First Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students complete and read sentences that include determiners, for example the prompt "The most important room in my house is the ______________." and the fill-in "We use this room for ______________." Students label rooms and read or copy room names on the Exploring My Home pages, which require reading phrases that use the definite article "the" and the demonstrative "this" in context.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students are given fill-in-the-blank titles that include articles, for example "The ___________: An Animal Habitat" and "A Day in the ______" which expose students to the determiners 'The' and 'A'. Students complete sentence prompts such as "I am a ______. I live in the ______." where the article 'a' is present in the writing frame. Students are prompted to read their dictated stories aloud, which requires them to use the provided articles in spoken language.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students read captioned sentences that begin with the article "A" (e.g., "A fish swims in the ocean.") and are asked to name animals and habitats from those captions. In Activity 3 students are prompted to speak sentence frames that include articles ("A __________ can't live in the ____________. A __________ lives in the ________________"). In Option 2 students complete phrases shown on the worksheet such as "swims in the," which requires using the definite article when writing a habitat.
Lesson 10
Amazing Animals
Students read and speak aloud sentences that include determiners (for example, 'I am a little starfish,' 'this shark lost four teeth,' and questions like 'How many wings do the birds need to fly?'). Students role-play animal scenarios and respond verbally to prompts that naturally require articles and demonstratives (e.g., 'a,' 'the,' 'this,' 'one'). Students solve and read math word problems that use determiners in context (e.g., 'one starfish,' 'four starfish,' 'the polar bears').
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
Students are prompted to write labels and short phrases that include determiners, for example the animal research page heading "The ______" and the sentence frame "The ______ is found in ______." Option 1 uses possessive determiners repeatedly in headings such as "My Environment," "My Home Environment," and "What I Eat and Drink," which students must use when they draw or write about themselves. Students are asked to label pictures and complete page descriptions (e.g., "What _____ Eats and Drinks," "______'s Habitat") that require inserting a determiner or possessive form.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 8
Summer
Students read and complete short passages that include determiners (examples in the text: 'the sun', 'the beach', 'the water', and the song line 'the four seasons'). In Activity 2 students fill in blanks in sentences about Jessie's trip where determiners appear in the surrounding sentence text. In Activity 3 students write season words into model sentences that include the determiner 'the' (e.g., '_________ is the warmest season').
Final Project
Weather Games
Students are asked to create and present oral weather forecasts over several days, and the lesson provides a sample forecast that uses articles and definite references (e.g., "a beautiful day," "the sky," "the park"). Students will write answers on the Weather Forecast organizer (questions like "What does the sky look like?" and "How should people dress for this weather?") and use new vocabulary in speech and writing as a listed skill. Students also read aloud from books and match written weather words to pictures in the Weather Memory game, providing opportunities to produce short spoken or written phrases.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students read and evaluate sentences on the Respect activity pages that include determiners (e.g., possessives: "his," "her"; articles: "a," "the"). Students also read short stories ("A Lesson in Honesty," "The Boy Who Cried Wolf") and are asked to write, dictate, or copy sentences for beginning/middle/end retellings, providing opportunities to produce sentences that contain determiners.
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
Students read and sort sentences in Activity 2 (e.g., "Stop at a red light," "Make your bed") and read the story "The House with No Rules," which repeatedly uses articles such as "a" and "the." Activity 1 asks students to read each rule sentence aloud and to write or record rule sentences on strips, creating opportunities to encounter articles in print and speech.
Final Project
I Can Make A Difference
Students are given sentence starters that include determiners such as "The first thing I will do is __." and the example plan models the article "The" in steps ("The first thing I will do is call..."). The activity prompts and example sentences in the suggestion list also contain articles (e.g., "the people who live there") that students can imitate in their writing. Students complete written reflection prompts ("I helped __ with __", "I made my community a better place because __") that allow use of articles and demonstratives in context.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
Students hear and read model sentences that include determiners (for example, Activity 2 uses the demonstrative in "These two objects are similar…" and examples like "the banana" and "the apple"). Students are prompted to speak about objects set out (e.g., "a spoon, candle, or shoe") and to describe items in the bag aloud, which models use of articles and demonstratives in context. Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence describing an item, giving them an opportunity to produce determiners in their own sentences.
