First Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students are prompted to focus on a single topic when they choose and write about The Most Important Room, with adults recording ideas or guiding their dictation and asking them to read the paragraph aloud. In Activity 2 students label rooms, copy words after an adult writes them, and circle items while explaining why those items meet needs (food, water, shelter), which asks for reasons and details. The lesson directs adults to prompt students to add missing letters, practice writing labels, and expand on why a selected item or room is important.
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students focus on the topic of maps with adult guidance through questions, book reading (Me On the Map), and teacher/parent prompts about country, state, town, and address. Students answer guided questions about the map (e.g., what is beside the refrigerator; what is in front of the couch) and repeatedly practice these answers over a week. Students practice writing and labeling by completing scrambled-word labels, labeling map items (sounding out words), using cut-and-paste or drawing items on their own maps, and copying or writing sentences on handwriting pages.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
Students are asked to choose a habitat and either draw a picture or tell a story about what it would be like to visit that habitat (Activity 5), which focuses them on a single topic. Adults are instructed to ask specific follow-up questions (e.g., What do you see? What would it feel like?) to prompt elaboration, and to allow use of the book as a reference, providing guided support. Activities also ask students to identify and describe plants, animals, and insects in habitats and to draw and label examples (Activity 4 and 6), which encourages adding descriptive details.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students are asked to focus on specific topics by labeling or listing plants and animals for each habitat (Activity 1, Option 2) and by completing targeted graphic organizers (Habitats, Food for Survival and Energy, Shelter). Adults are instructed to ask students questions throughout (Day 2 reading questions, Activity 2 prompts) and to discuss answers, so students respond to guided questions and record their answers. Students generate and record ideas in the 'Plants can... / Plants are... / Plants have...' activity, and they research online to add specific plant names, showing they add details to their written or drawn responses.
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
Students focus on the topic of habitats by identifying, labeling, and describing six habitats across multiple activities (Activity 1, Activity 2, Activity 5). Students draw or color animals in each habitat, label animals and their food and water sources (Activity 3), and are asked to write or copy sentences using target words (Activity 4). Students also create and complete a pictorial/bar graph (Activity 6) and answer questions about the data, reinforcing focus on the habitat topic.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students choose a specific animal and habitat and create a focused narrative using the 'A Day in the ___: A ___'s Life' page, drawing and dictating a story about that topic. Students respond to targeted prompts (e.g., what the animal eats, where it gets water, other animals it might encounter) and are asked to add information to their dictated story. Students compare their pre-observation predictions to their post-observation drawing/collage, using observed details to refine what they record about the habitat.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
Students focus on the topic of tools throughout multiple activities (the scavenger hunt, sorting, and measuring) that require them to gather and discuss tool names. With adult guidance, students are asked to write or copy the names of tools, practice letter formation on a handwriting sheet, and record measurements (numbers) on the Measuring Tools page while the adult models sounding out and pointing to letters. The instructions prompt adults to demonstrate use of tools and to read tool names with the child, supporting guided written responses and basic revision (e.g., sounding out words as the adult writes).
Lesson 8
Animal Care
Students are asked questions about pets and the story (e.g., "What do pets need?" and multiple comprehension questions after The Salamander Room), which requires them to focus on the topic of animal care and respond verbally. Students are guided by an adult through prompts (e.g., parent asks about family pet care, directs activities like feeding or creating a salamander home). Students produce work related to the topic (drawing a domestic and a non-domestic animal, creating a salamander habitat) that demonstrates attention to the topic.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students are asked to create and tell a creative story about an animal in the wrong habitat (Activity 4), and an adult records the story and reads it back. Students are prompted to decide if there is anything they want to add or change after hearing the recorded story, which supports revision. Students in Option 2 are asked to write habitat names and paste or draw animals, linking writing with added pictorial detail and focusing on the topic of animals and habitats.
Lesson 10
Amazing Animals
Students are asked to select one animal to learn more about and to locate websites or books about that animal (Activity 1), which supports focusing on a single topic with guidance. The Skills list and activities prompt students to listen to text read aloud and respond to critical questions about a text, and the role-play activity has students answer questions about what they would do as an animal. The student pages ask students to draw missing body parts and answer related questions, giving opportunities to add descriptive details in responses and explanations.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
Students are prompted to focus on a single topic when Activity 3 asks them to think of a time they changed because of their environment and to have an adult record those ideas on paper. Students read their recorded ideas aloud (or have them read back), which supports working on one topic with adult guidance. Option 2 asks students to record the emotion represented by each face and encourages them to use more advanced vocabulary, which prompts students to add more descriptive words when labeling feelings. Activity 1 asks students to respond to targeted situational questions about how they would change, requiring focused, guided responses.
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
Students choose a single topic (their environment or a specific animal) and create a multi-page book with focused pages (e.g., "What ___ Eats and Drinks," "____'s Habitat") which guides them to stay on topic. Adults are instructed to prompt with hints and follow-up questions and to help label pictures, showing adult guidance and support. Students are asked to explain each page and share the book with family, which requires them to present and describe focused content.
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
Students focus on the weather topic through repeated activities such as the multi-week Weather Calendar and daily vocabulary review, with adult guidance in the Introduction and Life Application. Students respond to questions about the text in Activity 1 (e.g., What type of weather is best for playing outside?) and the skills list explicitly includes "Respond to text read aloud." Students produce written or dictated sentences using vocabulary in Activity 2 and create or dictate a story about favorite weather in Activity 3, which an adult records and reads back.
Lesson 2
Types of Precipitation
Students are guided by adult prompts to focus on precipitation (questions to explore, review of definitions, targeted reading pages, and repeated discussion about rain, snow, sleet, and hail). Students record a prediction and then observe and "record his idea" during the rain experiment, showing guided writing about a focused topic. Students practice writing letters and words and "can write his own sentences or copy sentences" containing rain and round, which asks them to produce written work about the topic.
Lesson 3
Measuring and Charting Weather
Students practice focused writing when they create a RAIN acrostic, generating words or phrases for each letter and either writing them or dictating them to an adult. Students record measured temperatures on the "Measuring Temperature" sheet, marking degrees with a crayon or filling in the blank spaces. Multiple activities instruct adults to show, help, or record with the child, indicating guided support during these writing/recording tasks.
Lesson 4
Simulating Weather
Adults are instructed to explain concepts and ask guiding questions (e.g., ask the child what happens when you release or squeeze the bottle, ask the child to read and point to words in the Weather Song). Students are prompted to focus on the weather topic by answering questions about clouds, wind, and rain and by singing and reading the Weather Song aloud. An extension invites the child to make up his own song about the weather, which asks the child to produce content related to the topic with adult support.
Lesson 5
Fall
Students are asked to focus on the topic of fall by naming fall months, describing seasonal changes, and answering targeted questions about a fall picture. With adult support, students write names of three circled items, use each word in a sentence, and copy or dictate sentences about the scene. Students practice handwriting the letter F and words like "fall" and "fun," and they answer graph questions about leaf colors after following adult directions.
