First Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
In Activity 2 (Option 2) students are asked to circle items in the picture that relate to meeting basic needs of water, food, or shelter, which has students group picture items by conceptual categories. Activity 2 also asks students to label rooms and copy words after an adult, giving students practice connecting written words to object/room categories. The lesson includes repeated vocabulary review and a song with motions that reinforce the three conceptual categories (water, food, shelter).
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students are asked in Activity 3 (Option 1) to cut out pictures from an "Objects Found in the Bedroom" sheet and paste the pictures onto a map in the correct locations, which requires choosing items that belong in the bedroom. The lesson includes a "Map of a House" page divided into labeled rooms (Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen, Living Room) where students label items and answer questions about which objects are in or beside particular rooms or fixtures. Activity 2 (Option 2) asks students to label each item and sound out each word, connecting word forms to the room categories shown on the maps.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
Activity 4, "Sorting Plants, Animals, and Insects," asks students to cut pictures apart and place them into three labeled circles (INSECTS, ANIMALS, PLANTS). The Option 1 pages include a grid of labeled illustrations (e.g., cactus, dragonfly, turtle, zebra) that students sort into categories. The Option 2 advanced task requires students to use the book to draw and label three examples for each circle, explicitly having students produce and place written labels for category members.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students sort living things into explicit categories labeled "Plants" and "Animals" for wetlands, woodlands, grasslands, and drylands using the graphic organizers in Activity 1, with an option to write the names (words) of organisms. In Activity 2 students identify and place organisms into the categories "Consumer" and "Energy Source," cutting and pasting matches onto the Food for Survival and Energy pages. Activity 3 has students match animals to appropriate shelters (categorizing animals by suitable shelter), and Activity 5 asks students to list attributes in the categories "Plants can…," "Plants have…," and "Plants are…."
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
Students read habitat vocabulary from a word box and label/match those habitat words to pictures (Option 2). Students cut out pictured animals (some with names) and place them into the correct habitat sections ("Let's Create a Habitat" Option 1 and "What Habitat Am I From?"). Students fill in scrambled habitat names by adding letters and attempt to read/sound out the words (Option 1), and students use habitat labels on the x-axis when they place animal crackers on the "Animal Habitat Graph."
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students are asked to "Look for plants, insects, animals, water, and land in a habitat" and to draw and label those items on the "An Animal Habitat" page, which groups observations into those category types. The activities prompt students to name the habitat and the animal (e.g., "A Day in the Ocean: A Seahorse's Life") and to complete sentence frames such as "I am a ___. I live in the ___." The skills list includes "Use words that name, describe, and tell action," supporting practice with category words (plants, animals, insects, water, land).
Lesson 8
Animal Care
The lesson names and gives examples of domestic animals (cats, dogs, sheep, cows, and horses) and asks the child to draw a domestic animal and one that is not domesticated, prompting students to distinguish two categories. Activities ask students to decide which animals belong in homes versus natural habitats (e.g., questions about keeping the salamander), which requires students to group animals conceptually. Students are also asked to identify what pets need, which groups needs (water, food, shelter) as category-like concepts.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students sort animals into habitats in Activity 3 by grouping stuffed animals/toys into labeled habitat areas and identifying misplaced animals. In Option 2 of Activity 1 students are asked to write the name of each habitat and to read a movement word and think of (and sometimes write or draw) an animal that fits that movement/habitat pairing. Activity 2 asks students to analyze pictures and circle animals that do not belong in a habitat, then explain why, which requires grouping by category.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
Students are asked to review the words beneath each face and read them aloud, then circle the face that matches each pictured item (snake, flower, hurt animal). Students fold paper into four boxes labeled with emotion words (happy, sad, scared, surprised) and draw or place pictures/examples into those labeled boxes. Option 2 asks students to record the emotion represented on each face and encourages use of more advanced vocabulary for the emotion labels.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
Students draw lines from weather words to matching pictures and, in the advanced option, write the correct weather word beneath each image (Activity 2). Students use a Weather Calendar to record each day's weather by selecting icons/labels such as Snowy, Rainy, Cloudy, and Sunny (Activity 4). During wrapping up and life application, students describe weather pictures and decide what to wear or what activities to do, using weather vocabulary to label observations.
Lesson 2
Types of Precipitation
In Activity 2 (Options 1 and 2) students read the words for each type of precipitation and then label pictures with the correct precipitation (R, S, H) or write the precipitation names at the top of each column, effectively grouping images under the word categories rain, snow, and hail. Option 2 explicitly has students fill in the names of the precipitation types above each column and sort the picture examples beneath them. Activity directions ask students to decide which precipitation would be falling in each picture and to draw scenes for each type, reinforcing category membership.
Lesson 5
Fall
Students color and cut leaves and paste them onto a bar graph that is labeled by color (Yellow, Brown, Red, Orange), then answer questions about which color has the most or fewest leaves, demonstrating grouping of items by color. Students also name three items from the fall picture and write those words, circle beginning letters, and use each word in a sentence, showing engagement with word forms related to categorized items.
Lesson 7
Spring
The Seed Sort activity asks students to color seed illustrations by color according to a key, cut them out, and then 'plant' seeds by following directions such as "Plant all the red seeds" or "Plant two green seeds and one yellow seed," which requires sorting by color. The Skills list explicitly includes "Sort and classify objects by one attribute (M)," and the Seed Sort pages show a key with seed shapes labeled with colors that students must use to organize the pieces.
Lesson 8
Summer
In Activity 3 students use a temperature continuum labeled cold–hot and are instructed to write each season's name or beginning letter beneath the temperature that applies, directly placing season words into category slots. The page provides a word box with the words fall, winter, summer, and spring and asks students to complete four fill-in-the-blank sentences using those season words, reinforcing category placement by temperature. The activity requires students to compare words (season names) to category labels (cold, cool, warm, hot) and select the appropriate category for each word.
Final Project
Weather Games
In Activity 1, students cut out pictures of clothing and glue them onto season-labeled pages, and they write or glue the names of the seasons above each picture. In Activity 2 (Weather Memory), students turn over cards to match a season's written name with an item associated with that season and match weather words with pictures. The extension asks students to respond orally by putting on two articles of clothing when a season is called, reinforcing category membership for the season labels and clothing items.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Activity 1 asks students to read the names of community workers and draw a line from each worker to the place in the community where he/she would work, linking word labels to workplace categories. Activity 1 also has students circle letters and name/sound out the words, reinforcing the word forms while they associate them with places. Activity 2 has students write or list community worker names in a chart and tally sightings, which asks students to organize and record words by category (the type of worker).
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
Students read labeled cards for buildings, goods, and services and are prompted to sound out the words and circle beginning letters. Students cut out the cards on the activity sheet and match each building to the goods or services that people in that building provide, then glue the pairs together and title the page "Community Services." The Student Activity Page explicitly lists labeled items (e.g., Library, Clothing, Hospital, Grocery Store, Books, Fruits and Vegetables) that students sort and pair.
Lesson 5
Resources
Students cut apart illustrated pictures (grapes, honey, firewood, clothes, crayons, teddy bear) and sort them into two labeled columns, "Natural (from the earth)" and "Manmade (from people)." Students count pictured resources, write the number, and mark each with an "N" or "M" to indicate category. Students gather three natural and three manmade items, explain where each is found or how it is used, and may write a sentence about the resources.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
The lesson asks students to "sort and classify objects" and gives a concrete activity (Option 1) in which students cut apart pictures of behaviors and place them into two houses labeled "Good Home Environment" and "Not a Good Home Environment." In Activity 1, students read or hear short scenarios and decide whether each person is being a good citizen, explaining their decision. Option 2 asks students to draw and label examples for each category, linking actions to category labels.
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students read short scenarios and mark each as 'R' (respectful) or 'D' (disrespectful) in Activity 1, practicing categorizing behaviors. In Activity 3, students assign kindness scores (kind, neither, unkind) to pictures and explain their choices, which requires sorting actions into labeled kindness categories. Activity 6 has students list character actions and then record the consequences, reinforcing grouping of behaviors and their outcomes.
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
The lesson provides a clear sorting activity (Activity 2) where students cut out statements and place each item on a web labeled 'Laws' or 'Rules.' The Student Activity Page lists six short statements (e.g., "Don't take things that aren't yours," "Share your toys") that students read and decide which category to paste them under, with connecting lines for items that could be both. The lesson also includes direct explanation and discussion of what constitutes a rule versus a law to build conceptual understanding as students sort.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
In Activity 3 (Option 1 and Option 2), students select, circle, cut/paste, or write descriptive words from a word box beneath pictures of milk, a tree, and a lollipop, effectively sorting words to match each pictured category. In Activity 2, students state why two items are similar (e.g., both are fruit) and identify ways they are different, which has students group items by shared category membership. Activities also ask students to generate additional words for each picture and to describe attributes of objects in the bag, reinforcing sorting words that belong to particular object categories.
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
Several activities require students to sort and write names into category columns. In Activity 1 (Option 2) students circle living items and then write the names of living and nonliving objects in two columns and add two additional names. In Activity 3 (Body Coverings, Option 2) students write each animal name into one of four columns labeled Feathers, Scales, Fur, and Other, and add another example to each column.
Lesson 3
Size, Shape, and Color
Students organize a set of toys on a blanket by size (e.g., largest to smallest, smallest to largest, or into small/medium/large groups). Students identify and name colors, experiment with mixing primary colors, and are asked in the Life Application to organize a row of clothing by color. Students review shape names on the "The Shape of Things" page and write or draw example objects that correspond to each shape name.
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
Students read a word box of texture adjectives and match or paste those words beneath pictures of objects (Activity 2, Options 1 and 2). Students are asked to record two appropriate describing words and invent a new describing word for each object (Option 2). Students also write a sentence using an object and a texture word (Activity 3) and discuss whether describing how an object feels is sufficient to identify it (Activity 1).
Lesson 7
More Attributes
Students place attribute blocks into Venn diagram circles labeled with words such as "yellow" and "triangle," showing use of written category labels to organize items (Activity 3). Students sort toys into yarn-circle Venn diagrams under written headings like "Soft Parts" and "Hard Parts," using those category words to guide placement (Activity 4). Students also trace and write the word "Venn," practicing recognition and production of a vocabulary word related to the sorting activity (Student Activity Page, Activity 5).
Lesson 8
Amazing Attributes
Students divide a sheet into two labeled columns, "sink" and "float," predict where chosen objects belong, and place each object on the labeled side after testing. In the "Magnetic or Not?" activity, students record predictions and results for listed objects (e.g., paper clip, nail, spoon) and determine whether each is magnetic. The Skills list also directs students to develop and use vocabulary associated with properties of materials and to use words that describe in speech and writing.
