First grade – Reading Workshop Curriculum Unit Template
Unit Title: Reading Books Closely (Infer, Visualize and Identifying
Supporting Reasons)
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 can readers determine the author’s opinion?
How does visualizing the text help us make meaning?
What kinds of words create strong visualizations?
What do strong readers do if they don’t know a word or phrase?
Big Ideas/Understanding(s):
Readers notice the author’s supporting points as they read.
Strong readers create a picture in their mind as they read to make meaning.
Sensory words help readers create strong images.
Strong readers ask and answer questions to help clarify word meanings.
Key Vocabulary
Opinion
Reasons
Supporting points
Key details
Main idea
Visualizations
Infer
Diagram
Fact box
Schema
Student Learning Objectives: Students will –
1. Notice the author’s supporting points as they read.
2. Visualize as they read to make meaning.
3. Ask and answer questions to clarify word meanings.
II – Evidence of Learning
Performance Assessment:
Mice Are Nice
You are helping to publish a poetry book! Write a review about the author. Fill out the graphic
organizer to tell the author’s opinion and reasons for their opinion. Draw your visualization that
helped you understand the poem.
Rubric Criteria:
Rubric
III – Learning Plan
Anchor Performance Tasks – How do we equip students to perform the assessment? Link to standards
the task addresses
Task 1: Visualization:

Teacher reads Honey I love poem to the class. After reading, students will sketch visualizations in
the attached poem.

Standard: RL 1.4

Essential Question: How does visualizing the text help us make meaning?
Task 2: Find the Author’s Opinion and Supporting Reasons

Teacher reads page 7 (Dogs are Hard to Keep) What Pet Should You Get to the class. After
reading, students will fill out the graphic organizer.

Standard: RI 1.8

Essential Question: How can readers determine the author’s opinion?
Task 3: Inferring the Meaning of New Words
 Teacher reads Antarctica to the class. Students act out the word huddle. They write this
sentence in their reading journals or on the graphic organizer. The word huddle made me
picture _________________(a group of penguins) in my brain.

Standard: RL 1.4

Essential Question: How does visualizing the text help us make meaning?
Task 4: Find the Author’s Opinion and Supporting Reasons
 Teacher reads Goats Are Great to the class. After reading, students will fill out the graphic
organizer.

Standard: RI 1.8

Essential Question: How can readers determine the author’s opinion?
Additional Ideas:
During guided reading groups, continue to find the author’s opinion and supporting reasons. Text
suggestions: (level 12-14) My Town is a Good Place to Live and Skin is Amazing!
Use Simple Sentences for oral inference practice(See Kim Narciso for copy)
Unit Standards
Identified Priority Standards for all students to master:
RI. 1.8 Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
RI 1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and
phrases in a text.
RL 1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the
senses.
Supporting Standards:
RI 1.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
RI 1.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries,
electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.
RI 1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
RI 1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and
information provided by the words in a text.
Integrated Standards: (ie: technology, etc.)
Students can use document camera to share their author’s reasons.
Use projectable A-Z books and highlighting feature.