Kindergarten - ELA
1: Letters
Unit 1: A - A Is for Musk Ox
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to name the animals that talk in the story (Question #1), and students produce animal names such as "zebra" and "musk ox," which are nouns. The Facts and Definitions section introduces the vocabulary word "herd," a noun defined for students. The skills and reading prompts require students to ask and answer questions and point to title/author/illustrator, which elicits use of words in speech.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students discuss musk oxen using prompts that ask where they live, what they eat, how people use them, and what threats they face, which elicits use of nouns and verbs. The vocabulary word "herd" is introduced and students are asked to explain that a herd is a large group of animals, giving practice with a common noun. Students practice the noun "apple" while repeating the /a/ sound and placing apple stickers on the uppercase A, and students act out musk ox behaviors, which involves using action words in role play.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to find marked words in the book and then find the picture of that item in the illustration, which requires them to identify concrete nouns (e.g., clown, pictured items). When the book reaches H, students are asked what "herd" means, are read the definition "a large group of animals that live together," and discuss why that noun fits the context. The student activity page and letter practice use noun examples (e.g., "alligator," short "a" as in "apple") while students form letters and say associated words aloud.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name continents and point out Canada, Greenland, and Alaska, which requires them to say place names (Activity 1). The lesson prompts the child to answer "what a herd is," which elicits use of a common noun and vocabulary. In the letter-sounds and beginning-letter activities students identify and match pictured objects (lion, cap, airplane, sailboat, seal, cat, ant, etc.), which requires naming frequently occurring nouns.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to say what a herd is and to review the names of the continents, requiring them to produce common nouns orally. In Activity 1 students count apple cut-outs, name quantities, and match them to number words, which elicits use of number nouns and simple action words. In the Writing Workshop students draw a musk ox and write or dictate sentences about it and tell stories aloud, prompting use of nouns (musk ox, book, friend) and verbs (draw, tell, like, recommend).
Unit 2: H - Hondo and Fabian
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked "Who are the two characters in the book?" and identify Hondo and Fabian, which requires using and producing common nouns. Students answer questions about what Hondo and Fabian did (e.g., rode in a car, went to the beach, ate dinner, played, unrolled toilet paper), which requires using common verbs. In Activity 1 students identify each described action as a Hondo or Fabian activity and are encouraged to act out each activity, prompting them to say and perform frequently occurring verbs. In Activity 2 students count and refer to cats and dogs while pointing to number cards, repeatedly using common nouns (cat, dog).
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to name the two characters (Hondo and Fabian) and to practice counting, which requires producing common nouns and number words. In Activity 1 students talk about cats and dogs and record characteristics using phrases that include frequently occurring nouns and verbs (e.g., "have four legs," "make a purring sound," "can climb trees," "are pets for people"). In Activity 2 students say and list words that start with /h/ such as "happy, hug, heart, hand, help," which include common nouns and verbs for students to produce and practice.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to identify and name characters (Hondo, Fabian) and to write the animal names on die-cuts, which has them produce common nouns like cat, dog, and horse. Students point out and read words in the text such as "home," "happy," and the labelled illustration "horse," reinforcing recognition of frequently occurring words that are nouns. Students retell the story using pictures and prompts about what happened, which requires them to produce action words (verbs) as they describe events.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to describe what they like to do with a friend and to dictate a sentence about their painting, which requires them to produce nouns (friend, toy, activity) and verbs (play, share, like). In Activity 1 students think about how objects and animals move and act out movements, prompting use of action words (e.g., move, run, zigzag, go). The letter- and picture-based pages prompt naming objects (heart, ant, house, hammer, horse) which requires students to use common nouns aloud or in writing.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students handle and name animals (dogs and cats) when laying out and counting objects, which involves producing and hearing common noun words. Students are asked to discuss character names (Hondo, Fabian) and to name a pet they would choose, prompting use of nouns. Students are asked to dictate two statements about themselves and to write or attempt to write those statements, which gives them an opportunity to produce simple sentences that may contain frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
Unit 3: I - The Little Island
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students name and count concrete items in Activity 1 (e.g., rock, trees, fireflies, bushes) as they cut, glue, and place those objects on the island. In Question #2 students are prompted to list creatures that lived on or visited the island (seagull, fish, spider, lobster, etc.), producing many common nouns. In Question #3 and subsequent discussion students describe changes (e.g., flowers bloomed, animals came and went, snow fell), using common action words to recount events.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to talk about seasons and describe how seasons affect the island and themselves, which requires naming seasons and seasonal items. During the picnic role play students are asked to choose appropriate gear and accessories, prompting them to name nouns (e.g., coat, hat, food) and to describe actions (e.g., eat, choose, change). The Student Activity Page labels an igloo and provides repeated tracing/writing of the uppercase I next to the word 'igloo,' giving a concrete opportunity to read and produce a common noun. The painting activity asks students to make and describe an island and to use color words and map-related vocabulary (island, water).
Lesson 3
Day 3
The plan asks the child to retell The Little Island in her own words, encouraging use of illustrations to guide her retelling. The teacher prompts the child to read and supply the sight word "little" from a card and the book title. In the Classifying Creatures activity the child is asked to act out whether animals move in the air, on land, or in water (pretend to fly, walk/crawl, or swim).
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to name and compare things in Activity 1 (for example, a continent, the ocean, the Earth, outer space, animals, a blade of grass, a drop of water), which requires use of common nouns. In Activity 2 students identify parts of a book (title, author, illustrator, cover, title page) and talk about what they see, prompting spoken naming of objects and actions. In Activity 3 students draw and then write or dictate about a visit (questions such as "What season was it?" "What animals did you see?" "Did you see anything unusual?"), and students hear or produce complete sentences that include nouns and verbs.
Unit 4: T - What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked in Question #1 to name parts of animal structures (answers: noses, ears, tails, eyes, mouth, feet), which requires producing frequently occurring nouns. During the reading and discussion, students are prompted to recall how animals use their ears, eyes, and noses, which encourages use of verbs describing functions (e.g., hear, see, smell). In Activity 2, students draw two animal cards and state one similarity and one difference between the animals, requiring spoken use of animal names and action/being verbs (e.g., has, is, can).
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students review and explain vocabulary words such as "herd," "character," and "island," which requires them to say and use common nouns. In Activity 1 students name animals (beaver, squirrel, whale, crocodile, kangaroo, bird, cat, peacock) and are asked to think about and describe what each animal might need or use a tail for, prompting use of action words (e.g., wrap, move, fight, keep balance, steer, slap, attract). In Activity 3 students design a tail and then explain the purpose of that tail, requiring them to produce noun and verb combinations when describing function and construction.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name an animal whose tail has a special job and to describe that job, which requires them to produce animal names (nouns) and action words (verbs). Students discuss the animal's body parts and how they are used, where the animal lives, and what it eats, prompting use of common nouns (body parts, animal names, habitats) and verbs (used, lives, eats). In Activity 2 students act out animals using specific body parts and try to guess the animal, which requires students to use verbs to describe actions while using noun labels for the parts and animals.
Unit 5: L - We're Going on a Leaf Hunt
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson lists a sight word for the unit: "go," which is a frequently occurring verb that students can read and practice. Reading questions ask the child to name what the characters want to find (leaves) and to answer comprehension and retell prompts, requiring students to say nouns and verbs when responding. Activities ask the child to gather, count, sort, and choose leaves, prompting spoken labeling and use of action words (e.g., gather, count, choose) during hands-on practice.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students repeatedly name and manipulate nouns such as "leaf/leaves" and "mountain" during the leaf-sorting and discussion activities, and they say phrases like "a tall mountain." Students practice noun examples that begin with L ("leaf," "lion") while producing the /L/ sound and writing the letter L. Students act out verbs from the story and are explicitly prompted to substitute the common verb "go" with action verbs like skip, march, stroll, or hop and perform those actions.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are shown the sight word card for "go," point to the word in the book, and say the word each time it appears while reading. The teacher directs the child to read the line containing "Come on, let's go!" and to repeat the word when prompted. The optional map extension asks students to include a legend that matches symbols with names of places, which would require naming (using nouns) for the drawn locations.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students name and discuss plant parts such as leaves, roots, stems, flowers, seeds and their functions during Activity 1. Students match pictures (axe, hand, teepees, igloo, ice cream; leaf, ladder, etc.) to beginning letters and practice writing or circling letters on the Letter Sounds pages, which requires identifying the pictured objects (nouns). Students also review sight words including the verb "go."
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Writing Workshop Option 2, students identify five things they like (for example, "the sofa, the dog, a book") and draw each object, which requires naming concrete nouns. Students are encouraged to write or dictate words next to each picture (e.g., "soft dog" or "big book"), which has them produce and record frequently occurring nouns. The prompt to identify objects and label them gives direct practice with common noun usage.
Unit 6: F - Fireflies
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to describe the book cover and answer questions about the story, which requires them to speak using nouns (fireflies, boy, book) and verbs. The lesson labels the sight word "said" and defines the verb "flicker," then asks children to explain what is flickering and to think of other things that flicker. The Skills section explicitly asks students to "Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites," indicating targeted practice with verbs.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students name and identify pictured creatures (firefly, ladybug, spider, worm, ant, millipede, butterfly, grasshopper) on the activity page, which requires them to use frequently occurring nouns for animals and body parts (head, thorax, abdomen, antennae, wings, legs). Students practice saying and hearing words that begin with F such as "fireflies," "finger," and "fish" while forming the uppercase F, reinforcing use of common noun vocabulary in speech. Students discuss action words in the text ("blinking," "dipping," "soaring") when asked what "soaring" means and how surrounding words give clues to its meaning, engaging with frequently occurring verbs in context.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are prompted to read the word 'said' from a word card and the text, giving practice with a frequently occurring verb. Students count and manipulate 'fireflies' and use number cards in Activity 2, which has them reference and quantify the noun 'fireflies'. Activity 3 asks students to act out opposites that include action words such as 'pull' and 'push', giving practice using common verbs. The handwriting/activity page includes the noun 'frog' alongside practice forming the letter 'f'.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students name and talk about pictured creatures (firefly, ladybug, spider, worm, ant, millipede, grasshopper, butterfly) while coloring and sorting them into insects and non-insects. Students match pictured items (butter, head, flag, orange, ax) to beginning letters on the Letter Sounds pages, which requires identifying those nouns. The review section explicitly includes the word "said," a frequently occurring verb, and students are prompted to imagine and perform movements in a dance about fireflies.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 2 asks the child to review illustrations and tell the story in his own words, which requires the child to speak and produce words about characters and actions. Activity 3 asks the child to draw a picture of a favorite summer activity and write words, ideas, or sentences (or copy a sentence) describing that activity, giving opportunities to produce nouns and verbs in writing or speech.
Unit 7: E - But No Elephants
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to identify each animal by name when they cut out and color the pictures, which requires using frequently occurring nouns (canary, beaver, turtle, woodpecker, elephant). Activity 2 prompts students to put animals in order and say sentences such as "First the ___ came to visit," which leads them to use the frequent verb came. The comprehension questions ask students to name predicaments Grandma Tildy faced and explain how she solved them, prompting students to describe actions (e.g., let in, pushed, fed, moved) using verbs.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students review vocabulary that includes common nouns (herd, character, island, structure) and a verb (flicker). Students describe picture positions using animal nouns (elephant, canary, beaver, turtle, Grandma) and produce sentences such as "The canary is on the elephant," which use linking verbs "is/are." Students name, sort, and count geometric shape nouns (circles, rectangles, triangles) during the Elephant Shapes activity.
Lesson 3
Day 3
In Activity 1, students think of an animal, act it out, and have their partner guess the animal, which requires students to produce and recognize animal nouns. Activity 1 also asks students to explain how the animal would help Grandma Tildy, prompting students to describe actions (verbs) the animal would perform. In Activity 3, students sort and count animal pictures by number of legs, which engages students in naming animals (nouns) while grouping and counting them.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name everyday items and situations (e.g., name a predicament, identify a circle/rectangle/triangle), which requires producing common nouns. In Activity 1 students sort household objects into 'wants' and 'needs' and must explain why they placed each object, prompting use of nouns (food, water, clothing, toy) and verbs (eat, drink, wear, play). In Activity 2 students retell or make up the rest of the story using stick puppets and respond to questions like "What is Grandma Tildy doing?" (working, picking apples), which requires producing frequently occurring verbs and nouns aloud. Activity 2 also asks students to hold up each animal as it is introduced, reinforcing naming of common animal nouns.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students recite an elephant rhyme aloud and perform motions that include nouns (elephant, ears, feet, trunk) and verbs (marching, swinging, had), and they repeat the rhyme changing the number ("TWO enormous elephants..."). Students retell the book in their own words or trace the words with a finger, which requires producing spoken nouns and verbs as they describe events and characters. Students draw a house full of animals and write or dictate words, lists, or sentences describing what might happen, providing opportunities to use nouns and verbs in written or dictated language.
Unit 8: C - Millions of Cats
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are introduced to the vocabulary word "quarrel" with its meaning and are asked a question that requires using that verb ("Why were the cats quarreling?"). Students answer and discuss characters and objects (old man, old woman, cat) in multiple comprehension questions, requiring them to use common nouns. In the Venn diagram activity students list and discuss many concrete nouns (whiskers, fur, paws, tail) as they compare characters from two books.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to choose and sort five cats, which requires them to name and categorize the noun "cat." Students name and discuss landforms (rivers, ponds, lakes, hills, valleys, meadows) while making them with playdough, using those common nouns in speech and play. Students say and practice the word "cat" (and other C-words like "cake" and "crayons") while forming the letter C and complete a coloring/page labeled "a pretty cat."
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to repeat the phrase "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats" when reading, providing repeated oral use of the noun "cats." In Activity 2 students count, sort, and verbally label groups of die-cut cats and place number cards, using the noun in math talk (e.g., "9 cats and 1 cat"). Activity 3 directs students to learn and say the word for "cat" in several languages and in American Sign Language, which has them produce the noun across contexts.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to communicate what they learned about pet care by designing a poster with pictures and words or by giving a "pet talk," which requires naming pets and describing actions like bathe, brush, and feed. The poem activity contains repeated nouns and verbs (e.g., "kittens," "chewing," "climbing," "fighting," "tumbling") and asks students to create motions, recite lines, and supply missing words during the optional extension. The letter-sound pages show pictures (cat, fan, elephant, lion, ant, car, etc.) that students must identify and match to beginning letters, which requires naming common nouns.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students read two model sentences that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., "man," "woman," "gave," "grew") while the teacher points to each word. Students are asked to follow words left-to-right and notice spaces between words, and to point to words as the sentences are read. In Writing Workshop, students are encouraged to draw and write or dictate a story or facts about a cat, which requires them to produce words (including nouns like "cat/cats" and likely verbs) in their own writing or dictation.
Unit 9: G - The Real Mother Goose
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to "Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes," which requires them to produce frequently occurring noun labels (square, circle, triangle, etc.). The skills list also requires students to "Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size," indicating repeated practice saying shape nouns. Activity 2 directs students to practice the sight word "saw," reading and adding the word card to a file box, which provides practice with a frequently occurring verb form.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students recite and sing the months of the year (January–December), naming each month as they color and assemble month cards. Students are prompted to talk about what happens in January and describe the weather and activities, which invites spoken responses about events. Students supply words during poem practice and identify example G-words such as "goose," "giraffe," "glue," and "green," producing frequently occurring nouns aloud.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to identify and name objects (e.g., identify a circular object, name lids and tops) and to supply words when practicing poems and rhyming pairs (e.g., supply rhymes for "book," "fiddle," and "moon"). In Activity 3 students change words in a familiar poem on the computer, substituting words such as "key," "car," and "star," which requires them to select and write nouns. Students also describe how they sorted objects and explain their grouping decisions when ordering lids from smallest to largest.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to supply words when practicing the poem "The Little Bird," which requires them to produce words orally. In Activity 1 students add a name for each month and include symbols and pictures about weather, activities, and special events, which involves naming people, places, events, and actions. In Activity 2 students read and sing nursery rhymes, engaging in repeated oral production of words (including common nouns and verbs) during recitation and singing.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 1 asks the child to identify and name the ball as a "sphere" and to compare it to a die-cut circle. Activity 1 then has the child explain where the sphere is in relation to other objects using full sentences such as "the sphere is on top of the shelf" or "the sphere is next to the dog." Activities 2 and 3 have the child listen to and follow along with poems and dictate a poem, providing additional opportunities to hear and produce nouns and verbs.
Unit 10: O - Owl Babies
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson lists a sight word for the unit: "want," a frequently occurring verb. It asks students to look at the book cover, describe what they see, and predict whether the book is fiction or nonfiction, which requires students to speak using nouns and verbs. The question-and-answer examples ask students to name true facts (e.g., owls can live in a hole, owls make nests, owls eat mice, foxes eat owls), showing nouns and verbs students are expected to produce.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to explain vocabulary words aloud from a list that includes nouns (herd, character, structure) and verbs (flicker, quarrel, rhyme). Students dictate or write facts about owls on the activity page, producing spoken and written phrases that use nouns and verbs. Students practice and perform a poem containing nouns and action verbs (owl, tree; lives, flaps, says) while using motions, and students practice saying and writing O-words (octopus, orange, owl).
Lesson 3
Day 3
The lesson has the child practice the sight word and verb "want" by pointing to the word and having the child read the line "I want my mommy!". The child is asked to tell the story in his own words, which requires speaking using nouns and verbs. Activity 2 has the child name shapes (circle, oval, triangle) and respond to action words (crawl, hop, roll, dance), producing and responding to common nouns and verbs.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students practice and perform a Reader's Theatre script with repeated, spoken lines such as "I want my Mommy," "I think she's gone hunting," and "To get us our food," which contain common nouns (Mommy, food) and verbs (want, gone hunting, get). Activity 1 asks students to compare real owls to story owls and to note actions story owls do (for example, talk), prompting discussion of verbs. The Getting Started review asks students to recite a poem and sight words, giving additional oral practice with frequently occurring words.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students hear and act out short sentences in Activity 1 (for example, "Three baby owls flew to the tree" and "Six owls were sitting in the tree"), and they create and perform their own stories with the owl manipulatives. In Activity 2 students discuss books and describe differences between fiction and non-fiction, speaking about owls and using descriptive sentences. In Activity 3 students draw and then write or dictate factual information and a brief fictional story about owls, producing spoken or written phrases that will include nouns and verbs.
Unit 11: S - Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to name the four seasons (Spring, summer, winter, and fall), which requires them to produce common noun labels. Students are prompted to describe what Arnold does with his tree and to say their favorite activities during each season, which elicits use of action words (verbs) in speaking. The skills section asks students to use drawing, dictating, and writing to name topics and supply information, providing opportunities to use nouns and verbs in composition.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to name the four seasons and talk about the current season, which requires producing season names (nouns). For several days students record sky conditions, precipitation, wind, and temperature by drawing, writing, or dictating words (e.g., sunny, cloudy, rain, snow). In the letter activity students produce and review S words such as "snake" and "sun," and in the tree activity students identify and add items like leaves, apples, branches, and cotton balls (all common nouns).
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name the four seasons, which requires them to produce common noun labels. In Activity 1 students discuss how each family member contributes to making the apple pie and cider, prompting them to describe actions and roles (e.g., who stirred, who baked). The student activity pages present pictures of objects or animals for beginning letter sounds, which requires students to name those pictured items (use nouns).
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students name and sort objects as "circle" or "sphere" in Activity 1, with the teacher holding up items and saying the shape labels to reinforce vocabulary. In Activity 2, students identify the story setting and share the when/where and clues, speaking about places and times. In Activity 3, students draw and then write or dictate things they know about their favorite season, producing nouns and verbs in spoken or written phrases.
Unit 12: D - Dinosaurs Big and Small
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked oral questions that require them to name the author and illustrator and to describe what they learned about dinosaurs, so they must produce nouns (e.g., dinosaur, author, illustrator) and verbs (e.g., ate, walked). Activities ask students to describe characteristics and compare lengths (e.g., who is longer?), requiring spoken use of common nouns and verbs. The sight word list includes the word "big," which provides a high-frequency word for use in descriptions.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to show a dinosaur from the book and name one interesting characteristic, which requires them to produce a noun (dinosaur) and descriptive language. During the playdough fossil activity, students choose household and outdoor objects to press into playdough, which prompts them to name those objects (nouns). In the March Like a Dinosaur activity, students listen to song lyrics and act out movements, which has them perform and respond to action words (verbs).
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are prompted to name a favorite dinosaur (producing a noun) and state a characteristic of it. Students read sentences in Dinosaurs Big and Small that include verbs (for example, "All dinosaurs walked tall...") and are asked to discuss the meaning of words in those sentences. Students recite the poem "The Dinosaurs," joining in spoken lines that contain frequently occurring verbs (e.g., lived, had, was) and point to words as they say them.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name a favorite dinosaur and one characteristic, then think of an adjective, which gets them to produce and say nouns (e.g., dinosaur names). The research and drawing activity has students dictate five facts about a dinosaur and have those facts recorded beneath the drawing, prompting them to produce noun-based content (dinosaur names, parts, habitats). The beginning-letter pages require students to identify pictures (dinosaur, snail, gate, igloo, alligator, duck, candle, pants) and match or write the corresponding initial letters, which engages students in recognizing and producing common noun words.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 3 asks the child to cut out pictures of dinosaurs and dictate or attempt to write factual sentences about dinosaurs, which requires students to produce spoken or written sentences that will contain nouns and verbs. Activity 2 gives the child opportunities to talk about books and share words they found, which provides some incidental practice in speaking using words (including nouns and verbs).
Unit 13: P - Harold and the Purple Crayon
Lesson 1
Day 1
The unit lists the sight word "made," giving students exposure to a frequently occurring verb. Activities ask children to identify and name shapes (squares, rectangles, circles, etc.), requiring use of common nouns. The text includes examples of actions ("He drew a boat," "He drew some pie," "He drew a balloon") and prompts that ask students to recall or suggest solutions, which prompt students to use verbs to describe actions.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to point out a square and a rectangle and to pretend to be an animal, prompting them to name shapes and animals orally. A vocabulary review lists words (island, structure, adjective, season, etc.) that students are expected to recognize and discuss. In the Phases of the Moon activity students name and glue labeled phase words (full moon, half moon, crescent, sliver, new moon), requiring them to use those noun labels while arranging the pictures.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students repeatedly read and identify the sight word "made" in the story, practicing a frequently occurring verb in context. Activity 1 asks students to explain meanings of words like "drew" and to consider words that have both noun and verb meanings (examples given: duck as animal and to lean; mouse; ball; bat). The lesson prompts students to say what words mean and to read the target words aloud in story pages.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to name shapes and a variety of community places (police and fire stations, airports, banks, hospitals, supermarkets, harbors, schools, homes, places of worship, transportation lines) when creating a neighborhood map, and they place and label buildings on butcher paper. Students identify pictured objects on multiple letter-sound pages (e.g., penguin, piano, drum, tree, lemon, soup, house, bank, hospital, fire station) by circling or matching beginning letters and by cutting/pasting pictures under correct letters. Students are prompted to answer questions about where a character is going and to make a toy car travel from place to place, which elicits verbal responses about locations and movement.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to name or show examples of shapes (square, rectangle, cube, rectangular prism), which requires use of common noun labels for those shapes. In the writing workshop, students draw a picture and then write or dictate a description or story about the picture, which prompts production of words including nouns and verbs. The reading workshop has students trace sentences left to right and notice periods, which supports sentence-level production when they later dictate sentences.
Unit 14: B - Blueberries for Sal
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to read and act out many movement words (walked, struggled, hurried, hustled, tramping, padded, backed away), including defining the verb "hustle" and pretending to move like the characters. Students are prompted to name similarities and differences between Little Sal and Little Bear and to find picture clues (model of the car, clothes, cast-iron stove), which requires naming people and objects. The Student Activity Page labels the picture "bear" and the letter B activity has students say the word "blueberry" and add a Bb card to a review file, giving explicit practice with a common noun.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to retell Blueberries for Sal in their own words after reading, which prompts them to produce words (nouns and verbs) to describe characters and actions. The teacher prompts the child to read and identify the sight word "she" repeatedly during reading, encouraging oral production tied to the story. The lesson also asks the child to name number pairs that equal 10 and to answer questions about blueberry dye, requiring spoken responses that use common words.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students create lists of fictional and non-fictional statements about bears that include common nouns and verbs (e.g., "bears eat fruit," "bears can talk," "mother bears protect their cubs") in Activity 1. In Activity 2 students sing the song "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" and are asked to substitute different action words (e.g., "hustled," "backed," "followed," "padded"), producing and practicing frequently occurring verbs aloud. In Activity 3 students identify pictures (astronaut, bat, guitar, etc.) and match them to beginning letters, which requires naming common nouns and associating them with letters and forms of writing.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Reading Workshop, students look through books and are prompted to identify clothing and technology, which requires them to name objects (nouns) found in the stories. In Writing Workshop, students are asked to write or dictate their own compositions and to notice and add words (e.g., choosing a more colorful, descriptive word), which gives them chances to produce vocabulary in context. The free-writing and dictation tasks require students to produce words and simple phrases that will likely include nouns and verbs.
Unit 15: R - Rain
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are given a set of noun die-cuts (sun, raindrops, clouds, trees, grass, road, car, flowers, fence) and asked to place the appropriate pieces to recreate the story, which requires naming and using those nouns. The Questions section prompts students to "talk about the different words we use for rain" and explicitly lists verbs (sprinkling, raining, drizzling, pouring, downpour), prompting students to use frequently occurring action words. The Skills list includes "Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities," supporting student practice using nouns and verbs in sentence context.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students write sentences beginning with the frame "I see..." for each color (e.g., "I see a red apple"), which requires them to supply common object nouns and repeatedly use the verb "see." Students complete a fill-in-the-blank "Rainbow Sentences" page, choosing everyday nouns to match colors. Students also orally name and describe liquids and objects (water, milk, juice, ice), prompting spoken use of common nouns.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students read the book and are prompted to point to and read individual words, including nouns such as "rain" and "grass." Students name and see labeled pictures like "rabbit" and are prompted to notice words like "red" and "ribbon" during the handwriting and ribbon activities. Students create a rain scene and are asked to point to each object and use its describing word (for example, saying "purple flowers"), which requires producing noun phrases. Students practice the math phrase "take away" and the term "subtracting," and read subtraction equations aloud when using raindrops to solve problems.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students identify and name pictured objects (robot, camel, egg, pineapple, ant, igloo) when they circle or write the correct beginning letter on the "Letter Sounds: R" pages. Students match letters to words (l, e, f, t, s matched to ladder, elephant, football, tennis ball, star) on the Beginning Letter Sounds page, which requires them to recognize and use common nouns. During the review, students are asked to identify where water is (rivers, lakes, streams, underground, oceans) and to provide another word for "downpour," prompting them to produce noun vocabulary.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 3 asks students to name 3–5 of their favorite things and to write or dictate a sentence or phrase about each thing, which requires students to produce nouns (e.g., "car") and optionally verbs (example: "The red car zoomed across the room"). Activity 2 has students practice reading a book aloud and reading a book they wrote about colors to family, which has students speak phrases and sentences that contain common nouns and verbs. Activity 1 uses action prompts (hop, jump, skip, twist, zoom) and asks students to move to numbered cards, giving students opportunities to perform and hear simple action words.
Unit 16: N - Night in the Country
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson introduces the vocabulary word "country" and a sight word "there," and asks students to identify and describe what they see on the book cover, name countries on a map, and explain differences between city, suburbs, and country. Question prompts require students to describe feelings and actions (e.g., How do you feel about nighttime? What animals might be awake?), and the Listening Walk asks students to describe sounds and imagine which animals or noises they would hear. The Skills list explicitly includes determining or clarifying meaning of words and exploring word relationships with adult support, which guides students to use and discuss word meanings.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students review vocabulary words (e.g., flicker, predicament, quarrel, fiction, season, characteristic, imagination, hustle, downpour) and are asked to explain them in their own words. Students are asked to name a night sound and to describe two meanings for the word "country," requiring use of common nouns. In the paper-doll role-play students ask and answer questions (Where do you get your fruit? Where do you get your vegetables? Where do you shop for clothes?), which prompts students to produce frequently occurring nouns and verbs in spoken responses.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to look through Night in the Country and identify landforms (river, fields, a road, hills) and to "talk about the names of these features as you work," which requires naming common nouns. Students are asked to tell the story in their own words using the pictures as a guide, providing an opportunity to use spoken nouns and verbs in retelling. The student activity page for lowercase n includes the word "nest," giving students practice reading/producing a common noun in writing.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students brainstorm and name examples of natural resources (trees, animals, water, oil, rocks, plants), which requires them to produce and use common nouns. Students are asked to discuss how people should treat resources using verbs such as use, replace, and plant when responding. Students act out and vocalize onomatopoeic words (e.g., splash, zip, honk, woof, meow) and name pictures in beginning-letter activities, which requires them to say common action words and object names aloud.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 3, students draw day and night scenes and are asked to "write whatever marks, letters, or words he can," then read their writing aloud and add dictation of ideas, giving practice producing words about daily actions. In Activity 1, students describe scenarios (e.g., "10 minus 3 equals 7") and use concrete nouns like "apples," "tree," and action words when moving apples to baskets. In Activity 2, students "read" a book, look at pictures, and generate questions about characters such as owls, frogs, and raccoons, which involves using common nouns in discussion.