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
Students complete fill-in-the-blank sentences that begin with the article "The" (e.g., "The __________ is longer than the __________," "The longest item is the __________"), requiring them to write noun phrases with the determiner "the." Student directions and activity prompts repeatedly use definite articles (e.g., "circle the object that weighs more," "measure the length of the book," "show your child the ruler"), and students record measurements and descriptions using those phrases. Handwriting practice and sentence-writing prompts ask students to write words and sentences that include determiners such as "the."
Lesson 9
Solids and Liquids
Students are asked to write the provided definitions verbatim: "Solid -- a solid is something that keeps its size and shape" and "Liquid -- a liquid can be poured and takes the shape of the container it is in," which require using the article "a." Students are prompted to speak about observations (e.g., describing what happened to an ice cube and what caused the change) and to label and describe pictures when sorting examples into "Solids" and "Liquids."
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students are asked to write or copy sentences about a sense and sense organ (Activity 4) with the example sentence "I smell with my nose," which contains the possessive determiner my. Students dictate and record four complete sentences describing a sensing experience (Activity 3, Option 2), and they fill in pages labeled with prompts such as "Favorite Sense" and "Picture of you using your sense," which use possessive determiners like your. Students also copy vocabulary words and write sentences about senses, providing opportunities to produce short utterances that may include determiners.
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Students hear and read multiple sentences in the activities that contain determiners (for example, instructions and the story text use articles and possessive determiners: "a story," "the little girl," "a new puppy," "the dogs," "his five senses," "your mom"). Option 2 requires students to tell a story aloud about Jackie, which gives them opportunities to produce spoken sentences that may include articles and demonstratives. Activity 4 asks students to write sentences using target words, providing a chance for students to use determiners in their writing.
Lesson 6
Experimenting With Our Senses
Students are asked to "write or dictate and copy a sentence on handwriting paper about something he smelled or tasted today" (Activity 4), which requires composing sentences that can include articles and demonstratives. Students tell a story about a favorite flavor and name foods with that flavor (Activity 3), and they describe and compare drinks and spices aloud during taste and smell activities (Activities 1 and 2), all of which naturally involve using determiners in speech and writing.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students are prompted to write complete sentences about popcorn (e.g., fill-in-the-blank prompts: "My popcorn felt _______ before it popped.") and to copy or dictate a sentence that describes the popcorn. An example in Activity 3 shows a model sentence that uses an article: "Hear: The leaves sounded crunchy." Students also produce sentences using a possessive determiner ("My popcorn...") when completing the worksheets.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
Students read and answer fill-in-the-blank questions that use determiners such as "your" (e.g., "Your favorite number", "Your house number") and articles like "the" (e.g., "You were born in the year __"). Students write short personal sentences or sentence fragments when recording numbers and completing the "You Are Special" paragraph, which can require them to produce possessive determiners (my/your) in their responses. Students orally read the prompts and may trace and write words and sentences that include determiners when practicing handwriting and completing pages.
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Students are prompted to answer questions that include and require determiners, for example: "Do they have the same number of hands and fingers?" and "Is their hair the same or different?" The story and teacher text also contain articles and demonstratives (e.g., "a ladybug," "For this activity") that students will hear during read-alouds and discussions. Activity 4 asks students to write a sentence beginning "I have _________," which can prompt use of articles or possessive determiners in student writing.
Lesson 6
Different Families
Students complete sentence prompts that explicitly include the indefinite article 'a' (e.g., "a family from _______," "A _______ (country and continent) Family") when comparing families. Students encounter the definite article 'the' repeatedly in directions and reading tasks (e.g., "the book," "the pages") as they read A Life Like Mine and follow instructions. Students practice writing and completing sentences on activity pages, which requires using articles within their written responses.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students are asked to write or copy the sentence template "I have ______ in/on a _________," which requires using the article "a" in writing. Students are prompted to tell a story about a trip they drew and to attempt to read it aloud, giving them opportunities to use determiners in spoken language. Students are asked to draw a box around each mode of transportation they have taken and talk about where they went, prompting spoken use of short sentences that may include articles or demonstratives.
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
Students complete prompted sentences that contain determiners, such as "One group I belong to is ________________." and "The group does ________________." Students are asked to read the paragraph they complete aloud and to answer questions phrased with determiners (e.g., "Which group has the most people?"). These tasks require students to produce or read noun phrases that include determiners in connected writing and speaking.
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
The lesson includes sentence frames and example sentences that contain determiners, e.g., "A person from China might celebrate Chinese New Year," and model sentences such as "I live in America" and "I wear jeans." The Student Activity Pages give students fill-in-the-blank prompts (e.g., "I like to eat _______ from _______," "I live in _______," "I wear _______") that could lead students to supply noun phrases that include articles or other determiners.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 3
What Comes Next?
