Curriculum

Children will ask and answer questions about key details in a text. For example, after reading a story together, the teacher might prompt the class with questions like, "What was the main problem in the story?" or "Who are the main characters?" Students will then respond with answers such as, "The main problem was that the cat wanted to find its way home," or "The main characters are the cat and the dog."

Children will retell stories including key details and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. For example, after reading "The Tortoise and the Hare," a teacher can ask a 6-year-old to recount the story. The child might say, "The tortoise walked very slowly but didn't stop, and the hare ran fast and then took a nap." The teacher might then lead the child to discuss the lesson by asking, "What does the story teach us?"

Children will identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. For example, after reading a story about animals on a farm, the teacher might ask, "What is the main topic of this story?" The children could respond, "The main topic is farm animals." Then, the teacher may prompt them to retell key details by asking, "Can you tell me some important things that happened in the story?" The children might say, "The cow gives milk, the chickens lay eggs, and the pig likes to roll in the mud."

Children will describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. For example, after reading "Corduroy" by Don Freeman, a teacher might ask a 6-year-old to tell about the main character. The child might say, "Corduroy is a small teddy bear who wears green overalls and lives in a department store." Moving on to the setting, the teacher could prompt, "Where does the story happen?" to which the child might respond, "First in the department store and then in a little girl’s home." Discussing the major events, the child might recount, "Corduroy tries to find a button for his overalls, gets in trouble, but then a girl named Lisa buys him and takes him home.”

Children will describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. For example, after reading a story about a boy who helps a lost puppy find its way home, the teacher might ask, "How are the boy and the puppy connected in the story?" The children could respond, "The boy helps the puppy because it is lost." The teacher may then prompt them to think about an event, asking, "What happened when the boy met the puppy?" The children might say, "The boy felt happy when he found the puppy and decided to take care of it."

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.

Children will ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text. For example, if they read a sentence like "The brown bear hibernates in winter," they might ask, "What does 'hibernate' mean?" and find out that it means to sleep for a long time during winter. Similarly, if they come across a sentence like "Bees collect nectar from flowers," they might ask, "What is 'nectar'?" and learn that it is a sweet liquid that flowers make.

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 know and use various text features to locate key facts or information in a text. This means they will learn to look at headings to see what a section is about, use the table of contents to find the right page for a topic, check the glossary to understand the meaning of new words, and click on icons in digital texts to get more information.

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.