During Unit 1 of this module, your student will be researching the patterns of all living things. By the end of the module, students will be able to participate in a discussion around the module guiding question: “What patterns can we observe in living things?” 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!
WHAT will your student learn?
Students will begin to research living and nonliving things with a focus on learning about what living things need in order to move and grow. The learning will be focused on these ideas:
Researchers make observations and gather evidence to explain patterns.
All living things need water, food, and air to get the energy to move and grow.
Plants and animals are living things.
Students will also practice these reading foundation skills:
Identify and write the sound for most consonants and vowels.
Segment (break apart) the individual sounds of spoken, one-syllable words, and blend them back together.
Decode (read) and encode (write) regularly spelled, one-syllable words.
HOW will your student learn?
Throughout the unit, your student will read, think, listen, talk, write, and ask questions about the patterns of living things. Students will participate in these activities, among others, to build their literacy skills:
Analyzing nonfiction text for patterns of living things
Developing fluency and comprehension through poetry about living and nonliving things
Engaging in conversations with classmates
Recording observations, writing and drawing about living and nonliving things
What can you do to SUPPORT your student’s learning at home?
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: How do we know that something is living? What do all living things need to move and grow? What does a researcher do?
Read books and sing songs about patterns of living things from home or at the library.
Identify different living and nonliving things around your home, ask your student to tell you what makes them living or nonliving, and help your student identify the patterns between them.
Encourage your student to read the weekly Student Decodable Reader or a letter book to you every night.
Practice reading and spelling regularly spelled, one-syllable words with the middle vowel sound /a/ (e.g., “pat,” “chat,” “tap”) .
During Unit 2 of this module, your student will be researching how living things depend on trees to meet their needs. By the end of the module, students will be able to participate in a discussion around the module guiding question: “What patterns can we observe in living things?” 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!
WHAT will your student learn?
Students will begin to research how people and animals depend on trees with a focus on learning about how trees provide food and shelter for other living things. The learning will be focused on these ideas:
Researchers make observations and gather evidence to explain patterns.
People and animals get food and shelter from trees.
Trees help other living things meet their needs.
Students will also practice these reading foundation skills:
Identify and write the sound for most consonants and vowels.
Segment (break apart) the individual sounds of spoken, one-syllable words, and blend them back together.
Decode (read) and encode (write) regularly spelled, one-syllable words.
HOW will your student learn?
Throughout the unit, your student will read, think, listen, talk, write, and ask questions about how people and animals depend on trees to meet their needs. Students will participate in these activities, among others, to build their literacy skills:
Analyzing nonfiction text for how people and animals depend on trees
Practicing fluency and comprehension through songs and riddles about how living things depend on trees
Engaging in conversations with classmates
Recording observations, writing and drawing about how people and animals depend on trees
What can you do to SUPPORT your student’s learning at home?
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: What do trees provide for other living things? How do we depend on trees? What animals in our community depend on trees? What does a researcher do?
Read books and sing songs about what trees provide for other living things from home or at the library.
Identify different objects and food that come from trees around your home, and ask your student to explain how they help us meet our needs.
Encourage your student to read the weekly Student Decodable Reader or a letter book to you every night.
Practice reading and spelling regularly spelled, one-syllable words with the middle vowel sound /a/ (e.g., “pat,” “chat,” “tap”).
During Unit 3 of this module, your student will be researching how different trees meet their needs and provide animals with food and shelter. By the end of the module, students will be able to participate in a discussion around the module guiding question: “What patterns can we observe in living things?” 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!
WHAT will your student learn?
Students will begin to research the patterns found in different trees with a focus on learning about what the trees need to live and grow as well as the food and shelter they provide to other living things. The learning will be focused on these ideas:
Researchers make observations and gather evidence to explain patterns.
Different trees all need sunlight and water to grow.
Trees help other living things meet their needs in similar ways.
Students will also practice these reading foundation skills:
Identify and write the sound for most consonants and vowels.
Segment (break apart) the individual sounds of spoken, one-syllable words, and blend them back together.
Decode (read) and encode (write) regularly spelled, one-syllable words.
HOW will your student learn?
Throughout the unit, your student will read, think, listen, talk, write, and ask questions about the needs and patterns of different trees. Students will participate in these activities, among others, to build their literacy skills:
Gathering research from nonfiction text to record what different trees need to thrive
Practicing fluency and comprehension through songs, poems, and riddles about trees and living things.
Engaging in conversations with classmates
Recording observations, writing and drawing about different trees, what they need and give, and their attributes
Developing, revising, and presenting an informational collage with writing and artwork to demonstrate their learning about patterns and trees
What can you do to SUPPORT your student’s learning at home?
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: What do trees need to live? What tree is your student researching for his or her informational collage? What does a researcher do?
Read books and sing songs about different types of trees from home or at the library.
Identify different types of trees around your community and ask your student to explain the patterns and differences.
Encourage your student to read the weekly Student Decodable Reader or a letter book to you every night.
Practice reading and spelling regularly spelled, one-syllable words with the middle vowel sound /a/ (e.g., “pat,” “chat,” “tap”).
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 Grand Old Tree
DePalma, Mary Newell
Actual Size
Jenkins, Steve
An Apple Tree's Life Cycle
Dunn. Mary R.
Call Me Tree/Llámame arbol
Gonzalez, Maya Christina
Celebritrees: Historic & Famous Trees of the World
Preus, Margi
Do Trees Get Hungry?: Noticing Plant and Animal Traits
Rustad, Martha E. H.
From Seed to Apple Tree
Anderson, Steven
Full of Fall
Sayre, April Pulley
How Do Plants Help Us?
Kalman, Bobbie
It Starts with a Seed
Knowles, Laura
Just Like Me, Climbing a Tree
Bernard, Durga Yael
Leaf Man
Ehlert, Lois
Old Mikamba Had a Farm
Isadora, Rachel
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai
Nivola, Claire A.
Poetrees
Florian, Douglas
Say Hello!
Isadora, Rachel
Tall Tall Tree
Fredericks, Anthony D.
Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids
Gibbons, Gail
The Busy Tree
Ward, Jennifer
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of Amazon Rain Forest
Cherry, Lynn
The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families
Roth, Susan L.& Cindy Trumbore
The Snowy Day
Keats, Ezra Jack
Tree For All Seasons
Bernard, Robin
Trees
Lemniscates
Who Will Plant a Tree?
Pallota, Jerry
Are Trees Alive?
Miller, Debbie
Be a Friend to Trees
Lauber, Patricia
The Tree in the Ancient Forest
Reed-Jones, Carol
What’s Alive?
Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner