Year Long Plan

Each unit will cover the four areas of the Language curriculum: Oral, Reading, Writing, and Media through a variety of activities and materials. September-November focuses on learning the routines of the Reading and Writing Workshop. December-February focuses on making inferences in Reading and writing personal narratives. March to June focuses on Non-Fiction text in Reading and writing poetry.

Unit 7: Non-Fiction Reading & Writing

In Reading, we will study the features of non-fiction texts (table of contents, headings, sub-headings, captions, index, glossary). In Writing, we will apply our learning of non-fiction text features and write a non-fiction All About information book about a topic of their choice that they are learning about in our Science Unit on Living Things.

You can help at home by reading non-fiction texts with your child and discussing the text features. You can also encourage your child to write down interesting facts they learn, draw and label diagrams, etc.

Unit 6: Poetry

Dear Parent,

This week in the writing workshop we begin our unit of study on poetry. It’s hard to imagine our very small children on a learning trajectory toward to becoming the next William Shakespeares, Emily Dickinsons and Maya Angelous, isn’t it? But you will be amazed, as I plan to be, by the writing they can do in this unit—they are able to create poems with so much more weight and power than the rhyming jingles we often imagine young children’s poetry to be!

We will start by looking at the world through the eyes of a poet—examining objects closely, and trying to see them in fresh, interesting ways. I hope you will join your child in patiently studying and putting words to the details and moments of life the two of you notice together. This is the work that will most support your child in becoming a poet.

Throughout the unit, we will study many ways poets work and some of the tools and strategies poets use. We’ll work with the structure of poetry, learning how poets use line breaks and white space. We’ll talk about and practice locating a big, universal feeling or idea in a small, personal object or moment. We’ll discuss and try ways to find the precise words that convey our intended meaning. We’ll experiment with rhythms and patterns, repetition and musicality. We’ll build analogies, metaphors and similes, and extend those bits of figurative language throughout the bodies of our verses. Of course, as always, we’ll revise and edit and publish our poems.

We are all looking forward to sharing our poetry work with you, throughout the unit and at the celebration!

Sincerely,

Ms. Rajmoolie

Unit 5: Narrative Writing (Fairy Tales)

In this unit we will be studying the features of narrative writing. We will read many examples of traditional fairy tales as well as fractured fairy tales and other fables from all around the world. We will try to write our own narratives using these features:

• Clear beginning, middle, and end
• Purpose to entertain or teach a lesson
• Characters, setting
• Problem and resolution
• Descriptive language chosen to enhance and develop the story by creating images in the reader's mind

You can help at home by reading a variety of narratives (fairy tale, fable, science fiction, fantasy, and so on) and helping your child to notice the features. You can also engage your child in oral storytelling and retelling of familiar stories using puppets and props.

Unit 4: Procedural Writing

In this unit we are learning to write "how-to books" or books that teach! We will start by brainstorming what we know how to do that we could teach someone else (e.g., how to cook pancakes, how to build a snowman, how to score a goal in hockey, how to draw a face, etc.) We will look at examples of procedural writing in the real world like recipes and game instructions. We will use special paper to plan out our steps and write them out using time words such as first, then, next, finally. We will add other how to writing features such as warnings and lists of materials. We will also revise and edit our writing with our peers and our teacher.

How you can help at home:

• Look for examples of procedural writing at home (e.g., instructions, recipes)
• Help your child think of topics they could write about (e.g., you learned how to do a side-kick in Taekwondo or you helped us carve a jack-o-lantern during Halloween)
• As always practice writing at home in a variety of forms focusing on "no excuses words", sounding tricky words out, rereading their writing to make sure it makes sense, and using capital letters and periods in the correct places.

Unit 3: Writing for Readers and Making Inferences

In this unit, we are making sure our writing is easy to read. This means that other people can read our writing. To do this we need to make sure our printing is neat (not a lot of scribbled out words), finger spaces between words, "no excuses" words spelled correctly, and we write down as many letters as we hear when sounding out unfamiliar words.

In reading, we are learning to make inferences or "read between the lines." We take clues from what we read, add our own ideas, and put them together to make an inference. For example, we might infer that a character is sad because they are crying and the picture shows them with a frown on their face, even though the author doesn't write "he was sad." We can also infer the meaning of unknown words by rereading the sentences, using our own ideas, and using the pictures. We played a game where we practiced making inferences. For example, a truck was playing sweet music on a hot day, what do you infer? It's an ice cream truck! Background Knowledge + Clues from Text = Inference

Unit 2: Analyzing Comics with Mr. Wuebbolt

Unit: Bone, Out from Boneville

The unit will utilize Jeff Smiths 1991 graphic novel, Bone: Out from Boneville as a means

class novel study. The text itself will be read together as a class, used as a means to highlight the

various aspects of a novel; paying extra attention to character, setting, audience, author’s intent,

and various big ideas. Students will work both as a class and individuals to uncover the

characteristics found in writing and media, as well as improve their reading and writing skills,

through an artistically inclined text. Once students are able to grasp the various aspects of the

written work, they will be tasked with planning and creating their own comic; an art form which

uses both illustration and text to cover their intended meaning.

Simultaneously, students will work as a group to build up a wall of various words.

Students will find the meaning behind these words through various means that do not include

their teachers, and will be tasked with presenting these words to the class. This will increase their

vocabulary and research / inquiry skills; as well as build strategies for reading and writing

comprehension.

No Excuses Words

Attached please find High Frequency Word Lists for Grade 1. We call these the "no excuses" words because students should know how to read and write these words in a snap.

To practice these words you can write them on index cards and use them like flash cards, make 2 sets and play a matching game, have your child use the strategy Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check to practice spelling them, find the words in books or in the print all around you.

Reading Strategies

The following word-solving strategies can help students build their accuracy ("I can read words"). Try these at home when listening to your child read. We also use the I PICK strategy for choosing books

I choose a book

Purpose - Why do I want to read it?

Interest - Does it interest me?

Comprehension - Do I understand what I am reading?

Know - I know most of the words.

Unit 1: Writing -- Recounts

In Writing we are learning to write recounts (retelling events in order). We will be learning to use the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, publishing). We will be learning to use linking words (e.g. later, after, first, next). As always, we will also ensure our writing is easy to read (spaces between words, neat printing), has capitals and periods at the beginning and ends of sentences, and makes sense.

How you can help at home:

• Have your child keep a journal or diary where they draw and write about something that happened during the day (e.g., a trip to the park, playing with a friend, etc.)
• Have your child carry a small notebook and jot down anything they may be able to use in their writing
• Prepare for writing recounts by having your child orally tell you some news at that happened in the classroom.