First Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students label and write the names of rooms (bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen) in Activities 2 and the Student Activity Pages. Students practice writing and tracing common words such as "bed" and "bath" on the Bb handwriting page and are asked to circle and name items in rooms (food, refrigerator, etc.). Students read, sound out, and fill in missing letters of room names, which engages them in identifying and producing common noun labels for parts of a home.
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students label and write names of objects on floor-plan activities (e.g., refrigerator, bathtub, bed, television) and complete scrambled-word labels, showing practice with common nouns. Students answer and repeatedly practice questions about the name of their country, state, and town and locate North America and the United States on maps, showing practice with proper nouns. Handwriting pages have students write words like map, mom, home, and house, reinforcing common-noun spelling and use.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
Students are asked to point to the book's title and the author's name and to recognize letters in them, which engages them with proper nouns. Students identify, point out, count, draw, and label animals, plants, and insects during read-aloud and sorting activities, which requires using common noun labels. Option 2 explicitly asks students to draw and label three of each category (plants, animals, insects), giving practice writing common nouns.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students are asked to write the names of living things they recognize from the book (Option 2), which requires using common noun labels like "snake" or "heron." Activity pages ask students to label plants and animals and to cut/paste or write "Consumer" and "Energy Source," engaging them in noun use for organisms. The Day 2 reading questions include the proper name "Nana" and the phrase "Nana's rain," exposing students to a proper noun and a possessive form in context.
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
Students name, label, and write habitat words (forest, ocean, rainforest, polar, savanna, desert) across multiple activities, including filling blanks on identifying pages and labeling pictures. Students match and label animals (monkey, polar bear, giraffe, etc.) to habitats and label animals' food and water sources in Activity 3. Students practice handwriting and writing words such as "Jeep" and "Jungle," and they answer oral questions that require naming habitats and animals.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students draw and label items in Activity 1 (plants, animals, insects, water, rocks) and answer questions that require naming those things. In Activity 2 students fill in blanks such as "A Day in the ______: A ______'s Life" and write sentences like "I am a ______. I live in the ______," providing opportunities to produce nouns and a possessive form. The handwriting activity has students trace and write the words "zebra" and "zoo," reinforcing noun vocabulary.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
Students search the home for objects and name tools (scavenger hunt), producing common noun labels such as scissors, pencils, toothbrush. Students are asked to record the names of three chosen tools on the "Measuring Tools" sheet and are encouraged to write the names independently, copy letters, attempt beginning letters, and sound out the words as an adult writes them.
Lesson 8
Animal Care
Students answer questions about the story (e.g., "What kind of animal did the boy find?" and "Where did he find it?") which requires naming animals and places. Students are asked to say what pets need and what the animal would eat, prompting use of common nouns for animals, food, and habitat. Students draw pictures of a domestic animal and a non-domesticated animal, an activity that involves identifying and labeling animals and their needs.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
Students read and interact with labeled items on the activity pages showing common nouns such as "A Snake," "A Flower," and "A Big Animal," and they circle faces or write responses about those items. Students are asked to record ideas on paper and read them aloud, which requires producing or recognizing words (including common nouns) in their writing and speaking.
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
Students are asked to write and label pictures (e.g., "Draw a picture of the animal and write its name," and "Help your child label his pictures"), which prompts use of common nouns for foods, animals, and objects. Several activity headings include a blank for a noun (e.g., "The ______," "What _____ Eats and Drinks"), encouraging students to supply noun words. One page template uses a possessive form ("______'s Habitat"), prompting students to produce a possessive noun phrase.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
Students match common weather words (snow, rain, sun, clouds, snowflake, lightning, rainbow) to pictures in Activity 2, and students write or dictate sentences using those vocabulary words. Students label pictures with the correct word in the advanced option and write words beneath images, practicing noun identification and usage in written sentences. Students record months and days on a Weather Calendar and draw daily weather, which requires them to write date words and weather nouns regularly.
Lesson 3
Measuring and Charting Weather
Students generate words related to rain in the Rain Acrostic activity, producing and writing common nouns such as "rain jacket," "air," and "snow." Students label and record measurements on the Measuring Temperature sheet, writing noun phrases like "ice water," "tap water," and "warm water." Students encounter a possessive form in the book title Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats, which shows a possessive noun in context.
