Kindergarten - ELA
1: Letters
Unit 1: A - A Is for Musk Ox
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills section explicitly lists "With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text." The Reading and Questions section directs an adult to ask the child to point to the title and to the author and illustrator, read the book, and then ask specific post-reading questions (e.g., which two animals talk in the story; why we have the alphabet). Activities include guided prompts and support (holding up number cards, using the book as a reference) that scaffold question-and-answer practice.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Activity 1 directs an adult and child to read and watch about musk oxen and to "discuss where the musk oxen live, what they eat, how people use them, and what threats they face," which prompts students to respond to specific informational questions. Activity 1 also asks to "discuss how the information you share with your child compares with what the musk ox in the story says about his species," asking students to identify and talk about text details. Activity 3 asks the child to "think about what she learned about musk oxen" while acting and invites the adult to guess, which prompts the child to recall and describe details from the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The text directs an adult to ask the child to find each marked word in the book and to find the picture of that item in the illustration, prompting the child to point and respond. It instructs the adult to ask the child what "herd" means, to read the definition, and to discuss why that meaning fits the book's context. Activity instructions ask the child to say the sight word "you" during reading and to respond when prompted, supporting question-and-answer interaction about text details.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In the Reading Workshop (Activity 2) students are asked questions after independent reading: they are asked if they liked the book and why and whether they would recommend it to a friend and why. Students are encouraged to explore the illustrations and to use their finger to trace words from left to right, and an optional extension asks students to draw and describe a face showing how they felt after reading the book.
Unit 2: H - Hondo and Fabian
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson explicitly lists the skill: "With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text." The Reading and Questions section directs an adult to read the book and then ask children specific comprehension questions (Who are the two characters? What were some differences? What were some things they did?), which requires students to answer key-detail questions. Activity 1 asks students to identify which character performed each activity and act it out, reinforcing attention to key details in the text.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are shown the cover of Hondo and Fabian and asked to name the two characters, which requires them to answer a 'who' question about the text. Students are prompted to look at the front cover and point to the letter H and describe how it looks, which asks them to observe and respond to details on the text's cover. Students are prompted to consider appearance and behavior of cats and dogs and record characteristics in a Venn diagram, practicing answering detail-focused prompts.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are prompted to retell the story in their own words with scaffolded prompts ("What happened at the beginning...? What happened next?..."), and to answer explicit comprehension questions about characters and feelings (e.g., "How do you think the characters feel at the end of their day?" and "How do you feel at the end of your own day?"). Students are asked to identify the two animals in the book and note one way they are alike and one way they are different. Students also describe characters using words or phrases in Activity 4, which elicits key-detail description from the text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are prompted to page through the book together to identify additional ways Hondo or Fabian moved, which asks them to notice and respond to details in the text. Students are asked to look at pictures of Hondo and Fabian together and to respond to questions about their relationship (things they did together or apart). Adults prompt students to answer questions (e.g., "See if she can think of some words...", "Ask your child if she has a friend...", "Ask your child to think about different ways objects and animals move").
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked what a character is and to look at the book Hondo and Fabian while moving their finger left to right and identifying capital letters at the beginning of names. Students are then asked questions about the names (e.g., "Do those names seem like good ones for those characters?" and "If he had a dog or cat to name, what would he name his dog or cat?"). Students practice pointing out specific printed details (capital letters) in the text.
Unit 3: I - The Little Island
Lesson 1
Day 1
The reading section directs an adult to ask the child to find the title and to ask what she thinks the book will be about and what she notices on the cover, prompting prediction and observation. The text gives five explicit post-reading questions (Questions #1-#5) that ask the child to answer key details such as the definition of an island, creatures on the island, changes that happened, and the kitten's question. The guide also asks the child to find the names of the author and illustrator and to discuss similarities and differences among islands, providing additional opportunities to answer text-based questions.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students page through The Little Island and describe how the pictures progress through the seasons. An adult asks the child questions such as what season it is, what is changing on the island, and what accessories or gear are appropriate for each season, prompting the child to answer about key details in the text and illustrations. The activity also asks the child to make connections by answering how the seasons affect him personally.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are prompted to retell The Little Island in their own words and to use the illustrations to guide their retelling, with the teacher providing guiding questions if needed. Before reading, students are asked to supply the omitted word "little" when the teacher points to it, practicing answering a prompt about the text. In Activity 3, students look at pages of the book to find examples of where different animals move, identifying and answering questions about those details.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson has the adult read the first two lines of the story ("There was a little Island in the ocean. Around it the winds blew...") and then asks the child to pretend to be the winds and describe or act how winds move around the island. The lesson prompts the child to observe the storm picture and asks, "if he knows how waves form," inviting discussion of possible causes. The child is asked to act out motions referenced in the text (clouds, fish, fog) and to move the kitten in relation to the island using positional words drawn from the story.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Reading Workshop (Activity 2) directs an adult to ask the child what she sees on the front cover, where the back cover is, discuss the title page, and then ask the child whether she liked the book, why, what she liked, what she would change, and her favorite part. Activity 1 asks the child whether the island was really little and to compare its size to other things, prompting the child to explain how we know sizes. Activity 3 has the child draw and then 'read' or dictate details about an imagined visit (season, animals, unusual sights) and then read those ideas aloud to an adult.
Unit 4: T - What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to preview the book and respond to an adult's question asking them to predict what the book will be about. After reading, students are asked to answer questions such as whether they learned anything new about an animal and to recall how different animals use ears, eyes, and noses. The lesson provides explicit question prompts (QUESTION #1-#3) that require students to answer key-detail questions from the text and activities ask students to identify similarities/differences and sort animals by number of legs based on information in the pictures/text.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to discuss specific pages of What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? that focus on animal tails and their purposes. Students are asked to think about what each animal might need or use a tail for and to match and glue the correct tail, which requires recalling and using details from the text. Students are asked to explain the tail they created, which asks them to answer questions about purpose and design linked to text information.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are read a nonfiction book and are asked direct comprehension questions (QUESTION #1 asks whether the book was make-believe or true and to compare it to a prior story; QUESTION #2 asks what kind of information the student learned). The text instructs an adult to help the child organize his thoughts, showing that answers are expected with prompting and support. Students are also prompted to locate and practice reading a sight word in the book, connecting word recognition to discussion of the text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The Getting Started review prompts the child to "name an animal whose tail has a special job and to describe that job," which asks the student to answer a question about a specific text detail. Activity 1 has the child choose an animal from the book and "work together to locate some information... Discuss the animal's body parts and how they are used, where the animal lives, and what it eats," which requires asking and answering questions about key details in the book. Several prompts direct the adult to elicit responses from the child about those key details.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 directs an adult to ask the child specific comprehension questions such as "What was the first section of the book about?" and to have the child "go through the book, identifying the order of the body parts." The activity also asks evaluative questions (Did he like it? Did he learn something new? Why or why not?) that prompt the child to answer about key details. Activity 3 has the child produce 1–3 facts learned about an animal body part, which requires recalling and stating details from prior text-based research.
Unit 5: L - We're Going on a Leaf Hunt
Lesson 1
Day 1
The guide instructs adult helpers to ask the child to look at the cover, read the title/author, read the book, and then asks the adult to "ask your child the questions below, and look back through the story as you discuss it." It provides four explicit comprehension questions (Did the children enjoy the hunt? What challenges did they face? How did they feel at the end? Have you ever gone on a search?), which prompt the child to answer key-detail questions and to refer back to the text for evidence.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson prompts the child to identify a key detail in the text by asking, "What kind of mountain is it?" and guiding the child to find and say the word "tall" and the phrase "a tall mountain." The review asks the child to recall what an adjective is, linking that question to a detail in the book. Activity 3 has the child act out the story and respond to substituted verbs (skip, march, hop), which requires the child to answer prompts about characters' actions in the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
During Reading and Questions, the adult directs the child to "look together for adjectives in the story" and explicitly asks, "What words describe the forest, the waterfall, the lake, and the skunk?" The guide models a specific question: "ask your child what word the author uses to describe the forest," and instructs the child to identify and repeat the adjective (e.g., "dark forest"). The guide also prompts the child to point to and say the sight word "go" each time it appears in the text.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 asks the child to spend time with the book, look for describing words, read left to right, and then asks the child questions such as "Did you enjoy this book? Why or why not? Would you recommend it to a friend?" Activity 3 (Option 1) instructs an adult to ask questions to help the child generate ideas for a story, modeling a question-and-answer interaction.
Unit 6: F - Fireflies
Lesson 1
Day 1
The plan directs an adult to have the child look at the cover, describe what he sees, and tell what he knows about fireflies before reading. After reading, the child is asked a set of explicit questions (Question #1–#4) that require him to identify what is flickering, explain how the boy feels using evidence from pictures, and explain why the boy cried and smiled. Skills and Questions to Explore emphasize describing the relationship between illustrations and story, which prompts the child to answer key-detail questions using pictures and words.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to answer questions about text on the middle page (e.g., recall a synonym for "blinking on, blinking off" and explain what "soaring" means using surrounding words as clues). Students examine the "Insects" activity page and are asked to determine whether each picture is an insect and to explain the clues they used (body parts, antennae, wings, legs). During Activity 3 students collect bugs and discuss whether the creatures they find are insects and how they know, verbally answering questions about those details.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to review the illustrations and tell the story in their own words, which requires them to identify and recount key events. Students are prompted to discuss the book with questions such as "Did he like the story? Why or why not?", "Were there any parts that were funny or surprising?", and "How would he feel when he had to let them go?" which asks students to answer questions about elements of the text. The activities require students to respond to adult prompts and provide answers about story details and feelings.
Unit 7: E - But No Elephants
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills list explicitly includes the target standard, stating students will "With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text." The Reading and Questions section directs adults to ask the child predictive and comprehension questions (e.g., what the book will be about, why the child has that opinion) and provides specific post-reading questions about key details (what Grandma Tildy's life was like at the beginning and end, whether she was happy, predicaments she faced and how she solved them). The activities instruct students to refer to the book for order of visitors and answer questions using ordinal numbers (e.g., "Who came third? Who came fifth?"), reinforcing checking the text for details.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson explicitly asks the child to recall the meaning of "predicament" and to name one predicament Grandma Tildy faced in the story But No Elephants. The Review section asks the child to explain vocabulary words and give examples, prompting question-and-answer interaction about word meanings. Activity 1 directs the child to look at illustrations and describe positions of animals using words like "in," "on," "under," etc., which requires the child to answer questions about key picture details.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to explain to an adult what happened in the story after a second reading, which requires them to answer questions about key story details. The teacher prompts the child to read and identify the sight word "no" in context, tying word recognition to events in the text. In Activity 1 the adult asks the child how a guessed or acted animal would help Grandma Tildy, prompting the child to answer questions about characters' roles and events from the story.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked specific questions about the story picture (e.g., "What is Grandma Tildy doing?", "What kind of work is she doing?", "Why is she doing that?"). Students examine each pet in the story and answer targeted questions about what each animal provided (canary, beaver, turtle, woodpecker, elephant) and whether it met a want or a need. Students retell or continue the story using stick puppets and are prompted with sequence questions such as "What came next?" and to hold up each animal as it is introduced.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 asks the child to talk about the book after reading and provides specific prompts: "Did she enjoy it? Why or why not? What was her favorite part of the story? Ask her if she could think of a different ending than the author chose." The activity also directs the child to retell the story in her own words or to trace the words with her finger, modeling comprehension and recall of story events. These steps require the child to answer questions and describe key events from the text with adult support.
