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Language Arts Unit 1 - Lesson 1 "Henry and Mudge: The First Book" During the next few weeks, we'll explore the theme Neighborhood Visit. Through our reading, we'll visit neighborhoods both imaginary and real, filled with friends to meet! As we read, we'll explore the Big Idea "There are different kindsof communities." This week we begin by reading about Henry's move into a new neighborhood. As we follow his search for a pet in the realistic fiction selection Henry and Mudge, we will think and talk about the question "Why is the order of events in a story important?" We will also read an informational text called All in the Family. This week's... Target Vocabulary: curly, straight, floppy, drooled, weighed, stood, collars, row Phonics Skills: Words with short a (can); words with short i (dig); cvc words (consonant, vowel, consonant) such as win Vocabulary Strategy: Alphabetical order Comprehension Skill: Sequence of events-tell the order in which things happen Comprehension Strategy: Infer/ predict-uses clues to figure out moreabout story parts Writing Focus: Write to narrate-sentences that tell atrue story Unit 1-Lesson 2 "My Family" Throughout this unit, we are reading about different kinds of communities and the families who live in them. This week we will meet Camila in the informational text My Family. Camila is a real girl who shares special times and happy celebrations with her family. We will also read Family Poems, poetry about families. As we read, we will be exploring answers to the question "How are families alike and different?" This week's... Target Vocabulary: remembered, porch, crown, spend, stuck, visit, cousin, piano Phonics Skills: Words with short a (hop), short u (fun), short e (hen); review CVC words (bat) Vocabulary Strategy: Using aglossary Comprehension Skill: Compare and contrast-tell how two things are alike or not Comprehension Strategy: Questions :ask questions about what you are reading Writing Focus: Write to narrate - friendly letter Unit 1-Lesson 3 "Henry and Mudge: Under the Yellow Moon" By the end of the week, your child will know a lot more about communities. We will look for answers to the question "Why might an author write a story?" We'll read Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon, a realistic fiction selection about how Henry and Mydge explore their community in different ways. We'll also read Outdoor Adventures, a selection of e-mails between a girl and her grandmother as they discuss the seasonal changes in their community. This week's... Target Vocabulary: woods, turned, tops, chipmunks, busy, picked, south, grew Phonics Skills: Words with long a, (gate), long i (mine) (VCe); hard and soft sounds for c (car, cent) Vocabulary Strategy: Multiple-meaning words Comprehension Skill: Author's purpose- tell why an author writes a book Comprehension Strategy: Analyze/evaluate- tell how you feel about the text and why Writing Focus: Write to narrate- sentences that describe Unit 1 - Lesson 4 "Diary of a Spider" This week we'll explore the question "What might cause a story character to change?" We'll read a fun and fantastic story about Spider's family, friends, school, and favorite places to play in Diary of a Spider. Along with this humorous fiction story, we will read A Swallow and a Spider, a traditional tale written in a read-aloud reader's theater format. Both stories will help us understand more about different kinds of communities. This week's... Target Vocabulary: rotten, sticky, insects, scare, judge, screaming, dangerous, breeze Phonics Skills: Words with long o (rose), long u (dune), long e (Pete) (VCe); hard and soft sounds for g : (giraffe, goose) Vocabulary Strategy: Context clues Comprehension Skill: Cause and effect-tell how one event makes another happen Comprehension Strategy: Summarize, stop to tell important events as you read Writing Focus: Write to narrate- .prewrite a true story (Reading/Writing Workshop) Unit 1 - Lesson 5 "Teacher's Pets" This week we'll explore another kind of neighborhood--the classroom! We'll consider the question "What clues tell you where and when a story takes place?" We'll begin with Teacher's Pets, a realistic fiction story about Miss Fry's classroom. It's a lively place for students and animals alike! Then we'll See Westburg by Bus! as we read an informational text about this interesting community. This week's... Target Vocabulary: share, noticed, suddenly, bursting, noises, wonderful, quiet, sprinkled Phonics Skills: Consonant blends with r, l, and s, including triple blends (burst, trucks, split) Vocabulary Strategy: Base words and endings -ed, -ing Comprehension Skill: Story structure- tell the setting, character, and plot in a story Comprehension Strategy: Visualize- picture what is happening as you read Writing Focus: Write to narrate- draft/edit a true story (Reading/Writing Workshop) Unit 2 - Lesson 6 "Animal Homes" During the next few weeks, we'll explore the theme Nature Watch. We'll learn about different kinds of plants, animals, gardens, and weather while considering the Big Idea "Nature can teach us many things." We'll begin by exploring the question "How can chapter headings help you?" We'll read an informational text called Animals Building Homes that tells about different types of animal homes around the world. Then we'll have fun with the play Hiding at the Pond. What animals might have homes in a pond? This week's... Target Vocabulary: beaks, break, deepest, hang, pond, shaped, winding, branches Phonics Skills: Common final blends nd, ng, nk, nt, ft, xt, mp Vocabulary Strategy: Base words and prefixes un- (means "not" or "undo") and re- (means "again") Comprehension Skill: Text and graphic features-tell how words work with art Comprehension Strategy: Question-ask questions about what you are reading Writing Focus: Write to inform- informational paragraph Unit 2 - Lesson 7 "The Ugly Vegetables" This week we will find out more about our Big Idea: "Nature can teach us many things." We are going to read a realistic fiction story and an informational text that will help us answer the question "What helps you make decisions about a character?" In The Ugly Vegetables, a girl learns about her neighbors when she plants a garden. We'll also see some HUGE plants from real gardens when we read They Really Are GIANT! This week's... Target Vocabulary: blooming, muscles, nodded, plain, scent, shovels, tough, wrinkled Phonics Skills: Double consonants and ck; double consonants (CVC) Vocabulary Strategy: Homophones Comprehension Skill: Conclusions: use details to figure out more about thetext Comprehension Strategy: Analyze and Evaluate-tell how you feel about the text and why Writing Focus: Writing to inform: A summary paragraph Unit 2 - Lesson 8 "Super Storms" This week we will explore all kinds of weather. We'll also explore the question "How do you know what a story is mostly about?" In the informational text Super Storms, we'll learn about several kinds of extreme weather. Then we will read Weather Poems, including "Night Drumming for Rain," "Leaves," and "Morning Sun."
