Kindergarten - ELA
1: Letters
Unit 1: A - A Is for Musk Ox
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson names a vocabulary word ('herd') and a sight word ('you') and defines the vocabulary. Students are read the book and then asked comprehension and response questions (e.g., identify the animals that talk, explain why we have the alphabet, name a favorite letter). Activities ask students to discuss alphabetical order and count/label letters, prompting verbal responses and conversation about the text and concepts.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students read and watch informational text about musk oxen and are asked to compare that information with what the musk ox in the story says, prompting verbal responses. Students discuss where musk oxen live, what they eat, how people use them, and threats they face, which requires using topical words and phrases. The lesson introduces and explains the vocabulary word "herd" and asks children to act like a musk ox and have adults guess what they are doing, encouraging use of new words and phrases in responses to text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked during reading to find words that are marked out and substituted with "musk ox," point to the first letter of each word, and say the letter aloud. The teacher focuses on the vocabulary word "herd," asks the child what it means, reads the definition, and discusses why it fits the context. In Activity 1 students practice the sight word "you" by saying it together while reading and then saying it independently when it appears in the text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson prompts the child to define and use the word "herd" during review and to review the sight word "you," which requires spoken or pointed responses. In Activity 1 students look at a world map, hear explanations that musk oxen live in cold "tundra" regions and that they have thick fur (qiviut), and are asked to "discuss what the environment is like," inviting use of those vocabulary words. Activity 3 has students practice and identify letter sounds (A) and match pictures with letters, which supports word-level phonological work.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to respond orally to questions such as "What is a herd?" and to review vocabulary like the names of the continents, which prompts use of words acquired in conversation. During Reading Workshop students read A is for Musk Ox, trace words left-to-right, and are asked whether they liked the book and why, and whether they would recommend it, requiring them to use words and phrases to respond to text. In Writing Workshop students draw a musk ox, write about it, and dictate a story that the adult records, then reread the dictation and connect pictures to their words, providing multiple opportunities to produce words and phrases learned from reading and conversation.
Unit 2: H - Hondo and Fabian
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are taught the vocabulary word "character" and the sight word "he," and are asked to identify who the two characters are (Hondo and Fabian). Students answer explicit comprehension questions about differences and actions of characters (e.g., what Hondo did during the day, what Fabian did). Students are asked to respond to a prompt that requires speaking and reasoning (Would you rather be a cat or a dog? Why?) and to identify and act out activities as either Hondo or Fabian, using words and phrases from the story.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students name characters from the book cover and practice saying the name "Hondo," linking a word from the text to the initial /h/ sound. In Activity 1 students talk about cats and dogs and record characteristic words and phrases (e.g., "purring," "can climb trees," "have four legs") on a Venn diagram. In Activity 2 students generate and say words that begin with /h/ (happy, hug, heart, hand, help) and practice using those words aloud while forming the letter H.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to retell the story in their own words using pictures as prompts, which requires them to use vocabulary and phrases from the text. Students are asked to identify and say words that begin with H (for example, "home," "happy," "hungry") and to practice the sight word "he," promoting use of text-based words aloud. Students are prompted to describe the characters using words or phrases and to answer questions about characters' and their own feelings, encouraging spoken responses drawn from the reading and conversation.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name and act out movement words (straight, zigzag, round and round, back and forth, fast and slow) and to check the book to see how characters moved, which requires using vocabulary from the text. Students are prompted to talk about a friend and describe activities they do together, then paint and dictate a sentence about that activity, showing use of words and phrases from conversation and responding to pictures. Students are asked to recall the sight word "he" and think of H-words, demonstrating use of words encountered in reading or being read to.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students practice and recall sight words "he" and "you" during the Getting Started review and are asked to say words that start with the "h" sound. In Reading Workshop, students look at the text Hondo and Fabian, move their finger under print, identify capital letters, and answer questions about the character names (e.g., whether those names seem appropriate and what they would name a pet). In Writing Workshop, students talk about their name, attempt to write it, draw themselves, and dictate two statements about themselves for the adult to write down.
Unit 3: I - The Little Island
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson explicitly teaches the vocabulary word "island" and the sight word "little," and it directs the child to find the title, author, and illustrator and to observe and talk about the cover. After reading, the child is asked multiple comprehension questions (e.g., "What is an island?", "What changes happened on the little island?", "Would you like to visit the little island? Why or why not?") that require using words learned in the text. Activity 2 directs the child to discuss the definition of an island using a world map and to note similarities and differences among real islands, prompting the child to use words and phrases from the conversation and reading.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are read The Little Island and are asked to note how the pictures show different seasons and to talk about how the seasons affect the island and themselves. During the pretend picnic students are asked to name the season, choose appropriate gear, and explain what accessories they will need when the season changes, requiring them to use seasonal vocabulary in response to the text. The handwriting page labels an igloo and prompts practice with words that begin with I ("igloo," "island"), and the painting activity asks students to name island colors and describe the landform.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to reread The Little Island and then tell the story in their own words, using illustrations to guide their retelling. Students practice a target sight word 'little' by reading it from a card, supplying it when omitted from the title, and reading it in different letter cases. Students identify animals from the book and act out whether each moves in the air, on land, or in the water, prompting use of movement words and category phrases while discussing examples.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to tell the definition of 'island' and to discuss how waves form, which requires them to use vocabulary acquired through conversation. Students practice reading three sight word cards and read the opening lines of the story aloud, connecting words learned from reading/being read to. Students respond to the text by physically acting out and practicing directional words and prepositions (around, over, on, under, off, beside, near, far, above, in front of, behind) in relation to the island.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are prompted to define the word "island" and to review sight words and letters, which exposes them to vocabulary through conversation. In Activity 1 students compare sizes using words such as "little," "big," "longest," and "shortest" and measure objects, practicing comparative vocabulary. In Activity 2 students answer questions about the book (title, cover, opinion) and respond to text by explaining what they liked and why. In Activity 3 students draw, dictate, write, and then read their ideas aloud, using words and phrases generated from the reading and discussion.
Unit 4: T - What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson explicitly introduces the vocabulary word "structure" with a definition and includes a sight word "this." Students are prompted to preview and discuss the book (predicting, recalling what they learned, and remembering how animals use ears, eyes, and noses), which requires them to use words from the reading. In Activity 2, students draw two animal cards and must tell one similarity and one difference between the structures of the two animals, prompting use of descriptive words and phrases. Activity 1 asks students to sort animals by number of legs and label boxes with numbers, encouraging use of words for body parts (legs, tails, ears, etc.).
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to review and explain vocabulary words (herd, character, island) aloud, practicing word meanings in conversation. Students listen to and respond to pages of What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?, discussing tail purposes and using words from the text to describe functions. Students say the word "tail" and identify the initial /t/ sound, and they practice forming and naming the uppercase T while saying its sound. Students design a new tail and explain its purpose using descriptive language acquired from prior discussion and reading.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are shown the sight word "this," asked to locate it on the book cover and in other places, and practice reading it aloud. Students are introduced to the vocabulary words "fiction" and "nonfiction," told that the book is nonfiction, and asked to compare this book to another (Was it make-believe or true?). Students are prompted to answer questions about what kind of information they learned and to organize their thoughts when responding to the text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are prompted to name an animal whose tail has a special job and to describe that job, which requires them to use vocabulary from conversation. Students choose an animal from the book and locate information online or in library books, then discuss the animal's body parts, habitat, and diet, showing use of words acquired through reading and responding to texts. Students act out animals using specific body parts and guess each other's animals, and they complete letter-sound pages that connect pictures to beginning letters and word forms, supporting use of word-level vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 has students answer comparative questions (which tail is longer/shorter) and order items from shortest to longest, prompting use of comparative vocabulary (longer/shorter, shortest/longest). Activity 2 asks students to identify sequence (What was the first section?) and to respond to the book (Did he like it? Did he learn something new?), prompting use of sequencing and evaluative phrases acquired through reading and responding to text. Activity 3 has students dictate 1–3 facts they learned about an animal part, encouraging them to produce words and factual phrases acquired through prior research and discussion.
Unit 5: L - We're Going on a Leaf Hunt
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to discuss the book cover and answer comprehension questions after being read to, encouraging use of vocabulary in response to text. The lesson introduces the term "adjective" and asks students to identify and generate descriptive words (e.g., colorful, brown, crunchy, soft) to describe leaves from the story. Activities require students to go on a leaf hunt and name adjectives for collected leaves, and the skills list includes using drawing, dictating, and writing to tell events, supporting use of new words in speaking and writing.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to find and say the adjective "tall" from the book and to say "a tall mountain," showing use of vocabulary from being read to. The review asks students to say letter sounds and sight words (A, H, L, T; "you," "he," "little," "this"), which they practice aloud. In Activity 1 students sort leaves and name attributes and colors (small/medium/large; brown, orange, red, green), using descriptive words in conversation. In Activity 3 students act out the story and substitute more specific verbs (skip, march, stroll, hop) and then perform those actions, linking words/phrases to meaning through responding to the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are shown the sight word "go" in the text and on a word card and are asked to point to it and say it each time it appears while being read to. Students are prompted to find and name adjectives in the story (e.g., identifying "dark" and repeating the phrase "dark forest"). The map activity asks students to depict and label locations from the story and optionally talk about directions, encouraging use of vocabulary from the text in a responding activity.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name three adjectives that describe themselves during review, prompting them to produce vocabulary. In Activity 1 students pull plants, observe roots/stems/leaves, and talk about those parts and differences in size and shape, using and practicing plant-related words in conversation. In Activity 2 students count two groups of leaves, match counts to number cards, and decide which group has more, which requires them to use number words and comparative language. Activity 3 and the student pages have students identify beginning sounds and label pictures, prompting them to name pictured items (e.g., leaf, ladder, igloo).
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to look for describing words (adjectives) in the book during Reading Workshop and to respond to comprehension prompts (Did you enjoy the book? Why or why not? Would you recommend it?). In Writing Workshop Option 2, students identify five objects they like and think of a describing word for each, then write or dictate those describing words. In Writing Workshop Option 1, students talk about a imagined journey with an adult prompting questions and then dictate their story, providing opportunities to use vocabulary learned through conversation and storytelling.
Unit 6: F - Fireflies
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson labels "flicker" as a vocabulary word, asks the child to define it and to think of other things that flicker. The reading prompts require the child to describe the book cover, explain how the boy feels using evidence from pictures, and answer questions about the text. Activity 2 has the child give and follow directional clues (e.g., "above the sofa," "under the table"), practicing use of phrases in conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students hear and respond to a read-aloud excerpt that uses phrases like "blinking on, blinking off" and are asked to supply a synonym (flickering) and infer the meaning of "soaring" from surrounding words. Students build and label a firefly craft using vocabulary such as head, thorax, abdomen, exoskeleton, antennae, wings, and legs and then use those terms to decide whether pictured creatures are insects. Students are prompted to explain their decisions about pictures and to talk about bugs they collect, using the words learned during reading and conversation.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to recall the meaning of the word "flicker" from prior conversation and to read the new word card "said," then point out and "read" the word in a sentence. During the read-aloud, students are encouraged to read the word "said" when it appears. In the Opposites activity, students identify three pairs of opposite words from the text (on/off, dipping/soaring, low/high) and are asked to think of and act out additional opposite word pairs.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to recall the meaning of the word "flicker" and to give the opposite of "mean" ("nice"), prompting use of previously learned vocabulary. Students talk about pictured creatures and are asked to name insect characteristics (exoskeleton, antennae, 6 legs, 2 pairs of wings), using content-specific phrases while sorting and counting. Students watch the "Fireflies" video and are encouraged to imagine the boy in the book and create a dance, which asks them to respond to a text. Students also match pictures to beginning sounds (letter F) and name pictured items (flag, head, butter, ax), reinforcing use of words tied to letters and images.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 asks the child to "tell the story in his own words using the illustrations as a guide" and to discuss questions such as whether he liked the story and why, which prompts oral responses to a read-aloud text. Activity 3 asks the child to draw and then "write some words, ideas, or sentences" about a favorite summer activity and allows dictation or copying a sentence, prompting use of words in writing. Activity 1 invites the child to "tell you stories about catching a few fireflies at a time," encouraging spoken language during interactive counting.
Unit 7: E - But No Elephants
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson explicitly introduces the vocabulary word "predicament" with a definition and then asks children to name predicaments Grandma Tildy faced and how she solved each one. The activities require students to identify and name animals from the story and to retell the order of visits using ordinal words (first, second, third), and the skills list includes asking and answering questions about key details with prompting and support and using positional/directional words. The reading prompts ask children to respond to the text by describing Grandma Tildy's life at the beginning and end and by explaining whether she was happy, which requires use of words and phrases drawn from the story.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to review vocabulary words and to explain each word and give examples, which requires them to use words acquired through prior reading and conversation. Students are asked to recall the meaning of "predicament" and name a predicament Grandma Tildy faced in the story But No Elephants, which has them respond to a text using vocabulary from the story. In Activity 1 students describe picture scenes using position words such as "in," "on," "under," "beside," and "behind," producing phrases and short sentences that apply words learned from the book and discussion.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are read the book and are asked to read the sight word "no" aloud when it appears and to read the title together, providing practice using words encountered in text. After reading, students are asked to explain what happened in the story, which requires them to use words and phrases drawn from the reading to retell events. In Activity 1, students act out an animal and then explain how that animal would help Grandma Tildy, practicing vocabulary and descriptive phrases through conversation and pretend play. Activity 3 asks students to sort and count animal pictures and to suggest other ways to sort them (e.g., land/sea, size), prompting use of category words and descriptive language.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students discuss vocabulary from the story by answering questions about what Grandma Tildy is doing and why, and by distinguishing "wants" and "needs" with examples from the book. Students sort a collection of household items into "wants" and "needs" and explain their choices aloud. Students retell and extend the story using stick puppets, listening to and responding to oral prompts and holding up animals as they are introduced. The review prompts ask students to name a predicament and identify shapes, encouraging use of words acquired through conversation and reading.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students learn and perform an 'Elephant' rhyme with motions and then change the wording to 'TWO enormous elephants...' while counting ears and feet, giving repeated spoken exposure to vocabulary. During Reading Workshop, students hear pages read aloud while tracking text left-to-right and then retell the story in their own words or trace words with a finger. In Writing Workshop, students draw and then write or dictate words, lists, or sentences describing life with animals, producing language in response to the text and conversation.
Unit 8: C - Millions of Cats
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "quarrel" with a definition and asks the child, "Why were the cats quarreling?", prompting use of the new word in response. The sight word "pretty" is highlighted and questions ask students to describe characters and problems (e.g., why the cat was left, what happened to the cats). Activities ask students to compare and contrast cats using a Venn diagram and to describe similarities and differences (color, size, pattern), which requires speaking or labeling words and phrases acquired from reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are read Millions of Cats and are asked questions such as whether they know what it means to 'quarrel,' prompting them to acquire and discuss vocabulary from the text. Students are prompted to 'talk about different physical features of the Earth' (rivers, ponds, lakes, hills, valleys, meadows) while they build those features with playdough, requiring use of those words in conversation. Students practice the sound and words that begin with C (e.g., 'cat,' 'cake') while forming the letter C and decorate a 'pretty/ prettiest' cat, providing opportunities to use descriptive words and phrases from read-alouds and conversations.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to read and say the sight word "pretty" aloud when the word appears in the text and to repeat the repeated phrase "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats" each time it appears. Students answer a comprehension question about the lesson of the story, which requires them to use words from the text (for example, describing how love made the cat "pretty"). Students are directed to learn the word "cat" in many languages and to watch a video to learn how to sign "cat" in American Sign Language.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students research pet-care information from books or websites and then explain what they learned by designing a poster with words and pictures or by giving a "pet talk" to family members, showing use of vocabulary acquired from reading and informational texts. Students read and discuss a poem, talk about how the poem relates to the book, create motions to match poem lines, and perform or recite the poem, including an optional activity that has them supply missing rhyming words and recall lines from memory. Students are prompted to communicate orally to others (family presentations and discussions) and to produce words on their posters, demonstrating use of words and phrases gathered from reading and responding to texts.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are read two full sentences aloud while the caregiver points to each word and has the child place a penny between words, giving them exposure to phrase units and print tied to spoken language. Students are encouraged to follow lines from left to right and to notice spaces between words, reinforcing print awareness while hearing language. Students are invited to draw and write or dictate a story or facts about a cat, providing an opportunity to produce language after listening and interacting with text.
