1 First Grade Reading Curriculum Calendar 2010-2011 Brown County Schools
2 Important information about the First Grade Curriculum Calendar for Reading o Students will be supported by teacher-made charts that reflect the current unit of study. o Students will have a meeting area large enough for all students to gather. o Students will participate in daily mini lessons related to the current unit of study. o Students will have access to a leveled classroom library. o Students will have a weekly time to shop for books written at their independent reading level. o Students will have time to read independently each day using their just right books. o Students will have access to materials that may be needed during independent reading time such as: post-it notes, pencils, book marks, reading logs, highlighter tape and book bags. o Students independent reading levels will be determined by the results of a running record. o Students will be supported by guided reading groups which will focus on the challenging features of texts in the next level they will encounter. o Students will be supported by daily shared reading lessons and read aloud sessions.
Brown County Schools 3 Reading Curriculum Calendar First Grade 2010-2011 August September Launching Reading Workshop (logistics: taking care of books, system for shopping for books, mini-lesson procedures, where to sit, etc.) Readers Build Good Habits (Working with reading partners, reading identities, etc.) October 2 weeks: Tackling Hard Words and Tricky Parts 2 weeks: Introduction to Story Elements November December January February March March/April Getting to Know the Characters in Our Books Using Meaning to Figure Out Words & Clear Up Confusing Parts Character Reading Centers Writing About Our Reading More Strategies for Word-Solving, Cross-Checking, & Meaning- Making Nonfiction Centers Reading to Learn April/May Fluency Readers Theater
4 August Launching Reading Workshop (Taking care of books, system for shopping for books, minilesson procedures, where to sit, etc.) Overview of Unit: Students will read high interest books, look books and a few familiar just right books in table top bins. The mini lessons will focus on procedures to be followed during reading workshop. Unit Goals: Students will understand the expectations for independent reading workshop time. Students will know how to take care of books. Students will learn strategies for working independently during private reading time. Students will learn a system for shopping for books. Teacher will assess all readers to determine reading levels. Standards: 1.1.1 Match oral words to printed words 1.1.2 Identify letters, words, and sentences 1.1.7 Create and state a series of rhyming words 1.1.12 Use phonic and context clues as self-correction strategies when reading. 1.1.18 Classify categories of words (uses knowledge of appropriate vocabulary for text s subject matter when figuring out the meaning of words) 1.2.1 Identify the title, author, illustrator, and table of contents of a reading selection 1.2.7 Relate prior knowledge to what is read 1.3.1 Identify and describe the plot, setting, and character(s) in a story, Retell a story s beginning, middle, and ending 1.3.2 Describe the roles of authors and illustrators 1.7.5 Use descriptive words in speaking 1.7.8 Relate personal experience in simple sequence
5 1.7.10 Use visual aids to present oral info Teaching Points: Readers take care of the books and the classroom library o Readers take care of their books by: o turning the pages at the corner o not bending, ripping, or throwing books o by carefully putting them back in the baskets Readers understand the reading workshop procedures o Readers show that they re really listening during the mini-lesson by sitting on the rug, crisscross, hands in their lap, with their eyes on the teacher. (Continue to discuss management issues during midworkshop interruption and teaching share time.) o Readers don t interrupt when the teacher is conferring with another student. They should continue to read their books, stay in their seat and wait for the teacher to come to them. o Readers move back to their reading spots quickly after the mini-lesson by getting up, getting to their seat, choosing a book and starting to read right away. o Readers have private reading time by reading quietly to themselves, not bothering anyone. o Readers shop for books by choosing books they think they might like to read. o Further explanation of this teaching point will be based on the individual teacher s system for shopping. Readers stay focused while reading independently o Readers keep reading by finishing one book, choosing a second book of interest and continue reading. o Readers get ready to read their books by looking at the front cover, reading the title, and thinking, Hmmmm.what might this book be about?
6 o Readers reread books in order to notice new things. One way they do this is by slowing down their reading and looking more closely at the pictures. o Readers keep reading by telling themselves the story using the picture. o Readers read books by making up a story to go with the pictures o Readers go from one picture/page to the next by using and then as they turn each page. o Readers use special story words to start reading their stories - Once upon a time. One day.