Unit 8: C - Millions of Cats
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the cover and answer prediction questions ("what he sees," "what he thinks the book will be about," "if a million is a lot of cats"). Students read the book and then answer eight specific comprehension questions about key story details (problem, cause, outcome, character actions, meaning of "quarrel"). Students compare characters and their experiences using a Venn diagram, which requires discussing and identifying key details and similarities between the two texts.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson includes an explicit prompt to "Ask your child if she knows what it means to quarrel," which directs a student to answer a question about vocabulary tied to the text. The lesson points students to a specific passage ("On the third page of Millions of Cats... He trudged through cool valleys") and asks them to "talk about different physical features of the Earth," which engages students with a detail from the text. The activity asking the child to find the uppercase letter C on the book cover and to decorate the "prettiest" cat connects student actions to observable details in the book.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson directs an adult to ask the child comprehension questions such as "Which cat ended up being the pretty cat the couple was hoping for?" and to ask how the sight word "pretty" was used in the book. The Reading and Questions section explicitly instructs asking the child if there is a lesson to be learned and to answer "What lesson does the story teach?", with a model answer about love making the cat pretty. The Review prompts also ask the child to recount a quarrel and how it ended, which asks for key details from the text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson prompts an adult to "Talk about how the poem relates to the book" and explicitly asks "Would this poem describe the scene with all the cats from the book?", which requires the child to answer a question about text details. The Optional Extension directs an adult to omit rhyming words and ask the child to supply the missing word and to read a line and see if the child can remember the next line, which asks the child to respond to prompts about specific text lines. The poem activity also has the child create and perform motions tied to poem lines, requiring recall and demonstration of key details from the text.
Unit 9: G - The Real Mother Goose
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to answer questions about the texts such as "Who does she think Mother Goose is?", "What parts are silly or ridiculous?", and "Which ones does your child like, and why?". The teacher/parent asks comprehension questions about specific lines (e.g., asking why "corn" fits in the line from "Little Boy Blue") and asks the child to identify rhyming pairs in poems like "Humpty Dumpty." Students are prompted to talk about "what is happening" in "The Little Bird," act out the poem, and supply missing end-words when lines are read with the final words omitted.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students listen to and read the poem "The Year" and are prompted to "talk about what happens in January" and answer questions such as "What is the weather like?". Students read or recite "The Little Bird" poem and are asked to supply words that fit the poem, practicing responses to text prompts. Students look at the Months of the Year activity page and discuss details for each month as they color, cut, and glue corresponding pictures.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The lesson directs an adult and child to "read these poems together" and to "talk about the poems together and identify the spherical objects described," which asks the child to state details from the texts (e.g., that the Moon or a ball is described). The lesson also asks the child to "name as many spheres as she can," reinforcing identification of objects mentioned or related to the poems. The Reading Workshop has the child follow along with poems on audio, supporting listening for text details.
Unit 10: O - Owl Babies
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the book cover, describe what they see, and predict whether the book will teach facts or tell an imaginary story. After reading, students answer explicit questions: identify whether the book told a story or taught facts (Q1) and explain how they know by citing details such as characters talking and having names (Q2). Students are asked to name true facts from the text and to classify the book as fiction while explaining which details were factual (Q3).
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson asks the child to identify what she sees on the front cover and to predict whether the book is fiction or non-fiction and explain why, prompting her to answer questions about the text. After reading, the child is asked to confirm the book's genre and to dictate or write facts she learned about owls into the designated spaces on the activity page. The optional extension has the child gather facts from research and present an owl poster to others, which requires recalling and reporting key details.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson instructs an adult to ask the child who in the book wants something and what he wants, and to point to the word 'want' on the page while the child practices reading it. The lesson has the child read Bill's line 'I want my mommy!' aloud as the teacher points to the words. After reading, the adult is directed to ask the child to tell the story in his own words and to identify how the music makes characters feel during the animated reading.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson directs an adult to "ask your child to observe what is different and what is similar about the owls," prompting the child to answer questions about pictures. The lesson also asks the child to answer, "What can the owls in the book do that real owls cannot do?" referring to the book Owl Babies, which asks for answers about key details and differences between text and reality. The Reader's Theatre activity has students read and respond aloud to lines, which practices oral comprehension and expression.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Reading Workshop asks students to examine two books about owls and to think about which is fiction and which is nonfiction and what clues support that choice. Students are asked to spend independent time looking at the books and then to tell the teacher what they found, citing clues such as illustrations, talking owls, photographs, and factual information. The lesson gives explicit prompts for students to identify and describe details in the texts that indicate genre.
Unit 11: S - Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the book cover and describe what they see and to notice details in the pictures of the four branches, supporting answering questions about text details. Students are asked to answer explicit comprehension questions (Question #1: name the four seasons; Question #2: describe what Arnold does with his tree during each season and relate it to their own activities). Students are guided to identify characters, settings, and major events and to describe how illustrations relate to the story, which practices answering questions about key details.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson includes a direct comprehension question: "QUESTION #1: What gift did the tree give Arnold in each season?" that asks the child to answer a key-detail about The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree. The child is prompted to find and read the word "some" in a sentence from the book and to read the book a second time looking for that word. In Activity 3 the child listens to a poem and is asked to name the season based on adjectives read and to come up with other adjectives for each season, requiring answering questions about textual details.
Lesson 4
Day 4
In Activity 1, students are directed to look at the page where Arnold's family works together and are asked specific questions such as "How does each member of the family contribute to this project?" and "Why do you think the family worked together to do these jobs?" In Activity 2, students listen to clips of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and are asked to identify which season is being described and to explain what in the music makes them think of that season. These prompts require students to answer questions about key details from a text page and from an audio representation.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The lesson prompts the adult to ask the student where and when The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree took place and labels that as the story's setting. The student is asked to look through books with outdoor settings, identify the setting and the season, and then share the setting and the clues that helped her identify the season. The lesson also models asking about setting by discussing a favorite movie or TV show and asking "What is the setting?"
Unit 12: D - Dinosaurs Big and Small
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills list explicitly includes "With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text." The Reading and Questions section directs an adult to ask the child about the cover, make predictions, and then discuss five specific questions (fiction vs. nonfiction, author/illustrator, source of information, shared characteristics, differing characteristics) with provided answers. Activities ask the child to compare and describe dinosaur characteristics and to answer which dinosaurs are longer/shorter, giving multiple opportunities to respond about details from the text.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The review prompt asks the child to show a dinosaur from the book and name one interesting characteristic, which requires the child to identify and answer about a key detail in the text. The lesson refers to pages 10 and 28 of Dinosaurs Big and Small describing how scientists use bones and fossil imprints to learn about dinosaurs, which provides a specific factual detail for the child to identify or discuss. The caregiver directions to have the child listen carefully to the words of the song and act out movements also ask the child to attend to and respond to details in a presented text (lyrics).
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson includes explicit teacher prompts for students to answer questions about key details in the text: Question #1 asks the child what "sprawl" means after looking back at page 27 and to explain how they can guess the meaning using the sentence and picture. Question #2 asks the child what new information they learned from the book, what surprised them, and what else they would like to know, prompting the child to generate a question. The directions also tell the adult to read the book and have the child look back at specific pages and identify details (e.g., identifying adjectives describing dinosaurs).
Lesson 4
Day 4
The Review section prompts the child to name a favorite dinosaur and identify a characteristic and adjective, which has the child answer questions about dinosaur details. In Activity 1 (Dinosaur Research) the child uses web sources to learn about a chosen dinosaur, makes a drawing, and dictates five facts that are recorded beneath the drawing. The activity also asks the child to share this new information with friends and family, which has the child communicate key details gleaned from text sources.
Unit 13: P - Harold and the Purple Crayon
Lesson 1
Day 1
The text instructs an adult to read the book to the child and then asks specific comprehension questions (What do you think about Harold's adventure? Were there dangerous or difficult parts? How does Harold feel at the end?), which prompt the child to answer key-detail questions. Activity 1 asks the child to recall predicaments Harold faced and the solutions he drew, prompting the child to remember and explain specific events and details from the story. The cover look question (What does she think the book will be about?) prompts the child to use details to make a prediction.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Activity 1 directly prompts the child to answer questions about the book ("What shape is the moon in the story? Does the moon always look that way?") and directs the child to observe the moon in the story and across nights. The Getting Started section and Activity 2 ask the child to locate and identify details (point out a square and rectangle in the room; find the uppercase letter P on the book cover), which require the child to respond to prompts about observable text or picture details.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are prompted to reread Harold and the Purple Crayon and to answer four explicit comprehension questions about events and actions (most interesting thing, most amazing drawing, scary moments, how he got home). Students are asked to locate and read the sight word "made" on pages where Harold "made" things, which asks them to attend to text details and recurring words. The lesson includes teacher prompts (e.g., "Ask your child these questions") that guide students to respond to key details in the text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson directs adults to ask the child specific questions about Harold and the Purple Crayon (e.g., "Ask your child if his neighborhood is like Harold's. Why or why not? What does his neighborhood have in it?") so students answer questions about story details. Students are prompted to define imagination and compare Harold's neighborhood to their own, and then use those answers to construct a neighborhood map using buildings and roadways. The activities include sharing the neighborhood map, which requires students to recall and describe details from the text.
Unit 14: B - Blueberries for Sal
Lesson 1
Day 1
Adults are instructed to have the child look at the cover and answer questions about what they notice and what the book will be about, prompting prediction and observation. The child is asked to find the illustrator and note illustration details, supporting attention to text features. After reading, the child is asked to answer six explicit comprehension questions about who was looking for blueberries, why they wanted blueberries, what happened on the mountain, feelings, and how the story ended.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to name one similarity and one difference between Little Sal and Little Bear during the review, which requires identifying key character details. In Activity 1 students are prompted to decide whether the story takes place in the past and to look through the book for picture clues (car model, clothing, stove) that support their answer. In Activity 3 students are asked to describe what "hustle" must mean based on a picture and to read and act out different character movements, linking text and illustration details to meaning.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson has the student listen to and follow along as Blueberries for Sal is read aloud and directs the child to look for and read the sight word "she" during reading. After reading, the child is asked to retell the story in his own words and may use the pictures to prompt him, which asks the student to recall and describe story details.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Activity 1 asks the child to read Blueberries for Sal and to create a two-column list naming elements of fiction and elements of non-fiction about bears, and it also directs the child to read non-fiction bear facts (e.g., via the National Geographic Kids link). The provided chart and image show factual details (bears eat fruit, prepare for winter, mother bears protect cubs) that students are to identify and record alongside fictional details (bears can talk, obey their mother).
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 2, students examine books set in the past and search for clues that identify the setting as past or present. After independent exploration, students share their findings aloud and respond to adult prompts such as questions about characters' clothing and the technology shown in the story. The guidance directs adults to ask specific questions to help students identify time-related details in the text.
Unit 15: R - Rain
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the cover, notice details, and answer questions about what they know about rain and what they notice about the words and pictures. The text contains explicit teacher prompts to stop during reading and ask the child what she thinks the rain will fall on next and four written questions (about the author's effect, sensory language, the ending, and types of rain) for the child to answer. In Activity 1 students place die-cut pieces to recreate the story progression, which requires them to identify and sequence key events from the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to manipulate die-cuts to match each page after the teacher reads the book, which has them identify and match key page details. Students are prompted to read the book back, point to words, and read what they know, practicing recall of textual details. In Activity 3, students point to each object in a glued scene and use its describing word (for example, "purple flowers") to tell about the scene, requiring them to name and explain details from the text.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 3 directs the adult to ask the child, "Why she thinks writers like to use color words in their writing," which requires the child to answer a question about an element of writing. Activity 2 has the child practice reading a book aloud and reading the book she wrote about colors to family, which engages the child with text and could support answering questions about the text.
