First Grade - ELA
1: Environment
Unit 1: Habitats and Homes
Lesson 1
My Environment
Students take a guided walk through their home, number the rooms in the order explored, and label or copy room names on the provided 'Exploring My Home' sheet, gathering observational information. Students answer and discuss directed questions such as what they drink and where it comes from, what foods are in the home, and why a selected item contributes to a healthy environment, using adult prompts. Students choose which room is most important, explain how it is used, and record or dictate their reasons on 'The Most Important Room' page and then read the paragraph aloud. Adult support is explicitly described through modeling reading, prompting sounds/letters, and recording dictated responses.
Lesson 2
What Is a Map?
Students are asked to recall personal-location facts in Activity 1 (name of country, state, town, and address) with repeated adult prompting over a week. In Activity 2 students use provided map images to locate and label items and to answer positional questions (e.g., What is beside the refrigerator?). In Activity 3 students walk through their bedroom to identify important objects to include on a self-made map, choosing items from a provided 'Objects Found in the Bedroom' sheet or drawing them in, with adults guiding labeling and placement.
Lesson 3
Guide to Animal Habitats
Students are asked to describe the environment in which they live, which requires recalling information from their own experiences. During the read-aloud, students stop to point out and count animals and plants in each habitat, gathering information from the book. Activities ask students to order habitats from the story and chart Crinkleroot's course using the book, and to examine habitat pages and answer questions about what they see and would do there.
Lesson 4
Animals Live and Grow
Students answer explicit comprehension questions about Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt (Day 2 Questions) that require recalling details from the book. Students are instructed to research online and list plants for each habitat and to write or draw recognized living things on habitat charts (Activity 1, Option 2). Students analyze their habitat lists to identify consumer and energy-source pairs and fill labeled 'Consumer' and 'Energy Source' boxes (Activity 2). Students search the book for examples of shelter and match animals to appropriate shelters (Activity 3), showing use of provided sources and guided recall.
Lesson 5
Discovering Animal Habitats
Students are asked in the Introduction to give examples of habitats they explored in Crinkleroot's Guide, prompting recall from prior experience. Activity 2 asks students direct questions about where certain animals live and directs them to find pictures in books, websites (National Geographic, videos, games) to explore habitats, prompting gathering information from provided sources. Activity 6 instructs students that if they do not know which habitat an animal belongs to, they should look for information about the animal online, and Activity 5 (Option 2) asks students to refer to books or websites to draw appropriate habitats.
Lesson 6
Exploring Animal Habitats
Students observe a chosen habitat (Activity 1), draw or photograph what they see, and answer teacher questions such as "Where are the plants?" and "What animals do you see?" which requires recalling and recording information from the real experience. Students compare their observations to predictions made before the visit, demonstrating recall from experience. In Activity 2 students are guided to locate more information in a book or online (National Geographic is suggested) and share that information to build a story about the animal, which involves gathering information from provided sources with adult support.
Lesson 7
Tools in My Environment
Students go on a Tool Scavenger Hunt where they collect tools from their home and are asked questions (e.g., "What is the tool used for?") that require recalling how tools help with tasks. During Sorting and Measuring activities, students examine each tool, answer questions about its use and how it works, and put tools in order by length. In Measuring Tools and the wrap-up, students record tool names and measurements and are asked to tell what a tool is and which tool(s) they used to measure, providing answers based on their recent experience.
Lesson 8
Animal Care
Students are prompted to recall family pet care in the Introduction (e.g., asking what the family does to take care of a pet) and then practice caring for a pet or stuffed animal in Activity 1, after which they answer questions such as "What do pets need?" and "What would happen if we didn't provide a healthy environment for our pets?". During Activity 2 students listen to a provided text (The Salamander Room) and answer specific factual and inferential questions about the story (e.g., what kind of animal, where found, what environment it needed). In Activity 3 students gather materials outside and identify what a salamander would need to live and grow as they create a habitat in a shoebox.
Lesson 9
Animal Designs
Students analyze pictured habitats and decide which animals do not belong in Activity 2, then explain and record reasons for each choice (with an option to research online if unsure). In Activity 3 students sort stuffed animals into habitats, identify misplaced animals, and state sentences such as "A zebra can't live in the ocean. A zebra lives in the savanna," recalling prior knowledge. Activity 1 (Option 2) asks students to write habitat names, think of animals that move that way, act out movements, and optionally print pictures from the Internet to place in habitats, which involves gathering information from provided visual sources and online resources.
Lesson 10
Amazing Animals
Students are asked to analyze pictures and read about how each animal changes in Activity 1, and then to select one animal to learn more about and "locate websites and/or find books about the animal," which directs them to gather information from provided sources. In Activity 2 students are prompted with scenarios and questions (e.g., "What will happen to the starfish's arm?" and "What can lizards do to hide themselves?"), requiring them to recall information about animal adaptations. The Wrapping Up section asks students to tell what they learned about animals, which requires recalling information from the activities and sources.
Lesson 11
Amazing Me
Students are asked to recall a personal example of a time they changed because of their environment, share it aloud, and have their ideas recorded and read back (Activity 3). In Activity 1 students answer adult-posed questions about how they would change in specific situations (cold, sun, poor vision), with an adult reading examples and prompting responses. In Activity 2 students gather information from provided pictures and word prompts on the "Our Feelings, Our Environment" sheets and circle or write the face/word that answers how the pictured item would make them feel.
Final Project
Animal Research / My Environment
Students are asked to recall prior learning through guided questions about their environment and animal habitats (e.g., "Can you describe the environment in which you live?" and prompts to review food, water, and shelter). Option 2 directs students to gather information by finding websites, books, or other sources about a chosen animal and then complete book pages that ask specific informational prompts (e.g., Where in the world? What _____ eats and drinks? _____'s habitat). Adults are instructed to provide hints, follow-up questions, and help (e.g., "Provide hints and follow-up questions as needed," and "Help your child label his pictures").
Unit 2: Weather
Lesson 1
Reading the Skies
Students are asked to look or go outside and describe the weather, which requires them to recall observations from their experience to answer questions about sky conditions. Activity 1 asks students direct questions (e.g., "What type of weather is best for playing outside?"), prompting them to recall feelings and past experiences to respond. Activity 4 has students gather daily data (draw the weather, record temperature using a thermometer or online source) and Activity 3 asks students to tell or write a story about a past activity in certain weather; the lesson also directs students to listen to weather forecasts on radio/TV as a provided source.
Lesson 2
Types of Precipitation
Students answer direct questions after listening to Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? by describing habitats, identifying how characters looked when hot or cold, and explaining what they learned from the book. Students reread specified pages and use the Falling From the Sky activity to read labels or words and then decide which type of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sleet) matches each picture. Students conduct the "Making Rain" experiment, record a prediction, observe condensation and falling droplets, count raindrops, and describe what happened to explain how rain forms.
Lesson 3
Measuring and Charting Weather
Students use a thermometer and follow steps to measure temperatures of ice, tap, and warm water and record those readings on the "Measuring Temperature" sheet. Students are guided to put a jar outside (or simulate it) and use a ruler to measure the depth of collected rainwater, practicing gathering quantitative data. Students are asked questions such as "what would happen if an animal's habitat got too warm or cold?", "how could you measure rain?", and to describe weather from the book Crinkleroot's Guide, prompting them to recall information from a provided source to respond.
Lesson 4
Simulating Weather
Students are asked to name three things the wind can move and to go outside to identify things the wind is moving, which requires recalling prior experience and gathering observational information. During the bottle cloud activity students watch the experiment, are asked to explain what happens when the bottle is squeezed or released, and thus gather evidence from the demonstration to answer a question. In the wrap-up students are asked what happens in the sky to cause rain, prompting them to recall and state information from the unit and the experiments.
Lesson 5
Fall
Students are asked to name the seasons and months and to describe what happens in fall (Introduction and Wrapping Up), which requires recalling information from experience. In Activity 1 students compare a pictured fall scene to their own environment and answer specific questions about clothing, plants, actions, and weather, using personal observations to respond. In Activity 2 students color, arrange, and interpret a leaf graph and then answer directed questions (Which color has the fewest? Which has the most? Do any have the same number?), which requires gathering and reading information from a provided graph. Activity 3 has students go outside to collect a variety of leaves, providing opportunities to gather firsthand information to support answers about leaf types and colors.
Lesson 6
Winter
Students are asked to describe the outside environment in winter and to dictate a story about something they like to do in winter, which requires recalling information from personal experience. Students are directed to find winter pages in Whatever the Weather and to describe similarities and differences between those pictures and their own environment, which has them gather information from a provided source. Students discuss how winter weather differs from summer and view a picture of the Earth and Sun to explain why winters are cooler, using that provided source to answer a question.
Lesson 7
Spring
Students are asked in the Introduction to recall what the weather is like in spring, prompting them to retrieve information from experience. In Activity 1 students read provided poems and are asked "what the poem was about," underlining rhyming words from the provided text (gathering information from a provided source). In Activity 2 students color/cut seeds and then answer directed questions such as "How many seeds are there?" after planting as instructed (gathering and using information from the activity). In Activity 3 students perform an outdoor feather experiment and answer questions like "Does it move/fall off?" and "Why did it move/fall off?", using observations from experience.