Lesson 9
Solids and Liquids
Students use a two-column organizer labeled "Liquid" and "Solid" with rows for Definition and Examples, and they are asked to write the definitions for "solid" and "liquid." Students brainstorm examples and cut out pictures from magazines or the activity page and paste them into the appropriate column or onto construction-paper sheets labeled "Solids" and "Liquids." Students conduct hands-on sorting of the provided images (ice cube, water, marbles, salt/sugar, etc.) into the two categories.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
Students sort prepositional words into two columns (over / under) on the Prepositions activity page and write other location words into boxes, explicitly organizing words by category. In the Earth Materials Book activity, students cut out and arrange the three types of soil (sand, silt, clay) and paste the correct soil and rock names with corresponding images, matching and grouping labels with category images. In Activity 1 and Activity 3 students compare two soil samples and describe attributes, linking the categories (soil types) to their defining properties.
Final Project
Presenting Attributes
Students are prompted to generate and record a list of attributes (colors, sizes, shape, texture, etc.), selecting at least five to include in their project. Students organize materials or pictures by attribute when planning their demonstration or poster and label images with descriptive words (for example, labeling a rock "rough" and cotton balls "soft"). Students practice explaining how each attribute can be used to find similarities and differences and organize items/labels to support their presentation.
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Activity 2, Option 2 directs students to cut out words of objects and decide which sense is most likely used with each object, then place the words on the appropriate webs. Activity 2, Option 1 has students cut pictures and decide which sense to use, and the Senses Web graphic organizer gives labeled categories (see, smell, hear, taste, touch) for students to sort into. Activity 1 has students read and copy a Senses Word List, and Activity 4 has students write a sentence about a sense and sense organ, reinforcing word-category connections.
Lesson 3
Smelling and Tasting
Students are asked to select foods for four labeled taste categories (sweet, salty, bitter, sour) and to record the names of those foods on the provided survey chart (Activity 2). In Activity 3 students fold paper into four columns, label each column with a taste category, and then illustrate or record (write) foods from the refrigerator and pantry under those category headings. The Student Activity Page is a table explicitly organized by category with spaces for students to write Y/N responses for each taste category, requiring them to place food words into category columns.
Lesson 5
Touch
Students match pictures to descriptive touch-words on the "Touch It" page by choosing adjectives (e.g., warm, hard, wet) that describe each object. On the "Touch Chart," students place checks under columns labeled Hot, Cold, Wet, Dry, Hard, and Soft to categorize items and draw two of their own objects and mark which adjectives apply. In Option 2 of the chart, students add two more touch-related adjectives to the top and then sort/check which adjectives describe each item.
Lesson 7
Using All of Our Senses
Students record observations under labeled categories on the Nature Walk page (I hear..., I see..., I smell..., I feel...), allowing them to place words or drawings into sensory groups. In the "How Many Senses?" activity, students identify and circle which senses apply to each pictured scenario and tally totals, effectively matching situations to sensory categories. In Activity 3, students look through books and identify ways characters use their senses, noting sensory instances tied to category labels.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students are asked to generate and record sensing words in a five-column table labeled See, Touch, Taste, Smell, and Hear in the "Sensing My Day" activity, directly placing words/phrases under sensory categories. In "A Sensible Report," students fill in blanks describing how popcorn felt, sounded, smelled, and tasted, and draw before/after pictures, which requires them to assign descriptive words to sensory categories. The wrapping-up prompt asks students to look at objects and state (and optionally record) the sensing words they would use, reinforcing placing descriptors into category groups.
Final Project
A Sensible Party
Students are given Party Planner sheets with a table that has five columns labeled by the senses (touch, see, taste, hear, smell) and are prompted to write "Ideas" and "Supplies" under each sense. Instructions ask students to record their own game ideas and supplies in the chart so each item is placed in the appropriate sense column. Game 1 directs students to compare their plan with the sample to find similarities and differences, which requires comparing category membership across two sets of items.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 3
Different Personalities
In Activity 1 (extension) students cut the descriptive words apart and pick the three words that best describe a named family member, which requires grouping word cards by person. In Activity 2 students write or paste personality words into two separate webs—one for themselves and one for a friend/sibling—and then circle and count the words the two people have in common, directly organizing words into category groups. In Activity 3 students list main characters and assign two personality words to each character, placing words with the appropriate character-category.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students identify and name shapes and describe each shape's physical characteristics (color, sides, angles) as they read the story. Students complete a fill-in-the-blank worksheet that asks for category labels such as shape, color, physical characteristic, personality trait, hobby, and interest. Students select a shape to represent themselves or family members and explain why that shape fits, linking attributes to category labels.
Lesson 6
Different Families
Students use a "Basic Needs" graphic organizer with four labeled boxes (Water, Food, Shelter, Health) and are asked to represent items or concepts for each need. Students complete sentence frames in the "Families Around the World" worksheet (e.g., "My family is similar to a family from _______ because we both _______.") to place attributes into similarity/difference categories. Students use a Venn diagram option to list and illustrate ways their family and another family are the same or different, organizing information under labeled circles.
Lesson 7
Different Homes
In Activity 1 (Big, Bigger, Biggest), students read comparative and superlative words (big, bigger, biggest; small, smaller, smallest; tall, taller, tallest; long, longer, longest) and either color pictures according to those words or write the correct comparison word beneath each picture. Students match word labels to images of objects and order images by size/length, using the vocabulary terms to group items. The activity therefore has students apply word labels to sets of objects and distinguish between categories defined by degree (size/length).
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Students match traditions and symbols to holiday names in Activity 1, using a student sheet that pairs images with holidays. Students choose between secular and religious symbol sets, effectively grouping holidays by type (religious vs. secular). Students create a color-coded Book of Holidays (Activity 5) and place pages in chronological order, which requires them to group or associate holidays with specified color categories and dates.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students cut apart pictures of transportation and paste them into boxes and fill in missing letters or write entire labels (Activity 1), which has them identify and place words/images that represent modes of transportation. In Activity 2 students choose or write the best mode of transportation for several scenarios and number trips from closest to farthest, which requires them to group transportation choices by context (e.g., island vs. street). Option 2 of Activity 1 also has students match modes to corresponding environments, asking them to connect vehicle words/images with categories of places.