7 September Readers Build Good Habits (Working with reading partners, reading identities, etc.) Unit Goals: Students will demonstrate strategies for staying focused during independent reading time. Students will learn strategies for working with a reading partner. Students will develop an awareness of their own reading interests. Students will learn the system for shopping for books, taking them home, and bringing them back. Teacher will assess all readers to determine reading levels. Standards: 1.1.3 Match oral words to printed words 1.1.4 Identify letters, words, and sentences 1.1.7 Create and state a series of rhyming words 1.1.12 Use phonic and context clues as self-correction strategies when reading. 1.1.18 Classify categories of words (uses knowledge of appropriate vocabulary for text s subject matter when figuring out the meaning of words) 1.2.1 Identify the title, author, illustrator, and table of contents of a reading selection 1.2.7 Relate prior knowledge to what is read 1.3.1 Identify and describe the plot, setting, and character(s) in a story, Retell a story s beginning, middle, and ending 1.3.2 Describe the roles of authors and illustrators 1.7.5 Use descriptive words in speaking 1.7.8 Relate personal experience in simple sequence 1.7.10 Use visual aids to present oral info
8 Teaching Points: Readers have reading identities and share them with each other o Readers think about and share their favorite reading memories by thinking of a time reading felt good to them, closing their eyes, visualizing that memory and making a sketch of that time. o Readers choose books that interest them by: o looking at the front cover and asking themselves, Is this something that I d be interested in reading? o looking at the pages (doing a picture walk), and asking themselves, Is this something that I d be interested in reading? o Readers learn about themselves as readers by thinking about what kinds of books they really love to read and then they look for those books when they are shopping. Readers stay focused while reading independently o Readers reread books in order to notice new things. One way they do this is by slowing down their reading and looking more closely at the pictures. o Readers quickly figure out a tricky word and stay focused on their reading by looking at the picture and asking, What makes sense? o Readers have thoughts while they are reading their books. They find places in their books that remind them of a special person, place, or thing and say, This reminds me of o Readers get ready for partner reading time by reading independently and thinking about what they might share with their partner. Readers think and talk about books with others o Readers read with a buddy by sitting side by side, one book in the middle. o Readers take turns reading their books by deciding who will go first. o Partners solve problems and make decisions together by taking turns choosing which book to read first. (Growing Readers, page 92)
9 o Reading partners can choose to read books together or just have conversations about what they have read. o Readers share parts of their books with their partner by talking about a place where the book made them feel happy or sad. o Readers have conversations with their partners by finding a place that reminds them of something in their life. They say to their partner, This reminds me of. o Readers talk to their partners by talking about funny, sad, weird, or confusing parts. (Growing Readers, page 92) o Readers talk to their partner about the characters in their books. They can tell each other what they think their characters would say or feel. Readers understand the procedures for shopping, taking books home and returning them. o Readers shop for books by choosing books they think they might like to read. o Further explanation of this teaching point will be based on the individual teacher s system for shopping, checking out books and taking them home.
10 October Tackling Hard Words and Tricky Parts (2 Weeks) and Introduction to Story Elements (2 weeks) Tackling Hard Words and Tricky Parts Overview of Unit: Students will become active problem solvers by learning strategies for tackling hard words and hard parts of their books. At the beginning of the year, first graders are still reading books that may only require them to use a few tricky word strategies. This two week unit is a review of tricky word strategies learned at the end of Kindergarten and your mini-lessons should focus on strategies appropriate for the early levels your first graders are reading at this time. (Typically pre-a through D) Unit Goals: Students will read just right books conventionally Students will know how to use a variety of print strategies and use them with flexibility Students will be sure their reading makes sense Standards: 1.1.2 Identify letters, words, and sentences 1.1.4 Distinguish beginning, middle, and ending sounds in single syllable words 1.1.11 Read common sight words 1.1.12 Use phonic and context clues as self-correction strategies when reading 1.1.14 Read common word patterns 1.1.18 Classify categories of words (uses knowledge of appropriate vocabulary for text s subject matter when figuring out the meaning of words) 1.2.5 Use context to understand word and sentence meanings Special Note: While presenting mini lessons during this unit of study, we must align any strategy for decoding print with the important work of making meaning and thinking about what would make sense in the story. We want our readers to use the meaning, structure and visual information from the book while
11 they are reading. While students are reading in these early levels and beginning the hard work of learning and remembering phonics rules and visual sounds/symbols, they may rely more heavily on the meaning (picture clues) and structure clues rather than the visual (sounding it out) information. When they are ready for use of some visual clues they may begin with just using the first letter sound AND cross checking that with what make sense or what sounds right. Using Pictures/Illustrations Good readers use the pictures to help you figure out words Readers can read books by reading the pictures because the pictures help tell the story. When readers read a book they ve never heard or seen before, they can look closely at the pictures to read the story. When readers read the pictures, they can make their voices sound like the characters would sound. Tracking Print Good readers use their finger to point under the word Good readers use their eyes to track print Good readers figure out tricky words by using their finger to point to and focus on a tricky word. Noticing and holding the patterns in text Good readers use the pattern in the book by repeating lines/phrases Searching for and using visual/graphophonic information Good readers figure out tricky words by using the beginning sound of the word and thinking what would make sense. Good readers figure out tricky words by using the beginning and ending sounds of the words and thinking what would make sense. Searching for and using syntactic information Good readers make sure their reading makes sense by noticing when something doesn t sound right and fixing it
12 Searching for and using semantic sources of information Good readers figure out tricky words by thinking about the story and what s going on in the picture. They ask themselves. What would make sense here? Readers try out a word and then ask themselves, Does this make sense? Readers read on and then, after getting to the end of the sentence or passage, come back and ask, What would make sense? Readers think about what is happening in the story and ask, What kind of word would make sense and sound right here? Vocabulary/figuring out the meaning of unknown words They look at the picture and ask themselves Is this word in the picture Pour the spaghetti in the strainer. Oh look he is pouring the spaghetti in a bowl with holes in it.that must be a strainer Growing flexible with strategies Good readers figure out difficult words by trying another strategy when first one doesn t work Readers can fix tricky words or parts by asking themselves several questions: o Does that make sense? o Does that look right? o Does that sound right? o Can the picture help? o What do I know that can help me here?