Unit 9: G - The Real Mother Goose
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to supply words when practicing the poem "The Little Bird," which requires them to respond to a text with language. Students read the poem "The Year," sing and recite the months, and talk about what happens in January, using words and phrases from the poem and conversation to describe weather and activities. Students practice vocabulary associated with the letter G (goose, giraffe, glue, green) aloud while forming the letter and add the G card to a review box, reinforcing words acquired through reading and naming.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students listen to and read a list of poems and are asked to identify rhyming pairs as they notice them. Students are prompted to supply words in poems (for example supplying a rhyme for "book" and filling in lines of "The Little Bird" and "The Cat and the Fiddle"). Students work together with an adult to change end words, generate rhyming pairs, and type/print their own poems, and they are asked to name their favorite poem and explain why.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students reread and sing nursery rhymes and poems (e.g., "The Little Bird," "The Year," and listed nursery rhymes), providing repeated exposure to words and phrases from texts. Students are asked to supply words while practicing the poem and then recite portions on their own, which requires using words acquired from being read to and responding to a text. Students create a Months of the Year book and add names for each month plus words/pictures about weather, activities, and special events, which prompts them to label and use vocabulary related to those texts and topics.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to identify and compare a die-cut circle and a ball, learn the label "sphere," and use the word in sentences describing the ball's location (e.g., "the sphere is on top of the shelf"). Students listen to and follow along with multiple poems on the CD/MP3 and discuss the poems to identify spherical objects described in the texts. Students dictate their own poem or nursery rhyme and create an illustration, providing an opportunity to produce words and phrases inspired by familiar rhymes.
Unit 10: O - Owl Babies
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson explicitly defines the vocabulary words fiction and non-fiction and lists a sight word (want). Students are prompted to look at the book cover, describe what they see, predict whether the book will teach facts or tell a story, and then answer guided questions about whether the book was fiction and why. Students are also asked to name true facts from the book and to sort, describe, count, and compare shapes using shape vocabulary (circle, oval, triangle), providing multiple opportunities to use words acquired through reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students review a list of vocabulary words and are asked to explain each word in their own words (herd, character, structure, adjective, flicker, predicament, quarrel, rhyme). Students are read Baby Owl, predict whether it is fiction or nonfiction, and then dictate or write facts they learned about owls on the owl picture, showing use of words/phrases from the text. Students practice words and sounds (octopus, orange, owl) during letter O activities, recite and perform the poem "Wide-Eyed Owl," and may present an owl poster to friends or family, providing spoken practice with acquired words and phrases.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students practice and read the sight word "want," point to it in the book, add it to a review box, and read the line "I want my mommy!" aloud. Students are asked to tell the story in their own words (retell), recite the poem "Wide-Eyed Owl," and discuss how the music in the animated reading makes characters feel. Students name and identify shapes (circle, oval, triangle) and sometimes read or hear the shape names while moving to them.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students recite the poem "The Wide-Eyed Owl" together, practicing phrases acquired through being read to. Students practice and perform a Reader's Theatre script, speaking lines for characters (Sarah, Percy, Bill) and using words and phrases from the text. Students view the Owls of North America site and are asked to observe similarities and differences and to say how Owl Babies gives owls attributes they don't have, requiring them to use vocabulary from reading and conversation. Students review letter sounds and sight word cards during the Getting Started review, reinforcing known words.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 asks the child to examine two books about owls, decide which is fiction and which is non-fiction, identify clues (illustrations, photographs, talking owls, facts), and then tell what he found, prompting use of words and phrases from the texts and from conversation. Activity 3 has the child draw an owl and then record factual information on one side and a brief fictional story on the other, requiring the child to use vocabulary and phrases when writing or dictating responses. Activity 1 asks the child to create and act out stories with the owl manipulatives and respond to verbal word problems, prompting oral use of words and phrases to describe actions and quantities.
Unit 11: S - Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson labels and defines the vocabulary word "season" and lists the sight word "some," giving students explicit words to learn. Students are asked to look at the book cover and describe what they see, answer Question #1 by naming the four seasons, and answer Question #2 about favorite activities in each season, prompting spoken responses. In Activity 2 students locate the equator on a map, are asked to recall the name for a sphere, and are asked what season it is when different hemispheres tilt toward or away from the Sun. In Adding Apples students read and practice simple equations aloud and are encouraged to create stories, practicing new words and phrases in context.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to talk about the current season and describe typical seasonal weather, engaging in conversation about seasons. Students record daily weather observations on a chart using words, pictures, or dictation and choose from labeled options (sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy; cold/cool/warm/hot). Students practice letter-sound vocabulary by finding the uppercase S and linking it to words like "snake" and "sun."
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are shown the sight word card "some," read it, find it in The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree, and read it aloud in context. Students listen to and are read the poem "The Seasons," hear three adjectives for each season, then name the season based on those adjectives and generate additional adjectives. Students answer a comprehension question about what gift the tree gave Arnold in each season, responding to a read-aloud text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name the four seasons and give an adjective that describes summer during the review, requiring them to produce vocabulary. Students examine the page where Arnold's family makes the apple pie and are asked to explain how each member contributed and why they worked together, so students respond to a text in words. Students listen to Vivaldi's Four Seasons and are asked to say which season is described and what makes them think of that season, then paint based on what they hear, prompting verbal description tied to the music. The letter-sounds activity has students identify beginning sounds and name words that start with S, practicing spoken labels.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to name and distinguish the words "circle" and "sphere," create a sphere with playdough, hunt for examples, group found items, and hear those terms reinforced aloud. During Reading Workshop, students are asked where and when a story takes place, are taught the term "setting," look through books to identify settings and seasons, and share the setting and the textual clues that led them to their answers. In Writing Workshop, students draw their favorite season and write or dictate things they know about that season, using seasonal vocabulary gathered from conversations and texts.
Unit 12: D - Dinosaurs Big and Small
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson explicitly introduces the vocabulary word "characteristic" and the sight word "big," and lists skills that require students to ask and answer questions about unknown words and determine word meanings. The Reading and Questions prompts require students to respond to the text (identify fiction vs. nonfiction, name author/illustrator, discuss dinosaur characteristics), which asks them to use words and phrases from the book and conversation. The activities ask students to describe dinosaur characteristics and compare lengths, prompting students to produce descriptive words and phrases learned from the read-aloud and discussion.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to show a dinosaur from the book and name one interesting characteristic, which requires them to use words from the text when responding. An adult explains vocabulary related to fossils and paleontologists and students are invited to look at fossil pictures, providing exposure to domain-specific words. Students practice saying the "d" sound with the word "dinosaur" while forming the letter D and are instructed to listen carefully to the words of the song "We Are the Dinosaurs" and act out the movements, which prompts use of words from a read/listened text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to read and practice the sight word "big" as it appears in the book (pointing out uppercase and lowercase and having the child read it). Students are prompted to define the word "sprawl" and explain how they can infer its meaning from the sentence and accompanying picture. Students recite a poem, identify descriptive words (tall, short, sharp teeth, long necks, meanest), and generate adjectives to describe specific dinosaurs from pictures in the book.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The review prompt asks students to name a favorite dinosaur, state a characteristic, and generate an adjective to describe that characteristic, requiring them to produce words acquired through conversation. The lesson has students listen to the song "We are the Dinosaurs," providing a read/listen-to-text context for acquiring vocabulary. In Activity 1 students read research pages, dictate five facts about their chosen dinosaur, and share that information with friends and family, requiring them to use words and phrases gained from reading and responding to texts.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 2 students listen to pg. 13 of Dinosaurs Big and Small being read and are asked to be on the lookout for adjectives (gigantic, longer, thick, sturdy, heaviest, tallest). Students look through supplemental books (or pictures) to find or think of describing words and then share the adjectives they found or thought about. In Activity 3 students cut out dinosaur pictures and dictate or write factual sentences about dinosaurs, using vocabulary and descriptive words connected to the texts and images.
Unit 13: P - Harold and the Purple Crayon
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson labels and defines the vocabulary word "imagination" and includes a sight word, giving students specific words to learn. Reading questions (#1-3) ask the child to respond to the text and express opinions about Harold's adventure, prompting use of words and phrases from the story. Activity 1 asks the child to recall how Harold solved problems and to propose solutions using her imagination, and Activity 2 asks the child to identify, name, and sort squares and rectangles using shape vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students review an explicit vocabulary list (island, structure, adjective, predicament, quarrel, rhyme, fiction, season, characteristic) and are prompted to point out shapes and use imaginative language. Students respond to the read-aloud Harold and the Purple Crayon by answering questions about the moon's shape and then glue labeled phase words (full moon, half moon, crescent, sliver, new moon) onto the diagram. Students practice and say the letter-sound and word "purple," hear that "violet" is another word for purple, and name/mix colors while discussing outcomes.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students reread Harold and the Purple Crayon and answer four comprehension questions, prompting them to respond to text with words and phrases. The lesson has students practice the sight word "made" by locating and reading it in multiple pages of the story. In Word Play students discuss meanings of story words like "trim" and "drew" and generate other words with multiple meanings; in the geometry activity students name and explain shapes (square, rectangle, cube, rectangular prism) and count sides/edges/corners.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked comprehension and discussion questions about Harold and the Purple Crayon (e.g., define "imagination," compare their neighborhood to Harold's, explain what places are in their neighborhood), which requires them to use vocabulary from the story. Students name shapes and solids and are prompted to name community places (police, fire stations, airports, banks, hospitals, supermarkets, harbors, schools, homes, places of worship, transportation lines) when planning their map. Students label and place building images on a butcher-paper map and cut/paste picture boxes under letters, which requires them to say and use place- and object-related words aloud while constructing and describing their map.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students name and identify geometric vocabulary (square, rectangle, cube, rectangular prism) and describe features by counting edges, corners, and faces in the Marshmallow Shapes activity. Students look at the first pages of a story with an adult and trace sentences, experiencing being read to and working with printed text. Students draw a picture and then write or dictate a description or story, producing language in response to their drawing.
Unit 14: B - Blueberries for Sal
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson explicitly introduces a vocabulary word (hustle) and a sight word (she), giving students new words to learn. Reading prompts ask the child to describe the cover, predict the book's topic, and discuss whether the child on the cover likes blueberries, prompting use of words and phrases in conversation. The lesson includes guided discussion questions after the read-aloud and a skill statement that students, with guidance, should respond to questions and suggestions and add details to strengthen writing, which directs students to use language acquired through the read-aloud and discussion.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to explain whether the story takes place in the past and to find picture clues (model of the car, clothing, cast-iron stove), requiring them to use words like "past," "model," and descriptive phrases. In Activity 3, students are asked to define the word "hustle" from context and then read movement words/phrases and act them out (e.g., "hustled along," "walked slowly," "padded up"). Activity 2 and the Student Activity Page label and practice words such as "bear" and "blueberry," and students pronounce and use the "b" sound while forming the letter B.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to retell Blueberries for Sal in their own words after reading, using pictures as prompts. The teacher asks the child what the word "hustle" means, prompting use of vocabulary from conversation. The child is asked to find and read the sight word "she" during reading, practicing words acquired from being read to. During the dye activity the child is asked what people did with the blueberry dye, prompting him to respond to the text/experience with words.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students read or are read nonfiction and fiction about bears and then create a two-column list labeling fictional elements and factual (non-fiction) facts, which requires them to name and record vocabulary from the texts. During the song activity, students sing and are asked to substitute and suggest motion words (e.g., "hustled," "backed," "padded") and add gestures, practicing use of new action words in context. The letter-sounds activities have students say, match, and write words beginning with B, reinforcing spoken and written vocabulary from instruction.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In the Reading Workshop, students examine books set in the past, search for clues about setting, and share their findings aloud, using prompts about clothing and technology that elicit vocabulary about time periods and objects. In the Writing Workshop, students are encouraged to write or dictate and then receive spoken feedback, with the adult identifying strengths such as "interesting words" and prompting the child to add more descriptive words or details.
Unit 15: R - Rain
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "downpour" and the sight word "on," and directs adults to point to words while reading. Multiple discussion prompts (Questions 1–4) ask the child to describe feelings about rain, explain sensory details that made it feel like rain, and to "Talk about the different words we use for rain" (sprinkling, raining, drizzling, pouring, downpour). The Recreating the Story activity has the child place die-cuts to show the story progression and retell events, providing opportunities to use words and phrases learned from the book and conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to describe a downpour and to use all five senses to describe water, rain, and ice, with the teacher prompting and helping them use good describing words. Students practice and produce color words and simple phrases by writing sentences beginning with "I see..." for the Rainbow Book and by filling in the Rainbow Sentences page. Students copy words the teacher writes or dictate sentences, which gives them guided practice using target words and phrases.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson has the child read and say the sight word "on" after the teacher shows the sight word card and points to it. The child is asked to read the book back, point to words, and name words she recognizes (such as "rain" and "on") after being read to. Activity 3 requires the child to point to objects in a created scene and use describing words or short phrases (e.g., "purple flowers") to tell about the scene.
Lesson 4
Day 4
During Review, the child is asked to provide "another word for 'downpour'", prompting production of a synonym. In Activity 1 an adult explains terms like "evaporate" and "condense" while the child observes the rain demonstration, exposing the child to science vocabulary. The letter-sounds and beginning-sounds activity pages require the child to name pictured objects (robot, ladder, elephant, etc.) and to circle or write matching letters, which elicits use of associated words.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students name 3–5 favorite things and write or dictate a sentence or phrase about each using a color word (Activity 3). Students discuss why writers use color words, engaging in conversation about word choice (Activity 3). Students practice reading a color-themed book aloud using pictures and color cues and then read that book to a sibling, pet, or family member, and read the book they wrote about colors to others (Activity 2).
Unit 16: N - Night in the Country
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to use specific vocabulary: the lesson introduces the word "country" (with two meanings) and the sight word "there" and asks the child to define and use "country" after reading. Students are asked to describe the cover, name the time of day (sunset/evening/night), and explain why the country is dark, requiring use of words and phrases acquired from the book and discussion. After reading, students answer comprehension questions (How do you feel about nighttime? What does the author seem to think?) and discuss differences between city, suburbs, and country, which elicits use of language from conversations and the text. In Activity 2, students describe sounds and feelings during a listening walk, and in Activity 1 they verbalize subtraction using the words "minus" or "take away."
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson asks the child to review a list of vocabulary words and to explain each word in her own words, which requires active use of acquired words. The child is asked to name a night sound and to describe two different meanings for the word "country," using words in conversation. In Activity 1 students role-play with paper-doll puppets, asking and answering questions (Where do you get your fruit?; How close is the nearest store?), which has students use vocabulary and phrases in back-and-forth conversation. The lesson also has the child look at the front cover of a book to find the letter N and discuss related words (e.g., "night").