Lesson 10
Wants and Needs
Students label pictured items as "want" or "need" (Option 1) by writing N or W and by categorizing images such as car, computer, home, water, bike, basketball, and meal. Students make separate lists of their wants and needs (Activity 3) and complete a Wants and Needs Survey (Activity 4) in which they write or draw two wants and two needs for four people and then place those items on two webs labeled "wants" and "needs." Students also sort physical items (clothes and toys) into groups by type or size (Activity 2) and complete Meeting Needs pages where they draw items that satisfy categorized needs (water, food, shelter, clothing, education, love/care, health).
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
Students complete activity pages labeled with clear categories (Food, Hobbies, Homes, Clothing, Transportation, Holidays, Similarities) and fill in sentences such as "I like to eat _______" and "I wear _______." Students draw or write items that belong to each named category and compare their responses to those of a child from another country. The project asks students to name specific examples for each category and place them in the corresponding page of their book.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 1
What Is a Pattern?
Students are asked to organize three red and three blue strips and discuss grouping by color, which practices sorting by similarity. Students are encouraged to group related objects together when designing patterns (e.g., using butterflies, ants, caterpillars) and to name the objects in order as they occur in a pattern ("butterfly, ant, butterfly, ant..."). Several activities require students to decide whether a sequence of images is a pattern and to complete or create patterns using cut‑out object cards.
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
Students recreate and extend object sequences using named items (fork/spoon, crayon/marker, penny/paper clip) and fill in blanks with the correct object names on the activity pages. Students choose their own sets of objects to create two new patterns and decide whether those patterns are ABAB, AABB, or ABBA. Students may write the names of the objects they used for patterns (advanced option), which requires identifying words that name objects.
Lesson 5
Making Color Patterns
Students use color words or the first letter of color words to show patterns (e.g., write Y, R, Y, R) in Activity 1. Students describe the patterns they create verbally and use vocabulary that describes color, size, and location as listed in the Skills section. Students write or copy a sentence describing something they created in Activity 3, reinforcing use of descriptive color words.
Final Project
Patterns Poster or Patterns Presentation
Students label sections of a poster or parts of a presentation with pattern types (Color Pattern, Shape Pattern, Object Pattern, ABAB, ABC, AABB, Number Pattern), and they write and describe each pattern on the provided "Script for Presentation" lines. The script specifically prompts students to describe a color pattern with the word "colors" preceding lines, and students record the materials they will use beside each pattern name. Students choose categories of patterns and organize examples into those labeled sections for display or demonstration.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
The lesson directs students to copy or dictate the names of animals from the text, identify the habitat where each animal lives, cut out the animal names, and sort them into groups according to habitats (Activity 4). The skills list explicitly includes "Sort and classify objects," reinforcing the expectation that students will perform sorting tasks. Several activities (e.g., cutting and matching word lists in Bear Hugs) require students to group words that share common properties, which provides additional practice with categorizing words.
Lesson 2
Making Word Patterns
Students cut apart and sort word lists into word families (e.g., -un, -it, -at) and paste each family onto index cards with labels (Activity 2). Students complete rhyming sentence items and generate their own rhyming sentences, then assemble a book of rhyming sentences (Activity 1). Students identify and record rhyming and same-spelling pattern words from picture books and write sentences containing rhyming pairs (Activity 3 and 4).
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students work with labeled lists "People, Places & Things" and "Action Words" on the Making Sentences activity, cutting out or copying words and choosing nouns and verbs to fill sentence patterns. In Completing a Sentence Pattern (Part A) students read options and decide which word is a person, place, or thing, and in Part B they circle the action word that fits. Activity 5 explicitly instructs students to list common nouns on some strips and verbs on others, then pick one noun and one verb and make up sentences using the paired words.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 1
Patterns in Nature
Students are asked to identify and describe patterns in pictures (Activity 1), which requires naming pattern sources. In Option 1 of Activity 2 students cut out pattern samples and paste them on the appropriate animal, and the activity page includes labels identifying each pattern source (e.g., "zebra," "pine cone"). In Activity 3 students draw 3–5 favorite patterns and label them, reinforcing linking words (labels) to categories of natural patterns.
Lesson 3
Night and Day
Activity 3 asks the child to think about activities associated with day and activities associated with night and to complete separate sheets titled "During the Day" and "At Night," drawing and recording sentences for each. The child also labels pictures of the Sun, Moon, and Earth in Activity 1, which involves connecting words (labels) to categories of celestial bodies. The lesson repeatedly prompts the child to distinguish and describe what happens during day versus night, reinforcing two category concepts (day activities vs. night activities).
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students cut apart the "Days and Months Cards" and place the day names on one half of a poster and the month names on the other, physically sorting the words into two categories. Students are asked to put the days in order left to right and the months in order top to bottom and then review them daily until they can say them independently. The activity pages also prompt students to identify and fill in days of the week on a weekly pattern sheet, reinforcing recognition and sorting of day names.
Lesson 6
Seasonal Weather Patterns
Students use a word box (cold, warm, cool, hot, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) and are asked to record the weather word beneath the season it describes (Activity 3), which requires sorting words into seasonal categories. Students cut the months apart and paste each month beneath the season and weather pattern connected with that month (Activity 3 and Activity 1), which has them group month-words under season categories. Students fill in missing season names beneath pictures and complete patterns at the bottom of the "Seasons and Months" page, linking words to conceptual categories (seasons) and their associated weather.