Unit 16: N - Night in the Country
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the book cover and describe observable details (the sky, time of day) and to identify the meaning of the word "country" using a map. After reading, students are asked focused comprehension questions such as "How do you feel about nighttime?", "What does the author seem to think about nighttime? How can you tell?", and "Would you like to live in the country?" which require them to answer questions about key details and the author's viewpoint.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to listen to Night in the Country read twice and to look for and read the sight word "there" whenever it appears. After reading, students are prompted to tell the story in their own words using the pictures as a guide. The review instruction also directs an adult to ask the child one difference between life in the country and life in the city.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Reading Workshop instructs the adult to explain that good readers ask questions as they read and to give an example question (e.g., where the book is located, questions about the owl or frogs). It directs the child to spend time with the book, "read" it, look at pictures, and identify a question or two he'd like to know more about after reading. It then has the child share his questions and talk about them, and suggests doing research to find answers if appropriate.
Unit 17: M - Marshmallow
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the cover and answer predictive questions (e.g., "Ask her why she thinks the book is titled Marshmallow. What does she think it will be about?"). Students are asked to distinguish fiction vs. non-fiction before reading. After reading, students are prompted to answer specific comprehension questions about key details (Q1–Q6), including character behavior, advantages/disadvantages of having a rabbit, reasons for actions, and vocabulary meaning (e.g., asking why Oliver "hesitated").
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to look at the part of the book where Oliver is about to pounce and talk about how Oliver followed Miss Tilly's rules, responding to questions about his behavior. Students are asked what the rules of their home are and why rules are important, connecting text detail to personal experience. Students are also prompted to supply omitted words when rereading the poem, practicing answering prompts about text content.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are instructed to reread the book and to practice reading the sight word "out" as it occurs in the story, which directs attention to text details. After reading, students are asked to tell the story in their own words and are encouraged to use the pictures to prompt their retelling. The instructions explicitly direct an adult to ask the child to recount the story, providing prompting and support for an oral response.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson asks the adult to "Talk with your child about how Owen and Mzee's friendship was similar to and different from Owen and Marshmallow's," and it supplies concrete examples of similarities and differences for discussion. It offers an optional extension to "Create a Venn diagram comparing Owen and Mzee and Oliver and Marshmallow," which has students identify and record key story details. The drawing activity also directs the adult to "Look at the pictures with your child. Ask him to observe the colors," which prompts students to notice and discuss visual details from the story illustrations.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 asks the child to identify poems in the story by looking at page layout and to explain how she can tell they are poems. The child is prompted to listen as the poems are read and to say how the poems sound different from a story and to identify rhyming pairs at line ends. The child is given books to examine independently for clues (story vs. poetry) and is asked to share her findings.
Unit 18: U - Umbrella
Lesson 1
Day 1
The text instructs an adult to ask the child to look at the cover and say what they think the book will be about, to recall events after reading, and provides four specific question-and-answer prompts about key story details (the birthday gift, alternative uses for the umbrella, Momo's feelings when it rained, and vocabulary on page 6). Activities also prompt the child to answer a question about how Momo felt while waiting for rain and to respond to vocabulary questions about the prefix "un-." These prompts require the child to answer questions about who, what, why, and how — central details of the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson directs an adult to read Umbrella and then ask the child to "tell you the story in his own words," encouraging the child to use pictures to prompt retelling. It also instructs the adult to show the child a specific sentence containing the word "not," have the child read it back, and to help the child look for that word in the story. The Review section includes prompting the child with a question about an unfortunate birthday event, demonstrating practice with answering a question.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 directs an adult to ask the child questions after reading Umbrella (e.g., "What did he think about Umbrella? What did he like about the book? Would he recommend it to another friend to read? Why or why not?"). Activity 3 has the child read or listen to their own writing about a birthday gift and then answer questions such as naming their favorite thing about their writing selection and explaining use of capital letters.
Unit 19: J - Jump Frog Jump
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to identify animals and predict the main character and setting from the book cover. After reading, students are asked specific questions (e.g., How was the frog able to get away? Which animals did the frog escape? Which animals did not escape?), and are directed to look back through the text to find answers. In Activity 1, students consult the book to put story sequence pictures in order, using beginning-of-book clues to determine what came first.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson directs an adult to point out the question "How did the frog get away?" and have the child read the word "how" in that sentence. After reading, the child is asked to line up story sequence cards from Day 1 in order and tell the story using those cards as prompts. Activity 3 asks the child to listen to positional phrases from the book and show the relationships with die-cuts and props, demonstrating comprehension of specific details.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 has students look at the repeating sentence in the book, "How will frog get away?", points out the question mark, and has the child practice asking questions and being asked questions. Activity 2 also has students reorder the story sequence cards and practice reading the book aloud or to themselves. Activity 3 asks students to think of a question about frogs (or another animal), record that question using a question mark, and draw a picture to accompany it.
Unit 20: K - Kindness
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson includes multiple teacher prompts that require the child to answer questions about key details (e.g., look at the cover and say what they notice and predict the book's topic; Q1 asks what the animals do throughout the book; Q3 asks for a favorite example of an animal helping another and why). The Reading and Questions section explicitly directs the child to discuss acts of kindness from the story and to explain the meaning of the word "grand," which asks for text-based understanding. Activity 2 asks the child to describe kindness in his own words after watching a related video, reinforcing comprehension and detail discussion.
Lesson 3
Day 3
After reading, the adult is instructed to ask the child which act of kindness he found especially kind, how Harry helping the frog resulted in a series of kind acts, and whether he agrees with the author's idea that kindness can go a long way. The lesson directs the child to find specific pages and sentences (e.g., where the frog thanks Harry) and to identify and read the word "so" in context. The "Animals in Fiction" activity asks the child to name actions that are animal-like versus human-like for each character, recording answers on a chart.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 directs an adult to ask the child "how many acts of kindness he thinks were performed," and has the child supply counts while walking. Activity 2 has the child look at illustrations and retell the story, giving a general description of each act of kindness. Activity 3 has the child describe a favorite book, state reasons he likes it, and respond when asked to add one more detail about the book.
Unit 21: V - Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are directed to look at the cover and to name or identify instruments they see, and they are prompted before reading to pay attention to instruments and characters. After reading, students are asked five explicit comprehension questions (e.g., Which instruments were new? What did the animals do? How did the audience respond?), which require students to answer key details from the text. In Activity 1, students locate instrument pictures in the book and match them to the number playing and the ensemble name, which has them find and respond to details in the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The text directs an adult to read Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin and then have the child use the book to place instrument pictures in the order they appear, which requires the child to identify and answer questions about sequence (a key detail). The plan asks the child to look for the word "now" during reading and includes several teacher prompts (e.g., "How many instruments are playing during a solo? A duet?") that require the child to answer questions tied to the reading and related content. The goods-and-services discussion explicitly links information in the book (musicians provide a service; instruments are goods) and has the child sort jobs accordingly, which asks the child to use details from the text to classify information.
Unit 22: Y - Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lesson 1
Day 1
The Skills list explicitly states the target skill: "With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text." The Reading and Questions section directs an adult to prompt the child to make observations and predictions about the cover and then provides eight specific comprehension questions (with answers) for the child to answer after the text is read. The text also instructs the adult to turn back and re-read sections if the child has trouble remembering answers, and to ask clarifying questions about vocabulary (e.g., the meaning(s) of "row").
Lesson 2
Day 2
Activity 1 asks the child to recall and respond to specific story details (e.g., "Ask your child what she remembers about friendship…," "What were some ways Little Blue and Little Yellow were good friends and good citizens?," and "Ask your child if there was a way Little Blue ignored the rules? Why was it important for Little Blue to obey his mother in this case?"). The prompts require the child to answer questions about characters' actions, rules, and reasons, and to refer back to pictures in the story to support responses.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to read pages from Little Blue and Little Yellow and to read the sight word "they" as it occurs in the sentences. Students listen to the story Little Blue and Little Yellow being read aloud and then use pictures and Play-Doh balls to retell and act out the story in their own words. Students practice reading and identifying a word in context and reproduce the sequence of events by retelling and dramatizing with manipulatives.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to look back through Little Blue and Little Yellow and respond to explicit prompts about how the author shows characters, feelings, and settings (for example: how parents and houses are shown, how Little Blue's feelings are shown, how the park and mountain are represented). Students are asked what happened to the torn-paper characters and are encouraged to tell or dictate a story and choose one scene to glue and describe, requiring them to answer questions about story details.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 2, students are shown a page where a character speaks and are asked to notice the quotation marks that show exact words. Students are challenged to find another place in the book where quotation marks are used and to identify who is speaking. After independent exploration, students are prompted to talk about what they have found, answering the teacher's question about the speaker.
Unit 23: W - George Washington's Birthday
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson repeatedly directs an adult to ask the child questions about key details: who is on the dollar bill and why, what the child already knows about George Washington, comparisons between the cover image and the dollar bill, and whether the book is fiction or nonfiction. During and after reading the child is prompted to recall factual sidebars, identify whether stories are myths, explain the meaning of the word "tyrant," and state what parts of Washington's life were interesting, whether the story had a happy ending, and what lessons he learned. The skills list explicitly includes "Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text" and "With prompting and support, identify the main idea and recall key details of a text."
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson directs the adult to reread the first two pages of the George Washington book and have the child identify which days of the week were mentioned, prompting the child to answer a question about text details. The lesson asks the child to recall one myth about George Washington and to find the uppercase W on the book cover, which requires answering factual details tied to the text. The lesson also asks the child which word box should be the title and to glue pictures with the correct names, requiring the child to match labels to content and answer which is the title.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The text directs an adult to read the book aloud while pointing to each word and to have the child read the sight word "went," providing supported reading practice. After reading, the child is asked to page back through the book and recap each story about George Washington. The child is explicitly asked to identify for each story whether it is a myth or a fact, which requires answering questions about key details with prompting.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson repeatedly prompts an adult to engage the child in discussion about texts and media (e.g., "Talk with him about George Washington's qualities… Ask your child why he thinks these qualities are important" and "Talk about what qualities he admires in Benjamin Franklin"). It asks the child to explain choices and reasons (e.g., "Ask your child to name two symbols of the United States. Challenge him to explain why they were chosen as symbols."). It also directs the adult to read pages and ask the child to deduce meanings from context, prompting the child to answer questions about text details.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 3 asks the child "if George Washington ended up having a birthday celebration," prompting the child to answer a specific story detail. Activity 2 directs the child to explain why the author might include information in boxes (FACT/MYTH) and to share observations about different text placements. Activity 2 also prompts the child to say whether she enjoyed the book and to explain why she would recommend it to particular friends, requiring answers about comprehension and purpose.