Unit 17: M - Marshmallow
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students practice and say M-words such as "marshmallow," "monkey," and "money" during the uppercase M activities and while reviewing the cover. Students follow and respond to action verbs during the Simon Says game (e.g., "Touch your toes," "Spin around," "Sit down"). Students generate household rules using words and/or pictures, which may lead them to produce short phrases like "Speak kindly to others."
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to reread the book and read the matching word card for the word "out," practicing reading a high-frequency word in context. Students are prompted to tell the story in their own words, using the pictures as prompts, which requires them to produce words (including nouns and verbs) to describe events and characters. In the measuring activity, students compare toy animals (e.g., one may be bigger, longer, or heavier) and count marshmallows, which encourages them to describe objects and actions while using everyday vocabulary.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students identify and name pictured objects on the Letter Sounds: M pages and match letters to images (mitten, sailboat, buffalo, ear, ant, turtle; alligator, mushroom, house, leaf, drum), which requires use of common nouns. Students are prompted to talk about Owen and Mzee versus Oliver and Marshmallow and to create a Venn diagram, which asks them to describe similarities and differences using words for people/animals and actions. Students are also asked to explain the number 14 in their own words and answer a question about hesitating before jumping into a cold pool, providing opportunities for spoken responses that include nouns and possibly verbs.
Lesson 5
Day 5
In Activity 3 students are asked to fill in blanks in a short poem and a short story by supplying words (e.g., animal names and actions) and the teacher records their responses, which requires students to produce nouns and verbs in speaking and writing. Activity 1 asks students to name shapes (sphere, cube, cylinder) and count faces, which has students use common noun vocabulary for shapes. The poem dictation and fill-in tasks prompt students to generate action words (e.g., like to sleep and play; climbed; wandered; saw).
Unit 18: U - Umbrella
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to recall and answer questions about the story, naming objects (boots, umbrella) and describing actions (walked, carried), which requires use of nouns and verbs. In Activity 1 students act out math story problems using umbrellas and tell/write matching equations, using nouns (people, umbrellas, store) and verbs (carried, bought). In Activity 2 students repeatedly do and undo fasteners and practice words such as tie/untie, button/unbutton, unwrap, unlock, providing oral practice of action verbs.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students see and practice the word "umbrella" on the Student Activity Page and are prompted to say words that begin with U (examples given: "umbrella," "unicorn," "rule"). Students are asked to locate Japan and shown pictures of people, homes, buildings, animals, and habitats, which invites naming those common nouns. Students are instructed to find everyday items (spoons, wooden blocks, bells, hands) and to perform and repeat rhythms, involving saying and acting out verbs like play, create, listen, and repeat.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to retell the story in their own words and to use the pictures as prompts, which requires them to produce nouns and verbs in speech. The KANJI activity page presents English translations for several common nouns (tree, woods, sun, mountain, river, fire, fish, car) and asks students to copy the characters, providing exposure to those noun labels. The lowercase "u" handwriting page includes a labeled illustration "unicorn," giving students practice with a word (noun) while forming letters and saying the letter sound.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to identify and write words for pictured items (e.g., umbrella, cap, tree, football, car) by circling beginning letters, unscrambling letters, and writing the correct words, which requires naming common nouns. Students match animals (unicorn, monkey, panda, rabbit, goat) to their initial letters, which involves saying or recognizing those frequently occurring nouns. Students are prompted to describe clouds and name what clouds are, which asks them to use spoken vocabulary related to weather and to respond verbally about cloud characteristics.
Unit 19: J - Jump Frog Jump
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students identify and name the animals on the book cover (frog, fish, snake, turtle, fly) and answer questions about which animal is the main character and the setting, providing repeated use of common nouns. Students read and/or listen to captioned sequence sentences such as "The frog was under the fly," "The frog caught the fly," "The fish swam after the frog," and "The frog jumped away from the snake," which provide frequent verbs (was, caught, swam, jumped) in context. Students are introduced to the verb "escape" as a synonym for "get away" and asked to recall situations in which the frog escaped, prompting them to use that verb in discussion. In Activity 1 students put sequence pictures in order and read the sentences aloud, giving spoken practice with frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to define vocabulary words aloud (e.g., rhyme, fiction, season, hustle, hesitated), which requires them to say nouns and verbs. In Activity 1 students sort die-cut pond animals and are asked to tell what they know about the animals and describe similarities and differences, prompting use of animal nouns and descriptive verbs. In Activity 2 and the Student Activity Page students practice the word and sound of "jump" and "jar" (a verb and a noun) while forming and writing the letter J, and Activity 3 has students sing and perform the song "Five Little Speckled Frogs," which contains frequent nouns and verbs they say aloud.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students read and reread phrases that contain common nouns and verbs (for example, the child reads the sight word 'how' and the line 'Jump, frog, jump!'). Students sequence story cards and are asked to tell the story, which requires them to produce nouns (frog, fly, fish, snake, turtle, kids, basket) and verbs (jumped, climbed, swam, dropped, wrapped, put). In Activity 3 students act out provided sentences with verbs (e.g., 'The fly climbed out of the water.') and are prompted to create original sentences about two animals that use verbs (for example, 'The snake slithered to the frog').
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students label and write common animal stage names by constructing a life-cycle diagram and labeling the quadrants "eggs," "tadpole," "froglet," and "frog," directly practicing identification and labeling of nouns. Students identify pictured objects on activity pages (pig, duck, octopus, goose, jet) and match them to beginning letters, which requires naming or recognizing those common nouns. Students also identify pictures such as jump rope, unicycle, mountain, nail, rabbit, and sailboat when selecting the correct initial letter, reinforcing recognition of frequently occurring nouns.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students repeatedly use the noun 'frog' while counting and arranging frogs in Activity 1. In Activity 2 students speak questions aloud using common nouns and verbs (examples: "What time is it?", "What are we having for lunch?"). In Activity 3 students write a question about frogs or another animal, thereby producing a sentence that includes a frequently occurring noun and at least one verb.
Unit 20: K - Kindness
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked "What do the animals do throughout the book?" and respond by describing actions (e.g., "They show kindness"), which requires using verbs. Activity 1 asks students to identify and name nine animal characters (owl, bat, mole, etc.), so students say and read frequently occurring animal nouns. Activity 2 has students brainstorm and describe acts of kindness using verbs and nouns (baking cookies, bringing flowers, picking up trash), and students describe kindness in their own words after watching a video.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are presented with an "Animals in Fiction" chart that lists Mouse, Frog, Mole, and Bat and asks them to write "Animal Actions" and "Human Actions," which requires them to name animals (nouns) and describe actions (verbs). The text asks students to name something a character does that a real animal would do and something the character does that only a human could do, prompting production of verbs like "help," "give," or animal behaviors. Students are also asked orally which act of kindness they found most thoughtful and how one act led to another, prompting them to speak using nouns and verbs from the story.
Lesson 4
Day 4
In Activity 1, students dictate and/or write 4–6 statements for the "I Am a Good Citizen!" list (e.g., "I take care of my pet," "I put my trash in trash cans"), which require use of common nouns (pet, trash, toys, table) and verbs (take, put, pick up, help, cross). Activity 3 has students identify pictures, match them to words, and spell the corresponding words, which prompts use of common object names (nouns) and their spoken/written forms. Activity 2 asks students to sing and act out kind actions from the song, prompting students to say and perform common action words (verbs).
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are prompted to retell the story using the illustrations as a guide, verbally describing each act of kindness which requires use of nouns and verbs. Students are asked to write or dictate a brief description of a favorite book and state reasons they like it, producing spoken and written language that will include nouns and verbs. Students supply numbers aloud during the 100-step counting activity, practicing number words in speech.
Unit 21: V - Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students name instruments and match instrument pictures with ensemble labels in Activity 1, which requires them to use instrument names (nouns) and the term "solo." The Reading and Questions section asks students to answer questions such as "What did the animals do?" and "Did the musicians seem to enjoy playing the music?", prompting students to produce action words (verbs) like chased, sat, pretended, smiled, danced, clapped, and cheered. The Skills list includes "Communicate observations orally," which asks students to speak using words that describe objects and actions.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to name and identify instruments (e.g., violin, cello, flute, trumpet) and to look for natural resources in the home (water, wood, rocks, animals), which requires using common nouns. Students are prompted to classify instruments into groups and to make piles, which requires them to name categories and items. The uppercase V handwriting activity includes the word "violin," so students practice writing a frequently occurring noun related to the lesson content.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students name and identify many concrete nouns: they name instruments from the book, label a picture as "volcano," and name shapes such as "cylinder" and "cone." Students sort and label jobs into "Goods" and "Services," and verbally brainstorm and place job cards under each heading. Students also answer questions using nouns (e.g., naming a natural resource, naming instruments and objects that are cone- or cylinder-shaped).
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students complete a "Senses Web" that includes outer circles labeled with sentence starters such as "It looks," "It sounds," "It feels," "It smells," and "It tastes," and they draw, write, or dictate observations using those prompts. Students name and identify pictured items (violin, van, fork, pumpkin, etc.) on multiple activity pages when matching images to beginning letters and when circling the correct beginning letter for each picture. Students also practice speaking by selecting, practicing, and performing a song for the family.
Unit 22: Y - Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students name and say color words aloud during the pattern activities (e.g., pointing to each sticker and saying blue, yellow, green). Students answer comprehension questions that require recalling actions from the story (e.g., identifying that the characters liked to "run and jump"). Students are asked to produce sentences using the word "row" two times with different meanings, which requires using "row" as both a noun and a verb in speech.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to define a list of vocabulary words in their own words, which requires them to use and explain nouns and verbs (e.g., country, escape, hesitated). Students are asked to describe two meanings of the word "row," which prompts them to produce both noun and verb uses. Students complete oral patterns using nouns (car, car, truck) and name the shape they make (spheres), requiring use of common noun vocabulary in speech.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students read sentences from Little Blue and Little Yellow that include common verbs (e.g., "In school they sit still in neat rows. After school they run and jump") and practice the sight word "they." Students are asked to retell and act out the story using pictures and Play-doh balls, which requires them to produce spoken nouns and verbs to describe actions and characters. The review prompt asking the child to name one quality of a good friend also elicits spoken word production.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students act out "rowing a boat" and are asked to name primary colors and items found on a nature scavenger hunt, which requires them to identify and name objects (nouns). Students are asked to tell a story about torn-paper characters and to write or dictate what is happening in a chosen scene, prompting them to produce actions (verbs) and people/things (nouns). Beginning-letter and picture activities include images labeled by object (vacuum, pencil, hammer, cat, rainbow, yarn, motorcycle, ostrich, etc.) that students must identify, encouraging use of common nouns.
Unit 23: W - George Washington's Birthday
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson lists a Sight Word for the Unit: "went," which is a frequently occurring verb. Students are prompted to ask and answer questions about George Washington (e.g., identify who is on the dollar bill, compare pictures, give opinions), which requires speaking and using nouns and verbs. The skills list includes "Ask and answer questions about unknown words," which provides opportunities to use common words in conversation.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students cut out boxes with words, read the word boxes aloud, choose a title box, and glue each picture with the correct name (Statue of Liberty, United States Flag, Bald Eagle), which requires recognizing and using common nouns. Students see and read the labeled illustration "wagon" on the Uppercase W activity page and trace/produce the letter while saying the word. Students identify and say the days of the week from the book and sing a days-of-the-week song, practicing the names of the days as nouns.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are shown the sight word card "went," hear it in sentences ("George went down to breakfast," "George went to the library for his morning lessons"), and are prompted to read and repeat the word. Students are also asked to name one symbol of our country, which requires them to produce a common noun. Students page back through the book and recap each story about George Washington, which asks them to identify whether each one is a myth or a fact and involves orally referring to people, places, and actions in the stories.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Activity 3 asks students to identify and name pictured objects (key, globe, horse, hot dog, grapes; dolphin, mountain, bird, acorn, foot, broom), which requires students to use common nouns aloud. Activity 2 has students deduce meanings of italicized words in sentences and then use dramatic skills to act out the sentence, which has students produce and demonstrate common action verbs (e.g., eat, pat, stride, toss, fetch, hack, clean). The review of sight word cards also prompts students to say frequently used words aloud.
Unit 24: Q - The Quilt Story
Lesson 2
Day 2
The lesson asks the child to name objects and concepts (e.g., "Ask your child what wood shavings are," and to identify a circle, triangle, square, and rectangle in the room). It prompts the child to identify how the pioneer family used natural resources (e.g., wood for furniture/houses/wheels/toys; tea for drinking; beeswax/bayberries/animal fats for candles) and to name landforms shown in the story (hills, prairie, river). The review and discussion prompts require the child to speak about Daniel Boone and pioneer life, which elicits use of nouns and action words.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to tell the story back in their own words, which requires them to produce nouns and verbs in spoken sentences. The Then and Now Venn diagram asks students to record ideas about characters and events (e.g., mother, quilt, traveled, slept), prompting written use of nouns and verbs. The shape-matching activity has students name shapes by matching die-cut shapes to cards with the shape names, giving practice using common nouns for shapes.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students name and identify two- and three-dimensional shapes aloud and respond to spoken clues by traveling to and saying the shape name (Activity 1), providing direct practice using shape nouns (cylinder, sphere, cone, cube, etc.). Students describe characters' feelings and explain what they learn from illustrations (Activity 2), prompting them to use verbs like "feel" and describe actions or states. Students compose or dictate a few sentences about a personal item or a holiday (Activity 3) using nouns and verbs in connected speech and writing, with prompts that elicit descriptions and actions (e.g., "Where did you get your item?", "What does it look like?").