13 Introduction to Story Elements Overview of Unit: In this unit of study, your readers will learn the basics of what story elements are and how to recognize and name them after reading their books. Identifying basic elements such as, setting, characters, and problem/solution will be the focus of your mini-lessons. Most of your teaching during this unit will tend to fall into one of these broad categories or bends in the road: o Paying attention to particular elements in the setting. o Paying attention to particular elements with characters. o Paying attention to the problem and the conclusion in the story. Standards: 1.2.3 Respond to who, what, where, when, why and how questions and recognize the main idea of what is read 1.3.1 Identify and describe the plot, setting, and characters in a story. Retell a story s beginning middle and ending 1.3.3 Confirm predictions about what will happen next in a story 1.2.6 Draw conclusions or confirm predictions about what will happen next in a text by identifying key words or cause and effect Teaching Points: Setting: o Careful readers can notice the setting by paying attention to specific place words that tell a reader where the action is happening o Readers can identify the setting in their book by first thinking about the place the story is happening and where the characters go. They can then write or sketch the different scenes on a post-it to share later with their partner. o Careful readers pay attention to the setting by noticing when the scene changes in the book. o Careful readers notice when the scene changes by paying attention to the illustrations and/or location words
14 o Readers pay close attention to where the characters go. Do they always go to the same place? Characters: o Careful readers notice who is in their story by looking carefully at the pictures and naming who is in most/many of the illustrations. o Readers can keep track of the characters in their books by jotting names or sketching a picture of each character in their book on a post-it and sticking on the inside, front cover of their book. o Careful readers notice if there are many characters or just one character in their books. If there are many, they notice which character is in the story the most. They can then learn to identify the main character. Problem/Solution o Readers try to figure out the problem in their book right from the start. o They do this by reading the title and looking closely at the cover and asking, What might be the problem in this story? o They look for places where the main character has some sort of trouble. o They read the first page, stop and ask, Did the author tell me the problem in the story? Are there clues to what the problem might be? They do this after each page until they ve discovered the problem. o Careful readers notice if and when the problem is solved by: o Looking for a place where things get better for the character. o Looking for a place where they fix it. o Careful readers can share parts of their books with their partner by o putting a post-it on places where the problem happens. o putting a post-it on places where the solution happens.