Students are asked to write or copy the sentence, "What do you see after the ________?", which contains the article "the." Multiple oral prompts require students to "Describe the center square" and "Describe the circle that surrounds the center circle," modeling use of the determiner "the" in spoken responses. Students also respond to teacher questions such as "What comes first in the pattern? Next?" that may prompt noun phrases framed by determiners in answers.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
Students are asked to describe the order of shapes using full sentences such as "The first shape is a small circle. The second shape is a small square...", which requires using articles and the definite article "the." Students are prompted to write or copy a sentence about a pattern on handwriting paper, providing an opportunity to produce determiners in writing. Students speak and label shapes in phrases (e.g., labeling shapes A, B, or C) while describing patterns aloud, which can involve using articles in spoken descriptions.
Lesson 8
Creating and Writing About Patterns
The Student Activity Page includes the model sentence 'This pattern is made up of __________, __________, and __________,' which uses the demonstrative 'This.' Prompts such as 'First comes ______,' 'Then comes ______,' and lines for students to write complete sentences describing patterns (handwriting activity) require students to produce noun phrases where articles or demonstratives could be used. The describe-the-pattern page also asks students to fill in sentences like '__________ comes before __________' and '__________ comes after __________,' which can prompt use of determiners in their responses.
Final Project
Patterns Poster or Patterns Presentation
The Script for Presentation student page provides sentence stems that begin with the determiner "The," e.g., "The third pattern I will show is a ________________." Several numbered prompts (third through seventh) repeat this structure, prompting students to write full sentences that use the determiner "The." The lesson also asks students to write and rehearse the words they will use in a presentation, giving them opportunities to produce sentences that include articles.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 2
Making Word Patterns
Students read and complete sentences such as "The frog stood on the ___" and "The cat put on a ___," which include the articles "The" and "a." Students are asked to read each sentence aloud, copy or write sentences (Activity 4), and create two of their own sentences that contain rhyming words (Activity 1), providing opportunities to produce sentences that may include articles.
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students complete sentence prompts that begin with articles and determiners (e.g., The __________ __________, A __________ __________, My __________ __________) by choosing nouns and verbs. Students read aloud sentences that begin with "The" and "A" and use them in activities (Making Sentences, Completing a Sentence Pattern, and sentence prompts). Students copy or write sentences that start with these determiners and extend them orally (e.g., "The dog eats...").
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
Students read short stories that include determiners (for example, the story text uses phrases like "a boy," "the woods," and "the rock"). Students are asked to dictate, write, or copy sentences about the beginning, middle, and end of stories (Activities 2, 3, and 4), which requires producing sentences that will likely contain articles and other determiners. Students also answer and discuss questions about story events, which involves speaking and using words that may include determiners.
Final Project
Patterns Video
Students are given script sentence stems such as "This is a __________ pattern," "I found/made this pattern __________," and "It is made of __, __, and __," which require students to produce demonstratives (this) and articles (a/an/the) when they write or speak. Students write or dictate scripts for sound, action, rhyming, and story patterns and practice saying those scripts on camera, providing repeated opportunities to use determiners in spoken and written contexts. Students also read words from books or poems and explain patterns, which gives additional occasions to use determiners in connected speech.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 3
Night and Day
The student pages include titled labels that use articles (e.g., "The Sun, The Moon, The Earth" and "During the Day"/"At Night") and provide empty text boxes for students to label the pictures. Students are asked to label the sun, moon, and earth and to "record or dictate a few sentences" about a daytime activity and a nighttime activity, which requires composing short sentences. The instructional text uses demonstrative language in directions (e.g., "this movement is called rotation," "this is the place on the Earth where she lives"), modeling determiners in context.
Lesson 10
Tracing Patterns
Students are asked to write or copy a sentence about their favorite holiday (Activity 4), which requires composing a full sentence. Students are asked to identify the holiday associated with each pattern and to identify the original patterns, which requires spoken labeling. Students are asked to explain how to use a traced pattern and how to use a stencil, which involves producing short explanations orally.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 1
What Causes Change?
Students complete sentence frames on the "Write About a Change" page (e.g., "Once I saw __________ change." and "The change happened over a __________ amount of time."), which requires them to produce noun phrases that can include articles or demonstratives. Students attempt to read their dictated or written paragraphs aloud and describe before/after pictures when matching and gluing card pairs, providing opportunities to say phrases that may contain determiners. The prompts and labels in activities (e.g., "the change", picture captions) expose students to determiners in context while they speak or write about changes.
