Reading Unit 2- Kindergarten

Unit Theme: Fabulous Families

Unit Overview: The focus of this unit is to build upon what students have learned about the structures
of emergent story books, connecting this knowledge to stories about families. They will continue to build
habits of good reading, specifically focusing on the sequencing of narrative forms. The unit will focus on
retelling the events from the beginning, middle, and end of the stories about various types of families that
are read aloud. The students will demonstrate understanding of this concept by applying the knowledge
of plot structure to various read-alouds. Throughout this unit, the students will continue building their
emergent reading skills and comprehension strategies. This unit will also serve as a model of the various
types that exist, with students comparing and contrasting the families in the stories to their own.

Enduring Understandings
1. Students will understand that a story has a
beginning, middle, and end.
2. The characters and setting are introduced
at the beginning of the story.
3. In the beginning of a story something
happens to get the story started.
4. In the middle of the story there is a
sequence of events, or action.
5. The end of a story has an event that stops
the action.
6. Students will understand the important role
that families play in their lives.
7. Students will understand that families can
be different and unique to their own.

Essential Questions for Discussion and

Inquiry
1. How do we know that a text is telling a
story?
2. When do we meet the characters of a
story?
3. How do we know a story has started? (The
first event happens)
4. What happens in the middle of a story? (A
sequence of events)
5. How do we know weve reached the end of
a story? (The sequence of events is
ended)
6. What is a family?
7. Why is family important?

Priority Common Core Standards Assessed

RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.K.3 - With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
RFS.K.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
a. Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page-by-page.
b. Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequence
of letters.
c. Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
d. Recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about
kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and
larger groups.
a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns
speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).
b. Continue a conversation through multiple changes.

Secondary Common Core Standards Addressed

Reading-Literature:
RL.K.2 (retell familiar stories)
RL.K.4 (ask about unknown words)
RL.K.7 (illustrations in stories)
RL.K.10 (grade level fluency)
Reading- Foundational Skills:
RF.K.3 (phonics and word analysis)
RF.K.4 (read with fluency)
Writing:
W.K.2 (informative writing)
W.K.8 (retell experiences)
Speaking and Listening:
SL.K.6 (speaking clearly to express thoughts)

Reading Unit 2- Kindergarten

Language:
L.K.1 (standard English grammar for writing or speaking)
L.K.6 (use conversation language)

Bilingual Priority Standards

Spanish Language Arts (SLA) Standards
Spanish Language Development Standard 1: Emergent bilinguals communicate for Social and
Instructional purposes within the school setting.
Spanish Language Development Standard 2: Emergent bilinguals communicate information, ideas and
concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts
English Language Development (ELD) Standards
English Language Development Standard 1: English language learners communicate for Social and
Instructional purposes within the school setting
English Language Development Standard 2: English language learners communicate information, ideas
and concepts necessary for academic success in the content
area of Language Arts

Reading Strategies and Skills Aligned with Unit Priority Standards (RL.K.1, RL
K.3, RFS.K.1, and SL.K.1)
Solving Words
Recognize easy high frequency words with support of language structure
Locate the first and last letters of words in continuous text
Searching for Information
Read left to right across more than one line of print, and return sweep to the next line of print
Search for and use information in pictures and print
Remember and use language patterns to help reading a text
Summarizing
Remember and use details when discussing a story
Summarize who the characters in a story are
Summarize the sequence of events in the middle
Summarize the end of a story
Predicting
Use knowledge of language structure to anticipate the text
Make predictions using information from pictures
Oral Communication
Active Listening
Social interaction around texts
Active Speaking
Speech conventions
Phonics, Spelling & Word Study
Early Literacy
Distinguish between print & pictures
Concepts
Understand the purpose of print in reading and writing
Recognize ones name
Using letters in ones name to represent it or write a
message
Understand the concepts of letter
Understand the concepts of first and last in written
language
Understand that one spoken word matches one group of
letters
Use ones name to learn about words and make
connections to words
Phonological
Connect words by sounds