15 November Getting to Know the Characters in Our Books Overview: Students will meet and come to know the characters in their just right books. They will learn about the sort of things those characters do and will work on their literal comprehension by retelling their stories. Students will work on following the whole story and will begin to identify the beginning, middle and end of the stories they are reading. Students will begin to have a good understanding of the characters in their books by making connections to them. Toward the end of the unit students will begin to think about and notice if their character changes at all during the story. Unit Goals Students will: Identify the main and supporting characters and their roles Infer information about characters by using the pictures Support inferences and interpretations with evidence from the texts Increase their vocabularies by using specific words and expressions when describing characters Make connections with their characters by saying how they are like or not like their characters in their books. Retell their stories by naming the big things that happen to their character Identify the beginning, middle and end of their story Think about whether the main character changed from the beginning to the end of the book Standards: 1.2.3 Respond to who, what, where, when, why and how questions and recognize the main idea of what is read 1.2.5 Use context to understand word and sentence meanings 1.2.6 Draw conclusions or confirm predictions about what will happen next in a text by identifying key words or cause and effect 1.2.7 Relate prior knowledge to what is read
16 1.3.1 Identify and describe the plot, setting, and characters in a story. Retell a story s beginning middle and ending 1.3.3 Confirm predictions about what will happen next in a story 1.3.5 Understand what is read by responding to questions Teaching Points: o Strong readers meet the people in their books. These people are called characters. We will get to know many characters from our books. We can find out what they like to do and listen to their adventures. After we read a book we can say, The character in my book is. He/she likes to. o Strong readers get to know the main character in their books. We notice what the character does, and we think, What might this show about the kind of person this is? o Strong readers notice how the character acts and we predict what the character will do next. o Careful readers pay attention to the words as well as the pictures in our books. We can get a really good idea about the characters in our books by noticing the character s facial expressions and body gestures. This will help us talk about what the character is thinking and feeling. Then we can say, By looking at this picture, I think is feeling/thinking. o Strong readers notice all the things the character does in their book. We keep track of all these things and tell each other about them by using our fingers and saying, first the character did this, and then this, and last this. o Strong readers make connections with their characters by thinking, Do I do that too? o Strong readers learn more about their characters by thinking about the ways that we are like and unlike the characters in our books. We can say, I am just like because. Or, I am not like because. o Strong readers are always thinking while they are reading. We say to ourselves, This reminds me of because. o Strong readers tell others about their books. One way to remember what you want to tell others is by sticking a post-it note on the page that
17 reminded you of something. And then when you talk to another person you can turn to the page that is marked with the post-it note and say, This part reminds me of because. o Strong readers notice when their character acts or does something different. Then we stop and think, What made my character change? o Strong readers notice when their character learns a lesson by thinking about how the character is at the beginning of the story and how they are at the end of the story. o Strong readers learn about the characters in their books by thinking about all the feelings the character had in the book. We can ask ourselves, Did they feel the same for the whole book or did their feelings change? o Readers reread their favorite books over and over. One new thing we can do when we reread some of our favorite books is think about the lessons that the character learns in the book
18 December Using Meaning to Figure Out Words And Clear Up Confusing Parts Overview of Unit: Students read texts that are more challenging and continue to grow as readers, deepening comprehension and strengthening fluency. Mini lessons will focus on helping students to develop the strategies they will need to balance their reading energies between word-solving and meaning-making so that their experiences with texts are well-rounded, efficient, and proficient. Unit Goals: Students use new strategies to figure out the trickiest words in their books Students will use fix-it strategies such as cross-checking and self correcting. Students pay attention to new vocabulary or unfamiliar words because we are word detectives Students read and reread their books in order to practice reading with fluency and comprehension Students will know how to choose books that support their work with print Standards: 1.1.2 Identify letters, words, and sentences 1.1.4 Distinguish beginning, middle, and ending sounds in single syllable words 1.1.6 Recognize that vowel s sounds can be represented by different letters 1.1.8 Add, delete, or change sounds to change words 1.1.9 Blend two to four phonemes into recognizable words 1.1.10 Generate the sounds from all the letters and from a variety of letter patterns, including consonant blends and long and short vowel patterns and blend those sounds into recognizable words 1.1.11 Read common sight words 1.1.12 Use phonic and context clues as self-correction strategies when reading 1.1.13 Read words by using knowledge of vowel digraphs and knowledge of how vowel sounds change when followed by the letter R
19 1.1.14 Read common word patterns 1.1.16 Read and understand simple compound words and contractions 1.1.17 Read and understand root words and their inflectional forms (looks, looked, looking) 1.1.18 Classify categories of words (uses knowledge of appropriate vocabulary for text s subject matter when figuring out the meaning of words) 1.2.5 Use context to understand word and sentence meanings Teaching Points Readers make sure what they read makes sense. (self-monitoring) o Readers make sure their reading makes sense by being a wide-awake reader. When a word doesn t make sense, the wide-awake reader might say, Huh? That doesn t sound right. o A wide awake reader recognizes when their reading across sentences and from page to page does not make sense. They recognize this by: o Not being able to follow the story o Having trouble retelling what they have read o Having trouble envisioning what they are reading. o Readers check their reading by using Post-its to mark tricky words or places that are confusing. Readers use more than one tool to fix tricky words or parts. (cross-checking) o Readers figure out tricky words by using more than one tool (or strategy). They try one strategy, check it, then try another strategy. (See tools introduced in October.) o Readers can fix tricky words or parts by asking themselves, o Does that make sense? o Does that look right? o Does that sound right? o Can the picture help? o What do I know that can help me here?