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson has the child read and reread the sight word card "there" and find and read the word "there" in Night in the Country. The child is asked to tell the story in his own words using the pictures as a guide, prompting use of phrases from the text. The teacher prompts conversational responses (e.g., asking one difference between life in the country and life in the city) and has the child name landforms while creating models, encouraging use of vocabulary from the book.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are prompted to brainstorm and name natural resources (trees, animals, water, oil, rocks, plants) and to discuss how people ought to treat them, which requires using vocabulary from a conversation. Students listen to Night in the Country and go through specific onomatopoeic examples, then act out and make the sounds, practicing words and sound-words encountered in the text. Students hunt for pictures in magazines and collect objects to make a collage, which requires identifying and labeling items found in texts and real life.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In the Reading Workshop students independently "read" the book, identify questions about the text, share those questions, and talk about them, potentially doing research to find answers. In the Writing Workshop students write about day and night using whatever marks, letters, or words they can, dictate ideas, and read their work aloud. In Activity 1 students say and copy number sentences aloud (e.g., "10 minus 3 equals 7"), practicing spoken and written phrase use.
Unit 17: M - Marshmallow
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson labels and defines the vocabulary word "hesitated" and directs the adult to ask the child if she knows the word and to define it if she doesn't. The reading section has the child listen to and respond to the book Marshmallow through multiple comprehension questions that require oral answers. Activity 2 has the child discuss qualities of friendship and role-play responses to social scenarios, prompting the child to use language learned in conversation and from the text.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to define the word "hesitate," practicing vocabulary acquired through conversation. Students talk about Oliver following rules and then create household rules using words and/or pictures, explaining why the rules are important. Students supply omitted words from a poem (cloze activity) and are encouraged to memorize and perform it, using words learned from being read to. Students identify and say letter-sound words (M as in "marshmallow," "monkey," "money") during letter-practice activities.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students practice reading and rereading text: they read the book, practice the sight word "out," and read the word as it occurs in the story. Students are asked to tell the story in their own words and are encouraged to use the pictures to prompt their retelling. The lesson also prompts conversational language during activities (e.g., discussing which toy is bigger, longer, or heavier) and reviews sight words and a memory poem.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are prompted to talk about Owen and Mzee after watching the video and to compare that friendship to Owen and Marshmallow, including examples of similarities and differences and an optional Venn diagram for organizing those comparisons. Students practice a memory poem and are asked to explain the number 14 in their own words (with encouragement to explain it in terms of ten and four), which requires using spoken phrases to describe a concept. The activities include being read to/watching a story, conversational prompts, and a responding task (compare/contrast/Venn), each of which asks students to use words and phrases tied to the texts and conversations.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 1, students are asked to recall and name three-dimensional shape vocabulary (sphere, cube, rectangular prism, cylinder) and describe features such as faces, counting and comparing them. In Activity 2, students listen to poems being read, identify poem features (lines, verses, rhyme, beat) and are asked to point out rhyming pairs and distinguish poetry from stories. In Activity 3, students complete a dictated poem and a fill-in-the-blank animal story, supplying words and phrases to finish the texts.
Unit 18: U - Umbrella
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson names and defines the vocabulary word "unfortunately" and the sight word "not," then asks the child if he knows what "unfortunately" means and to identify its opposite. The text explicitly points out the prefix "un," asks the child to generate examples (unlucky, unable, unhappy), and instructs the child to "practice the words with 'un'" while manipulating fasteners. The lesson also prompts the child to predict the book's topic, recall events after being read to, and create and tell math story problems, requiring use of words and phrases acquired from the reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to answer a personal question during Review, which requires them to use conversational words to describe an event. Activity 2 has students say and practice words that demonstrate the U sound (umbrella, unicorn, rule) and trace/write the letter while reviewing those words. Activity 1 directs students to locate Japan, discuss that it is on the continent of Asia and its distance from the United States, and look at pictures of people, homes, animals and habitats, exposing them to and inviting talk about topical vocabulary. Activity 3 asks students to listen to and repeat the raindrop phrase "bon polo bon polo" and to invent and reproduce rhythms, which involves repeating language and sound patterns from the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked conversational questions (e.g., "what would be an unfortunate thing to happen on someone's birthday?") that prompt use of language from talk. An adult reads Umbrella aloud, points out the word "not," has the child read it and look for it in the story, and then asks the child to retell the story in his own words using the pictures as prompts. The handwriting and sound practice for the letter u and the labeled kanji page give explicit practice with words and word forms encountered in reading and discussion.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to review letter sounds and sight words, providing practice with words they have been exposed to. Students are prompted to discuss the prefix "un-" and to name pairs of numbers, engaging them in conversation that uses vocabulary. Students are asked to describe clouds after observing them and to look at a linked website where they may be told names of different kinds of clouds. Students are asked in which weather they would appreciate a fan, prompting them to use vocabulary in a conversational context.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Reading Workshop, students are asked to find capital letters, read the words, and explain why words are capitalized, and they are asked to discuss what they thought about Umbrella and whether they would recommend it to a friend. The lesson prompts students to look independently at the book and to answer comprehension/opinion questions about the text. In Writing Workshop, students are asked to write or dictate their thoughts about a special birthday gift and then read (or be read) their writing aloud and point out capital letters they used.
Unit 19: J - Jump Frog Jump
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson lists the vocabulary word "escape -- to get away" and the sight word "how." It directs the adult to tell the child that another word for "get away" is "escape" and to ask the child to look back through the book to identify animals the frog escaped. The lesson includes comprehension and opinion questions (e.g., "Do you think that was a kind action? Why or why not?") that prompt the child to respond to the text using words and phrases encountered during reading.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to define listed vocabulary words in their own words (rhyme, fiction, season, imagination, hustle, downpour, country, hesitated, unfortunately), which requires them to use and explain acquired words. Students discuss pond animals by saying what they know, naming similarities and differences, and sorting them into groups, which requires conversational use of descriptive words and phrases. Students practice the sound and name of the letter J while finding it on a book cover and during handwriting or jewel-tracing activities, and they sing and count with the finger-play song, using the song phrases aloud.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students read and say the sight word "how" when prompted and read repeated phrases such as "Jump, frog, jump!" during the second reading. Students retell the story using Day 1 story sequence cards to prompt their oral narrative. Students demonstrate positional and relationship vocabulary by placing die-cuts to match phrases from the book (e.g., "The frog was under the fly") and then use given words (to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with) to create original sentences and act them out.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students read or are read to about the life cycle of a frog (website or nonfiction book) and are prompted to talk about what a "life cycle" is, introducing vocabulary such as eggs, tadpole, froglet, and frog. Students construct a four-part diagram and label each quadrant "eggs," "tadpole," "froglet," and "frog," which requires them to write and use the vocabulary acquired from the reading. Students also identify beginning sounds and match pictures (pig, duck, octopus, goose, jet; jump rope, unicycle, etc.), which requires naming words and attending to word forms associated with the pictures.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students read and practice a repeating sentence from the book ("How will frog get away?") and are encouraged to "read" it aloud to an adult, which requires using words and phrases from the text. Students ask and answer oral questions during guided conversation (e.g., teacher asks "What time is it?"; child asks a question), demonstrating use of language acquired through conversation. Students respond to the text by reordering story sequence cards and by writing a question about frogs, using words/phrases from the reading and discussion.
Unit 20: K - Kindness
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are read Harry the Happy Mouse and asked comprehension questions (e.g., "What do the animals do?" and "What was your favorite example...") that require them to use language from the story. The vocabulary word "grand" is explicitly taught: students are asked if they know it, it is defined, and students are prompted to name things that make them "feel grand." Students watch a kindness video and are asked to "describe kindness in his own words" and then brainstorm and carry out acts of kindness, prompting use of words and phrases from conversations and the texts.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to use the Kindness Mouse puppet to go around and say kind things to each family member, practicing spoken kind phrases (Activity 1). Students are directed to choose characters from the book and act out acts of kindness and add dialogue, which requires using words and phrases from the text and from prior conversations about the story (Activity 3). Students also look at the title 'Kindness Mouse' and practice the word 'kindness' while learning the letter K, linking a word from text to oral production (Activity 2).
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to locate and read the word "so" in Harry the Happy Mouse, read it in context, and read a word card for "so." After reading, students are asked which act of kindness they found thoughtful and to discuss how Harry's small act led to more kindness, prompting them to use language to respond to the text. In the "Animals in Fiction" activity students name and record animal actions and human-like actions for each character, requiring them to generate descriptive words and phrases about the story.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to produce a synonym for "grand" during the review, demonstrating use of a new vocabulary word in conversation. Students generate and dictate 4–6 items for an "I Am a Good Citizen!" list, producing short phrases (e.g., "I take care of my pet," "I pick up my toys"). Students listen to and sing the Kindness song/video and are encouraged to memorize and perform parts of the song, which requires them to use words and phrases from an auditory text. The letter-sound activities ask students to name pictures and match or spell words, prompting use of vocabulary tied to images.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to talk during the 100-step walk, supplying numbers and conversing about acts of kindness. In Reading Workshop, students look carefully at pictures and retell the story, giving a general description of each act of kindness using the illustrations as a guide. In Writing Workshop, students choose a favorite book, write or dictate a brief description, state reasons they like the book, draw a scene, and read back their writing or dictation to add one more detail.
Unit 21: V - Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson labels a vocabulary word ("solo") and a sight word ("now") and instructs adults to talk about the meaning of "solo." During reading and follow-up questions, students are asked to name instruments, describe actions, and report audience responses, providing opportunities to use vocabulary from the text. Activity 1 has students match instrument pictures to number cards and ensemble-name labels (solo, duet, chamber group of 10), requiring them to use the learned words and phrases orally.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to discuss natural resources versus man-made resources and to name examples (water, wood, rocks, animals), which requires using new vocabulary from the conversation. Students are asked to identify materials used to make instruments (wood, horsehair, metals, plastics) and to indicate whether instruments use natural resources, prompting use of those terms. Students sort and classify instrument pictures into groups and explain their groupings, and they watch/read segments about instruments and are asked to say which instrument they would enjoy playing, requiring them to respond to texts with words and phrases.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are read Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin and are asked to look for the word "now" during the read-aloud and to place instrument pictures in the order they appear, prompting text-based responses. Students answer oral review questions (How many instruments in a solo/duet? name a natural resource) and brainstorm jobs to sort under labeled index cards "Goods" and "Services," practicing vocabulary in conversation. Students identify and name shapes (cylinder, cone) and label items (volcano, violet) while practicing the sound and writing of the letter v, using vocabulary from instruction and discussion.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked oral questions during Review (e.g., how many instruments are playing during a solo; name a job and whether it provides goods or a service; name an example of a cylinder and a cone), which prompts them to use words and short phrases in conversation. In Activity 1 students draw, write, or dictate observations on a Senses Web about an instrument, requiring them to produce descriptive words and phrases for what it looks, sounds, feels, smells, or tastes. In Activity 2 students select, practice, and perform a song, producing words and phrases in a spoken/sung context, and Activity 3 has students label and name beginning sounds and sight words, supporting oral and written vocabulary use.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In the Reading Workshop, students listen to pages read aloud and supply missing rhyming words (for example, supplying "trombone" and "solo") and then identify rhyming pairs from the text. Students independently search the book for similarly spelled line endings and point out rhyming pairs they find. In the Writing Workshop, students write in response to music, read their writing aloud, and receive feedback that highlights interesting word choice.
Unit 22: Y - Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to name their favorite color and explain why, make observations and predictions about the book cover, and answer detailed comprehension questions after the teacher reads Little Blue and Little Yellow. The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "row" with its two meanings and challenges students to create a sentence that uses "row" twice with different meanings. In Activities, students point to and say each sticker color in patterns and name primary colors and color blends when mixing paints, using words acquired through the reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to define a set of vocabulary words in their own words, which requires them to use words acquired from prior reading and conversation. Students are asked to describe two meanings of the word "row," continue an oral pattern, and explain how to make green by combining yellow and blue, using language acquired through instruction and reading. Students answer comprehension and response questions about stories (Little Blue and Little Yellow, Marshmallow, Harry the Happy Mouse) and describe traits of friendship and citizenship in their own words and by drawing a picture for a friend.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are shown a sight word card for "they," practice reading it, and read the word "they" in sentences from Little Blue and Little Yellow. Students are read the story Little Blue and Little Yellow and then use pictures and balls of dough to retell and act out the story in their own words. Students are asked conversational prompts (for example, to name one quality of a good friend) and encouraged to write or trace color names in the Color Book.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students look back through Little Blue and Little Yellow and answer directed questions about how the author shows characters, feelings, and settings, engaging language about emotions and locations. Students tear paper to create characters, tell a story using those pieces, and then glue one scene and write or dictate what is happening, producing phrases in response to the text. Students name and sort colors during review and a nature scavenger hunt, speaking and using color vocabulary acquired through conversation and reading.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Reading Workshop, students are shown a page with a speaker's words and are asked to find other uses of quotation marks, identify who is speaking, and talk about their findings, which prompts them to respond to text and use spoken language. In Writing Workshop, students are encouraged to draw and write about a nature walk and are explicitly told they may use words, phrases, complete sentences, or dictate, which asks them to produce and use words and phrases in writing. The activities require students to speak about the book and to write using words or phrases, connecting conversation, being read to, and responding to texts.
Unit 23: W - George Washington's Birthday
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson names and defines specific vocabulary (arithmetic) and a sight word (went) and includes the skill "Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text." The reading prompts ask the child to explain the meaning of "tyrant," to talk about the word "myth," and to decide whether the book is fiction or nonfiction, requiring the child to use those terms in discussion. Multiple discussion prompts (e.g., compare pictures, give opinions, describe lessons George learned) ask the child to respond to the text using words and phrases encountered during reading.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to read and talk about text and pictures: they identify days of the week in the George Washington book and sing the days song aloud. Students examine the American flag and are asked what they notice and why there are 50 stars and 13 stripes, prompting them to use words like "stars," "stripes," "states," and "colonies." Students read, cut out, and glue labeled word boxes ("Statue of Liberty," "United States Flag," "Bald Eagle") and read the label "wagon" while practicing the W sound, which requires them to use and recognize vocabulary acquired through reading and conversation.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to read and repeat the sight word "went" and to read sentences aloud while pointing to each word, practicing vocabulary encountered in the text. Students page back through the book and recap each story about George Washington, explicitly identifying whether each item is a "myth" or a "fact." Students are also prompted to name a national symbol and to sing the Days of the Week song, engaging in conversational and recitation practice.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name two U.S. symbols and explain why they were chosen, prompting them to use words and phrases in explanation. Students watch videos about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin and are prompted to talk about the qualities they admire and why those qualities are important. Students read pages with italicized vocabulary, deduce meanings from context, and then act out the sentences using the italicized words, requiring them to use newly encountered words/phrases in response to text.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Reading Workshop, students are asked to point out words like "FACT" and "MYTH," explain why an author might place information in boxes, and share observations and recommendations about the book. In Writing Workshop, students draw and then write or dictate words, phrases, or sentences about how they celebrate their birthday and are asked to replace one word with a more descriptive word. Students are also asked to read their work aloud and discuss their favorite part.
Unit 24: Q - The Quilt Story
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson introduces and defines the vocabulary word "shavings" and the sight word "under" and asks the child to discuss the meaning after reading The Quilt Story. After reading, the child is asked comprehension questions that require using words and phrases from the text (e.g., explaining clues that show the story took place a long time ago and how the quilt helped the girls). Activities ask the child to name and count sides and corners of shapes and introduce the word "hexagon," prompting the child to use geometric vocabulary in sorting and composing shapes. The child is prompted to make observations about quilts and to describe relationships between illustrations and story moments, encouraging oral use of language acquired through reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to talk about and identify vocabulary from the text and activities (e.g., wood shavings, natural resources, hills, prairie, river) when they go through the beginning pages and identify how the family used resources. Students discuss Daniel Boone and talk about character qualities after watching/read materials, responding verbally about exploration and adventure. Students practice and say words that start with Q (quilt, quicksand) while forming the letter and tracing it in sand or on handwriting sheets.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students practice reading the sight word "under" during the read-aloud and are asked to read it aloud when it appears in The Quilt Story. Students are asked to tell the story back in their own words, which requires them to use vocabulary and phrases from the text. Students complete a Then-and-Now Venn diagram comparing settings and characters using labels like "LONG AGO" and "MUCH LATER," and they match and name shapes in the shape activity using shape names and descriptive clues.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students review letter sounds and sight words, and complete letter-sound pages where they identify beginning letters for pictures and paste letters under the correct letter. Students listen to or read descriptions of famous Americans and holidays and then cut, glue, and color pictures that match those descriptions. The instructions tell the adult to "discuss" the holidays and the contributions of historical figures, which implies students hear vocabulary about holidays and historical roles.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students name and identify solid and flat shapes aloud and respond to spoken clues by traveling to the correct shape and saying its name (Activity 1). Students look at The Quilt Story illustrations, describe characters' facial expressions using feeling words (pleased, satisfied), and explain what those words reveal about the story (Activity 2). Students draw an item or a holiday celebration, compose or dictate sentences about it using prompted phrases, and read back their writing, practicing language acquired from conversation and reading (Activity 3).