Lesson 8
Summer
Students are asked directly what season follows spring and to describe summer activities and weather, prompting them to recall personal experiences with adult guidance. In Activity 1, students answer questions about a pictured scene (describe environment, what is happening, could these activities happen in winter?) using the picture as a provided source. In Activities 2 and 3, students use picture-word prompts and a word bank/temperature continuum to fill in story blanks and sentence completions, gathering information from those provided sources to answer questions.
Final Project
Weather Games
Students observe current weather from a window and answer specific questions about temperature, wind, precipitation, clouds, and whether it is a good day to be outside (Activity 3). Students gather information from provided sources (book pages, Internet/TV, and a weather calendar), record answers on a Weather Forecast page, and prepare an oral forecast to present to the family (Activity 4). Adults prompt, assist with recording and provide support during practice and presentation.
Unit 3: Community
Lesson 1
On the Town
Students answer direct comprehension questions after the read-aloud (e.g., "What places did Charlie visit in his community?" and "Why did Charlie write down the places he visited...?"), which requires them to recall information from the provided book. Students draw a new page for the book and write or dictate a sentence about Charlie visiting a place in their own community, which asks them to recall or use knowledge of their community to respond to a prompt. Students are encouraged to keep a notebook and take notes or draw pictures during visits to community places, which asks them to gather information from real experiences over time.
Lesson 2
My Community Environment
Students prepare questions and, with adult guidance, interview community workers during the field trip (Activity 4) and take notes or recordings of the conversation. Students gather information from provided sources such as maps, books, and photos by examining the Community Map, reading Me on the Map, selecting books that show communities (Activity 3), and taking/printing pictures during a tour (Activity 2). Students recall and describe what they observed by answering wrap-up questions about important places and by labeling/describing how places serve the community on a poster.
Lesson 3
Jobs in the Community
Students are asked to observe a chosen community worker for 30–45 minutes or, if unavailable, to read books about the job, which provides sources for gathering information. In Activity 2 students record tally marks over several days and then answer questions such as "How many marks do you have for each community worker?" and "Which worker did you see most often?", requiring them to use collected observations to answer questions. In Activity 3 students describe what they saw during their observation and Activity 4 asks students to write a paragraph "based on what he learned" from the time spent with the community worker, which requires recalling experience-based information with adult support.
Lesson 4
Goods and Services in the Community
Students are asked to name important places in their community and explain how each place helps people, prompting them to recall information from their experience. In Activity 1 students read labels on building, goods, and services cards and match buildings to the goods or services they provide, using provided sources to make connections. Wrapping Up and Activity 2 ask students to describe goods and services, explain why people have jobs, and count money to decide what to buy, requiring them to use recalled or provided information to answer those questions.
Lesson 5
Resources
Students sort pictures on the "Natural or Manmade Resources" sheet into "Natural" and "Manmade" columns, directly using a provided source to categorize items. Students count objects on the "Counting on Resources" page, label each as N or M, and order boxes from least to greatest, gathering information from the worksheet. Students collect three natural and three manmade resources from their surroundings and explain how each is used or where it is found, and the wrap-up asks them to explain the difference between nature-found and human-made resources.
Lesson 6
A Good Community Citizen
Students are asked to recall and describe how citizens in their community help one another during the opening discussion and when asked what it means to be a good citizen. In Activity 1, students read provided scenarios (e.g., Frank, Maria, Caleb) and decide whether each person is being a good citizen, explaining how they made each decision using the given text. In Activity 3, students identify and record examples of good citizenship from their own family experiences by drawing or dictating observations about family members. In Activity 2 (Option 2) students use the provided graphic organizer to generate and label examples drawn from their knowledge of home environments.
Lesson 7
A Citizen with Character
Students are asked to recall personal experiences (e.g., Activity 4 asks "Has there ever been a time when you did not tell the truth?" and the Life Application chart asks students to record real actions over weeks). Students gather information from provided sources (e.g., Activity 5 has students read/retell The Boy Who Cried Wolf and then illustrate and write beginning/middle/end; Activity 3 has students evaluate pictures and assign kindness scores). Adults are prompted to guide and support students through questioning, modeling, and prompting across multiple activities (e.g., ask your child, explain, provide assistance as needed).
Lesson 8
Rules and Laws
Students are asked to think of and list six rules from their own home, read those sentences, and order them by importance (Activity 1), which requires recalling information from their experiences. Students use a provided "Rule or Law" student page, read each item aloud, and decide where to paste each statement (Activity 2), which requires gathering information from a provided source to answer the sorting task. Students answer questions about consequences in "The House with No Rules" and make a list of 3–5 new household rules (Activity 3 and Wrapping Up), which asks them to recall, evaluate, and produce answers to explicit questions with adult prompts.
Lesson 9
Caring for Our Communities
Students listen to and discuss the story "When One Person Cares" and answer explicit comprehension questions (beginning, middle, end; where Katy lives; what she does to help), using the story as a provided source. Students examine two community pictures and mark Xs/circles to identify good and bad features, gathering information from the illustrations to decide where they would want to live. Students recall and describe personal experiences of helping (or family helping) in Activity 4 and create pictures, photos, or videos of three things that make their community happy and healthy in Activity 3 to explain their choices.
Final Project
I Can Make A Difference
Students complete a community project plan with adult support, using sentence starters such as "I am planning to..." and step prompts (1., 2., 3.) and dictation options so they can record steps. Students carry out the plan and check off steps as they complete them and are prompted to take a picture and paste it on the plan sheet. Students answer guided reflection questions and use sentence starters to write: "I helped __ with __... I felt __... I made my community a better place because __," and are asked direct questions (Were you able to carry out your plan? How did you affect the person/people you helped?).
2: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Amazing Attributes
Lesson 1
Describe It
Students listen to descriptive clues in the 'Guess What's in the Bag' activity and use those clues to identify objects, showing they gather provided information to answer the question 'What is in the bag?'. Students use the 'Describing Words' worksheet to select or write words from a provided word box to describe pictured items, demonstrating gathering information from a provided source to answer which words fit each picture. Students are prompted in the backyard and other settings to describe objects they see, practicing recalling information from direct experience with adult prompts and support.
Lesson 2
Animal Attributes
Students are asked to use two of their stuffed animals and explain how they are alike and different, prompting recall from personal experience. In the Living and Nonliving activities students circle living items, describe how they know an object is living, and (Option 2) write names of living and nonliving items from the provided pages. The Animal Parts activity directs students to look at Crinkleroot's book and identify body parts they see and discuss how those parts help the animals, requiring gathering information from a provided source. The Body Coverings pages ask students to sort animals by coverings and, in the advanced option, write names into categories, further gathering and recording information from provided materials.
Lesson 3
Size, Shape, and Color
Students are asked to recall and describe outcomes of color-mixing (e.g., "what makes purple... green... orange?") and to watch a provided video about primary colors, then report what they learned. Students gather information from their own experiences by bringing 5–8 toys and organizing them by size and by walking around the house to find and draw objects that match given shapes. Students are prompted to describe what they learned about mixing colors and to name and describe the shapes they examined, linking gathered or recalled information to answer questions about properties of objects.
Lesson 4
How Does It Feel?
Students are blindfolded, feel objects, and describe the way they feel, then recall and hear the words they used when the objects are revealed, which practices recalling information from experience. In Activity 1 students describe a secretly chosen object so an adult can guess it, and then describe only texture words to determine if those clues are sufficient, which has students gather descriptive information to answer the identification question. In Activity 2 students use a provided Word Box to select texture adjectives that match pictures, showing that they gather information from a provided source to label objects. The Life Application asks students to select objects in their room or yard and describe their textures with adult prompting, reinforcing guided recall from experience.
Lesson 5
How Old?
Students are asked to recall their own age and explain what a birthday means, and to order family pictures from oldest to youngest and youngest to oldest. Students observe trees in a yard or park and use tree rings and trunk thickness as gathered evidence to judge age. Students use the "Guessing Ages" activity sheet to match listed ages to pictured people and to write and ask questions, and Activity 3 directs students to look up animal life spans on the Internet and record them on index cards.
Lesson 6
The Measure of Things
At the start, students are prompted to recall properties they explored previously (size, age, shape, texture, color) and to explain how they know personal measurements like height and weight. In Activity 1 and Day 2 students estimate and then gather information by measuring objects with a chosen nonstandard tool and a ruler, recording estimates and actual measurements and answering comparative sentences (e.g., "The ___ is longer than the ___"). In Activities 2 and 3 students gather information using a balance, interactive simulations, a video, and cup measurements to determine which object is heavier or how many cups a bowl holds and then use those measurements to answer questions about weight and capacity.
Lesson 7
More Attributes
The introduction prompts the child to explain what an attribute is and to describe ways she is similar to and different from family members, which requires recalling information from personal experience with adult guidance. Activities 2 and 3 give specific tasks (e.g., "Find all the blocks that are red and thick," and place yellow blocks vs. triangles in a Venn diagram) that require the child to gather information from provided sets of objects to answer classification questions. Adult prompts and directions (e.g., "Ask your child," "Explain that she is going to…") make the tasks scaffolded with guidance and support.