20 o Readers figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words by o using context, prior knowledge, synonyms and all they know about the story so far o asking question such as: What does this word mean? What does it look like? What is its purpose in the sentence? What does this word remind me of? Is there another word that would work and seem to mean the same thing? Readers use strategies to fix up any problems in their reading. (self-correcting) o Readers fix (or self-correct) word mistakes, by using a print strategy: o Look at the beginning and ending sounds, and blends o Chunk the parts of the word o Use one word to help read another word o Use context and picture clues o Readers fix (or self-correct) comprehension mistakes by: o Rereading the tricky or confusing part o Rereading with a focus on the pictures o Rereading in a storyteller voice to get the story o Making a picture in your mind Readers choose books that will help them grow as readers. o Readers realize that some books are written as part of a series by categorizing a selection of books. Readers recognize that if they can read one book in a series, they can probably read another book in the same series. o Readers choose books that are just right by o Checking to make sure there are not too many tricky words o Comparing a book to their other just right books o Stopping to think after reading a bit to check understanding o Readers stop reading a book that feels too hard for them, or has too many tricky words or parts.
21 Readers can help their partner with tricky words and confusing parts by: o Offering helpful prompts rather than simply calling out the word in question. They can do this by suggesting to try the word part by part, checking the first letter, checking the picture, skipping the word and going back or asking themselves what makes sense here o Asking questions about what is going on in the story such as What is he doing in the picture? o Listening to their partner retell what they have read Readers continue to use all they know to read smoothly, like storytellers. o Readers can read smoothly by going back and rereading tricky parts. o Readers can read smoothly by practicing making their reading sound like they are talking. o Readers can read smoothly by chunking text. o Readers can read smoothly by using the punctuation as a clue to how the text sounds: o Period tells us to take a quick break and keep on going. o Question mark tells us to make our reading sound like a question o Exclamation point tells us to make our voices sound exciting. o Readers can read smoothly by thinking about what s going on in the story.
22 January/February Character Reading Centers And Writing About Our Reading (Growing ideas about our reading) Overview: Students will study the traits of a character (or set of characters) by reading books, which feature the same characters. Some students will need the opportunity to switch and study another character. Mini-lessons will focus on using information from a set of books to construct inferences and to develop an understanding of a particular character or set of characters. (i.e. Biscuit) Unit Goals Students will: Identify the main and supporting characters and their roles Develop an understanding of character traits o External characteristics ( outside traits ) o Internal characteristics ( inside traits ) such as feelings and motivations of the characters Infer information about characters Make connections about character traits by comparing the same character s traits/behaviors in multiple titles Make connections about character traits by comparing different characters Support inferences, interpretations, and connections with evidence from the texts Read between the lines and think about what s really going on here? by using their abilities to infer, envision, synthesize information, and attend to relationships and plot in books Increase their vocabularies by using specific words and expressions when describing characters
23 Standards: 1.2.3 Respond to who, what, where, when, why and how questions and recognize the main idea of what is read 1.2.5 Use context to understand word and sentence meanings 1.2.6 Draw conclusions or confirm predictions about what will happen next in a text by identifying key words or cause and effect 1.2.7 Relate prior knowledge to what is read 1.3.1 Identify and describe the plot, setting, and characters in a story. Retell a story s beginning middle and ending 1.3.3 Confirm predictions about what will happen next in a story 1.3.5 Understand what is read by responding to questions Teaching Points: o Strong readers notice when the character s feelings change and when we are reading we should make the voice in our head change with the character s feelings. One way to keep track of these changes is to stick a post-it note on the page where a change happens. o Strong readers make their voice match the characters feelings. We should notice a place where the character has a strong feeling and then mark these places with a post-it note. When we read them out loud to our partner we can use a voice that matches our character s feeling. o Strong readers notice that the characters in our books are like people in real life because they don t act one way all the time, they change. As we read we should be thinking, does this part go with what I know about the character? If it doesn t and it is something new, it may be a place where the character has changed. o Strong readers pay attention to what the characters do and how they do it. We should notice if the words or pictures give us any clues about how the character moves. Then we can ask ourselves, What is going on here? o Strong readers use all the information they have to learn about their characters. We should also pay attention to the way the characters talk, the words they use and their tone of voice. Then we can ask ourselves, What is going on here?