Unit 24: Q - The Quilt Story
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the book cover and answer what a quilt is, providing an initial text-related question. After reading The Quilt Story, students are asked how they knew the beginning of the story took place long ago (clues: style of dress, sewing by candlelight, traveling by horse and wagon) and are asked specific comprehension questions such as how the quilt helped the girls. The lesson includes guided prompts to discuss word meaning (shavings) and to describe how illustrations relate to moments in the story.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson directs an adult to have the child "go through the beginning pages of the book and identify the ways the family used natural resources to meet their needs" and to "identify the landforms mentioned/shown in the story (hills, prairie, river)." The lesson also instructs an adult to "talk with your child about what character qualities Daniel Boone must have had" and to "ask your child if she would enjoy this kind of exploration and adventure," prompting responses about text-related details and ideas.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to read The Quilt Story with an adult and, using the book to prompt him, "tell the story back in his own words," which requires recalling key details. The directions also instruct an adult to "Ask your child to compare and contrast the setting and the characters at the beginning of the story to those presented at the end of the story using a Venn diagram," which prompts students to identify and discuss specific story details. The Reading And Questions section repeatedly directs the adult to stop, prompt, and have the child practice or recall text elements.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students listen to descriptions of famous Americans and their associated holidays and then cut out and glue the picture of each historical figure onto the correct square, requiring them to identify key details from the text. Students read short holiday descriptions and color or match images (fireworks, turkey, flag) to the correct holiday, using information in the text to choose the appropriate picture. Students participate in a discussion about why those holidays honor particular people or events, which engages them with the informational content.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 2 students are asked to look at the cover illustration of The Quilt Story, identify Abigail's facial expression, and answer how that expression helps them understand the book. Students spend independent time with the book and are then asked to point out an expression or two and explain what they learn about the story from those illustrations. The prompts explicitly guide students to answer questions about details in the text (illustrations and characters' expressions).
Unit 25: X - An Extraordinary Egg
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson includes adult prompts to ask the child questions about the text (e.g., "Ask your child what she sees" on the cover and explicit post-reading questions). Question #1 asks a key-detail question about what the frogs thought was inside the egg and what was really inside, and Activity 2 asks the child to page back through the book to find factual and fictional examples. The "Questions to Explore" and the guided compare/contrast question (Question #3) prompt the child to answer questions about key details and relationships in the story.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Activity 1 directs an adult to talk with the child about the animal in the story and to ask specific comprehension questions (e.g., "What did the frogs think it was?", "Were they right?"). The child is prompted to answer classification and factual questions about the animal (e.g., "What kind of an animal is a chicken?", "Do birds hatch from eggs?") and to describe an egg using guided questions about color, size, shape, texture, and whether it floats. Activity 2 has the child look at the book cover and identify a specific letter in a word, requiring the child to find and answer about a detail from the text.
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson instructs an adult to read An Extraordinary Egg with the child and then ask the child to retell the story in her own words using the pictures to remember events, which has the child answer about story details. The lesson also has the adult point to and have the child read the sentence "Look what I found!" and identify the sight word "look," which has the child attend to and respond to text-level details.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson directs an adult to "Read with your child to learn some facts about alligators" using a kid-friendly article, and then asks the child to recall the stages of the frog life cycle they made earlier. The lesson explicitly tells the adult to "Ask your child how that differs from the life cycle of a frog," prompting the child to answer questions about life-cycle details. Multiple prompts (e.g., asking the child to find numbers and say what comes next) show that the child is expected to respond to adult questions about presented content.
Unit 26: Z - Greedy Zebra
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the cover and answer observational questions (e.g., "Ask him what he observes"). Students are asked to predict how the zebra will be greedy and what might happen, which requires them to use text clues and prior knowledge. After reading, students are asked to explain how the zebra was greedy and what happened as a result and to justify whether the zebra deserved that result.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to do online research and complete a "Zebra Research" graphic organizer with labeled sections (Appearance, Predators, Diet, Habitat), which requires them to identify and record key details from an informational text. Students define vocabulary words in their own words and respond to a prompt to give an example of being greedy, eliciting answers about story content. Students use animal cards to create and solve a story problem, which engages them in retrieving and applying story details.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to retell the story using the illustrations after reading Greedy Zebra, which requires them to recall and describe key events and details. Students are asked to predict what would have happened if Zebra had not been greedy, prompting them to use story details to support a conclusion. The guide also prompts asking the child why being greedy is considered a negative characteristic, which asks for an explanation grounded in the story's content.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to "read and discuss" descriptions of five savannah animals and to color each cut-out "based on what she learns about that animals' characteristics," which requires them to identify and respond to key details in the text. The review asks the child to "think of a word that means the opposite of 'greedy,'" which explicitly prompts the student to answer a question about word meaning. During the story reading of Greedy Zebra, students are asked to act out movements described by specific phrases, requiring them to attend to and respond to action details in the text.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Reading Workshop asks the child to identify books with animal characters and to choose two of those books and state one similarity and one difference between the books' characters. The Reading Workshop also asks the child to identify which books had outdoor settings and to choose two and identify the setting of each, and to identify which three books were nonfiction and recall the subject of each. The Writing Workshop asks the child to think about characters, setting, and events and to write or dictate about them, then read back and identify something they like.
2: Holidays
Unit 27: Halloween
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson instructs an adult to read Goodnight Goon and to "ask your child why he thinks it was written," prompting the child to answer about purpose and feelings. It provides specific post-reading questions (QUESTION #1 asks the child to decide whether the lagoon is salt water or a shallow dirty area; QUESTION #2 asks the child to notice similarities and differences with Goodnight Moon). The lesson also asks the child to listen for the word "lagoon" and determine which definition is used, which directs attention to key textual detail.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are read Goodnight Goon and are encouraged to join in at the ends of lines, supporting oral engagement with the text. After reading, students are asked to choose a page they think is the funniest or most clever and explain why they like that page, prompting them to answer a question about the text. Students are also asked to explain the meanings of words (lagoon, goon), which requires them to answer questions about text vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students watch an informational video about bats and then are prompted: an adult is instructed to ask the child "if she knows what kind of bat she is, what she eats, and anything else about herself from her knowledge of bats," which directs students to answer factual questions. The review also asks the child to think of a synonym for "lagoon," prompting vocabulary-based question-and-answer practice.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 asks the child "How many are there?" and has the child line up and count the 10 die-cut stars that appear outside the window in the story, prompting a direct answer about a detail in the text. Activity 2 directs the adult to ask the child to guess which two words rhyme on specific pages and then to share any pairs he found, prompting identification and discussion of text features. Both activities require the child to respond to adult prompts about elements drawn directly from the book.
Unit 28: Thanksgiving
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson's Skills list explicitly includes "With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text." The Reading and Questions directions instruct an adult to ask the child what she sees on the cover, what she likes about Thanksgiving, and to read the book and then ask the child to summarize why Thanksgiving has been celebrated in many cultures. The directions also have the child identify locations and the ocean crossed, which requires answering questions about key details in the text.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Activity 1 directs an adult to ask the child specific recall questions about the Pilgrims (why they left, the ship name, the journey, landing place, first winter, how Indians helped, reason and length of the first Thanksgiving). The Getting Started review asks the child to name one thing he knows about turkeys and one thing for which he is grateful. Activity 1 also instructs that if the child cannot remember an answer, the adult and child should look back at the story together, providing prompting and support.
Lesson 3
Day 3
During Review, the adult is instructed to "Ask your child to offer something she learned about the very first American Thanksgiving," which prompts the child to answer a key-detail question. After reading, Activity 2 directs the adult to "discuss with your child how the help Pocahontas provided was different from the help the Native Americans at Plymouth provided," asking the child to explain and compare details from texts. The reading directions also tell the adult to reread Thanksgiving Is... and "look at the pages about the kinds of feasts... and talk about your family's favorite Thanksgiving foods," prompting students to respond about specific details in the text.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The text instructs an adult to ask the child, "What does it mean to be grateful? What was one thing the Pilgrims were grateful for that first Thanksgiving?", which prompts the child to answer key details. The Abraham Lincoln passage gives factual details (his early life, reading habit, role as president, the Emancipation Proclamation) and then directs: "Ask your child what words might describe Abraham Lincoln and why we still celebrate him today," prompting answers about those details. The activity questions require the child to recall and respond to specific informational details from the provided passages.
Lesson 5
Day 5
The Reading Workshop asks the child to study the book illustrations to see how they help the author teach about Thanksgiving and then asks the adult to have the child point out observations about the illustrations. The instructions remind the child that illustrations go along with the words and sometimes help explain what the author is communicating, which prompts attention to details in the text's pictures. The Writing Workshop has the child draw things she is grateful for and write or dictate words or sentences about the pictures, connecting details to written language.
Unit 29: Christmas
Lesson 1
Day 1
The text directs an adult to ask the child what he notices about The Christmas Wish and to predict what the book will be about, prompting the child to answer about key details and illustrations. The reader is asked to look for edited photographs as the story is read, which asks the child to attend to and respond to specific textual/illustrative details. The web activity instructs the adult to read a nonfiction page and then ask the child what three things he learned about real Christmas trees, prompting recall of key details.
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson directs an adult to ask the child to tell about her favorite part of The Christmas Wish, prompting the child to answer a question about the text. The lesson also asks the child to talk about the story's setting (that it seems to take place in Norway) and to use story details to create a snowy scene and animals from the story when making snow dough projects. Several prompts in Activities 1 and 3 require the child to recall and describe story elements.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Activity 3 directs an adult to have the child page through the book and 'note all the animals' the character encounters, which asks the child to identify key details in the text. The activity explicitly tells the adult to 'Ask your child what he observes about the reindeer. What does it look like? Can a reindeer really fly?' and to 'Read together the article below,' providing prompting and support while asking and answering questions about text details.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Activity 1 directs an adult to ask the child specific questions about Anja (e.g., "Why she thinks Anja wanted to be one of Santa's elves?", "How did Anja already show the spirit of one of Santa's elves?", "Did she really been dreaming, or was her experience real? What makes her think that?"). The lesson repeatedly instructs the adult to "talk with your child" and to ask questions that focus on character motivations and evidence from Anja's story. Activity 2 also asks the child location-based questions (e.g., finding continents, islands, mountains) that require answering key-detail questions about a map or description.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are prompted to look at the first pages and notice the kind deeds Anja did, which requires identifying details from the text. An adult is instructed to ask the child what he thinks a character's voice sounds like when quotation marks indicate spoken words, prompting the child to respond. Students are asked to draw and describe their favorite part of celebrating Christmas, which requires recalling and describing a specific part of the text.
Unit 30: February Celebrations
Lesson 1
Day 1
The text directs an adult to read The Biggest Valentine Ever and then ask six specific comprehension questions (e.g., how the argument started, what they did, how they felt, what they decided to do next) with provided answers. It also instructs adults to ask the child recall questions about holidays and a previously studied President and to brainstorm responses to differing opinions, giving clear prompts for answering text details. The Skills list explicitly includes "With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question."
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to answer questions about informational text and media (e.g., "Ask your child what she remembers about Lincoln" and "Ask what she notices" when inspecting coins). The text asks students to recall specific facts presented (Lincoln freeing slaves, Jefferson writing the Declaration, Washington as first president) and to answer counting/value questions about coins (how many pennies equal a nickel/dime/quarter). After watching videos, students are prompted to discuss and answer questions about the best and worst parts of being president and whether they would want the job.
Lesson 4
Day 4
The lesson instructs an adult to watch a storybook video about Booker T. Washington and then asks the child, "why education is important," prompting the child to answer a key detail from the text. It directs the adult to "talk with your child" about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech and asks the child to think about how his life showed love, prompting answers about text details. It asks the child to "name something similar" between Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr., which requires students to identify and answer questions about shared key ideas from the texts/videos.