Unit 25: X - An Extraordinary Egg
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "extraordinary" with a definition and examples and lists the sight word "look," giving students explicit new words to learn. After the read-aloud, students are asked to decide whether given examples are "extraordinary" and to explain their reasoning (Question #2), prompting them to use the word in conversation. The fiction/nonfiction activity has students page back through the book, dictate factual and fictional ideas about frogs onto index cards, and sort them under headings like "Facts About Frogs" and "Fictional Frogs," requiring them to use words and phrases from the text. Question #3 asks students to compare and contrast friendships from two books, encouraging use of descriptive phrases acquired through reading and discussion.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students discuss the animal that hatched in the story, answering questions about whether it was a chicken or an alligator and labeling it as a bird or reptile. Students describe a real chicken egg using targeted vocabulary prompts (color, size, shape, texture, weight, flexible, float/sink), responding verbally to each question. Students identify and say words from the book that contain the letter x (extraordinary, box, fox, ax, fix, x-ray, xylophone), practice the /ks/ sound, and use those words while tracing and writing the letter X.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are read An Extraordinary Egg and are asked to retell the story in their own words using the pictures to remember events, which prompts them to use vocabulary and phrases from the text. The sight word "look" is shown in context and students are asked to read it as the adult reads the sentence "Look what I found!," giving practice using a word learned from reading. In the "Words with X" activity, students hear each word, repeat the word, and find and circle the x, providing repeated opportunities to acquire and practice specific vocabulary items.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to "read with your child to learn some facts about alligators" (web article) and to recall and describe the stages of the frog life cycle from a previous lesson. Students label a three-section paper plate with the words "egg," "baby alligator," and "adult alligator" and tape corresponding pictures, which requires writing and using content vocabulary. Students are prompted to answer the question "how that differs from the life cycle of a frog," and to act out life-cycle stages, which elicits spoken responses tied to the texts and activities.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to listen to and read the words a character speaks and to identify quotation marks, which requires attending to spoken language in text (Activity 2). Students are prompted to respond to the book by saying what they liked, which asks them to use language in response to a text (Activity 2). In Writing Workshop students draw and write or dictate a creative story and are prompted to add another detail or include a describing word, which directs them to use descriptive words in their own language production (Activity 3).
Unit 26: Z - Greedy Zebra
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "greedy" with a definition and asks the child to give examples, predict how the zebra will be greedy, and explain what happened because of the zebra's greediness. It prompts students to look at the book cover, name the title, and respond to the text by answering questions about character actions and consequences. The lesson also calls out a sight word "new" and includes conversation prompts (predicting, explaining, justifying whether the zebra deserved the result) that require students to use words and phrases from conversations and the reading.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to review vocabulary words and define each term in their own words and to give an example of being greedy, which requires them to use acquired words in explanation. Students create and solve a story problem with animal cards, applying words/phrases in a contextual task. Students do online research about zebras and are invited to dictate a report using the Zebra Research organizer and share it with others, which requires using words and phrases gained from reading and responding to text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The student practices the sight word "new" by reading the word on a card and locating and reading it in the sentence from Greedy Zebra, and the adult encourages the child to read the word as it occurs in the story. After the book, the child is asked to use illustrations to retell the story and to predict what would have happened if zebra had not been greedy, and is asked why being greedy is a negative characteristic. Other activities prompt conversation (sorting animals and describing the sorting criterion; talking about what one might see and feel in a cave), which require the child to use descriptive words and phrases in response to prompts.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked during Review to think of a word that means the opposite of "greedy," prompting them to retrieve and use vocabulary. In Activity 1 students read and discuss descriptive information about five savannah animals and then color cut-outs based on those characteristics, which requires attending to and using learned descriptive words. In Activity 2 students hear the story Greedy Zebra and act out specific action-packed verbs and verbals (e.g., "crept cautiously," "peered into the darkness," "running and jumping and sliding"), directly using phrases from a text in response to reading.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 1, students are prompted to identify animals and compare them using phrases such as "bigger than" or "has more legs than," prompting use of comparative language. In Activity 2, students name books with animal characters, state similarities and differences, identify settings, and recall nonfiction subjects—tasks that require using words and phrases acquired from reading and discussing texts. In Activity 3, students draw a scene and write or dictate words, phrases, or sentences about a favorite book and are asked to revise vocabulary (e.g., replace a word with a more interesting word).
2: Holidays
Unit 27: Halloween
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are introduced to the vocabulary word "lagoon" with a clear definition and are asked to listen for that word in Goodnight Goon and decide which meaning fits the text. Students generate rhyming words for "goon" (e.g., spoon, moon, lagoon), verbally respond to why Goodnight Moon was written, and compare similarities and differences between the two book covers. Students read informational pages about mummies and discuss what a mummy is, then participate in a hands-on activity that prompts them to predict and count while using related vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Day 2
An adult asks the child to recall the word "lagoon," prompting the child to respond verbally. The adult explains skeletal vocabulary (skeleton, bones, fuse, joints, skull, ribs, spine) and asks the child to color body parts labeled with those terms, requiring the child to recognize and use the words. The child watches the "Dem Bones" video and is encouraged to complete the bones dance and point to the correct bones while the song/visuals play, asking the child to respond to a text by using anatomical words.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to read Goodnight Goon and join in at the ends of lines when they know the word, which requires them to use words acquired through being read to. Students are prompted to choose a page they find funniest or clever and explain why, which asks them to respond to text using language. The review asks students to explain what a lagoon and a goon are, and Activity 2 has students trace and write the phrases "Boo!" and "Happy Halloween!" and compose a greeting message, providing practice using words and phrases from reading and conversation.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students review letter cards and sight words and are asked to think of a word that could be used instead of "lagoon" (pond, puddle), prompting use of synonyms. Students watch a video about bats that introduces vocabulary about bat types, diets, and ecological roles. Students cut out a bat mask and then answer questions about what kind of bat they are, what it eats, and other facts, requiring them to use words and phrases acquired from the video and conversation.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to listen to and look at Goodnight Goon and identify rhyming word pairs (for example, saying and comparing "claws" and "jaws" and guessing "bat" and "hat"). Students practice saying those words aloud and share pairs they find, showing they use words acquired from the text in spoken responses. Students create their own rhyming sentences (e.g., "Good night, clock, and good night, sock") and either have those sentences written for them or copy the words into blanks, demonstrating use of text-derived words in writing.
Unit 28: Thanksgiving
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "grateful" and directs adults to talk about what it means and ask the child what she is grateful for, prompting use of that word and related phrases. The lesson asks the child to summarize why Thanksgivings are celebrated after reading the book and to answer questions about locations and the pilgrims' voyage, which requires using words and phrases from the text and conversation. In the Turkey Research activity the child dictates five turkey facts and then those facts are read aloud, giving opportunities to use vocabulary learned from reading and discussion.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to name one thing they know about turkeys and one thing for which they are grateful, which requires using words from conversation. Students are prompted to recall specific details from the book Thanksgiving Is... (e.g., why Pilgrims left, name of the ship, first Thanksgiving), requiring them to use vocabulary and phrases from the reading. Students are asked to predict whether their Mayflower will sink or float and to observe and describe how stirring the water affects the boat. Students act out story events after reading, which provides opportunities to use words and phrases from the text while responding to the story.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are read the book Thanksgiving Is... and are asked to offer something they learned from the reading, which requires them to use vocabulary gained from the text. Students discuss pages about kinds of feasts and their family's favorite Thanksgiving foods, and they discuss how Pocahontas's help differed from the help at Plymouth after reading a linked article. Students create a cornucopia and write or draw things for which they are thankful, prompting them to produce words or phrases related to the topic.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are prompted to review sight words and letter cards and to answer questions such as what it means to be grateful and what the Pilgrims were grateful for, which asks them to use vocabulary from prior conversations and readings. After reading about Abraham Lincoln, students are asked to state what words might describe him and why we still celebrate him, which requires them to respond to a text using descriptive words and phrases. Students are also asked to write or dictate a Thanksgiving note explaining why they are thankful, producing language drawn from conversation and the read-aloud content.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Reading Workshop, students study book illustrations and are asked to point out observations, which requires them to respond to text and use language to describe what they notice. In Writing Workshop, students draw things for which they are grateful and then write words or sentences, or dictate them, to label and describe their pictures. Both activities require students to produce words and phrases as they describe illustrations and express gratitude.
Unit 29: Christmas
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to explore and then describe The Christmas Wish, predict its content, and discuss illustrations, prompting them to use words and phrases from a read-aloud. Students are prompted to talk about photographs and possible photo editing, answering questions that require vocabulary from the conversation and text. Students name and describe shapes (naming shape names, counting sides, stating what makes each unique) while building and decorating a paper tree. Students read the Conifers article and are asked to state three things they learned, requiring use of words acquired from reading.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to look again at The Christmas Wish and tell their favorite part, prompting them to respond to a text in their own words. Students are prompted to talk about Norway using linked resources, which encourages use of words acquired through conversation and reading. In Activity 2 students are asked to discuss what snow is made of and to use vocabulary such as liquid, solid, melt, freeze, and dissolve when predicting and describing outcomes. Activity 3 asks students to name animals (with the adult reading animal names) and create a snowy scene, applying words from the story and read-alouds.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students hear and see vocabulary from texts and media (the term "aurora borealis" and "northern lights") when an adult explains the phenomenon and they watch a Northern Lights video. Students chant and produce words and phrases by saying the rhyme "Five Little Bells" and practicing the finger play. Students identify and name animals from the story and answer questions about the reindeer after paging through the book and reading the linked article. Students sing along to the "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" video, using phrases from a song they heard.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Activity 1 prompts students to talk about Santa Claus and to answer questions about Anja (e.g., why she wanted to be an elf, whether her experience was a dream), which requires using language to respond to a story. Activity 2 has students name their country and continent, locate the North Pole, trace Santa's path, and identify islands, oceans, and mountains, which prompts use of geographic vocabulary. Activity 3 asks students to create and describe parts of Santa's face (hat, beard, eyes, nose, smile), encouraging use of descriptive words and phrases while crafting.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 directs students to notice quotation marks and to say a character's words in that character's voice, so students orally repeat and respond to language from the text. Activity 3 asks students to write or dictate a description of their celebration or to compose a letter to Santa, so students produce language in response to a text or experience. Activity 1 has students talk about a simple task they could do to be like the character, engaging students in conversation about text-related actions.
Unit 30: February Celebrations
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students listen to the read-aloud of The Biggest Valentine Ever and answer specific comprehension questions about plot and character actions, requiring them to use language from the story to respond. Students brainstorm and verbally generate strategies for handling different opinions (e.g., "take turns," "each working on a different part"), producing phrases in discussion. Students sing and may create motions or a dance to the song "Skidamarink," which gives them opportunity to use and repeat words and phrases from a listened-to text.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students watch videos and are asked questions (Activity 1 and Activity 3) that prompt them to recall facts and talk about presidents, providing opportunities to use vocabulary from the videos. In Activity 2 students name coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter), state coin values, compare values (e.g., how many pennies equal a nickel), and sort coins while the directions prompt review of the name and value of each coin. Discussion prompts repeatedly ask the child to describe what she notices, what she remembers about Lincoln, and whether she would like to be president, which requires using words and phrases acquired through the conversation and texts.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 1 directs the child to use a website to see and hear the phrase "I love you" in many languages and to choose a language to practice saying the phrase. Activity 3 instructs the child to read each math problem out loud before matching problem and answer pieces. Activity 2 asks the child to write a message on the craft mouse, which requires producing a short written phrase.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students watch/read two linked texts about Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. and are prompted to talk about them (e.g., why education is important; how MLK showed love). Students are asked to name similarities between the two figures and respond to questions, providing opportunities to use words and phrases from those conversations and texts. Students dictate or write dreams using the phrase "I have a dream..." and create a dream book, explicitly using language drawn from the MLK text and related discussion.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to discuss what they would say to the President and then dictate their thoughts while an adult records them, showing use of words and phrases from conversation. Students are directed to use a web page to help organize their letter, which requires them to draw on language from reading to plan their writing. Students create Valentine cards using the set phrase "I love you" and write recipient and sender names, demonstrating reproduction of words/phrases in a written response.
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
The lesson directs daily vocabulary review and explicitly instructs the child to "describe each vocabulary word and use it correctly in a sentence," linking vocabulary to conversation. Activities require children to label rooms (copy or sound out words), trace and write target words (bath, bed), read a paragraph aloud, and respond by circling items and explaining why they meet needs. The song and hand motions prompt children to produce the phrase "water, food, and shelter" and use it in conversation and performance.
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students are read Me On the Map and are asked and repeatedly answer questions about country, state, town, and address, giving opportunities to use geographic words and place names. Students label map items, sound out and write words (e.g., refrigerator, bathtub, bed, television, map, home, house), and answer positional questions (e.g., "What is beside the refrigerator?", "What is in front of the couch?") using prepositions. Students practice handwriting of target words (map, mom, home, house) and are asked to describe the environment in which they live, encouraging use of vocabulary from reading and conversation.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
Students are given the definition of "environment" and "habitat" and introduced to habitat types (wetlands, grasslands, woodlands, deserts). Students are asked oral comprehension and prediction questions while the teacher reads Crinkleroot's Guide, prompting them to point out and name animals and plants in each habitat. Students draw, label, sort plants/animals/insects, answer guided questions about a chosen habitat, and sing a song that repeats key habitat-related phrases.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students participate in a read-aloud (Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt) and answer explicit comprehension questions, using vocabulary from the text. Students name and discuss needs of animals and plants (water, food, shelter, roots, stems, leaves) during guided conversation. Students write or label living things on habitat chart pages and identify "consumer" and "energy source" on Food for Survival and Energy pages. Students generate phrases on the Plants Can/HAVE/ARE page, producing words and short phrases derived from reading and discussion.
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
Students read, sound out, and write habitat vocabulary (Option 1 asks children to add first and last letters and attempt to read/sound out each habitat; Option 2 asks children to read the habitat names in a word box and label the pictures). Students speak about and describe animals and habitats in response to guided questions (Activity 2 prompts oral answers about which animals live in which habitats). Students label animals and their food/water sources (Activity 3) and practice target words in handwriting and sentence use (Activity 4 practices the words "jungle" and "Jeep").
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students draw and label items in a real habitat and answer guided questions (e.g., 'Where are the plants?', 'What are they doing?'), which prompts use of naming, descriptive, and action words. Students choose an animal, find information in books or online that is shared with them, dictate a story about the animal, and are encouraged to read or sound out the recorded story, linking reading/being read-to with language use. Students practice specific vocabulary in handwriting (words like 'zoo' and 'zebra') and role-play animals during wrap-up, providing repeated conversational use of acquired words and phrases.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
Students are prompted to talk about tools through guided questions (e.g., Questions to Explore and Activity 1 scavenger hunt questions) and to describe what each tool is used for and how it works (Activity 2). Students read and sound out the names of tools with adult support and record beginning letters or whole words (Activity 3). Students practice writing and reading measurement-related words (it, inch) on the handwriting page (Activity 4) and are asked at the wrap-up to tell what a tool is and which tools they used to measure.