Lesson 11
Patterns in Graphs
Students are instructed to color the girls' names pink and the boys' names blue on the "Finding Patterns in Charts" page, and to color the boxes marked "G" and "R" for shirt colors, directly asking them to separate items by category. The chart is explicitly labeled with columns "Gender," "Name," and "Shirt Color," and students are asked questions such as "How many types of people are on the chart?" and "How many different colors of shirts were worn?" which require counting and recognizing categories. Students are also asked "What does this chart tell us?" and to describe the pattern, prompting them to interpret categories and the concepts they represent.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 2
What Changed?
Students are asked in Activity 2 to examine image pairs and determine which labeled attributes (weight, color, size, amount, location) changed, circling the applicable words. In Activity 3 students are prompted to produce examples for changes in amount, color, size, location, and weight and to record sentences describing each example. The wrapping-up prompts ask students to explain different ways change can happen and give an example of each type, which requires naming attribute words.
Lesson 3
Changing Position
Students are asked in Activity 4 to use three labeled sheets (Push, Pull, Push and Pull) and to draw or write the names of toys on the appropriate page, directly prompting them to sort words/names into categories. In Activity 2 students cut apart illustrations and sort actions into two groups (push or pull), practicing categorical sorting of action concepts. The instructions include adult guidance for demonstrating push and pull motions and for having students explain and demonstrate examples, supporting conceptual understanding of the categories.
Lesson 6
Changes in the Sky
Students are prompted in Activity 1 to list adjectives and phrases inside labeled images of the SUN and the MOON, placing descriptive words into each circle. The Student Activity Pages provide distinct labeled spaces (SUN and MOON) where students write or dictate words, which requires them to group vocabulary by concept. The activity asks students to brainstorm and then discuss differences between the two labeled categories.
Lesson 7
Living Things Change
Students are asked to "circle the words that describe the change" for each pair of pictures on the "Changes in Living Things" page, with explicit category prompts such as "number," "size," "shape," and "place." In Activity 3 students create four boxes and illustrate a living thing that changes size, amount, shape, or location, linking those categories to words and concepts. Activity 4 has students write or copy a sentence that describes how something changes in size, reinforcing the connection between a descriptive word/phrase and its category.
Lesson 8
Plants and Change
Students label plant diagrams using a provided word box (root, stem, leaf, flower) and assemble cut-out plant-part boxes, matching label words to images. Students identify and list plant needs (sunlight, water, dirt, space, air) and locate the 'What Do Plants Need?' section, which groups need-related vocabulary. Students sequence pictures of the plant life cycle, ordering stages from seed to mature plant.
Lesson 9
Heat Causes Change
The Student Activity Page presents a word box with the words "ice," "steam," and "water" alongside three empty bowls and an arrow labeled "cold" to "hot," prompting students to place or label the states in order. Activity instructions ask the child to draw and label the bowl contents (ice, water, steam) and to organize the states according to temperature. The teacher prompts and discussion ask the child to explain how the items are related (e.g., how heat causes transitions among these labeled categories).
Lesson 10
Chemical Changes
Students complete Activity 3 and the Student Activity Page by categorizing six paired items (e.g., new bicycle/rusty bicycle; apple/chopped apple; cupcake batter/cupcake) as either chemical or physical changes and marking checkboxes. The lesson directs an adult to ask students to explain how they made each decision, providing guided support while they sort. The pairs are presented as words/phrases that students must place into the conceptual categories 'chemical' or 'physical.'
Lesson 11
People Change the Environment
In Activity 1 students brainstorm and have their ideas recorded under labeled columns "Positive Change" and "Negative Change," so students generate words/phrases and place them into two semantic categories. In Activity 3 students describe illustrations and decide whether each is positive, negative, or neutral, verbally categorizing scenarios and explaining their choices. Activity 2 has students sort pictured products into "recycle" and "trash," which asks students to classify items according to category membership.
Final Project
Mobile of Change
Students complete "Changes" pages that are organized into named categories (Animal Change, Plant Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change) and fill paired "before" and "after" boxes with examples. Students cut out the categorized boxes and glue them onto shapes, then arrange and balance those category pieces on a mobile. The skills list includes that students will "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing" and "Express ideas through writing and conversation."
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
Students identify three words or phrases that describe Chrysanthemum at the beginning and three at the end of the story on the "Characters Change" page, effectively placing descriptive words into two labeled categories (early vs. end). Students examine vocabulary words on the "Chrysanthemum Vocabulary" page, guess meanings, then match words to definitions and underline suffixes like "-less" and "-ful," connecting words that share affixes and meanings. Students also complete the "Feeling Phrases" activity by reading phrases and stating what feeling they convey, which requires selecting descriptive language that corresponds to emotional categories.
Lesson 4
Comparing Characters
Students use Venn diagrams in Activities 1 and 2 to place character-specific and shared attributes into left, right, and overlapping circles, writing two to three things (words/phrases) in each section. Activity 3 and the "Two Stories, Same Problem" page ask students to summarize and answer questions about similarities, prompting them to sort ideas about characters and situations into categories (e.g., similarities vs. differences). Activity 4 asks students to match causes with effects, which requires sorting short phrases into corresponding pairs.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
Students cut apart short cause/effect statements and match causes to effects using the "Matching Cause and Effect" activity sheets, then glue them with an arrow and label each as "P" (positive) or "N" (negative). In Activity 3, students decide whether a personal change was positive or negative, illustrate the cause and effect, and write or dictate a sentence labeling the change and describing choices that led to it.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
The lesson lists as a skill that students will "use vocabulary related to time and chronology ("first," "before," "after," "next," and "last")." In Activity 2 students cut apart the "Measuring Time" terms (second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, decade, century) and order them from shortest to longest. Several activities require students to manipulate word/number cards and place them into an ordered sequence (e.g., ordering spans of time and ordering dates on a number line).