Lesson 6
Winter
Students are asked to dictate a story about something they like to do in the winter while an adult records it or supports them in writing it, showing guided focus on a single topic. Students are encouraged to use target vocabulary (cold, snow, freeze) in their writing and to illustrate their story, which prompts adding descriptive details. Students are prompted to attempt to read their story aloud with adult help, and handwriting activities focus on winter-themed words to keep writing tied to the topic.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are guided to focus on the topic of spring by reading three spring-themed poems, writing their name in a poem, and discussing what each poem is about. With adult assistance, students are encouraged to attempt reading and to write their own spring poem either independently or by dictating it to an adult. Students also add illustrations to show how the picture helps tell the story of the poem, which supports development of their written expression with adult support.
Lesson 8
Summer
Students are prompted by an adult to discuss and describe the season (e.g., asking what season follows spring and what summer activities they enjoy), and they complete themed writing tasks focused on summer. In Activity 2 (Options 1 and 2), students fill in blanks in a short summer story using provided words, can copy or write letters for missing words, and read the completed story aloud with adult assistance. The advanced option asks students to write their own summer story using the summer words and to illustrate it, which encourages focused writing on the topic.
Final Project
Weather Games
Students prepare and report a three-day weather forecast, using the Weather Forecast graphic organizer to record answers about sky, precipitation, temperature, clothing, and activities. Students write season names on pictures in the What to Wear activity and match written season/weather terms to pictures in the Weather Memory game. Students practice their forecast aloud for the family, receive adult prompts if needed, and are encouraged to record and revise their presentation based on adult discussion.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
Students answer comprehension questions about what a community is and places Charlie visited after reading the book (Activity 1). Students draw a new page for the book and write or dictate a sentence or two about Charlie visiting a place in their own community, with adult prompting (Activity 3). Students complete vocabulary fill-in-the-blank exercises and handwriting practice that focus writing tasks on community words (Activities 2 and 4).
Lesson 2
My Community Environment
Students plan and focus on the topic of community when they create a My Community Poster by labeling important places and writing or dictating a brief description of how each place serves the community. Students prepare focused interview questions, conduct a short interview with a community worker, take notes or record the conversation, and discuss the responses when they return. Students select three books about different communities, copy the titles, draw illustrations, and discuss ways the communities are similar and different, reinforcing attention to the topic.
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Students are asked to choose a single community worker to observe and then write a focused paragraph about that worker (Activity 3 and Activity 4), using guided sentence prompts such as reasons, tasks, and challenges. Adults are instructed to record dictated responses, coach attempts at sounding out words, and encourage students to read their own paragraphs aloud, providing adult support. Students practice adding details through prompted sentence frames in the "When I Grow Up" page and by writing one sentence about how each worker helps (Activity 5). The lesson also has students create charts and tallies that keep attention on the topical set of community helpers over several days (Activity 2).
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, showing they focus on the topic of resources. Instructions repeatedly prompt an adult to ask the child to sort, explain, and draw or write, indicating students work with guidance and support from an adult. Several activities require students to produce written labels or a sentence (e.g., mark N or M, write counts, and write a sentence about gathered resources).
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
Students are asked to generate and record descriptions of family members exhibiting good citizenship by drawing or dictating observations and writing them beneath each name (Activity 3), showing adult guidance and support during writing. In Option 2 students are prompted to think of three things family members might do in a good environment, draw those scenes, and label each picture as they explain what is happening, which requires focusing on the topic and producing written labels. The Student Activity Page organizer (two houses) asks students to sort, draw, and/or write examples into "Good Home Environment" and "Not a Good Home Environment," giving students focused tasks related to a single topic.
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students receive adult guidance throughout (e.g., repeated prompts to "Ask your child" and "Explain to your child" and directions to provide assistance as needed). Students focus on the topic of character by writing short responses such as filling in "I am respectful when I __," labeling scenarios R or D, and writing or dictating a sentence for the beginning/middle/end retell of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Students answer comprehension and reflective questions (predict what will happen next; explain why they chose kindness scores) that require them to generate and record ideas about the lesson topic.
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
Students are asked to focus on the topic of rules and laws by generating a list of six household rules and writing each rule on a strip of paper, which shows focused writing about a single topic. Students read each sentence by themselves or with adult assistance and are asked to prioritize and number the rules from most to least important, which involves discussing and explaining their choices. Students are prompted to discuss their 3-5 proposed new household rules with other family members and see if others agree the rules would improve the home, showing opportunities for responding to others' input.
Final Project
I Can Make A Difference
Students are prompted to choose a single community-improvement project and complete a planning sheet with sentence starters ("I am planning to...", "The first thing I will do is...", etc.), which helps them focus on one topic with adult help. The lesson instructs adults to help the child select an idea, record dictated ideas, and let the child follow and check off steps, showing guided support while students produce written plans. Students also write a reflection using provided sentence starters and answer guided reflection questions about carrying out the plan and its effects.
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
Students focus on a single topic when they describe one object in the 'Guess What's in the Bag' activity and when they compare two items in 'Similar or Different.' Students add details by choosing and writing descriptive words on the 'Describing Words' worksheets (including thinking of two additional words in Option 2) and by writing or copying a sentence that describes an object in Activity 4. Students perform these tasks with adult help, as adults assist with hard words, prompt descriptions, and review vocabulary.
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
Students are prompted by an adult to focus on the topic of animal attributes by describing similarities and differences using stuffed animals and by identifying living vs. nonliving items. Students write names of living and nonliving objects (Option 2), sort and list animals by body coverings, and are asked to add one additional example to each category. The handwriting page asks students to use words (animal, ant) in a sentence, which requires them to produce focused written language about the topic.
Lesson 3
Size, Shape, and Color
Students are prompted by an adult to focus on topics (size, shape, color) through guided questions such as describing the spoon, comparing objects, and discussing color mixtures. Students are asked to write or draw example objects on the "The Shape of Things" activity page, linking their observations to a concrete written/drawn product. Students are also asked to describe what they learned during the wrap-up, responding to adult questions and reflecting on their observations.
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
Students engage in guided, focused activities about texture (blindfold description, matching texture words to pictures) that keep them on the single topic of describing how things feel. Students generate and record descriptive words (Option 2: record two words and invent a new word) and write a sentence about an object's texture (Activity 3). The wrap-up contrasts a simple sentence with a more detailed version ("We jumped in the lake." vs "We jumped in the icy, cold lake and got wet."), modeling how to add descriptive details.
Lesson 5
How Old?
Students are prompted, with adult support, to write questions for pictured people, record names or initial letters, and practice sentence mechanics (capital letters and question marks). They are asked to draw and label animals and write average life spans, and to paste or match ages to people, demonstrating focused writing and labeling on the topic of age. Instructions repeatedly guide an adult to assist recording students' questions and to have students attempt independent reading and handwriting practice.
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
Students record estimates and actual measurements on activity pages and complete fill-in-the-blank comparative sentences (e.g., "The ___ is longer than the ___"), showing they focus writing on the topic of measurement. Students receive adult prompts and questions throughout (e.g., asking what a doctor measures, asking for guesses and explanations), indicating guidance and support while they write or record observations. Students also practice letter formation and copy words related to the topic (length/long) in the handwriting activity.