Lesson 8
Animal Care
Students are read The Salamander Room and are asked specific comprehension and discussion questions (e.g., "What kind of environment did the salamander need?", "Would you keep it? Why or why not?"). Activities prompt students to speak about and practice caring for pets (answering "What do pets need?" and "What would happen if we didn't provide a healthy environment?"). The Facts and Definitions section introduces vocabulary (e.g., "Domestic animals"), and multiple prompts ask students to discuss, describe, and explain environments and needs aloud or in response to texts.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students read and respond to short captions (e.g., "A fish swims in the ocean") and are asked to name animals and habitats aloud. Students write habitat names and movement words in Option 2 and are prompted to print or draw animals to match those words. Students speak sentences identifying misplaced animals ("A zebra can't live in the ocean. A zebra lives in the savanna."), act out movement words, and tell and revise a creative story about an animal in the wrong habitat.
Lesson 10
Amazing Animals
Students are read to and encouraged to read along (Activity 1) and to locate books/websites about chosen animals, providing opportunities to encounter new words. Students answer critical questions and role-play animal scenarios (Activity 2), which require them to respond to texts and use vocabulary from the read-alouds. Skills list includes "Listen critically to text read aloud," "Respond to critical questions about a text," and "Present dramatic interpretations of stories," all of which prompt students to use words and phrases acquired through conversation and reading.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
Students are prompted to read words beneath each face aloud and to record and read their own responses (Activity 2 and Activity 3). The Skills list explicitly includes "Recognize some words by sight," "Read or attempt to read own story," and "Express ideas," linking reading, being read to, and conversational language use. Option 2 asks students to go beyond basic labels (happy, sad) and use more advanced vocabulary (e.g., joyous, depressed), encouraging use of words acquired through conversation and reading. Students also respond to pictorial texts by circling faces and writing or drawing how those items make them feel.
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
The lesson asks students to answer guided discussion questions (e.g., describing their environment, naming habitats, and explaining what habitats provide), which requires them to use vocabulary from prior conversations. In both project options students must label pictures and write names/phrases (e.g., animal name, "What ___ Eats and Drinks," shading where an animal is found), providing explicit tasks to produce words and phrases. The wrap-up asks students to explain each page of their book and share it with family, and the extension invites students to think of and record words for a song, all prompting use of acquired words and phrases in speaking and writing.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
Students are asked to listen to a read-aloud (Whatever the Weather) and respond to questions about the story, which requires using vocabulary from the text. In Activity 2 students match weather words to pictures and are asked to dictate a sentence for each vocabulary word, and advanced students write the words beneath pictures. The Skills list and Introduction explicitly direct students to review vocabulary daily and to use new vocabulary in speech and writing. The Life Application and Weather Calendar require students to describe sky conditions daily and discuss forecasts, invoking vocabulary from conversations and media.
Lesson 2
Types of Precipitation
Students are read aloud to from Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? and Whatever the Weather and then answer specific comprehension questions about habitats, characters being hot or cold, and new information learned. Students read and label words for precipitation on the "Falling From the Sky" activity pages (identifying and writing R, S, H or writing the names of precipitation). Students discuss and describe processes (e.g., explain why rain forms during the jar-and-ice experiment), make predictions, and practice handwriting of words like "rain" and "round."
Lesson 3
Measuring and Charting Weather
Students are asked to name and discuss tools and concepts (thermometer, temperature, rain gauge, amount of rain) in the Facts and Definitions and during Activities 1 and 2. Students are asked to describe what weather can be like in different habitats after looking at Crinkleroot's Guide (reading and being read to) and to answer prompts such as what would happen if an animal's habitat got too warm or cold (conversations). Students create a RAIN acrostic by thinking of words or phrases related to rain and record those ideas (responding to text and producing phrases).
Lesson 4
Simulating Weather
Students are asked to name and discuss three things the wind can move and to explain observations during the pinwheel activity, providing opportunities to use weather-related vocabulary in conversation. Students build and observe a pinwheel and describe what the wind does, and they perform the bottle cloud experiment and are asked to explain what happens when they squeeze and release the bottle. Students sing the Weather Song, are asked to read and find words (e.g., clouds, rain), point to words as they sing, and are invited to make up their own weather song, which practices using phrases acquired from the song and discussion.
Lesson 5
Fall
Students are asked to circle three items in the fall picture, write the names, circle the beginning letters, and use each word in a sentence (Options 1 and 2). Students practice writing and copying sentences, and there is explicit handwriting practice for the words "fall" and "fun." Students read directions aloud or hear them read, then answer questions about the scene and the graph (e.g., describing weather, which color has the most leaves).
Lesson 6
Winter
Students are asked to find winter pages in a book and describe what they see, showing they respond to text and use language about it. A vocabulary box lists COLD, SNOW, and FREEZE and students are encouraged to use those words when dictating a winter story and when attempting to read it aloud. Handwriting practice has students write and copy the words wind and winter, reinforcing use of words in speech and writing. Conversation prompts ask students to compare winter and summer weather, requiring them to use words and phrases from discussion and reading.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked to attempt to read each spring poem, tell what each poem was about, and draw or match illustrations to the poems, which requires responding to texts. Students are prompted to identify and underline rhyming words, listen as poems are read aloud, and discuss spring weather and what seeds need, linking words from reading and conversation to content. A Language Arts extension asks students to write or dictate their own spring poem, which requires using words and phrases acquired through the prior reading and conversation.
Lesson 8
Summer
Students use provided picture-word prompts and complete fill-in-the-blank sentences in the "A Summer Story" activity, deciding which word fits, cutting/pasting words, or writing letters/words. Students read the story aloud or read along, and are asked to describe the Summer Fun picture and answer questions about it (what is happening, how kids feel, could this happen in winter?). Students write season names or beginning letters on the "Changes in Weather" page and complete sentences about which season is warmest/coldest. Students learn and sing the season song, using seasonal vocabulary in speech.
Final Project
Weather Games
Students play the Weather Memory game that requires them to match written weather and season words with pictures, reinforcing vocabulary recognition. Students are asked to look through Whatever the Weather and pick the page that matches today's conditions and answer specific observational questions, linking reading to discussion. Over three mornings students prepare and give an oral weather forecast to the family, record temperature on a weather calendar, and use the "Weather Forecast" graphic organizer to answer questions about sky, precipitation, temperature, clothing, and activities.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
Students are read the book On the Town and asked comprehension questions that require responding to the text (e.g., What is a community? What places did Charlie visit?). Students practice vocabulary through daily review and a dedicated 'Community Vocabulary' activity where they read sentences and fill in or copy community words into blanks. Students produce language by drawing a new town page and writing or dictating one or two sentences about Charlie visiting a place, and by handwriting practice that has them write words like "park" and "people."
Lesson 2
My Community Environment
Students are read Me on the Map and are asked to name and discuss important places (court, police station, fire station, library, museum, grocery store), prompting use of community vocabulary from a read-aloud. Students label places and write or dictate brief descriptions on a poster, copying book titles and drawing community illustrations, which requires using words and phrases from books and conversations. Students prepare and ask interview questions, respond to questions such as "Why would a person come here?" and discuss similarities and differences among communities, using language gained from conversations and texts.
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Students are prompted to name and describe what community workers do and to say simple sentences aloud about how workers help (Activities 1, 3, and 5). Students read or attempt to read names of workers, are read to and asked to read books about community workers, and are asked to attempt to read or share their own written paragraph aloud (Activities 1, 4, 6). Students dictate sentences, copy sentences, and respond to questions about texts and observations, and they use those words/phrases during charades and discussions (Activities 4, 5, Wrapping Up).
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
Students read and say names of buildings, goods, and services on the activity sheet and are prompted to sound out words and circle beginning letters. Students discuss money, jobs, and the purpose of goods and services in guided conversation with prompts to explain how places help people. Students read price tags, count play dollars aloud, and describe which items they can buy, then are asked to describe goods and services and explain why people have jobs.
Lesson 5
Resources
Students sort and label pictured items as "Natural" or "Manmade" and mark each item with an "N" or "M," which requires using vocabulary terms such as natural, manmade, and resource. Students orally explain how each gathered item is used and where it is found (Activity 3) and are prompted to write a sentence about resources, demonstrating use of the words in speech and writing. Students are asked to explain the difference between resources found in nature and resources made by humans and to identify natural and manmade resources in the kitchen, prompting use of the target phrases in conversational and practical contexts.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
The Skills list explicitly includes "Listen responsibly to text read aloud," and Activity 1 presents a series of read-aloud scenarios that students must judge and explain, requiring them to respond to text and use citizenship vocabulary (citizen, rules, environment, help). In Option 2 and Activity 3 students are asked to draw and label pictures and to describe or dictate examples of good and bad citizenship, which requires them to produce words and phrases acquired through prior conversation and read-alouds. The Life Application asks students to talk about why they earned a badge, prompting use of relevant words and phrases in conversation.
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students are introduced to and discuss vocabulary words (respect, responsibility, kindness, honesty) in the Facts and Definitions and opening questions. Students respond orally to texts and prompts (predicting outcomes, answering questions about Riley and The Boy Who Cried Wolf) and explain why they assigned kindness scores. Students retell stories by drawing and writing/dictating sentences, and practice writing target words (kid, kind) on the handwriting page.
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
Students are read the definitions and the story "The House with No Rules" and are asked to read sentence strips and activity page items aloud. Students answer comprehension and opinion questions about the story and explain which home rules are most important, using words like "rule" and "law" in conversation. Students sort statements into "Rules" and "Laws" webs and paste items accordingly, applying vocabulary from the readings and discussions.
Lesson 9
Caring for Our Communities
Students are read the story "When One Person Cares" and answer comprehension questions (beginning/middle/end, where Katy lives, what she does) requiring them to use words and phrases from the text. Students discuss and compare two community pictures, mark Xs/circles, and explain why one is a better place to live, using conversational vocabulary about community and environment. Students role-play community helper scenarios, compose a short helping song, and practice handwriting and tracing the words "care" and "citizen," providing spoken and written opportunities to use words and phrases acquired from reading and conversation.
Final Project
I Can Make A Difference
Students use sentence starters in the Planning Section (e.g., "I am planning to...", "The first thing I will do is...") to produce phrases and short sentences describing actions and plans. Students dictate ideas while an adult records them and answer teacher prompts (for example, giving examples of how people can make their communities better), which requires using vocabulary gained through conversation. Students complete reflection sentence starters (e.g., "I helped __ with __," "I felt __") and the Skills list explicitly notes using naming and action words, so students practice expressive words and phrases to describe actions and feelings.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
Students practice using descriptive vocabulary orally in Guess What's in the Bag and Similar or Different by listening to and producing attribute words (e.g., 'soft,' 'rough,' 'yellow,' 'red'). Students read, circle first letters, copy, cut/paste, and write descriptive words from the Word Box in the Describing Words activities, and they write or copy a sentence describing an object in the Handwriting activity. The unit requires daily vocabulary review to reinforce use of descriptive words in speech and writing.
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
Students are asked to name and write living and nonliving items (Option 2) and to list animals in Body Coverings categories (Option 2), which requires using vocabulary like "feathers," "scales," and "fur." In Animal Parts (Option 2) students write the name of the body part that helps an animal move, and in Handwriting (Activity 4) students trace and write the words "animal" and "ant." Students are also prompted to explain how stuffed animals are alike and different and to describe how they know which objects are living, which requires using descriptive words and phrases in conversation.
Lesson 3
Size, Shape, and Color
Students are asked to describe the size, shape, and color of real objects (e.g., comparing a metal spoon and a wooden spoon) and to discuss the terms they used. The Shape activity has students name shapes from a labeled page and draw or write real-world examples, requiring use of shape vocabulary. The Color activity has students identify primary colors, watch a video about primary colors, experiment with mixing colors, and then describe what they learned using color terms.
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
Students verbally describe objects by texture during the blindfold guessing activity and adults record the words the students use. The Skills list explicitly includes "Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing," and Activity 2 has students read, circle, cut/paste, or copy texture adjective words and match them to pictured nouns. Activity 3 asks students to write a sentence of the form "______ feels _________," and the teacher reads contrasting example sentences that model texture words in text.
Lesson 5
How Old?
Students are asked to discuss and use age-related vocabulary (older, younger, age, height, weight) when ordering family pictures and judging tree ages in Activity 1. In Activity 2 students read or hear questions, decide which questions to ask characters, and record their own questions—practicing sentence starts, capital letters, and question marks. Activity 4 has students practice writing the words "old" and "order," and the wrapping up asks students to discuss different measurement words (height, weight, age).
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
Students are prompted to develop and use vocabulary associated with properties ( Skills list ) and to discuss and describe length, weight, and capacity in multiple conversational prompts (e.g., asking what a doctor measures, describing milk/water/sugar similarities and differences). Students complete fill-in-the-blank sentences such as "The ___ is longer than the ___" and circle/write responses on activity pages, demonstrating use of target words in written responses. Students practice handwriting and copying the words "length" and "long" and are asked to explain differences between length, weight, and capacity aloud.
Lesson 7
More Attributes
The skills list explicitly directs students to develop and use vocabulary for properties (color, size, shape, texture). Multiple activities require students to name and describe attributes (e.g., describing attribute blocks, finding "red and thick" blocks, identifying "yellow" and "triangle" for a Venn diagram). Students also practice the written word "Venn" and labels on index cards and paper, supporting use of attribute words in spoken and written form.
Lesson 8
Amazing Attributes
The Skills section explicitly directs students to develop and use vocabulary associated with properties of materials and to use words that describe in speech and writing. In Activity 1 students predict and record "Prediction" and "Results" for whether objects are magnetic, requiring them to use vocabulary such as magnet, magnetic, attract, and repel. In Activity 2 students label objects as "sink" or "float," discuss density, and compare predictions to results, requiring them to use and respond to words and phrases from the video and the Facts and Definitions text.
Lesson 9
Solids and Liquids
Students are asked to say whether they have heard the words "liquid" and "solid," explain the difference, and write the definitions on the "Solid or Liquid" page, which requires them to use target vocabulary in speech and writing. Students brainstorm and paste examples from magazines, catalogs, or online images, which requires them to read/respond to texts and select items that match vocabulary-based categories. Multiple activities prompt students to describe observations (e.g., ice melting, water freezing) using words like pour, shape, heat, and cold.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
Students are read two related picture books and are asked questions that require them to respond using vocabulary from the texts (e.g., naming solids/liquids, describing habitats, comparing characters). Students use the glossary and are prompted to find and discuss bold words from the book, and to watch short videos that introduce vocabulary such as igneous/sedimentary/metamorphic, loam, cohesion, and particle/organic matter. Students complete language tasks that require using words and phrases from reading and discussion: filling preposition sentence blanks, describing soil/rock/water properties on pages of their own Earth Materials book, and labeling types of soil and rocks.
Lesson 11
Using Earth Materials
Students are asked to describe the three Earth materials they explored, which requires using vocabulary from prior conversations and readings. Students watch a music video about rock types and are prompted to think and talk about how rocks are used, providing opportunities to use words and phrases from a listened text. Students keep a water-use log, dictate or record entries, make lists of scavenger-hunt finds, and explain soil and plant relationships, all of which require producing words and phrases acquired through conversation, listening, and responding to texts.
Final Project
Presenting Attributes
The Skills list explicitly directs students to "Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing" and to "Use words that describe in speech and writing." Students are asked to choose at least five attributes from a provided list, decide what they will say about each attribute, label or write words and sentences on a poster, and practice giving a verbal demonstration to a family or small group. The activity requires students to explain how attributes show similarities and differences, speak about those attributes, and respond to reflection questions after presenting.