Lesson 4
Simulating Weather
Students are asked to read and point to words in the Weather Song and to find specific words such as "clouds" and "rain," which gives practice recognizing and reading common noun words. The Skills list explicitly includes "Recognize that written words are separated by spaces," supporting word-level recognition that students practice during the sing-along. The lesson repeatedly uses and has students name common things (plant, animal, wind, pinwheel, bottle) in hands-on activities.
Lesson 6
Winter
Students are asked to use new vocabulary (COLD, SNOW, FREEZE) in speech and writing and to dictate a winter story using those words. Students complete a writing prompt "In the winter I ______" and practice handwriting with the words wind and winter, giving direct practice with common nouns. Students are also presented with the month names December, January, and February as winter months, exposing them to proper noun forms.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked to write their name in the blank in the first poem, which has them produce a proper noun in context. Students read and listen to spring-themed poems that include common nouns (for example: chick, egg, flowers, rain) and answer comprehension questions and draw pictures tied to those nouns. Students may also write or dictate their own spring poem in the language arts extension, which can involve using nouns to name people, places, and things.
Lesson 8
Summer
Students fill in blanks with picture-word prompts such as "beach," "pool," and "trip," requiring them to read, copy, or write these common noun words. The passage includes the proper/possessive form "Jessie's," so students read and work with a possessive noun in context. Instructions ask students to copy whole words or write beginning letters, giving practice producing noun words in written form.
Final Project
Weather Games
Students write season names above pictures in Activity 1 and cut/glue the names of the seasons, providing practice with written noun labels. In Activity 2 (Weather Memory) students match written season and weather words (e.g., "winter," "rain," "wind") with pictures, reinforcing use of common noun vocabulary. The skill list and Activity 4 ask students to use new vocabulary in speech and writing and to give oral weather forecasts, during which they speak and record words like "snowman," "summer," and "clouds."
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
Students practice common nouns for community places by reading and filling in blanks with words like restaurant, park, school, fire station, post office, library, and grocery store in Activities 2 (both options). Students write or copy vocabulary words and practice handwriting for the words "People" and "Park" in Activity 4. Students are asked to say the name of the town and neighborhood where they live and respond to prompts about "Charlie" (a proper name) and "Charlie's journey," which uses a possessive form in spoken prompts.
Lesson 2
My Community Environment
Students label places on a poster and write or dictate brief descriptions of how each place serves the community (Activity 2). Students copy book titles and draw illustrations of communities from three books (Activity 3), and students name and identify buildings on the community map (Activity 1 and Student Activity Page). Students prepare interview questions and name people who work in the community (postal worker, librarian, museum curator, county clerk), which requires using nouns for people and places.
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
Students read and say labels for buildings, goods, and services (e.g., Library, Hospital, Grocery Store, Books) and are asked to match those labels to pictures, which gives direct practice identifying and using common nouns. Students circle beginning letters of each word and read the names aloud, reinforcing recognition and oral use of these noun labels. Activities ask students to name important places in the community and describe how those places help people, prompting students to use community noun vocabulary in speech.
Lesson 5
Resources
Students name and sort pictured items (grapes, honey, firewood, clothes, crayons, teddy bear, bananas, trees, toy cars, shoes, dolls) when they classify resources as natural or manmade. Students label items with N or M, count the items, and write the number in each box, which requires using common noun labels for objects. Activity 3 asks students to find three natural and three manmade resources and to explain or write a sentence about each resource, prompting students to use nouns in speaking and writing.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
The lesson defines the word "citizen" as "a person who lives in a community," giving students exposure to a common noun. Scenario names (Frank, Maria, Caleb, Will, Sarah, Caitlyn) appear throughout the activities for students to read and discuss. Activity 3 instructs students to draw or paste family members and write the name of each person beneath the picture, requiring students to produce proper nouns in writing.
Lesson 9
Caring for Our Communities
Students read and answer questions about a story that uses common nouns (apartment, library, park, flowerbed) and a proper noun (Katy). Students name and role-play community helpers (e.g., librarian) and respond to prompts that require using noun labels for places and people. Handwriting practice asks students to write vocabulary words such as "citizen" and "care," which reinforces use of common noun vocabulary.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
Students are asked to circle and write the names of living and nonliving items (e.g., lizard, tree, dog, flower) on the Living & Nonliving pages, which requires identifying and writing common nouns. Students practice handwriting by tracing and copying the words "animal" and "ant," reinforcing use of common noun vocabulary. Students also sort and write names of animals and body parts in the Animal Parts and Body Coverings activities, which involve producing and categorizing common nouns.
