First Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students are prompted to use and review vocabulary (environment, healthy environment, food, water, shelter) daily and to use those words in sentences and conversations (Discussion prompts in Introduction and Activities 1–3). Activity 3 includes an explicit sentence frame: "The ______________ is the most important room because ______________," which requires students to use the conjunction because to state a simple relationship. Activities ask students to read aloud, dictate responses, and explain why they selected items (e.g., circle an item and explain why it adds to a healthy environment), providing opportunities to use words and phrases acquired through conversation and being read to.
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students are read the book Me On the Map and are asked and repeatedly answer questions about country, state, town, and address, providing opportunities to acquire map- and place-related words through being read to and conversation. Students label and sound out words for household objects on the Map of a House activity and practice handwriting the words map, mom, home, and house, showing direct practice using words and phrases from texts and activities. Students talk about and use positional vocabulary (beside, in front of, next to, behind) when answering map questions, practicing words acquired through discussion and responding to prompts.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
Students are asked to describe their own environment and answer comprehension questions about the book (e.g., "What do you think this book is about?", "Who do you think this man is?") which prompts use of words and phrases acquired through reading and conversation. Students are prompted to tell a story about visiting a habitat and to answer explanatory prompts such as "Which animals would you be most interested in seeing? Why?", providing opportunities to use causal language. Activities require students to connect literature to prior knowledge, make predictions, and respond orally to text, supporting vocabulary and phrase use gained from being read to and from discussion.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students are read to from Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt and are asked comprehension questions that require spoken responses to the text. One model answer uses the conjunction 'Because' explicitly: "Because the plants need water in order to grow." Students are asked to use and apply domain vocabulary such as "consumer" and "energy source" when analyzing organisms and matching food relationships.
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
Students see and practice habitat vocabulary through labeled word lists, scrambled-word and word-box identification activities (Option 1 and 2) and handwriting practice for words like "jungle" and "Jeep." Students are asked to talk about what they see, name habitats and animals (Activity 1 and 2), label animals and food/water sources (Activity 3), and match or write habitat names on activity pages. Graphing and discussion questions (Activity 6) ask students to answer questions about quantities and categories, encouraging use of the vocabulary in spoken or written responses.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students are asked to locate information in books or online and share it, then dictate and read back a story about an animal, which requires using words and phrases acquired through reading and conversation. The Skills list explicitly includes "Make connections through the use of oral language" and "Use words that name, describe, and tell action," and students label drawings and answer guided questions (e.g., What are they doing? What do you think the animals eat?) that prompt descriptive vocabulary. Students practice oral language by predicting, describing observations, and role-playing animals, encouraging use of words learned through conversation and observation.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
Students are prompted to talk about and define tools, respond to questions (e.g., naming what tools do and how they work), and tell what they need to live and grow, which requires using vocabulary acquired through conversation. Students identify, sort, and describe tools aloud during Activity 2 and record and read tool names during Activity 3, practicing words and letter-sound correspondence. Students practice specific words in handwriting (the words it and inch) and read the names of tools while pointing at letters, showing use of words learned through reading and being read to.
Lesson 8
Animal Care
Students are read The Salamander Room and are asked specific comprehension and reasoning questions (e.g., "Could the boy give the salamander the kind of habitat... Why or why not?"), which requires them to respond to a text. Students are prompted to answer questions about pets and habitats, discuss what pets need, and explain consequences (e.g., "What would happen if we didn't provide a healthy environment for our pets?"). The Life Application and Activities ask caregivers to have children talk about creating environments for animals, creating opportunities for conversation and use of words/phrases from reading and discussion.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students read and repeat simple sentences from captions such as "A fish swims in the ocean," providing modeled vocabulary and phrase structure. Students are asked to name habitats and write habitat names (Option 2), say sentences aloud (Activity 3: "A zebra can't live in the ocean. A zebra lives in the savanna."), and explain why animals do not belong in certain habitats (Activity 2). Students tell and record a creative story about an animal in the wrong habitat (Activity 4), which requires producing connected language and reasons.
Lesson 10
Amazing Animals
Students listen to texts read aloud and respond to questions about animal adaptations, which gives them opportunities to use words like camouflage, shed, detach, and grow back. Students analyze pictures and read short texts about starfish, snakes, lizards, and sharks and are asked to explain what will happen (for example, that a starfish's arm will grow back). Students role-play scenarios and answer prompts such as "What would you do if you were the lizard?" and "What will happen to the starfish's arm?", encouraging them to use vocabulary acquired from reading and conversation.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
The lesson includes explicit use of causal connectives in text and speech (e.g., the Facts state "Our bodies can change because of our environments," and the Introduction uses "so that" and "so we won't get wet"). Students are prompted to read words aloud, record their own ideas about changes, and read those ideas back, providing opportunities to use words and phrases acquired through conversation and being read to. Option 2 asks students to name emotions and encourages more advanced vocabulary (e.g., "joyous" and "depressed"), supporting acquisition of words and phrases.
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
Students are prompted to speak about and describe their environment and animal habitats through guided questions (e.g., 'Can you describe the environment in which you live?' and 'What do habitats give to the animals that live in them?'), which requires using vocabulary learned in the unit. Students complete and label pages in a book (e.g., 'The ______', 'What _____ Eats and Drinks', 'Where In The World?') that require them to write or say words and phrases learned from conversation, reading, or research. Students are also asked to explain each page of their book to family and to create song lyrics or dramatizations, providing multiple opportunities to use new words and phrases in speech and writing.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
The skills list includes "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing," and multiple activities ask students to dictate or write sentences using weather vocabulary (Activity 2 Options 1 & 2). Activity 1 has students respond to a read-aloud by answering questions about weather and feelings, and Activity 3 asks students to explain what kind of weather they enjoy and why. The Life Application and Wrapping Up sections have students describe weather daily and discuss what to wear and how weather affects activities, providing opportunities to use words and phrases learned from reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Types of Precipitation
Students are read age-appropriate texts (Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? and Whatever the Weather) and are asked comprehension questions about habitats, character reactions, and new learning. Students are asked to describe what is happening to cause rain, to make and check a prediction, and to explain why precipitation is important, prompting use of vocabulary learned from reading and discussion. Students practice responding to texts and experiences by describing sky conditions, counting raindrops, and discussing dangerous weather and safety plans.
Lesson 3
Measuring and Charting Weather
Students are prompted to discuss and describe weather concepts (e.g., "Ask your child what she thinks…," "Ask your child to describe what the weather can be like…") so they hear and use vocabulary such as temperature, thermometer, rain gauge, precipitation, and habitat. Students create a RAIN acrostic and record measured temperatures on the activity sheet, which asks them to generate words/phrases and write recorded terms. Students are asked to give examples of how weather can be measured and explain how weather helps provide for plants and animals, providing opportunities to use words and phrases acquired through conversation and reading.
Lesson 4
Simulating Weather
Students are asked to read and follow along with the Weather Song, point to each word as they sing, and find specific words (clouds, rain) on the page, providing practice using words acquired through being read to. Students are asked to explain observations (e.g., what happens when you release or squeeze the bottle) and to answer the question ‘‘what happens in the sky to cause it to rain?,'' prompting causal explanations. Activities prompt conversational responses about wind and what it moves and include making up a song about the weather, which elicits use of weather-related words and phrases in speech.
Lesson 5
Fall
Students are asked to identify items in a fall picture, write the names of those items, and use each word in a sentence, providing practice in using words acquired through conversation and reading. Students practice handwriting and copying the words "fall" and "fun" and are prompted to answer questions such as "Do you like the fall? Why or why not?" and to explain what happens to the weather in fall, which elicits responding to text and conversation. Students also answer graph questions and discuss similarities/differences, engaging them in using descriptive phrases acquired during activities.
