Unit Title: Reading Unit 4
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Timeframe: 6 Weeks
Unit Overview: This unit of reading will focus on the students developing their ability to ask and answer questions to learn more about unfamiliar words in
various types of text. They will be able to use questioning techniques to identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text. Students will also learn
to make comparisons and find differences among familiar stories. They will do this with prompting and support from the teacher as needed. The continued use
of Reading Workshop (Balanced Literacy) and all of its components will provide the student with multiple opportunities to grow as readers. Throughout the
unit the teacher should continue to model the skill or strategy he/she wants the students to learn (I Do), work on the skill/strategy as a whole class (We Do), and
then release them to practice on their own (You Do).
Enduring Understanding
Reading is an active process; it is the key to knowledge and to understanding our world and ourselves. Reading is a lifetime skill that enhances learning and
enjoyment. Effective readers use appropriate strategies as needed to construct meaning.
Essential Questions
How can asking questions help me better understand unfamiliar words in text? How can I make comparisons between the adventures and experiences of
characters in familiar stories? How can I understand the differences in the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories?
Common Core Standards
Standards/Cumulative Progress Indicators (Taught and Assessed):
RL.K.4 Ask and answer questions to learn about unfamiliar words in literature texts.
RI.K.4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions to learn about unfamiliar words in informational texts.
RI.K.8 With prompting and support, state reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
RL.K.9 With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories, utilizing picture clues or other story
props.
Supporting Standards
RI.K.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
RI.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
LK.1.f Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
L.L.4.a Identify new meanings for familiar words (ex, knowing a fly is a bug and learning flies is something an airplane does) and apply them accurately.
L.K.5.b With guidance and support, identify the meaning of frequently occurring verbs (ex. walk) and adjectives (ex. big) and relate them to their antonyms.
21st Century Skills Standard and Progress Indicators:
Independently complete tasks
Take turns speaking and doing tasks in whole group settings
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Work collaboratively with peers to complete tasks
Work collaboratively with partners to solve problems
Apply critical thinking and problem solving strategies during structured learning experiences
Apply skills and knowledge through the use of technology
High Frequency Words Taught in Unit:
Week 1: will, said, now, too, under
Week 2: me, him, well, have
Week 3: who, there, went, play
Week 4: want, can’t, must, our
Week 5: be , do, must, ran, good
Week 6: come, lots, say, away
Academic Vocabulary Taught in Unit:
Week 1: author
Week 2: text
Week 3: events
Week 4: characters
Week 5: compare
Week 6: contrast
Note: In addition to your sight word wall have a “wow” word wall where you place all the academic and literary vocabulary students are exposed to through
read alouds and class discussions.
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Instructional Plan
Pre-assessment
Baseline Diagnostic AssessmentsDRA Word Analysis Tasks: 1-9
Baseline DRA – Administered in February
EUA Model Curriculum Benchmark Assessment; Unit 3
DLO
Instructional
Student Strategies
SWBAT
Practice
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Reflection
Formative Assessment
Activities and Resources
Reflection
Week 1
Days 1/2 – Ask and
answer questions
about words in a text
RW
Read Aloud
Mini Lesson
Modeling
CFU’s
Days 3/4 – Use
illustrations and
context to learn words
in a text.
Day 5 – Understand
and use new words.
RL.K.4
Guided Practice
Days 1-2
Read the book to the
students and allow them
to ask questions about
unknown words. Prompt
them to answer each
other’s questions
Share Out
Days 3-4
Teacher will randomly
select 2-4 students to
share what they think an
unknown word means and
how they came up with
their answer.
Independent Practice
Days 1-5
Using their just right
books students will
determine the meanings
of unknown words by
asking questions and
using the illustrations.
Have students record
their responses on post it
notes or in a reading
response journal
Turn and Talk
Days 1-2
Ask a partner a question
about an unknown word
in the text. What do you
think _____ means? I
think it means ______
because __________.
Refer to Anchor Chart
Exit Ticket
Day 5Have students use one of
the new words in a
sentence. New word can
come from the word wall,
text, or read aloud.
Anecdotal Notes
Read Alouds – Journey’s:
Days 1/2
Nicky and the Rainy Day, Unit 4 T296
Days 3/4
Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, Unit 5 T36
Day 5
Dragonfly, Unit 3 T250
Other Suggested Texts:
Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor
Mini Lessons/Model –
Days 1/2 – Read aloud the story to the
students. Tell children that they will often
come across words they don’t know. Stop
periodically to the model your thinking out
loud how you ask questions when you come to
a word you don’t know. Asking questions
about what is going on in the story can help
you figure out what a word means.
Day 3/4- Read aloud the story to the students.
Tell them that another way to figure out
unknown words in our text is to use the
illustrations. Model for students how you do
this using the illustration.
Day 5- Read the poem to the students. Utilize
the skills taught previously to understand a
new word. Demonstrate how to use the new
word in a sentence.
Anchor Chart – to be created with students;
only complete the portion that you have taught
that day.
