1st Grade – Reading Curriculum Unit Template
Unit Title: Unit 5 Comparing and Contrasting Characters
Duration of Unit- (# of weeks): 6 weeks
School Year: 2014-2015
Date Revised: 6/14
I – Desired Results
Essential Learning – What is it we want all students to know and be able to do?
Essential Questions:
How do good readers make a connection to the characters in stories?
What key details are included when readers retell a story?
How can readers identify who is telling the story?
How can readers understand different character’s experiences and adventures?
Big Ideas/Understanding(s):
Strong readers make connections to character feelings and experiences.
Strong readers include story elements when they retell.
Strong readers can identify which character is telling the story as they read a text.
Strong readers compare and contrast adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
Student Objectives:
Students will:
1. Retell story details including key details.
2. Demonstrate understanding of story’s central message or lesson.
3. Make text-to-self connections comparing their feelings and experiences to character feelings and
experiences.
4. Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
5. Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
Key Vocabulary
Compare
Contrast
Venn Diagram
Experience
Feelings
Adventures
II – Evidence of Learning
Assessment Package – How will I assess mastery of essential learning?
Performance Assessment:
Mo’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Book fell apart. Help Mo figure out how to rewrite it by filling out these
planning sheets.
Performance Assessment Unit 5
Rubric Criteria: (based on anchor sets)
Rubric for Performance Assessment.docx
III – Learning Plan
Anchor Performance Tasks – How do we equip students to perform the assessment?
Performance Tasks:
Task 1 : Write your Connection!
 Write a sentence about a text to self connection using the sentence starter “I felt ___ just like
________when ____________” in reading response journals.
 Essential Question: How do speakers express ideas and feelings clearly?
 Standard: SL 1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing
ideas and feelings clearly.
Task 2 : Retelling Hand or Retelling Star

Retell the story to a partner after reading using your retelling hand or retelling star. Retelling
Hand

Standard: SL 1.4 Describe people, places, things and events with relevant details, expressing
ideas and feelings clearly. RL 1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate
understanding of their central message or lesson.

Essential Question: How can you become a stronger reader?
Task 3: Who is telling the story?
 Read The True Version of the Three Little Pigs to the class. Students need to identify the author
on a t-chart with a post-it.
 Standard RL 1.6 Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
 Essential Question: How can readers identify the point of view of a story?
Task 4: Comparing and Contrasting Character’s Experiences and Adventures
 Students fill in Venn Diagram showing the three little pig and the big bad wolf’s experiences and
adventures.
 RL 1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
 Essential Question: How can readers understand different character’s experiences and
adventures?
Resources:
Growing Readers, Kathy Collins Page 142-143
First Grade Readers, Stephanie Parsons
Page 88
Reading with Meaning, Debbie Miller
Page 62
The Primary Comprehension Toolkit- Monitor Comprehension
Lesson 1: Think About the Text
Differentiation:
Readers should be grouped by choice.
Leveled readers should be used during read to self.
Identified effective teaching strategies:
I do, we do, we do, you do
Modeling, Guided Practice, Independent Practice
Creating anchor charts together
Standards
Identified Priority Standards for all students to master:
RL 1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
RL 1.6 Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
RL 1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
SL 1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
Supporting Standards:
RL 1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL 1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
SL 1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts,
and feelings.
SL1. 6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.
Integrated Standards: (ie: technology, etc.)
Students can use Mimeo to project text to self connection journal responses.
Foundational Standards: (print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition,
fluency)
Reading Standards: Foundational Skills
Print Concepts
C.C.1.R.F.1
1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
C.C.1.R.F.1.a
a. Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending
punctuation).
Reading Standards: Foundational Skills
Phonics and Word Recognition
C.C.1.R.F.3
3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
Unit Reflection (To be completed by the team after completion of the unit)
Unit: Author /Character Clubs____
Date: _January 2013____________
1. What worked to support student learning?
Focusing on one author as a class for mini lessons
For next year, focus on characters and connections.
Mark Brown, Henry and Mudge (Cynthia Rylant), Mo Willems, Kevin Henkes, Tomie, Jamaica books,
Ezra Jack Keats, Rosemary Wells, Patricia Polacco (for read aloud), Curious George, Bear book, Frog
and Toad (Arnold Lobel)
2. What did not work as well as anticipated and why?
Add additional lessons for connections
3. What needs to be revised for next time?
Focus on text to text connections too!
Letter more of a template, fill in the blank. In the book ___ the character _____ felt _____. I felt the
same way when ______________.
4. Collect and list samples of student work we have for each performance task and performance
assessment at both the proficient and mastery level.
See Performance Assessment
Revise Performance Assessment letter.
5. Other comments to facilitate future implementation of this unit, performance tasks and
performance assessment