Lesson 8
Amazing Attributes
Students make predictions and then test objects with a magnet using the "Magnetic or Not?" activity page, recording their predictions and results. Students select 10–15 objects, predict which will sink or float, drop them into water to observe outcomes, place objects on labeled sheets, and compare results to their predictions. Students watch a provided sink-or-float video and discuss density, and adults prompt students to recall what a magnet is and why objects sink or float.
Lesson 9
Solids and Liquids
Adults prompt students to explain the difference between solids and liquids and to recall times they observed changes (e.g., ice cream melting, baking cookies). Students write definitions on the "Solid or Liquid" page and sort examples into columns, demonstrating recall and use of prior observations. Students gather information and examples by finding and cutting images from magazines, catalogs, or online sources to categorize as solids or liquids. Hands-on observation tasks (melting ice, freezing water, examining sugar) require students to collect firsthand information to answer questions about state changes.
Lesson 10
Earth Materials: Rocks, Soil, and Water
Students are asked to answer specific questions after reading Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt (e.g., name three solids, describe pictured liquids, locate rocks in illustrations). Students gather information from experience by digging in the dirt, collecting two soil samples, describing their attributes, and using those observations to identify soil types in Activity 3. Students use provided sources (books, glossary, videos about soil, rocks, and water) and perform a simple water experiment to observe cohesion and then describe what they observed.
Lesson 11
Using Earth Materials
The lesson gives a clear question to explore (How do the properties or attributes of Earth materials affect living things?) and asks the child to describe the three Earth materials explored in the previous lesson, which requires recall. Activity 1 has the child keep a water log (recording or dictating uses and taking photos) so students gather information from direct experience. Activity 2 provides a linked video (a provided source) and a scavenger hunt where students keep a list or take photos of rock uses, and Activity 3 has students observe and discuss soil properties while gardening.
Final Project
Presenting Attributes
Students are asked at the start to name attributes they have learned and an adult is instructed to give leading questions or hints if the child cannot remember, which supports guided recall of prior experiences. In both project options students are directed to gather materials, pictures, or online images (and use magazines) to represent attributes, which supports gathering information from provided sources. Students must decide how each chosen attribute can be used to find similarities and differences and then prepare a demonstration or poster to explain this, which requires using recalled or gathered information to answer the question about how attributes help describe similarities and differences.
Unit 2: Senses
Lesson 1
My Five Senses
Students are asked to read My Five Senses and then answer questions such as naming the five senses and identifying the body parts used for each sense, which requires gathering information from the book and word list. In Activity 2 students cut or match pictures/words to the appropriate sense webs, gathering information from provided picture and word sources to decide which sense to use. In Activity 3 students are prompted to think of a time they used a sense intensely and dictate four sentences describing the experience, which requires recalling information from personal experience with adult support.
Lesson 2
Senses and Body Parts
Students are asked to name their five senses and give an example of how they use each sense, which requires recalling information from personal experience. In Option 1 students listen to a read-aloud story and pick up and glue the body part when the character uses a sense, which requires gathering information from a provided text to identify senses. Activity 2 presents short scenarios and asks students to point to the sense organ they would use, which requires using provided information to answer questions about sensory use.
Lesson 3
Smelling and Tasting
Students taste and smell items while blindfolded, make judgments about liking and record guesses (Activity 1). Students select foods from four taste categories, survey four people using a provided chart, record Y/N responses, total results, and answer summary questions about which flavor was liked most or least (Activity 2 and Student Activity Page). Students inventory foods from their refrigerator and pantry into taste categories and then write a sentence summarizing survey results (Activity 3 and Activity 4).
Lesson 4
Hearing and Seeing
Students are asked to recall and describe a blindfolded navigation experience (Activity 4) and to compare it to walking with sight, with responses recorded and discussed. Students listen to narrated descriptions and close their eyes to decide what place is being described, and they are led blindfolded into rooms to guess locations by sound (Activity 5 and Listening Walk). Students respond to read-aloud comprehension questions about The Magic School Bus and cut/glue or label diagrams of the eye and ear from provided sources to identify parts and explain how the organs work, with adult assistance noted.
Lesson 5
Touch
The introduction asks the child to remember what the word "texture" means, prompting recall from prior experience. Activity 2 (Touch Chart) has students observe items, choose adjectives, draw two of their own objects, and mark boxes that apply, requiring students to gather information from provided items and their observations. Activity 4 (Feel It!) blindfolds the child so she must describe how items feel and guess what they are, directly using sensory information to answer identification questions. Activity 3 (Sensory Art) has students discuss how ingredients feel while preparing Jell-O, gathering experiential data to describe the process and final artwork.
Lesson 6
Experimenting With Our Senses
Students taste five glasses of the same drink with different colors, describe each taste, and record their descriptions before and after being blindfolded. Students compare their recorded descriptions and answer guided questions (e.g., "Were your first answers the same as your second answers?" and "Can you taste color?") to draw conclusions. Students tell and have recorded a story about a time they ate or drank their favorite flavor and then read it aloud, and they write or dictate a sentence about something they smelled or tasted.
Lesson 7
Using All of Our Senses
Students are prompted to record what they "hear, see, smell, and feel" on the Nature Walk chart and then answer specific follow-up questions (e.g., "What were some things you heard? ... If someone asked you what you found on your walk, what would you say?"). Activity 1 asks students to identify and circle senses shown in pictures and tally totals, requiring them to gather information from provided images. The introduction and activities instruct an adult to read, ask questions, and encourage the child to dictate or write observations, indicating guided support.
Lesson 8
Writing About Our Senses
Students examine and record sensory observations about popping popcorn in "A Sensible Report," drawing kernels before and after popping and filling blanks about how the popcorn felt, sounded, smelled, and tasted. In "Sensing My Day," students recall a memorable event and write one sensing word, phrase, or sentence for each of the five senses. In "Sensing Logic," students read or listen to provided clues and eliminate picture choices to identify which item fits the clues, using the provided sources of information to answer the "What am I?" prompts.
Final Project
A Sensible Party
Students read a sample "Party Planner" sheet with adult guidance and compare their own plan to the sample to find similarities and differences (Game 1). Students plan games and record ideas on a chart, gathering information about what supplies are needed and checking them off as they assemble them. Students count guests and quantities of supplies to determine what is needed, and after the party they are asked explicit wrap-up questions that require them to recall how guests used their senses, found similarities/differences, and made decisions.
Unit 3: We're the Same, We're Different
Lesson 1
You're Special
Students answer personal questions on the "You Are Special" pages (name, where they live, favorite color, what makes them happy/sad, talents, future plans) and use those responses to complete a fill-in-the-blank paragraph. Students record numbers unique to their lives on the "Your Numbers" page (birth year, house number, shoe size, age) and are asked to compare their numbers with others and order single- and double-digit numbers. Students are prompted to gather numbers from the environment (page numbers, addresses, license plates) and practice reading them. Instructions repeatedly note providing assistance as needed, indicating adult guidance and support.
Lesson 2
Physical Characteristics
Students listen to the "Different Friends" story read aloud and answer specific comprehension questions (retell the story, beginning/middle/end, and character motivations), demonstrating recall from a provided source. Students cut apart and sequence event boxes from the same story, gathering information from the read-aloud to put events in order. Students observe pictures and complete the Physical Characteristics activity (cut/paste or draw features) and answer targeted comparison questions about eyes, hair, hands, and legs; they also write a sentence "I have ___" describing a personal physical trait.
Lesson 3
Different Personalities
Students read a provided list of personality words and circle the words that describe themselves, with an adult asking them to sound out words or giving definitions as needed. Students write their name, draw self-portraits, and write or paste the personality words that describe themselves and a friend, then circle shared words and describe how they are alike and different. Students record main characters from a favorite movie or cartoon and choose two words to describe each character, using the movie as a source of information.
Lesson 4
Interests and Hobbies
Students are asked to select a hobby and dictate or write a few sentences describing it to someone unfamiliar, which requires recalling information from their own experiences. Students are instructed to go to the library, find books about an interest, and then use prior knowledge and new information to answer the five prompts on the "My Interest" sheet. Students conduct a Hobby Survey by interviewing three people and recording their answers, gathering information from other people as sources. Adults are prompted to record student dictation, help with reading the survey questions aloud, and accompany students to the library, showing guided support.
Lesson 5
Shapesville
Students are prompted to explain ways people are alike and different and to describe how they are like or different from family members, recalling personal experiences. Students examine the book Shapesville (cover and text), identify shapes, count sides and angles, and describe each shape's physical characteristics and personality, gathering information from the provided source. Students select a shape that represents themselves or family members, draw and color it, and dictate or write short descriptions using the worksheet as a source to answer why they made those choices.
Lesson 6
Different Families
The Introduction prompts children to name family members and describe responsibilities, asking specific questions that require recalling personal experiences. Activity 1 asks children to name basic needs (recall) and to draw illustrations after reading A Life Like Mine, and Activity 2 directs children to look through the provided book, identify pictures of families, describe features, and complete comparison sentences or a Venn diagram using information from the book. The Skills list explicitly includes "Connect information in text to personal experience," and the Wrapping Up questions ask children to explain how their family is similar to and different from other families, which requires using recalled or gathered information to answer questions.