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
The lesson explicitly defines a noun as a person, place, or thing and asks students to recognize the words for pictured objects as nouns (Activity 2 and Wrapping Up). Student pages require children to read and match object words from a word box (fluffy, sticky, etc.) to pictures, which has students identify and label common nouns for objects. Activity 3 has students write a sentence using a noun and an adjective ("______ feels _________"), giving practice using nouns in writing.
Lesson 5
How Old?
Students are asked to record a name for each pictured person and are reminded that names begin with capital letters, giving practice with proper nouns. Several student prompts and activity pages use everyday nouns in questions (e.g., 'Where is your mommy?', 'How many dogs do you have?', 'Can you ride a bicycle?'), giving students practice recognizing and using common nouns. Activity directions include labeled blanks titled "Names," asking students to write or at least the beginning letter of each name, which engages them in distinguishing name words from other words.
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
Students are prompted to name and record everyday objects (toothbrush, pencil, hairbrush, pineapple, grapes, crayon, notebook, etc.) in tables and fill-in-the-blank sentences and are given the option to write the word for each item. Students complete sentences such as "The __________ is longer than the __________." and record estimates and actual measurements using labels for items and the measurement tool. Students practice handwriting words related to the activities (e.g., length, long) on a dedicated handwriting page.
Lesson 7
More Attributes
Students name and label object attributes (e.g., "triangle," "square," "yellow") when sorting blocks and placing index-card labels in Activity 3. Students write category labels such as "Soft Parts" and "Hard Parts" and sort toys into those common-noun categories in Activity 4. Students practice handwriting the word "Venn" (a proper noun) and trace/write the uppercase and lowercase letter V on the Student Activity Page.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
Students label and write on the Earth Materials Book cover (including adding their name as Author and Illustrator), which requires using a proper noun. Students name and identify objects and animals (frog, boat, turtle, worm, girl, grandmother) in sentence-completion exercises and in book and illustration activities, which requires using common nouns. Students cut out and paste headings such as Dirt, Rocks, Water and list properties for those categories, which involves producing and using common noun labels.
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students copy and read a Senses Word List (tongue, ear, nose, finger, eye) and use those words when they attempt to read My Five Senses. Students cut or match common noun words (rainbow, piano, pizza, flower, etc.) to senses in the Senses Web activity and write or dictate sentences about sensing experiences (Option 2). The activities ask students to identify the person/place/thing in a sentence and allow practice writing sentences such as "I smell with my nose."
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Students name and point to common nouns for body parts (Hand, Mouth, Nose, Eyes, Ear) during identification and matching activities. Students encounter and use the proper noun "Jackie" in the story title and character activities (e.g., gluing sense organs on Jackie). Students practice writing the words "sense" and "see," reinforcing common noun vocabulary and letter formation.
Lesson 4
Hearing and Seeing
Students cut out and paste labels such as retina, pupil, cornea, iris, lens, optic nerve and eardrum, hammer, cochlea, auditory nerve, which requires them to read and use common nouns for body parts. Students practice writing and tracing the words "eyes" and "ears" and read or describe places and stories using nouns (for example identifying "Ms. Frizzle" and the book title The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses). Students speak and write descriptions of noisy places and a blindfold navigation experience, using nouns to name people, places, and objects.
Lesson 5
Touch
Students label and match pictured objects with words such as "coffee pot," "bowl of noodles," "ice," "fish," "pillow," "oven," "rock," and "bubbles," demonstrating use of common noun labels. Students draw and label two of their own objects on the Touch Chart, producing written nouns for items they choose. The handwriting practice asks students to write the words "touch" and "taste," reinforcing writing of common noun vocabulary and labels.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Students name and describe body parts and attributes (hair, eyes, nose, height, shoe size) in multiple activities, which uses common nouns. In the listening/story activity students hear and retell a story with named characters (Susan and Casey), which exposes them to and encourages use of proper nouns. Students write or dictate sentences about characters and physical traits (Activity 3 and the handwriting prompt "I have _________"), providing occasions to produce nouns in writing and speech.
Lesson 3
Different Personalities
Students are asked to write their name in the center of a web and to write or paste personality words that describe themselves and a friend or sibling, which requires them to produce proper names. In Activity 3 students record and illustrate the main characters in a movie or cartoon, which can include writing character names (proper nouns). The directions prompt students to write a friend's/sibling's name on the second web.