Lesson 6
Winter
Students are asked to use new vocabulary in speech and writing (skill list) and to use the words cold, snow, and freeze when they dictate and write a winter story. Students describe pictures in a book and compare those winter scenes to their own environment, responding to texts orally. Students practice and copy vocabulary words (wind, winter) during handwriting practice and are encouraged to read their dictated story aloud.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked to attempt to read poems and to answer comprehension questions about what each poem was about, which prompts them to use words and phrases encountered in the texts. In the Blowing in the Wind activity students are asked causal questions ("Why did it move/fall off? or Why didn't it move/fall off?"), which invites them to explain events and potentially use causal language. Wrapping up and other prompts (e.g., asking what a seed needs to become a plant) require students to respond in complete ideas drawn from conversations and readings.
Lesson 8
Summer
Students are prompted to use and practice new vocabulary: the Skills section lists 'Use new vocabulary in speech and writing,' and Activity 2 asks students to choose picture-word prompts (beach, hot, trip, swim, pool) to fill blanks, copy words, or write beginning letters and then read the story aloud. Activity 1 and the introductory questions ask students to describe the picture and the summer environment, which requires them to use descriptive words in speech. The season song and story sentences include the conjunction 'and' in contexts where students read or sing aloud.
Final Project
Weather Games
The lesson lists the skill "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing" and includes activities that require orally describing weather and seasons (Weather Window, Weather Forecast). In Weather Memory students match written weather/season words to pictures, practicing recognition and use of vocabulary. Activity prompts ask students to explain observations (e.g., "What do you think the temperature is? Why?") and to give oral forecasts to the family, which requires producing connected phrases to justify choices.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
Students read the story and answer questions about community places, prompting them to use words and phrases from the text (Activity 1). Students complete vocabulary fill-in sentences and copy or paste community words to finish sentences, directly practicing using community vocabulary in context (Activity 2). Students draw a new page and write or dictate a sentence about Charlie visiting a place, and practice writing target words (park, people) in handwriting practice (Activities 3 and 4).
Lesson 2
My Community Environment
Students are read to from Me on the Map and asked to point out and discuss places on a community map, which requires using words and phrases acquired through reading and conversation. Students label pictures, write or dictate brief descriptions of how places serve the community, and copy book titles and describe communities in illustrations, showing they respond to texts. Students prepare and ask interview questions and answer prompts such as "Why would a person come here?" and "Why is this an important place in our community?", which require giving explanations that could use conjunctions to signal relationships.
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Students listen to books about community workers and discuss what each worker does (Activities 1 and 6), giving opportunities to acquire vocabulary through reading and conversation. Students observe a community worker and describe what they saw (Activity 3), then use those words and phrases when dictating or attempting to write sentences (Activity 5). The "When I Grow Up" fill-in-the-blank prompts explicitly ask students to complete sentences using "because" (Activity 4), prompting use of a frequently occurring conjunction to signal a simple relationship.
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
Students are asked to name important community places and to explain how each place helps people, prompting spoken responses about relationships (e.g., cause/effect). Students read labels and words on the activity sheet and read price amounts during the money activity, engaging with words and phrases from text. Students discuss bartering and compare it to a money system and are asked in the wrapping up to describe goods and services and explain why people have jobs, which requires using explanatory language.
Lesson 5
Resources
Students are asked to explain how each gathered resource is used, explain where it is found, and/or write a sentence about the resources (Activity 3). Students are asked to explain the difference between natural and manmade resources during the wrap-up. Students also label items as "N" or "M" and write counts on the Counting on Resources page, providing some written responses tied to content.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
Students are asked to explain how they decided whether each character is being a good citizen (Activity 1), which requires them to use words and phrases from discussion and reading. Students are prompted to label pictures and "explain what is happening" after drawing scenarios of good and not-good home environments (Activity 2, Option 2), encouraging them to describe relationships in text and pictures. Students are asked to describe examples of good citizenship for family members by dictating or writing observations beneath names (Activity 3), and the lesson lists "Listen responsibly to text read aloud," providing input from reading and being read to.
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students are asked to define and use vocabulary for character traits (respect, responsibility, kindness, honesty) through questions, discussion prompts, and labeling activities (e.g., marking scenarios as respectful/disrespectful and writing "I am respectful when I __"). After being read to, students answer comprehension and reflective questions about stories (e.g., "What do you think will happen next?", "Did Riley do anything wrong?", "What should Riley have done?"). In Activities 6 and the Kindness Award, students describe actions and consequences and explain why they assigned kindness scores, linking language from conversations and texts to their responses.
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
Students are asked to read aloud and respond to the story "The House with No Rules," answering multiple "why" questions about consequences and preferences. Students are prompted to explain which home rule is most important and to say why as they number and order rules from 1st to 6th. Students sort statements into "Rules" and "Laws" and discuss distinctions, reading items aloud and deciding categories through conversation.
Lesson 9
Caring for Our Communities
Students read the story "When One Person Cares" and answer comprehension questions (beginning/middle/end, where Katy lives, what she does) that require responding to a text. Students discuss and explain community features (Activity 2), identify three things that make a community healthy and then "explain why" those items were chosen (Activity 3), and role-play and describe helping scenarios (Activity 4 and 5). Handwriting practice includes tracing and writing vocabulary words like "care" and "citizen," and Activity 6 asks students to write a song encouraging helping, which requires producing words/phrases in response to prompts.
Final Project
I Can Make A Difference
Students are given sentence starters for planning and reflection that require producing words and phrases (e.g., "I am planning to __," "The first thing I will do is __," "Next I will __," "Finally I will __."). The reflection section explicitly prompts a causal conjunction with the stem "I made my community a better place because __." Students can dictate responses while an adult records them and answer project reflection questions such as "Did your plan help make your community better? How?" which prompt verbal and written use of words and phrases acquired through conversation and responding to the project.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
Students practice and use descriptive vocabulary in multiple activities: they listen to and give attribute-based clues in "Guess What's in the Bag," select and write describing words on the "Describing Words" worksheet, and copy or compose a sentence describing an object in the handwriting activity. Activity 2 models comparison sentences that use a conjunction to show a simple relationship (e.g., "These two objects are similar because they are both fruit." and "...different because the banana is yellow, and the apple is red."). The skills list explicitly includes using words that describe in speech and writing, and vocabulary review is emphasized daily.
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
Students are asked to develop and use vocabulary associated with properties (color, size, shape, texture) and to observe and describe properties of objects, which practices acquiring and using words and phrases. Students are prompted to explain how two stuffed animals are alike and different and to describe how they know which objects are living, requiring spoken explanations. Students discuss animal body parts and how those parts help animals move, which asks them to use descriptive language acquired from conversation and reading.
Lesson 3
Size, Shape, and Color
Students are prompted to describe objects' size, shape, and color aloud (e.g., describing a metal spoon and a wooden spoon) and to discuss terms they used. Students practice vocabulary by naming shapes on the activity page and drawing real-world examples, and by answering questions about color mixing (e.g., what makes purple, green, orange). The lesson also asks students to explain what they learned about mixing colors and to describe shapes, encouraging spoken use of the target words and phrases.
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
Students are asked to produce and orally describe texture words during the blindfold activity and to have those words read back, showing use of vocabulary acquired through conversation. The Skills list explicitly includes "Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing (LA)" and "Use words that describe in speech and writing (LA)." Students practice matching and labeling adjectives with objects on the "Describing Texture" activity pages and write a sentence frame "______ feels ________." to use descriptive words in writing.