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students are introduced to a 'Senses Word List' and asked to copy each word three times and refer to the list while reading My Five Senses. Students answer oral comprehension questions about the senses, describe objects using sensory vocabulary, and place or write words on the Senses Webs. Students dictate four sentences about a sensing experience, and write or copy a sentence about a sense and sense organ (e.g., "I smell with my nose").
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Students listen to a story read aloud ("Jackie's Day at the Pet Store") and respond by picking up and gluing the sense organ when Jackie uses a sense, showing receptive vocabulary from the text. In Option 2, students invent and tell a story about Jackie aloud and pause to glue sense organs as she uses them, requiring students to produce language learned from discussion and reading. Activity 4 has students trace and write the words "sense" and "see," practicing written vocabulary acquired through reading and conversation. Activity 2 asks students to read/listen to situations and point to the sense organ, connecting situational language to vocabulary use.
Lesson 3
Smelling and Tasting
Students are asked to name and use taste words (sweet, salty, bitter, sour) during Activity 2 and to record others' responses on the provided "A Tasty Survey" activity page. Activity 3 directs students to label four columns (sweet, bitter, sour, salty) and sort or illustrate refrigerator/pantry items by those taste words. Activity 4 requires students to write a sentence reporting survey results using the language of likes/dislikes.
Lesson 4
Hearing and Seeing
Students are read The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses and answer comprehension questions, providing opportunities to use vocabulary from the text. Students cut out and place labels for retina, pupil, cornea, iris, lens, and optic nerve and similarly label ear parts (eardrum, cochlea, auditory nerve, etc.), practicing anatomical words. Students describe blindfold experiences, record their thoughts, and read or attempt to read their descriptions aloud, and they practice writing the words eyes and ears in sentences.
Lesson 5
Touch
Students are prompted to choose and write adjectives that describe how objects feel in Activity 1 (matching images to words like "warm," "hard," "wet") and Option 2 asks students to generate their own descriptive adjectives. Activity 2 has students add two touch-related adjectives to a chart and check boxes for objects, and then draw and label their own objects using those adjectives. Activities 3 and 4 require students to describe sensations aloud (discussing how ingredients feel while preparing Jell-O; blindfolded description and guessing by texture) and Activity 5 has students write the words "touch" and "taste" in sentences, supporting use of descriptive vocabulary in speech and writing.
Lesson 6
Experimenting With Our Senses
The Skills section asks students to use descriptive words in speech and writing and to develop and use vocabulary for properties (color, size, shape, texture). In Activity 1 students taste drinks, describe and record those descriptions, then compare sighted and blinded descriptions. In Activity 2 students attempt to read spice names, copy the names (or first letters), and name the spices by smell; Activity 3 has students tell a story about a favorite flavor that is recorded and then read aloud, and Activity 4 has students write or dictate a sentence about something they smelled or tasted.
Lesson 7
Using All of Our Senses
Students listen to pages 21+ of My Five Senses read aloud and are asked which senses the character used, providing direct opportunities to hear and discuss language from the text. Students are prompted to interact with the reader (questions, comments, ideas), to look through other books (Brown Bear, Brown Bear; Polar Bear, Polar Bear) and identify ways characters use senses, and to record or dictate observations on the Nature Walk chart. Students are also asked to write or copy a sentence about their nature walk and to name words they can use to communicate what they learned, which requires using words and phrases gathered from conversations and reading.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students are prompted to describe an apple and an ice cube using sensory adjectives and to identify those words as adjectives, which practices using words from conversation. Activity 2 has students listen as a paragraph is read, examine popcorn, then write sensory words and attempt to read their report, linking being read to and responding to text. Activity 3 asks students to generate one sensing word, phrase, or sentence for each of the five senses about a personal event, practicing use of words and phrases in response to experience and text. The Life Application asks students to look through books and identify sensing words authors use, connecting reading to vocabulary acquisition.
Final Project
A Sensible Party
Students are asked to read a sample "Party Planner" sheet and then plan and record their own ideas on a chart, directly using the language from the sample. The Skills list explicitly includes "Develop and use vocabulary associated with properties of materials (color, size, shape, and texture)" and instructs students to describe how objects look, smell, taste, and sound. Game 1 asks students to compare their plan with the sample to find similarities and differences, and the wrap-up questions require students to describe how guests used their senses.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
Students are asked to review vocabulary daily and to use vocabulary words in sentences, including practicing the word "unique" in handwriting and sentence work. Students answer guided personal questions aloud, attempt to read the questions, sound out words, and fill in a paragraph about themselves, then read and share that story with others. Students discuss similarities and differences and are prompted to describe what makes them unique.
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Students hear a teacher read the story "Different Friends" and are asked comprehension and retell questions that require them to respond to the text. Students discuss and describe physical characteristics of characters and family members using vocabulary (hair, skin, eyes, nose, height) during guided conversation. Students produce language by dictating an original friendship story, ordering event boxes from the read-aloud, and writing a sentence ("I have _________") that uses descriptive words or phrases.
Lesson 3
Different Personalities
Students read and discuss a listed set of personality words (Activity 1), attempt to sound them out, explain meanings, and circle words that describe themselves. Students write or paste those vocabulary words into graphic organizers for themselves and a friend, circle shared words, count them, and describe similarities and differences (Activity 2). Students pick two words to describe main characters from movies or books and record those words around pasted pictures (Activity 3). Students substitute personality words into a familiar song and present webs to family members, verbally explaining the chosen words.
Lesson 4
Interests and Hobbies
Students are asked to dictate and then write sentences describing a hobby (Activity 1), which requires using words and phrases from conversations about that hobby. Activity 2 directs students to find books at the library, use prior and new knowledge to answer prompts, and then teach others about their interest, which engages words acquired from reading and being read to. Activity 3 has students read survey questions aloud and interview three people, which requires using vocabulary from conversations and reporting responses. The handwriting activity has students practice the words "you" and "yes," reinforcing word use in writing and sentences.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students are read the story and are asked to identify each character's shape and describe physical characteristics (color, sides, angles, eye color) and personalities, which requires using descriptive words heard in the text. Students dictate a short description of their chosen shape using a sample as a guide, attempt to read their description aloud, and share it with family members, practicing words and phrases acquired from the story and conversation. Students also write or copy a sentence describing an interest or personality trait, and the skills list explicitly includes 'Use words that describe in speech and writing' and 'Use author's model of language.'
Lesson 6
Different Families
Students are asked to name family members and discuss responsibilities, providing opportunities to use vocabulary acquired through conversation. Students listen to and talk about A Life Like Mine (reading and being read to), describing people, foods, homes, and health, and draw representations of basic needs. Students complete sentence prompts (e.g., "My family is similar to a family from _______ because we both _______.") and use a Venn diagram to compare families, requiring them to use words and phrases from the text. Students dictate ideas, attempt to write words and sentences (inventive spelling), and practice the word "different" and the letter Dd in handwriting exercises.
Lesson 7
Different Homes
Students are asked to listen to pages 26–35 of A Life Like Mine and identify and describe the different homes shown, prompting them to use vocabulary from the text. Students are asked to name and discuss materials and natural resources used to build homes, orally connecting reading to conversation. Activity 1 has students model and read comparative and superlative adjectives (big, bigger, biggest; small, smaller, smallest; tall, taller, tallest; long, longer, longest) and either color or write the correct words beneath pictures. Activity 4 and the wrapping-up prompts have students write a sentence about their home and describe whether they would enjoy living in a different type of home, requiring them to use words and phrases gained from reading and discussion.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
The Skills list explicitly notes that students will "Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing (LA)." In Activity 1 students match traditions with holidays and discuss why families celebrate, providing conversational practice with holiday vocabulary. In Activities 2, 3, and 5 students read or review information from websites or encyclopedias, discuss similarities and differences, and produce written or dictated sentences and a book page for each holiday, applying newly learned words and phrases in speaking and writing.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students are asked to look through books/websites (including A Life Like Mine) and identify modes of transportation, which requires noticing and naming vocabulary from texts. In Activities 1 and 2 students label pictures, fill in words, and write or draw the best mode of transportation for scenarios, practicing using transportation words in writing. In Activity 3 students select a favorite mode, draw a trip, tell a story about it (which is recorded) and attempt to read it aloud, providing practice using words and phrases acquired through conversation and reading. The Wrapping Up prompts ask students to give examples and act out modes while describing them aloud, encouraging spoken use of vocabulary learned.
Lesson 10
Wants and Needs
Students are asked to listen to and discuss specific pages (46–51, 56–61, 66–71) about why children need education, play, and love, providing opportunities to acquire and use related vocabulary (need, want, love, care, education). Students label pictures and words as wants or needs (Activities 1 and 5), practice handwriting the word "need" (Activity 6), and write or dictate how it felt to give away items (Activity 2), which requires them to produce words and phrases from conversations and texts. In Activity 4 students interview four people, record their responses, and then discuss and rearrange items on webs, using language gathered from conversations and the survey responses.
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
Students are read pages 98–113 of A Life Like Mine and discuss vocabulary such as identity, nationality, and religion, providing a read-aloud source for new words. Students respond to that text through discussion and sorting activities (e.g., describing ways children are alike and different) and by answering guided questions about groups. Students produce language in writing or speech when they cut and sort pictures, fill in the prompted paragraph about a group, dictate responses, and practice writing words like "group," "get," and "extra."
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
The lesson asks students to read about a chosen country in books or on the Internet and to discuss their findings, providing contexts for acquiring vocabulary through reading and conversation. Multiple activity pages use sentence frames (e.g., "I live in ___.", "I like to eat ___.", "My hobby is ___.", "One way that we are the same is that we both like to ___.") that require students to fill in words and phrases and illustrate them. The lesson also prompts students to share their book with family and to meet or ask questions of a person from the chosen country, creating opportunities to use language learned through conversations and responding to texts.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 1
What Is a Pattern?
Students listen to and follow along with the read-aloud Busy Bugs and are asked to identify and explain patterns found in the story, which prompts them to use language from a text. Students are asked to name objects in patterns aloud (e.g., "butterfly, ant, butterfly, ant") and to use sequencing words such as "first," "next," "before," and "after" when describing patterns. Students write or copy three sentences using the sentence frame "First, there is _____. Next, there is _______. Then there is _________," and are encouraged to point and describe patterns using that language.
Lesson 2
Recognizing Types of Patterns
The Skills list explicitly directs students to use words such as "before" and "after" and to name ordinal positions (first, second, third). Multiple activities ask students to label objects A and B, explain how they decided whether a sequence is an ABAB or AABB pattern, and describe the pattern of caterpillars. The Wrapping Up and Handwriting tasks ask students to reread Busy Bugs, point out ABAB/AABB patterns in the book, explain the difference, and write or copy a sentence about the book.
Lesson 3
What Comes Next?
The Skills section explicitly asks students to use words such as "before" and "after" and to name ordinal positions (first, second, third). Multiple activities require students to describe patterns aloud (e.g., "What comes first? Next?"), label items A/B/C, and identify ABAB, AABB, or ABC patterns, demonstrating use of those terms. Activity 2 asks students to use descriptive words like "thick" and "thin," and Activity 4 has students write/copy the question "What do you see after the ________?", reinforcing use of target phrases in writing.
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
Students read or are read the written word sequences (fork, spoon; crayon, marker; penny, paper clip) and answer prompts that require naming the objects in the patterns. Students recreate and extend patterns using real objects and are asked to write the names of the objects they used and to complete sentences about the patterns. Students explain what comes next in a sequence and are prompted to use ordinal words (first, second, third) and pattern labels (ABAB, AABB, ABBA) when describing patterns.
Lesson 5
Making Color Patterns
Students are prompted to describe the color patterns they create aloud (Activity 1) and to use color words or the first letter of the color word to represent patterns (writing Y, R, Y, R). The Skills list explicitly states students will "Use words that describe color, size, and location," and Activity 3 asks students to write or copy a sentence describing something they created. Students also demonstrate patterns for others using blocks and colored shapes, which invites verbal description.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
Students orally describe and label sequences (e.g., saying "Circle, Square, Circle, Square…" and identifying first/second/third). Students read and sound out words on the Reading Patterns sheets and then create the patterns described by those words. Students label shapes with A, B, or C and categorize sequences as ABAB, AABB, or ABC. Students practice writing vocabulary (shape, color, size) and copy a sentence about a pattern on handwriting paper.
Lesson 7
Making Number Patterns
Students are asked to "demonstrate or explain ways numbers can be used to make patterns," prompting verbal explanation. Instructions tell students to "identify the number pattern" and to "label the different quantities with her number cards," which requires using words/labels to describe patterns. Activities ask students to name pattern types (ABB, AABB, ABC, ABAB) and to "identify the new pattern with letters," encouraging use of pattern-related vocabulary.
Lesson 8
Creating and Writing About Patterns
The Skills list and activities require students to use sequence and positional words: it lists "Use words such as 'before' or 'after' to describe relative position" and students are prompted to "First comes ____, Then comes ____, Next comes ____." Activity 3 has students brainstorm order words and write "first, then, and next" five times. Activity 1 and Activity 5 ask students to use the provided object word list (eye, nose, mouth, apple, etc.) to name, write, and describe patterns, and to complete sentence starters that require using those words or their initials.
Final Project
Patterns Poster or Patterns Presentation
Students are prompted to describe each of seven pattern types in writing on the "Script for Presentation" page and to record the words they will use for their presentation. Students discuss the patterns when planning the poster and are asked to decide and record materials and labels beside each pattern. Students practice making the patterns and then speak about them to an audience, demonstrating and explaining each pattern.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Students listen to and read nursery rhymes and are asked to identify and record rhyming words they hear. Students say rhyming pairs aloud, add new rhyming words to sets, and label pictures with words that follow the same pattern. Students write a sentence on handwriting paper using two rhyming words and act out or illustrate favorite rhymes as a response to texts.
Lesson 2
Making Word Patterns
Students complete and create rhyming sentences (Activity 1) by filling blanks, reading their sentences aloud, and composing two original rhyming sentences for their book. Students identify and sort words into word families (Activity 2 Options 1 and 2), label groups (e.g., "-un words" or "-it words"), and practice reading the grouped words. Students locate, record, and compare rhyming and same-spelling patterns from picture books (Activity 3), and write a sentence containing two rhyming words (Activity 4), then explain and name sets of words that follow the same pattern in the wrap-up and life-application poster activity.
Lesson 3
Poetry Patterns
Students hear poems and songs read aloud and are asked to identify and circle rhyming words from those texts. Students recite verses, guess missing rhyming words during the song, and brainstorm additional rhyming words for animals. Students write another verse, fill in blanks in the song, and record/circle rhyming words from favorite songs, connecting spoken and written language.
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students read and copy simple sentences from picture books (Activity 4) and are asked to identify nouns and verbs in those sentences. Students make up and recite sentences using provided nouns and verbs (Activities 1, 2, and 5) and act out situations to produce language. Students complete sentence patterns and fill blanks with words from reading lists (Activities 1 and 3), practicing using vocabulary aloud and in writing.
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
Students are read short stories (Activity 1, Options 1 & 2) and are asked to predict events and answer questions about what happened at the beginning, middle, and end. Students cut, sequence, glue pictures, and dictate or write a sentence for each part of the story (Activity 2 and Activity 3), practicing language produced in response to texts. The Skills list explicitly instructs students to use words such as "before" or "after" and to discuss, illustrate, or dramatize a story, providing direct opportunities to use words/phrases acquired from reading and conversation.
Lesson 6
Sound Patterns
Students are asked to name the two sounds repeated in a pattern (stomp, clap) and to identify the pattern type (ABAB, AABB, or ABC). Students listen to and describe parts and the order of sound patterns and record the number of times each sound is made on the "Listen Carefully" page. The student page displays the words "Slap, Clap, Tap" that students may copy, and students are prompted to write about a sound pattern ("I heard a pattern that went...").