This week's ... Target Vocabulary: flash, equal, damage, reach, pounding, prevent, beware, bend Phonics Skills: Consonant digraphs th, sh, wh, ch, tch, ph; and
base words with endings -5, -ed, -ing (no spelling changes) Vocabulary Strategy: Compound words Comprehension Skill: Main ideas and details-tell important ideas and details about a topic Comprehension Strategy: Visualize: picture what is happening as you read Writing Focus: Write to inform: informational paragraph Unit 2 - Lesson 9 "How Chipmunk Got His Stripes" This week we are going to answer the question "What can you learn from the way a character acts?" First we'll read a folktale called How Chipmunk Got His Stripes. Then we'll read a traditional tale called Why Rabbits Have Short Tails. As we read, we'll keep talking about the Big Idea, "Nature can teach us many things." This Week: Target Vocabulary: curled, direction, healed, height, toward, tunnel, tease, brag Phonics Skills: Base words and endings -ed, -ing (including spelling change of drop final e);
words with consonant vowel (CV) pattern Vocabulary Strategy: Synonyms Comprehension Skill: Understanding characters-tell more about characters Comprehension Strategy: Summarize: stop to tell Important events as you read Writing Focus: Write to Inform: prewrite instructions (ReadinIWriting Workshop) Unit 2 - Lesson 10 "Jellies" This week we'll explore the question, "How do you know if something is a fact or an opinion?" We'll read two informational texts about the deep blue sea. The first selection, Jellies, features beautiful underwater photographs and fascinating facts about jellyfish. Then Meet Norbert Wu will introduce us to a man who makes his living photographing animals that live in the ocean. What an exciting-and wet-job! This Week: Target Vocabulary: decide, disgusting, drift, millions, simple, wrapped, choices, weaker Phonics Skills: Contractions Vocabulary Strategy: Base words and suffixes -er and -est (comparatives and superlatives) Comprehension Skill: Fact and opinion-tell if an idea can be proved or is a feeling Comprehension Strategy: Monitor/clarify-find ways to figure out what doesn't make sense Writing Focus: Write to inform-revise/ edit instructions (Reading/Writing Workshop)
Unit 3 - Lesson 11 "Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type" During the next few weeks, we'll explore the theme Tell Me About It. Our reading selections in this unit focus on how we communicate with each other. From a fanciful tale of typing cows to artists from around the world, we'll read about the ways people share their ideas and feelings. As we read, we'll explore the Big Idea "We learn from each other." We'll begin this week with a humorous fiction story called Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Farmer Brown's cows have found a typewriter, and they're using it to demand better working conditions. What will Farmer Brown do? We'll also read about how real animals communicate in the informational text Talk About Smart Animals! Throughout the week we'll consider the question "What helps you make a decision about a character?" Target Vocabulary: problem, impossible, understand, impatient, furious, demand, gathered, believe Phonics Skills: Base words with endings -s, -es (including pronunciation and syllables) Vocabulary Strategy: Prefixes pre(means "before") and mis- (means "not" or "badly") Comprehension Skill: Conclusions: use details to figure out more about the text Comprehension Strategy: Infer/ predict-use clues to figure out more about the story parts or important ideas Writing Focus: Write to persuade: persuasive letter Unit 3 - Lesson 12 "Violet's Music" This week we'll consider the question "How do you find important story characters?" First, we'll read Violet's Music, a realistic fiction story about a girl who loves making music with her friends. Then we'll read Wolfgang Mozart, Child Superstar, a biography about the real life of this famous musician. This week's.. Target Vocabulary: nursery, shake, smooth, whenever, hours, alone, real, museum Phonics Skills: Vowel digraphs ai, ay Vocabulary Strategy: Figurative language/idioms Comprehension Skill: Story structure: tell the setting, character, and plot in a story Comprehension Strategy: Question : ask questions about what you are reading Writing Focus: Write to persuade: opinion paragraph
Unit 3 - Lesson 13 "Schools" This week we'll read about schools in other parts of the world and explore the question, "Why do authors write different kinds of texts?" In the informational text Schools Around the World, we'll learn about how schools in other parts of the world are the same and different. We'll also read a selection of poems about school in School Poems. This week's... Target Vocabulary: culture, community, languages, transportation, subjects, lessons, special, wear Phonics Skills: Vowel digraphs ee, ea (long esound) Vocabulary Strategy: Using a dictionary Comprehension Skill: Author's purpose-tell why an author writes a book Comprehension Strategy: Analyze / evaluate-tell how you feel about the text and why Writing Focus: Writing to Persuade: A persuasive paragraph |
