Informative/Explanatory Fall Unit Introduction

Informative/Explanatory Fall Unit Introduction NOTE Common Core State Standards are listed in Table of Contents after each lesson title as well as on actual lesson pages. Sometimes, in the process of revising, original lessons were deleted or moved and new lessons added. Lesson numbers were not changed, but the pages were renumbered to be sequential in each unit. Unit Overview: Students will utilize graphic organizers and explore elements of informational text including the use of diagrams. In this unit, a class book will be created using the information from the graphic organizers. To incorporate the Common Core State Standard W.K.6, to "explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing," you may choose to: Take digital photographs of shared experiences. Create a PowerPoint of writing with voice recordings. Use story-making applications from ipads or other tablets. Type final projects. Share writing over school announcement system. Have students project the written pieces using a document camera. Student Goals for this Unit: Writing Stage: Precommunicative Students will write factual information about a topic based on previously read informational texts: make lists. use a graphic organizer. label a picture or diagram. 2. Students will attempt to use appropriate spacing to make writing more readable. 3. Students will use phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle to write (including using resources such as word wall, picture/sound cards, family word chart, etc.). Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-1 REVISED June 2014

Table of Contents Unit Introduction... IWF- 1 Table of Contents... IWF- 2 Lessons: 1. Making a List with a Graphic Organizer #1 (W.K.2; W.K.7; W.K.8)... IWF- 3 List Template... IWF- 5 2. Making a List using a T-Chart (W.K.2; W.K.7; W.K.8)... IWF- 7 2a. Class Book (W.K.2; W.K.7; W.K.8)....IWF- 9 4. Labeling a Picture or Diagram (W.K.2)... IWF-11 5. Using Resources - Alphabet/Sound Chart (Review as Needed)... IWF-13 6. Keeping Letters in a Word Close Together (Review as Needed)... IWF-15 7. Leaving Spaces Between Words (Review as Needed)... IWF-17 End of Unit Checklist: Informative Writing Fall... IWF-21 Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-2 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing Fall (Lesson 1) Making a List with a Graphic Organizer #1 Minilesson Teaching Point: Using graphic organizer #1 to make a list. Standard(s): W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. W.K.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). W.K.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. Materials: Chart paper organized to look like the graphic organizer you will use for this lesson (sample follows this lesson) Markers Graphic organizers for each student Connection: Writers, today we are starting a new type of writing. We are going to learn how to make a list using an informational book we have already read this year. Making a list will help us to organize what we know about a topic. Teach (modeling): Let s take a look back at the book, Life in the Ocean. As we picture walk through the book, remind yourself of something you learned that lives in the ocean. Now turn to your partner and tell them what you remember. Students turn and talk. Now that you remember what lives in the ocean we are going to make a list on this chart pad of what you remembered. On this chart pad is one example of a graphic organizer that writers use to organize their ideas about a topic they are writing about. At the top of this graphic organizer is a line for the title of our list. Since we are talking about what lives in the ocean I am going to write What Lives in the Ocean on this line. Write title on line. One of the things I remember that lives in the ocean is fish. First I will draw a picture of the fish in the box labeled by the number 1. Sketch the fish. Next I will write the word on the line stretching the sounds I hear in the word. Stretch out fish and write letters on line next to picture box. Active Engagement (guided practice): Raise your hand to tell me something else that lives in the ocean that we can add to our graphic organizer. Call on a student, sketch suggestion and stretch out word, adding letters to #2 on the list. Continue calling on students until list is completed. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-3 REVISED June 2014

Bridge to Independent Practice: Today you might want to make your own list using a copy of this graphic organizer on an informational topic you know about. Closure: Share student samples of independent graphic organizers. Reflection: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Scott Foresman, Life in the Ocean (or any other informational texts already read) Trees books from Foss Science Kit Thematic informational texts (i.e., pumpkins, farms, apples) Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-4 REVISED June 2014

Name: Date: List Title: 1. 2. 3. 4. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-5 REVISED June 2014

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Informative Writing Fall (Lesson 2) Making a List Using a T-Chart Minilesson Teaching Point: Making a T-Chart list about a specific topic. Standard(s): W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. W.K.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). W.K.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. Materials: Chart paper Markers Scott Foresman, Animal Babies in the Grasslands (or similar informational text of your choice) Connection: Writers often use a T-chart to make a list about their topic to help them understand what they have read and to organize their thoughts before beginning to write. Teach (modeling): Today we will take a look back at the informational book Animal Babies in the Grasslands. In this book we learned about some of the animals that live in grasslands and the names of their babies. We are going to use this information to make a T- Chart list. Draw a T-Chart on the chart paper, labeling the left side adult animal and right side baby animal. On this list, we will write the adult animal on this side of the chart and the baby animal on this side. Let s start at the beginning of the book. The first animal we see in the book is the elephant and her baby calf. I am going to write elephant on this side of the chart. Find the word elephant in the text and write it on T-Chart. Now I am going to write the word calf on the other side. Find the word calf in the text and write it on T-Chart. You may choose to sketch a picture next to the words on list. Active Engagement (guided practice): Now let s look at the next page. What animal do we see? Call on student for answer and write adult animal on left side and baby animal on right side of chart. Continue going through the book to complete the T-Chart list. You choose how to gather remaining information from book to add to T-Chart list (students raise hands, turn and talk to partner, whisper on count of 1-2-3, etc.) Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-7 REVISED June 2014

