Curriculum

Children will distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text. This means they will learn to notice what details come from the images and what details come from the written text. For example, if they see a picture of a dog playing in a park and read the sentence "The dog is running fast," they will understand that the picture shows how the dog looks and where it is, while the words describe what the dog is doing

With prompting and support, children will describe how illustrations relate to the story they are in. For example, using "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, a teacher might show the page where the caterpillar eats an apple and ask, "What part of the story does this picture show?" This helps children see how pictures help tell the story, enhancing their understanding and enjoyment of the book.

(Not applicable to literature)

Children will use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas. This means they will look at the pictures and read the text to understand the main points. For example, if they see a picture of a butterfly and read about how it grows from a caterpillar, they will use both the image and the words to explain the life cycle of a butterfly.

(Not applicable to literature)

Children will, with prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear. For example, after reading a story, the teacher might ask, "What does this picture show?" The children could respond, "It shows the bunny and the carrot." The teacher might then prompt them to connect that illustration to the text by asking, "How does this picture help us understand what happens in the story?" The children might answer, "It helps us see what the bunny looks like and where he is."

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.

Children will identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text. This means they will read and find specific explanations or examples that the author provides to explain their ideas. For example, if they read that "eating vegetables is healthy," they will look for reasons like "vegetables have vitamins" and "they make you strong" to see why the author thinks eating vegetables is good.

With prompting and support, children will compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories. For example, a teacher might read two stories like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Three Little Pigs." Afterward, the teacher can ask the children, "How are Goldilocks' adventures different from those of the three pigs?" and "What similar things happened to Goldilocks and the pigs in their stories?" This activity helps children understand the characters' actions and experiences, encouraging them to think about stories in a deeper way and notice similarities and differences.

Children will, with prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text. For example, after reading a nonfiction text, the teacher might ask, "What reasons does the author give to explain why trees are important?" The children could respond with answers such as, "The author says trees provide oxygen and homes for animals." The teacher may encourage them to look back at the text for specific phrases that support their answers, helping them understand how authors use reasons to back up their main points.