Lesson 4
Interests and Hobbies
Students are asked to dictate and write sentences describing a hobby (Activity 1), which requires naming activities and objects (use of common nouns). The Hobby Survey asks students to interview others and record responses, including a space for Name, prompting students to write people's names (proper nouns). The My Interest activity directs students to research places and topics (library resources and pictured maps of Australia, Uganda, South Africa), which can lead students to use proper nouns for places and subjects.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students fill in a proper name (sample: "Matthew") and a shape label (sample: "Triangle") on the "What Is Your Shape?" worksheet, producing both proper and common noun forms. Students provide descriptive entries such as a color ("red"), a physical characteristic ("has brown hair"), a personality trait ("funny"), a hobby ("play soccer"), and an interest ("space"), which require use of common nouns in speech and writing. Students are asked to write or dictate a short description and to write or copy a sentence about an interest or trait, giving direct opportunities to produce nouns in written and oral language.
Lesson 7
Different Homes
Students are asked to identify and name building materials (stones, mud, wood) and types of homes, which requires use of common nouns. In Activity 2 students record country names above homes, which requires writing proper nouns. Activity 4 asks students to write a sentence about their home, providing an opportunity to use nouns in writing.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Students are asked to identify and match holiday names with symbols and pictures (Activity 1 and the student activity pages), which requires recognition and use of proper nouns (e.g., Christmas, Easter). Students are instructed to write three sentences about their favorite holiday (Activity 3) and to include the "Name of the holiday" and "A sentence about the holiday" on each page of the Book of Holidays (Activity 5), which elicits use of nouns in writing. The skills list includes "Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing," supporting students' use of common and proper nouns in spoken and written responses.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students label and complete words for modes of transportation (e.g., filling in "__ar" to make "car" and similar items) and write full labels in the advanced option, which practices common noun recognition and spelling. Students select or write the best mode of transportation for scenarios, requiring them to name vehicles (common nouns) in the "Getting from Point A to Point B" activities. Students draw a favorite mode, tell and have a story recorded, and attempt to read it aloud, giving opportunities to use transportation nouns in speaking and writing. The handwriting activity asks students to write a sentence with two noun slots: "I have ______ in/on a _________."
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
Students complete a prompted paragraph ("One group I belong to is ___.") that requires them to name groups and write words that function as common or proper nouns. Students practice handwriting of words including "group," which reinforces common-noun usage in writing. Students brainstorm community groups and are prompted with named organizations (e.g., Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce), exposing them to proper nouns.
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
Students are prompted to write sentences that include place and person names (e.g., "I live in America. Jung Wei lives in China.") which requires use of proper nouns. Many example and template sentences contain common nouns for things like food, hobbies, clothing, and transportation (e.g., "I like to eat pizza," "I wear jeans," "I get to the grocery store by car"). The lesson and activity pages include possessive constructions in examples and prompts (e.g., "Jung Wei from China's hobby might be acrobatics" and the template "_______'s hobby might be _______").
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
Students identify and write the names of objects in patterns by filling blanks with words like fork, spoon, crayon, marker, penny, and paper clip on the activity pages. In Option 2, students gather objects, create patterns, extend them, and are invited to write the names of the objects they used on a separate sheet of paper. The handwriting activity asks students to copy or write a sentence about a pattern they made, which requires using object names in written sentences.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
Students read and sound out shape words such as "Small Triangle," "Large Circle," "Small Square," and similar labels while following and creating patterns. Students practice writing words on handwriting paper and are given explicit practice writing the words "shape," "color," and "size." Students also label shapes with letters and may copy or write sentences about patterns during the handwriting activity.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Students label pictures and name objects in multiple activities (Option 2 of the Word Patterns page asks children to label pictures such as hat, bat, cat, rat, pin, log). Activity 4 has students copy or dictate the names of animals from the text and sort animal names by habitat, and the Bear Hugs word lists include many noun words (hog, dog, goose, moose, dove, chest). Activity 5 asks students to write or copy a sentence using two rhyming words, which can involve writing common noun words.