Lesson 3
Communities Change
Students use the "Communities Change" activity to cut apart pictures labeled with words (e.g., Canoe, Wagon, Car; Brick House, Log Cabin, Teepee; Dress, Pants, Leather Clothing) and paste them into circles representing different communities. In Option 2 of "A Maple Street Timeline," students read event labels and match them to picture labels before numbering and placing events on a timeline. Activity prompts ask students to point out differences in transportation, clothing, and homes and to sort those items into the appropriate category for each community.
Lesson 4
Past and Present
Students cut out labeled time-period strips (e.g., "Ancient Egypt," "Ancient Rome," "Medieval Europe") and paste them into boxes on a timeline (Activity 1). Students read short text strips describing aspects of life and decide whether each strip belongs in the Advantages or Disadvantages column, then paste them accordingly (Activity 6, Option 1). Students complete a four-column grid (Today, Medieval Europe, Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt) for homes, transportation, clothing, and school, filling in or matching items to each category (Activity 5).
Lesson 5
Exploring the Past
Students cut out pictures and glue them onto charts organized by cultural categories (Homes and Houses, Clothes and Fashion, Food and Eating, Travel and Transport). The activity pages are explicitly divided into labeled sections for Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, and Medieval Europe where students fill in information for each category. Students write or dictate descriptions and complete culture charts and a timeline, organizing information by category and time period.
Lesson 6
Predicting Future Change
Students are asked to decide whether each change and its predicted result is positive or negative and to label the changes with a "P" or "N" (Activity 2). The student activity pages include "Positive or Negative?" boxes where students categorize each scenario's outcome. Students are also asked to write one sentence describing a positive change and another describing a negative change, and to discuss examples that could have both positive and negative outcomes.
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
The Option 2 activity asks students to choose three elements of culture (e.g., homes, school, transportation, jobs, clothing, buildings, entertainment) which requires selecting categories for comparison. The "Elements of Culture" student page is divided into "In the past..." and "Today..." sections where students write descriptions for each chosen cultural element, reinforcing category-based thinking. The lesson's skills list explicitly includes "Recognize concepts (LA)," indicating attention to conceptual grouping.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
The lesson explicitly asks students to create and read word families (Activity 4.2 and Activity 5.1), having students place letter cards in front of the -at and -ap cards to build and read words like cat, sat, pat, cap, map, tap, sap. The introduction and activities define "word families" as groups of words that share letters and similar sounds and have students generate multiple words that belong to those families. Activities also have students identify beginning sounds and point to letters that match initial sounds (Activity 2.3 and Activity 3.2).
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students cut out word cards and place them under labeled word-family headings (for example, sorting words under the "at" and "ap" columns) and glue them on the pages. Students are asked to read each word as they sort it and to place words from the it, in, ig, ip families under the correct headings. The activities repeat sorting tasks (cutting, placing, checking, and gluing) with adult guidance and check for accuracy.
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
Students cut out pictures and place them into boxes labeled for short /o/ or short /u/ (Activity 2.2), identifying each picture and saying the words slowly to hear the vowel sound. Students sort printed words into word-family columns (ut, un, ub, ug and ot, op, og, ob) by cutting and gluing words under the correct family headings (Activities 3.3 and 4.2). Students also identify and define unfamiliar words after sorting, and read the words they have placed in each category.
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students identify pictures and sort them on the "Short Vowel Sort" pages by placing each picture into boxes labeled for short a, e, i, o, u, cutting and gluing the pictures after naming them. Students also cut out word cards and place them under the correct word family headings (et, en, eg, ed) on the Word Families pages. Multiple activities ask students to point to or read words grouped together (sight word stacks, word-family columns) and to organize letters to build words within given families.
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students read word lists and then cut and place words into columns labeled for word families (Activity 2.2: an, ab, ag; Activity 3.3: am, ad; Activity 4.2: ack, eck, ick, ock, uck). Students build and read words aloud using letter and word-building cards and then glue the words into the correct family column, and teachers prompt students by asking which family specific words belong to. The materials also prompt the teacher to "explain the meanings of the words as needed," which requires students to consider word meanings while sorting.
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students sort words into two columns labeled open and closed syllables (Activity 2.1), placing words such as he/hen, so/sob, and go/got into the correct column. Students sort pictures and words by initial/ending sound into t, h, and th columns (Activity 4.1), naming each picture and gluing it under the correct heading. Students group rhyming words (Activity 1.2 and 3.3) by adding words to rhyming pairs and coloring pairs of pictures that rhyme, which requires categorizing words by shared sound patterns.
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students sort words and pictures into columns labeled by digraphs (ch, sh, wh, ph) in Activity 2.2 by pointing to cards, cutting out pictures, placing them in the correct column, and gluing them. In Activity 4.1 students read, cut out, and place words into columns for th, ch, sh, or wh and then read each column aloud. Additional activities (Activity 1.2, 3.2, and the Student Activity Pages) ask students to compare and group words by their beginning digraph sounds and to label columns (ch/sh, wh/ph).