Lesson 9
Solids and Liquids
Students are asked to write down definitions for "solid" and "liquid" on the student page and to brainstorm and record examples, showing focus on the topic of states of matter. Students sort and paste pictures into columns labeled "Solid" and "Liquid," which practices organizing and adding examples related to their writing. Adults prompt students with questions (e.g., about ice, melting, freezing) that guide student explanations and observations tied to their written work.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
Students are asked to create an "Earth Materials" book (Activity 7) in which they write properties of dirt, rocks, and water, cut and paste labels, and draw places water can be found, all with step-by-step adult guidance. Students record ideas on paper when brainstorming places water can be found (Day 3) and complete sentence-writing tasks with prepositions, sometimes expanding simple sentences into prepositional phrases (Activity 5, Option 2). The lesson repeatedly directs an adult to read aloud, ask questions, and prompt the child to describe, compare, and add descriptions during hands-on activities (Activities 1–3, 6).
Lesson 11
Using Earth Materials
Students are asked to focus on specific topics with adult support: for Activity 1 a child keeps a water log and may record entries or dictate them while an adult records, and for Activities 2–3 students keep lists or take photos of rock and soil uses. Students collect details about water use, rocks, and soil (e.g., photos, lists, a collage) that document observations and uses. Students discuss soil properties and plant needs while working in the garden, concentrating on a single topic during these tasks.
Final Project
Presenting Attributes
Students choose a focused topic by selecting at least five attributes to teach and plan either a demonstration or a poster about those attributes. Students receive adult guidance as an adult records ideas, helps gather materials, prompts organization, and has the student practice the presentation while offering congratulations and suggestions for improvement. Students present their finished work to a family or small group of children, and adults help with the writing and suggest changes to make the project better.
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students are asked to focus on the topic of the five senses throughout activities (e.g., naming senses, filling Senses Webs, and the Favorite Sense drawing). With adult guidance, students dictate four sentences describing a sensing experience while the adult records, then the adult reads each sentence back and discusses the noun and verb. Students also practice writing or copying a sentence about a sense on handwriting paper (Activity 4) and receive prompts and questions from the adult during read-aloud and web activities.
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Option 2 asks students to make up a story about Jackie that uses all her senses, to think about where the story will take place and what will happen, and to discuss that the story should have a beginning, middle, and end. The instructions direct an adult to explain the task and discuss story development, providing guidance and support. Activity 4 asks students to practice writing the words "sense" and "see" and to use each word in a sentence, giving students a chance to produce written sentences about the topic.
Lesson 4
Hearing and Seeing
Students write about their blindfolded and non-blindfolded experiences and have their thoughts recorded by an adult (Activity 4). Students describe a noisy place orally, have their ideas recorded, are asked if they want to add anything to their sound description, and are encouraged to read the description aloud to friends or family (Activity 5). The lesson repeatedly instructs adults to provide assistance and to prompt students to read their ideas and talk about differences, showing adult guidance and support.
Lesson 5
Touch
Students focus on the topic of touch by identifying textures and using sensory vocabulary across activities (Touch It, Touch Chart, Sensory Art). Students write descriptive words and adjectives for objects, draw and label objects on a chart, and practice writing sentences with the words "touch" and "taste." Students describe their Jell-O painting and give it a title, which requires composing and adding descriptive details.
Lesson 6
Experimenting With Our Senses
Students are asked to focus on a single topic when Activity 3 asks them to name a favorite flavor, list foods with that flavor, and tell a related story while an adult records it. Students practice writing about the topic in Activity 4 by writing or dictating and copying a sentence about something they smelled or tasted, with adults instructed to provide assistance as needed. Activity 1 and the listed skills prompt students to use descriptive words and to compare descriptions before and after a blindfolded taste test, supporting topic-focused description with adult-led questioning.
Lesson 7
Using All of Our Senses
Students are guided by an adult to focus on the topic of senses through read-aloud discussion (questions after My Five Senses) and by completing focused activities like the "How Many Senses?" pages and the Nature Walk chart. Students record observations by writing, drawing, or dictating findings and answer specific follow-up questions about what they heard, saw, smelled, and touched. Students are prompted to interact when text is read aloud (questions, comments, and ideas) and to produce a written sentence about their nature-walk observations.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students are prompted to focus on a single topic when they write a report about popcorn, including drawing kernels and completing fill-in-the-blank sensory sentences. Adults are instructed to provide support: reading clues aloud, helping finish words (recording first letter then adult completes), and providing assistance when the student attempts to read the report. Students are asked to generate and record sensing words and to write or dictate a sentence describing the popcorn, practicing use of descriptive details.
Final Project
A Sensible Party
Students are given Party Planner sheets and directed to plan a party focused on the five senses, including writing ideas and listing supplies for each sense. Adults are instructed to read the sample sheet with the child, help her think of game ideas, assist in recording her ideas, and review the plan before the party, providing explicit adult guidance and support. Students prepare invitations, count guests and supplies, and answer post-party reflection questions about how senses were used, which requires staying focused on the sensory topic and documenting details.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
Students are guided by adults to answer focused prompts about themselves (name, favorite color, what makes them happy/sad) and to complete a short personal paragraph using those answers, which demonstrates focusing on a single topic. The materials instruct students to read their story aloud and share it with others and to compare their numbers with a parent or sibling, which gives opportunities for oral response and interaction. Adults are repeatedly prompted to provide assistance and guidance as students sound out words and write their answers.
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Students dictate and record a friendship story with a required beginning, middle, and end (Activity 3), planning and illustrating each part. Students retell and sequence events from a read-aloud story about two friends (Activity 2), answering comprehension questions that keep them on the topic. Students write a targeted sentence about a personal physical characteristic (Activity 4), focusing their writing on a single topic with adult support.
Lesson 3
Different Personalities
Students focus on the single topic of personality by selecting descriptive words, circling traits that describe themselves, and writing or pasting those words into a self web (Activity 1 and Activity 2). Students produce written work and drawings (self-portrait, friend/sibling web, character descriptions) and are asked to count and describe similarities and differences, showing topical focus and elaboration in their responses. Adult support is explicitly built in: instructions tell an adult to provide definitions, assist with writing as needed, and prompt the child with questions during the activities.
Lesson 4
Interests and Hobbies
Students are asked to pick a hobby or interest and to dictate and then copy or write a few sentences describing that hobby, which shows adult-supported, focused writing on a single topic. Students answer the five prompts on the "My Interest" sheet after doing research and can teach a sibling or parent about their interest, demonstrating development of topic-related content. Students are prompted to interview three people using a Hobby Survey (reading questions aloud and having an adult record answers), showing guided oral interaction about the chosen topic.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students choose a single topic (their chosen shape) and describe its color, physical characteristics, personality trait, hobby, and interest using the "What Is Your Shape?" worksheet. Students dictate or write a short description of their personality and interests with adult assistance and may attempt to read their description aloud to family. The lesson includes teacher/parent prompts and follow-up questions after reading (e.g., Did you enjoy the story? How are the shapes' personalities different?) that require students to stay on topic and respond verbally.