Unit 25: X - An Extraordinary Egg
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to name and describe what they see on the book cover and to answer comprehension questions that require naming animals (e.g., saying the frogs thought a chicken was in the egg but it was a baby alligator). The lesson introduces the sight word "look," a frequently occurring verb, and asks students to use it. Students dictate ideas for a two-column chart ("Facts about Frogs" and "Fictional Frogs") and produce sentences such as "Frogs live near water," "Frogs can swim," and "Frogs talk," which require using common nouns and verbs.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to identify and name animals in the story (e.g., chicken, alligator, bird) and answer questions such as "What did the frogs think it was?" and "What kind of an animal is a chicken?", which requires using common nouns. Students describe the egg using prompts about color, size, shape, texture, and actions (e.g., "If you bend it, will it break?" "Does it float or sink?"), which requires using frequently occurring verbs and nouns in spoken responses. The activity also uses and highlights words containing x (box, extraordinary, fox, ax, fix), some of which function as common nouns or verbs that students pronounce and hear in context.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students read and say the sight word "look" in the sentence "Look what I found!" and practice reading and repeating words from the "Words with X" page (e.g., mix, fix, fox, mailbox, taxi, ox) that include common nouns and verbs. Students retell An Extraordinary Egg in their own words using pictures to remember events, which requires them to produce nouns and verbs to describe characters and actions. Students practice pronouncing and reading single-word verbs (look, mix, fix, exit) and nouns (fox, box, mailbox, ox, taxi) aloud during activities.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to recall and name life cycle stages (eggs, tadpole, froglet, frog) and to label sections as "egg," "baby alligator," and "adult alligator," which requires using common nouns. Students physically act out stages using actions such as sit, burst, swim, hop, crawl, and stretch, which has them perform and implicitly use common verbs. Students are prompted to read numbers and letter sounds and to practice writing or tracing letters, supporting some production of words linked to images.
Unit 26: Z - Greedy Zebra
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to review a list of vocabulary words and "define each term in her own words," giving direct practice producing word meanings. The plan asks the child to "give an example of being greedy" and to "create and solve a story problem" using animal cards, requiring students to use nouns and verbs in spoken or written sentences. The zebra research option asks the child to "draw a picture and/or dictate a 'report'" and complete a graphic organizer (Appearance, Predators, Diet, Habitat), prompting use of noun and verb vocabulary in context.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to read and practice the sight word "new" and to read it in the story Greedy Zebra. Students are asked to retell the story using the illustrations and to predict what would have happened if Zebra had not been greedy, requiring spoken sentence production. In Activity 2, students look at animal cards, make observations, sort animals, count them, and state the sorting criterion, which requires naming animals and describing attributes or actions.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students act out many action-packed verbs from the story (e.g., crept, peered, rushed, running, jumping, sliding, swinging, slithering) in Activity 2, practicing verb meanings through movement. Students identify and write words for pictured items on the Letter Sounds pages (e.g., zebra, yo-yo, vest, envelope, ambulance, island) and match beginning letters to images (zipper, rainbow, x-ray, heart, dolphin), practicing noun identification and spelling. Students handle and place cut-outs of five animals (giraffe, zebra, lion, hippo, elephant), color them, and glue them into a savannah scene, which requires naming and using animal nouns.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students name specific animals and compare them aloud using sentences (for example, "The elephant is bigger than the onyx" and "The rhino has more legs than the hornbill"), which requires using nouns and verbs. Students identify book characters, settings, and subjects and are asked to explain similarities and differences, prompting use of nouns and verbs. Students draw a scene and write words, phrases, or sentences about characters, setting, and events, providing opportunities to produce nouns and verbs in their writing.
2: Holidays
Unit 27: Halloween
Lesson 1
Day 1
The lesson labels "lagoon" as a vocabulary word and asks the child to listen for and identify which meaning of lagoon is used in the story. The lesson prompts the child to think of words that rhyme with "goon," eliciting productions such as "spoon," "moon," and "lagoon." The lesson also asks the child to describe similarities and differences between Goodnight Moon and Goodnight Goon and to record a prediction for how many "wraps" it will take, prompting spoken and written responses that use content words (e.g., mummy, tummy, wrap).
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are given labeled body-part words (feet, legs, hands, arms, spine, ribs, skull) and asked to color each part, which requires recognition of frequently occurring nouns. The teacher asks the child to recall what a lagoon is and to count, prompting verbal recall of vocabulary and number words. The Dem Bones activity asks students to complete a dance and point to the correct bones, reinforcing identification of bone nouns through action.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to join in at the ends of lines when reading Goodnight Goon, which prompts them to repeat and produce common words in context. In Activity 1, students use ghost manipulatives to solve and create story problems using sentences such as "2 ghosts came out to play" and "8 ghosts were playing tag," prompting use of nouns (ghosts) and verbs (came, joined, playing, stopped). In Activity 2, students trace and write simple words and compose a greeting message (e.g., "Dear Grandma and Papa, Trick or treat! Love, Jack"), which requires producing nouns and verbs in written form.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are asked to review letter cards and sight words and to think of a word that could be used instead of "lagoon" (pond, puddle), which prompts them to produce and select common nouns. Students are prompted to watch a video about bats and then answer questions about what kind of bat they are and what the bat eats, eliciting use of nouns (bat, food) and simple verb concepts (eat). The mask activity gives students action directions (trace, cut, punch, attach) that require them to follow and use common action verbs during the craft.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Activity 3 asks students to think of rhyming pairs of things to say good night to (for example, "clock" and "sock" or "bed" and "head"), draw those objects, and fill blanks in the sentence frame by copying those words from scrap paper. Activity 2 has students identify rhyming word pairs on pages that include content words such as "claws," "jaws," "bat," and "hat," encouraging students to say and find those words at the ends of lines. These tasks require students to produce, recognize, and write frequently occurring nouns in context.
Unit 28: Thanksgiving
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are prompted to look at the book cover and answer what they see and what they like about Thanksgiving, requiring them to produce spoken phrases or sentences. Students are asked to summarize why Thanksgiving is celebrated and to talk about what it means to be grateful, which requires using nouns and verbs in oral responses. In the Turkey Research activity students read facts, dictate five facts to an adult on separate feathers, and read the turkey facts aloud, producing and practicing noun and verb usage in speech and emergent writing.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to name one thing they know about turkeys and one thing for which they are grateful, prompting production of nouns. Students answer recall questions about the Pilgrims (e.g., name of the ship, place they landed, what the first winter was like), which requires using nouns and verbs in speech. Students predict whether their Mayflower will "sink" or "float" and pantomime actions from the story (build, shiver, eat), providing opportunities to use common verbs physically and orally.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students are asked to review letter cards and sight words and to offer something they learned about the first Thanksgiving, prompting spoken production of common words. Students talk about their family's favorite Thanksgiving foods after reading and then write or draw items for which they are thankful on die-cut food shapes, producing frequently occurring nouns in writing. Students read about Pocahontas and discuss how her help differed from other Native Americans, requiring students to use action words (verbs) in oral discussion.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are prompted to review letter cards and sight words, which requires them to speak or read commonly used words. Students are asked to explain what it means to be grateful and to answer questions about Abraham Lincoln, prompting spoken use of nouns and verbs. Students are instructed to write or dictate a Thanksgiving note describing why they are thankful and to write their name, which requires composing sentences that use common nouns and verbs.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to draw things for which they are grateful and then "write words or sentences, or dictate them, about her pictures," which requires producing word-level labels and sentence-level language. Students are asked during Reading Workshop to "point out some of her observations about the illustrations," prompting spoken responses about pictured people, objects, or actions. These activities require students to produce nouns (names of things) and potentially verbs when describing pictures or writing sentences.
Unit 29: Christmas
Lesson 1
Day 1
Students are asked to name and identify shapes (rectangles, triangle, star, square) and to put them in order and glue them, which requires use of shape nouns. The lesson prompts students to talk about features of each shape and to answer questions about the book The Christmas Wish, encouraging them to describe what they notice and predict the story. Activity 2 asks students to read a Conifers page and tell three things they learned (e.g., cones, needles, evergreen), prompting use of content nouns in spoken responses.
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are asked to retell their favorite part of The Christmas Wish and to talk about life in Norway, which requires them to use common nouns and verbs in spoken language. Students respond to questions about snow, water, and melting (e.g., "What happens to snow when the Sun comes out?") and predict outcomes, using verbs like melt, freeze, and dissolve and nouns like snow, water, and sun. Students read animal names aloud from a video and follow a recipe with action verbs (stir, add, cook, knead), providing opportunities to say and act out common verbs and nouns.
Lesson 3
Day 3
Students chant the finger play "Five Little Bells," which repeatedly uses the noun "bells" and the verb "ring," and they physically count and add bells while narrating those actions. Students are asked to page through the book and name animals they encounter (cardinal, horse, musk ox, polar bear, reindeer), which requires them to produce frequently occurring nouns. Students are prompted to answer questions about the reindeer (e.g., "What does it look like? Can a reindeer really fly?"), and to sing along with the "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" song, providing opportunities to use common verbs and nouns in speech.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students are prompted to talk about Santa Claus and answer questions such as "What kind of a person is Santa? What does he do?" which requires them to use nouns (Santa, elf, Anja) and verbs (do, show, dream). In the geography activity students name places (country, continent, North Pole, oceans, island, mountains) and describe Santa's actions (flies, lands, crosses), practicing nouns and verbs in context. In the craft activity students follow and say action words (trace, cut, glue, add) as they create Santa's face, using common verbs in imperative form.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are prompted to think of simple tasks they could do (e.g., bring a card, call a grandparent, do a chore), which requires naming actions (verbs) and people/things (nouns). Students are asked to write or dictate a description of how they celebrate Christmas and to compose a letter to Santa, activities that require using nouns and verbs in context. Students practice speaking character dialogue when prompted to say quoted words in a character's voice, which involves producing nouns and verbs in speech.
Unit 30: February Celebrations
Lesson 2
Day 2
Students are prompted to name and describe people and objects (e.g., identify Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, penny, nickel, dime, quarter) and to answer questions about them. Students are asked to describe actions and roles (e.g., explain what a president does, recall that Lincoln 'freed slaves', or that presidents 'serve for four years' and can 'run' again). Students sort coins and then review the name and value of each coin, speaking the nouns and number words aloud and answering comparative questions that require verbs (e.g., "how many pennies equal a dime?" and "Would you like to be the President? Why or why not?").
Lesson 3
Day 3
In Activity 1 students are asked to learn and say the phrase "I love you" in other languages, which requires them to speak a common verb form ("love") with pronouns. In Activity 2 students are asked to write a message on the mouse's body, prompting them to produce written words. The craft instructions contain many action verbs (fold, draw, cut, glue, add) that students perform and read as imperatives.
Lesson 4
Day 4
Students write or trace a title page ("[Child's name] Has a Dream!") and dictate or write 3–5 dream sentences such as "I have a dream that all children would have plenty of food to eat" and "I have a dream that every grown-up would have a good job." Students speak about similarities between Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. and answer questions about education and fairness, producing spoken phrases that include common nouns and verbs.
Lesson 5
Day 5
Students are asked to write the message "I love you" on the front of each valentine, which has the frequently occurring verb "love." Students are instructed to write TO: _______________ and LOVE, _______________ and to write the recipient's name and their own name, which requires producing and writing common nouns (names). Students are also asked to dictate their thoughts for a letter to the President while an adult records them, prompting students to produce phrases that will include nouns and verbs.
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students label rooms on the "Exploring My Home" pages by filling in missing letters or copying room names (bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen). Students practice writing and tracing nouns such as "bed" and "bath" on the Bb handwriting page. Students answer questions about what people and animals need (e.g., "What does your child drink?"), complete sentence prompts on "The Most Important Room" page ("We use this room for ____, ____, and ____."), and sing the Environment Song that includes the verb phrase "helps us live."
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students label and spell common household and map-related nouns (refrigerator, bathtub, bed, television, stove, couch, toilet, dresser) on the Map of a House pages and scrambled-word activities. Students answer oral questions naming their country, state, town, and address and locate the United States and state on maps. Students trace and write high-frequency noun words (map, mom, home, house) on handwriting pages and select or paste pictures with labels from the Objects Found in the Bedroom sheet.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
Students are asked to identify and name plants, animals, and insects as they point out pictures in Activity 1 and during the Sorting Plants, Animals, and Insects activity, which requires naming items to sort them. In Option 2 of sorting, students are asked to draw and label three plants, animals, and insects, prompting use of common noun labels. Activity 5 asks students questions such as "What would you do in the habitat?" and "What do you see in the habitat?", prompting spoken responses that use common verbs and nouns. The Habitat Song includes high-frequency verbs (live, need, grow) that students sing aloud.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students are asked to name and write the names of living things in Option 2 and to label or have labels applied to drawings in Option 1, giving repeated practice with content nouns (animals, plants, parts). Activity 2 asks students to name things animals need (water, food, shelter) and to identify consumers and energy sources, which prompts use of common nouns. Activity 5 prompts students to complete sentence starters "Plants can..., Plants are..., Plants have...," which requires students to produce verbs and noun phrases in context.
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
Students are asked to read, identify, and write the six habitat names (ocean, polar, desert, forest, savanna, rainforest) by filling blanks or labeling pictures, and a vocabulary list of those nouns is provided. Students label animals and habitats (cut-and-paste or draw-and-label) and match animal names (monkey, sloth, polar bear, etc.) to habitats, which requires using those frequent nouns. Activity 3 asks students to answer questions about what animals eat and drink, prompting use of the verb eat/drink in responses. The handwriting activity asks students to use words (Jungle, Jeep) in their own sentences, giving practice composing simple sentences that may include nouns and verbs.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
The Skills section explicitly instructs students to "Use words that name, describe, and tell action (LA)." In Activity 1 students draw and label plants, animals, insects, water, and rocks and answer questions about what animals are doing and how they move (requiring nouns and verbs). In Activity 2 students complete fill-in-the-blank sentences such as "I am a ______. I live in the ______." and "One day I ______," and dictate a story that describes actions of an animal.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
Students are asked to find, name, and record 8–10 tools from their environment, which requires producing and writing common nouns (tool names). Students answer guided questions such as "What is the tool used for?" and "How does the tool work?", prompting them to use action words to describe tool uses. Students practice reading and copying the names of tools and practice handwriting the words it and inch, providing opportunities to produce words in print.
Lesson 8
Animal Care
The lesson asks children to name animals (cats, dogs, salamanders) and to answer questions such as "What kind of animal did the boy find?" and "What do pets need?" which prompt use of common nouns. Activity instructions have children practice actions for pet care (feeding, brushing, playing, walking, giving a bath), providing verbs for students to say and act out. The Life Application and shoebox activity ask children to describe what an animal would eat or need, encouraging spoken responses using everyday nouns and verbs.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students are asked to name animals and habitats in pictures and to write the names of habitats (Option 2), providing practice using common nouns. Captions such as "A fish swims in the ocean" and movement words (swims, flies, waddles, jumps, slithers) are read and acted out, giving explicit practice with frequently occurring verbs. Activities prompt students to produce sentences aloud (e.g., "A zebra can't live in the ocean. A zebra lives in the savanna") and to tell a story describing actions, which requires using nouns and verbs in speech and early writing.