24 o Strong readers make a movie in their mind of what is going on in the story. They do this by closing their eyes and picturing everything that is happening in the story Who is talking? Who is moving? Where are they at? As you keeping reading you can add more and more to your movie in your mind. o When readers work in reading clubs they need to talk with their club about the characters in their books. A good place to talk about is a place where the character in the book has trouble. Put a post-it note on this place while you are reading by yourself and then you can talk about that part with your club. o When readers work in reading clubs they need to talk with their club about the characters in their books. A good place to talk about is a place where the character in the book has a strong feeling. Put a post-it note on this place while you are reading by yourself and then you can talk about that part with your club. o When readers work in reading clubs they need to talk with their club about the characters in their books. A good place to talk about is a place where the book made you have a strong feeling. Put a post-it note on this place while you are reading by yourself and then you can talk about that part with your club. o When readers work in reading clubs they need to talk with their club about the characters in their books. A good place to talk about is a place where the character in the book changes or acts differently. Put a post-it note on this place while you are reading by yourself and then you can talk about that part with your club. o When readers work in reading clubs they need to talk with their club about the characters in their books. As partners look at their books together, we can think about how our characters would sound and the way our characters would move and we can act out our books together. o Strong readers know what will happen next or what their character may do by keeping track of things that always happen or happen over and over again. We can say to ourselves, I know that is going to happen because. o Strong readers have thoughts while they are reading. When we read we should stop after a part of the story and ask ourselves, What is going on here? and What do I know about my character so far?
25 o When readers work in character clubs they read many books about the same character. As we read more and more books about the character we should ask ourselves, Does this match what I already know about my character, or not? o Strong readers have thoughts while they read and are always paying close attention to what is happening in the story. One thing to pay close attention to is a place where the character acts differently than ever before. o When readers work in reading clubs they talk with their club about the characters in their books. They can talk about the things that the characters: always do, sometimes do and never do. o When readers work in reading clubs they talk with their club about the characters in their books. First, we think about how the character is acting and behaving in the story and then we can tell our club what this makes us think about the character. We can say is acting and this makes me think. o When readers work in reading clubs, they talk about their club about the characters in their books. One thing to discuss is how characters solve their problems then you and your reading club can think about what this tells you about the character. o When readers work in reading clubs, they talk about their club about the characters in their books. One thing to discuss is what the characters say and how they say it to others then you and your reading club can think about what this tells you about the character. Writing About Our Reading: Overview of Unit: In this unit of study, children will grow ideas about characters in their just right books and character clubs. After children have become familiar with a particular character set of books, they will have the opportunity to grow their ideas about that character with their club. Children will pick one book/character they really liked from the character clubs and grow an idea about that character. During this portion of the unit you may give the students a prompt for writing about whatever skill was taught in reading. For example, if in reading you taught that readers notice how characters change, then you would model how to write about the character s change in their reading. You
26 may choose to use notebooks for students to write in. Then have them write by using a prompt such as- In the beginning was, now is because. ***REMINDER!!! This is still READING WORKSHOP time. Please make sure to limit the time writing and to tie it in with the reading work/mini-lessons you teach. Maybe the last 10 min. of reading character club time could be spent on writing about reading. Or possibly the last week of mini-lessons for the unit will be focused on growing ideas and writing about reading. Remember that students need to be reading just right books every day. Whether they are reading character clubs or writing about their character the reading workshop time should be structured so that there is time set for just right reading. Unit Goals: Students will realize that good readers have thoughts about their reading and they keep track of them with post-it and possibly in notebooks. Students will have an idea about their book and grow that idea through writing and discussion with other readers. Standards: 1.2.6 Draw conclusions or confirm predictions about what will happen next in a text by identifying key words or cause and effect 1.3.3 Confirm predictions about what will happen next in a story 1.3.5 Understand what is read by responding to questions Teaching Points: o Readers get ideas about characters and their friendships by deciding if the characters are having a good time or a bad time with their friends. We could write this idea in our notebooks like this: and are having a time in their friendship because.
27 o Readers think about how their characters are feeling during a good time or a bad time. How does the way our character is acting show how they are feeling? We could write this idea in our notebooks like this: is acting. I think they are acting this way because. o Readers notice when there is a change and things don t seem right between the friends in their book. They look for evidence that things are different and then ask themselves why things may be different between these characters. We could write this idea in our notebooks like this: At the beginning they acted towards each other and now they are acting because. o Readers pay attention during bad times and anticipate that a good time will follow. We do this by noticing how the problem is solved and placing a postit on the page so we can go back to it during book talk time. We could write this idea in our notebooks like this: and s problem got solved when. o Readers notice similarities and differences in friends in different books from the same series. We could write this idea in our notebooks like this stays the same in the books. always. Or changed in the book because. o Writers grow ideas in their just-right books by noticing when they have a question. They can write this question on a post-it by beginning with, I m wondering o Writers revisit their wondering post-its after finishing their book and asking themselves: Was my wondering answered? If so, jot the answer on the post-it. If it wasn t, stick this post-it in your notebook and ask yourself: Can I think of an answer that would make sense by relating it to my life? Now, write it. Readers will notice how their thinking changes by paying attention to their ideas from the beginning of the book and their ideas where they are now, then asking themselves How has my thinking changed? or How has it stayed the same? They can write in their notebook, My thinking has (changed or not changed) because. Readers can relate their character to someone they know in real life by asking themselves, How is my character like
28? How is my character different from? Or they can say My character is like my,. I think they are like them because. Readers can extend a post-it by thinking about what would have happened if a character acted differently. Readers stay on a topic while they share by thinking about what someone says and then ask themselves, How would I feel if that were me? Or What does that make me think? Organize post-its by writing book title on the post-it note and keeping it on a piece of paper with that same book title on it.