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students identify and use naming words (nouns) by selecting words from labeled lists of people, places, and things (girl, boy, mom, dad, dog, cat, plant) to complete sentence starters. Students use proper names as subjects when they make up and act out sentences with the child's name (e.g., James ran...), and they are asked to circle the noun and underline the verb in sentences they copy. Students construct sentences from given nouns and verbs, read them aloud, and copy sentences from books while underlining naming words.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 1
Patterns in Nature
Students read Pattern by Henry Pluckrose (a proper noun for the book/author) and are asked comprehension questions aloud, providing opportunities to say nouns when describing patterns. In Activity 2 students match and paste pattern samples onto labeled illustrations (labels include common nouns such as zebra, pine cone, watermelon, leopard). In Activity 3 students draw 3–5 favorite patterns and label them, and Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence from the reading, which requires writing nouns in context.
Lesson 2
Patterns of Growth
Students label plant parts using a provided word box that lists common nouns (root, stem, leaf, petal) in Activity 2. Students draw and write sentences describing plant growth in Activity 1 and on the growth-recording pages, practicing using words for plants and parts. Activity 6 has students copy the words plant, grow, and part multiple times, reinforcing use of common nouns.
Lesson 3
Night and Day
Students label the three pictures of the Sun, Moon, and Earth on the Student Activity Page, which requires them to write the noun names of those celestial bodies. Students place a piece of tape on the United States on a globe and discuss when the U.S. is in daylight or night, exposing them to the proper noun 'United States' in context. Students draw a daytime activity and a nighttime activity and then record or dictate a few sentences about each, producing noun usage in written or spoken sentences.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students are asked to name and order the days of the week and months of the year and to place day and month cards on a poster, practicing the names of days and months (proper nouns). Students practice writing dates that include the day of the week and month and repeatedly write the words "day," "month," and "year" (common nouns). Activity pages require students to fill in day names on a weekly calendar and to record activities by day, which has students produce and use these noun forms in context.
Lesson 6
Seasonal Weather Patterns
Students are asked to write today's date and to copy the months of the year on handwriting paper, which requires producing proper noun forms (January, March, etc.). Students identify and name the four seasons, select and circle weather symbols, and match weather words (cold, warm, cool, hot) to months, which requires use of common nouns for weather and seasons. Students also locate a specific state (Florida) on a map, which requires use of a proper noun for a place.
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
Students are asked in Activity 4 to write or dictate and copy a sentence about the clowns in the car, which prompts them to produce and use nouns in context. They are explicitly asked to identify the subject (a noun) and the verb in their sentence, reinforcing recognition of nouns. Earlier activities require students to tell and record numbers of clowns, which has students repeatedly use the common noun "clowns."
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 9
Heat Causes Change
Students label and use words such as "ice," "water," and "steam" on the Ice, Water, Steam activity page and place those common-noun labels in the word box. Students record object names like "candle," "paper clips," and "inches" when measuring and entering data on the Burning Candle data sheet. Students write or copy a sentence about an observation on handwriting paper, which requires them to produce nouns in context.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
Students are asked to capitalize names and are reminded that "Names always begin with capital letters," and the skills list includes "Capitalize dates and names of people." In Activity 1 students rewrite sentences such as "chrysanthemum loved her name." and "Mrs. twinkle's first name was delphinium." to correct capitalization, and they complete prompts like "My name is" and "I wish my name were," which require writing their own proper nouns. In Activity 2 students write one letter of their name on each petal and arrange the petals to spell their name, giving additional practice with proper nouns.
Lesson 5
The Raft
Students read and work with sentences that include many common nouns (e.g., cornbread, walls, fish, birds, raft, reeds, otter) in the vocabulary matching activity. Students handle book titles and character names (e.g., Chrysanthemum, Wemberly Worried, The Raft, Grandma) when matching titles and gluing character labels, which exposes them to proper nouns. Students encounter possessive forms in the text (e.g., "Grandma's living room") as part of reading and discussion.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 1
People and Families Change
Students are asked to "use words that name" in the Skills list and to write a sentence about one way they have changed (Activity 3), which requires use of nouns. In Activity 5 students dictate and fill in the "Writing About Change" sheet describing past and present family features, practicing naming people and things. In Activity 6 students label the names and ages of each family member, which requires using proper nouns (personal names).
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
Students are asked to record the date (month, day of week, and year) and to complete sentence frames in the three boxes labeled "Yesterday I", "Today I", and "Tomorrow I will," which requires them to write words that function as nouns. The Units of Time activity lists and has students cut apart time-span words (hour, month, year, decade, second, minute, week, day, century), exposing students to common noun vocabulary related to time.