Lesson 5
How Old?
Students are prompted to express ideas and ask questions (e.g., asking which questions to ask people in the pictures and writing questions for each person). The lesson repeatedly directs conversational responses (Ask your child if she knows..., Ask her what she looks at..., Ask her if she thinks the world is more interesting because we have people of different ages). Students practice writing words and simple sentences (capital letters, question marks) and attempt to read the provided questions aloud.
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
Students complete fill-in-the-blank sentences that use comparative phrases (e.g., "The ___ is longer than the ___," "The ___ is shorter than the ___"), and they practice vocabulary words such as length, weight, and capacity in handwriting and measurement activities. Students are prompted to describe similarities and differences (e.g., compare sugar, water, and milk) and to explain measurements and choices (e.g., why a bowl will hold more or fewer cups of milk than sugar). Students also respond orally to guided questions about how they know measurements and which object is heavier, providing opportunities to use words and phrases from conversations and activities.
Lesson 7
More Attributes
Students are prompted to develop and use vocabulary associated with properties of materials (color, size, shape, and texture) and to describe similarities and differences during conversations and sorting activities. Students explain attributes, compare objects, and answer questions such as naming attributes their toys share and describing how they are similar to or different from family members. Students practice the word "Venn" and letter "V" through handwriting tracing and writing on the Student Activity Page.
Lesson 8
Amazing Attributes
The Skills section tells students to "Develop and use vocabulary associated with properties of materials" and to "Use words that describe in speech and writing," which directs students to practice language. Activity prompts ask students to predict, test, compare predictions and results, and "discuss the 'why'" of sinking and floating and magnetism, requiring students to explain observations and use relevant vocabulary (e.g., magnetic, sink, float, density). The wrapping up questions ask students to state what a magnet is and what causes an object to sink or float, prompting oral explanations.
Lesson 9
Solids and Liquids
Students are asked to explain the difference between solids and liquids and to write the definitions on the "Solid or Liquid" page, practicing domain-specific words (solid, liquid). Students are prompted to discuss causes of changes in state (e.g., asking what caused the ice cube to change and noting heat or cold), which elicits causal language. Students brainstorm and find examples in magazines or online, cutting and pasting pictures and labeling them, which requires reading/responding to texts and using related vocabulary.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
Students are read the books Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt and Over and Under the Pond and are asked comprehension and explanatory questions (e.g., describe habitats, compare writing, identify solids/liquids). Students are asked to describe and compare two soil samples and to explain which soil might grow plants better and why, with an example answer that uses the conjunction "because." Students create an Earth Materials book and write properties of dirt, rocks, and water, which gives opportunities to use words and phrases encountered in the readings and activities.
Lesson 11
Using Earth Materials
Students are prompted to describe the three Earth materials, which requires them to use vocabulary acquired through prior conversations and reading. Students are asked to keep a water log, dictate or record uses of water, and make lists or photo collages, which gives them opportunities to use and respond to words and phrases from discussions and the video. Students are asked to summarize physical properties of Earth materials and to discuss soil and plant relationships, prompting them to use domain-specific words in oral responses.
Final Project
Presenting Attributes
Students are asked to 'Use new vocabulary in conversation and writing' and 'Use words that describe in speech and writing' (Skills). Students plan, write, and label attributes on posters and are asked to compose words and sentences to explain attributes (Option 2 Steps 3–4). Students practice what they will say and rehearse presentations about attributes to family or younger children (Option 1 Step 5; Option 2 Step 5).
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students copy and practice the "Senses Word List" (copying each word three times) and are encouraged to find and read those words while reading My Five Senses. Students answer text-based questions about the senses and identify sense words and sense organs in discussion and in drawing/writing activities (e.g., naming senses, explaining which body part is used). Students dictate and write sentences about sensing experiences and copy sentences about senses (e.g., "I smell with my nose"), providing opportunities to use words and phrases acquired from reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Students listen to a read-aloud story, Jackie's Day at the Pet Store, and respond by picking up and gluing the sense organ when Jackie uses a sense, which requires attending to and using sensory vocabulary from the text. In Option 2, students make up and orally tell a story about Jackie, pausing to glue sense organs as they use sensory words, giving them a chance to produce words and phrases acquired through speaking and listening. In Activity 4, students practice the words "sense" and "see" and are asked to use each word in a sentence, providing written practice using vocabulary learned.
Lesson 3
Smelling and Tasting
Students are asked orally to explain how their sense of smell helped them decide whether to taste foods and to answer reflective questions such as whether foods that smelled good always tasted good. Students conduct a taste survey, record yes/no responses, total results, and answer follow-up questions including "Which flavor did people like the most?" and "If you were to give a friend a snack, what flavor would you make it? Why?" Students also write a sentence reporting survey results on handwriting paper, providing a written opportunity to use vocabulary from the activities.
Lesson 4
Hearing and Seeing
Students listen to The Magic School Bus read aloud and answer comprehension questions, providing opportunities to use words and phrases from the text. Students describe experiences and ideas orally (e.g., explaining how they know objects are same or different, describing blindfolded vs. sighted walks) and record those descriptions to read aloud. Students generate sound descriptions (choose a noisy place, describe it, and attempt to read the description aloud) and participate in guided discussions after read-alouds and activities.
Lesson 5
Touch
Students select and write adjectives on the "Touch It" pages (Options 1 and 2) and add new touch-related words on the "Touch Chart." Students describe how ingredients feel while preparing Jell-O and are asked to describe and title their painting. Students verbally describe blindfolded items and practice using descriptive words in speech and writing (handwriting practice for "touch" and "taste").
Lesson 6
Experimenting With Our Senses
Students describe tastes aloud and in writing during the taste-test activity and compare descriptions before and after being blindfolded. Students are asked to tell and have recorded a story about a favorite flavor and then encouraged to read it aloud, and they practice reading and copying spice names. Students write or dictate a sentence about something they smelled or tasted and answer questions asking why their answers were different and how senses help them make decisions.
Lesson 7
Using All of Our Senses
Students listen to pages of My Five Senses read aloud and are asked which senses the character used, providing opportunities to acquire words and phrases through reading and conversation. The skills list and activities ask students to listen to stories, interact with the reader, and use prior knowledge when listening, and Activity 3 has students look through books to identify how characters use their senses. In the Nature Walk and Activity pages students record observations (I hear..., I see..., I smell..., I feel...) and write or dictate sentences about what they observed, practicing using sensory vocabulary from conversation and texts.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students generate and use descriptive sensing words in multiple activities (describing an apple and an ice cube, completing the 'Sensing Logic' puzzles, and filling sensory blanks about popcorn). Students write and attempt to read a short report about popping popcorn, drawing on sensory vocabulary. Students are asked to look through books and identify sensing words authors use, providing exposure to words and phrases from reading and being read to.
Final Project
A Sensible Party
The Skills list asks students to "develop and use vocabulary associated with properties of materials (color, size, shape, and texture)," and students are prompted to read a sample Party Planner sheet so they see model language. Students write Ideas and Supplies on Party Planner pages, compare their plan to the sample to find similarities and differences, and answer reflective questions such as "Did the party go well? Why or why not?" which requires them to produce explanatory language. The activities require students to plan, record, and describe sensory experiences, providing opportunities to use words and phrases about senses and properties.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
The lesson requires students to answer personal questions, complete a fill-in-the-blank paragraph, and read and share their story, which asks them to use vocabulary in sentences. The introduction explicitly asks "Would you enjoy being exactly like everyone else? Why or why not?", prompting students to give reasons. The unit directs daily review of vocabulary and instructs students to use vocabulary words in sentences and in handwriting practice (e.g., the word "unique").