Lesson 8
Blends with s
Students cut out pictures and place them into columns labeled with beginning s blends (st, sm, sn, sk, sp, sl, sw) and then say the words in each column (Activity 2.1). Multiple student pages and graphic organizers require students to sort pictures or write words under headings such as st/sm/sn and sk/sp or sl/sw. In Activity 5.1 students fill in blanks by selecting the correct initial blend for pictured words and then read or say the completed words.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students cut out picture cards and place them into labeled columns for each initial l-blend (gl, pl, cl, bl, sl, fl) as described in Activity 1.2. Multiple Student Activity Pages provide graphic organizers with columns headed gl/pl/cl and bl/sl/fl for sorting images and words. Students are prompted to name each picture, say the words in each column, and glue the pictures when their sorting is correct.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students cut out pictured words and place them into labeled columns by their beginning r blends (Activity 1.2), using graphic organizers labeled cr, br, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr. Students create and add words to a mini-book of beginning blends and write dictated words under the correct blend headings during the Blends Review (Activity 4.1 and Day 5). Students orally generate and match words that share the same beginning blend in the Life Application and Alphabet Soup activities.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
Students are asked to spell dictated words and write each word on either the "nd Words" or "mp Words" page (Activity 2.2) and to spell and write words on the "lf Words" or "nt Words" pages (Activity 4.1). In Activity 3.2, students name pictures, cut them out, and place them in the correct columns for the ending blends nd, mp, lf, and nt, then say the words in each column and glue them when correct. Multiple student activity pages are provided that are explicitly labeled for nd, mp, lf, and nt and are used for sorting and recording words by category.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students cut out word cards and place each one in the correct column to show its word family (Activity 2.3), then glue the words and add them to a Word Collection binder. Multiple Student Activity Pages titled "LL Word Families" present columns labeled all, ell, and ill for students to read, sort, and write words into. In Activity 1.2 and Day 3 word-building activities, students point to ending-sound cards and group words by their final doubled letters (ll, ss, ff, zz).
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students cut out word cards and place each word on the appropriate page for the ang/ing/ong/ung and ank/ink/onk/unk word-family columns (Activity 2.2, Activity 3.2). Students glue words under the spelled-out spelling rules (add s, ck, FLOSS) to show which rule each word matches (Activity 1.2). Students point to the ng or nk ending they hear when words are called aloud and sort words by their final glued sound (Activity 5.1).
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
Students cut out and place word cards into columns labeled for each three-letter blend (scr, str, spr, spl, squ, shr, thr) in Activity 4.2 and the Word Sort student pages. Students read the words aloud after sorting and glue them when correct, demonstrating active sorting and self-checking. Multiple student activity pages provide columns and lists of words for students to categorize by their beginning sounds (e.g., scram, scrub, scrap under scr).
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students cut out word cards and place them into columns labeled for specific ending blends (Activity 3.2), organizing words by their suffixes (ct, ft, pt, ld, lk, lp, lt). Students underline the ending blend in written words (Activity 3.1) and point to word-building cards that match spoken words' ending sounds (Activities 1.2, 2.1, 4.2). Multiple Student Activity Pages explicitly provide sortable word lists and column headings (ct/ft/pt, ld/lk, lp/lt) for students to use during the sorting tasks.
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
Students cut out word cards and place them into labeled columns (r, rm, rn, rd, rk, rp, rt, rf) in Activity 4.1 to show each word's ending sound. They read the sorted words aloud and glue them when correctly placed, reinforcing the category membership. Activity 1.3 also has students group and identify question words (which, what, when) and generate questions using those words, demonstrating another explicit sort by word type. Multiple student activity pages and the word-sort directions repeatedly ask students to categorize words by their r-controlled endings.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students cut out and place words into rhyming groups in Activity 5.2, practicing grouping words that rhyme (e.g., ham, scram, ram, slam, swam). Students sort lowercase letter cards and word building cards into four piles (vowels, consonants, blends/digraphs/trigraphs, and word family endings) and use those piles to build words in Activity 3.1. Students are prompted to focus on word families (Activity 2.1 and references to word family pages) and to read three or more words from those families, which implies grouping words by shared endings.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students place pictures into labeled columns for short /a/ versus long /ā/ (Activity 2.1) and for short /i/ versus long /ī/ (Activity 3.1), cutting and gluing images to show which category each word belongs to. They point to letter cards and identify vowel sounds and then sort words/pictures based on the vowel sound (several oral and written sorting tasks). The Alphabet Soup and word-building activities reinforce grouping words that share long a or long i spellings.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students are asked to write word lists into two columns to show short vs. long vowel sounds (Activity 1.2 for e, Day 2 for o, Day 3 for u). Students cut out pictures and place or glue them into the correct columns on 'Short and Long' pages to categorize items by their vowel sound. Students also write words into four labeled long-vowel columns (/ā/, /ī/, /ō/, /ū/) in Activity 3.3, and they sort sight words and point to cards when asked to identify vowel categories.
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students sort items into columns in multiple activities: in the Long Vowel Sounds Review they place pictures into vowel columns, in Day 4 'Word Sorting' they cut and place words into hard/soft c and g columns, and in Activity 3.3 they write words into labeled boxes for Hard c, Soft c, Hard g, and Soft g. Students also use the Sorting c and g pages and fill-in worksheets that require categorizing words by sound, and they are asked to read and decide which column each word belongs in.