Lesson 6
Different Families
Students focus on the topic of families by reading A Life Like Mine, answering guided questions about family roles and responsibilities, and connecting text to personal experience. Students complete written prompts such as "My family is similar to a family from _______ because we both _______." and "My family is different from a family from _______ because we _______, but they _______." Students use a Venn diagram to list similarities and differences, draw illustrations, dictate ideas, and practice writing/tracing the word "different" and letters D/d.
Lesson 7
Different Homes
Students are prompted by an adult to identify and describe different homes and the materials used (Introduction asks the child to identify homes, explain why people have homes, and name materials). Students are asked to write a sentence about their home (Activity 4: Handwriting). Students are asked to record country names above puzzle homes and "add details around the homes based on the pictures he found," and to sketch and construct a "dream home," which involves adding descriptive details to drawings.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Students choose a holiday topic and create writing in Activity 3 (draw a picture and write three sentences about their favorite holiday) with the option to dictate while an adult records and to receive assistance with sentences. In Activity 5 students make a Book of Holidays where each page must include a sentence about the holiday, with example sentence frames such as "___ is important because ___," and adults may assist or record dictation. Activities include guided discussion prompts (Activity 2) that ask students to answer specific questions about holidays, directing student focus on the topic.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
Students are prompted to focus on the topic of transportation when they draw a picture of themselves using a chosen mode of transportation and tell a story about the trip (Activity 3). With adult support, students have their story recorded and are helped to attempt to read it aloud, and adults are instructed to provide assistance as needed. Students practice writing about transportation by filling in labels, writing full labels (Option 2), answering scenario prompts about appropriate transportation, and writing or copying a sentence about a mode of transportation (Activity 4 and Getting from Point A to Point B). The introduction and activities direct adults to ask questions and discuss reasons for choosing modes of transportation, guiding student responses about the topic.
Lesson 10
Wants and Needs
Students focus on the topic of wants and needs by labeling items as wants or needs (Activity 1), making separate lists of their personal wants and needs (Activity 3), and completing a Wants and Needs survey in which they ask four people and record two wants and two needs (Activity 4). Students write or draw responses on charts and webs and practice writing the word "need" and the letter N (Activity 6). Students are prompted to discuss survey results and to rearrange items on the webs if some reported "needs" are actually wants.
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
In Activity 2 students draw a picture of a group, complete prompted sentence stems (e.g., "One group I belong to is ____." "The members in the group are alike because ____."), and are encouraged to read the paragraph while an adult provides assistance or records dictated ideas. Activity 1 and Activity 3 have adults prompt focused thinking and question students (e.g., "Which group has the most people?" "Which group would you be in?"), and adults are instructed to provide support and record student ideas during brainstorming.
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
Students are directed to focus on a single topic by creating a book comparing themselves with a child from another country and to locate and read about that country with adult help ("Tell your child...Locate the country...Read about it"). Students are given sentence frames and activity pages for specific topics (location, food, hobbies, homes, clothing, transportation, holidays, similarities) that guide focused writing and illustration (e.g., "I like to eat _______", "I live in _______"). Adults are prompted to encourage independent writing ("Encourage her to write the sentences herself") and to facilitate sharing and questioning by having the child share the book with family and meet someone from the chosen country to ask questions.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 1
What Is a Pattern?
Students are prompted, with adult guidance, to describe and explain patterns orally in multiple activities (Activity 1 questioning, Activity 3 asking the child to explain each completed pattern, and Activity 4 encouraging the child to say "First…, Next…, Then…" as they point to items). Activity 7 has students write or copy three sentences to describe a pattern using the sentence frames "First, there is _____. Next there is _______. Then there is _________," which focuses student writing on a single topic with adult support. Several activities require students to name objects in order and explain their patterns aloud, providing opportunities to focus on the topic of patterns.
Lesson 2
Recognizing Types of Patterns
Students are prompted to write or copy a sentence about the book Busy Bugs (Activity 4), demonstrating a focused writing task on a single topic. Multiple adults-led prompts and questions throughout the lesson (e.g., "Tell your child...", "Ask him how many colors...", "Ask him to explain...") show that students complete tasks with adult guidance and support. The wrapping up section asks students to explain differences between pattern types, showing guided oral responses to teacher/parent questions.
Lesson 3
What Comes Next?
Students focus on the topic of patterns by describing patterns, predicting what comes next, and explaining how they know the order (questions in Introduction and Wrapping Up). Students write or copy a sentence that asks a question about patterns (Activity 4: Handwriting) with adult review of question-ending punctuation. Students practice labeling and extending patterns (Options 1 and 2, Activity 3) which reinforces staying on the pattern topic while producing short written labels (A, B, C).
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
Students are asked to copy or write a sentence about a pattern (Activity 4) and to write the names of objects used for patterns on a separate sheet (Activity 2, Option 2), which focuses their writing on the topic of patterns. Adults are instructed to read patterns aloud, model the ABBA pattern, and decide which option the child will complete, providing guidance and support as the child recreates and extends patterns. Students are asked to explain how they extend a pattern during the wrap-up, which prompts them to stay on topic and articulate their thinking.
Lesson 5
Making Color Patterns
Students are asked to write or copy a sentence describing something they created today (Activity 3), which has them focus on a single topic in writing. In Activity 1 students are prompted to represent patterns with color words or the first letters of color words (e.g., Y, R, Y, R), giving practice in using words to show a pattern. An adult models the first caterpillar pattern and does the first example with the child, providing guidance and support.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
Students are asked to write or copy a sentence about a pattern (Activity 3), which requires them to focus on the topic of patterns with adult guidance. In multiple activities students describe the order of shapes aloud, decide whether a set is a pattern, and label shapes with A, B, or C, practicing focused description of a single topic. Students also create and describe patterns (ABAB, AABB, ABC) and follow written pattern directions in the Reading Patterns activities, reinforcing topic-focused writing and oral description.
Lesson 8
Creating and Writing About Patterns
Students are asked to create examples of patterns using a provided word list, write the first letters or full words to represent patterns, illustrate them, and describe them using prompts such as "First comes..., Then comes..., Next comes...". Students complete a "Describe the Pattern" page that asks them to list elements in order from First to Eighth, state what comes before and after specific items, and label the pattern type. Students play interactive activities (Pattern Race, Guess the Pattern) where they recreate or identify patterns and describe them aloud, working with an adult who calls out patterns or asks questions.
Final Project
Patterns Poster or Patterns Presentation
Students choose a focused topic (types of patterns) and plan a final product either as a poster or an oral presentation that demonstrates seven specific pattern types. Students write a script on the provided 'Script for Presentation' pages and practice so they know exactly what they will say before presenting to friends or family. Adults are prompted to provide assistance as needed and to discuss the patterns with the child while materials and sections are planned and labeled.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Students are asked to record rhyming words from nursery rhymes, pick a favorite rhyme, act out or illustrate it, and write or copy a sentence using two rhyming words, which shows adult-guided writing around a focused topic. Students circle repeating word parts, add a new word to extend patterns, and match or add rhyming words in multiple activities, demonstrating adding details (another word or illustration) to their work. Directions repeatedly reference an adult prompting the child (e.g., "ask your child," "show your child"), indicating guidance and support from adults during these tasks.