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Students listen to the story in Activity 2 and answer comprehension and 'Why' questions, prompting them to use words and phrases from the text when retelling. In Activity 3 students dictate and illustrate an original friendship story (beginning, middle, end), producing sentences based on conversation and imagination. Activity 4 asks students to write a sentence describing a physical characteristic, and the Wrap Up asks discussion questions that require verbal responses about similarities, differences, and reasons.
Lesson 3
Different Personalities
Students are asked to read through and use a list of personality words, circle words that describe themselves, and explain word meanings (Activity 1). Students write or cut and paste personality words into webs for themselves and a friend, then describe similarities and differences and count common words (Activity 2). Students label main characters with two personality words and substitute personality words into a song, and they practice writing the word "quiet," showing opportunities to use new vocabulary in speech and writing (Activities 3, 4, and wrapping up).
Lesson 4
Interests and Hobbies
Students are asked to dictate and then write sentences describing a hobby (Activity 1), which asks them to use words and phrases to explain and share information. Activity 2 has students go to the library, read books about an interest, and then answer specific prompts using prior and new knowledge, giving opportunities to use vocabulary acquired from reading. Activity 3 has students read survey questions aloud and interview others, practicing language from conversations and responding to texts. The wrap-up sentence uses the conjunction "Because" in context: "Because we are all different, we can learn new things from one another."
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students are prompted to describe shapes' physical characteristics and personalities orally and in writing (Activities 1 and 2) and to dictate a short description of their own personality and interests for recording. The skills list includes "Use words that describe in speech and writing" and "Use author's model of language," and Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence describing an interest or personality trait. Students are also asked "Why?" and to explain why they chose a shape, which invites them to produce reasons during discussion and sharing.
Lesson 6
Different Families
Students listen to and discuss the book A Life Like Mine and describe pictures of families, which gives opportunities to use words and phrases from reading and conversation. In Option 1 students complete sentence frames that explicitly require the conjunction because ("My family is similar to a family from _______ because we both _______."). The difference frame also prompts use of conjunctions ("because" and "but") to signal simple relationships, and the skills list includes "complete sentences" and "connect information in text to personal experience."
Lesson 7
Different Homes
Students read pages 26–35 and are asked to identify and describe different homes, which requires them to use words and phrases encountered in the text. Students are prompted to identify materials used to build homes and to answer questions such as why people have homes and what they enjoy about their house, encouraging spoken responses. Students are asked to write a sentence about their home and to describe why they would or would not enjoy living in a different type of home, prompting written language use tied to the reading and conversation.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Students read about and discuss holidays using scrapbooks, encyclopedias, and linked websites (Activity 1 and Activity 2) and are prompted to use new vocabulary in conversation and writing (Skills). Students write three sentences about their favorite holiday (Activity 3) and create a Book of Holidays with a required sentence about each holiday (Activity 5). Activity 5 provides a model sentence that uses the conjunction because ("___ is important because ___"), explicitly prompting students to signal simple relationships.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students read and look through books/websites (including A Life Like Mine) to find and name different modes of transportation, which gives them opportunities to acquire vocabulary through reading and being read to. Students label and spell transportation words in the cut-and-paste and fill-in activities (Option 1 and 2) and write answers on the "Getting from Point A to Point B" pages, showing use of newly learned words in written tasks. Students draw a picture and tell a story about a trip and then attempt to read it aloud, which has them use words and phrases acquired through conversation and responding to texts.
Lesson 10
Wants and Needs
Students are asked to discuss and explain ideas after reading pages about education, play, and love (e.g., "Read pages 46-51 and discuss why children need an education"). Students label and sort pictured words as wants or needs, make lists of their own wants and needs, and conduct a Wants and Needs survey of four people, recording and organizing responses on charts and webs. Students write or dictate a reflection about donating items and practice writing the word "need" in a handwriting activity.
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
Students are read pages 98–113 of A Life Like Mine and are asked to discuss identity, nationality, and religion, giving them exposure to words and phrases from reading and conversation. In Activity 2 students complete a prompted paragraph that includes the sentence stem "The members in the group are alike because ___," requiring them to use the conjunction because to signal a simple relationship. Students are asked to dictate or write their ideas and then read the paragraph aloud, practicing using words and phrases acquired through being read to, conversation, and responding to text.
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
Students read about a chosen country in a book or on the Internet, locate the country on a map, and discuss nonfiction vs. fiction, which supports acquisition of new words and phrases. Students create a book and complete sentence prompts (e.g., "I live in...", "I like to eat...", "One way that we are the same is that we both like to...") and are encouraged to write and illustrate their responses. Students are prompted to share their book with family and to meet and ask questions of a person from the chosen country, which provides opportunities to use vocabulary from conversations and readings.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 1
What Is a Pattern?
Students are prompted to use sequencing words when explaining patterns (e.g., Activity 4 asks them to say "First, there is ______. Next, there is _______. Next, there is ________" and Activity 7 asks them to write three sentences using "First... Next... Then..."). The Skills section explicitly lists using words such as "before" or "after" to describe relative position, and several activities ask students to name objects in order (e.g., "butterfly, ant, butterfly, ant..."). Students read Busy Bugs and are asked to explain the patterns they see, encouraging them to use language acquired through reading and conversation.
Lesson 2
Recognizing Types of Patterns
Students are asked to explain how they decided whether a sequence is a pattern and to describe the difference between ABAB and AABB, which requires them to use descriptive words and phrases. The Skills section explicitly asks students to use words such as "before" or "after" to describe relative position. Students are asked to write or copy a sentence about the book Busy Bugs and to reread the book and point out patterns, providing opportunities to use language from reading and conversation.
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
Students read pattern words and recreate patterns (Option 2) and answer prompts that require naming the first/second/third objects in sequences. Students copy or write a sentence about a pattern on handwriting paper and complete sentences or circle correct answers about patterns (Option 1). Students are asked to explain how they extend a pattern, which requires them to use words and phrases to describe sequence relationships.
Lesson 5
Making Color Patterns
Students are asked to describe the patterns they create orally (Activity 1) and to show patterns with color words or first letters (e.g., Y, R, Y, R). The skills list explicitly includes using words that describe color, size, and location, and Activity 3 asks students to write or copy a sentence describing something they created. The activities involve conversation and writing that prompt students to use words and phrases acquired through those interactions.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
Students are prompted to describe patterns orally (e.g., "The first shape is a small circle. The second shape is a small square...") and to label shapes with A, B, or C, which practices using vocabulary from conversation. Students read and sound out written words in the "Reading Patterns" activity and then create patterns from those words, giving practice using words encountered in reading. Students write or copy a sentence about a pattern and practice specific vocabulary words (shape, color, size) on handwriting paper.
Lesson 8
Creating and Writing About Patterns
Students are prompted to brainstorm and record sequence words and to write the words first, then, and next five times (Activity 3). Multiple activity pages require students to complete sentences such as "First comes ____, Then comes ____, Next comes ____" for AABB, ABAB, and ABC patterns. Pages also ask students to fill in "____ comes before ____" and "____ comes after ____" and to complete "This pattern is made up of ___, ___, and ___."
Final Project
Patterns Poster or Patterns Presentation
Students are prompted to describe patterns in writing on the "Script for Presentation" page, with lines for naming and explaining each pattern. Students are asked to discuss the patterns when planning the poster and to explain each pattern aloud during a presentation to an audience. Students are asked reflective questions that require reasons, such as "Which pattern did you enjoy creating most? Why?" which invite use of explanatory language.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Students identify and produce words from texts by listening to and reading nursery rhymes and Bear Hugs, recording rhyming words and adding new rhyming words (Activities 2 and 3). Students circle repeating word parts and extend patterns on the Word Patterns activity sheet and label pictures to generate appropriate words (Activity 1). Students write or copy a sentence using two rhyming words from Bear Hugs, demonstrating use of words encountered in text (Activity 5).