Lesson 4
Changes in the Environment
Students are prompted to follow directions that include determiners, e.g., asking them to put "the first one empty," place "one item in the second cup," and to "point to the cup that has one" in Activity 3. Activity pages use demonstratives and articles in prompts such as "Make this branch have the most leaves" and wording like "Draw a couple of leaves on the branch." Students are also asked to write or copy sentences about their favorite season (Activity 4) and to illustrate or write two sentences about a weather change (Activity 1), which exposes them to articles and demonstratives in context.
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
Students repeatedly complete sentence frames that begin with the definite article, e.g., "The cat is ___ the door," and "The mouse is in front of the TV." Students are asked to write simple sentences describing object relationships, such as "The bush is beside the tree." Multiple student activity pages and spoken directions use the article "the" in every example sentence that students read, complete, or produce.
Lesson 7
Living Things Change
Students read and follow written directions that contain determiners (for example, "Color the lizard on the leaf green," "Color the rabbit brown in the summer," and "Color the rabbit white in the winter"). Students are asked orally to respond to prompts that use demonstratives (for example, "Ask your child if she thinks this change happens quickly or slowly"), and students are asked to write or copy a sentence describing a change, an activity in which articles or demonstratives could appear.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 3
Is It a Problem?
Students read and respond to multiple sentences that include determiners (e.g., "One day I had a problem," "the boy," "My Problem," "What is within my control?") and complete activity pages that require written answers using phrases with articles and possessive determiners (e.g., prompts with "a problem," "the problem," and "my"). Students also combine sentences orally and in writing (Using "Or" activity) where exemplar sentences contain articles and determiners.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
Students read and listen to multiple sentences that include articles (for example, phrases like "a big rat," "a barn," and "the horse") when the story is read aloud. Students also produce their own sentences and dictated endings in Activity 2 and Activity 3, which gives them opportunities to use articles in their writing or speech. The matching and cause/effect sentence strips contain short sentences (e.g., "you don't brush your teeth") that expose students to everyday determiner use.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 3
Communities Change
Students read and say aloud text and captions that contain articles and demonstratives (for example, captions such as "The buffalo herds come," "A red brick movie theater on Maple Street," and "People come in wagons and build farms"). Students write a sentence about The House on Maple Street (Activity 7), which gives them an opportunity to use determiners in writing. Students also speak about characters and events (Activity 1 and Activity 5), which can involve using articles and demonstratives when describing people, places, and times.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Students read short biography descriptions (e.g., "a famous scientist," "the light bulb," "the first American president") in the People in History activity, exposing them to articles and demonstrative-like phrases. Students answer oral questions about people (e.g., "How would you describe this person?") that prompt spoken use of determiners. Students are asked to write a sentence about a historical person, giving a writing task where articles or demonstratives could be used.
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
Students are prompted to write complete sentences in multiple places (e.g., fill-in prompts: "I was different because...", "Now I am...", "In the past __________" and "Today __________"). Students compose descriptive sentences about self, family, home, and cultural elements (e.g., "My family was different in the past because ___", "In the past my home was..."). These writing tasks require students to produce noun phrases where determiners (articles or demonstratives) could naturally appear.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
The lesson introduces the sight words "the" and "a" and asks students to identify, read, and say them (Activity 1.3, Activity 3.1, Activity 5.4). Students are asked to point to and read these words in the Weekly Message and in the Tap and Pat reader, and to turn over sight-word cards and say the words. Students also write and say the sight words during recognition and writing activities (e.g., writing and reading sight-word cards and quizzes).
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students identify and read the sight words "the," "and," and "a" using sight word cards (Activity 1.3 and Activity 3.1). Students read the Weekly Message aloud and point to each word (Activity 1.1), which includes the demonstrative "This" and articles such as "the." Students read sentences in the reader (Activity 5.3) that contain determiners and are asked to point to words like "the" in the message (Activity 3.1).
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
Students are asked to recognize and read sight words that include the articles "a" and "the" (Activity 1.1 lists and has the child point to known words such as a and the). Multiple activities review sight words (Activity 4.3 asks the child to flip sight word cards and read them), and the weekly message and reader texts contain sentences that use articles (e.g., "The pig has a jug.", "A rat and a cat nap."). Students read and read-aloud sentences that include these determiners and are asked to point to and read them in context.