Lesson 7
Different Homes
Students are asked to read pages 26–35 and identify and describe different homes, and to answer questions such as why people have homes and what materials were used to build them. The Introduction asks the child to recall what a natural resource is and to identify materials used in his own home, prompting recall from experience. Activity 2 directs students to look through the book or on the Internet to find countries where each type of home might be found and to record the country name above the home, requiring gathering information from provided sources. The Life Application asks students to look for different types of homes in their town and discuss materials, reinforcing both observation/recall and information gathering.
Lesson 8
Different Holidays and Traditions
Students are asked to look at family scrapbooks and talk about holidays they celebrate and what they enjoy (recalling information from experience). Students are directed to read about holidays in encyclopedias or on provided websites and to look online for pictures and descriptions, then answer guided questions about what people are celebrating, activities, clothing, and foods (gathering information from provided sources to answer questions). Students are asked to write or dictate three sentences about their favorite holiday and to place holiday pages on a calendar by date, showing they use gathered or recalled information to respond to prompts.
Lesson 9
Different Modes of Transportation
The Introduction asks the child to give examples of ways people in town get from place to place and to look through books/websites to identify modes of transportation, prompting recall and gathering from provided sources. Activity 1 asks students to draw a box around each mode of transportation they have taken and to talk about where they went, requiring recall of personal experience with adult conversation. Activity 2 has students choose the best mode for travel scenarios (and an optional extension to help them locate information in books and online), and Activity 3 and the handwriting task ask students to draw/write about a mode they have taken and tell a story about the trip, all with adult assistance offered.
Lesson 10
Wants and Needs
Students take a Wants and Needs Survey (Activity 4) in which they ask four people to name two things they want and two things they need, then draw or write those responses on a chart and place them on wants/needs webs. Students read specified pages (46–71) and discuss why children need education, play, and love, and they make personal lists of their own wants and needs (Activity 3). Adult prompts appear throughout (e.g., "Ask your child...", "Explain that...", "she can dictate while you record"), providing guidance and support as students gather and recall information.
Lesson 11
Being Part of a Group
Students are asked to think of a group they belong to, draw its members, and complete prompted sentences about the group (Activity 2), which requires recalling information from their own experience with adult support. The lesson directs students to read pages 98–113 of A Life Like Mine and discuss identity, nationality, and religion, which has students gather information from a provided source to answer questions about similarities and differences. Activity 3 has students brainstorm community groups (with the adult recording ideas and providing additional group examples), demonstrating adult-supported gathering of information from provided or told sources.
Final Project
Differences Make the World Go 'Round
Students are asked to choose a country, locate it on a map, and read about it in a book or on the Internet, which requires them to gather information from provided sources. Students complete sentence prompts (e.g., "I live in...", "I like to eat...", "My hobby is...", "I get to the store by...") that require them to recall personal information and to record what a child from another country might do. Adults are instructed to guide, support, and facilitate meetings with a person from the chosen country so students can ask questions and confirm gathered information.
3: Patterns
Unit 1: Identifying and Creating Visual Patterns
Lesson 1
What Is a Pattern?
Students are asked direct questions that require recalling personal experience (e.g., "Have you ever seen a pattern? Where?" and "Have you ever made a pattern? If so, when?"). Students gather information from a provided source when they turn to specific pages of the book Busy Bugs and are asked "what types of patterns she sees" and to explain patterns found on pages 12–25. Students use guidance to describe patterns aloud and to write or copy three sentences describing a pattern using prompts ("First, there is _____. Next there is _______. Then there is _________.").
Lesson 2
Recognizing Types of Patterns
Students are prompted to examine provided sets (die-cut letters/strips, activity sheets, and the book Busy Bugs) and decide whether sequences form ABAB or AABB patterns (Activities 1 and 2, student pages). An adult is directed to guide, prompt, and ask questions (e.g., "ask him how many colors are in the set," "remind him," "explain") while students label objects with A/B and explain their reasoning. In Wrapping Up students are asked to explain the difference between ABAB and AABB and to point out those patterns in the book, requiring them to recall learned information or gather examples from the provided source.
Lesson 3
What Comes Next?
Students are asked to explain what a pattern is, recalling the concept of order and repetition from prior experience. Students analyze printed pattern pages (pineapples, numbers, sports balls) and answer explicit questions such as "What comes next?" and "What comes before/after?" to extend each sequence using cut-outs or drawings. Students compare physical examples (thick and thin books) and describe radiating patterns, then draw and extend shapes based on those observations.
Lesson 4
Extending a Pattern
In Activity 2 students are instructed to gather materials, read or have an adult read the given pattern, recreate and extend the pattern, and then answer questions about each pattern (circling the correct answer). Option 2 explicitly asks students to read pattern words, gather objects, create and extend the patterns, complete sentences about the patterns, and optionally write the names of the objects they used. Activity 4 and the Wrapping Up prompt students to write or explain a sentence about a pattern they made and to explain how they extend a pattern, which requires recalling their experience.
Lesson 5
Making Color Patterns
Students are prompted to think of ways to use colors to create patterns and to demonstrate their ideas with adult guidance. Students make caterpillar sticker patterns with adult modeling, describe the patterns they create, and transcribe patterns using color words or initials. Students create bead necklaces following specified patterns and demonstrate patterns using blocks or colored shapes.
Lesson 6
Shapes and Patterns
Students recreate each set of shapes from the provided "Shapes and Patterns" and "Reading Patterns" sheets and describe the order of the shapes (e.g., first, second, third), thereby gathering information from those provided sources. Students decide whether a sequence is a pattern (answering the question "Is this a pattern?") and label patterns as ABAB, AABB, or ABC, showing they use gathered information to make judgments. Students are prompted to make and then write or copy a sentence about a pattern they found, which requires recalling information from their own exploration with the attribute blocks.
Lesson 7
Making Number Patterns
Students are asked to demonstrate or explain ways numbers can be used to make patterns, prompting them to recall information from their experiences. Activity 3 has students use real objects to create a pattern and then write the numbers to represent that pattern, requiring them to gather information from provided sources. Directions include adult support (do the first pattern together, reminders about repeating parts), which scaffolds guided recall and information gathering.
Lesson 8
Creating and Writing About Patterns
Students create patterns using the provided word lists and pattern templates (Activity 1 Option 2 and the Student Activity Pages) and are prompted to complete sentence stems such as "First comes..., Then comes..., Next comes...". In Activity 5 students repeat a pattern they created or guessed in Activity 4 and fill in the "This pattern is made up of __________, __________, and __________" page, listing First through Eighth items and answering "_____ comes before _____" / "_____ comes after _____". Activity 7 asks students to write or copy two or three sentences that describe a pattern they made that day, and the Wrapping Up prompt asks them to describe kinds of patterns and how to find them.
Final Project
Patterns Poster or Patterns Presentation
Students are prompted to name and describe seven specific pattern types on the Script for Presentation pages and to label and create those patterns on poster sections, which requires recalling what each pattern is and how to make it. Students decide what materials to use, record the materials beside each pattern, and practice describing and demonstrating each pattern for an audience, which involves gathering and organizing information for presentation. The wrapping-up questions ask students to reflect on how the project went and what they did, prompting them to recall information from their experience to answer questions.
Unit 2: Patterns in Sounds, Words, and Actions
Lesson 1
Word Patterns
Students read or listen to nursery rhymes and identify rhyming words, then record the rhyming words on handwriting paper. Students circle repeating word parts and add a new word on the Word Patterns activity pages, using pictured words and lists to find patterns. Students copy or dictate animal names from the Bear Hugs text and identify the habitat for each animal, using the text to determine answers.
Lesson 2
Making Word Patterns
Students are asked to look at provided word lists (Activity 2 Option 1 and Option 2) and cut, sort, and paste words into word families, which requires gathering information from the provided sheets. Activity 3 directs students to examine picture books, identify and record words from the text that share sound/spelling patterns, and compare groups — students gather information from a provided source. The Introduction, Wrapping Up questions, and Activity 1 prompt students to recall rhyming words and to complete sentences or explain how groups of words follow a pattern, with adult help offered throughout.
Lesson 3
Poetry Patterns
Students listen as an adult reads poems and are asked "what each poem is about," which requires them to recall or gather information from the provided poems. In Activity 1, students read poems on the student sheet and circle words that rhyme, gathering evidence from the text with adult assistance. In Activity 3 and Activity 2, students listen to songs and brainstorm animal names and rhyming words from their experience, then record or write new verses, demonstrating guided recall and gathering of information to answer prompts.
Lesson 4
Sentence Patterns
Students use provided word lists (nouns and verbs) to complete sentence prompts in Activities 1 and 3, selecting words from options to fill blanks. In Activity 2 students act out situations or observe actions and then make up, dictate, or write sentences describing those actions, recalling information from experience with adult support. In Activity 4 students read picture books, identify sentences, and copy them from text, gathering information from a provided source to produce written responses.
Lesson 5
Story Patterns
The lesson asks the child to describe her morning routine and to write or illustrate the 3–4 most important activities, which requires recalling information from personal experience. Activity 1 directs an adult to read a short story with the child and then ask explicit questions about what happened at the beginning, middle, and end, requiring the child to gather information from the provided text to answer questions. Activity 2 and Option 2 have the child sequence illustrated story events, glue pictures in order, and dictate or write sentences describing each part, which involves extracting information from a provided source with adult support.