Lesson 7
Making Sound and Action Patterns
Students are prompted to talk about how sounds can make patterns and to provide examples, showing use of conversational vocabulary. Students cut out and read labeled sound words ("smack," "stomp," "slap," "clap," "tap") and arrange them to form patterns, then perform or listen to the patterns. Students are asked to write or copy a sentence that describes a pattern and to explain what a sound pattern and an action pattern mean during wrap-up.
Final Project
Patterns Video
Students are prompted to read words from a book or poem and explain the pattern, which requires them to use vocabulary from texts. Students write or dictate a script on four Video Script pages that asks them to name the type of pattern, the parts the pattern is made of, where they found it, and the sequence (First comes, Then...), prompting use of descriptive words and sequence phrases. Students practice speaking their scripts and use props/pictures to support spoken messages, then present the video to others.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 1
Patterns in Nature
Students are read aloud to (Read aloud pp. 1-11 of Pattern) and then asked to identify and describe the pattern in each picture, prompting spoken use of vocabulary from the text. Students answer guided questions about which patterns they have or have not seen, and discuss other possible patterns, which requires using words and phrases from the read-aloud and conversation. Students label their drawings (Activity 3) and copy a sentence from the reading on handwriting paper (Activity 4), providing written practice using words and phrases encountered in the text. The matching activity (Option 1) and pattern-creation (Option 2) tie visual examples to labeled pattern words and names of animals/objects.
Lesson 2
Patterns of Growth
Students label plant parts using the provided word box and identify initial letters or full words (Activity 2). Students write target vocabulary words (plant, grow, part) repeatedly and copy modeled spellings (Activity 6). Students draw plants across days and write a sentence under each drawing describing how the plant is changing, and they discuss and describe growth patterns for plants, people, and animals (Activities 1, 4, and Wrapping Up).
Lesson 3
Night and Day
Students are prompted to label the sun, moon, and earth on the activity page, using the vocabulary words for those objects. Students are asked to describe when it is daytime and nighttime, explain the ABAB night/day pattern, and to explain the concept of 'rotation' while spinning a globe or ball. Students draw pictures and record or dictate sentences about activities done during the day and at night, using words and phrases from the conversations and demonstrations.
Lesson 4
Daily Routines
Students are prompted to talk about their routines ("Talk about some of your child's routines"), providing conversational exposure to routine-related words and phrases. The My Morning Routine activity presents labeled pictures (e.g., "get dressed," "brush teeth") that students read and use as vocabulary models. In Activity 2 students dictate or write sentences for four steps of a routine, and Activity 4 has students write or copy a sentence describing a routine, giving explicit practice using words and phrases in context.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students are asked to name the days of the week and months of the year aloud and review them daily, practice writing the words day, month, and year five times, and sing a song that uses the days of the week. Students dictate or record scheduled daily activities on the weekly pattern sheet and discuss patterns they find on family calendars, using calendar entries as a text to read and respond to. Students practice writing full dates (day of week, month, year), ordering recorded date cards, and sorting day/month cards, which requires using and applying calendar vocabulary in speaking, writing, and organizing tasks.
Lesson 6
Seasonal Weather Patterns
Students are asked to name the four seasons, describe activities and weather associated with each season, and select and circle the day's weather on a laminated calendar, providing spoken responses. Students use the word box (cold, warm, cool, hot, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) to record weather words beneath seasons and match months to seasons on the Weather Patterns page. Students fill in missing season names on the Seasons and Months worksheet and copy the months on handwriting paper, practicing use of seasonal and weather vocabulary in writing and speech.
Lesson 7
Patterns at Home
Students are read the Pattern book aloud (Activity 1) and then asked to identify and describe specific patterns from the book, requiring them to use vocabulary from the text. Students are asked to name shapes and state the number of sides and angles (Activity 3), practicing geometric words and phrases aloud. Students write or dictate and then copy a sentence describing a pattern found in their closet (Activity 5) and engage in wrap-up discussion about patterns, which requires using words and phrases from conversations and reading.
Lesson 8
Symmetrical Patterns
Students are prompted to describe the butterfly pattern and answer questions about whether the wings look the same or different, using the vocabulary term "symmetrical pattern." Students fold letters and shapes and draw or identify lines of symmetry, using phrases like "line of symmetry," "mirror image," and "symmetrical/non-symmetrical." Students are asked to write or copy the sentence "______ has _________ lines of symmetry," and to tell examples of shapes or objects that are symmetrical or not.
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
Students listen to a story read aloud about clowns getting into a car and fill in blanks tracking the number of clowns, which requires responding to a text. Students retell and change the clown story, acting out events and telling a new story that follows the same pattern. Students write or dictate a sentence about the clowns and identify the subject and verb, and the lesson lists skills to 'listen to a story read aloud,' 'answer questions about a story read aloud,' and 'act out a story.'
Lesson 10
Tracing Patterns
Students are asked to identify the holiday associated with each traced shape and count and describe the shapes (Activity 2). Students are prompted to tell a story about objects they create with attribute blocks and to explain how and why stencils are used (Activity 1 and 3). Students are asked to write or copy a sentence about their favorite holiday and to explain how a pattern can be used in art (Activity 4 and Wrapping Up).
Lesson 11
Patterns in Graphs
The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "data" and instructs an adult to "read the title and labels to your child and discuss the data," providing direct exposure to words used in graphs. Students are asked to describe patterns aloud (e.g., "Describe the pattern in the graph," "What does this chart tell us?") and to color-code and talk about labels, titles, and chart elements. Students also write a sentence about sink-or-float results and are prompted at the end to "describe how to find patterns in graphs and charts," giving opportunities to use acquired words and phrases in speaking and writing.
Final Project
Patterns All Around Lapbook
Students are prompted to talk about and name different types of patterns during the Getting Started discussion and final reflection. The skills list and multiple activities ask students to write titles and labels (e.g., "Symmetrical Pattern," "Pattern in Nature," stages like baby/child/adult or seed/plant/flower, the days of the week, and the four seasons). Activities ask students to record or dictate knowledge and to label illustrations inside mini-books, which requires using words and phrases to describe patterns.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 1
What Causes Change?
Students are asked to use naming words and action words and to express ideas through writing and conversation (Skills). They complete sentence frames such as "Once I saw _____ change" and "_____ changed because _____," draw before/after pictures, and attempt to read their own dictated paragraph aloud (Activity 3). Students discuss cause and effect while matching before/after picture cards, and label changes as "fast" or "slow," requiring them to choose and use appropriate words or short phrases (Activities 1 and 2).
Lesson 2
What Changed?
Students read or are read to from Part 1: Things Change and answer comprehension questions that require use of vocabulary such as "physical change," "chemical change," and terms like weight, amount, color, size, and location. Students examine picture pairs and circle which attributes changed, then record a sentence describing examples, practicing use of those words and phrases in writing. Students demonstrate changes in real objects and switch roles to give and follow commands, using the target vocabulary in conversation and in responding to texts.
Lesson 3
Changing Position
Students are read the book Zoom! Zip! Whoosh! and are asked comprehension questions, prompting them to respond verbally. Students use the book's index to find the words "gravity" and "inertia," locate the pages, and copy the sentences containing those words. Students sort illustrations into push and pull categories, discuss and name pushes/pulls, and describe magnetic interactions using terms like "north/south," "attract," and "repel." Students are asked to list or record examples (from playroom exploration and neighborhood walks) and to explain why objects return to the ground, prompting use of vocabulary from conversations and texts.
Lesson 4
Changes in the Environment
Students are asked to describe types of weather and discuss how weather changes affect activities (Activity 1), providing direct conversational use of weather words. Students help read "Part 2: Seasons Change" and are encouraged to answer questions about the changes in the book, which requires using words and phrases from the text and read-aloud. Students write two sentences about a time weather caused them to change activities and copy/write a sentence about their favorite season (Activity 4), practicing use of vocabulary in writing and response. The wrapping-up prompts ask students to describe environmental changes and explain causes, requiring them to use words and phrases acquired through conversation and reading.
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
The Skills section explicitly lists "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing," and multiple activities require students to select and use positional words (behind, under, in front, on top, beside). Activity 1 has students fill blanks with prepositions or write full prepositional phrases and manipulate a wheel to show changing locations. Activity 2 asks students to listen to or read sentences and move a cut-out mouse to the described position, and Activity 3 and the wrapping-up ask students to write or speak sentences describing object relationships.
Lesson 6
Changes in the Sky
Students are instructed to list adjectives and phrases to describe the Sun and the Moon and may dictate their ideas while an adult writes them down, which requires generating and using vocabulary. Students participate in guided discussions about why the Sun is important and how the Moon shines, using words and phrases from those conversations. Students watch videos about the Sun, Moon, and Earth's rotation/revolution and are asked to describe and respond to what they saw, applying vocabulary from the media and discussions.
Lesson 7
Living Things Change
Students are prompted to discuss what it means to be living and to describe how they and animals change, responding orally to questions. Activity 2 has students read/observe picture pairs and circle words that describe changes (number, size, shape, place) and label changes as fast or slow. Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence that describes how something changes in size, and the skills list includes presenting dramatic interpretations of ideas presented in text.
Lesson 8
Plants and Change
Students read and respond to texts by answering comprehension questions after National Geographic Readers (e.g., naming uses of plants and comparing plants to animals). Students sing and then verbally recite the plant needs from the video, practicing vocabulary recall without watching. Students label and/or draw plant parts using a provided word box and glue labels onto a diagram, directly using new words in a writing/labeling task. Students list and describe what plants need on handwriting paper and record predictions and observations during the experiment, using words and phrases from readings and conversations.
Lesson 9
Heat Causes Change
Students are prompted to review specific book pages (14-15 and 18-19), providing reading/being-read-to input. Students label drawings with the words "ice," "water," and "steam" from the activity word box and organize states along a cold-to-hot arrow. Students answer teacher prompts, describe observations (e.g., what happened to the candle, batter, and ice), and write or copy a sentence about an observation, demonstrating responding to texts and conversation.
Lesson 10
Chemical Changes
The lesson presents and defines the vocabulary terms "physical change," "chemical change," "new substance," and references causes like "heat" in the Facts and Definitions and Skills sections. In Activities, students sort six scenarios on the Student Activity Page as chemical or physical and are asked to explain how they made each decision. The Wrapping Up prompt asks students to describe the difference between a physical and a chemical change and give an example of each, requiring them to use the taught words and phrases in spoken responses.
Lesson 11
People Change the Environment
Students are asked to brainstorm and dictate positive and negative environmental changes, producing words and phrases to explain their ideas. Definitions for reduce, reuse, and recycle are presented and students discuss examples, using those vocabulary terms in conversation. Students watch a video and then sort pictured items as recyclable or trash and describe their choices, responding to a text. Students describe illustrations of human-caused environmental change and decide and justify whether each is positive, negative, or neutral.
Final Project
Mobile of Change
The Skills section explicitly lists "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing (LA)" and "Express ideas through writing and conversation (LA)." In the final project students write the word CHANGES, label and complete before/after boxes (Animal Change, Plant Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change), and glue pairs of boxes onto shapes, which requires using topic vocabulary in writing. Students are asked to explain their mobile to family members and discuss which example is their favorite, prompting oral use of words and phrases.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
Students read and listen to Chrysanthemum and then identify and interpret author-crafted phrases in the "Feeling Phrases" activity, explaining what each phrase communicates about the character. In the "Chrysanthemum Vocabulary" activity, students guess meanings for words heard in the story, match them to definitions, and discuss suffix meanings (e.g., -less, -ful). On the "Characters Change" page students write three words or phrases describing Chrysanthemum at the beginning and end of the story and compose short sentences about how she changed.
Lesson 2
Why Worry?
Students listen to a read-aloud of Wemberly Worried and discuss comprehension questions about Wemberly's worries, providing spoken responses. Students combine ideas from the story using the conjunction "and" on the "Using 'And'" activity page and are prompted to also combine sentences orally with "but." Students describe how Wemberly changed on the "Characters Change" page and are asked in the wrap-up to use the conjunctions "and" and "but" in sentences, tying words/phrases to the read text.
Lesson 3
Is It a Problem?
Students read What Do You Do With a Problem?, respond to comprehension questions, and discuss author language such as personification and idioms (e.g., "swallows me up," "tackle my problem"). Students practice combining and using conjunctions orally and in writing (Activity 3: Using "Or" and circling conjunctions in Activity 5). Students write and speak about their own problems (Activity 2) and complete prompts that require choosing descriptive words and phrases about character change (Activity 5: fill-in blanks for beginning/end descriptions).
Lesson 4
Comparing Characters
Students are asked to dictate three- or four-sentence summaries of stories (one sentence for beginning, middle, end), which requires them to use language learned from being read to. Students discuss and answer text-based questions such as "How are the characters' situations similar?" and "What can we learn from both characters?" that require them to respond to texts with words and phrases. Students complete Venn-diagram comparisons and a cause-and-effect matching activity, prompting them to label similarities/differences and causal relationships using vocabulary from the stories.
Lesson 5
The Raft
Students practice vocabulary in Activity 2 by reading sentences from the text and matching words to definitions, requiring them to use word meanings from the story. In Activity 6 students discuss idioms and figurative phrases from the text (e.g., "eyes in the back of her head," "like finding presents under a Christmas tree") and explain what those phrases mean. Across multiple activities and question sets students answer comprehension questions and complete the Characters Change and Story Elements pages, using words and phrases acquired from the read-aloud and class discussions.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
Students are asked to discuss stories and respond to texts (Activity 2 and Activity 3), which gives them opportunities to use words and phrases from conversations and read-alouds. Activity 2 has students dictate a new ending after hearing the story twice, requiring them to use language gained from listening and discussion. Activity 3 explicitly asks students to write or dictate sentences describing a change and encourages the use of "interesting words," providing vivid example phrases for students to adopt.
Final Project
My Own Story
Students discuss story ideas with an adult and have their ideas read back, providing conversational exposure. Students write character traits (3 per character), complete the Problem and Solution page including questions like "How does the character change…?" and are told to "attempt to use interesting language" to show change. Students dictate their story, hear it read aloud, and then type/arrange the text in an online storybook, engaging in spoken and written language production.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 1
People and Families Change
The Skills list explicitly asks students to "Use listening skills when being read to," "Read or attempt to read a dictated story," and "Use words that name and words that tell action," tying listening/reading to language use. In Activity 5 students dictate ideas about how the family has changed while the adult records them, listen as the ideas are read back, and then fill in sentence prompts (e.g., "My family used to...", "Then...changed") that require using words and phrases. Multiple activities (writing a sentence in Activity 3, reading ideas aloud in Activities 5 and 6, and discussing changes throughout) require students to produce words and phrases acquired through conversations and being read to.
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
The Skills list explicitly includes using vocabulary related to time and chronology ("first," "before," "after," "next," and "last") and recognizing past/present/future. The Introduction prompts the child to discuss things that happened in the past, are happening now, and will happen in the future. Activity 1 has students write or draw responses in "Yesterday I," "Today I," and "Tomorrow I will" boxes, and Activity 2 directs an adult to read pages of Telling Time and then ask the child targeted questions about past/present/future and units of time.
Lesson 3
Communities Change
Students are read The House on Maple Street and are asked comprehension questions that require them to describe setting, characters, and changes over time. The plan defines and has students repeat the phrase "chronological order" three times and defines "artifacts," giving explicit vocabulary to use. Students complete picture-labeling and cut-and-paste activities (timeline, Communities Change, Changes in Nature) that require them to name transportation, homes, clothing, and animals and to write a sentence about the book.
Lesson 4
Past and Present
Students are read sections of The Usborne Time Traveler and are asked to discuss what they hear, answer comparison questions (e.g., How did people in the past dress differently?), and dictate or write sentences describing life in the past. The Skills list explicitly requires students to use vocabulary related to time and chronology ("first," "before," "after," "next," and "last"). Multiple activities require students to select a time period, draw and tell a story about living in that period, dictate five clues about a time period, and read those clues aloud to family members.