Reading Unit 2- Kindergarten

Awareness

Letter Knowledge

Word-Solving Actions

Hear and say rhyming words

Hear and segment onsets and rimes
Hear and say beginning phonemes in words
Understand the concept of a letter
Distinguish letter forms
Produce letter names
Categorize letters by features (slanted or straight lines,
circles, tunnels, tails, dots, talls/shorts)
Recognize uppercase and lowercase letters
Understand that words are made up of letters
Recognize letters in words
Recognize letters in continuous text
Using efficient and consistent motions to form letters
Recognize and locate words (names)
Make connections between names and other words
Say words slowly to hear sounds in sequence

Interdisciplinary Unit Components

Social Science: This unit integrates NCSS theme of Family by asking students to draw upon immediate
personal experiences in their families and connect to the stories being read. The unit will also focus of
the importance of recognizing that all families are unique. The students will analyze the similarities and
differences between their families and other families.
Writing: Modeled writing will be interwoven throughout the unit to help students focus on the alphabetic
principle. This unit will continue to build upon the concept that oral language has a written counterpart.
This unit integrates shared writing and interactive writing to demonstrate to students the patterns and
structures of written language. With guidance and support from the teacher, the students will recall the
beginning, middle, and end of stories.

Text Resources (Read aloud texts varying between literature and informational)
English Anchor Texts:
The Relatives Came
My Great Aunt Arizona
Youre Born a Star
Abuelita
Kissing Hand
Tell Me Again About The Night I was Born
Owl Babies
No Matter What
Just Grampa and I

Spanish Anchor Texts:

Cuando llegaron los parientes
Mi tia Arizona
Naciste una Estrella
Abuelita
Un beso en mi mano
Dime otra vez el dia en que naci
Las lechusitas
No importa que
Abuelo y yo

Academic Vocabulary Necessary for Understanding the Content

uppercase, lowercase, first, last, title, author, illustrator, illustrations/pictures, stories, fiction, beginning, middle, end,
event, character, setting, sequence, family, relatives, mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin,
grandmother, grandfather

Unit Learning Activities and Learning Style Addressed

1. Teacher read-alouds with retell modeling
2. Turn and talk and tell your partner the B, M, and
E.
3. Chart paper to draw and label B,M, E
(shared/interactive writing)
4. Small groups to work on drawing/labeling the
B,M,E in an organizer
5. Independent graphic organizer for B, M, and E.
6. Popsicle stick puppet retelling of the story
7. What Is a Family? poster

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Auditory
Verbal/Auditory
Verbal/Auditory/Visual/Kinesthetic
Verbal/Auditory/Visual/Kinesthetic
Visual
Kinesthetic/Visual/Verbal
Visual
Visual
Auditory/Verbal/Visual

Reading Unit 2- Kindergarten

8. Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the
families in the stories to their own
9. Creation of a Family Time big book

ASSESSMENT
Summative Assessment of Priority Standards:
RL.K.1.
Students will listen to a book read aloud by the teacher. At the end of the read-aloud, each student will
describe key details about the beginning and end of the story in drawing and/or writing, in response to a
text-specific question. A rubric will be used to assess the students responses.
RL.K.3- Performance Task
The students will retell the major events from the beginning, middle, and end from the The Kissing Hand,
which will be read aloud by the teacher. The students will perform the major evens using stick puppet
characters from the story. A checklist, with room for anecdotal records, will be used to assess the
students progress.
SL.K.1
The day following the RL.K.1 assessment, the students will meet with the teacher in groups of six,
reviewing their drawing/writing from Task 1. Given an assigned partner and review of the reading and
work from RL.K.1 assessment, students will discuss the key details from the beginning and end of the text
represented in their drawing/writing, and ask their partners questions about the details represented. The
teacher will use the Speaking and Listening rubric to assess students discussions.
RFS.K.1
In a whole group Shared Reading method and with a big book, each student will take a turn leading the
class in the reading and demonstrate their print concept understanding. The teacher may use specific
prompts to elicit this demonstration. Students will then meet with a partner to explain print concepts that
they have learned throughout the unit to their partner. Teacher will use the RFS.K.1 checklist to assess
students understanding.
Formative Assessment of Priority and Secondary Standards:
Oral retell of the beginning and end
Oral retell of beginning, middle, an end
Pictorial representations of beginning, middle, and end
Anecdotal written records of the students reading behaviors
Checklists for assessment of retell skills