K.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.
L.K.5. With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings. a. Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites (antonyms).
Identify real-‐life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are colorful).
L.K.6. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.