Lesson 3
Communities Change
Students are asked to read the book title and author's name and to identify characters by name (e.g., Ruby, Jenny), which engages use of proper nouns. Students label and sort items in categories (Transportation: canoe, wagon, car; Homes: brick house, log cabin, teepee; Clothing: dress, pants, leather clothing), which requires recognition and use of common nouns. Students write a sentence about The House on Maple Street during the handwriting activity, providing an opportunity to use nouns in written language.
Lesson 5
Exploring the Past
Students are asked to write one sentence about each element of culture and to assemble a book and give a presentation, which requires them to produce written nouns in context. Student activity pages and labels use named cultures (Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe) and section headings (Homes and Houses, Clothes and Fashion, Food and Eating, Travel and Transport), so students will read and reproduce proper nouns and common nouns. Activities that ask students to cut, sort, and place pictures on a timeline include labeling cultures by name, giving practice with proper-noun labels.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Students read and discuss biographies that repeatedly present proper names (Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King, Madame Curie, George Washington, Galileo) in the People in History activity. Students are asked to point to individuals described and to glue descriptions beneath pictures, engaging with noun phrases like inventor, scientist, president in the descriptions. Activity 4 asks students to write a sentence about a historical person, which requires using at least a proper noun or common nouns in their sentence.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students identify and write words that name pictured objects (e.g., pig, goose, box, net, ring, igloo) on Beginning Letters and Writing Words pages, requiring them to produce common noun labels. Students read and spell single-syllable words that are common nouns during Building Words, Word Families, and Reader activities (examples: pig, man, dog, box). Students point to and say object names when prompted for picture identification, linking spoken words to written common noun forms.
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students practice common nouns by reading, spelling, and writing words like cat, dog, pig, hens, pot, tub, and dock (Activities 3.1, 3.2, dictation sentences, and reader). Students learn to form plurals by adding -s and -es orally and in writing (Skills list; Activity 3.1 and "Writing More Than One With S" pages). Students practice proper nouns and capitalization by spelling given names and being reminded that names begin with an uppercase letter (Activity 1.2: spelling Meg, Ted, Sam, etc., and tracing uppercase letters).
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students read and write sentences that contain common nouns (for example: man, cats, path, log, pet, rat) during sentence dictation, forming sentences, and reader activities. Students encounter and identify proper nouns (Meg, Dan, Sam) and are asked why those names begin with uppercase letters. Students practice and read the sight words "his" and "her," using them in dictated sentences (e.g., "The man ran with his pet.").
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students name and label pictures (glass, cloud, slide, clown, plate, sled, etc.) when sorting and cutting images into blend columns, which gives practice using common nouns. Students use noun words from the Making Sentences cards (kids, flag, blocks, club, ducks, fish, cat, etc.) to build, read, and dictate sentences. Sentence dictation and sentence-creation activities require students to write and read sentences that include common nouns, reinforcing noun usage in context.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students identify and name pictured items (crab, frog, bread, truck, etc.) and place or glue them by beginning blend, which requires them to recognize and write these common nouns. Students spell and write noun words during word-building and Writing Words activities (e.g., crib, frog, brick, drum) and copy words like fret, broth, crisp. Students write dictated sentences that contain common nouns ("I have one trick.", "They can run on a track.", "The frogs crash on the deck.").
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students read and write sentences that include common nouns (e.g., "The kids shop at the mall," "The bugs buzz") and proper names (e.g., "Meg has less cash than Jill"), and they spell and read noun words (boss, mall, dress, doll) during word-building activities. Students are asked to write dictated sentences and to begin sentences with an uppercase letter, which results in practicing writing proper names in context. Word-building and word-family activities require students to produce and write many common noun words (grass, dress, shell, cliff).
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students read and write sentences that include common nouns (cats, ring, well, song) during sentence dictation and reading activities. Students make sentences using word cards that contain many common nouns (frog, truck, pond, tent, grass, swing) and a proper name (Hank). Students are reminded that words that begin with an uppercase letter should come at the beginning of a sentence, and they practice writing and reading the proper name "Hank" in dictated and guided writing.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
Students spell, read, and write many common nouns (shrimp, shrub, pond, tank, string, ants, squid) during word-building, word-sorting, reading, and sentence-dictation activities. Students complete fill-in-the-blank and word-sort pages where they place and read words that are common nouns. Students also write sentences that include common nouns during the sentence dictation and word-writing activities.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students read and write sentences that contain common nouns (Activity 5.1: dictation of "An elk slept on the bed.", "Each kid can swim.", "The rafts drift on the pond."). Students identify animals and answer comprehension questions about characters (Activity 5.2: naming elk, skunks, cat, pig) and read word lists and sort words that include many common noun targets (bulb, raft, pond, lamp, etc.). Students also spell and build words that are nouns during word-building and word-sorting activities (e.g., bulb, milk, kelp, raft, gift).
