Curriculum

Children will learn to enhance their writing by responding to feedback with adult help. For example, a 5-year-old writes about a day at the zoo and draws a picture of animals they saw. An adult might ask, "What sounds did the animals make?" or a peer might suggest, "Write about the big elephant you saw!" The child can then add these details to their writing, such as "The lion roared loudly" or "The big elephant sprayed water with its trunk."

Children will use drawing, dictating, and writing to tell a story. Using "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, a 5-year-old might draw and label the caterpillar eating foods from Monday to Sunday. They could dictate or write, "First, he ate an apple. Then, two pears." They might finish by saying, "I liked when he turned into a butterfly," showing how to sequence events and express reactions.

Children will combine drawing, dictating, and writing to create informative texts about a specific topic. For instance, a 5-year-old could choose the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle to explain the lifecycle of a butterfly. The child might draw the stages the caterpillar goes through, from egg to butterfly, dictate to an adult or jot down basic sentences like, "The caterpillar starts as an egg on a leaf." They could add, "It eats a lot and grows, then sleeps in a cocoon before becoming a butterfly."

Children will read prose and poetry that is suitably complex for their grade level with some prompting and support. For instance, in a grade 1 classroom, a teacher might introduce a simple poem like "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear and a short story such as "Frog and Toad Are Friends" by Arnold Lobel. The teacher could help the children through challenging words and phrases, guide them in understanding the flow of the poetry, and discuss the plot and characters in the story.

Children will compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in different stories. For example, using Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" and Ezra Jack Keats' "The Snowy Day," a teacher might guide a discussion on how each character's adventure differs. They could discuss how Max sails to an island of Wild Things and becomes their king, full of wild rumpuses, while Peter explores his neighborhood after a snowfall, experiencing the quiet and peaceful scenes of winter.

(Not applicable to literature)

Children will use illustrations and details in the story "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak to describe its characters, setting, or events. For instance, a teacher can ask, "Can you describe where Max sails to using the pictures?" Children might talk about the wide ocean and the forest of the Wild Things seen in the illustrations. They could also describe Max and the Wild Things from the way they are drawn, noting emotions and actions like Max's king costume and the Wild Things' wild dances.

Children will learn to identify who is telling the story at various points in a text by using familiar books. For example, using "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak, a teacher can ask the children, "Who is telling the story here?" The children will notice that the story is told by a narrator who describes Max's adventures in a third-person perspective.

Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.

Children will identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. For instance, in reading the classic poem "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" by Edward Lear, a teacher might ask the children to listen closely for words that describe how the characters feel or what they see, hear, or touch. The teacher could then ask, "What words tell us how the owl feels about the pussycat?" or "What phrases describe the boat they sail in?" The children might respond with phrases like "beautiful pea green boat," which appeals to the sense of sight, or "they danced by the light of the moon," which suggests a joyful feeling.