Lesson 2
Making Word Patterns
Students complete sentences by filling in rhyming words on the "It's Time to Rhyme" page, then read and assemble those sentences into a rhyming book they create. Students cut apart and sort word lists into word-family groups, label index cards (e.g., "-un words"), and practice reading words in the same family. Students identify and record rhyming and spelling patterns from picture books and write or copy a sentence that contains two rhyming words.
Lesson 3
Poetry Patterns
Students read and listen to multiple poems and songs and are asked to identify words that rhyme, circle them, and record them from texts and music. Students write lines and fill-in-the-blank verses (e.g., composing another verse of "A-Hunting We Will Go" and writing lines on handwriting paper), using words and phrases encountered in the poems and songs. Students brainstorm rhyming words and discuss what each poem is about, which practices responding to texts and using new vocabulary in speaking and writing.
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students read and identify sentences in picture books (Activity 4) and copy simple sentences, which gives them exposure to words and phrases from texts. Students participate in conversations and oral practice by acting out sentences with their name and by making up sentences from noun/verb cards (Activities 2 and 5). Students construct sentences using provided noun and verb lists and complete sentence patterns (Activities 1 and 3), practicing vocabulary in speaking and writing contexts.
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
Students read or are read short stories and are asked to identify and describe the beginning, middle, and end of a story. The skills list and activities prompt students to use words such as "before" and "after" to describe sequence and to dictate or write sentences describing events from the text. Activities require students to respond to texts by predicting what happens next and by retelling or illustrating story events in order.
Lesson 6
Sound Patterns
Students listen for and name specific sound words (stomp, clap, slap, tap) when asked to identify parts of a pattern and to clap or imitate rhythms. Students record pattern words on the student activity page where the words "Slap, Clap, Tap" are shown and are given space to write and repeat patterns. Students write about a sound pattern on handwriting paper using a starter phrase ("I heard a pattern that went...") which prompts using words and phrases to describe the pattern.
Lesson 7
Making Sound and Action Patterns
Students are asked orally to describe and demonstrate patterns (Wrapping Up and Introduction), which requires them to use words and phrases in conversation. Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence that describes a pattern they made, giving practice producing language in writing. The student activity pages contain repeated sound words ("smack," "stomp," "slap," "clap," "tap") that students cut out and arrange, which exposes students to and requires use of specific vocabulary items.
Final Project
Patterns Video
Students are asked to read words from a book or poem and explain the pattern, and to write or dictate scripts describing patterns, which requires using words and phrases from texts. The activity pages prompt students to fill sentences such as "This is a ___ pattern" and to list elements and sequence using "First comes" and "Then," supporting use of descriptive and sequencing phrases. The Skills section also lists "Use props and pictures to support spoken messages," indicating students will practice using language to explain their video.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 2
Patterns of Growth
Students label plant parts using a word box (root, stem, leaf, petal) and identify initial letters if needed, giving explicit practice with targeted vocabulary. Students draw a plant over time and write a sentence under each drawing to describe how the plant is changing. Students copy key words (plant, grow, part) five times and participate in oral discussions where they describe growth patterns and compare life cycles (e.g., human, dog, butterfly).
Lesson 3
Night and Day
The text includes conversational prompts that require the child to explain and describe night and day (e.g., asking how she knows when it is nighttime/daytime and asking her to explain the pattern of night and day). The teacher script uses the conjunction 'because' in explanatory statements (e.g., 'night and day occur because of the Earth's rotation' and 'because the Earth follows the same pattern each day'), which the child will hear during conversation and read on activity sheets. Students are asked to record or dictate a few sentences describing a daytime activity and a nighttime activity, creating an opportunity to use words and phrases and simple conjunctions in their own sentences.
Lesson 4
Daily Routines
Students are prompted to talk about their routines (Getting Started and Introduction) and to record activities in words or simple symbols across Activity 3. In Activity 2 students dictate or write a sentence for each of four routine steps and can illustrate each step. Activity 4 asks students to write or dictate and copy a sentence that describes one of their routines.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students practice and say the days of the week and months of the year (Introduction, Activity 5) and write the words day, month, and year multiple times (Activity 6). Students dictate or record scheduled daily activities on the weekly pattern sheet (Activity 1) and record calendar events and patterns verbally and in writing (Activity 4). Students also write number words and tally marks connecting number words to symbols (Activity 2), which practices using specific time-related vocabulary in writing and discussion.
Lesson 6
Seasonal Weather Patterns
Students are prompted to name and discuss the four seasons and to describe types of weather associated with each season, practicing vocabulary such as cold, warm, cool, and hot (Activities 1 and 3, word box). Students read and use a calendar, copy months on handwriting paper, and sequence months and seasons, requiring them to speak and write month/season vocabulary in conversation and on worksheets. Students complete cut-and-paste and fill-in-the-blank tasks that require filling in season names and matching months to seasons, reinforcing use of seasonal and weather words.
Lesson 7
Patterns at Home
Students are read a Pattern book and then go on a scavenger hunt to identify and describe patterns from the book, prompting use of pattern-related vocabulary. Students name shapes and state the number of sides and angles when coloring the quilt pattern, practicing geometric vocabulary. Students write or dictate and then copy a sentence that describes a pattern they found in their closet, producing language in response to text and experience.
Lesson 8
Symmetrical Patterns
Students are prompted to describe the pattern in a butterfly's wings and to say whether the sides look the same or different, encouraging use of content words like symmetrical and pattern. Students sort shapes into symmetrical and non-symmetrical groups, count them, and report which group has more, practicing comparative language (more, fewer, numbers). Students write or copy a sentence template ("______ has _______ lines of symmetry"), which requires using vocabulary about symmetry in written responses.
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
Students listen to a story read aloud, answer questions about it, and act out the story (Activity 3), which requires them to respond to text orally. Students tell their own version of the clown story and track numbers as they narrate, and they write or dictate and then copy a sentence about the clowns while identifying subject and verb (Activity 4). These activities have students use language gained from being read to and from conversation as they retell, narrate, and write about the event.
Lesson 10
Tracing Patterns
Students are asked to tell a story about objects they create and to explain how a pattern can be used in art, which requires using descriptive words and phrases. Students are prompted to identify holidays associated with shapes, to count and describe the originals they traced, and to write or copy a sentence about their favorite holiday, providing opportunities to produce language in response to activities.
Lesson 11
Patterns in Graphs
Students are introduced to the word "data" and are asked to read graph titles and labels and discuss the data, providing direct opportunities to acquire and use content vocabulary through conversation and reading. Students answer specific questions about charts (e.g., "What does this chart tell us?" "Describe the pattern."), which prompts them to use words and phrases to respond to texts. Activity 4 asks students to write a sentence describing whether an object sank or floated, requiring them to produce language in writing based on the prior discussion and observations.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 1
What Causes Change?
Students are prompted to express ideas through writing and conversation (Skills list) and to read or attempt to read their own dictated story and attempt to read their paragraph aloud (Activity 3). Activity 3 provides sentence frames including "__________ changed because __________," directly prompting students to use the conjunction "because" to show a simple relationship. Activity 1 asks students to describe what changed between paired pictures and to identify causes and effects, encouraging students to use causal language in discussion and writing.
Lesson 2
What Changed?