Lesson 6
Sound Patterns
Students listen to live sound patterns (e.g., Clap, stomp; Clap, tap glass with spoon) and are asked whether they heard a pattern and what type it is (ABAB, AABB, or ABC). In Activity 2 students count and record the number of times each sound is made in a pattern and identify a segment and its repetitions. The Student Activity Page and Activity 4 require students to record a heard pattern and to write about a sound pattern they heard today, with adult prompting throughout.
Lesson 7
Making Sound and Action Patterns
The introduction asks the child how sounds can be used to make patterns and asks her to provide an example, prompting recall from experience. Activity 4 requires the child to write or copy a sentence that describes a pattern she made today, asking her to produce information about a personal experience. The Wrapping Up section asks the child what it means to have a sound pattern and an action pattern and asks her to demonstrate examples, again prompting students to recall and explain experiences. Activity 1 and the Life Application invite the child to select an instrument from a provided web link and to listen to music for patterns, providing a source from which students can gather information.
Final Project
Patterns Video
The lesson asks the question "Where are patterns found?" and directs students to locate patterns in books, music, activity pages, or through their own experiences. Students are guided to record on Video Script sheets where they found or made each pattern and to describe the parts and sequence (e.g., "I found/made this pattern __", "First comes..., Then..."). Adults are instructed to help record ideas and practice responses before videotaping, providing the guidance and support named in the standard.
Unit 3: Patterns in Your World
Lesson 1
Patterns in Nature
During Activity 1 students are asked aloud to identify and describe the pattern in each picture and to answer questions such as "Were there any patterns that you had seen before? Which ones?" which prompts recall from experience. Activity 2 (Option 2) and Activity 3 instruct students to look in books or on the Internet and to use provided web links to locate pictures of animal and plant patterns, which directs gathering information from provided sources. The Introduction, read-aloud, and Wrapping Up sections call for an adult to ask questions and prompt the child to share examples, providing adult guidance and support while students recall or gather information.
Lesson 2
Patterns of Growth
Students plant seeds and observe growth over time, drawing the plant every few days and writing a sentence to record changes (Activity 1 and the Plant's Pattern of Growth pages). Students investigate plants outdoors, identify parts, pull up roots, and draw three different plants they observe (Activity 3). Students organize personal photos from youngest to oldest and sequence life stages, and they cut apart and order pictures of plant, animal, and human life cycles and consult provided web links for additional information (Activities 4 and 5).
Lesson 3
Night and Day
Adults prompt students to explain how they know when it is daytime or nighttime and ask why we have day and night (Getting Started), which asks students to recall from their experiences. Activity 1 has students look at pictures from a book or the Internet and label the Sun, Moon, and Earth, so students gather information from provided sources. Activity 2 directs students to watch a linked video, spin a globe, use a flashlight, and describe when it is daytime or nighttime, requiring them to gather and use observed information. Activity 3 asks students to draw and dictate sentences about things they do during the day and at night, which has students recall experiences to answer prompted questions.
Lesson 4
Daily Routines
Students are prompted to recall and add something they do each morning on the "My Morning Routine" page and then cut and sequence pictures into the correct order, which requires recalling personal morning activities with adult direction. In "A Routine for ___" students are asked to think of another daily routine, break it into four steps, and dictate or write a sentence for each step, practicing recall from experience and organizing information. In "Daily Routine" students record times and activities for a 24-hour period using a provided sample schedule and icons, which has them gather information from provided sources and represent it in writing or symbols with adult support.
Lesson 5
Calendar Patterns
Students are asked to name the days of the week and months of the year after an adult shows them a calendar, demonstrating recall of learned information. In Activity 4 students record family activities on a calendar and then look across months to find events that occur weekly, biweekly, or monthly, demonstrating gathering information from the provided calendar to answer whether events follow patterns. Activities 2 and 3 require students to use charts, tally marks, and date cards to record, read, and order information from provided sources (calendar, activity sheets) to answer questions about time relationships.
Lesson 6
Seasonal Weather Patterns
Students are prompted to write today's date and select/circle the weather on a laminated calendar, recalling information from their immediate experience. Students use the laminated calendar, a months poster, and activity sheets to answer questions such as which month comes after March and which season comes before summer, gathering information from those provided sources. Students look at a U.S. map and discuss regional weather differences and use the "Weather Patterns" sheet to record weather words beneath seasons and paste months under appropriate seasons, demonstrating gathering information from illustrations and printed sources.
Lesson 7
Patterns at Home
Students read the Pattern book and then complete a Pattern Scavenger Hunt in which they identify and describe specific patterns found in the book (checkerboard, repeating, circular, etc.). Students complete the 'Shirt Patterns' page and then go to closets to find and describe patterns on clothing, and they copy or design plate/quilt patterns from household items. Students write or dictate a sentence describing a pattern found in their closet, using the book, household objects, and prompts as sources of information.
Lesson 8
Symmetrical Patterns
Students are asked to look closely at a picture of a butterfly and describe the pattern in the wings, recalling what they see to decide whether the wings are the same or different. Students fold letters and shapes and decide which are symmetrical, then draw lines of symmetry and sort shapes into symmetrical and non-symmetrical groups. Students count the shapes in each group and state which group has more and how many more, using those observations to answer a comparative question. A web link and student activity pages are provided as sources for completing symmetry tasks and practicing identifying the other side of a shape.
Lesson 9
Counting Patterns
Students listen to the How Many Clowns? story and place clown faces in the car while filling in blanks that record how many clowns are in the car at each step. Students look at pictured sets on the Counting by Twos activity page and count each set by twos, recording the number of objects. Students complete Even and Odd Counting pages by identifying missing numbers in given sequences and use those provided sequences as sources to answer the prompts. Students write or dictate a sentence about the clowns, recalling details from the story to produce the response.
Lesson 10
Tracing Patterns
The lesson asks questions to explore (Where are patterns found? What kinds of patterns?) and prompts students to identify the holiday associated with each traced shape and to count the shapes they create, which requires recalling information from experience. Activity 3 tells students to "look for ideas in magazines or on the Internet," which directs students to gather information from provided sources. Multiple prompts such as "Explain to your child" and "Ask him to..." indicate adult support while students perform these recall and research tasks.
Lesson 11
Patterns in Graphs
Students read and interpret provided graphs and charts (circle titles/labels, read labels, discuss data) and answer questions such as describing patterns and predicting how many books John would read on the next Tuesday. Students color-code chart elements (girls/boys, shirt colors) and answer explicit questions about what the chart shows and how many types/colors appear. Students carry out a sink-or-float experiment, record S/F results from their own experience, decide whether their chart shows a pattern, and then write a sentence describing an outcome. The teacher/adult prompts (e.g., "Ask your child..." and specific question prompts) guide students as they recall or gather information to answer questions.
Final Project
Patterns All Around Lapbook
Students are asked to talk about and name different types of patterns they have found in their environment, and the teacher prompt at the start explicitly asks those exploratory questions (e.g., "Where are patterns found?"). The skills list includes "Record or dictate knowledge on a topic," and students are instructed to draw, paste, or copy patterns from magazines or print from the computer into their mini-books (Matchbook, Matchbook instructions). The wrap-up asks students which mini-book they are most proud of and what their book teaches about patterns, prompting recall and explanation.
4: Change
Unit 1: Changes on Planet Earth
Lesson 1
What Causes Change?
Students are asked orally what it means for something to change and whether they have seen anything change, prompting them to recall information from personal experience. Students are instructed to think of a change they have seen, draw before-and-after pictures, and complete sentences such as "Once I saw ___ change," which requires recalling an experience and using that information to answer prompts with adult assistance. Students use provided picture cards to match before-and-after scenarios and to decide what changed, gathering information from provided visual sources to answer questions about cause and effect.
Lesson 2
What Changed?
Students read Part 1: Things Change and answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., identifying physical vs. chemical changes on pages 20 and 23). In Activity 2 students examine picture pairs on the 'How Did It Change?' page and gather information from the provided images to circle which attributes changed. In Activity 3 students perform hands-on tasks (change amount, color, size, location, weight) and are prompted to observe, describe, and, in an extension, identify changes in the community with adult support.
Lesson 3
Changing Position
Students are asked explicit questions (e.g., How do we get objects to start moving?; What force keeps us on Earth?) that they answer after reading or listening to the book. Students locate words in the book's index (find "gravity" and "inertia"), go to the referenced pages, and copy sentences—gathering information from a provided source. Students carry out hands-on experiences (dropping and tossing objects, balancing a ruler, sorting toys by push/pull, and observing movement outdoors) and record or discuss their observations with adult support.
Lesson 4
Changes in the Environment
Students are asked to recall things that change outside (Getting Started) and to describe how weather makes them change activities (Activity 1), including illustrating or writing two sentences about a time weather caused them to change an activity. Students are guided to read Part 2 of Changes Happen All Around You and to answer specific questions about physical and chemical changes on given pages (Activity 2). Wrapping Up prompts ask students to describe changes in the environment and explain causes and how those changes make people change what they are doing.