29 March More Strategies for Word-Solving, Cross- Checking, & Meaning Making Overview of Unit: Students continue to read texts that are more challenging and continue to grow as readers, deepening comprehension and strengthening fluency. Mini lessons will focus on helping students to develop more strategies for word-solving, cross-checking, and meaning making. The emphasis throughout the unit is that careful readers do not give up, pass over, or ignore hard parts in books. Rather, they use a multitude of strategies to figure out the hard parts. Unit Goals: Students will use a combination of strategies to figure out tricky words and monitor comprehension of what they are reading. Students will notice and actively attack tricky parts and words. Students use new strategies to figure out the trickiest words in their books Students will continue to use fix-it strategies such as cross-checking and self correcting. Students will work with a partner to help solve text difficulties. Standards: 1.1.2 Identify letters, words, and sentences 1.1.4 Distinguish beginning, middle, and ending sounds in single syllable words 1.1.6 Recognize that vowel s sounds can be represented by different letters 1.1.8 Add, delete, or change sounds to change words 1.1.9 Blend two to four phonemes into recognizable words 1.1.10 Generate the sounds from all the letters and from a variety of letter patterns, including consonant blends and long and short vowel patterns and blend those sounds into recognizable words 1.1.11 Read common sight words 1.1.12 Use phonic and context clues as self-correction strategies when reading
30 1.1.13 Read words by using knowledge of vowel digraphs and knowledge of how vowel sounds change when followed by the letter R 1.1.14 Read common word patterns 1.1.16 Read and understand simple compound words and contractions 1.1.17 Read and understand root words and their inflectional forms (looks, looked, looking) 1.1.18 Classify categories of words (uses knowledge of appropriate vocabulary for text s subject matter when figuring out the meaning of words) 1.2.5 Use context to understand word and sentence meanings Teaching Points o (Review and reinforce strategies from October and December, especially those related to self-monitoring, cross-checking, and self-correcting. Model how to use those strategies using more difficult text.) o Readers tackle tricky words by moving across a word and working with word parts: o Look at the first few letters and think of words they already know that have parts (or blends) like that. o Take apart a compound word and read one part at a time. o Look at the vowel and the next couple of letters o Look for endings such as s, es, ing, ed o Play with words, trying both vowel sounds-short or long-and seeing which one makes sense. o Readers tackle tricky words by using the above strategies (and previously learned strategies) and, at the same time, asking themselves, What could this word say? What would make sense? o Readers tackle tricky parts by: o Rereading the tricky or confusing part o Rereading with a focus on the pictures o Rereading in a storyteller voice to get the story o Making a picture in your mind o Readers can use their partner to help themselves understand tricky words or parts. As they read they think about their partner and mark places with a sticky note where they think to themselves:
31 o My partner would like/love/enjoy this part o I want to show my partner how I figured this out o I want to ask my partner about this because it makes me wonder o This is a good spot to talk about with my partner
32 March/April Non-Fiction Reading Strategies and Centers (Reading to Learn) Overview: Students will read to learn about a non-fiction topic from a set of texts related to one particular topic. Mini-lessons will focus on the understanding that we read non-fiction books in order to LEARN. Students will learn how to choose appropriate books based on the amount of knowledge they already have on the topic, how to recognize structures and develop strategies specific to understanding non-fiction material. Goals: Students will be able to identify texts as fiction or non-fiction Students will learn to choose books wisely Students will make plans and gather information about their topics Students will think across texts to develop a big idea about their topics Students will develop strategies that help them read non-fiction texts Standards: 1.1.18 Classify categories of words 1.2.1 Identify the title, author, illustrator, and table of contents of a reading selection 1.2.3 Respond to who, what, when, where, why, and how questions and recognize the main idea of what is read 1.2.5 Use context to understand word and sentence meanings 1.2.7 Relate prior knowledge to what is read 1.3.5 Understand what is read by responding to questions (who, what, when, where, why, how) Preparation for this unit: o Gather baskets of multilevel texts in a few categories or subjects. Select subjects for which your readers will have some familiarity. Select books that your students will find fascinating!