TIP: You may choose to complete lesson over multiple days. Save chart for future lessons. Bridge to Independent Practice: Writers, today you might choose to make a T-Chart list to organize your ideas to begin writing about an informational topic you know about. Closure: Pop up sharing of students T-Chart lists. Reflection: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-8 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing Fall (Lesson 2a) Class Book Minilesson Teaching Point: Using the T-chart to create a class pattern list book. Standard(s): (W.K.2; W.K.7; W.K.8) W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. W.K.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). W.K.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. Materials: Markers/Crayons Blank writing paper and/or paper with the sentence frame- (template included) Pencils Sentence Strips Pocket Chart Index cards with names of animals and corresponding babies T-Chart from previous lesson Connection: Writers, we ve been working on writing different types of lists. Today, we are going to use our t-chart to create a pattern list book. Teach (modeling): Let s review our T-Chart list we made about the informational text Animal Babies in Grasslands to remind ourselves of the adult and baby animals that live in the grasslands. Today, we are going to take the information from the T-Chart and make a class pattern list book. On this sentence strip, I wrote the pattern we re going to use in our class book. Read this with me: I see a with a little. (Put sentence strip at top of pocket chart to leave room under sentence to add word cards). Next, I m going to look at our T-Chart list and choose one animal to use in our sentence frame. The first animal I see that lives in the grasslands on our T-chart is an elephant and her baby, which is called a calf. On the first blank line, I will add the word card elephant in the pocket chart. On the next line, I will add the word card calf in the pocket chart. Now let s read the completed sentence together. Echo read the sentence together. Active Engagement (guided practice): What other adult animals and their babies live in the grasslands? Students turn and talk. Call on a student to share and find the corresponding word cards and place in the appropriate spaces under the sentence frame in the pocket chart. Let s read the completed sentence together. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-9 REVISED June 2014

Bridge to Independent Practice: Now it s your turn to create a page for our pattern list book. You may choose from two types of paper: one with the sentence frame we used on our pocket chart with the blanks or you can write the sentence frame on another writing workshop paper. Remember to use our T-chart to help you with your writing today. Closure: Provide time during Writing Workshop or at the end to share student samples. NOTE: It is important to celebrate student work. When the book is completed, choose a way to acknowledge the hard work students have done and the fact that you have made a book together. You may want to make a production of reading the book aloud. You could put the book in the library or share it with another class. Reflection: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Scott Foresman, Animal Babies in Grasslands (or any other informational texts already read) Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-10 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing Fall (Lesson 4) Labeling a Picture or Diagram Minilesson Teaching Point: How to label a picture or diagram. Standard(s): W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. Materials: Chart paper Markers Tree Poster from FOSS Science Kit (or choose from your own thematic units) Tree books from FOSS Science Kit Apple (cut in half, cross-section) Connection: Today, we re going to learn how to label a picture or a diagram. Labeling is an important component of an informational text. Writers use a picture or diagram to help readers understand or visualize the details in informational text. Teach (modeling): Let s take a look at this diagram of a tree that we worked on earlier in the year. This diagram helped us learn about the different parts of a tree. Today, we re going to use a diagram of an apple with our writing. Writers use a picture or diagram to help readers understand or visualize the topic of the informational text. Remembering what we know about the parts of a tree will help us with creating a labeled diagram of an apple. Active Engagement (guided practice): Show the students the apple. Students turn and talk about what they know about the apple. As a writer begins to sketch their diagram, they look at the shape of the object. What shape do you see? Then, sketch the outline of the apple on paper and next to it, draw a cross-section to label. As you label the parts of the apple, (i.e. skin, seeds, stem, flesh), draw a line from the part of the apple and write the word. When finished, students will read the parts of the labeled diagram with you. Bridge to Independent Practice: Make a picture of something you would like to draw and label. Maybe it s a person, car, a flower, or cat. Tell yourself what you re thinking. Now turn and talk. Today, you might want to make your own labeled diagram about an informational topic you know about. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-11 REVISED June 2014