What Can We Use to Learn Words we Don’t
Know?
Ask questions about the story
Answer questions about the story
Use the illustrations
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Week 2
Days 1/2 – Ask and
answer questions
about words in a text.
RW
Read Aloud
Mini Lesson
Modeling
CFU’s
Days 3/4 – Use
illustrations and
context to learn words
in a text.
Day 5 – Understand
and use new words.
RI.K.4
RL.K.4
Guided Practice
Days 1-2
Read the book to the
students and allow them
to ask questions about
unknown words. Prompt
them to answer each
other’s questions
Share Out
Days 3-4
Teacher will randomly
select 2-4 students to
share what they think an
unknown word means and
how they came up with
their answer.
Independent Practice
Days 1-5
Using their just right
books students will
determine the meanings
of unknown words by
asking questions and
using the illustrations.
Have students record
their responses on post it
notes or in a reading
response journal.
Turn and Talk
Days 1-2
Ask a partner a question
about an unknown word
in the text. What do you
think _____ means? I
think it means ______
because __________.
Refer to Anchor Chart
Exit Ticket
Day 5Have students use a new
word in a sentence. The
new word should come
from either text, the word
wall, or read alouds.
Anecdotal Notes
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Read Alouds – Journey’s:
Days1/2/5
Big Book, Atlantic , Unit 4 T 243, T249
Days 3/4/5
Bread Comes to Life, Unit 5 T 390
Other Suggested Texts:
Cavs and Caverns by Gail Gibbons
Mini Lessons/Model –
Days 1/2 – Explain to students that you will be
reading an informational text to them. Remind
them that this is a book written about
something real and contains facts Read aloud
the non fiction text to the students. Tell
children that they will often come across
words they don’t know. Stop periodically to
the model your thinking out loud how you ask
questions when you come to a word you don’t
know. Asking questions about what is going
on in the story can help you figure out what a
word means.
Day 3/4- Read aloud the non fiction text to the
students. Tell them that another way to figure
out unknown words in our text is to use the
illustrations. Model for students how you do
this using the illustration.
Day 5- Read the poem to the students. Utilize
the skills taught previously to understand a
new word. Demonstrate how to use the new
word in a sentence.
Anchor Chart – to be created with students;
only complete the portion that you have taught
that day.
What Can We Use to Learn Words we
Don’t Know?
Ask questions about the story
Answer questions about the story
Use the illustrations
Week 3
Day 1- Identify the
main topic of an
informational text.
RW
Read Aloud
Mini Lesson
Modeling
CFU’s
Day 2/3 – Understand
and identify the
supporting points the
author makes in the
text.
Day 4/5 – Name the
reasons an author
gives to support points
in a text.
RI.K.8
Guided Practice
Days 2/3
Teacher will guide the
students in listing the
supporting points the
author makes in the read
aloud text.
Exit Ticket
Day 5
Students write one
supporting point they
learned about a topic in
one of the informational
texts read aloud to them.
Independent Practice
Days 1-5
Using their just right
books students will
identify the main topic of
an informational text.
Have students record
their responses on post it
notes or in a reading
response journal
Turn and Talk
Day 4
Have students tell a
partner one reason an
author would have for
putting supporting points
in their text.
Allow students to book
shop on day 1 for
informational texts at
their just right level.
Anecdotal Notes
Read Alouds – Journey’s
Day 1/2/3 – Turtle Splash, Unit 3 T318
Day 4/5 – What a Beautiful Sky, Unit 3 T412
Other Suggested Texts:
Who Eats What? By Patricia Lauber
Mini Lesson/ Model
Day 1- Explain to students that you will be
reading an informational text to them. Remind
them that this is a book written about
something real and contains facts. Read the
text aloud stopping periodically to point out
something in the text that tells you that it is
informational
Day 2/3 – Re-read or continue the read aloud.
Remind students that authors write for
different reasons. Point out the reason the
author wrote the text is to teach us about
turtles. While reading the text identify the
supporting points in the text. Model how you
know that something is a supporting point and
how it supports the topic.
Days 4/5 - Read the text to the students while
modeling how you identify the supporting
points in the text. Name some of the reasons an
author has for including supporting points in
the informational text. (It helps us learn more
about the topic).
Give Benchmark Assessment: Task 3: Comprehension: Informational Retell. Use Informational Retell Text Oral Summary Rubric
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Week 4
Day 1/2- Students
will compare the
adventures of
characters in familiar
stories by
Identifying similarities
in the two stories.
RW
Mini Lesson
Read Aloud
Modeling
CFU’s
Day 3/4- Students
will contrast the
adventures of
characters in familiar
stories by identifying
differences between
the two
stories.
Day 5- Students
will compare the
experiences of
characters in familiar
stories by identifying
similarities between
the two stories.
Guided Practice
Days 1-5
Students will complete a
T chart with the teacher
comparing the similarities
and differences between
the adventures the
characters in both tales
experience.
Independent Practice
Days 1-5
Students will read just
right texts and look for
similarities and
differences between two
or more texts.