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students are prompted to read and fill in missing letters on the "Exploring My Home" pages and to read a paragraph aloud in Activity 3. Adults ask students questions as they tour rooms (e.g., what each room is used for, why an item is important) and students circle and label items that meet basic needs. Students practice answering questions about where food and water come from and explain why a selected room is important, recording or dictating their responses.
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students are read the book Me On the Map and are asked specific questions about it (What is the name of our country? state? town? address?), which prompts them to answer key-detail questions from a text. In Activity 2 students locate and label items on a map and answer directed questions about map details (e.g., What is beside the refrigerator? What is in front of the couch?). The wrapping up prompts students to describe the environment in which they live, encouraging responses about key details shown on maps and in the book.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
The introduction prompts the child with specific questions about the book cover and story (e.g., "What do you think this book is about?" "What do you think he will do in the story?"). Activity 1 instructs the adult to stop during the read-aloud and ask the child to point out animals and plants in each habitat and to count animals, which requires answering questions about text details. The skills list explicitly includes "Listen to and answer questions about text read orally," and Activity 5 provides follow-up questions (e.g., "What do you see in the habitat?" "Which animals would you be most interested in seeing?") for the child to respond to.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students are prompted to listen to Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt and then answer a series of specific comprehension questions (QUESTION #1–#7). The lesson repeatedly instructs an adult to ask the child what he learned about how animals and plants survive and grow, prompting the child to name needs (water, food, shelter) and to explain plant needs. Activities 2 and 3 ask students to analyze the organisms they recorded and identify consumer/energy-source relationships and examples of shelter from the text.
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
The lesson asks children to give examples of animal habitats they explored in Crinkleroot's Guide to Animal Habitats and to discuss what they see in pictures, which prompts recall of details from a named text. Multiple activities require the child to answer questions such as naming the habitat for listed animals and describing animals found in each habitat. Option pages ask children to read habitat names, label pictures, and respond to guided questions (e.g., "Do you know what we call the habitat where deer, bears, and foxes live?"), supporting answering questions about details.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students are prompted to make predictions and record ideas before and after the habitat observation, and adults are instructed to ask specific questions during observation (e.g., "Where are the plants? What animals do you see? What are they doing?"). Activity 2 directs students to "locate more information about the animal in a book or online and share it" and to have their dictated story read back, which involves interacting with informational text. The wrapping-up prompts ask students to explain what they learned from observing the habitat and compare their illustration to prior predictions.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
The lesson includes adult-led question prompts (Questions to Explore and Activity 1) that ask the child to respond to prompts such as "What is a safe and healthy environment?" and "What if we didn't have pens or pencils?". The wrap-up directs an adult to ask the child to tell what a tool is and which tools were used to measure, requiring the child to answer content-based questions. The lesson also has the adult read tool names with the child and have the child point to letters while sounding words out.
Lesson 8
Animal Care
The lesson directs an adult to read The Salamander Room and provides explicit comprehension questions such as 'What kind of animal did the boy find?', 'Where did he find it?', and 'What kind of environment did the salamander need?' that focus on key details of the text. Activity instructions also prompt the child to answer questions after practicing pet care (e.g., 'What do pets need?' and 'What would happen if we didn't provide a healthy environment for our pets?'). The Skills list explicitly includes 'Answer questions about a text (LA).'
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students are asked to name the animal and the habitat in each picture and to read and analyze the captions on the "Animals on the Move" activity page. Students are prompted to explain which body parts help animals move and to explain why certain animals would not live in a pictured habitat (circling out-of-place animals and recording reasons). The "Questions to Explore" prompts (e.g., "Why do living things need a healthy environment?") and the parent prompts to ask and have the child explain encourage students to answer questions about key details in the text and images.
Lesson 10
Amazing Animals
Students listen to text read aloud and are prompted to respond, as shown by the Skills list items "Listen critically to text read aloud" and "Respond to critical questions about a text." In Activity 2 students hear scenarios (starfish, lizard) and answer specific comprehension questions such as "What will happen to the starfish's arm?" and "What can lizards do to hide themselves?" In Activity 1 and the Wrapping Up students are asked to analyze informational text and tell what they learned about selected animals.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
The lesson has adults read short scenarios aloud and ask the child "How would you change?", prompting the child to answer (Activity 1). Activity 3 asks the child to think of a time she changed, share the example aloud while an adult records it, and then encourages the child to read the recorded ideas aloud. Wrapping Up and Life Application sections instruct adults to ask the child to share examples and to ask follow-up questions over the next few days.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
The read-aloud activity asks the child to predict the story and answers teacher-supplied questions (e.g., "What type of weather is best for playing outside?"; "What do you think the story is about?"). The Skills list explicitly includes "Listen critically to text read aloud," "Respond to text read aloud," and "Make predictions about a story," which guide students to answer questions about the text with support. Multiple activities prompt the child to describe story events or feelings in response to the text and to dictate sentences reflecting comprehension.
Lesson 2
Types of Precipitation
After shared reading (Activity 1) students are asked explicit comprehension questions: identify habitats in pictures, describe the weather in each habitat, and describe how characters looked when hot or cold. Activity 2 directs students to reread specific pages and discuss the different types of precipitation described, and students label pictures or words to show which precipitation matches each scene. The Wrapping Up prompts ask students to review the four types of precipitation and explain where drinking/bathing water comes from, which requires answering key-detail questions from the texts.
Lesson 3
Measuring and Charting Weather
The lesson directs an adult to "Look at the book, Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats, with your child and ask her to describe what the weather can be like in different habitats," which asks the child to answer questions about a text. The wrapping-up prompts ask the child to give examples of how weather can be measured and how weather helps provide plants and animals with what they need to live and grow, requiring responses tied to the content. Multiple activity prompts ask the child questions (for example, "what she thinks would happen if an animal's habitat got too warm or cold" and "how she thinks she could do that" regarding measuring rain), prompting answers about key content.
Lesson 4
Simulating Weather
Students are prompted to look at the Weather Song page, read the words aloud, and follow along by pointing to each word. The teacher asks students direct questions about the printed song (e.g., "Can you find the word clouds? … How many letters are in the word clouds? … Can you find the word rain?"). The wrap-up asks students to answer a content question about the sky and rain ("Ask your child what happens in the sky to cause it to rain.").
Lesson 5
Fall
The lesson repeatedly instructs an adult to ask the child questions about pictured content (e.g., What are the people wearing? What do the plants and trees look like? What do you think the weather feels like?). It directs the child to read directions aloud for the graphing activity and then answer explicit comprehension questions about the graph (What does this graph show us? Which color has the fewest/most leaves?). The child is asked to write sentences describing the scene and to explain what happens to the weather in the fall during the wrap-up.
Lesson 6
Winter
The lesson directs the child to find pages in the book Whatever the Weather that look like winter and to describe what he sees in the pictures, which requires answering questions about text details. The Introduction and Activities instruct an adult to ask the child questions (e.g., what season follows fall; how is winter different from summer), prompting the child to answer about key seasonal details. Activity 1 also has the child attempt to read the dictated/recorded story aloud, providing opportunities to respond to questions about that text.
Lesson 7
Spring
In Activity 1 adults ask the child to attempt to read each poem and then ask the child what the poem was about. Students are asked to draw a line from each poem to the picture that best tells the story and to identify rhyming words, which requires recalling key details from the text. Option 2 invites students to illustrate the poems and, if interested, to dictate or write their own poem, reinforcing comprehension of poem content.
Lesson 8
Summer
Students are prompted to answer comprehension questions in the written story activity by choosing words to fill blanks in the passage about Jessie's summer. Students complete the "Changes in Weather" page by writing season names or letters and answering four fill-in-the-blank sentences about which season is warmest/coldest. Adults are instructed to ask students direct questions (e.g., "Can you describe the environment of the picture?" "What is happening in the picture?") that require students to answer about key details.
Final Project
Weather Games
Students are given opportunities to look through and read aloud the book Whatever the Weather and to reread pages 8–15 of Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?, which provides direct engagement with text. Students are asked to pick the page in the book that looks most similar to the weather outside, connecting book details to real-world observations. Adults are instructed to discuss ideas and check for understanding as students complete activities, providing prompting and support.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
After reading the story, students are prompted to answer specific questions such as "What is a community?," "What places did Charlie visit in his community?," and "Why did Charlie write down the places he visited…?" which requires them to attend to and answer key details from the text. In Activity 3, students compare Charlie's journey to their own community and draw and write or dictate a sentence about Charlie visiting a new place, which requires using details from the story to create a related page.
Lesson 2
My Community Environment
The lesson list of skills explicitly includes "Ask questions that lead to understanding (LA)." Students are instructed to read Me on the Map and to discuss the map page, tracing paths and talking about the purpose of each place (courthouse, police station, fire station, library, museum, grocery store). In Activity 3 students look through books, describe communities found in illustrations, copy titles, draw the communities, and discuss similarities and differences, which requires responding to details from texts/illustrations.
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Students are asked to read or attempt to read the names and labels of community workers and to answer questions such as "what the worker does and how his/her job makes the community a better place" (Activity 1). Students record observations on a chart and then answer specific questions about their chart (e.g., "How many marks do you have for each community worker?"; "Which worker did you see most often?") (Activity 2). Students are prompted to read through the list of workers and record one simple sentence about how each worker helps citizens, saying the sentences aloud and attempting to write words (Activity 5).
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
The Introduction prompts an adult to ask the child to name important community places and to ask how each place helps people. Activity 1 asks the child to read the names of buildings, goods, and services on the student page and to match/label them, and Activity 2 asks the child to read price amounts aloud during a pretend shopping task. The Wrapping Up directions tell the adult to ask the child to describe goods and services and explain why people have jobs.
Lesson 5
Resources
The lesson includes explicit teacher prompts such as the "Questions to Explore" (What do communities provide? What does the environment provide?) and a wrapping-up prompt to "explain the difference between resources found in nature and resources made by humans," which require students to answer questions about key details. Activity 3 asks students to gather items and then "explain how each resource is used" and "explain where it is found" or "write a sentence about the resources," prompting students to respond to questions about specific details. Several activities require students to label items as natural or manmade, which asks them to identify and respond about factual details presented in the facts/definitions section.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
The lesson directs an adult to read a list of actions and then asks the child to decide for each action whether the person is being a good citizen and to explain how she made her decision, which requires answering questions about details in the read-aloud text. The Skills section includes "Listen responsibly to text read aloud," and the Getting Started prompts include questions (e.g., "Ask your child how citizens in her community help one another...") that prompt students to respond about key details.
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students read short texts ("A Lesson in Honesty" and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf") and answer specific comprehension questions such as "Did Riley do anything wrong? What?" and "What do you think will happen next?". Students retell key story parts by illustrating and writing the beginning, middle, and end of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Students read character actions in books and record actions and resulting consequences, describing key details and outcomes.
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
Students hear a short text ("The House with No Rules") and are asked specific comprehension questions such as "What kinds of things happen in the house with no rules?" and "Would you stay in the house with no rules? Why or why not?" Students read sentence strips of home rules (alone or with assistance), choose and justify which rule is most important, and order them. Students listen to items read aloud in the Rule or Law activity and decide where each statement belongs, demonstrating answering questions about the content.