Students read Part 1: Things Change and answer comprehension questions about physical and chemical changes, using vocabulary such as physical change, chemical change, ripening, melting, weight, amount, color, size, and location. Activity 2 asks students to examine picture pairs and then record a sentence to describe each example of change. Activity 3 has students demonstrate and talk about changes (changing amount, color, size, location, weight) and an extension asks them to describe the cause of changes and whether they are positive or negative.
Lesson 3
Changing Position
Students read or are read the book Zoom! Zip! Whoosh! and answer comprehension questions (e.g., how objects start moving, examples of pushes/pulls, gravity). Students locate words in the index (gravity, inertia), copy the sentences from the pages that contain those words, and record ideas about what causes movement. Students discuss and explain observations (e.g., why tossed objects come back down) and sort/draw toys into Push, Pull, and Push-and-Pull categories, using vocabulary like push, pull, gravity, and inertia.
Lesson 4
Changes in the Environment
Students are asked to discuss types of weather and describe how weather forces people to change activities, providing opportunities to use words and phrases from conversation. Students are prompted to read Part 2: Seasons Change and answer questions about changes in the book, which has them respond to text. Students are asked to write or illustrate two sentences about a time weather caused a change and to write or copy a sentence about a favorite season, practicing use of language to explain causes and events. Students are also asked to explain what causes changes and how those changes cause people to change behavior.
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
Students read and respond to sentences that describe locations (e.g., "The mouse is in front of the TV.") and fill blanks on activity pages using a provided word box of prepositions. Students cut out and move picture pieces (mouse, cat) to match spoken or written location descriptions and are prompted to write simple sentences describing object relationships (Nature Relations, Option 2 extensions). The lesson's skills explicitly include "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing," and activities require students to produce and use location words in speech and written sentences.
Lesson 6
Changes in the Sky
Students are asked to list adjectives and phrases to describe the Sun and the Moon on the activity pages, producing words and phrases from conversation or prompted observation. Students participate in discussions about why the Sun is important and how the Moon shines, which requires them to use language acquired through conversation and responding to videos and texts. Students are prompted to describe how objects in the sky change positions during the Wrapping Up and Life Application activities, encouraging use of vocabulary gained from the activities and media.
Lesson 7
Living Things Change
Students are asked to answer "how and why" questions about changes (for example, asking how and why the lizard changed and whether changes happen quickly or slowly). Students describe and circle words that identify types of change (number, size, shape, place) on the "Changes in Living Things" page and determine whether changes are fast or slow. Students are asked to write or copy a sentence that describes how something changes in size, providing a written response opportunity.
Lesson 8
Plants and Change
Students hear and read plant vocabulary (roots, stem, leaf, flower, seed, sunlight, water, dirt) through assigned pages, videos, and songs and are asked to name, label, and list these words. Students respond to comprehension questions (e.g., What are some things plants are used for?; How are plants similar to and different from animals?) and record predictions and observations for the plant experiment. Students practice using words and phrases when they draw and label plant parts, assemble diagrams, and describe what plants need to grow and change.
Lesson 9
Heat Causes Change
Students are prompted to talk about and explain observations (e.g., asking why the ice is changing, asking what caused the candle to change, and asking students to describe batter and cake). Students are asked to respond in writing by copying or writing a sentence about an observation on handwriting paper. The lesson includes review of book pages and guided discussion, giving students opportunities to use words and phrases from conversations and reading about heat and change.
Lesson 10
Chemical Changes
Students complete a Student Activity Page where they categorize six scenarios as chemical or physical and are asked to explain how they made each decision. Students are prompted in Activities (eggs, baking soda and vinegar) to observe and name features such as heat, bubbles, and new substance, using vocabulary like "chemical," "physical," and "new substance." In Wrapping Up, students are asked to describe the difference between a physical and a chemical change and to give an example of each, requiring them to use words and phrases from the activities and discussion.
Lesson 11
People Change the Environment
Students are prompted to discuss and dictate brainstormed ideas about positive and negative environmental changes, using words from conversation. Students hear and talk about definitions for reduce, reuse, and recycle and respond to a video about what can be recycled, then sort items into recycle or trash categories. Students are asked to describe illustrations of human environmental changes and explain whether each change is positive, negative, or neutral and why.
Final Project
Mobile of Change
The Skills section explicitly states that students will "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing" and "Express ideas through writing and conversation," and the Final Project asks students to write labels, draw/paste before-and-after examples, and explain their mobile to family members. The Questions to Explore include prompts such as "Why is change necessary?" which could elicit causal language. The Wrapping Up directions ask students to explain what they have learned about changes, prompting spoken or written responses.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
Students listen to the story and then work on a Vocabulary activity where they guess word meanings from context and match definitions (absolutely, winsome, priceless, dreadful, envious), showing use of words acquired from being read to. Students read and respond to Feeling Phrases by identifying what the author communicates with specific phrases and illustrating Chrysanthemum's expression, practicing use of phrases from the text. Students complete a Characters Change page that asks them to list descriptive words/phrases and to finish the sentence "Chrysanthemum changed because _______________," explicitly prompting use of the conjunction because to signal a simple relationship.
Lesson 2
Why Worry?
Students listen to the read‑aloud of Wemberly Worried and discuss the story, providing opportunities to acquire words and phrases through reading and responding to text. Students practice combining sentences orally and in writing using the conjunction 'and' (activity page) and are taught and prompted to use 'but' in combining sentences. The Characters Change page prompts students to complete the sentence 'Wemberly changed because...' and the wrap‑up asks students to produce sentences using 'and' and 'but', reinforcing conjunction use to signal relationships.
Lesson 3
Is It a Problem?
Students are asked to use frequently occurring conjunctions (and, but, or, so, because) as a listed skill and explicitly practice combining sentences orally using the conjunction "or" (Activity 3). Students identify and circle conjunctions (and, but, or) on the "Characters Change" activity page (Activity 5). Students discuss and use phrases from the text (idioms and personification such as "tackle the problem" and "swallows me up") and illustrate story moments, showing they attend to words and phrases from reading.
Lesson 4
Comparing Characters
Students are asked to dictate three- or four-sentence summaries of stories and to answer questions about how characters and situations are similar, which prompts them to use words and phrases from the texts. The Cause and Effect activity includes example sentences using the conjunction "because" (e.g., "I took medicine because I had the flu") and asks students to match causes and effects from the stories. The "I Change" page provides a sentence stem "I changed because" and other reflective prompts that require students to express relationships using conjunctions.
Lesson 5
The Raft
Students practice word meanings in Activity 2 where they read sentences from the text and match each target word (e.g., mumbled, cluttered, drifted, startled) to definitions. In Activity 6 students discuss figurative phrases from the book (e.g., "eyes in the back of her head," "like finding presents under a Christmas tree") and explain what those phrases mean. The Characters Change activity and multiple comprehension questions prompt students to explain causes (e.g., "The boy changed because __" and "Why or why not?"), requiring use of conjunctions like "because" to signal simple relationships.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
Students are asked to write or dictate sentences describing a change and are encouraged to "use interesting words to describe the situation," with provided vivid phrase examples ("I felt like the world was crashing in around me," "I jumped with joy!"). Students complete cause-and-effect matching activities, cut and glue cause and effect statements, and label each as positive or negative, explicitly practicing linking causes to effects. Students are asked to explain what choices they made for a change to occur and to illustrate the cause and effect on paper.