Have students record
their responses on post it
notes or in a reading
response journal.
RL.K.9
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Partner Talk
Day 1/2Tell a partner
about a similarity
you notice
between the two
familiar stories.
One similarity
between the
stories is
________.
Check for
Understanding
Day 5
Pairs of students
will share one
thing they have
done or
experienced in
common and one
experience they do
not share between
them.
Read Alouds – Journey’s
Day 1/3 /5– The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Unit 4, T344
Day 2/4/5 – The Builder and the Oni, Unit 4, T346
Other Suggested Resources:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Paul Gladone
The Three Little Pigs by Paul Gladone
Mini Lesson/Model
Day 1/2- Introduce the read alouds by explaining that these are
traditional tales, stories told by many people over many years. Read
aloud both texts to the students. Start a T chart keeping track of the
similarities in various adventures that the characters experience. Stop
periodically throughout the story to point out the adventures, model your
thinking in recognizing character adventures.
Day 3/4- Re-read aloud the texts to the students. This time model how
you identify the differences between the adventures that the characters in
the stories experience. Continue to complete the T chart comparing and
contrasting the stories.
Day 5 – Re read the texts to the students. Model out loud how you
compare the experiences of the characters in both texts. Add on to the T
chart, tracking the character experiences.
Example T Chart
Billy Goats Gruff & Builder & Oni
Similarities
Differences
Anecdotal Notes
Week 5
Day 1 - Students
will compare the
experiences of
characters in familiar
stories by identifying
similarities between
the two stories.
RW
Mini Lesson
Read Aloud
Modeling
CFU’s
Day 2/3 – Students
will contrast the
experiences of
characters in familiar
stories by identifying
differences between
the two stories.
Day 4/5 – Students
will compare and
contrast characters in
two familiar stories
utilizing picture clues.
Guided Practice
Days 3-5
Projectable 27.2
Complete the Venn
Diagram as a whole class
activity comparing and
contrasting the
experiences of two
characters in a familiar
story or stories.
Independent Practice
Days 1-5
Students will be given
just right texts to read and
practice comparing and
contrasting the
experiences of characters
between the texts.
Have students record
their responses on post it
notes or in a reading
response journal
Check for
Understanding
Days 1-2
Students will give a
signal when they can
identify a major event in
the text.
Partner Talk
Day 1
Tell your partner one
similarity you noticed
between the characters
in the two texts.
One similarity I noticed
was _________.
Read Alouds – Journey’s
Day 2-5 – Someone Bigger, Unit 6, T108
Day 2-5 – One of Three, Unit 6, T 130
Other Suggested Resources:
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Mini Lesson/ Model
Day 1- Using the texts from last week model
noticing the similarities between character
experiences. Refer to the previously read texts
and continue to add on to the T chart started last
week.
Days 2/3- Read aloud the texts and model
noticing the similarities between character
experiences. Use the projectable referred to in
the guided practice with the students.
Days 4/5- Using the previously read texts focus
on how the illustrations help you identify
similarities and differences between the
characters. This can be done with characters in
two texts or within one text. Model your
thinking as you read for the students.
RL.K.9
Refer to Anchor Chart
Give Benchmark Assessment: Task 3: Comprehension: Informational Retell. Use Informational Retell Text Oral Summary Rubric
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011 Week 6
Days 1-3 – Identify
key details in an
informational text
RW
Mini Lesson
Read Aloud
Modeling
CFU’s
Days 3-5 – Retell
they key details in an
informational text
RI.K.2
RI.K.10
Guided Practice
Students will illustrate
and label a key detail
from the text read aloud
to them. Students able to
will write a sentence
about their illustration
describing the key detail.
Partner Talk
Days 1-2
Tell your partner a key
detail you found in the
informational text you
are reading.
Small Group Practice
Students will be given
just right informational
texts to read and practice
finding the main topic
and key details. Students
can work in groups to
complete
Read Alouds – Journey’s
Days 1-3- Red Eyes or Blue Feathers, Unit 5 T
296
Days 3-5- Chameleon, Chameleon, Unit 5 T318
Other Suggested Texts:
Days 1-3 – Point out the key details in the text
that support the main topic. Create a list on
chart paper (see example below)
Days 3-5- Model how you can retell the key
details in an informational text by stopping
periodically while reading to retell what you
have learned so far.
Chart
Red Eyes or Blue Feathers
The Main Topic –Animals are all different colors
Key Details:
1. Tree frogs have red eyes
2. Seahorses swim slowly.
3.
Benchmark Assessment: Task 3: Comprehension: Informational Retell. Use Informational Retell Text Oral Summary Rubric
Benchmark Assessment: End of Unit 4 Benchmark Assessment
See Word Work Unit for pacing of tasks 2 and 4
See Writing Unit for Task 1 administration
Summative Written Assessments
n/a
Summative Performance Assessment
End of Unit 4 Benchmark Assessment
DRA Word Analysis Tasks 1-9 / DRA Assessment – Given in the month of February
CAR © Bormann and Wright 2009, 2011