Lesson 10
Amazing Animals
Students are asked to listen to or read the informational text about animal changes and to respond to critical questions, which requires them to name animals (nouns) and describe actions (verbs) such as "grow," "shed," and "hide." In Activity 2 students role-play animals and explain what they would do in given situations, prompting spoken use of action words and animal names. Activity 1 asks students to select an animal to learn more about and to locate books/websites, which encourages students to use and say nouns and verbs while discussing the animal.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
Students are asked to identify and name pictured items (a snake, a flower, a big animal/elephant) when circling how each makes them feel, which requires use of common nouns. In Activity 1 students answer prompts about actions they would take (e.g., put on more clothes, shiver, wear glasses), which elicits frequently occurring verbs and verb phrases. In Activity 3 students are prompted to record and read aloud personal examples of how they changed, requiring them to produce words that describe people, things, and actions.
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
Students are asked to write the name of an animal (Option 2, Page 1) and to label pictures, which requires producing common nouns. Several pages prompt students to record "What I Eat and Drink," "My Home Environment," and "Things I Do in My Environment," asking them to name foods, places, and activities. The activity pages include fill-in prompts (e.g., "The ______ is found in ______") that require students to supply nouns and short phrases.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
Students are asked to label pictures with weather vocabulary and draw lines from words to pictures (Activity 2), and to write or dictate a sentence using each vocabulary word. Students describe the weather verbally when asked to look outside, respond to questions about how weather makes them feel, and tell or dictate stories about favorite weather activities (Activity 1 and Activity 3). Students record daily weather conditions and draw pictures on a Weather Calendar, practicing use of weather-related words in speech and writing.
Lesson 2
Types of Precipitation
Students practice specific common nouns for precipitation by reading, labeling, and writing words such as rain, snow, and hail (Activity 2 options and the handwriting page). Students read and label pictures with the correct precipitation word or mark R/S/H, and they are asked to write sentences or copy sentences that contain the word rain (Activity 2, Activity 6). Students are prompted to describe sky conditions and explain what is happening (e.g., count raindrops, describe rain formation), which requires them to use verbs in spoken responses.
Lesson 3
Measuring and Charting Weather
Students are asked to write an acrostic for RAIN and think of words or phrases related to rain, which prompts them to produce vocabulary (e.g., "rain jacket," "air," "snow"). Students describe what the weather can be like in different habitats and answer questions about how weather affects living things, which requires using nouns (plants, animals, thermometer) and verbs (measure, grow, live). Students record temperatures on the Measuring Temperature sheet and label thermometers, which involves naming objects and actions related to weather measurement.
Lesson 4
Simulating Weather
Students are asked to name three things that the wind can move, which requires them to produce common nouns (e.g., leaves, pinwheel). Students are asked to explain what happens when they squeeze and release the bottle, prompting them to use action words (verbs) to describe the experiment. Students sing the Weather Song and are asked to find and point to words like "clouds" and "rain," engaging them in oral use and recognition of weather-related nouns and verbs.
Lesson 5
Fall
Students are prompted to circle three items in the fall picture and write the names of those items, then circle the beginning letter and use each word in a sentence (Activity 1, Option 1 and 2). Questions such as "What are the people wearing?" and "What are the people doing?" require students to identify people/objects (nouns) and actions (verbs). Activity 4 has handwriting practice with words including "fall" and "fun," and graphing/leaf activities ask students to describe what happens to leaves (e.g., change color, fall off), encouraging use of action words.
Lesson 6
Winter
Students are asked to use vocabulary in speech and writing and encouraged to use the vocabulary words cold, snow, and freeze when they dictate a winter story. The activity prompt "In the winter I _______" requires students to write a verb or phrase about winter actions. Handwriting practice has students write the words wind and winter, reinforcing use of content words in writing. The Skills section explicitly lists "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing (LA)."
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked to describe the weather in spring and to answer guided questions (e.g., "What is the weather like in the spring?", "What was the poem about?"), which requires spoken use of nouns and verbs. The poetry activities ask students to read poems, write or dictate their own spring poem, and respond about poem content, providing opportunities to produce nouns (e.g., rain, chick, flower) and verbs (e.g., go, sprouting, picked). The Blowing in the Wind activity asks students to answer questions such as "Does it move/fall off?" and "Why did it move/fall off?", prompting use of action words and object names.
Lesson 8
Summer
Students complete a fill-in-the-blank story (Activity 2) using picture-word prompts such as "beach," "pool," "trip," and the verb "swim." In Activity 3 students write season names (nouns) beneath temperatures and complete sentences like "_____ is the warmest season," using common season words. The Skills section and introductory questions prompt students to use new vocabulary in speech and writing and to describe environments and actions (e.g., "What is happening in the picture?").
Final Project
Weather Games
Students label pictures with season names and write the name of the season above each picture (Activity 1), and they cut and match written season and weather words to pictures in the Weather Memory game (Activity 2). Students answer guided observational questions about the weather and produce a three-day oral/written weather forecast using sentences like "There is no rain" and "Be sure to wear your long pants" (Activity 3 and 4). The skills list explicitly includes "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing," which students practice across these activities.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
Students read and complete fill-in-the-blank sentences using community words (e.g., "We ate dinner at the ________.", "I played with my friend at the ________."), which exposes them to frequently occurring nouns for places and verbs such as ate, played, rode, and bought. Students draw a new page for the book and write or dictate a sentence about Charlie visiting a place, producing nouns and action words in their own sentences. Students trace and write the words "People" and "Park" during handwriting practice, reinforcing use of common nouns; the skills list explicitly states "Use words that name and words that tell action (LA)."
Lesson 2
My Community Environment
Students name and label important places (court, police, fire station, library, museum, grocery store) on maps and posters, providing repeated practice with frequently occurring nouns. Students write or dictate brief descriptions of how each place serves the community and answer prompts such as "What are the people doing that work here?", which requires them to use common verbs (e.g., help, protect, sell, read). Students prepare and ask interview questions and report on what people do at community locations, providing spoken and written opportunities to use nouns and verbs in context.
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Students read and say the names of community helpers (nouns) in Activity 1 and Activity 2, and they match those nouns to workplaces. In Activity 3 and the observation task students describe what workers do, using action words (verbs) such as drive, deliver, help, and put out fires. In Activity 5 and the "When I Grow Up" writing prompts students produce and attempt to write simple sentences that combine the helper nouns with verbs (e.g., how each worker helps the community).
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
Students are asked to read the names of buildings, goods, and services, circle beginning letters, cut out cards, and match buildings to the goods or services they provide, which requires naming and reading nouns. Students read price tags, count dollar bills, and verbally select and 'buy' items in a pretend store, engaging in talk about buying and earning. Students participate in a bartering simulation and discuss trades, which involves using action words such as trade, give, and make during the activity.
Lesson 5
Resources
Students identify and name specific items (grapes, honey, firewood, clothes, crayons, teddy bear, bananas, trees, toy cars, shoes, dolls) when sorting pictures into Natural or Manmade categories. Students label items with "N" or "M," count objects, and in Activity 3 are prompted to explain how each resource is used, where it is found, and/or write a sentence about the resources.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
Students are asked to explain actions in the citizenship scenarios (e.g., why Frank did or did not act), which requires them to use verbs to describe behaviors and nouns for people and places. Students sort and paste pictures into 'Good Home Environment' and 'Not a Good Home Environment,' verbally labeling and discussing each picture. Students draw and label family members and dictate observations while an adult records them, producing noun and verb phrases (names, actions like sharing, helping, feeding).
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students read and evaluate short sentences in Activity 1 (e.g., "John threw his new toy on the ground," "Sam picked up his toys...") which contain common nouns and verbs. In Activity 5 (The Boy Who Cried Wolf) students illustrate beginning/middle/end and "write, dictate, or copy a sentence" to accompany each drawing, practicing sentence production. Activity 7 has handwriting practice of the words "kid" and "kind," and Activity 6 asks students to record characters' actions and the resulting consequences, which requires expressing verbs and related nouns.
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
Students read and sort simple sentences such as "Share your toys," "Stop at a red light," and "Wear your seatbelt" on the Rule or Law activity page. Students are asked to read each sentence aloud and to "follow print word by word," which requires decoding and using the words in the sentences. Students write lists of 3–6 household rules and number/order them, producing short sentences that include common action words (verbs) and objects/people (nouns). Students discuss examples of rules and laws verbally when answering comprehension questions about the story and household rules.
Lesson 9
Caring for Our Communities
Students answer story comprehension questions that require naming people, places, and actions (e.g., "Where does Katy live?" "What does Katy do to be a good citizen?"). Students role-play community helpers and respond with sentences that use common nouns and verbs (example: when prompted "librarian," the child says, "I am looking for a book about dogs. I need your help."). Students write and trace words such as "care" and "citizen" and create a helping song that uses verbs like "help."
Final Project
I Can Make A Difference
Students are asked to "Use words that name and words that tell action" in the Skills section. Students complete sentence starters such as "I am planning to __," "The first thing I will do is __," and reflection prompts like "I helped __ with __," which require them to produce nouns and verbs. Students write out steps for a plan and carry out/check off actions, practicing action words (verbs) and names (nouns) in context.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
Students name and identify objects (nouns) during activities such as Guess What's in the Bag and the Describing Words pages (e.g., paper, wood, washcloth, milk, tree, lollipop). Students describe what objects look like and sometimes what they do using short phrases that contain verbs in the sample clues (e.g., "something you write on," "something that cuts," "something you use in the bathtub"). Students write or copy a sentence describing an object in Activity 4, which can require use of nouns and verbs together.
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
Students are asked to write the names of living and nonliving objects (Option 2) and to list animals in the Living and Nonliving columns, which requires using common nouns. Students cut, sort, and write animal names in the Body Coverings and Animal Parts activities, practicing noun identification and labeling. Students discuss how animals move with vocabulary shown in the facts (e.g., walk, fly, swim), and the handwriting page invites using words in a sentence.
Lesson 3
Size, Shape, and Color
Students are asked to name and describe objects by size, shape, and color (e.g., bring 5-8 toys, describe their size, organize them, and describe similarities/differences). Students identify and write or draw real-world examples for named shapes (circle, rectangle, square, oval, triangle) on the activity page. Students name and discuss colors and color-mixing (identify primary colors, say what makes purple/green/orange, and experiment mixing colors).
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
The lesson explicitly defines a noun as a person, place, or thing and asks students to identify words for pictured objects (pillow, soap, brick) on the "Describing Texture" pages, which requires naming nouns. In Activity 1 and the Life Application, students select real objects and describe them, which requires verbally labeling objects. Activity 3 has students write a sentence of the form "______ feels ________," giving students practice using the verb "feels." Example sentences in the wrap-up ("We jumped in the lake," "We jumped in the icy, cold lake and got wet.") include frequently occurring verbs such as "jumped" and "got."
Lesson 5
How Old?
Students are asked to name family members and record names or initial letters, which requires producing frequently occurring nouns (e.g., mommy, family member). Students read, hear, and write questions such as "Where is your mommy?", "How many dogs do you have?", and "Can you ride a bicycle?", which contain and require use of common verbs (is, have, can ride, did). Students label animals, write life spans, and copy/write sentences (Activities 2–4 and Handwriting), giving multiple opportunities to produce nouns and to use verbs in simple sentences.
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
Students fill in sentence frames such as "The __________ is longer than the __________," "The longest item is the __________," and "The __________ is shorter than the __________," requiring them to supply nouns (toothbrush, pencil, hairbrush). Students label tables and write item names in activity pages (Estimate/Actual, Which Weighs More?, Measuring Similar Objects) and circle or select pictured objects that weigh more. Students practice handwriting words related to the topic (e.g., "length," "long") and use measurement verbs in directions (measure, pour, guess) while performing tasks.
Lesson 7
More Attributes
The Skills section explicitly directs students to develop and use vocabulary for properties (color, size, shape, texture). Activities ask students to name and sort by specific attribute nouns (e.g., "yellow," "triangle," "square," "big," "thick," "rectangle," "Soft Parts," "Hard Parts") and to place objects in Venn diagram categories. Prompts ask students to explain, describe, and name attributes of toys and blocks, and the Student Activity Page has handwriting practice for the word "Venn."
Lesson 8
Amazing Attributes
The Student Activity Page lists common object names (pencil, cup, pillow, spoon, paper clip, nickel, scissors, thumbtack, nail) that students are asked to identify, predict about, and record. Activity directions require students to predict, test, place, drop, dry, compare, examine, and discuss objects, which involves producing action words while performing tasks. The Skills section includes "Use words that describe in speech and writing (LA)," indicating an expectation that students will use descriptive language during the activities.
Lesson 9
Solids and Liquids
Students are asked to write down definitions for "Solid" and "Liquid," using words such as "keeps its size and shape" and "can be poured and takes the shape of the container," which requires use of verbs (keeps, can be poured, takes) and nouns (shape, container). Students brainstorm and name examples (pond, rain, syrup, ice cube, marbles, sugar) and cut/paste pictures into columns labeled Solid or Liquid, which requires producing and sorting frequently occurring nouns. Students discuss causes of change (heat, cold) and answer prompts about actions like pouring, melting, and freezing, using action words to describe processes.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
Students read and complete sentences such as "The frog jumps ___ the lily pad" and "The boat floats ___ the water," which contain frequent nouns (frog, boat, water) and verbs (jumps, floats, is). Students answer questions that require naming common objects (e.g., "Can you name three solids that can be found in the garden?") and describe liquids and solids using everyday nouns and verbs. Students label and write in their Earth Materials book (Dirt, Rocks, Water) and list properties, producing common nouns and simple verb phrases (e.g., "plants grow").
Lesson 11
Using Earth Materials
Students keep a water log where they record or dictate every time water is used, which requires naming actions and items (e.g., 'drink,' 'wash,' 'water'). Students go on a scavenger hunt to find rocks and items that require rocks and either keep a list or take photos, prompting them to name objects (nouns). Students discuss soil properties, plant needs, and that plants provide oxygen, which requires speaking with nouns and verbs about everyday concepts like plants, soil, and breathe.
Final Project
Presenting Attributes
The skills list explicitly asks students to "Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing" and to "Use words that describe in speech and writing," and the activities require students to label pictures (e.g., rock, cotton balls) and write words or short sentences on a poster. Students plan what they will "say about each attribute," practice presenting a demonstration, and may use action terms such as "sink" or "floats" when explaining magnetism or buoyancy. The project requires students to select at least five attributes and explain them using words and sentences during the poster creation and oral presentations.
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students copy and read a Senses Word List (tongue, ear, nose, finger, eye and taste, hear, smell, touch, see) and are asked to find those words in the text and copy each word three times. In Activity 3 (Option 2) students dictate four sentences describing a sensing experience and discuss that a sentence is about a person/place/thing and an action (the teacher may use the terms noun and verb). In Activity 4 students write or copy a sentence about a sense and sense organ (example: "I smell with my nose").