Lesson 2
Making Word Patterns
Students are prompted to write and record their own rhyming sentences (Activity 1) with adult assistance to help record sentences and assemble a book. Students practice focusing on word-family patterns by sorting and labeling word families (Activity 2) and by identifying rhyming words in books and recording them (Activity 3). Students are asked to write or copy a sentence that includes two rhyming words (Activity 4), which provides guided practice with a focused writing task.
Lesson 3
Poetry Patterns
Students are guided by adults to focus on rhyming in poems and songs through read-alouds and prompts (e.g., "Ask your child what each poem is about, and then ask her to identify words..."). Students write an additional verse to "A-Hunting We Will Go," complete fill-in-the-blank lines on handwriting paper, and record their verse with adult assistance for spelling. Students brainstorm rhyming words and illustrate their verse, which supports adding words and details to writing.
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students receive adult guidance throughout: activities instruct an adult to prompt, model, and ask questions (e.g., "ask your child to circle the noun and underline the verb," "encourage him to read each sentence aloud"). Students focus on the topic of sentence patterns by identifying nouns and verbs, completing sentence patterns, copying sentences from books, and acting out sentences. Students practice adding details when prompted to extend sentences (for example, "He can also extend the sentences... ‘The dog eats... its food from the bowl.'").
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
Students are prompted to plan and write a short story with a clear beginning, middle, and end (Activity 3), and are encouraged to select the 3 or 4 most important activities when describing a routine. Students are asked to dictate or write sentences for each part of a story (Activity 1, Activity 2) and are given adult support as indicated by phrases like "provide guidance as needed" and "providing assistance as needed." Students are also asked to stay focused on their ideas while the adult records the story.
Lesson 6
Sound Patterns
Students are asked to write about a sound pattern on handwriting paper with a model sentence ("I heard a pattern that went...") so they practice composing about a focused topic. Adults prompt students with guided questions (e.g., close eyes and listen, name the pattern type, count repeats) while students listen, identify, and record pattern segments on the "Listen Carefully" page. Students practice extending and describing patterns and record the number of times each sound is made, showing guided, focused writing and recording about the same topic.
Lesson 7
Making Sound and Action Patterns
Students are prompted to focus on the topic of patterns through guiding questions and activities that ask how sounds and actions can form patterns. Students create and extend patterns with actions, words, sounds, and objects and take turns performing patterns in the "Do What I Do" activity. Students are asked to write or copy a sentence describing a pattern they made, with adult prompts suggested in the instructions.
Final Project
Patterns Video
Students focus on a single topic (sound, word/rhyming, action, story patterns) by locating or creating examples and preparing a video about those patterns. Students write or dictate scripts on four "Video Script" pages that ask them to record the type of pattern, where they found or made it, the parts of the pattern, and the sequence of steps. Students practice their scripts, rehearse speaking to a camera with adult help, and view their recorded video to self-evaluate what they did well and what to improve.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 1
Patterns in Nature
Students are guided by an adult to focus on the topic of patterns in nature through questions and read-alouds (e.g., asking the child to identify and describe patterns in pictures and discussing which patterns she has seen). Students respond to adult prompts with questions such as "Were there any patterns that you had seen before?" and are asked to name other patterns that could be added to the book. Students practice writing skills by copying or writing a sentence from the reading and label/draw 3–5 favorite patterns, which requires adding descriptive information to their illustrations.
Lesson 3
Night and Day
Students draw a picture of a daytime activity and then record or dictate a few sentences explaining the activity (Activity 3). Students label three pictures of the Sun, Moon, and Earth on the student activity page and write from left to right as noted in the Skills. Adults are instructed to ask questions and guide the child through experiments and discussions about night and day, providing support during writing and speaking tasks.
Lesson 4
Daily Routines
Students are asked to focus on the topic of daily routines (questions to explore and ‘Talk about some of your child's routines') and to record routines in multiple activities. In Activity 2 students break a chosen routine into four steps and can dictate or write a sentence for each step. In Activity 4 students write or dictate and copy a sentence describing one of their routines, and Activity 1 asks students to add an item to a morning routine picture set.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students practice focusing on a specific topic (calendar time) by naming days and months and by completing activities that ask them to record daily activities and dates (Activity 1 and Activity 3). Students practice writing related text: they write numbers and number words with tally marks, write dates each day, and practice spelling and writing the words day, month, and year (Activity 2 and Activity 6). Students sequence and order days and months by cutting, ordering, and gluing cards to create posters, reinforcing staying on the calendar topic (Activity 5).
Lesson 6
Seasonal Weather Patterns
Students are prompted by an adult to write today's date, select and circle the day's weather, and name the four seasons, which focuses their work on the topic of seasons and weather. Students answer and practice sequencing questions (e.g., Which month comes after March? Which season comes before summer?) and complete worksheets that require filling in missing seasons and ordering months. Students copy the months on handwriting paper and match months to seasonal weather, practicing writing about the topic with adult guidance.
Lesson 7
Patterns at Home
Students are asked to describe patterns during the Pattern Scavenger Hunt and other activities, which directs them to focus on the topic of patterns. In Activity 5 (Handwriting), students write or dictate and then copy a sentence that describes a pattern found in their closet, showing guided practice producing focused written work. Several activities prompt students to talk about patterns with an adult (e.g., asking the child to describe or discuss designs), providing supported opportunities to produce topic-related language.
Lesson 8
Symmetrical Patterns
Students write or copy a sentence on handwriting paper about a symmetrical figure ("______ has _________ lines of symmetry" in Activity 4), which has them focus on a single topic with adult guidance. Students answer adult prompts about the butterfly's wing pattern and describe examples of symmetrical and non-symmetrical shapes during the introduction and wrapping up questions, demonstrating responding to questions with support.
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
Students are asked to tell a story about clowns in a car and then write or dictate and copy a sentence about the clowns (Activity 3 and Activity 4), focusing on a single topic with adult prompting. Students are directed to identify the subject and verb in their sentence and are given explicit guidance about sentence conventions (capitalization and period). The activities involve an adult explaining, modeling, and prompting the child while the child composes and records a sentence about the clowns.
Lesson 10
Tracing Patterns
Students are asked to write or copy a sentence about their favorite holiday (Activity 4), which focuses their writing on a single topic. Students are prompted to tell a story about objects they create (Activity 1) and to explain how to use traced patterns and stencils during the wrap-up, demonstrating adult-guided questioning and support. Adults ask students questions (e.g., identify holidays, count shapes, explain use of patterns) that guide student responses and topical focus.
Final Project
Patterns All Around Lapbook
Students are asked to create a lapbook that focuses specifically on the topic of patterns, with instructions that their ideas about patterns should be their own and that they will need adult help assembling the mini-books. Students write titles and labels (e.g., "Symmetrical Pattern," stages of growth, days of the week), draw or paste examples (patterns from nature, fabric, seasons), and record or dictate knowledge on the topic. The activities require students to organize information into mini-books (one-page, matchbook, 3-flap, wheel, fan) and to decorate and explain examples of patterns.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 1
What Causes Change?
Students are asked to focus on the topic of change by discussing what change means and identifying examples in Activity 1 and Activity 2. In Activity 3 (Write About a Change) students draw before-and-after pictures, complete three sentences about a change, and are asked to attempt to read their paragraph aloud. The materials instruct an adult to "provide assistance as needed," and the skills list includes "read or attempt to read own dictated story" and "express ideas through writing and conversation," indicating adult-supported writing and oral practice.