Final Project
My Own Story
Students are prompted to discuss story ideas, characters, setting, problem, solution, and change (e.g., "Discuss how the character will change"; questions on the Problem and Solution page such as "What caused the problem?" and "Why did the character need to change?"). Students dictate their stories and are asked to "attempt to use interesting language to show the reader how the character changed," and to share and publish their digital storybook, which creates opportunities to use words and phrases gained through conversation and responding to texts. The activities include guided discussion and read-aloud of the child's dictated story during online publishing.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 1
People and Families Change
Students are asked to use listening skills when being read to and to read or attempt to read a dictated story (Skills list), which gives opportunity to acquire words and phrases through being read to and responding. Students dictate ideas about how the family has changed while an adult records them, then read the ideas aloud and fill in a writing sheet (Activity 5), providing practice using words/phrases from conversation and text. Multiple activities require students to discuss changes, answer prompts (e.g., Why is change necessary?), and write or copy sentences about changes (Activities 1, 3, 5, 6), engaging them in conversational and written use of language.
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
Students are prompted to use and practice time-related words and phrases—such as "first," "before," "after," "next," and "last"—in discussion and on the "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" writing/drawing activity. Students answer oral questions about past, present, and future, read pages of a book about units of time, and cut/paste labeled time spans, which require them to use vocabulary acquired through reading and conversation. Students sequence events and order years, which asks them to connect information from text to their own experience and record responses.
Lesson 3
Communities Change
Students are asked to describe pictures and answer comprehension questions (Where did the story happen? Who are the characters? How did the environment change?), which requires using words and phrases from the read-aloud. The skills list explicitly includes "Use pictures to support written and spoken language (LA)." Students are directed to explain answers to why/how questions, draw and label items from different time periods, and write a sentence about The House on Maple Street, all of which prompt them to use vocabulary acquired through reading and conversation.
Lesson 4
Past and Present
Students are asked to use vocabulary related to time and chronology (examples given: "first," "before," "after," "next," and "last") and to refer to words and pictures in The Usborne Time Traveler when ordering time periods and describing past events. Students listen to and respond to texts by dictating stories about living in a past time period, answering comparison questions, and writing a sentence describing how life in the past differs from today. Several activities require students to draw conclusions and record ideas from reading (e.g., listing clues, advantages/disadvantages, and completing comparison prompts).
Lesson 5
Exploring the Past
Students read or are read sections of The Usborne Time Traveler and then look through specified pages to find examples of homes, clothes, food, and transport. Students draw and write or dictate descriptions of information from the text on multiple activity pages. Students write one sentence about each element of culture, assemble a book, and give a presentation to the family, demonstrating use of vocabulary and phrases from the readings.
Lesson 6
Predicting Future Change
Students are asked to record predictions and write sentences about how changes will affect the future (Activities 1 and 2), which requires using words and phrases to describe cause and effect. The fill-in-the-blank prompt "I changed because __________" (Activity 3) explicitly prompts students to use the conjunction "because" to signal a simple relationship. The skills list explicitly states that students will "Use new vocabulary in speech and writing," and Activity 4 asks students to write or copy a sentence about a change, providing additional practice producing phrases in writing.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Students read simple biographies and discuss them (Activity 1) by answering questions such as "How would you describe this person?" and "What did this person do to make a positive change?", which requires using words and phrases from the texts. Students reread short descriptions on the "People in History" page, point to individuals, and glue descriptions under pictures (Activity 2), engaging with vocabulary from the descriptions. Students write a sentence about a historical person on handwriting paper (Activity 4), producing language in written form.
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
Students are prompted to complete sentence prompts that explicitly include the conjunction because (e.g., "I was different because" and "My family was different in the past because ______"). Students are asked to write or dictate full sentences such as "In the past ______" and "Today ______," and may use The Usborne Time Traveler as a reading reference for vocabulary. Students are also prompted with discussion questions (e.g., "Why do people change?") and asked to read through and present their book or comparison pages to family, creating opportunities to use words and phrases from conversations and responses to texts.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
Students are introduced to and practice the sight words "the," "and," and "a" by identifying, reading, and locating them in the Weekly Message and other texts. Students read aloud the Tap and Pat reader and answer questions about the cover and text, pointing to words as they read. Students orally produce words during sounding-out, word-building, and Guess My Word activities, using vocabulary from conversations and read-alouds.
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students read the Weekly Message and are asked to point to and read sight words including "and," "to," and "in." Students read the book The Pig Can, point to words as they read, and are asked to explain their thinking about the story. Students identify sight words in texts and define unfamiliar words (e.g., "bin") when prompted.
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and identify punctuation, showing they use words from reading (Activity 1.1). Students read the reader The Bug aloud and answer comprehension questions such as "What is the bug able to do?" and "Why can't he do that?", requiring them to respond to text (Activity 5.2). Students complete the "What's Missing?" activity by writing words into sentence contexts and then read those sentences aloud, using words acquired in prior activities (Activity 5.3 and Day 5 Writing Words).
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and sight-word cards (Activities 1.1 and 3.1), practicing words and phrases encountered in reading. Students build and read sentences using Making Sentences cards, filling blanks and composing their own sentences (Activity 5.3). Students answer comprehension questions about Reader #4, using language from the text to explain events (Activity 5.2).
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students read and respond to texts: they read the Weekly Message aloud, read Reader #5 (Ducks Are Fun) independently and aloud, and answer comprehension questions (e.g., Which duck do you think is having the most fun? Why?). Students practice and use words and phrases by learning and reading sight words ("she," "on," "are" and others), building and reading word-family words (an, ab, ag, ack, eck, etc.), and writing dictated sentences. Students also write and read sentences during sentence dictation, applying learned vocabulary in context.
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students read and respond to texts (Weekly Message #6, Reader #6) and are asked to point to, read, and add words to word lists, showing use of words acquired through reading. Students practice sight words (with, his, her, I), build and write words, and assemble and dictate sentences (cut-up sentences, sentence dictation) using those words. A dictated sentence uses the conjunction "and" ("The path was wet and hot."), so students encounter a frequently occurring conjunction in context.
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students read and respond to texts (e.g., read the Weekly Message, read the reader They Get Wet, and answer comprehension questions about why events happened). Students practice and use sight words including "for" and "they" in spoken and written sentences (Activity 1.3, Activity 5.2, sentence dictation). Students produce and write sentences in response to prompts (sentence dictation and life application where they make up sentences using known sounds).
Lesson 8
Blends with s
Students read and respond to texts (Weekly Message #8 and Reader #8), identify and read sight words, and answer comprehension questions about the reader. They practice producing words and phrases by naming pictures, building and spelling words in word-building activities, completing fill-in-the-blank blend words, and writing dictated sentences. Sentence dictation and discussion prompts require students to produce phrases and short sentences drawn from reading and oral tasks.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students read and respond to texts (Weekly Message #9 and Reader #9) and are asked to identify and underline sight words such as "and" and to read sight word cards "have," "had," and "or." Activity 1.3 models the use of "or" in a sentence ("I can save my dollars or I can spend them") and Day 5 asks students to build and read sentences using word cards, read sentences aloud, and write dictated sentences. Students are also asked to explain and use the words "have" and "had" in sentences and to create sentences from cards, demonstrating use of words and phrases from reading and conversation.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
Students are explicitly taught the sight word "but": they see, read, copy, and write the card (Activity 1.3) and practice sight-word recognition across activities (Activity 3.3). Students read and reread connected texts (Weekly Message #11 and Reader #11 — At Camp), giving them exposure to words and phrases through being read to and independent reading. Students also practice writing sentences (Activity 5.2) and participate in dictation and word-building activities that reinforce vocabulary from readings.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students read and reread texts (Weekly Message #12 and Reader #12), find and read sight words (what, all, were), and make up and write sentences using words from the unit (e.g., They were all doing what they wanted; They all fall at the mall). Students answer comprehension questions that ask for reasons (e.g., "Why do you think the insects are following the kids?" and "Why is everyone huffing and puffing?") and participate in dictated sentence writing and sentence construction activities.