Lesson 5
Exploring the Past
Students are prompted to discuss how people in different time periods lived, engaging in conversation about the texts. Students look through specified pages of The Usborne Time Traveler and are asked to draw and write or dictate descriptions of information they find about homes, clothing, food, and transport. Students write one sentence about each element of culture, assemble a book, and give a presentation to family, thereby using language from reading and responding to texts.
Lesson 6
Predicting Future Change
The lesson's Skills section explicitly lists "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing (LA)." Students are asked to listen as the teacher or parent reads each scenario (Activity 1) and then say and record predictions about how changes will affect the future. In Activity 2 students label outcomes as positive or negative and write sentences describing one positive and one negative result. In Activity 3 students dictate a personal change description and attempt to read it aloud, and Activity 4 has students write or copy a sentence about a change.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Students are asked to listen to or read simple biographies and answer questions such as "How would you describe this person?" and "What did this person do to make a positive change?", which requires using vocabulary encountered in the texts. In Activity 2 students read short descriptions, point to the individual described, and place descriptions under pictures, requiring them to use words and phrases from the descriptions. In Activity 4 students write a sentence about a historical person, producing language learned from conversations and reading.
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
The lesson lists as a skill that students will "Use vocabulary related to time and chronology ('first,' 'before,' 'after,' 'next,' and 'last')" and includes activity pages prompting students to write or dictate sentences such as "In the past __________" and "Today __________." Students are directed to use The Usborne Time Traveler for reference and to read through and present their book or comparison pages to family, which provides opportunities to use words and phrases in speaking and responding to texts.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
Students read the Weekly Message aloud while pointing to words and are prompted to shout the word "Exciting!" to practice expressive use. Students identify, read, and say sight words ("the," "and," "a") and point to these words in text (Activity 1.1, 1.3, 3.1, and Sight Words activities). Students read the Tap and Pat reader aloud, perform actions described on pages, answer questions about the book cover and pages, and respond to clue-based prompts in Guess My Word by writing and saying the target words (Activity 5.3 and 5.4).
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and in the reader The Pig Can and are asked to describe the cover and answer comprehension prompts such as "Do you think the pig and the cat can fit in the box?". Students identify, read aloud, and spell sight words and vocabulary (for example, they are asked to define the word "bin" and to locate sight words like "of," "to," and "in"). Students share words they now know, demonstrate spelling with letter cards, and add learned words to a Word Wall for repeated use and review.
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
Students are asked to read and point to words in the Weekly Message and to identify punctuation (Activity 1.1), which requires them to use words encountered in reading. In Reader #3 — The Bug (Activity 5.2) students answer comprehension questions aloud about what the bug can do, what it wants, and why, requiring them to respond to a text with words and short phrases. Students fill in missing words in sentences (Activity 5.3), define unfamiliar words when reading word-family lists (Activities 3.3 and 4.2), and orally read and write sight words and vocabulary throughout the week (multiple activities and the Wrapping Up review).
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students read and respond to the Weekly Message by pointing to words, reading along, and identifying sentence end punctuation (Activity 1.1). Students read a decodable reader aloud and answer comprehension questions about events in the text (Activity 5.2). Students build and read sentences using Making Sentences cards and read sight-word sentences, producing words and simple phrases in spoken and written form (Activities 3.1, 5.3).
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students read and respond to the Weekly Message by pointing to words, reading aloud with an adult, and answering questions about punctuation and sentence beginnings. Students learn and practice sight words (she, on, are) by reading, tracing, writing, and using them in quick-reading drills. Students produce and use words and short phrases when they add -s and speak examples (e.g., "one dog, three dogs"), spell and say words in Word Chains and Guess My Word, and read Reader #5 then answer comprehension questions about which duck is having the most fun and why.
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students read and interact with the Weekly Message and are asked to point to known words and add words to word families, practicing vocabulary from text. Students read and use sight words in multiple activities (flash cards, reading stacks, and sentence dictation) and write dictated sentences that include sight words and phrases (e.g., "We are with them."). Students respond to the reader by answering comprehension questions and reorder cut-up words to form sentences, and they take part in a rhyming game that requires producing words aloud.
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students read and respond to Weekly Message #7 by pointing to known words and finding digraphs while the message is read aloud. Students practice sight words by hearing each used in a sentence, pointing to the word, and reading sight words (for, they) in random order. Students make predictions and answer comprehension questions about Reader #7 and then compose and say silly sentences that use target sounds and words.
Lesson 8
Blends with s
Students read and respond to texts: they read the Weekly Message aloud and mark punctuation, sight words, digraphs, and vowel sounds (Activity 1.1). Students read the reader Meg and Dan and the Sled and answer comprehension questions that require them to use vocabulary and explain events (Activity 4.3). Students produce and use words in spoken and written tasks: they list and say s-blend words, complete word chains orally and with letter cards, and write dictated sentences that include learned words (Activities 2.1, 4.2, 5.2, Wrap-up).
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students read and respond to Reader #9 by answering specific comprehension questions, which requires them to use words and phrases from the text. Students make and read sentences using the Making Sentences cards and use sight words (have, had, or) orally in example sentences and in sentence dictation. Students practice oral word generation in the Life Application activity by taking turns saying words that start with selected blends, and they explain the difference between have and had in their own sentences.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and are asked to read along, circle punctuation, and identify sight words and blends. Students read Reader #10 ("One Can") independently and then answer comprehension questions about the text. Students participate in a Life Application speaking activity where they say a word that begins with the same beginning blend as a spoken prompt and then switch roles. Students also write dictated sentences and copy and write sight words during sentence dictation and writing activities.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and read the reader At Camp aloud, then answer comprehension questions about activities at camp. Students spell, say, and write words with targeted ending blends (nd, mp, lf, nt) during word-building, sorting, and word-chain activities. Students write dictated sentences that use learned words (e.g., The champ ran fast; The elf sat on the shelf) and identify/categorize sight words when given descriptions.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students are asked to read and re-read the Weekly Message and point to words they know, read the reader Huff and Puff aloud, and answer comprehension questions about the book. Students make up sentences that use the sight words "what," "all," and "were" and write those sentences on the laminated writing sheet. Students are prompted to create sentences made of rhyming words using words collected in their Word Collection folder and to write dictated sentences, demonstrating use of words in context.
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students read and reread texts (Weekly Message #13 and Reader #13 — King Hank) and answer comprehension questions, prompting them to use words from the texts. Students are asked to make sentences using Making Sentences cards (including words from prior lessons) and to produce sentences from sentence starters, which requires them to use words and phrases they have acquired. Students practice saying and writing sight words and participate in oral word games (the die game) and word-sorting activities that require them to produce words aloud.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
Students read and respond to texts (Activity 4.3) by answering comprehension questions that require target vocabulary (e.g., sprint, splash, squint). Students write and read sentences that include newly learned words in Sentence Dictation (Day 5 Activity 5.2) and practice writing target words (Activity 3.3 Word Writing). Students are prompted to produce and share new words and make up silly sentences using three-letter blends in the Wrapping Up / Life Application activities.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students read and respond to texts: they read the Weekly Message aloud and highlight multisyllabic words (Activity 1.1) and read The Raft Trip and answer comprehension questions about it (Activity 5.2). Students are prompted to produce and use words verbally and in writing: they point to ending blends when spoken words are given, come up with words that end with blends (Activities 2.1, 4.2), and write dictated sentences that use target words (Activity 5.1). Students also build and read words from letters/blends (Alphabet Soup, Activity 4.4) and add words to a Word Wall (Life Application), showing opportunities to use words acquired through reading and activities.
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
Students are asked to produce questions using the sight words "which," "what," and "when" (Activity 1.3) and to underline and use those question words in sentences. Students read the reader Which? When? What? and answer comprehension prompts on each page (Activity 4.2). Students write and read dictated sentences that include target question words and rehearse saying words aloud in Guess My Word, word chains, and the wrap-up where they explain the Bossy R rule in their own words (Activities 5.2, 5.3, Wrapping Up).
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students are asked to read and point to words in the Weekly Message and to read it aloud with an adult (Activity 1.1), providing practice using words encountered in text. Students answer comprehension and opinion questions about readers (Activity 4.1: "Which of these readers is your favorite? Why?"; identify characters and what they do), which requires them to use words and phrases from texts when responding. Students create and share their own reader (Activity 4.2) and write dictated sentences (Activity 3.2), giving multiple opportunities to produce words and phrases learned from reading and being read to. Sight word activities (Activity 3.2, 5.1, 1.3) and A/An practice (Activity 2.2) prompt students to say words aloud and use them in oral or written responses.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students are asked to read and point to words in the Weekly Message and to read the reader In the Fall, then answer comprehension questions that require them to use vocabulary from the text. Students name and sort pictures by short and long vowel sounds, build and spell long-a and long-i words (including silent-e forms), and read and write those words in activities such as Word Building, Writing Words, Alphabet Soup, and the Spelling Test. Students are asked to explain pronunciations and meanings (for example, distinguishing there/their) and to produce words aloud when prompted (stand/raise hand activities, saying words, and responding to dictation).
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students read and re-read the Weekly Message and point to and read words aloud, practicing vocabulary in context. Students read the reader They Chose To Doze and answer comprehension questions (e.g., "What did the family do on their trip?" "Would you rather...?") that require them to use words and phrases from the text. Students practice and say new sight words, spell and say words with letter cards, complete sentence dictation, and generate rhyming words, all of which require producing and using words acquired through reading and being read to.
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students read and reread the Weekly Message and sight word cards, sounding out unknown words and reading along. They orally produce and sort words that begin with hard and soft c and g (saying words, highlighting letters after c/g, and explaining how they know the sound). They write dictated sentences using target words (e.g., "The red gem is huge." and "Many mice are in the cage."), answer comprehension questions about the reader, and add exception words to their sight word practice.
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students are asked to read and then use new sight words in context (Activity 1.3, Wrapping Up: ask your child to use each sight word in a sentence). Students answer comprehension and response questions after reading The Bird Is Third (Activity 5.2), prompting them to use words and phrases from the text. Students name pictures and fill in vowel combinations (Activity 5.1) and are prompted to explain word meanings and notice features of words in the Weekly Message (Activity 1.1 and 1.2). The Life Application activity asks students to use ordinal words in an interactive, conversational way.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students read and respond to texts (Day 5: read The Gray Day and answer comprehension questions). Students produce and use target words in sentences (Life Application: make silly long a sentences; Activity 2.3 Fill in the Blanks: write words from a word bank into sentences). Students read, say, and write sight words and practiced spellings aloud and in dictation (Activity 1.3 sight words; Activity 4.2 spelling test and sentence dictation).
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
Students create and read sentences using provided word cards during Activity 4.2 (Making Sentences). Students read the reader What Do You Eat? and answer comprehension questions in Activity 5.1, using vocabulary from the text. Students practice and discuss sight words (see, time, look, into) and contrast word meanings (see vs. sea) in Day 1 and Day 2 activities. The Life Application and guided activities (I Spy, sentence dictation, and word-building) require students to use words and phrases aloud and in writing.
Lesson 7
Long i Spellings y, igh, ie
Students read and re-read the Weekly Message aloud and are asked to point to long-i words (Activity 1.1, Wrapping Up). Students answer comprehension questions about the reader (Day 5) and complete a Fill-in-the-Blanks activity that requires choosing appropriate long-i words to make sentences make sense (Activity 3.3). The Life Application explicitly asks students to explain to a family member what they know about ways to spell long i, and the Sentence Dictation and Sight Word activities have students read, say, and write sight words and words in sentences (Day 2, Day 4, Day 5).
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and are asked to name long o words they can now read or spell (Activity 1.1, Wrapping Up). Students learn and practice sight words and discuss similarities (Activity 1.3) and answer comprehension questions about The Slow Boat after reading it aloud (Day 5, Activity 5.1). Students write dictated sentences and read them back (Day 5, Activity 5.2) and take part in a rhyming game and compound-word activity that require them to produce words orally (Life Application, Activity 5.3).
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students read and use new sight words in context (Activity 1.3 asks them to read the cards and use the words in sentences such as "Who has been to camp?"). Students answer comprehension and production prompts after reading a short reader (Day 5: read Would You Eat It? and respond to questions including an open-ended "If you were...what would you put in it?"). Students produce and write words and phrases acquired through reading and teacher modeling via sentence dictation (Day 5: The goat can chew. Who has a clue?) and the Fill-in-the-Blanks and word-building activities where they must select, read, explain, and write target words.
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students read and use weekly sight words in Activity 1.3 by taking turns using each sight word in a sentence and reading the words aloud. In Activities 3.1 and 5.1 students read a reader (The Wild Colt), answer comprehension questions, and are asked to use target words (for example, use "most" in a sentence and answer questions about the story). In Activity 3.3 (Fill in the Blanks) and Day 5 Sentence Dictation students write sentences using words from the word bank and dictated sentences that include target words.
Lesson 11
Long Vowel Sounds Review
Students read and reread short readers and locate long-vowel words, then write and read those words aloud (Activities 2.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1). Students use words from a provided Word Bank to fill in sentences and read the completed sentences aloud (Activity 3.1 and Day 5 Fill in the Blanks). Students practice and read sight word cards, unscramble letters to make words, and respond orally to clues by writing and saying target words (Activity 1.3, Word Scramble, Guess My Word). Wrapping Up asks students to talk about spelling patterns, prompting them to use words they have encountered in texts and activities.
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students are asked to make sentences using provided word cards (Activity 4.1), which requires them to use words learned that week. Day 5 asks students to respond to reader comprehension questions (e.g., "What is your favorite toy? Why?"), prompting them to use vocabulary from the text. The Life Application and Rhyming Words activities ask students to create silly sentences and add their own rhyming words, which requires producing words and phrases acquired through reading and word study.
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and practice this week's sight words by reading cards and pointing to them. Students read Reader #13 (The Hound and the Owl) and answer comprehension questions aloud, and they explain their reasoning when sorting words into groups. Students complete sentence dictation by writing and then reading dictated sentences, and they practice spelling and filling blanks with ou/ow in context-specific activities.
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
Students read and point to words in Weekly Message #14 and read along as an adult reads it aloud, providing practice using words encountered in text and conversation. Students read word lists, complete rhyming-word pages, sort short o words, and highlight aw/au in words, then explain their sorting and word-meaning observations (for example, discussing the multiple meanings of "saw"). Students read The Pups independently and answer comprehension questions aloud, and the Life Application explicitly encourages students to use learned words in everyday conversations.
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students read and reread the Weekly Message and are asked to point to and read words they know, underline and circle target words, and listen for vowel sounds. Students are asked to read sight words aloud and then use each sight word in a sentence (Activity 1.3, Activity 3.3). Students read The Bad Bear independently and then answer comprehension questions about the story, and they complete a Question Words activity that requires them to produce appropriate question words in sentences (Activity 4.2, Day 5).
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and then list things they have learned about words (Activity 1.1). Students read and write targeted sight words (know, write, just) and produce homophones (no, right) and sentences containing those words (Activity 3.3, Activity 4.2, Activity 5.3). Students read the reader The Gnats and answer comprehension questions about what the gnats do, and they read aloud, sort, and spell words encountered in texts (Activities 5.2, 4.1, 4.3).
Lesson 17
Year-End Review
Students are asked to write one or two sentences about pictures in Activity 2.2, using words they have worked with previously and then read the sentences aloud. Activity 1.3 and Activity 4.1 require students to read and say sight words ("only," "over") and to locate and read those words in a word search. Reader Review and Weekly Message activities ask students to read texts on their own and aloud and to read along when an adult reads, and the wrapping-up prompt asks students to talk about their favorite activities from the year.