| The Kindergarten units of study for writing begin building on students’ oral language by talking with partners and becoming focused storytellers. The routines and rituals have been established. Students have begun getting their thoughts down on paper through pictures, labels, letters, and words. In this unit, students are moving from writing a whole story to writing about a particular small moment that mattered most. Through a combination of drawing and writing, emphasis will be placed on narrating a single event, telling about the events in order, and providing a reaction to what happened. Growing as Small Moment Writers begins with immersing students in text that illustrates the type of writing we hope students will emulate. These exemplar texts should teach students that small moments are focused, true stories that have specific details and are written in a sequential order. During this immersion phase, students will be generating and collecting story ideas for their own writing. Students will use what they have learned about planning their writing to help them create small moment stories. Through rehearsing and drafting, students will begin to zoom into one tiny moment and stretch the small moment across many pages. They will recall and record their reactions to small moments and name their feelings. They begin to include lots of interesting details. They will learn that writers can tell their story again and again; each time putting in more dialogue via speech bubbles, actions, thoughts, and/or feelings. This will help make a piece more like a story and less like a summary. Students will examine the readability of their small moment stories. Emphasis will be placed on writing sentences that match their pictures, writing known words quickly, writing new words based on known words, hearing and recording sounds in sequence, and using spacing between words. The unit ends with the students fine tuning, publishing, and sharing their best small moment stories. A celebration of student growth and recognition of their growing knowledge for writing culminates this unit.
|
| MI: ELA & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects K-5 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. W.K.3. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. W.K.5. With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed. 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. W.K.6. With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. SL.K.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. SL.K.1a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion). SL.K.1b. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. 2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. SL.K.2. Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. 3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. SL.K.3. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. SL.K.4. Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail. 5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations. SL.K.5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail. 6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. SL.K.6. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. Conventions of Standard English
1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. L.K.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. L.K.1a. Print many upper- and lowercase letters. L.K.1b. Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs. L.K.1c. Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes). L.K.1d. Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how). L.K.1e. Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with). L.K.1f. Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities. 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. L.K.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. L.K.2a. Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I. L.K.2c. Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes). L.K.2d. Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. | While the information contained here is not related to Unit Level Standards, important information related to UDL is included for your reference. What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? UDL is a research-based framework that focuses on proactive design and delivery of curriculum, instruction and assessment. UDL provides opportunities for every student to learn and show what they know, with high expectations for all learners.
Each student learns in a unique manner so a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective. UDL principles create options for how instruction is presented, how students express their ideas, and how teachers can engage students in their learning. (NY DOE)
© CAST, 2013 |
| Part One: On-Demand Assessment Part Two: Immersion Phase – Sample Lessons Concept I:Writers use mentor text to study characteristics of Small Moment stories and generate story ideas. Part Three: Lesson Sequence Phase Concept II: Writers think, rehearse, and write small moment stories. Session 1 Writers find small moments and stretch those moments out across pages. Session 2 Writers rehearse using a story hand and touching pages. Session 3 Writers focus in on one a small moment. Session 4 Writers reread as they write to make sure they have focused in on one small moment. Concept III: Writers try writing more. Session 5 Writers tell what happened first, next and last (sequential narrative). Session 6 Writers spell words by stretching them out. Session 7 Writers write known words in a snap. Session 8 Writers act out their stories with partners to help them revise. Session 9 Writers use strategies to spell new words. Concept IV: Writers include details, thoughts, and feelings. Session 10 Writers add their thoughts about what happened. Session 11 Writers add feelings to their stories. Session 12 Writers reread their writing to check for all the important parts. Session 13 Writers and readers use the same strategies. Concept V: Writers revise, publish, and share their best small moment stories. Session 14 Writers write ‘end in the moment’ story endings. Session 15 Writers choose a small moment story to improve and make it easier to read. Session 16 Writers reread to make sure snap words are spelled correctly. Session 17 Authors’ Celebration. | Teacher Resources Mentor Text Bippity Bop Barbershop- Natasha Anastasia Tarpley Hello Ocean- Pam Munoz Ryan Hot Dogs-Beverly Randall (Rigby) In the Meadow-Yukiko Kato Max’s Bedtime-Rosemary Wells Molly at the Seashore-Kate Pope and Liz Pope Molly in the Garden-Kate Pope and Liz Pope Night Shift Daddy-Eileen Spinelli Peter’s Chair-Ezra Jack Keats The Big Kick-Beverly Randall (Rigby) Wake Up, Dad!-Beverly Randall (Rigby) Teacher Reference Calkins, L. - Curricular Plan for Writing Workshop http://readingandwritingproject.com Calkins, Lucy. (2013). Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing Elementary Series: A Common Core Workshop Curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. |