Lesson 5
Changes in Location
Students fill in prepositions on the "Where Did He Go?" wheel using pictures and a word box, directly answering where-questions about the cat's location. In the "Mouse in the House" activities, students move a cut-out mouse in response to orally read or written sentences and then (in Option 2) write simple sentences describing the mouse's position, with adult reading support when needed. In "Nature Relations" students observe objects outside or through a window and record three or four sentences describing relationships, recalling information from their own experience.
Lesson 6
Changes in the Sky
Students are prompted to describe how objects in the sky change positions and to answer questions such as "What changes take place in my environment?" and "What causes change?" during the Getting Started and Wrapping Up sections. Students gather information from provided sources (three videos and activity pages) and are asked to list adjectives and phrases about the Sun and Moon, either by writing them or dictating them to an adult. Students recall information from hands-on experiences (role-playing rotation/revolution and observing the Moon outside) and use models to demonstrate and explain how the Earth, Moon, and Sun move.
Lesson 7
Living Things Change
Students are asked to review provided pages and look closely at pictures to describe how and why a lizard and rabbit change color, and to determine whether those changes happen quickly or slowly. Students are prompted to circle words that describe changes (number, size, shape, place) and to answer questions about each pictured change, and to write a sentence describing a change in size. Students are instructed to gather images from magazines or the Internet, and to observe changes in real settings (zoo, backyard) to provide examples and discuss observations with an adult.
Lesson 8
Plants and Change
Students read specified pages of National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant and are asked direct questions (e.g., What are some things plants are used for? How are plants similar to and different from animals?) that require recalling information. Students use a table of contents to locate the section "What Do Plants Need?" and then read pages 14-15 and watch a video, practicing gathering information from provided sources and orally recalling the plant needs. Students make predictions and then observe an experiment with bean seeds, recording ideas and later comparing observations to their predictions. Students are also asked to list and label plant parts and describe what plants need to grow, reinforcing recall from both experience and texts/videos.
Lesson 9
Heat Causes Change
Students are asked to review pages in Changes Happen All Around You and to recall whether they have ever seen anything burn, prompting them to recall information from experience. Students perform experiments (ice→water→steam, burning candle, baking a cake), collect and record measurements and observations on activity pages, and answer guided questions such as "How did the candle change?" and "What caused the candle to change?". Students are prompted to write or copy a sentence about something they observed, using gathered observations to respond to questions.
Lesson 10
Chemical Changes
Students perform guided hands-on experiences (breaking, beating, and cooking eggs; mixing baking soda and vinegar) and are prompted to observe and interpret those results as physical or chemical changes. Students use a provided Student Activity Page to categorize six paired scenarios as chemical or physical changes. Students are asked to explain how they made each decision and to describe the difference between physical and chemical changes and give examples during the wrap-up.
Lesson 11
People Change the Environment
Students are asked to brainstorm and dictate examples of positive and negative ways humans change the environment (Activity 1), which requires them to recall information from their experiences. Students watch a provided video about recycling and then sort pictured items into a recycling bin or trash can (Activity 2), which requires them to gather information from a provided source and apply it to answer which items are recyclable. Students examine illustrated scenarios and describe what is happening, explain how it changes the environment, and decide whether each change is positive, negative, or neutral (Activity 3), which has them gather and interpret information from provided images to answer classification questions.
Final Project
Mobile of Change
Students are asked to report daily on weather changes and to observe and record changes in size, mass, color, position, quantity, time, temperature, sound, and movement, which requires recalling observations from experience. The final project asks students to gather or draw pictures (including from a magazine or the Internet) showing before/after examples of changes, which requires collecting information from provided sources. The lesson includes explicit Questions to Explore and a Wrapping Up prompt asking students what they have learned and to explain their mobile to family members, which elicits answering questions using recalled or gathered information.
Unit 2: Characters Change
Lesson 1
What's in a Name
Students listen to the provided story video and then answer four explicit comprehension questions (How did Chrysanthemum feel..., Why did she change her mind..., What can you learn..., How did Mrs. Twinkle change feelings?), recalling details from the text to answer each. Students locate and interpret specific phrases in the Feeling Phrases activity by going back to the story, illustrating character emotions based on those phrases. Students gather word-usage information in the Vocabulary activity by pausing the story at listed words, making guesses about meanings, and then matching or recording definitions, and students write three characteristics and short sentences on the Characters Change page about how Chrysanthemum changed from beginning to end.
Lesson 2
Why Worry?
Students watch the read-aloud video of Wemberly Worried and then answer four explicit comprehension questions (e.g., whether Wemberly needed to be worried and why), requiring them to recall details from the story. In Activity 2 students are prompted to describe how Wemberly changed from the beginning to the end, filling in prompts such as "At the beginning of the story Wemberly was..." and "At the end of the story Wemberly was...". The lesson text directs an adult to ask the child questions and discuss the story, providing guidance and support while students recall information from the provided source.
Lesson 3
Is It a Problem?
Students answer four explicit comprehension questions (Q1–Q4) after reading What Do You Do With a Problem?, requiring recall of details from the text (e.g., how the author illustrates the problem, how the boy tackles it). Students are directed to look through the book and trace how the problem's illustrations progress, then illustrate the problem at different story points, which requires gathering information from the provided source. Students brainstorm real problems they are facing and describe them on the "Tackling a Problem" page, which asks them to recall personal experiences and use that recalled information to plan steps. Students identify beginning/middle/end and compare character changes by going back to the stories, using the texts as sources to answer organizing and comparison questions.
Lesson 4
Comparing Characters
Students dictate three- or four-sentence summaries of stories (one sentence for beginning, middle, end), showing recall of story events. Students match cause-and-effect pairs drawn from the unit texts, requiring them to gather information from the provided stories to select corresponding effects. Students complete Venn diagrams and answer questions such as "How are the characters' situations similar?" and "What can we learn from both characters?", using details from the texts; the "I Change" page asks students to recall a personal problem and describe how they changed.
Lesson 5
The Raft
Students are prompted to recall personal experiences when the introduction asks them to share memories of times spent with grandparents. Across Day 1–3 reading sections, students answer specific comprehension questions that require recalling details from the text (e.g., what the boy finds at the river, what Grandma calls herself). Activity pages (Story Elements, Characters Change) ask students to gather information from the provided stories to identify characters, settings, problems/solutions and to describe how the boy changed. Several activities direct an adult to guide the child while she copies sentences, matches vocabulary using context clues, and fills in response pages.
Lesson 6
Positive and Negative Change
In Activity 3, students are asked to think about a time they changed, discuss whether the change was positive or negative, and then illustrate and write or dictate a sentence or two describing the change and the choices they made. In Activity 1, students cut apart and match cause-and-effect statements and are then asked to identify a positive and negative cause-and-effect situation from the stories they read, with adult assistance as needed. In Activity 2, students hear a character description twice, decide how the character will change and what will cause the change, and dictate a new ending that explains that change.
Unit 3: A First Look at History - Change Over Time
Lesson 1
People and Families Change
Students place personal and family pictures in chronological order and answer comparative questions about how they were different at various ages, which shows recall of past experiences. Students gather numeric information for a growth chart (using a tape measure, recording heights for each year) and use those measurements to answer questions such as when they grew the most or the least. Students look through family scrapbooks, dictate ideas, and complete a "Writing About Change" page, gathering information from provided sources with adult assistance. Adults are explicitly described as helping with measuring, recording, and writing, providing the guidance and support named in the standard.
Lesson 2
Understanding Time
Students are asked to name something that happened to them in the past, something happening now, and something they want in the future, prompting recall from personal experience. Students look at a calendar to decide and record today's date and then determine yesterday's and tomorrow's dates, gathering information from a provided source. Students listen to and/or read the provided book about time and answer explicit questions (e.g., "Were you born in the past, present, or future?"), and cut and order labeled time-span boxes to show understanding of units of time.
Lesson 3
Communities Change
Students read or listen to The House on Maple Street and answer targeted questions about setting, characters, and changes over time. Students use the book to place events in chronological order on a timeline (cutting, numbering, and pasting events) and number communities in order based on pictures and text. Students reread the story to identify artifacts and circle animals from the story, and they are prompted to gather clothing information from books or the Internet when drawing themselves in a past time period.
Lesson 4
Past and Present
Students read and use The Usborne Time Traveler and other books or internet sources to place time periods on a timeline (Activity 1) and to order images of homes, transportation, clothing, and school from earliest to most recent (Day 2, Activity 5). Students answer guided questions comparing past and present (e.g., How did people in the past dress differently? How were their homes different?), dictate stories about living in a chosen time period, and list advantages/disadvantages of the past using information from the texts (Activities 2, 6). Students dictate five clues about a time period after reading a section and write a sentence describing how life in the past differs from today, all with adult prompting and recording support (Activities 7 and 8).
Lesson 5
Exploring the Past
Students are directed to look through specified pages of The Usborne Time Traveler to find information about homes, clothing, food, and transportation and to draw and write or dictate descriptions of what they find. Students cut out pictures, place cultures in chronological order on a timeline, and complete culture charts by gathering details from the provided sources. Students select a culture, write one sentence about each element of culture, assemble a book, and give a presentation to share what they learned with family, with adult help suggested throughout.