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
Students read and reread the Weekly Message and Reader #13 and answer comprehension questions, showing they use words and phrases acquired from being read to and from reading. Students use sight word cards (we, when, your), read them aloud, and write them, demonstrating practice with words learned through the lesson. Students make sentences with Making Sentences cards and complete sentence dictation, using words drawn from prior lessons and the current word families in spoken and written sentences.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
Students read and respond to texts (Reader #14 Spring Has Sprung!) and answer comprehension questions that require them to use target words (e.g., sprint, splash, squint). Students practice and produce new words through word-building, word-sorting, writing activities, and sentence dictation (e.g., writing "The shrimp swim in the tank." and "He can strum on the strings."). Students are prompted to share new words they can spell and to make up silly sentences using three-letter blends, which requires them to use words acquired during lessons.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students read and re-read the Weekly Message (Activity 1.1), highlight multisyllabic words, and are asked to sound out and read words during shared reading. Students read Reader #15 and answer comprehension questions (Activity 5.2) and write dictated sentences that use targeted words (Activity 5.1). Students practice and expand vocabulary through sight-word practice, word building, word sorts, and adding words to a Word Wall (Activities 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 3.2, 4.4, Life Application).
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students read and respond to texts: they reread Weekly Message #17, read and discuss readers (naming characters and explaining what characters do), and answer the question "Which of these readers is your favorite? Why?". Students create their own short reader using words they know and plan characters and actions on a planning page, which requires them to use vocabulary acquired from previous lessons. Sight-word activities require students to read, point to, and underline sight words including question words like "how" and the word "if," and a sight-word search asks them to find and read frequently occurring words from texts.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and Reader #1, identify and read new sight words (will, up, make, like), and highlight words with long a and i. Students answer comprehension questions about the reader and share long a and long i words they know, write words for pictures, and complete sentence dictation tasks. Students build and spell words with silent e in word-building activities, take a spelling test, and read words aloud, demonstrating use of words acquired through reading and word study.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students read the decodable reader They Chose To Doze and are asked comprehension questions (e.g., "What did the family do on their trip?" and "Who fell off of the mule?"), requiring them to respond using words from the text. Students reread the Weekly Message and are asked to listen for and identify words with long vowels, which involves recognizing and repeating words encountered in reading. Students practice reading and saying sight words (then, them, these, so) and complete sentence dictation tasks where they write sentences that mirror language from the materials.
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students read and respond to texts (Weekly Message, reader These Mice) and answer comprehension questions, which asks them to explain reasons (e.g., "Why do you think the mice like their home?"). Students practice and use new vocabulary through sight word activities, word-building, spelling tests, and sentence dictation (writing sentences such as "The red gem is huge."). Students practice speaking and explaining when asked to name words that begin with c and g and to explain how they know which sound each letter makes.
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students are asked to read and respond to texts: they read the Weekly Message and the reader "The Bird Is Third," and answer comprehension questions (e.g., "Are you surprised... Why?"). Students practice and read new sight words (other, more, some, would), find them in text, and are asked to use each sight word in a sentence. Students produce written sentences during sentence dictation and spelling tests, showing opportunities to use words and phrases encountered in reading and activities.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students read and reread the Weekly Message and are asked to point to and read words in it, showing engagement with words and phrases encountered in text. Students answer comprehension questions about The Gray Day and participate in sentence dictation and handwriting activities that require them to produce and write sentences. The Life Application asks students to create their own long-a sentences, prompting them to use acquired vocabulary in original sentences.
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
Students read texts (Weekly Message, Reader #6) and answer comprehension questions, prompting them to use words and phrases from those readings. In Activity 4.2 students use word cards (including recent sight words) to compose and read sentences, and the provided sentence starter "They eat ____ and _____." explicitly asks them to use the conjunction "and." Activity 1.3 and Day 2 ask students to read and discuss sight words and word pairs (see/sea), reinforcing use of words acquired through reading.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students are asked to read and point to words in the Weekly Message and to read sight words ("go," "no," "number"), providing opportunities to use words acquired through reading and being read to. Students read The Slow Boat and answer comprehension questions, and they practice sentence dictation and reading aloud, which require them to use words and phrases from texts. Students also build, sort, and write long o words (word building, word sorts, writing oa words), reinforcing vocabulary learned from reading and word study.
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students read and point to words in the Weekly Message and other texts (Activity 1.1 and Wrapping Up) and answer comprehension questions about the reader (Activity 5.1), demonstrating use of words and phrases acquired through reading and being read to. Students complete Fill-in-the-Blanks and sentence dictation tasks (Activities 2.2 and 5.2) and write sight words (Day 3), which require them to use words and phrases in sentence contexts. The Weekly Message and several practice sentences include the conjunction "and," exposing students to a frequently occurring conjunction in reading tasks.
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students read and respond to texts (Day 5 reader) and answer comprehension questions that require them to produce explanations. Students practice using new vocabulary in context by taking turns using sight words in sentences (Activity 1.3), by completing Fill in the Blanks with target words (Activity 3.3), and by reading and dictating sentences that include learned words (Day 5 Sentence Dictation). Students write and read sentences using target words (Activities 2.1, 3.1, 5.2) which requires them to use words and phrases acquired through reading and being read to.
Lesson 11
Long Vowel Sounds Review
Students read and reread short readers and point to or write long-vowel words they find (Activity 2.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1). Students complete fill-in-the-blank and word-bank sentences using words from texts (Activity 3.1, Day 5 Activity 5.3). Students practice and say sight words and vocabulary aloud during matching, sorting, and Guess My Word activities (Activity 1.3, 1.2, 4.3).
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students read and respond to texts by pointing to and reading words in the Weekly Message and Reader #12 and answering comprehension questions about those texts. Students create and read sentences using provided word cards (Making Sentences activity) and write dictated sentences, demonstrating use of words acquired from reading and word-building activities. Students are prompted to make up silly sentences using rhyming words they learned and to place new words into a Word Collection, showing they reuse words encountered in reading and activities.
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
Students read and respond to texts (Activity 5.1) by reading The Hound and the Owl and answering comprehension questions that require spoken responses. Students read and re-read the Weekly Message (Activity 1.1) and practice sight words (Activity 1.3 and 3.3), calling attention to vocabulary with the target /ou/ sound. Students also write dictated sentences (Activity 5.2) and participate in oral sentence reading and spelling activities that require them to use words from the lessons in speaking and writing.
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
Students read and respond to texts (Weekly Message #14 and Reader #14 — The Pups), answer comprehension questions, and read aloud during multiple activities. Students practice and spell new vocabulary and sight words (made, part, very) in reading, dictation, and word-building tasks, and are encouraged to use learned words in everyday conversation. Students also produce sentences during sentence dictation and write words created in the Alphabet Soup and spelling test activities.
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students read and respond to the Weekly Message (Activity 1.1), identifying, underlining, and circling words and listening for vowel sounds. Students read and write this week's sight words and are asked to use each one in a sentence (Activity 1.3 and Activity 3.3). Students answer comprehension questions about the reader (Activity 5.1) and complete a Question Words activity that requires producing questions (Activity 4.2), showing use of words and phrases acquired through reading and responding to texts.
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
Students read and re-read the Weekly Message and are asked to list things they have learned about reading words, practicing words and phrases encountered in print. Students read The Gnats and answer comprehension questions, and they read, write, sort, and spell sight words (know, write, just) and words with silent beginnings during multiple activities. Students participate in sentence dictation and read aloud modeled sentences that include sight words, demonstrating use of words and phrases encountered in reading and conversation.