Lesson 2
What Changed?
Students read Part 1: Things Change with adult assistance and are encouraged to answer explicit questions about physical and chemical changes (Activity 1). Students are asked to examine picture pairs and determine which attributes changed, and then can record a sentence describing each example (Activity 2). Students perform and verbalize changes in Activity 3 and switch roles so the child gives commands, demonstrating focused engagement on the topic with adult support.
Lesson 3
Changing Position
Students are repeatedly prompted by an adult to perform focused, topic-based tasks (e.g., answering questions about pushes/pulls, finding words in the index). Students write when they copy sentences for 'gravity' and 'inertia,' record page numbers, list or draw toys on labeled pages (Push, Pull, Push and Pull), and make lists of examples found outside. Adult guidance and modeling are explicitly described throughout (ask your child, demonstrate, encourage her to read or respond).
Lesson 4
Changes in the Environment
The lesson repeatedly instructs an adult to provide assistance (e.g., "Provide assistance as needed," "Help your child read"), showing guided support. Students are asked to focus on a topic by describing or writing about weather-caused activity changes ("illustrate or write two sentences about a time when weather caused him to change his activity") and to write or copy a sentence about a favorite season. Students are also asked to describe changes and explain causes and effects during the wrap-up, which prompts adding explanatory information.
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
Students are asked to write simple sentences describing locations (Activity 2 Option 2 extension asks children to "write simple sentence(s) describing the mouse's location" and Activity 3 asks students to record three or four sentences about object relationships). The materials instruct an adult to read sentences and provide assistance ("Provide assistance with the reading, if needed") and include guided spoken directions and role switching in the Wrapping Up section (adults give directions and then switch roles so the child describes the adult's location). The activities include opportunities to focus on the single topic of location across multiple tasks and to practice using location vocabulary in writing.
Lesson 6
Changes in the Sky
Students are asked to list adjectives and phrases inside images of the Sun and the Moon and may write their ideas or dictate them while an adult writes, showing guided focus on a specific topic (the Sun and Moon). Student Activity Pages provide space for students to record observations or descriptions, and the wrapping-up prompt asks students to describe how objects in the sky change positions, reinforcing topic-focused talk or writing. Several activities (watching videos, cut-and-paste model) support content the student can use when describing or writing about the topic.
Lesson 8
Plants and Change
Students receive direct adult guidance as the caregiver is instructed to read specific pages with them, explain topics, ask questions, and show videos (e.g., "Explain to your child that today he will be learning…" and guided reading prompts). Students focus on the topic of plants by completing written tasks such as listing plant parts on handwriting paper, describing what plants need, recording predictions for the plant experiment, and drawing and labeling plant diagrams. Students practice producing short written responses and labels through the handwriting paper, drawing/labeling activity, and the experiment recording sheet.
Lesson 9
Heat Causes Change
Students work with an adult to explore the single topic of how heat causes change through guided experiments (ice melting, water boiling, candle burning, baking a cake). The adult asks predictive and reflective questions (e.g., "What do you think will happen?", "How did the candle change?", "What caused the candle to change?") and students record data on activity sheets and measure changes. Students write or copy a sentence about an observation on handwriting paper and are prompted to explain their observations during wrap-up and life-application discussions.
Lesson 11
People Change the Environment
Students brainstorm positive and negative environmental changes while an adult records their ideas (Activity 1), showing guided focus on a single topic. Students describe what is happening in illustrations and explain whether changes are positive, negative, or neutral (Activity 3), which prompts them to add explanatory details. The wrap-up asks students to share ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle, giving them additional guided opportunities to stay on topic and elaborate orally.
Final Project
Mobile of Change
Students focus on the topic "CHANGES" by creating a mobile and completing before/after boxes for categories (Animal Change, Plant Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change), writing or drawing examples for each. Students write the word CHANGES, use new vocabulary in speech and writing, and are prompted to express ideas through writing and conversation. Students explain their mobile to family members during the wrap-up, and adult guidance is indicated in the Introduction and activity instructions for supporting the child as they complete tasks.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
Students are asked to write about names and character change: Activity 1 has students rewrite sentences and complete prompts ("My name is", "I wish my name were"), and Activity 5 asks students to list three characteristics of Chrysanthemum at the beginning and end of the story and "write a few short sentences about how the character changed." The lesson repeatedly instructs an adult to "explain to your child" and to guide listening and activities, indicating adult support during these writing tasks.
Lesson 2
Why Worry?
Students answer targeted comprehension questions about Wemberly's worries and whether those worries were necessary, showing focus on a single topic. Students complete a "Characters Change" page that asks them to describe Wemberly at the beginning and end and to write "Wemberly changed because...", prompting them to add reasons and details. Students practice combining short sentences into compound sentences using conjunctions (and, but) to strengthen sentence flow and rewrite ideas more effectively.
Lesson 3
Is It a Problem?
Students brainstorm and select a single problem and then describe it, explain why it worries them, identify what is within/out of their control, list possible opportunities, and write steps to tackle it on the "Tackling a Problem" page, with the teacher providing assistance with the writing as needed. Students illustrate the problem at different points in the story on "The Problem" activity, and they identify story parts and character changes (Beginning/Middle/End, Characters Change) which keeps their work focused on the topic of problems and responses. The directions explicitly say to provide assistance with writing, indicating guided support while students produce and add details to their responses.
Lesson 4
Comparing Characters
Students are prompted by an adult to dictate three‑sentence summaries (beginning, middle, end) of stories, with the adult recording or supporting their writing. Students use Venn diagrams to focus on comparing characters and answer directed questions about similarities, lessons, and personal connections. Students write cause-and-effect matches and are asked to write their own cause/effect example and three complete sentences describing themselves before and after solving a problem, indicating guided practice in adding detail.
Lesson 5
The Raft
Students are prompted by an adult to write and focus on specific story-related topics: Activity 8 asks students to describe how the boy changed, completing prompts such as "The boy changed because __," and to compare his beginning and end traits. Activity 7 has students identify characters, setting, problem, and solution and glue or write those elements onto a story-elements page, focusing their writing on those topics. Activity 1 has students copy two sentences containing "I" from the text, underlining the pronoun, which has them attend to narrator perspective with adult-led discussion and support.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
Students focus on the topic of change through guided discussions and cause-and-effect activities (Activities 1 and 3) where they identify causes and effects and label them as positive or negative. Students dictate and create an ending for the rat story (Activity 2), then listen as the adult records and reads the new ending aloud and discuss how and why the rat changed. Students illustrate a personal change and write or dictate one or two sentences describing the change, with explicit prompts and examples to add more interesting descriptive words.