Lesson 6
Predicting Future Change
Students are asked to review famous people until they can provide brief descriptions of each person's major accomplishment, which requires recalling information from prior experience. In Activity 1 and the accompanying student pages, students read provided scenarios (text and images), answer explicit questions about what changed, and predict future effects based on those scenarios. In Activity 3, students recall a personal change, dictate a description, draw before-and-after pictures, and attempt to read their own description, showing recall from personal experience with adult support.
Lesson 7
People of the Past
Students are prompted to read a selected biography with adult help and answer explicit questions about when the person lived, how they can be described, and what positive changes they made (Activity 1). Students read and manipulate the "People in History" sheet, gathering information from the provided descriptions to order figures chronologically, point to described individuals, and match descriptions to pictures (Activity 2). Students recall a personal experience of making a positive change and generate ideas for action with adult discussion (Activity 3). Students write a sentence on handwriting paper about a historical person they learned about, using information gathered or recalled (Activity 4).
Final Project
My Past, Present and Future
Students are prompted to recall personal experiences by completing pages such as "Picture of Me," "My Family," "My Home," and "What I Do," where they write or draw how they were different in the past, how they are now, and how they will be in the future. For comparisons, students gather information from a provided source (The Usborne Time Traveler) and complete "Elements of Culture" pages by writing or dictating "In the past __________" and "Today __________" for chosen cultural elements. The text explicitly instructs adults to help with writing or dictation and to support the project, so students work with guidance as they recall or gather information to answer the guiding questions.
6: Reading
Unit 1: Semester 1
Lesson 1
Letter Sounds Review I
Students are asked to recall items from a provided video in Activity 1.2 ("What objects in the video begin with short a?") and to point to and count occurrences of letters and sight words in the Weekly Message (Activities 1.1, 3.1). In Activity 2.3 and other tasks, students locate letters that match beginning sounds in spoken words and point to letters in printed materials, using provided sources (letter cards, message, reader) to answer teacher prompts. The Life Application asks students to look for objects in their environment that begin with reviewed letter sounds, prompting recall from experience.
Lesson 2
Letter Sounds Review II
Students are asked, "Which of the words from last week's lesson can you spell now?", prompting recall of prior experience. Students watch the linked short-i video and are asked, "What sound does short i make? What words did the video show that have short i?", prompting gathering information from a provided source. Students locate and point to sight words and letters in the Weekly Message and reader (e.g., finding "to," "and," "of," and the letters g, n, d), and are asked comprehension questions about The Pig Can ("Do you think the pig and the cat can fit in the box?"), prompting them to gather evidence from the text to answer.
Lesson 3
Letter Sounds Review III
Students are asked to read and point to words in the Weekly Message and then answer, "Based on the hint, what vowel do you think you're going to work with this week?" (Activity 1.1). Students sort pictures by short o and short u by identifying each picture and placing it in the correct box, saying each word slowly to hear the vowel sound (Activity 2.2). After reading The Bug, students answer comprehension questions about what the bug can do, wants to do, and why it cannot do that (Activity 5.2). In "What's Missing?" students use picture cues to recall or gather the correct missing word and then read the completed sentences aloud (Activity 5.3).
Lesson 4
Letter Sounds Review IV
Students are asked to examine the Weekly Message and count sentences by looking for end marks (Activity 1.1), requiring them to gather information from the text to answer "How many sentences does this message have?". In Activity 5.2 students read a short reader and answer comprehension questions about why characters are napping, requiring them to recall events from the reading to respond. In Activities 2.2 and 3.1 students identify pictures and circle sight words in provided pages, gathering information from those sources to categorize or to locate specific words.
Lesson 5
Adding s, More Word Families, Ending with ck
Students are asked to read the Weekly Message, circle punctuation, and answer questions such as "What does a period do?" and "How many sentences does this message have?" (Activity 1.1). Students read the reader Ducks Are Fun and then answer comprehension questions like "Which duck do you think is having the most fun? Why?" (Activity 4.3). Students sort and classify words into word-family columns and answer which family specific words belong to (Activities 2.2, 3.3, 4.2). Students use provided clues to write and say words (Guess My Word, Activity 5.2), gathering information from those clues to generate answers.
Lesson 6
Open Syllables and Digraph th
Students read the Weekly Message and are asked to point to known words and answer questions such as whether the words end with the same sound (Activity 1.1). Students search sight-word cards and word lists to find words that rhyme or start with specified sounds (Activity 2.3) and sort words into open vs. closed syllable columns using letter cards (Activity 2.1), gathering evidence from printed words. After reading the reader This Is..., students answer explicit comprehension questions about names and details from the text (Activity 5.2).
Lesson 7
Consonant Digraphs ch, sh, wh, ph
Students are asked to find the digraph th in the Weekly Message and to point to words they know, gathering information from the provided message (Activity 1.1). In Activity 1.3 students place sight word cards face up and point to and read words that include a target digraph in response to the prompt "Do any of your sight words include ch or sh?" Day 3 Activity 3.3 has students read the reader They Get Wet and then answer specific questions about the text (Where is the ship? Why are the rat and the cat wet? Why are they on the ship?), recalling information from their reading with adult prompts.
Lesson 8
Blends with s
Students are asked to read the Weekly Message, identify punctuation, underline sight words, and highlight digraphs and vowel sounds, requiring them to gather information from the provided text. Students watch linked videos and name pictures on the "s Blends" pages, gathering information from multimedia sources to identify beginning blends. Students answer comprehension questions about the reader (Meg and Dan and the Sled) that require recalling details from the text, and they use clues in "Guess My Word" to write and say words based on provided information.
Lesson 9
Blends with l
Students read Reader #9 — The Club on their own and then answer directed comprehension questions such as "What color are the flags that are flying above the club?" and "What do the kids do at the club?", which requires them to gather information from the provided text. The lesson also asks an open-ended prompt, "If you were in the club, what fun things would you want to do?", asking students to draw on personal ideas or experiences. Wrapping Up asks students to explain the difference between "have" and "had" and use each in a sentence, prompting recall of learned language concepts with adult prompting.
Lesson 10
Blends with r
Students read the reader One Can and then answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., "Where are the ducks swimming to?" "What are the kids running on?") demonstrating use of a provided text to answer questions. In the Wrapping Up activity, students hear clues read aloud and produce the target word (e.g., crush, drip, truck), showing they gather information from provided clues to identify words. The Life Application activity and dictated prompts (e.g., asking for a word that begins with the same blend) require students to recall or retrieve words in response to adult prompts.
Lesson 11
Ending Blends
During Activity 4.2, students read the reader At Camp (first on their own, then aloud with an adult) and are then asked targeted questions such as "What do the kids do at camp?" and "What are the kids hunting for?". The directions ask an adult to prompt the child to point to words as he reads and then to ask those comprehension questions, providing guided support.
Lesson 12
Double ll, ss, ff, zz (FLOSS)
Students read the decodable reader Huff and Puff and then answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., identify the insects, explain why the insects follow the kids, explain why characters are huffing and puffing), which requires recalling information from the text. Students use the three-question checklist (one syllable, one short vowel, ends in l/s/f/z) to listen to words and answer yes/no before giving a thumbs up or thumbs down, which requires gathering information from the spoken/printed words to decide if the FLOSS rule applies. Students locate and read sight words in the Sight Words Search and point to words in the Weekly Message when the adult reads sentences, which requires finding information in provided printed sources.
Lesson 13
Glued Sounds ng and nk
In Activity 4.3 students read the reader King Hank on their own and then answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., "Where do the king and his friends sleep?" and "What color drinks do the king and his friends drink?"). The Wrapping Up section asks students to revisit Weekly Message #13 and find words that end with ng or nk, requiring them to gather information from that provided text. Activity 1.1 also has students listen to and reread the Weekly Message and identify and clap syllables in selected words, which involves extracting information from a provided written source.
Lesson 14
Three-Letter Beginning Blends
In Activity 4.3 students read Spring Has Sprung! and are then asked specific questions that require them to pull facts from the text (e.g., "What do the kids do at the track?" and "What do the kids do at the pond?"). The reader task instructs an adult to have the child read on her own and then read aloud to the adult, providing guidance and prompting as needed. The wrap-up and reader questions also ask the child to recall personal experiences ("What are some things that you like to do in the spring?"), eliciting information from the student's own experience.
Lesson 15
More Ending Blends
Students read Reader #15 (The Raft Trip) on their own and then answer specific comprehension questions posed by an adult (e.g., "What animals are on the bank of the river?" and "Which animals nap on the raft?"). An adult guides reading by encouraging students to point to each word as they read and by asking follow-up questions. The lesson also includes a prompt that asks students to draw on personal experience or imagination ("What would you like to see if you went down a river on a raft?").
Lesson 16
R-Controlled Vowels (ar)
Students are asked to read the reader Which? When? What? and to answer the question on each page as they read (Activity 4.2). The student activity pages prompt students to answer questions about personal experiences (e.g., What is your favorite color? When do you eat lunch?) and the teacher prompts students to come up with questions using which/what/when (Activity 1.3). Adults are directed to support reading, ask follow-up questions, and check responses throughout the activities, providing guided support.
