During Unit 1 of this module, your student will learn about stories of bird helpers. At the end of the unit, they will be able to answer the Unit 1 guiding question: “How do characters in stories help care for birds?” I am writing today to explain what your student will be learning, describe the activities that will support this learning, and suggest how to support this learning at home. I hope that you will plan to join us at the end of our deep study to celebrate all of your student’s learning!
Students will analyze literature to compare and contrast the characters and their experiences in different stories. The learning will be focused on these ideas:
Sometimes birds get into trouble and need help.
There are specific things characters do to help birds.
Students will also practice these reading foundation skills:
Segment (break apart) and identify the syllables within words and blend them back together.
Decode (read) and encode (write) words with different prefixes and suffixes (un-, re-, -ly).
Throughout the unit, your student will read, think, listen, talk, write, draw, and ask questions about the topic of bird helpers. Students will participate in these activities, among others, to build their literacy skills:
Listening to read-alouds and independently rereading a variety of texts about bird helpers
Singing songs and reading poetry about birds in trouble and bird helpers
Engaging in collaborative conversations with classmates
Writing to describe birds in trouble and how people help them
Participating in role-plays to understand events in stories about animal helpers
Here are a few activities that you can do at home with your student to support his or her learning:
Ask your student to talk with you about these questions: Why should we care about birds? How do characters in stories help care for birds?
Read books and sing songs about birds in trouble and bird helpers.
Identify different types of birds around your yard or neighborhood; observe them closely to describe their body parts and behaviors.
Encourage your student to read the weekly decodable student reader or a letter book to you every night.
Practice reading and spelling words with similar-sounding endings (strange, bridge, truck, spark).
During Unit 2 of this module, your student will learn about opinions. Specifically, students research the different opinions about Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk that built his nest in New York City. At the end of the unit, students will be able to answer the Unit 2 guiding question: “Why do people have different opinions about birds?” I am writing today to explain what your student will be learning, describe the activities that will support this learning, and suggest how to support this learning at home. I hope that you will plan to join us at the end of our deep study to celebrate all of your student’s learning!
Students will learn about how people have different opinions about birds. The learning will be focused on these ideas:
Birds impact our lives.
People have many reasons for their opinions about birds.
Birds affect people in different ways.
Students will also practice these reading foundation skills:
Segment (break apart) and identify the syllables within words and blend them back together.
Decode (read) and encode (write) words with different prefixes and suffixes (un-, re-, -ly).
Throughout the unit, your student will read, think, listen, talk, write, draw, and ask questions about different opinions people have about Pale Male. Students will participate in these activities, among others, to build their literacy skills:
Listening to read-alouds and independently rereading texts about Pale Male
Saying a jazz chant and reading poetry about different opinions people have about birds
Engaging in collaborative conversations with classmates
Writing about both sides of the Pale Male debate using reasons to support their opinion
Here are a few activities that you can do at home with your student to support his or her learning:
Ask your student to talk with you about these questions: Why should we care about birds? Why do people have different opinions about birds?
Identify different types of birds around your yard or neighborhood and interview people about how the feel about them.
Encourage your student to read the weekly decodable student reader or a letter book to you every night.
Practice reading and spelling words with similar-sounding endings (strange, bridge, truck, spark).
During Unit 3 of this module, your student will research how birds are helpful to plants, animals, and people and ways in which people can help birds. At the end of the unit, they will be able to answer the Unit 3 guiding question: “How can people care for birds so they can live and grow?” I am writing today to explain what your student will be learning, describe the activities that will support this learning, and suggest how to support this learning at home. I hope that you will plan to join us at the end of our deep study to celebrate all of your student’s learning!
Students will analyze informational texts to determine how authors support their points with reasons. They will also create a piece of informational writing and a scientific drawing of a bird that showcases all they have learned about birds. The learning will be focused on these ideas:
Birds are needed by many living things.
People can stop doing harmful things that hurt birds.
People can take action to prevent birds from being harmed, such as creating Feathered Friends Savers.
Students will also practice these reading foundation skills:
Segment (break apart) and identify the syllables within words and blend them back together.
Decode (read) and encode (write) words with different prefixes and suffixes (un-, re-, -ly).
Throughout the unit, your student will read, think, listen, talk, write, draw, and ask questions about the ways birds help other living things, ways in which people can hurt birds, and ways in which people can help birds live and grow. Students will participate in these activities, among others, to build their literacy skills:
Listening to read-alouds and independently rereading a variety of texts about the impact of birds on plants, animals, and people
Saying a jazz chant, singing songs, and reading poetry about different opinions people have about birds
Engaging in collaborative conversations with classmates
Writing about birds using adjectives
Here are a few activities that you can do at home with your student to support his or her learning:
Ask your student to talk with you about these questions: Why should we care about birds? How can people care for birds so they live and grow?
Read books and poetry about how birds help animals, plants, and humans.
Identify different types of birds around your yard or neighborhood and interview people about how they help them.
Encourage your student to read the weekly decodable student reader or a letter book to you every night.
Practice reading and spelling words with similar-sounding endings (strange, bridge, truck, spark).
Books to check out or you can type in their name and the word read aloud to see if it a read aloud on YouTube or Sora.
A Place for Birds
Stewart, Melissa
CIty Hawk: THe Story of Pale Male
McCarthy, Meghan
Lost and Found
Jeffers, Oliver
Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon: A True Story of Rescue and Rehabilitation
Gove-Berg, Christie
Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf
Bouler, Olivia
Pierre the Penguin: A True Story
Marzollo, Jean
The Lion and the Bird
Dubac, Marianne
A Mother for Choco
Kasza, Keiko
Albert
Napoli, Donna Jo
Basil's Birds
Reed, Lynn Rowe
Esther the Eaglet: A True Story of Rescue and Rehabilitation
Gove-Berg, Christie
Fly Free!
Thong, Roseanne
Horton Hatches the Egg
Seuss, Dr.
Just a Baby Bird (Little Critter)
Mayer, Mercer
Lotus and Feather
Jiang, Ji-li
Loveykins
Blake, Quentin
Puffling Patrol
Lewin, Ted
Sparrow Girl
Pennypacker, Sara
Stork's Landing
Lehman-Wilzig, Tami
The Wild Robot
Brown, Peter
Vanilla Ice Cream
Graham, Bob
Yeti and the Bird
Shireen, Nadia
The Eagles are Back
George, Jean Craighead
The Jelly Bean Tree
Yuly, Toni
Pandora
Turnbull, Victoria