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Students name the five senses and point to the body parts (hand, mouth, nose, eyes, ear) when asked, requiring use of common nouns. In Option 1 and 2 students listen to or invent a story about Jackie and either pick up or glue the sense organ when Jackie uses a sense, requiring them to produce/identify verbs like saw, heard, touched, tasted. Activity 4 has students write sentences using the words "sense" and "see," giving explicit practice producing a frequently occurring noun and verb in sentence form.
Lesson 3
Smelling and Tasting
Students speak and decide whether they 'like' or 'want to taste' foods during Activity 1, using verbs such as like, taste, want, and nouns for the foods. In Activity 2 students name foods in each taste category and record those food names (nouns) on a survey chart and report whether people 'did like' or 'did not like' each item (use of common verb like). Activity 4 asks students to write a sentence: "________ people liked ________." which requires use of a frequently occurring noun (people/food) and a verb (liked).
Lesson 4
Hearing and Seeing
Students are asked to describe experiences and ideas orally (Skills) and to attempt to read written text, including reading back recorded descriptions of noisy places. Activity 2 and Activity 6 have students cut out and place labels for parts of the eye and ear, which requires them to use and say specific nouns (retina, pupil, cochlea, auditory nerve). Activity 8 has students practice writing the words eyes and ears and forming sentences that include those nouns.
Lesson 5
Touch
Students name and label pictured items (coffee pot, pillow, ice, fish, bowl of noodles, oven, rock, bubbles) in the Touch It and Touch Chart activities and draw and label two of their own objects. Students practice writing the words "touch" and "taste" and are asked to write each word in a sentence in the Handwriting activity. Students describe how objects feel and check adjectives that apply, which requires referring to and using the nouns for those objects.
Lesson 6
Experimenting With Our Senses
Students attempt to read and copy the name of each spice onto index cards in Activity 2, practicing use of nouns (spice names). Students list foods that match their favorite flavor and tell or dictate a story about eating that flavor in Activity 3, using common food nouns and action verbs. Students write or dictate and copy a sentence about something they smelled or tasted in Activity 4, producing sentences that contain nouns and verbs.
Lesson 7
Using All of Our Senses
Students are asked to write or copy a sentence about something they observed on the nature walk (Activity 4), which requires producing words in a sentence. Students record what they hear, see, smell, and feel in the Nature Walk chart (Activity 2), naming objects and actions. Students look through books to identify ways characters use their senses (Activity 3), prompting them to name sensory items and actions from texts.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students identify pictured items (apple, teakettle, beaver, lemon, popcorn) in the Sensing Logic and drawing activities, which requires recognition of nouns. In the A Sensible Report activity students complete sentences that include verbs such as 'felt,' 'sounded,' 'smells,' and 'tastes' and then write or copy a sentence about popcorn in the Handwriting activity. Activity prompts ask students to write a sensing word, phrase, or sentence for each sense, which may lead them to produce noun and verb usage in context.
Final Project
A Sensible Party
Students are asked to record ideas and supplies on the Party Planner charts, which requires them to name senses and concrete items (e.g., touch, see, taste; cookies, punch, paints, flowers). Students make a guest list, count guests, and prepare invitations that include place, date, and time and may 'invite' guests by telephone or email, which involves using common action words. Students plan and describe games and party tasks, which will lead them to write or say verbs associated with those actions (e.g., serve, count, welcome).
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
Students answer fill-in-the-blank personal questions that require nouns (e.g., name, house, favorite color, pets, shoe size) and respond to prompts that require verbs (e.g., "What makes you happy?", "What do you want to be when you grow up?"). Activity 1 asks students to complete a paragraph using their answers, encouraging them to write sentences aloud and phonetically (e.g., "I am six years old"). Option 2 of Activity 2 explicitly asks students to write sentences with numbers (example: "I am six years old"), which practices using the verb "am" in context.
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Students are prompted to describe and name body parts and attributes (eyes, hair, nose, hands, legs) when they identify and draw/cut and paste physical characteristics in Activities 1 and 2. The questions used throughout (e.g., "Do they have the same number of hands and fingers?", "Is their hair the same or different?") require students to produce verbs and nouns in answers. Activity 4 has students write a sentence using the prompt "I have _________," directly eliciting a frequently occurring verb (have) plus a noun for a body part. Activity 3 asks students to dictate and retell a beginning, middle, and end, which requires using common verbs and nouns in narrative speech.
Lesson 4
Interests and Hobbies
Students are asked to dictate and write sentences describing a hobby (Activity 1), which requires them to produce nouns naming hobbies and verbs describing actions. In Activity 3 students read survey questions aloud and answer prompts such as "What is your hobby?" and "How often do you do your hobby?", prompting use of common nouns and action words. The My Interest prompts also require students to state what interests them and describe what they can do to learn more, eliciting noun and verb usage in written responses.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students fill in the "What Is Your Shape?" worksheet with words for name, shape, color, physical characteristic, personality trait, hobby, and interest, providing opportunities to produce common nouns (e.g., triangle, soccer, space). Students dictate and record short descriptions of their personality and interests and are encouraged to attempt to read their descriptions aloud, practicing simple sentence use. Activity 4 has students write or copy a sentence describing an interest or personality trait, which requires them to produce verbs (e.g., play) and nouns in context.
Lesson 6
Different Families
Students are asked to name members of their family and identify basic needs such as water, food, shelter, and health, which requires use of common nouns. Students are prompted to answer questions like "What does each family member do for the family?" and "What are your responsibilities in your family?", which leads them to use common verbs describing actions. Student activity pages prompt sentence completion (e.g., "My family is similar to a family from _______ because we both _______." and "My family is different from a family from _______ because we _______."), and students are asked to dictate ideas and attempt to write words and sentences.
Lesson 7
Different Homes
Students are asked to identify and describe different homes from the book (pages 26-35) and to name the materials used to build those homes. Students record country names above puzzle homes and add details around the homes, which requires naming objects, places, and attributes. Students are prompted to write a sentence about their home in the Handwriting activity, providing at least one explicit writing task that will use nouns and verbs.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Students name and match holidays and their symbols in Activities 1 and 2, which requires use of holiday words (nouns). Students draw and write three sentences about a favorite holiday in Activity 3 and create sentences on each page of the Book of Holidays in Activity 5, using sentence frames such as "On ___ we celebrate by ___" that prompt use of verbs. The skills list explicitly includes "Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing" and "Represent spoken language with temporary spelling," supporting opportunities to produce nouns and verbs in speech and writing.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students label and spell common transportation words (car, plane, train, bicycle, boat, horse, taxi) in both the simpler and advanced versions of the "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" activity. Students choose or write the best mode of transportation for scenarios in "Getting from Point A to Point B," requiring them to produce nouns for each situation. Students draw, tell, and attempt to read aloud a story about a trip in "My Favorite Mode of Transportation," and they copy or write a sentence using the template "I have ______ in/on a ________" in the Handwriting activity. The skills list also specifies using vocabulary to describe ideas, feelings, and experiences, supporting repeated use of target words.
Lesson 10
Wants and Needs
Students label pictured items (car, computer, home, water, bike, basketball, meal, pool, vaccines, love, education) and write or mark them as wants or needs, which requires recognizing and using those common nouns. Students make lists of their wants and needs, complete surveys recording others' wants and needs, and place items on webs—activities that require producing and writing frequent noun vocabulary. Students practice handwriting of the word "need" (and the letter Nn) and may use the word in a sentence during the handwriting activity.
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
Students complete a prompted paragraph ("One group I belong to is ___.", "The group does ___.") where they must produce nouns and verbs. Students brainstorm community groups and name them, which requires using nouns, and discuss what members do, which requires using verbs. Students practice handwriting words including "get" (a high-frequency verb) and "group" and are encouraged to read or dictate simple text that contains nouns and verbs.
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
The activity pages include multiple sentence stems that require students to produce common nouns and verbs, e.g., "I live in ___," "I like to eat ___," "My hobby is ___," "I wear ___," "I get to the store by ___," and "I celebrate ___." Students are prompted to complete these stems and illustrate their answers, providing repeated opportunities to use everyday nouns (food, homes, clothing, transportation, holidays) and verbs (live, like, eat, wear, get, celebrate). The similarity prompt "One way that we are the same is that we both like to ___" further requires students to use a frequent verb (like) plus a noun.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 1
What Is a Pattern?
Students are asked to name objects in patterns (e.g., "butterfly, ant, butterfly, ant...") and identify bug names from the activity pages. Students name colors and parts of caterpillars when completing and coloring patterns. Students are prompted to produce sentence frames such as "First, there is _____ . Next, there is _____ ." and to write three sentences beginning with that frame.
Lesson 3
What Comes Next?
Students are asked to name and label objects in patterns (pineapples, strawberries, sports balls, numbers) and to label items they add with A, B, or C. The Skills list directs students to name ordinal positions and to use words such as "before" or "after" to describe relative position. The Handwriting activity has students write or copy the question "What do you see after the ________?", which requires them to produce a sentence frame that includes a noun placement.
Lesson 5
Making Color Patterns
The Skills section instructs students to "Use words that describe color, size, and location," which requires use of descriptive vocabulary related to the activities. Activity 1 asks students to describe the patterns they create and to write the color word (or first letter) sequence (e.g., Y, R, Y, R). Activity 3 directs students to write or copy a sentence describing something they created, and the wrapping up asks students to demonstrate a variety of color patterns using objects.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
Students repeatedly name geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle) when recreating and describing patterns and label shapes with A, B, or C. The lesson prompts students to describe sequences aloud using full phrases such as, "The first shape is a small circle. The second shape is a small square..." and to decide whether a set is a pattern. Students write or copy a sentence about a pattern on handwriting paper and practice writing the words shape, color, and size.
Lesson 7
Making Number Patterns
Students are asked to use real objects and quantities (Activity 3) and the text explicitly names objects such as "markers" and "paperclips," which students can label. Activities instruct students to "identify the number pattern," "label the different quantities with her number cards," and to "demonstrate or explain ways numbers can be used to make patterns," requiring verbal or written reference to objects and numbers. Students are directed to create patterns with given sets of numbers and to write numbers on pattern sheets (Activities 1 and 2).
Lesson 8
Creating and Writing About Patterns
Students are given a word list of common object words (eye, nose, mouth, apple, orange, banana, worm, bug, hat) and are asked to write the first letter or the whole object word to create patterns. Multiple activities prompt students to fill blanks with object names (e.g., "This pattern is made up of _____, _____, and _____" and "First comes _____ / Then comes _____"). Students are asked to write two or three sentences describing a pattern, and to illustrate and label pattern elements, which requires using those common nouns.
Final Project
Patterns Poster or Patterns Presentation
Students are prompted to write and speak words on the provided "Script For Presentation" pages (e.g., lines such as "The third pattern I will show is a _______") and to record the words they will use in their introduction and descriptions. Students must name pattern types (color, shape, object, number) and list materials, which requires using common nouns (colors, shapes, objects) and verbs when they practice and deliver their presentation. The wrap-up questions ask students to describe what they did and reflect verbally or in writing, prompting use of everyday nouns and action words.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Students label pictures and write words in Option 2 (e.g., hat, bat, cat; rat, pin, log), and in Option 1 they circle repeating word parts and add another word to the pattern. In Activity 4 students copy or dictate the names of animals from the text and sort the animal names into habitat groups, which requires producing and using nouns. In Activity 5 students write or copy a sentence on handwriting paper using two rhyming words, engaging them in writing words as part of simple sentences.
Lesson 3
Poetry Patterns
Students are asked to brainstorm other animal names and think of words that rhyme with each name (Activity 2), which requires them to produce and use common nouns. Students circle and write rhyming words from poems and songs (Activity 1 and Activity 3), giving them practice producing words in context. Students fill in blanks and write lines such as "We'll find a ____ put it ________ and then we'll let it go" (Activity 4), which asks them to supply words to complete sentences.
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students are given explicit word lists of common nouns (girl, boy, mom, dad, dog, cat, plant) and verbs (runs, walks, cooks, works, grows, rests, eats, drinks) and prompted to fill sentence starters with those words (Making Sentences, Options 1 and 2). Students practice selecting and writing nouns and verbs to complete blanks (Completing a Sentence Pattern Parts A–C), and they physically act out and verbally produce sentences using a chosen noun and verb (Activity 2 and Activity 5). Students also identify and mark nouns and verbs in copied or book sentences by underlining verbs and circling nouns (Activities 2, 4, and 6).
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
Students are asked to describe events (answering "What happened at the beginning/middle/end?") which requires them to produce verbs and nouns. In Activity 2 and Option 2, students illustrate and write or dictate a sentence for each part of the story (beginning, middle, end). In Activity 3 and Activity 4, students dictate a short story and then copy or write a sentence from their story, producing connected language that will include common nouns and verbs.
Lesson 6
Sound Patterns
Students listen for and name the two sounds repeated in patterns (e.g., stomp, clap) and are asked to clap or imitate rhythms, which requires using action words. The student activity page displays the words "Slap, Clap, Tap" and asks students to record and copy those rhythm words. Activities prompt students to follow and produce sequences described with verbs (e.g., "Tap your toes (2X) Slap your leg (1X) Clap (2X)") and to write a sentence beginning "I heard a pattern that went..."
Lesson 7
Making Sound and Action Patterns
Students cut out, arrange, and perform sound words such as "smack," "stomp," "slap," "clap," and "tap," practicing those action words orally and kinesthetically. Students create and repeat action patterns (for example, "pat your head 2X, tap your shoulders 2X" and ABC action sequences) by observing, imitating, and producing verbs as they perform actions. Students are asked to write or copy a sentence describing a pattern they made, which requires them to use words (potentially verbs and nouns) in written form.
Final Project
Patterns Video
Students are asked to write or dictate scripts that include prompts such as "This is a ___ pattern," "It is made of ___, ___, and ___," and sequence frames like "First comes ___, Then ___," which require students to produce words that name elements and actions. The lesson directs students to read words from a book or poem and explain the pattern, and to describe sound and action patterns verbally when practicing for the video. Students practice speaking and recording short explanatory sentences about real or invented patterns.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 1
Patterns in Nature
Students match pattern samples to pictures of animals and objects that are labeled with nouns such as "zebra," "pine cone," "watermelon," and "leopard," so they identify and use these common nouns when completing the cut-and-paste activity. In Option 2 and Activity 3 students create patterns on animals or draw favorite patterns and label them, which requires students to produce and write noun labels. Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence from the reading, which involves writing words that may include frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
Lesson 2
Patterns of Growth
Students are asked to write a sentence describing plant growth on the "A Plant's Pattern of Growth" activity page, which requires them to use words that name things and actions. The "Plant Parts" labeling activity provides a word box with common nouns (root, stem, leaf, petal) for students to use when identifying and recording parts. Activity 6 directs students to write the words plant, grow, and part five times each, giving explicit practice with at least one common verb and several common nouns.