Final Project
My Own Story
Students receive adult guidance as adults are instructed to record dictated stories, keep students focused on the plan, review completed pages with them, and help type and arrange the story in the online tool. Students plan and focus on a single topic by choosing a character who changes, limiting settings to one or two places, and being reminded to keep the story simple and follow beginning, middle, and end. Students are encouraged to add details and stronger language when asked to "attempt to use interesting language" and to discuss which parts of the story go on which pages during the read-aloud and publishing steps.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 1
People and Families Change
Students dictate ideas about how their family has changed while an adult records them and then read the ideas back to complete a 'Writing About Change' page, providing guided focus on a single topic. Students are asked to write (or dictate and copy) a sentence about one way they have changed, practicing focused writing with adult assistance. Students share their ideas aloud and other family members are invited to contribute ideas during the future-changes activity, providing opportunities for oral feedback.
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
Students are prompted by an adult to focus on the topic of time by recording today's date, yesterday's date, and tomorrow's date and by completing the three writing boxes titled "Yesterday I," "Today I," and "Tomorrow I will." Adults ask targeted questions (e.g., name something that happened in the past, something happening now, and something desired in the future) and guide students to sequence events and connect experiences to text. Students cut, order, and paste spans of time and place events in chronological order, practicing focused writing about a single topic (time) with adult support.
Lesson 3
Communities Change
The lesson repeatedly asks the child, with adult prompts, to focus on The House on Maple Street (discussing setting, characters, and how the environment changed) and to put events in chronological order using a timeline activity. Adults are instructed to ask the child explanatory questions (Why? When? Which would you like to be?) and to guide the child to draw and write about living in a different time. The lesson directs the child to write a sentence about the book with adult support (or dictate and copy), and to add details in drawings (two things he would have used) and labels on activity pages.
Lesson 4
Past and Present
Students are asked to write a sentence describing how life in the past is different (Activity 8), with the option to dictate to an adult who records it, showing adult guidance and support. Students dictate and have an adult record a story about living in a past time period (Activity 2) and complete reflective pages while an adult records their ideas (How Am I Different?). Students read or present clues to other family members to see if they can guess the time period (Activity 7), which involves responding to an audience.
Lesson 5
Exploring the Past
Students are prompted to focus on a single culture: they choose one from the timeline, write one sentence about each element of culture (homes, clothes, food, transport), and draw accompanying illustrations to make a book. Adults are explicitly involved: caregivers are asked to help cut, glue, put pictures in chronological order, and assist with writing or dictation. Students are encouraged to assemble the pages and give a presentation to the family, which practices staying on topic and communicating learned content.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Students are asked to write a sentence about a historical person (Activity 4), demonstrating focusing on a topic with adult guidance. Adults are instructed to read biographies with the child and ask guiding questions (Activity 1) and to help place and discuss historical figures (Activity 2), so students practice responding to adult questions and discussing details. Activity 3 has students generate ideas for making a positive change and write down those ideas, showing supported planning and elaboration.
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
Students choose a focused final project (a book or a time-period comparison) and use structured activity pages that ask them to write about past, present, and future for self, family, home, and actions, which guides them to stay on topic. The activity pages include specific sentence prompts such as "I was different because," "Now I am," and "In the future I will be," directing focused writing. The materials state "If necessary, help her when she writes the sentences," which indicates adult guidance and support during writing. The Wrapping Up section has students read through their work, answer reflective questions about changes, and present their book or pages to family, supporting revision and oral response.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students practice focusing on specific topics (letters, vowel i, and word families) by identifying, building, and writing words tied to those letter sets (Activities 1.2, 3.2, 4.2, 5.1). With adult support students are prompted to say sounds, sound out words, spell aloud while an adult writes or to copy words (e.g., "you can spell the word to me as I write it" and take-turns writing). Adults prompt students to reread and review their work (e.g., reread the reader, re-read the weekly message, and place pages in a Word Collection binder), providing corrective feedback when words are placed in the wrong family.
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students are asked to create and complete sentences using the Making Sentences cards, reading each card and filling blanks (e.g., "the cat ran to a _____"). Adults prompt and support writing on the "Writing Words" and "Writing Letters" pages where students say sounds and write words and letters, and adults assist with sounding out or explaining words. Students are also asked to read a short reader aloud and answer comprehension questions posed by an adult, demonstrating guided focus on a text or topic.
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students write words and sentences under adult guidance during Activity 4.2 (writing dictated words) and Activity 5.3 (sentence dictation), with reminders about capitalization, spacing, and punctuation. Students answer comprehension and text-related prompts in Activity 3.3 and the Weekly Message activities by pointing to known words and responding to questions about the reader. The Life Application and some activities prompt students to take turns adding words or make silly sentences, providing opportunities to respond to others and contribute additional words orally.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Activity 5.1 has students read word cards and use them to create sentences, read their sentences aloud, and is explicit about encouraging students to change a sentence by replacing a word or two. Activity 5.2 has students write dictated sentences with adult support, and Activity 4.3 asks students comprehension/personal-response questions after reading (e.g., "If you were in the club, what fun things would you want to do?"). The Life Application turn-taking activity has students take turns saying words that start with a blend, which involves responding to a conversational partner.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students are asked to write words and sentences with adult support in multiple activities (Activity 2.2 Writing Words, Activity 5.3 Sentence Dictation, and Writing Sight Words) where an adult reads or models and the child copies or composes responses. Students create a mini-book of beginning blends (Activity 4.1) and add words to lists, practicing focus on the r-blends topic and organizing words under blend headings. In Alphabet Soup and word-building activities (Day 3 and Day 2), students generate and then read back words they created, and the adult prompts revision by asking the child to replace nonsense words with real words.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
Students practice focusing on the specific topic of ending blends by reading, underlining, sorting, and writing words that end with nd, mp, lf, and nt (e.g., underlining blends in ask, dusk, lamp; spelling words with letter cards; writing words on 'nd/ mp/ lf/ nt' pages). Students write dictated sentences on handwriting paper and are reminded to think about sentence features (beginnings and endings) and to read their sentences aloud. Students also reread readers and copy sight words, showing sustained attention to the focused phonics/writing topic with adult prompting.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students receive adult guidance to focus on the FLOSS rule through explicit questioning, modeling, and guided practice (e.g., watch video, answer FLOSS questions, and point to/double consonants in words). Students write words and sentences with adult support (underline double consonants, write dictated sentences on handwriting paper, write "The bugs buzz.", and create sentences using sight words). Students are asked to restate the FLOSS rule in their own words and to produce sentences from their Word Collection, showing focused writing practice tied to the lesson topic.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
Students write sentences with adult guidance in Activity 5.2 (Sentence Dictation) where they listen and transcribe sentences about blends. Students also write words on a dry-erase sheet in Activity 3.3 and complete Fill-in-the-Blanks and Word Sort pages (Activity 4.1 and 4.2) that keep them focused on the topic of three-letter blends. Students are prompted to make up silly sentences using three-letter blends in the Life Application and to read their work aloud after writing.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students write sentences as the adult dictatess (Activity 5.1), practicing focus on sentence beginnings and endings and then reading their sentences aloud. Students answer adult-posed comprehension questions about the reader (Activity 5.2), demonstrating responding to questions. Students revisit words they create in the Alphabet Soup activity and are asked to replace nonsense words with real words, which involves making small revisions to their written word choices.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Students plan and write a short reader using the "Planning My Reader" page, naming characters and deciding what happens on each page, which requires focusing on a single topic and organizing ideas. Adults are explicitly positioned to provide support (e.g., writing the child's ideas on the planning page, modeling two examples, and prompting during dictation and writing activities). Students are asked to reread and share their finished reader with others and to read dictated sentences aloud while paying attention to how sentences begin and end.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students write words for pictures (Activity 3.3 Long a and i Words) and complete alphabet-soup and word-building activities (Activity 4.1, Activity 2.3) that require them to generate and spell words with adult help. Students take short spelling tests and write dictated sentences (Activity 4.2 Spelling Test; Activity 5.2 Sentence Dictation) while an adult reads and checks their work. The materials repeatedly instruct adults to assist, prompt, and ask students to read their words aloud, showing guided support during writing tasks.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students write dictated sentences on handwriting paper (Sentence Dictation) and read them back to an adult, demonstrating adult-supported writing practice. Students take a spelling test, read their words aloud, and are asked to correct any mistakes, showing guided revision. Students also write words into vowel-specific columns and complete short writing tasks (e.g., labeling columns, writing words like cube/cute), which requires them to focus on specific word-level topics under adult guidance.