Lesson 9
Caring for Our Communities
Students listen to the story "When One Person Cares" and answer explicit comprehension prompts such as "What happens at the beginning...middle...end?", "Where does Katy live?", and "What does Katy do to be a good citizen?". Students identify details and setting by discussing whether people are happy in the community and by completing picture-based tasks (placing an X or circling items) that require locating key details in illustrations. Students practice sequencing events (beginning, middle, end) and connecting the story to prior knowledge through guided discussion and extension activities about settings.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
The lesson asks an adult to read or look at Crinkleroot's Guide and "ask your child to identify the body parts he sees" and to "discuss how the animals use their different body parts," prompting child responses about details in a text. Multiple activities ask the child to circle or write which items are living and to "describe how he knows which objects are living," requiring answers about observable details. The wrap-up directs the adult to "ask your child to describe some ways that animals can be alike and some ways they can be different," eliciting answers about key attributes.
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
The introduction and prompts ask the child questions (e.g., "Ask what a doctor measures…," "Ask your child how he knows these measurements," and "Ask your child if he can describe a standard unit…") that require the student to answer and explain key measurement ideas. Several activity pages include sentence-completion items (e.g., "The __________ is longer than the __________," and "The longest item is the __________.") that require the student to respond about specific details observed during the activities. The lesson repeatedly prompts the child to answer questions about length, weight, and capacity after reading simple definitions in the Facts and Definitions section.
Lesson 8
Amazing Attributes
The lesson instructs an adult to ask the child questions such as "what a magnet is" and "what causes an object to sink or float," and to re-watch video segments to discuss those points. Students are asked to make predictions and record results on the "Magnetic or Not?" activity page and the sink-or-float sorting sheet, then compare and discuss which predictions were correct. The lesson also directs students to watch an informational video and discuss the explanation of why objects sink or float.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
The lesson includes multiple teacher prompts and comprehension questions tied to specific texts (e.g., "Can you name three solids that can be found in the garden?", "Can you describe any liquids pictured in the book?") that require the child to answer key details from Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt and Over and Under the Pond. Reading-and-questions sections and activities ask the child to describe habitats, identify rocks in illustrations, compare covers and illustrations, and point out specific details (e.g., finding animals in the glossary, identifying rocks under the pond). Several activities prompt the child to describe, compare, and explain details from the texts and related media (videos, experiments).
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students are prompted to locate and read text features (Can you find the title of the book? Do you see the author's name?) and to predict content (What do you think this story might be about?). After reading, students are asked multiple comprehension questions about key details (Can you name your five senses? Which body part do you use for each sense? What sense helps you find the color of an object?). The plan also asks students to refer to words in the text and identify beginning letters, supporting text-based answers.
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Students listen to the read-aloud "Jackie's Day at the Pet Store" and, as Jackie uses a sense, pick up and glue the corresponding body part to demonstrate comprehension. In Activity 2, students are read short situational texts and are asked to point to the sense organ they would use, requiring them to answer questions about details in the short texts. The introduction prompts students to name the five senses and give examples, which engages them in answering teacher-asked questions about key details of sensory experiences.
Lesson 4
Hearing and Seeing
The lesson reads The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses aloud and then asks specific comprehension questions (e.g., "What happened when the bus driver flipped the green switch?"; "Whose nose did the bus travel into?") that require children to answer key details from the text. Activities 5 and 7 require children to listen to read-aloud descriptions and decide/describe what place is being described, practicing answering questions about details presented orally. The Skills list includes "Listen responsively to text read aloud" and "Attempt to read written text," indicating supported practice with text-based questioning and answering.
Lesson 7
Using All of Our Senses
Students are asked after a read-aloud of My Five Senses (pages 21–end) which senses the boy used and how he used each sense. The Skills list and Activities direct students to listen to stories read aloud and to interact with the reader through questions, comments, and ideas. Activity 3 has students look through other books and identify ways characters use their senses, requiring them to locate and state text details.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students read and respond to written clues in the "Sensing Logic" activity by eliminating pictures that do not match and selecting the correct image. Students complete fill-in-the-blank sensory sentences about popcorn and attempt to read the completed report aloud, demonstrating answering written prompts. Students record sensory details in the five-column "Sensing My Day" page, using text to note key observable details tied to each sense.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
Students are asked to read each question on the "You Are Special" sheet aloud and to answer each question in writing, using phonetic spelling as needed. Students complete a short fill-in-the-blank paragraph about themselves and then read their story aloud and share it with others. The teacher/parent is prompted to ask the child follow-up questions such as "What do you like about your story?" during sharing.
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Activity 2 has an adult read a short story and then asks the child to retell the story and answer explicit comprehension questions (beginning/middle/end, characters' feelings, friendship). After the first reading the child is asked to sequence event boxes from the story, reinforcing attention to key details and order of events. Multiple guided questions (e.g., "At the beginning, did Susan want to play with Casey? Why or why not?") require the child to respond about specific story details.
Lesson 4
Interests and Hobbies
Activity 2 directs students to go to the library, find books about an interest, and then "use her prior knowledge and her new knowledge to answer the questions on the 'My Interest' sheet," which requires answering prompts based on information gathered from texts. The My Interest page includes prompts such as "What is something you already knew about your interest?" and "What is a question you have about _______?" Activity 3 has students read survey questions aloud and interview three people, which gives practice in asking and answering questions aloud with support.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students are asked to identify shapes and count sides and angles as the story is read, and to describe each shape's physical characteristics and personality. After reading, students are asked direct comprehension questions such as "Did you enjoy the story? Why or why not?", "What doesn't matter in Shapesville?", "How do the shapes look different on the outside?" and "How are the shapes' personalities different?". Activities ask students to select a shape they are most similar to, explain why, draw and dictate a short description, and share their responses with family members.
Lesson 6
Different Families
Students are asked to name family members and answer direct questions about family roles and responsibilities in the Introduction. During reading of A Life Like Mine students are prompted to identify pictures of families, describe clothing, physical characteristics, activities, and interactions from the text. The Wrapping Up section asks students to explain how their family is similar to and different from other families and to say why families are important, requiring answers based on the read text.
Lesson 7
Different Homes
Students are asked to identify and describe the different homes shown on pages 26–35 of A Life Like Mine and to name materials used to build those homes. Adults are instructed to ask why people have homes, to ask if the child remembers what a natural resource is, and to have the child identify materials used to build his own home. Wrapping-up prompts ask the child to describe whether he would enjoy living in a different type of home and to explain why, which requires referring to key details from the text.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Activity 2 directs an adult to look at online pictures and descriptions and to ask the child specific questions (What are the people celebrating? What types of activities are they engaged in? What type of clothing is worn? What types of foods are they eating?). Activity 1 instructs the child to read about holidays in encyclopedias or on websites and to match traditions with holidays, and Activity 3 asks the child to answer why a particular holiday is her favorite in three sentences (with assistance or dictation). These tasks require the child to respond to questions about details found in texts and pictures with prompting and support.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
The lesson asks students to look through books/websites and identify modes of transportation and to find examples of transportation in pictures from A Life Like Mine, which has students locate details in a text or image. It prompts students to answer questions such as giving examples of ways people get from place to place and how people travel great distances. Activities ask students to talk about where they went (drawing a box around modes they have taken and describing destinations) and to discuss reasons for choosing specific modes of transportation.
Lesson 10
Wants and Needs
The lesson directs students to read specific text sections (pages 46-51, 56-61, 66-71) and to "discuss why" children need education, play, and love and care, which prompts questions and answers about text details. The Wrapping Up section instructs adults to ask the child to name things people need and to explain what "want" and "need" mean. Activity 4 asks students to take a survey, record responses, and then discuss whether reported items are truly needs or wants, prompting evaluation of details gathered from people and text.
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
Students are asked to read pages 98–113 of A Life Like Mine and discuss what it means to have an identity, a nationality, and a religion, and to compare those features to the children in the book. Students are prompted to talk about reasons people join groups and to think of ways the kids in the cut‑out activity are alike or different. Students are asked oral comprehension-style questions (e.g., "Which group has the most people?" and "Which group would you be in?") and are encouraged to read or attempt to read their own paragraph about a group and then discuss it.
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
Students are asked to locate a chosen country on a map and read about it in a book or on the Internet, focusing on food, clothing, activities, transportation, and environment. Students complete structured sentence prompts on activity pages (e.g., "I live in...", "I like to eat...", "_____ might eat ...") that require them to record specific details from their reading. The life application encourages students to ask questions about life in that country when they meet a person from that country.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 1
What Is a Pattern?
Students are asked to identify the book's title and author and to guess what the story is about, prompting them to attend to text details. During the read-aloud, students are asked what types of patterns they see on specific pages (pages 6-11 and 12-25) and to explain the patterns found, requiring them to answer questions about details in the illustrations and text. Activities prompt students to point to and describe sequences (e.g., "First, there is ______. Next, there is ______.") and to explain completed patterns in the Caterpillar Patterns game.
Lesson 2
Recognizing Types of Patterns
Students are prompted to reread the book Busy Bugs and to point out ABAB and AABB patterns in the book. The lesson asks students to explain the difference between ABAB and AABB patterns and to explain how they can decide which pattern they see. The opening "Questions to Explore" and multiple adult prompts (for example, asking how many colors are in the set or whether a row forms an ABAB pattern) require students to answer questions about observable details.
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
Students are prompted to answer questions about patterns in Activity 2 by completing sentences (e.g., identifying the first, second, third objects in given sequences) and by extending patterns after reading the pattern listed or having it read to them. In Activity 1 an adult asks the child what comes next in a growing pattern and the child either guesses or places pieces to show the next part. The Wrapping Up section asks the child to explain how he extends a pattern, prompting an oral response about key elements of the sequence.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Activity 4 asks the child to reread the Bear Hugs text, copy or dictate the names of animals from the text, and identify the habitat where each animal lives, which requires answering questions about details in the text. Activity 2 directs a discussion of differences between a nursery rhyme and a storybook and asks the child to pick a favorite nursery rhyme and act out or illustrate it, prompting responses about text features and content. The Introduction and multiple activities instruct the adult to ask the child if she sees patterns or can think of other words, giving opportunities for the child to answer questions about text elements.
Lesson 3
Poetry Patterns
The activities repeatedly prompt the child to answer questions about texts: adults are instructed to "Ask your child what each poem is about" and to have her identify and circle rhyming words in the poems. The song activity has the adult pause and "let her guess which rhyming word might come next" and asks her to recite words that follow the same pattern. The wrapping up directions ask the child to "explain how to find rhyming words," requiring comprehension of key details.
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
Students are prompted to make predictions (asked what they think will happen next and what will happen at the end) and to answer direct questions after reading such as "What happened at the beginning/middle/end of the story?" Students complete activity pages by illustrating and writing or dictating sentences for the beginning, middle, and end, which requires them to identify key events and details from the text. The activities ask students to talk about and dramatize story events, reinforcing identification of key details in sequence.
Final Project
Patterns Video
Students are asked to locate or create examples of patterns in books, poems, sounds, and actions and to describe those patterns. On the Video Script pages (Action, Sound, Rhyming, Story) students fill in prompts such as type of pattern, elements the pattern is made of, where they found or made it, and sequencing prompts like "First comes... Then...". The guidance tells students to read words from a book or poem and explain the pattern, and to practice saying what the pattern is and how its parts create the pattern.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 1
Patterns in Nature
Students are asked to listen to a read-aloud of Pattern (pp. 1-11) and to identify and describe the pattern in each picture. The adult is instructed to ask students specific questions after reading: Which patterns had you seen before? Which had you not seen? Can you think of other patterns that could be added to the book? Activities also prompt students to look at images (books/internet), name patterns, and explain which patterns they find interesting.