Lesson 17
Semester Review
Activity 4.1 asks students to read readers and then answer questions such as "Which of these readers is your favorite? Why?" and to point to or name characters and describe what the characters do, requiring recall from reading experiences. Activity 1.3 has the adult read sentences aloud and asks the student to point to the correct sight-word card (there/their) and then underline the word on the page, which has the student gather information from the provided sentences to choose the correct word. Activity 2.1 and other review tasks ask the student to page through his Word Collection, read selected pages or words aloud, and respond to prompts about words he struggles with, which has the student use stored examples to answer teacher prompts.
Unit 2: Semester 2
Lesson 1
Long Vowels a and i with Silent e
Students read the weekly reader (In the Fall) and are asked explicit comprehension questions that require them to recall details from the story (e.g., what Lin and Dev like to do in the fall; what Lin does while Dev makes cakes). In Activity 4.3, students use clues provided by the adult to write and say target words, gathering information from the clues to answer the prompt. Multiple activities ask students to point to letter cards, watch linked videos, or use worksheets and word-building cards as sources to identify vowel sounds or spellings.
Lesson 2
Long Vowels o, u, and e with Silent e
Students answer comprehension questions about the reader (Day 5 Activity 5.1) such as "What did the family do on their trip?" and "Who fell off of the mule?" Students search provided materials for information by finding and circling sight words in the Sight Words Search and then pointing out which of those words have long vowel sounds (Day 4 Activity 4.2). Students reread the Weekly Message and identify/highlight words that include long vowel sounds, and they point to and read words with adult prompting (Activity 1.1 and Wrapping Up).
Lesson 3
Hard and Soft c and g
On Day 5 (Activity 5.2) students read These Mice and answer specific questions about details (e.g., what the mice use to make beds, what they sit on to eat cake, why the mice like their home), requiring recall from the provided text. The Life Application asks students to look for words in their environment and decide whether c and g are hard or soft, which has students gather information from real-world sources. Multiple activities (e.g., Activity 4.1, Activity 3.1, Activity 1.1) prompt students to explain how they know pronunciations by referring to letters that follow c or g, asking them to gather and use evidence from word lists and pages with adult guidance.
Lesson 4
More R-Controlled Vowels (er, ir, or, ur)
In Activity 5.2 students read The Bird Is Third and answer explicit comprehension questions such as "Who won the race?" and "Which animal came in last?", requiring recall from the reading. In Activity 5.1 students name pictures and use the provided vowel combinations printed at the top of the page to fill in missing letter pairs, gathering information from that provided source to complete words. In Activity 1.1 students point to and read known words in the Weekly Message and add new ar words to the group, drawing on prior word knowledge. In the Life Application activity students turn over ordinal-word cards and point to the object in that position, using a provided prompt to identify an answer.
Lesson 5
Long a Spellings ai, ay
Students read and answer explicit comprehension questions about The Gray Day (e.g., "What do the boys play with indoors?" and "What animal do they see on the drain outside?"), requiring them to recall details from the text. In Activity 1.1 students point to and read words in the Weekly Message and identify words with specific features (Bossy R, long u, two-syllable words), which has them gather information from the provided message. In Activity 2.3 students select words from a word bank to complete sentences so the sentence makes sense, demonstrating use of a provided source to answer fill-in-the-blank questions.
Lesson 6
Long e Spellings ee, ey, ea
Students read Reader #6 and answer explicit comprehension questions such as "What does the worm eat?" and "How many beans are the birds eating?", requiring them to recall information from the provided text. In Day 2, students examine the "Long e" page, highlight ee, ea, and ey, and answer questions about which spellings appear most and where they occur, gathering information from a provided source. In Wrapping Up and the Life Application activity, students point to words with the long e sound in the weekly message and play an "I Spy" game that asks them to find items with particular vowel sounds, using experience or observation to respond.
Lesson 7
Long i Spellings y, igh, ie
Students read The Dark Night and answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., "What do Tom and Val see in the sky?"), requiring them to recall information from their reading. Students search the Sight Words Search and are asked to find and then point out words that have long vowel sounds, gathering information from the provided word grid. Students use a Word Bank to complete Fill in the Blanks sentences and sort cut-out words into columns by spelling patterns, using provided sources to choose appropriate words. The Life Application asks students to explain to a family member what they know about ways to spell long i, encouraging them to recall and report learned information with support.
Lesson 8
Long o Spellings ow, oa, oe
Students read The Slow Boat and answer literal comprehension questions (Day 5 Activity 5.1: e.g., "How many boats are in the race?" and "What color is the boat that wins the race?"). Students examine provided word lists and pages to locate and highlight spellings that make the long o sound and answer questions such as "Which long o spellings appear most?" (Activity 2.1). Students point to and read words in the Weekly Message and are asked to identify long o words in that message during wrap-up, and they sort and label word groups based on spellings to answer grouping questions (Activity 4.2).
Lesson 9
Long u Spellings ue, ew, ou
Students read a short reader (Would You Eat It?) and answer comprehension questions such as "What does Tom add to the stew?" and "What color does Val add to the stew?," requiring them to recall information from the text. Students complete a Fill in the Blanks activity using a Word Bank, selecting and writing words that make each sentence make sense, which requires gathering information from the provided sentence context. Students are prompted to watch linked videos and to look for different spellings of long u, which has them gather information from provided multimedia sources with adult guidance.
Lesson 10
Other Long Vowel Patterns
Students read The Wild Colt and then answer specific comprehension questions such as "Why is the colt hard to find in the herd?" and "How does the man stop the colt from bolting?," requiring them to recall information from the story (Activity 5.1). In Activity 1.1 students are asked to examine the Weekly Message, point to unusual words, and identify words with long vowel sounds, gathering information from that provided source. In Activity 3.3 (Fill in the Blanks) students read sentences and choose appropriate words from a provided Word Bank to complete each sentence, demonstrating gathering information from the provided materials with adult support.
Lesson 11
Long Vowel Sounds Review
Students are asked to search the Weekly Message and point to or read words with long vowel sounds (Activity 1.1) and to answer the question "Which of these words have long vowel sounds?" during the sight-word activity (Activity 1.3). Multiple Reader Review activities (Day 2 Activity 2.1, Day 3 Activity 3.2, Day 4 Activity 4.1, Day 5 Activity 5.1) require students to reread provided readers, find long-vowel words, write them on a laminated sheet, and read them aloud. The Introduction and Activity 1.2 direct students to look back through Lessons 1–10 and their Word Collection to recall different long vowel spellings and to place matched spellings/words on a chart with adult assistance.
Lesson 12
Other Vowel Sounds oi, oy
On Day 2 (Activity 2.1) students watch a linked video and are asked to recall words from the video to place in the oi and oy columns. Activity 1.1 asks students to point to and read words in the Weekly Message and to identify (point to) words that have long vowel sounds. Day 5 (Activity 5.1) asks students to read a short reader and answer questions that require recalling information from the story (e.g., "What sound does the toy make?").
Lesson 13
Other Vowel Sounds ou, ow
Students read The Hound and the Owl and then answer explicit comprehension questions (e.g., "What does the hound do during the day?" and "Why do you think the hound howls at the owl?"). Students cut, sort, and read word lists on the "Sorting o Spellings" and "ou/ow" pages and are asked to explain their grouping decisions. Students are prompted to use the sorting pages to answer the question "Where do you find ou and ow in words?" and to highlight and justify patterns (e.g., t/d with ou, l/n with ow).
Lesson 14
Other Vowel Sounds aw, au
Students read The Pups and then answer specific comprehension questions (e.g., "Where do the pups sleep?" and "What are some of the things the puppies in the story do?"), which requires recalling information from a provided text. Students sort printed word lists and answer prompts such as "What do you notice about all of these words?" to gather information from those sources and explain their reasoning. Students are prompted to point to and read words in the Weekly Message and to use sorting pages and word lists to locate and use information with adult support.
Lesson 15
These Make More Than One Sound: oo and ea
Students watch the provided videos and then name and sort picture cards by vowel sound (Activities 1.2 and 3.1), answering guided questions such as "Which group has the long u sound?" and identifying which group has the long e/short e/long a sounds. Students read The Bad Bear independently and then answer specific comprehension questions about events and details (Activity 5.1). Students are prompted to examine word lists and answer questions about patterns (Activity 2.1: "What do you notice about the words under 'book'?") and to respond to wrap-up questions that require recalling which words show particular vowel sounds.
Lesson 16
Silent Starts: kn, wr, gn
Students are asked in Activity 1.1 to point to and read the Weekly Message and then list things they have learned about reading words, which requires recalling information from prior experience. In Activity 1.2 the child is prompted to find the word "gnashed" in a provided read-aloud of Where the Wild Things Are and to read and discuss words like "gnome," which requires gathering information from a provided source. In Day 5 (Reader #16) the child reads The Gnats and then answers explicit comprehension questions (e.g., "What do the gnats do to the kids at the playground?"), demonstrating recall of information from the text; multiple activities note adult assistance "as needed," indicating guided support.
Lesson 17
Year-End Review
Students read the "Which Words?" page and answer teacher-posed questions by locating words that meet specific criteria (e.g., soft c/g, FLOSS rule, long o), gathering information from the provided word list to respond. Students sort words into columns by long vowel sound, placing and gluing words to show which vowel category they belong to. Students are asked at the wrap-up to talk about some of their favorite activities from the year, recalling experiences to answer a question about their learning.