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students read and identify the words a and the in the Weekly Message and are asked to point to and read sight words that include that. In Activity 3.1 students circle the words the, was, that, and in sentences and then read the sentences aloud pointing to each word. In Activity 5.3 students use word cards (including the and a) to build and complete sentences, read them, and are encouraged to create their own sentences using those cards.
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students read the Weekly Message that begins "This week...," giving them exposure to the demonstrative "this." Students trace and practice sight-word pages that include articles and demonstratives such as "the," "that," and "a" (e.g., tracing pages listing "the," "that," "on"). Students write dictated sentences that include articles: "The hens are in the pot." and "A tub was on the dock.," requiring students to produce articles in their writing.
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students read, reconstruct, and dictate sentences that contain articles and demonstratives (for example, Sentence #2 "The man ran with his pet.", Sentence #3 "The cats are on the path.", and the dictated sentence "The path was wet and hot."). Students read and write the reader titled "This Is..." and hear the word "this" when practicing the TH sound ("this" and "thing"). Students encounter and practice reading sight words and sentence-level uses that include determiners such as "the" and "this."
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students read and point to sight words that are determiners such as "the," "this," and "that" (Activities 1.1, 1.3, and Sight Words Search). Students write dictated sentences that include articles and demonstratives (Activity 5.3: "The moth is on the dish." and "I chat with a fox in a hut."). Students also locate and read determiners in the Weekly Message and on sight-word cards during partner/independent practice.
Lesson 8
Blends with s
Students practice the sight word "this" in multiple places: they underline it in the Weekly Message, read it among sight word cards, and encounter it in dictated and copied sentences (e.g., "This is the spot for the desk"). Students also read and write sentences that include the article "The" (e.g., "The fox has a snack in the shack.") during sentence dictation and reader activities. Students point to and read the Weekly Message and are asked to identify words with s blends and some sight words, reinforcing recognition of "this" and other determiners in context.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students read and identify the determiners The, This/this, and A from the Making Sentences card set and the Weekly Message, underlining or reading them aloud. Students use the determiner cards to build sentences (Activity 5.1), filling blanks and creating original sentences orally. Students write and dictate sentences that include articles and demonstratives (e.g., "The kids have a black cat." and use of "a" in dictation), demonstrating use of determiners in written work.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students are asked to underline sight words in the Weekly Message that include the demonstrative "that," indicating attention to a demonstrative determiner. In the Sentence Dictation activity, students write sentences that contain articles and determiners such as "I have one trick." and "The frogs crash on the deck.": students must write and therefore reproduce the determiners "one" and "The." The Writing Sight Words activity has students read and write the word "one," giving additional practice with a numeral determiner.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
Students are asked to lay out sight word cards and identify words that include determiners such as the, that, and this (Activity 3.3). Students read and write sentences that begin with the article "The" during sentence dictation (Activity 5.2). Students read the Weekly Message aloud, which contains the demonstrative "This," allowing them to read a demonstrative in context.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students read and mark words in the Weekly Message and are asked to find and underline the word "that" (Activity 1.1). Students write dictated sentences that include articles/determiners (e.g., "The kids shop at the mall.", "They pick a dress and a doll.") and write the sentence "The bugs buzz." (Activities 4.1 and 5.2). The sight-word search includes the word "this," and students find and read listed sight words including "this" (Activity 5.1).
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students read and write the sight word "your" during the sight-words activity (Activity 1.3). Students encounter and write the article "The" in dictated sentences (Activity 5.3) and use the article "the" in sentence starters for making sentences (Activity 5.2). Students read and produce sentences that include determiners when they read the Weekly Message and the reader King Hank.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students are introduced to and practice the article 'an' through Activity 1.3, which explains when to use 'an' versus 'a' and includes a linked song about A and An. The sight-word activities and Writing Sight Words page have students read, write, and copy the determiners 'an', 'each', and 'use' (Activity 4.1, Activity 1.3). Students write dictated sentences that include determiners ('An elk slept on the bed.'; 'Each kid can swim.'; 'The rafts drift on the pond.'), and they read these sentences aloud (Activity 5.1 and Day 5 reader).