Lesson 3
Night and Day
The Introduction and activities prompt students with oral questions (e.g., "How do you know when it is nighttime and when it is daytime?" and "Ask your child to describe when it is daytime where she lives and when it is nighttime"). Activity 3 asks students specific questions ("How would it be different if it were light all the time? How would it be different if it were dark all the time?") and has students draw and record or dictate sentences about day/night activities. The Wrapping Up directs students to explain the pattern of night and day.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
The lesson includes teacher prompts and student tasks that require responding to questions about a calendar: the Introduction asks the child to name the days and months in order, and Activity 4 directs the child to look at each month and answer whether events occur weekly, biweekly, or monthly and to record patterns. Activity 3 has students record and order ten different dates (day of week, month, year), which requires answering questions about date details. The "Questions to Explore" section explicitly poses questions (e.g., "Where are patterns found?") for students to consider.
Lesson 6
Seasonal Weather Patterns
Students are asked multiple specific questions about months and seasons (e.g., "Which month comes after March?", "Which season comes before summer?") and are directed to identify and fill in missing seasons on the Seasons and Months activity page. Students look at a calendar and the Weather Patterns page and answer questions linking months, seasons, and associated weather (e.g., matching months to seasons and recording weather words beneath seasons). The wrapping-up prompt asks students to identify the current month on the calendar, name the season, and describe observed weather.
Lesson 7
Patterns at Home
Students are instructed to listen as the Pattern book is read aloud and then identify specific patterns from the book (checkerboard, patterns in nature, fabric, dishes, clothing, repeating and circular patterns). The scavenger-hunt directions tell students to describe each pattern they find in the text, and the wrap-up asks students to respond to a question about what the house would be like without patterns. Activity 5 has students write or dictate a sentence that describes a pattern they found, demonstrating answering/detail description from observational text evidence.
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
The skills list explicitly includes "Listen to a story read aloud (LA)" and "Answer questions about a story read aloud (LA)." In Activity 3, students listen to a short clown story and fill in numeric blanks, placing clown faces in the car to track how many clowns are present at each point. Students also retell or create their own versions of the clown story and record the number of clowns as the story continues.
Lesson 11
Patterns in Graphs
Students are prompted to answer specific questions about graphs and charts (e.g., "Ask her to describe any patterns in the graph," "Ask her how many books she thinks John would read on the Tuesday following..."). The lesson provides scripted questions for students to answer about chart details ("What does this chart tell us?", "How many types of people are on the chart?", "How many different colors of shirts were worn?"). Activities ask students to decide whether charts have patterns and to color-code matching parts to support answering those questions.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 2
What Changed?
Students are prompted to read (or be read to) "Part 1: Things Change" and to answer explicit comprehension items about changes (e.g., page 20: crushed cookie is a physical change; page 23: ripening banana is a chemical change). After reading, students are asked targeted questions: name examples of physical changes, define a chemical change, identify whether burning is physical or chemical, and state which changes from the book they have seen. The wrap-up asks students to explain different ways change can happen and to give an example of each type, reinforcing recall of key text details.
Lesson 3
Changing Position
The lesson directs an adult to read Zoom! Zip! Whoosh! aloud (or have the child read it) and then asks the child specific comprehension questions (e.g., "How do we get objects to start moving?", "Can you give two examples of a push/pull?", "What force keeps us on Earth?"). The lesson also asks the child to look at the book cover and say what is happening and what she thinks the book will be about, and later asks the child to explain ways that objects change position. Activity 1 has the child locate words in the index and copy sentences from the indicated pages, which requires attending to and recording specific details from the text.
Lesson 4
Changes in the Environment
Activity 2 directs the child to read (or listen to) Part 2: Seasons Change and explicitly instructs the child to "answer the questions about the changes in the book," with specific page-based prompts about freezing, evaporating, metamorphosis, and plant growth. The Introduction and Activity 1 prompt the child to respond to oral questions (e.g., ‘‘Ask your child if he can think of anything that changes outside'' and how weather might cause him to change activities). Wrapping Up asks the child to describe changes in the natural environment and explain causes and effects of those changes.
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
The introduction prompts the child to describe how a stuffed animal changed and to describe its location, which requires answering a question about a detail. Activity 2 (Option 2) asks the child to read each sentence and move the mouse to the location described, requiring the child to answer what the sentence says about location. Activities 1 and 3 have students complete sentences with prepositions and write sentences describing relationships between objects, which involves responding to and producing text-based location details.
Lesson 7
Living Things Change
Students are asked to review specific pages in a book (pages 30–31 and 34–37 of Changes Happen All Around You) and to answer questions about changes shown there. The activities repeatedly prompt students to answer and discuss questions such as "How and why did the lizard change?", "Did it change in size?", "Did the number or amount of something change?", and to identify whether changes are fast or slow. Students are also asked to describe changes in pairs of pictures, circle descriptive words for those changes, and give examples of changes that occur in animals.
Lesson 8
Plants and Change
Students are directed to read specific pages (e.g., pages 4-7 of National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant) and then answer explicit comprehension questions (QUESTION #1 and QUESTION #2) provided in the lesson. Students are asked to recall what plants need and to find the section titled "What Do Plants Need?" using the table of contents, then read pages 14-15 to locate that information. Students are asked to cut and order pictures to show how a plant changes and to list and describe plant parts and needs on handwriting paper, which requires them to answer questions about key details from the text.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
The lesson provides an explicit set of four comprehension questions (QUESTION #1–#4) with answers about Chrysanthemum that students are prompted to listen for and answer. The Introduction asks the child to predict what might happen, prompting the student to ask/consider a question before reading. Activities such as "Feeling Phrases" and "Characters Change" require students to identify feelings and list characteristics at the beginning and end of the story, which engage students in answering questions about key details. The lesson also instructs adults to prompt and support (e.g., "If your child struggles, it may help to go back and find the places in the story"), indicating guided support for questioning and answering.
Lesson 2
Why Worry?
Students are instructed to watch a read-aloud of Wemberly Worried and then discuss the story using four explicit questions about key events (worries about a party, butterflies, and school) with model answers provided. An activity asks students to describe how Wemberly changed from the beginning to the end, which requires answering questions about key character details. The wrap-up prompts also ask students to state preferences and reasons, reinforcing answering questions about the text.
Lesson 3
Is It a Problem?
The Reading and Questions section directs an adult to read What Do You Do With a Problem? and then ask the child four specific comprehension questions (how the problem is illustrated, how it grows, how the boy handles it, and what he learns). The Beginning, Middle, and End activity requires students to identify key events from the text and place them in sequence. The Characters Change and Wrapping Up prompts require students to describe how the boy changed and to state what they learned about solving a problem.
Lesson 4
Comparing Characters
Students are prompted to answer questions about the texts (e.g., the launch question "Which story and character were your favorite and why?" and the set of questions on the "Two Stories, Same Problem" page such as "How are the characters' situations similar?" and "What can we learn from both characters?"). Students dictate three-sentence summaries (beginning, middle, end) for each story, which requires them to identify and state key details. Students complete cause-and-effect matching and are asked to write their own cause-and-effect example from the stories, which requires identifying key events and outcomes.
Lesson 5
The Raft
The lesson includes multiple teacher-directed comprehension questions across three days (e.g., Why does the boy not want to stay with his grandma? What does the boy find at the river? What animals does the boy see?) that prompt students to answer key details. Students complete activities that require identifying characters, setting, problem/solution, and story details (Story Elements page, Characters Change page, matching problems/solutions). Vocabulary and figurative-language activities ask students to discuss and explain specific lines and details from the text.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
Students are asked to answer specific comprehension questions after a read-aloud of the rat story (e.g., How do you think the rat feels? Do you think the other animals should avoid the rat? How could the rat respond in a negative or positive way?). Students match causes and effects on activity sheets and then are prompted to identify a positive and a negative cause/effect from stories they read. Students consider and respond to hypothetical questions about story events in Activity 3 (e.g., What if the boy had decided to keep running from his problem?).
Final Project
My Own Story
The activity includes a "Problem and Solution" student page that asks students to answer specific questions such as "How would you describe the character at the beginning of the story?," "What caused the problem?," and "How does the character change from the beginning to the end of the story?". Adults are directed to read the child's dictated story aloud and discuss which parts go on which pages, and to ask the child about story ideas, characters, setting, and the problem/solution. The opening "Questions to Explore" (e.g., "What causes change?") and prompts to discuss how the character changes give students opportunities to respond to guided questions about key story details.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
The lesson instructs an adult to read pages 6–13 of Telling Time and then asks a series of comprehension questions (e.g., "Were you born in the past, present, or future?"; "Did dinosaurs live in the past, present, or future?"). The lesson includes prompts for the child to explain differences between past, present, and future and to name things that happened yesterday, are happening today, and will happen tomorrow. Activities require the child to record dates and place events in chronological order, tying answers to information presented in the reading.
Lesson 3
Communities Change
The lesson includes multiple teacher prompts that require students to answer questions about key details (Activity 1 asks where the story happened, who the characters are, how the environment changed, favorite part, and when they would visit Maple Street). Activities 3 and 4 ask students to identify communities, point out differences in transportation/clothing/homes, and circle animals from the story, which require locating and answering about details. Activity 6 asks students to identify artifacts shown in the book and to draw artifacts they find, and the Wrapping Up section asks students to describe ways to learn about people from the past.
Lesson 4
Past and Present
The lesson gives multiple teacher prompts for students to answer key-detail questions (e.g., "Ask your child the following questions… How did people in the past dress differently than we do today? … How was their transportation different?" and post-reading questions in Activity 3 about similarities/differences). Students are asked to look through specific pages and then describe or dictate details (e.g., select a time period, draw themselves, and tell a story with beginning, middle, and end; dictate 5 clues about a time period in Activity 7). The lesson also prompts students to explain what history means and to write a sentence describing how life in the past was different, which requires citing details from the text.
Lesson 5
Exploring the Past
The lesson opens with explicit "Questions to Explore" (Why do communities change? How have people changed from past to present?) and directs an adult to "Ask your child if he remembers the three time periods he learned about," prompting students to respond about text details. Students are instructed to look through specific pages of The Usborne Time Traveler, then draw and write or dictate descriptions of information found on those pages, which requires locating and answering questions about key details. The Cultural Presentation and wrap-up ask students to write one-sentence descriptions of cultural elements and to "Ask your child what he learned," giving students multiple structured opportunities to answer questions about the text and share key details aloud.
Lesson 6
Predicting Future Change
Students read short scenarios on the "What Will Happen?" pages and respond to direct prompts such as "How will this change your family?" and "How will this change your parents?" Students are asked to identify what changed, predict future effects, answer follow-up questions, and record their ideas. Students also decide whether outcomes are positive or negative and write sentences describing a positive change and a negative change, and reflect on a personal change in the "A Change in Me" activity.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Activity 1 directs an adult to read a biography with the child and ask explicit questions such as whether the person lived in the past or present, how to describe the person, and what the person did to make a positive change. Activity 2 has the child read short descriptions, point to the individual described, and place figures in chronological order after reading their descriptions. The Wrapping Up prompts ask the child to define a biography and describe people from the past who made positive changes.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
Students are prompted to locate and count words in a text (Activity 3.1 asks "Can you find the sight word 'the' in the message?" and "How many times is 'and'?"). Students are asked to identify details on a book cover and describe what they see (Activity 5.3: "What else do you see on the cover?"). Students answer teacher questions while reading by pointing to words as the adult models reading and by responding to prompts about beginning sounds and matching letters (Activities 2.3, 3.2, and the Weekly Message readings).