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students cut out and place words into three labeled columns (er, ir, ur) in Activity 3.1, using a Student Activity Page that explicitly provides er/ir/ur column headings. The activity directs students to read the words aloud, pronounce er/ir/ur as /er/, and to sort the words based on their spellings. Activity 5.1 and other pages also present vowel combinations (ar, er, ir, or, ur) at the top of worksheets for students to use when completing fill-in-the-blank tasks.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students complete multiple word-sorting and categorizing tasks: they write or list words under labeled endings (ake, ate, ace, ape, ame, age, ane, ale) and complete the "ai Word Sorting" activity by cutting words out and placing them into columns (aid, ail, ain, aint, ait) based on spelling patterns. Students also use the Student Activity Pages that are divided into sections labeled with specific word endings to record words that fit each category. The Word Chains and word-building activities require students to group and manipulate words that share sounds or spellings.
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
In Activity 1.2 students cut out word cards and place each word on either a 'Short e' or 'Long e' page, then glue the words and read them aloud; a specific grouping of short-e and long-e words is provided. Activity 2.1 has students highlight ee, ea, and ey spellings to sort words by spelling pattern. Several activities (Alphabet Soup, Word Building, Writing ea Words) ask students to manipulate letters and build or write words that were previously grouped by vowel sound.
Lesson 7
Long i Spellings y, igh, ie
Students read, cut out, and place words into labeled columns for multiple word-sorting activities (e.g., the "Long i with Silent e Word Sorting" pages that use columns ide, ice, ike, ime, ipe, ine, ire, ite, ive). Students group sight-word cards by vowel sound (Activity 2.1) and are asked to place cards in groups based on long vowel sounds (/ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, /ū/). Students complete a "Long i Word Sorting" task that requires placing words into i_e, y, igh, and ie columns and are asked to note where each spelling occurs (e.g., y at the end).
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students cut out word cards and place each word on either a "Short o" or "Long o" page (Activity 1.2), explicitly sorting words by vowel-sound category. Students read and then group long-o words by their ending spellings (ope, oke, ote, oat, oast, oak, oad) and write a title for each group (Activity 4.2). Students also color-code ow, oa, and oe spellings in long-o words (Activity 2.1) and practice building words in grouped sets (Activity 2.2), reinforcing categorical distinctions.
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students read, cut out, and place word cards into columns labeled u_e, ue, ew, and ou (Activity 4.1). Several student pages are devoted to sorting long u words into these spelling-category columns and gluing them into a Word Collection folder. Additional activities (word scramble, word-building) require students to group or manipulate words according to their long u spelling patterns.
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students read, cut out, and place words into correct columns on the "Wild Word Sorting" pages based on their spellings (ild, ind, ost, old, olt) as described in Activity 4.2. Students glue the sorted words to the page and add them to a Word Collection folder or binder, reinforcing the organization of words into categories. Multiple Student Activity Pages provide labeled columns for sorting by word endings, and directions ask students to read and understand the words as they sort.
Lesson 11
Long Vowel Sounds Review
Students cut out spellings and words and match each spelling with an example word, then place each pair under the correct long-vowel column on a chart (Activity 1.2). Students read, cut, and sort long a words into labeled columns (a_e, ai, ay) and glue them into place, and they complete analogous sorting activities for long e (e_e, ee, ey, ea) and other vowels (Activities 2.2 and 4.2). Students also reread readers to find target vowel words, write them on a sheet, and place sorted pages into a Word Collection binder for review.
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students explicitly sort words into columns labeled ō, oi, and oy (Day 2 Activity 2.1 and Activity 2.2) by cutting out word cards and placing or gluing them into the correct column on the Word Sorting pages. The Student Activity Pages include a three-column grid headed with the vowel categories and list words to be sorted (rope, voice, joy, oil, point, toy, etc.). Activity 1.2 also has students write words into "short o" and "long o" columns as they build words from letter cards, and the teacher asks students to identify where oi and oy fall in each word.
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
Students cut out word cards and sort them into groups in Activity 2.1, then explain and revise their groupings. In Activity 2.2 students place the words into three labeled columns (OW = ō, OW, OU) and glue them, using a provided Sorting ou and ow page. Activity 3 has students highlight ou versus ow in words and use letter/word-building cards to form and read words from each sorted group.
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
Students cut out words from the "Short o Words" page and sort them into groups of their choosing, explaining their groupings (Activity 2.1). Students place words into specific columns labeled aw, au, and o, read each word aloud, and glue them into the correct category (Activity 2.2). Additional tasks (highlighting aw/au, spelling from columns) require students to identify and use the category membership when reading, highlighting, and spelling words (Activities 3.1, 4.1).
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students cut out and sort pictures with oo into two sound-based groups (Activity 1.2) and then read, cut, and sort printed oo words into two columns labeled by sound (Activity 2.1). Students cut out ea pictures and sort them into three groups for the long e, short e, and long a sounds (Activity 3.1) and read, cut, and place ea words into three labeled columns (Activity 3.2). During these activities students are asked to repeat words aloud, point to the correct group when called words are read, and glue sorted words to pages for a word collection.
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
In Activity 4.1 students cut out word cards, read them aloud, and place the words into groups based on their vowel sounds (e.g., gnat/wrap = short a; wren/wreck = short e). The activity asks students to name the vowel sounds in each group. Students then sort the same words into three labeled columns (gn, kn, wr), read the words as they place them, and glue them when correct.
Lesson 17
Year-End Review
Students read and cut out words and place each word into the correct column on the "Long Vowel Sounds Sorting" pages based on its vowel sound, then glue them down (Activity 2.1). In the "Which Words?" activity students locate and group words that share specific features (soft c/g, FLOSS, long o, Bossy R, glued sounds, blends, silent starts, plural s, rhymes, digraphs), answering questions that require selecting words that fit each category (Activity 1.2). The materials ask students to revisit their previous word sorts in a Word Collection folder to develop recall of spelling patterns and rules, reinforcing the connection between categories and the concepts they represent.