Lesson 3
Night and Day
Students label pictures of the Sun, Moon, and Earth on the activity page, directly practicing noun use. Students draw and record or dictate a few sentences about activities they do "During the Day" and "At Night," practicing verbs and nouns in simple sentence contexts. Students spin a globe and describe when it is daytime or nighttime, using words like "spin/rotate," "day," and "night."
Lesson 4
Daily Routines
Students label and sequence pictures that use common action phrases (get dressed, get out of bed, eat breakfast, put on shoes, brush teeth) on the "My Morning Routine" page. In Activity 2 students dictate or write a sentence for each of four steps (example: Set the table; Put food on the table; Sit in my chair; Serve my plate and eat), giving repeated practice with everyday nouns and verbs. Activity 3 asks students to record activities in words or simple symbols across a daily schedule, and Activity 4 has students write or dictate and copy a sentence describing a routine.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students name and put the days of the week and months of the year in order through oral practice, a poster activity, and a song. Students practice writing the words day, month, and year and practice writing full dates with day, month, and year. Students record scheduled daily activities and calendar events on activity sheets (dictating or writing activities) and fill in day-by-day activity charts.
Lesson 7
Patterns at Home
Students are asked in Activity 5 (Handwriting) to write or dictate and then copy a sentence that describes a pattern found in her closet, which requires producing nouns and verbs in a sentence. In Activity 3 (A Quilt Pattern) students are asked to name each shape and the number of sides and angles, which has students produce and use nouns for shapes. Several activities (Pattern Scavenger Hunt, Patterns in a Closet, Drawing Patterns) prompt students to describe patterns they find, which will require them to use words that include nouns and verbs.
Lesson 8
Symmetrical Patterns
Students are asked to describe the butterfly's wing pattern and to tell whether the wings look the same or different, which requires them to use nouns (butterfly, wings, pattern) and verbs (look, are, fold). The handwriting activity asks students to write or copy a sentence: '________ has _________ lines of symmetry,' prompting use of a noun as subject and the verb 'has.' Activities ask students to name and sort shapes and letters (e.g., squares, triangles, J, I, M, A, O, F) and to count and compare groups, which requires using common nouns and verbs in speech and writing.
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
Students are asked to write or dictate and then copy a sentence about the clowns in the car and to identify the subject (noun) and verb in that sentence (Activity 4). Students are prompted to tell their own story about the clowns, changing numbers and describing actions as clowns get in or out of the car (Activity 3). Students listen to a story read aloud, answer questions, and act out the story, which requires them to use spoken nouns and verbs in context (Skills and Introduction).
Lesson 10
Tracing Patterns
Students are asked to tell a story about one or more objects they create (Activity 1), which requires them to produce words naming people/objects and actions. Students are asked to identify the holiday associated with each pattern, count shapes, and explain how they used an "original" pattern (Activity 2), which prompts use of common nouns (egg, heart, tree) and verbs (cut, trace, count). Students are asked to write or copy a sentence about their favorite holiday and to explain how to use a traced pattern or stencil (Activity 4 and Wrapping Up), providing opportunities to produce written and spoken noun and verb usage.
Lesson 11
Patterns in Graphs
Students are asked in Activity 4 to write a sentence describing whether an object was able to sink or float, which requires composing a sentence with a subject (noun) and predicate (verb). In Activity 1 students read the title and labels, discuss the data, and are asked to describe patterns and predict future actions (e.g., how many books John would read), prompting them to use nouns and verbs orally. In the chart activity students identify and color names, genders, and shirt colors, engaging with common nouns (names, girl/boy, shirt) in speaking and labeling tasks.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 1
What Causes Change?
The Skills list explicitly includes "Use naming words and action words (LA)." In Activity 1 students look at before-and-after picture pairs and are asked to decide what changed, which prompts them to name objects (nouns) and describe actions (verbs) such as "fell" or "melted." In Activity 3 students draw before/after pictures and complete sentences like "Once I saw __________ change" and "__________ changed because __________," requiring them to produce nouns and verbs in writing and read them aloud.
Lesson 2
What Changed?
Students are asked to give examples of things that change (size, color, weight, amount, location) and to record a sentence describing each example, which requires naming objects and actions. Activity 3 directs students to perform and respond to commands (change the amount, change the color, change the size, change location, change weight), prompting use of verbs and nouns in context. The student activity page presents pictured transformations (tree, caterpillar/butterfly, shopping cart, doghouse/dog) with prompts to identify which attributes changed, encouraging students to name the items and describe actions.
Lesson 3
Changing Position
Students are asked to give examples of pushes and pulls (QUESTION #2 and #3) and to explain how we get objects to start moving (QUESTION #1), which requires producing action words (verbs) and object names (nouns). In Activity 2 students cut apart illustrations of actions and sort them into push and pull groups, requiring them to identify and label actions. Activity 4 asks students to write or draw toys on pages titled Push, Pull, Push and Pull, and to demonstrate the motions, which involves using nouns (toy names) and verbs (push, pull, throw, roll). Activity 1 has students locate words like "gravity" and "inertia" in an index and copy sentences containing those words, giving practice writing nouns within sentences.
Lesson 4
Changes in the Environment
Students are asked to describe types of weather (hot, cold, rainy, windy, etc.), which requires them to use common words for weather conditions. Students are prompted to illustrate or write two sentences about a time when weather caused them to change an activity and to write or copy a sentence about their favorite season, which requires producing nouns and verbs in spoken and written sentences. Students label seasons, answer questions about changes (e.g., leaves falling, trees growing), and explain causes, which involves naming objects and actions related to the environment.
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
Students complete picture-based sentences such as "The cat is ___ the door" and select words from a word box, using nouns like cat, door, dog, chair, and boat. Students cut out and move a mouse to match spoken sentences like "The mouse is on top of the couch" and are asked to write simple sentences describing the mouse's location. Students write three or four sentences describing object relationships (e.g., "The bush is beside the tree") and follow spoken directions using verbs like "stand" and "sit."
Lesson 6
Changes in the Sky
Students are prompted to name and describe the Sun and the Moon (writing or dictating ideas on the activity pages), which requires use of common nouns like sun, moon, earth, and plants. Students act out and label motions such as revolving and rotating by standing in for the Sun or Earth and by explaining those actions, which practices verbs. Students are asked to describe how objects change positions (day/night, Earth revolves, Moon revolves), requiring verbal use of nouns and verbs during discussion and observation.
Lesson 7
Living Things Change
Students practice and say vocabulary for basic needs (Water, Food, Shelter, Space, Clothing) when prompted to use hand signals and associate words. Students answer and discuss questions using action words (e.g., "How do animals change?", "Did it change in size?") and are asked to circle words that describe changes (number, size, shape, place). Students write or copy a sentence describing how something changes in size, producing sentences that include nouns and verbs.
Lesson 8
Plants and Change
Students are asked to list and label plant parts (root, stem, leaf, flower) in Activities 2 and 3 and on the student activity pages, requiring them to produce and use those common nouns. In Questions and discussions (e.g., QUESTION #2 and Activity 4) students describe how plants "grow," "change," and "stay in one place," using common verbs in context. In Activity 1 and the song video, students repeatedly say the needs of plants (sunlight, water, dirt), practicing frequently occurring nouns aloud.
Lesson 9
Heat Causes Change
Students label the three bowls on the "Ice, Water, Steam" activity page using the word box that contains the words "ice," "steam," and "water," which requires them to use common nouns. Students are also asked to describe observations throughout the activities (e.g., explain how the ice is changing, what happened to the candle) and to write or copy a sentence about something they observed on handwriting paper, which requires producing nouns and verbs in context.
Lesson 11
People Change the Environment
Students are asked to brainstorm and dictate ideas about positive and negative changes, requiring them to produce nouns (e.g., recycling, trash, water) and verbs (e.g., reduce, reuse). The recycle activity asks students to sort pictured items into recycling or trash using item names (glass bottle, newspaper, aluminum can, etc.). The "Humans Cause Environmental Change" page asks students to describe what is happening in each illustration (e.g., riding a bicycle, planting a tree, bulldozer removing trees), which prompts use of action words.
Final Project
Mobile of Change
The lesson lists "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing (LA)" and "Express ideas through writing and conversation (LA)," which require students to produce words orally and in writing. Students are asked to write or draw observations in the paired "before/after" boxes (Animal Change, Plant Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change) and to label the mobile with the word "CHANGES." Students are prompted to explain their mobile to family members, which requires spoken word production.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
Students rewrite sentences in the Capitalizing Names activity (e.g., correcting "chrysanthemum loved her name."), which requires reading and producing a noun and a verb. Students complete sentence prompts such as "My name is" and "I wish my name were," using the copula and proper nouns. In the Feeling Phrases and Characters Change activities, students identify what Chrysanthemum does or feels and write short responses describing actions and states, which involves using verbs and nouns in context.
Lesson 3
Is It a Problem?
Students practice producing sentences that contain common verbs when they combine pairs like "I can hide from my problem. I can face my problem." into "I can hide or face my problem." Students write a description of a problem and list steps to tackle it on the "My Problem" and "Tackling a Problem" pages, which requires use of common nouns (e.g., problem, steps) and verbs (e.g., worry, tackle, hide, face). Students also complete character-change prompts and beginning/middle/end activities that require them to use nouns and verbs to describe events and actions in the stories.
Lesson 4
Comparing Characters
Students are asked to dictate three- to four-sentence summaries of stories (beginning, middle, end), which requires producing simple sentences that use nouns and verbs. In Venn-diagram and comparison activities students write two to three things about each character and similarities, producing short phrases or sentences that include character names (nouns) and actions (verbs). The Cause and Effect activity presents full-sentence causes and effects (e.g., "The kids made fun of Chrysanthemum's name." → "She began to hate her name.") that students match and replicate, and the "I Change" page prompts students to write complete sentences about themselves before and after solving a problem.
Lesson 5
The Raft
Students read sentences that contain action words and nouns in the Vocabulary activity and match those words (e.g., mumbled, swooping, drift, flock, otter) to definitions. Students identify and attach character names and settings on the Story Elements pages, which requires them to recognize and label people/places (nouns). Students select and copy sentences containing the pronoun "I," demonstrating attention to sentence-level word identification.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
Students read and match short cause-and-effect sentences (e.g., "you push your sister," "you don't brush your teeth," "you wash your hands") in the Matching Cause and Effect activity, attempting to read and glue cause, arrow, and effect. Students dictate or write one or two sentences describing a personal change in Activity 3, producing language to describe causes and effects. Students hear modeled example sentences of causes and effects in Activity 1 and are prompted to produce story endings in Activity 2, which requires using verbs and nouns in their spoken or written responses.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 1
People and Families Change
The Skills list explicitly states students will "Use words that name and words that tell action (LA)." Students write a sentence about how they have changed (Activity 3), dictate and fill in sentences about family changes (Activity 5 and the Student Activity Page), and label names and ages (Activity 6), which require use of nouns and verbs. The Student Activity Page prompts (e.g., "In the past my family ________." and "Then __________ changed.") require students to produce verb phrases and noun references.
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
Students are asked to complete prompts such as "Yesterday I," "Today I," and "Tomorrow I will," which require them to produce phrases or sentences naming people/objects and actions. The lesson asks students to name something that happened in the past, talk about something happening now, and describe a future wish, all of which prompt use of nouns and verbs in speech or writing. Several oral questions (e.g., "Were you born in the past, present, or future?" and "Tell me about a change that is happening in your life at the present") require students to respond using nouns and verbs.
Lesson 3
Communities Change
Students are prompted to name characters, places, animals, homes, and transportation (e.g., Who are the characters? identify Native American boy, pioneer girl, Jenny; label canoe, wagon, car, teepee, log cabin, brick house). In Option 2 students read and match caption labels that include simple verbs and nouns (e.g., "The buffalo herds come," "People follow the buffalo," "The settlers build farms," "A forest fire burns"). Activity 4 has students circle animals from the story and Activity 7 asks students to write a sentence about The House on Maple Street, which requires producing nouns and verbs in writing and speech.
Lesson 4
Past and Present
Students dictate and tell stories about living in past time periods (Activity 2), which requires them to produce nouns (people, places, things) and verbs (actions). Students complete prompts such as "One thing the young person did is" and "One way the young person is different from me is," and fill grids about homes, transportation, clothing, and school, which elicit naming objects and describing actions. Students write a sentence about how life in the past was different than today (Activity 8), providing an opportunity to use common nouns and verbs in written form.
Lesson 6
Predicting Future Change
The Skills list states students should "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing (LA)." In Activities 1 and 2 students speak or record predictions about scenarios and write sentences describing positive and negative results of changes. Activity 3 and Activity 4 require students to dictate, fill in prompts (e.g., "One way I have changed is ___"), draw, and copy or compose sentences about personal changes.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Activity 1 asks students to describe a historical person and explain what that person did, prompting students to produce nouns (person, inventor, president) and verbs (made, helped, encouraged). Activity 2 has students read short descriptions of five figures and point to matching pictures, exposing students to and having them recognize common nouns and action words in context. Activity 4 asks students to write a sentence about a historical person, which requires students to select and use nouns and verbs in written language.
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
Students are given sentence frames and prompts that require short spoken or written responses (e.g., "I was different because," "Now I am," "In the future I will be," "In the past I did," "Now," and "In the future I will"). Option 2 asks students to write or dictate full sentences beginning with "In the past __________" and "Today __________" to describe cultural elements. Multiple activity pages (Picture of Me, My Family, My Home, What I Do, Elements of Culture) require students to name people, places, and actions when they write or illustrate their responses.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
Students practice naming and reading many concrete words that are commonly used (apple, ant, cat, map, cap, mat, sap) when they identify pictures, build word-family words, and answer questions about the video. Students read and act out simple actions in the reader (for example, they are encouraged to 'tap' the map and perform the action shown on each page). The Life Application and beginning-sounds activities ask students to look for and name objects around them, prompting students to produce common nouns aloud.
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students name and write words for pictured items (pin, pig, lid, can, net, dog, goose, bell, etc.) in the Beginning Letters and Writing Words activities, which requires them to produce frequently occurring nouns. Students read and point to words and sentences in the reader The Pig Can and answer a comprehension question ("Do you think the pig and the cat can fit in the box?"), which has verbs like can and fit. Multiple activities ask students to read, say, and spell high-frequency words and picture labels aloud, giving repeated practice producing common vocabulary.