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
Students are asked to point to and read the words "this" and "that" in the Weekly Message (Activity 1.1). The teacher language and materials include demonstratives (e.g., "this week," "these words") and the sight-word work exposes students to question words alongside demonstratives (Activity 1.3). Sentences used for dictation and guided reading contain the article "a" (e.g., "When do you use a golf club?"), giving students exposure to an indefinite article in written context.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Activity 2.2 explicitly teaches the articles "a" and "an," has students say words aloud to hear beginning sounds, and has them write either "a" or "an" before pictured words. Activity 3.2 has students dictate and write sentences that include the definite article (e.g., "The dogs slept in the yard."), giving practice using "the" in context. Activity 1.3 and the sight-word activities instruct students to distinguish and underline "their" (a possessive determiner) and contrast it with "there," providing practice recognizing a determiner that shows belonging.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students read and write sentences that contain articles: Activity 5.2 has students dictate and write "Will you bake a cake?" and "The kids bike on the path." Activity 1.3 includes sentences with the definite article "The" ("The players put on their uniforms.") and asks students to point to the word used. Students are asked to reread the weekly message and point to words in sentences, which requires recognizing and reading articles in context.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students read and practice the sight word "these" in multiple activities (sight word cards, sight word search). Students write and read sentences that include determiners, for example they dictate and write "I can stack these cubes." and may highlight "the" in the Weekly Message. The spelling test and reader activities require students to read and spell words and sentences that include the demonstrative "these" and the article "the."
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students read the Weekly Message that includes the demonstrative "This" and are asked to read words in context (Activity 1.1). The sight-word practice includes the determiner/quantifier "many" (Activity 1.3). During Sentence Dictation (Activity 5.3) students write sentences that contain the article "The" and the determiner "Many" ("The red gem is huge."; "Many mice are in the cage.").
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students are asked which common words they use most often and the text explicitly lists articles such as "the" and "a" as examples for student recognition. Students practice sight words and are asked to read and use sight words in sentences during wrapping up. Students write dictated sentences that include the article "The" ("The herd is in the barn."), providing practice using an article in writing.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students read and write sentences that include articles and a demonstrative (Activity 5.2: dictation sentences "The train is on the track." and "The trail is that way."). Students read and reread the Weekly Message and are asked to point to words (e.g., "the letters") and to produce life-application sentences that include articles (e.g., "A snake and a snail played..."). Students also speak and read aloud sight words and story text that contain determiners as part of reading and spelling practice.
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
Students read and write sentences that include articles and demonstratives (for example, the dictated sentence "The cake is sweet." and sentence starters such as "The ____ hike home."). Students encounter the demonstrative/word "these" in word-sorting and sight-word activities (placing "these" on the Long e page and reading/identifying it in the spelling test and word lists). Students make and read sentences aloud using word cards that include determiners (e.g., "the," "these") during the Making Sentences activity.
Lesson 7
Long i Spellings y, igh, ie
Students read and practice sight words that are determiners: the sight-word lists and grouping activity include words such as my, these, each, and the Weekly Message and activities contain demonstratives like this/these. Students encounter determiners in context during reading and dictation (e.g., the sentence "The kite is high." and the Weekly Message beginning "This week..."). Students are asked to point to, read, and group these words during sight-word activities.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students write two dictated sentences that begin with the definite article "The" ("The toad would float." and "The goat eats toast."). Students read aloud the reader titled "The Slow Boat," thereby encountering the article "The" in connected text. Students also read and reread sentences and messages that include the word "The," giving them practice with a definite article in reading and writing tasks.
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students read and write multiple sentences that include articles (e.g., "The sky was dark blue," "The goat can chew," "Who has a clue?") during dictation, reader practice, and fill-in-the-blank activities. Students also read sight-word sentences that contain determiners (e.g., "Who has been in the water at camp?") and are asked to write and reread sentences that include articles. Several student writing pages require copying or completing sentences that already contain determiners.
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students read and re-read the Weekly Message #10 that contains the demonstrative "This" ("This week...") and are asked to point to and read words in that message. Students write and read multiple dictated and self-composed sentences that begin with the article "The" (e.g., "The colts bolt.", "The snakes molt.", "The child is kind.", "The colt is blind."). Students read aloud the reader The Wild Colt and answer comprehension questions that include nouns preceded by articles/demonstratives.
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students read and write sentences that contain articles and possessive determiners (e.g., the dictation sentence "The boys play with the toy." and the sentence "Use your voice."). Students use word cards that include the determiner "my" when constructing sentences in Activity 4.1. Students encounter the article "a" in the Weekly Message ("a voice") and are asked to make and read sentences using provided words that sometimes include determiners (e.g., sentence starters beginning with "The").