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
Students write dictated sentences (Activity 5.3) as an adult reads them and then read their sentences aloud for checking. Students complete written word-category and word-writing tasks (Activities 3.3, 4.1, 4.2) where they sort and write words into hard/soft c and g boxes with adult support. Students take a spelling test (Activity 4.3) and are asked to correct mistakes after the adult checks their work, indicating guided review of their writing.
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
Students repeatedly write and read words and sentences about the r-controlled vowel topic (e.g., they write ar/er/ir/or/ur words on the laminated writing sheet, complete the Fill-in-the-Blanks with those vowel pairs, and take a spelling test including target words). Students reread the Weekly Message and are asked to add words to the group and to find new sight words in the message, which directs them to focus on the lesson topic. Students answer comprehension and follow-up questions after reading The Bird Is Third and respond orally to questions (e.g., who won the race? who did you think would win?), and they are asked to use sight words in sentences during the wrap-up.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students write sentences during Sentence Dictation and complete written activities (Fill in the Blanks, Word Sorting, and the Spelling Test), which provide guided, adult-led opportunities to focus on long a spelling and to produce writing. Students are asked to reread the Weekly Message, point to long a words, and make silly long a sentences in the Life Application, which asks them to compose sentences on a specific topic (long a words) with adult interaction. The spelling test includes a step where students read their work aloud and are asked to correct any mistakes, showing adult-supported revision of written work.
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
Students practice composing and reading sentences using word cards in Activity 4.2 (Making Sentences), where they arrange provided words to form sentences and read them aloud. Students write dictated sentences in Activity 5.2 (Sentence Dictation) with adult support and reminders to attend to sentence beginnings and endings. Students also write words from pictures in Activity 3.2 (Writing 'ea' Words) and complete spelling checks where an adult checks work and asks for corrections.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students write dictated sentences (Activity 5.2) while an adult reads them aloud, and they are asked to pay attention to sentence beginnings and endings. Students complete guided writing pages (Activity 3.1) by writing words that match pictures and fill-in sight word practice, with adults prompting and supporting decoding and spelling. Students reread and point to words in the Weekly Message (Activity 1.1 and Wrapping Up) in response to adult questions and prompts.
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students write dictated sentences (Activity 5.2) and complete written tasks such as the Fill in the Blanks page (Activity 2.2) and Writing Sight Words (Activity 3.3), keeping work focused on the long-u topic. Students read their work aloud and are asked to check and correct mistakes after the Spelling Test (Activity 4.3), receiving guidance and making corrections. Students respond orally to comprehension and prompt questions (Activity 5.1) that elicit additional content such as "If you were going to make a funny stew, what would you put in it?"
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students write sentences during Sentence Dictation (e.g., "The child is kind." and "The colt is blind."), complete Fill-in-the-Blanks sentences using target words, and write words and sentences on handwriting or laminated sheets tied to the week's topic. Students read and re-read the Weekly Message and reader, point out "wild" long-vowel words, and take turns using sight words in sentences, with an adult prompting and providing corrections after spelling tests. Adults ask students to correct mistakes and to replace nonsense words with real words, which engages students in revising their written work with support.
Lesson 11
Long Vowel Sounds Review
Students focus on the long-vowel topic by creating a Long Vowel Sound chart (Activity 1.2) and performing word-sorting and reader-review tasks that require them to find and write long-vowel words (Activities 2.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1). Students also complete written sentence tasks: they fill in blanks using a Word Bank and write each word in a sentence so the sentence makes sense (Activity 3.1) and write words they find on a laminated writing sheet during reader reviews.
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
Students are asked to make sentences using provided word cards (Activity 4.1), read those sentences aloud, and use sentence starters as needed. Students write sentences during Sentence Dictation (Activity 5.2) and reread the Weekly Message while an adult prompts them to identify words and sounds. Students are prompted to create silly sentences using rhyming words and to add their own rhyming words in the Rhyming Words activity, with adult support indicated throughout.
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
Students write words on the "Writing o Words" pages, name pictures, say words slowly, and write them with adult support, then check and correct mistakes with the adult. Students complete a spelling test by writing rhyming groups and then have their spelling checked and corrected by an adult. In Sentence Dictation, students write two teacher-read sentences, pay attention to sentence beginnings and endings, and read their sentences aloud to the adult. In Word Sorting and related activities, students sort words, explain their groupings aloud, and justify their choices to the adult.
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
Students focus on the topic of vowel blends as they sort and categorize aw/au/o words, highlight the blends, and spell and write words and dictated sentences with adult prompting (Activities 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, Day 5 dictation). Students receive guided practice from an adult who reads aloud, prompts them to explain groupings, asks them questions about patterns (e.g., where aw/au appear), and checks and asks them to correct spelling test work. Students also write words and sentences (handwriting pages, alphabet soup creations, spelling test, sentence dictation) tied directly to the lesson topic.
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students write dictated sentences and practice writing sight words while an adult prompts, models, and assists (e.g., sentence dictation, laminated writing sheet, and instructions like "assist as needed" and "ask your child"). Students reread the Weekly Message and answer targeted questions about oo and ea sounds, and they are asked to use sight words in sentences, showing a maintained focus on the phonics/topic. Students receive corrective feedback during word-sorting and word-building activities where the adult is to "correct her pronunciation, and explain word meanings as needed."
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
Students read and discuss the Weekly Message (Activity 1.1) and are asked to point to and read known words and then list things they have learned about reading words, which focuses them on a single topic with adult support. Students receive guided writing practice through writing words and sight words (Activities 2.3, 4.2) and complete sentence dictation (Activity 5.3) where they write sentences as an adult reads them. Students take a spelling test (Activity 4.3), read their answers aloud, and are asked to correct mistakes, indicating some guided revision and correction.
Lesson 17
Year-End Review
Students write one or two sentences about pictures in the Sentence Writing activity, being guided to use words they have learned and reminded to think about how sentences begin and end. Students are prompted to read their writing aloud to an adult after finishing, and adults provide assistance with reading, cutting/pasting, and prompting during word-sorting and alphabet-soup activities. Students practice focused writing tasks with adult support during multiple activities and are asked to share work during the wrap-up.