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
Students identify and write common nouns when they label pictures and write words under images (e.g., log, jug, pot, wig, dog, sun, tub, nut, hat) and when they complete the "What's Missing?" sentences (The pig has a ____, The cat and the ____ ran.). Students produce and use frequently occurring verbs orally when answering comprehension questions about The Bug (e.g., hop, jog, nap, cut) and when describing actions on the book cover. Students also read and say words aloud in sentence contexts, reinforcing use of common nouns and action words.
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students read and complete sentences using a set of Making Sentences cards that include common nouns (fox, cat, bug, bed, pot, map) and verbs (ran, was, is, has, jog, run, hop, can), and they are asked to fill blanks to form sentences. Students read sight-word sentences aloud (e.g., "The fat cat was hot.", "He had a nap.") and answer comprehension questions about characters and actions in Reader #4, requiring them to use nouns and verbs in responses. Multiple activities (Building Words, Writing Words, Word Families) have students read, write, and say common words that are frequently occurring nouns and verbs while composing and reading sentences.
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students read, build, and write many common nouns (pig, van, mug, pot, dog(s), duck(s), hen(s), etc.) through word-building, word-family sorting, picture labeling, and the reader Ducks Are Fun. Students form regular plural nouns orally and in writing by adding s (Activity 3.1 and 3.2). Students read and write the sight verbs "are" and "was" and use them in dictated sentences (Activity 5.3: "The hens are in the pot." "A tub was on the dock.").
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students name pictures and sort words by sound (Activity 4.1), which requires producing common nouns (e.g., thumb, horse, taco, bath). Students put mixed-up words into correct sentence order (Activity 5.1) and read sentences that contain frequent nouns and verbs (e.g., "The man ran with his pet."). Students write dictated sentences (Activity 5.3) and read short reader sentences (Activity 5.2) that include common nouns and verbs (e.g., "We sat on the log.", "We go by the hut.").
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students read and write full sentences during Sentence Dictation (e.g., "The moth is on the dish." and "I chat with a fox in a hut."), which requires them to use common nouns and verbs. Students are prompted to read the reader aloud and answer questions about it (e.g., "Where is the ship...?), requiring spoken use of nouns and verbs. Students are asked to create silly sentences that reuse sounds (examples: "The shop is in ship shape." and "The fish fell forward fast."), prompting them to generate sentences containing nouns and verbs.
Lesson 8
Blends with s
Students name pictures and sort them by beginning blends (Activity 2.1), which requires them to produce common nouns (for example: star, snake, spoon). Students read and write dictated sentences that contain common nouns and verbs (Activity 5.2: "The fox has a snack in the shack." "They swim by the dock."). Students answer comprehension questions about the reader and discuss snack and actions (Activity 3.3), which prompts them to use frequently occurring nouns and verbs in speech.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students name pictured objects (glass, cloud, flag, blocks, etc.) and sort them into beginning-blend columns, providing repeated practice saying common nouns. Students use Set 2 word cards (The, kids, flag, blocks, have, had, swim, etc.) to read, build, and create sentences in Activity 5.1. In Activity 5.2 the dictated sentences ("The kids have a black cat." "The ducks fly in the sky." "He has a sack of blocks.") require students to write and use frequently occurring nouns and verbs. The lesson also asks students to explain and use the verbs have/had in sentences, reinforcing use of a common verb in different tenses.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students name and read pictured words (bread, frog, crab, truck, printer, etc.) in multiple activities (Activity 1.2, Student Activity Pages), which requires producing common nouns. Students spell and produce action words in word-building activities (e.g., spell the verb cry in Activity 2.1; build drag, drop, drip, run, try in Day 3 and Alphabet Soup). Students read and write sentences that contain common nouns and verbs and answer comprehension prompts (Sentence Dictation: "I have one trick." "They can run on a track." "The frogs crash on the deck."; reader questions about hopping/swimming/running).
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
Students name pictures in Activity 3.2 and sort them by their ending blends, which requires them to say common object words (e.g., hand, lamp, tent, elf). In Activity 4.2 and the reader questions, students answer 'What do the kids do at camp?' and describe actions (hunt, golf, swim), producing common verbs. In Activity 5.2 students read and write dictated sentences that include frequent nouns and verbs (e.g., "The champ ran fast on the track," "The truck can dump trash," "The elf sat on the shelf").
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students write and dictate full sentences that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., "The kids shop at the mall.", "They pick a dress and a doll."). Students name pictured items (grass, dress, cliff, etc.) before writing the words, providing practice using common nouns. Students read and produce sight words and verbs (e.g., were, have, buzz) and are asked to make up sentences using words they collected.
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students use Making Sentences cards (had, not, were, we, frogs, truck, pond, camp, tent, cliff, yell, grass, swing, king, skunks, sink, dress, sand, clap) to compose sentences (Activity 5.2). Students write and read dictated sentences that include common nouns and verbs ("The ring is on her hand.", "Hank drank from the well.", "The cats sang a long song.") in Activity 5.3. Students also read and reread sight words and story text (Reader #13) that contain frequently occurring nouns and verbs, and they answer comprehension questions about characters and actions.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
Students read and write full sentences during Activity 5.2 (Sentence Dictation) such as "The shrimp swim in the tank," "He can strum on the strings," and "There are ants in the shrub," which requires them to produce and use nouns and verbs in writing. In Activity 4.3 (Reader #14) students read a short reader and answer comprehension questions that ask for action words (e.g., "What do the kids do at the track?" — sprint; "What do the kids do at the pond?" — splash, squint, squish), prompting oral production of verbs. Multiple word-sorting and word-building activities and the sight-word practice (including "can," "there") require students to read, speak, and write many content words (nouns like shrimp, squid, shrub and verbs like swim, sprint, splash).
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students write dictated sentences that include common nouns and verbs (Activity 5.1: "An elk slept on the bed.", "Each kid can swim.", "The rafts drift on the pond."), requiring them to produce and read these words. Students read Reader #15 and answer questions that require naming animals and actions (Activity 5.2), which prompts them to use nouns and verbs in responses. Students practice and spell words that are common nouns and verbs (word lists and Alphabet Soup include words such as elk, kid, raft, use, are, was, slept, wept) and practice the sight word "use" (Activities 1.3, 4.1, 4.4).
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
Students are asked to read and answer question pages (e.g., "Which horse runs faster? What is your favorite color? When do you eat lunch?") that require producing nouns and verbs in responses. In Activity 1.3 students create questions using the sight words "which," "what," and "when," which prompts them to generate sentences that include nouns and verbs. In Day 5 Sentence Dictation students write full sentences such as "When do you use a golf club?" and "What can we do in the yard?", practicing use of nouns and verbs in written sentences.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students are asked to point to or name characters and to talk about what the characters do (e.g., they swim, they camp, they sing) in Activity 4.1, which requires using nouns (character names/objects) and verbs (actions). In Activity 3.2 students write dictated sentences that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., "The dogs slept in the yard.", "They drink milk in a glass."). In Activity 4.2 students plan and write their own reader using words they know and a planning page labeled "What Characters Do," prompting them to produce nouns and verbs in their writing.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students read and write dictated sentences that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., "Will you bake a cake?" and "The kids bike on the path."). Students answer comprehension questions about the reader that ask them to name activities (verbs) and things (nouns) Lin and Dev do in the fall (sprint, hike, run, bake cakes, ride bikes, fly kites). Students label or write words for pictures (bike, kite, tape, vine, wave) and build/spell words that are nouns and verbs (plane, snake, make, drive, hike).
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students name and sort pictures (bed, wheel, mop, boat, nose, etc.), which requires producing and using common nouns (Activities 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, Student Activity Pages). Students read and answer comprehension questions about a reader (e.g., "What did the family do on their trip?"), which requires using common verbs (rode, ate, slept, slid) in responses (Activity 5.1). Students write dictated sentences that contain common nouns and verbs ("They use the hose on the grass." "I can stack these cubes." in Activity 5.2) and spell/use words that are verbs (use) and nouns (hose, grass) in spelling and word-building tasks (Activities 2.3, 4.3).
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students write and read dictated sentences that include common nouns and verbs (e.g., "The red gem is huge." and "Many mice are in the cage."). Students answer comprehension questions about the reader (These Mice), naming objects and actions (e.g., yarn, dice, mice), and they name pictures during long-vowel and sorting activities (cane, moon, cake, boat, etc.). Students also produce words when asked to provide words that begin with hard/soft c and g and when sorting/spelling word cards that are frequently occurring nouns (cake, gem, mice, cage) and verbs (is/are appearing in sentences).
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students read and write sentences that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., dictation: "It is rude to burp." and "The herd is in the barn."). Students are asked to read and spell many single-word items that are nouns or verbs (bird, worm, barn, fork, turn, burn, burp) during word-building and fill-in-the-blank activities. Students are asked to use sight words in a sentence and to read the reader aloud, requiring them to produce nouns and verbs in spoken and written form.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students write dictated sentences that include common nouns and verbs (e.g., "The train is on the track." and "The trail is that way."). Students complete fill-in-the-blank sentences using a word bank (clay, spray, way, may, stay), requiring them to choose appropriate nouns and verbs for sentence meaning. Students read and answer questions about the reader (The Gray Day), producing nouns and verbs in responses (e.g., train, snail, play, see), and they build and spell many single-syllable words that function as common nouns and verbs (may, play, stay, spray, mail, etc.).
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
Students use word cards to build sentences in Activity 4.2 (Making Sentences), moving and reading cards such as see, green, eat, girls, play, train. Students write and read dictated sentences in Activity 5.2 that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., "We eat a lot."). Students answer comprehension and personal-response questions about the reader (Activity 5.1), which requires them to use nouns and verbs in spoken responses.
Lesson 7
Long i Spellings y, igh, ie
Students read and practice sight words (e.g., my, could, than, make, use, see) by pointing to and reading sight word cards and by grouping them aloud. Students write and spell words and sentences that contain common nouns and verbs through spelling tests, fill-in-the-blank sentences (e.g., "Turn right to get home," "We could eat pie"), and sentence dictation. Students read a short reader and answer questions that require naming people/things and actions (e.g., moon, stars, bats; Tom dreams of pie), demonstrating comprehension of nouns and verbs in context.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students identify and write nouns from pictures in Activity 3.1 (boat, coat, road, loaf/ toast, soap, frog, goat, etc.). Students read and write sight words and verbs such as "go" and practice words that function as verbs in Word Building (e.g., throw, slow as an adjective/verb context, grow, flow, blow). Students write and read dictated sentences that include common nouns and verbs ("The toad would float.", "The goat eats toast."), and they answer comprehension questions about the reader that require using nouns and verbs (e.g., "How many boats are in the race?").
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students read and point to sentences in the Weekly Message and readers that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., "Who has been to camp?", "Who has been in the water at camp?"). Students write and read dictated sentences that use frequent nouns and verbs (e.g., "The goat can chew.", "Who has a clue?"). Several activities ask students to read, write, and use sight words that function as nouns or verbs (e.g., water, been, make, add, girls, stew).
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students are asked to use sight words in sentences and given example sentences that contain common verbs (e.g., "Bobby has the most stickers," "Some people collect stickers," "Does Amin have any stickers?"). Students write and read multiple dictated and self-composed sentences that include common nouns and verbs (e.g., "The colts bolt," "The snakes molt," "The kids pet the colt," "I can fold my shirts"). Students orally read, spell, and use words from the Word Bank and Word Wall in speaking and writing tasks across Days 1–5, providing repeated practice using nouns and verbs.
Lesson 11
Long Vowel Sounds Review
Students write words from a Word Bank into sentences on the "Fill in the Blanks" pages (Activity 3.1 and Activity 5.3), producing sentences such as "The birds fly out of the trees" and the story that begins "On this day the sky is blue." Activity 3.2 and other Reader Review tasks ask students to find, write, and read words in texts (e.g., fly, home, drove, bake, day, rain). Sight word practice (Activity 1.3) includes common words that are nouns and verbs ("day," "find").
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students make sentences from word cards (Day 4 Activity 4.1) using words such as boy, toys, go, grow, join, and play and then read those sentences aloud. Students write dictated sentences that include common verbs ("The boys play with the toy."; "Use your voice.") and read and correct their spelling on a short spelling test that includes verbs (e.g., did). Students also answer and discuss comprehension questions aloud (Day 5) and create silly sentences using learned words, which requires using frequently occurring nouns and verbs in context.
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
Students name and write words for pictured items (Activity 1.2 lists words like toe, goat, hose, dog, boy, rope, box, soil, bowl, boat, snow, toy), practicing frequently occurring nouns. Students read and write dictated sentences that include common nouns and verbs (Day 5 sentence dictation: "The brown cow is in town." and "The scout found an owl."). Students answer comprehension questions about the reader (Day 5) that require them to describe actions (e.g., "What does the hound do during the day?/at night?"), and sight-word practice includes common verbs such as "get" and "come."
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
Students read and write sentences that contain common nouns and verbs (e.g., the sample sentences "They make a cake today." / "They made a cake yesterday." and the dictation sentences "The kids draw." and "They haul rocks."). Students answer comprehension questions about The Pups by naming actions puppies do (nap/sleep, eat, chew, play, dream) and are asked to generate additional actions. Students produce and read words in sorting, spelling, and alphabet-soup activities and then use those words in spoken and written sentences.
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students name pictured objects aloud in multiple activities (e.g., spoon, book, boot, bear, bread) which requires production of frequently occurring nouns (Activities 1.2, 3.1). Students read and write sentences that include common verbs and nouns (Sentence Dictation: "She took the hat off the hook."; reader comprehension questions about actions the bear does). Students are asked to use sight words in sentences and to create question sentences (Activity 1.3, Activity 4.2), which requires using nouns and verbs in oral and written language.
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
Students write and read dictated sentences that include common nouns and verbs (e.g., "They wrap many gifts." and "The knife is sharp."). Students answer comprehension questions about the reader (The Gnats), producing verbs that describe actions (e.g., chase, land, wreck). Students read and write sight words and story words that function as common nouns and verbs (know, write, gnats, knife) during reading, sorting, and spelling activities.
Lesson 17
Year-End Review
Students are asked to write one or two sentences about pictures in Activity 2.2 (Sentence Writing), with example sentences provided such as "The ducks are on the dock" and "The clouds are in the sky," which show use of nouns and verbs. Students read and reread the Weekly Message and selected readers aloud (Activity 1.1 and Day 3/Day 5 reader reviews), requiring them to read sentences that contain common nouns and verbs. The sentence-writing and oral reading tasks require students to produce and use words that function as nouns and verbs in context.