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
On Day 2 the teacher asks, "Why does Jack begin with an uppercase letter? (it's a person's name)," prompting the student to identify a proper noun and its capitalization. The skills list and activities require students to recognize uppercase and lowercase letters and to read and write full sentences, and students write dictated sentences that include common nouns (e.g., "golf club," "yard"). Students also read and discuss names and questions (e.g., "What is your name?"), providing instances where proper and common nouns appear in text.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students read and underline sentences on the "There and Their" page that include the phrase "There is my friend's house," so they encounter and read a possessive noun (friend's). Students are asked to point to or name characters such as Meg, Dan, and King Hank and to write their own name on a book cover, which gives practice with proper nouns. Students write dictated sentences (e.g., "The dogs slept in the yard.") and create their own reader, providing opportunities to use common nouns in writing.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students read and write many common nouns (bike, kite, cake, grapes, wave, tape, etc.) when they label pictures, complete word-building, and take dictation. Students encounter proper nouns when they read the reader In the Fall and answer questions about the characters Lin and Dev. Students identify possession in context by discussing the sentence "The players put on their uniforms," pointing out that "their" shows that something belongs to someone.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students are asked to name pictures (e.g., bed, dog, nose, cube) and spell or write many object words during word-building and sorting activities, which requires them to use common nouns. Students are prompted to read and write sentences that include nouns (for example, "They use the hose on the grass." and "I can stack these cubes."). Students are explicitly asked why "Tim" is spelled with an uppercase letter, which identifies a proper noun (a person's name) and its capitalization.
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students name and spell many common nouns (barn, fern, bird, fork, worm, herd) in fill-in-the-blank, word-building, and reading activities. They read and write sentences that include common nouns (e.g., "The herd is in the barn.") and identify animals and objects in the reader and word lists. Students also use sight words in sentences, which may include common noun usage.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students read, write, and spell many common nouns throughout the activities (examples: toad, goat, toast, boat, road, soap) in word lists, writing pages, and dictation sentences. Students use those common nouns in sentence dictation ("The toad would float." "The goat eats toast.") and in word-building and sorting activities. Students also spell a proper noun (Joe) in the word-building Group 3 activity.
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students read and answer comprehension questions that include proper names (e.g., questions asking about Tom and Val in Reader #9). Students write and read dictated sentences and story sentences that contain common nouns (e.g., goat, stew, paint, girls, water, camp) and complete activities that require reading and using those nouns in context. Students also read and write sight words and sentences that include noun usage (e.g., "Who has been to camp?", "The girls make art with glue.").
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students read, spell, and write sentences that include common nouns such as "child," "colt," "stickers," and "people" (Fill in the Blanks, Sentence Dictation, sight word sentence examples). Students read and use proper names (proper nouns) in spoken sentence examples like "Bobby has the most stickers," "Caitlyn has two stickers," and "Does Amin have any stickers?" Students sort and spell word-bank items that are common nouns (mild, child, colt, gold) during word-building, sorting, and spelling activities.
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students read and write many common noun words (for example: boy, toy, rope, soil, voice) in word-sorting, word-building, and sight-word activities. Students use noun cards (boy, toys, night, light, rope, snow, soup, group, etc.) to create sentences in the Making Sentences activity. Students write and read sentences that contain common nouns during sentence dictation and reading (e.g., "The boys play with the toy." and "Use your voice.").
Lesson 17
Year-End Review
Students practice using and identifying common nouns and plurals: the Introduction lists "Adding s to show more than one," and the "Which Words?" activity asks students to find words that "include s to show more than one of something" (plants, gems, rings). In Sentence Writing, students write sentences about pictures using words like "ducks," "dock," "clouds," and are reminded to think about how sentences begin and end. The Compound Words and multiple word-sorting activities have students read and build many noun words (cupcake, starfish, rainbow, bread, bowl, etc.).