33 o Select a subject that you will use to model reading lessons. Make sure you have different levels of books related to that subject. Special Note: Research shows that children often read one to two levels below their regular level when they read nonfiction text. Teaching Points: o Readers recognize the features of nonfiction text by sorting books based on whether they are fiction or nonfiction. o Readers get ready to read non-fiction books by: o Looking at the cover and thinking What do I know about this already? What do I think this book might be about? Does this book remind me of something? o Realizing that easier books may be the best place to start gathering information about their topic o Asking themselves, Does this book feel like a book I should read to get started? Does this book feel like a book I ll read later when I am more of an expert? What do I think I can find out about my topic by reading this book? o Readers learn the most they can from their non-fiction books by: o Noticing the features found in most non-fiction books (table of contents, index, photographs, captions and headings) and thinking about what they will learn. o Using the features of non-fiction texts to help them find specific information to learn about their topic. o Deciding what they want to focus on (a reading target) and then deciding where they will start reading in a nonfiction text. o Deciding where to start reading on a nonfiction page and read all of the information they can in order to learn as much as possible. o Using the illustrations, other pictures they know from movies and books, and their imaginations to create movies in their minds as they read.
34 o Readers gather information about their topic by asking themselves: o Does this match what I already know about the topic? o Did I learn something new from this information? o Does this information answer one of the questions I had about my topic? o Readers learn new words that go with their topic by noticing bolded or italicized words and by paying attention to context clues and surrounding words. o Readers think about and develop what they have learned about their topic by: o Thinking about the information they ve collected and finding new questions to learn about. o Thinking about the facts they collect and coming up with a big idea. They use their facts and the word because to state their big idea (ie: Wolves are cool because they hunt in packs.) o Connecting the information they collect with other things they know (I already know and now I know/understand.) o Asking themselves, What does this information make me think about? and then talking about their thinking with their partners. o Asking themselves, What is the author trying to teach me?
35 April/May Fluency (Reader s Theater) Overview of unit: Students will increase their fluency by understanding what fluency is. Students will develop strategies for reading fluently. Mini-lessons will focus on establishing what it means to read fluently and why fluency is important. Students will shop from books at least 1 level below their just-right level in order to practice reading fluently. Students will work with Reader s Theater texts in groups and give reader s theater performances. Unit Goals: Students will know what it feels like to read with fluency Students will understand the mood and feeling of a text as they read, even if they are reading silently Students will realize when their reading does not sound smooth and go back to re-read their text Students will read their books fluently by paying attention to each character s dialogue Students will read their books fluently by paying attention to the different types of punctuation Students will perform their stories and clearly communicate the meaning of the text by reading the text with appropriate tone, phrasing, and speed. Standards: 1.1.5 Recognize that sentences start with capital letters and end with punctuation, such as periods, question marks, and exclamation points. 1.1.15 Read aloud smoothly and easily in familiar text 1.2.5 Use context to understand word and sentence meanings
36 Teaching Points: o Good readers make their reading sound better by reading books they have read before and they know well. o Good readers practice their smooth, fluent reading by reading books that are a little easier than their just right books. o Good readers make their reading sound smooth and fluent by re-reading the parts of the book where they have worked hard on tricky parts. o Good readers make their reading sound smooth and fluent by looking ahead at the words on the page and checking to see what the ending punctuation mark is. Then they can make their voice match. o Good readers make their reading sound smooth and fluent by pausing at each comma o Good readers make their reading sound smooth and fluent by pausing at each end mark o Readers read the talking parts smoothly and fluently by reading the words carefully and making their voice match. (whispered, shouted) o Good readers make their reading sound smooth and fluent by paying attention to how their story is going and what is happening to the characters. If it is a scary part then read with a scared voice and if it is an exciting part read with an excited voice. Make your voice match what is going on in the story. o Good readers read in chunks and phrases to make their reading sound smooth and fluent. They do this by reading the words and thinking about which words would sound stuck together when you read and which words would sound like there is a break between them. o Readers practice reading smoothly and fluently with their partner by using their best storytelling voices when they read to each other o Readers practice reading smoothly and fluently with their partner by using fluency prompts like, Go faster, Smooth it out, or Say it like the character would o Readers practice reading smoothly and fluently with their partner by role playing the characters as they read the story o Readers practice reading smoothly and fluently with their partner by choosing a part of the story to re-enact together