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students are prompted to read the reader The Pig Can, name the title, describe the cover, and answer the teacher's question "What do you think this book is about?". After reading, students are asked a comprehension question ("Do you think the pig and the cat can fit in the box?") and to explain their thinking. The lesson also teaches the question mark (students circle it) and contrasts question sentences with other sentence endings, supporting identification of questions in text.
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
After reading the reader The Bug, students are asked specific comprehension questions: "What is the bug able to do?" "What does the bug want to be able to do?" and "Why can't he do that?" (Activity 5.2). In Activity 1.1 students are asked to use the Weekly Message hint to answer "what vowel do you think you're going to work with this week?" and to identify sentence-ending punctuation after reading the message. The wrapping up and What's Missing activities ask students to read sentences and respond about missing words and sentence endings.
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
In Day 5 Activity 5.2, students read The Cat, the Pig, the Dog, and the Fox and are then asked explicit comprehension questions (e.g., "Why are the dog and the fox napping at the end of the book?" and "Why aren't the cat and the pig napping?") and expected to answer. In Activity 1.1, students are asked to determine "How many sentences does this message have?" by locating end marks and circling them, then reporting the count. In Activity 3.1, students read sight-word sentences aloud while pointing to each word, providing additional opportunity to respond about sentence content when prompted.
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students are asked to read the Weekly Message aloud and then answer teacher-posed questions about punctuation and the number of sentences (What does a period do? What does a question mark do? How many sentences does this message have?). Students read the reader Ducks Are Fun aloud and answer a comprehension question (Which duck do you think is having the most fun? Why?) and are prompted to use the picture to figure out the meaning of the word "don." These tasks require students, with prompting, to respond to questions about details in short texts.
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
After students read Reader #6 (This Is...), an adult asks specific questions about the text (e.g., Why do Meg, Dan, and Sam start with uppercase letters? What kind of pet does Dan have?). Activity 5.1 and Activity 5.3 include teacher prompts that require students to read sentences and answer questions about text features and content (e.g., identifying sentence-starting uppercase letters, reading and answering about sentence meaning). The lesson also prompts students to point to and read words in the Weekly Message and to respond to teacher questions about those words.
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
The lesson asks the child to read the reader They Get Wet and then answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., "Where is the ship at the beginning of the book?"; "Why are the rat and the cat wet at the end?"; "Why do you think the rat and the cat are on the ship?"). The lesson also prompts a predictive question before reading ("What do you think will happen in this book?") and has the child point to and read words while answering, which elicits responses about text details.
Lesson 8
Blends with s
After reading Meg and Dan and the Sled, the adult asks the child specific comprehension questions (for example: why are Meg and Dan no longer on the sled? why do they stop for a snack? what would you want for a snack?). The child is instructed to read the book on her own and then read it aloud, pointing to each word, and then answer those questions about events and reasons in the story.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
After reading Reader #9 — The Club, students are asked to point to each word as they read and then answer specific comprehension questions such as "What color are the flags that are flying above the club?" and "What do the kids do at the club?" The directions explicitly tell the adult to ask these questions after the child reads the text aloud, prompting the child to recall and describe key details from the story.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
The lesson directs the child to read the reader One Can and then answer specific comprehension questions: "Where are the ducks swimming to?" and "What are the kids running on?" It prompts the adult to have the child read the book aloud and point to each word before asking those questions. The lesson also includes a follow-up personal question ("Which of these things are you best at -- hopping, swimming or running?") that asks the child to relate their own experience to the text.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
The lesson directs the child to read Reader #11 — At Camp on his own and then answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., "What do the kids do at camp?" and "What are the kids hunting for?"). It instructs an adult to ask those questions after the child reads and to encourage the child to point to each word while reading, providing prompting and support during the activity.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Activity 4.3 instructs the child to read Huff and Puff independently and then answer three explicit comprehension questions about the book (e.g., "What insects are shown in the book?", "Why do you think the insects are following the kids?", "Why is everyone huffing and puffing at the end of the book?"). Activity 1.1 and the Wrapping Up section also have the child re-read the Weekly Message and locate FLOSS words and sentence end marks, prompting the child to point to and read details in a text.
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students read Reader #13 (King Hank) independently and then answer specific comprehension questions provided (Where do the king and his friends sleep? What color drinks do they drink? What would you want to do if you were a king?). The lesson asks students to explain rules for word pairs (e.g., dogs/stamps, pack/stick) and to respond when prompted to read or identify words, demonstrating answering teacher questions about text details and word meanings.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
After students read the reader Spring Has Sprung! they are asked specific comprehension questions: "What do the kids do at the track?" and "What do the kids do at the pond?" (Activity 4.3), which requires recalling key events from the text. Other prompts ask students to respond about text-related details or connections (e.g., "What are some things that you like to do in the spring?" and the rhyming prompt "Are these rhyming words? What makes them rhyming words?"), giving students chances to answer questions about text content and features.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students read Reader #15 (The Raft Trip) aloud and are prompted to answer specific comprehension questions: "What animals are on the bank of the river?" and "Which animals nap on the raft?" Students are also asked an open-ended question ("What would you like to see if you went down a river on a raft?") after reading, and they are instructed to point to each word as they read the book aloud.
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
Students read the reader Which? When? What? and are instructed to answer the question on each page as they read. After reading, students respond to targeted comprehension prompts (e.g., "What else might you find in a barn on a farm?"; "What else is sharp?"). Students practice identifying and using question words by underlining question words in sentences and generating their own questions using "which," "what," and "when."
Lesson 17
Semester Review
In Activity 4.1 students are asked to answer comprehension prompts such as "Which of these readers is your favorite? Why?" and to point to or name characters and describe what the characters do (e.g., swim, camp, sing, go on a raft trip). Activity 4.2 prompts students to respond to a question about their own writing ("What belongs on the cover?") and to plan and share their reader. Several activities ask students to read pages aloud and then respond verbally about content or choices (e.g., selecting pages to read in Activity 2.1).
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students read the reader In the Fall on their own and then respond to explicit comprehension prompts: e.g., "What are some of the things that Lin and Dev like to do in the fall?" and "What does Lin do while Dev makes cakes?" The lesson directs an adult to ask these questions after the student finishes reading and to have the student point to or name details from the text.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
On Day 5 students read the reader They Chose To Doze and are asked literal comprehension questions such as "What did the family do on their trip?" and "Who fell off of the mule?" Activity 1.1 prompts students to answer a question about why "Tim" is capitalized, and the Weekly Message reread asks students to listen for and identify specific words and their vowel sounds. The teacher directions provide prompting and support as students respond to these targeted questions.
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students are asked to read the reader "These Mice" on their own and then read it aloud to an adult. After reading, the adult asks explicit comprehension questions: "What do the mice use to make beds for their home?" and "What do the mice sit on to eat cake?" and a follow-up inferential question: "Why do you think the mice like their home?" These prompts require students to locate and state key details and to give a simple explanation.
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Activity 5.2 has students read The Bird Is Third and then answer explicit comprehension questions: "Who won the race?" and "Which animal came in last?" and a follow-up opinion question "Are you surprised... Who did you think would win? Why?" Activity 1.1 (Weekly Message) asks the child to point to and read words and asks him to note "what he notices about the last word in the message," prompting attention to text details. Sight-word activities direct students to find and reread sight words in the Weekly Message and reader pages, providing additional teacher-supported question-and-answer interactions about text elements.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
On Day 5, students read The Gray Day independently and then read it aloud to an adult, after which the adult asks specific comprehension questions (e.g., "What do the boys play with indoors?", "What animal do they see on the drain outside?"). The activity includes both factual (train set, snail) and inferential/opinion questions ("What do you think the boys would do if they went outside?", "Do you like rainy days? Why or why not?"). The instructions direct the adult to ask these questions after reading, providing prompting and support for answering key details.
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
During Day 5, Activity 5.1 students read the reader What Do You Eat? and are asked direct comprehension questions such as "What does the worm eat?" and "How many beans are the birds eating?" The activity requires students to answer those questions after reading the text aloud to the adult. The directions also ask students to respond to a personal-connect question about foods they like and dislike, giving further spoken-response practice.
Lesson 7
Long i Spellings y, igh, ie
Students read an informational reader (The Dark Night) and are prompted to answer specific comprehension questions such as "What do Tom and Val see in the sky?" and "What do Tom and Val dream about?" Activity directions also ask students to point out and read words in the Weekly Message and to point to long i words, which requires identifying key details in text with prompting. Multiple activities ask students to show and read sight words and to read sentences aloud, providing supported opportunities to answer questions about textual details.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
After reading The Slow Boat, the child is asked specific comprehension questions (e.g., "How many boats are in the race?" and "What color is the boat that wins the race?") and is asked an opinion question connected to the story ("If you were on a boat, would you want it to go fast or slow?"). The Wrapping Up activity asks the child to reread the Weekly Message and point to long o words in that text. Several activities instruct the adult to ask the child questions and have the child answer about text details.
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
On Day 5 students read Reader #9 Would You Eat It? and are asked specific comprehension questions such as "What does Tom add to the stew?" and "What color does Val add to the stew?" that require recalling key details. Earlier activities also ask students to explain word meanings (e.g., explain "blue" vs. "blew") and to point to or read words and answer questions about what vowel sound words have, which involves answering teacher prompts about text details. Several activities instruct students to read sentences aloud and then respond to questions about those sentences (e.g., sentence dictation followed by reading).
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students read The Wild Colt independently and then read it aloud and are asked specific comprehension questions such as "Why is the colt hard to find in the herd?" and "How does the man stop the colt from bolting?" (Day 5, Activity 5.1). Students are also prompted to reread the Weekly Message and to identify specific words and details (Activity 1.1 and Wrapping Up), and to complete Fill in the Blanks sentences using words from the text (Day 3 Activity 3.3).
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Day 5 Activity 5.1 directs the adult to ask the child three comprehension questions about Reader #12 ("What sound does the toy make?", "What do you think Dan's new toy is?", "What is your favorite toy? Why?"). Day 2 Activity 2.1 asks the child to recall words from a video and to identify where oi/oy occur in words, requiring the child to answer questions about presented text/media. Activities such as Weekly Message and the Sight Words Search ask the child to read passages and then point out or read specific words when prompted.
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
On Day 5 (Activity 5.1) students read The Hound and the Owl and are asked specific comprehension questions such as "What does the hound do during the day?" and "Why do you think the hound howls at the owl?". In Activity 2.1 students are asked to explain their word-sorting groups and reasoning aloud. The wrapping-up activity asks students to reread the Weekly Message and explain in their own words when to use ou versus ow, prompting students to answer questions about textual details.
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
On Day 5, Activity 5.1 asks the child to read Reader #14 (The Pups) and then answer three specific questions about the text: where the pups sleep, what the puppies do, and an open-ended question about what else puppies might do. The activity instructs the adult to ask these questions and have the child respond after reading the text aloud to the adult.
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students read Reader #15 (The Bad Bear) independently and then answer prompted comprehension questions such as "What are some of the naughty things the bear does?" and "What happens when the bear's mom finds her?". Students complete a 'Question Words' page where they place question words into sentence blanks and generate question sentences, practicing the formation of who/what/where/when/how/why questions.
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
Activity 5.2 directs students to read The Gnats aloud and then answer explicit comprehension questions such as "What do the gnats do to the kids at the playground?" and "What do the gnats do at the picnic?", which require recalling key story details. Activity 1.1 has students read the Weekly Message and list things they have learned about reading words, requiring them to identify and state details from that text.