Closure: Share student samples of labeled diagrams. Reflection: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Trees books from Foss Science Kit Thematic informational texts (i.e., pumpkins, farms, apples) Gail Gibbons books Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-12 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing Fall (Lesson 5) Using Resources - Alphabet/Sound Chart Minilesson Teaching Point: Students will learn how to use resources to help them during Writing Workshop. For this lesson, the focus will be re-visiting one resource, the alphabet/sound chart. Standard(s): ELA.K.WRT.2.6 Write some consonant-vowel-consonant words such as man, cat, and run (demonstrating alphabetic principle). ELA.K.WRT.5.3 Demonstrate semi-phonetic to phonic stage spelling by using phonemic awareness and letter knowledge. Materials: Chart paper Chart markers Enlarged Alphabet/sound chart (Scott Foresman or other) Individual alphabet/sound chart for each student The alphabet/sound chart should have already been introduced to students during phonemic awareness activities outside of Writing Workshop time. The students should have practiced naming the letters and pictures and producing the sounds. TIP: Other possible resources to use and introduce: word wall, thematic word posters/ lists/books, class books, student names Connection: Writers, remember how we used this chart to help us learn letter names and sounds? Today, we are going to use our alphabet/sound chart to help us during Writing Workshop when we are writing words. Teach (modeling): I want you to watch me as I write and notice how I use the alphabet/sound chart. Model a think aloud about your writing, then begin to write. I want to write about when I went fishing on a boat this summer. Draw a quick sketch and begin to write the words. Pause at the word fishing. /f/... /f/... fishing. I can use this chart to help me. I will read through the pictures until I find the one that starts like /f/. Demonstrate saying the letters and naming the pictures until you get to Ff. Fishing starts like fountain. I am going to look at the f so that I know how to write it. Model looking at the f and writing an f, then continues writing. Boat... /t/. Model the strategy again using the chart. Reread your writing for the class. TIP: You may adapt this lesson and focus the mini-lesson on magic lines. Students will see that, if they are unable to identify the letter sound, they may use a magic line to hold its place. Magic lines may also be used as a placeholder for whole words if necessary. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-13 REVISED June 2014

Active Engagement (guided practice): Writers, what did you notice that I did when I was writing today? How did I use the alphabet/sound chart? Confirm or clear up their understanding of how to use the resource to help them write. Bridge to Independent Practice: Writers, you will be able to use these charts to help you write, just like I did. You can find these charts, so that you will always have them handy. TIP: You should decide where to store these charts or how students can access them. Some teachers choose to have these in their writing folders/notebooks, on their desks, or in an easily accessible location in the classroom. Be sure to teach the procedures for accessing and caring for this resource. Allow time to write. Closure: Gather students on the carpet. Ask students if anyone used the alphabet/sound chart today. Acknowledge students who used this new resource. Strong writers use resources to help them get their ideas on paper. They don t want to waste a lot of time because they might lose their good thinking. When you know what resources to use and how to use them, you become a stronger writer. Reflection: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Adapted from Calkins, Lucy, Launching the Writing Workshop, pages 74-75. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-14 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing Fall (Lesson 6) Keeping Letters in a Word Close Together Minilesson Teaching Point: Keeping letters in a word close together. Standard(s): ELA.K.WRT.2.2 Write by moving from left to right and from top to bottom. Materials: Chart paper (or whiteboard, document camera, smartboard, overhead) Dry erase boards and markers Writing Folders or Notebooks Connection: As writers, it s important to keep the letters close together when we are writing a word. This makes it easier for the reader to read our writing. Today, we re learning how to write the letters close together to write words. Teach (modeling): Words are made up of letters, so when I write, I need to keep all the letters of the word close together. Write first word in sentence (i.e. The dog is brown and white). I need to help my readers see which letters go together to make the word. When I write the word the, notice how I write the letters t-h-e close together. That tells my reader this group of words is one word. Do you see how I keep all the letters in a word close together? Finish writing the sentence, selecting another word to model aloud. When I finish my message, I will reread my sentence again to make sure that all the letters in each word are close together. Now write a sentence where some of the words are spaced with too much or too little space between words and demonstrate trying to read the sentence. (These tear so well.) T h e s et e a r s o we ll Do you see how important it is to keep all the letters of each word close together so readers can get the message? Let s practice writing some words. TIP: Add leave spaces between words to a class writing chart. Active Engagement (guided practice): (Pass out the dry erase boards and markers.) Writers, now it is your turn to write some words on your dry erase board and then see if your partner can count how many words you wrote. Remember, we keep letters in a word close together so we know they form a word. Students write and then turn and talk. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-15 REVISED June 2014

You may want to demonstrate writing some words so students can see some spellings or dictating some simple words most students will know how to spell. Allow some time for everyone to write and share some words. Writers, talk about what you noticed about your classmate s writing. Were the letters of each word close together? Could you count the number of words correctly? Bridge to Independent Practice: When you write today, remember to keep the letters of each word close together. Closure: Choose two or three students to show their work with letters of words close together. Reflection: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Linda Hoyt and Teresa Therriault, Mastering the Mechanics (K-1) (p.52) Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-16 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing Fall (Lesson 7) Leaving Space Between Words Minilesson Teaching Point: Leaving spaces between words when writing. Standard(s): ELA.K.WRT.2.2 Write by moving from left to right and from top to bottom. Materials: Chart paper (or whiteboard, document camera, smartboard, overhead) Copies of teacher writing sample (i.e. sentence from morning message or create your own) Pencils Writing Folders or Notebooks Highlighters (optional) Connection: Writers, yesterday we learned about keeping the letters of each word close together. As writers, it s important to leave spaces between words to let the reader know where a word begins or ends. This makes it easier for the reader to read our writing. Today, we re learning how to use spaces between our words when writing. Teach (modeling): Words are made up of letters so when I write, I have to think about spacing. I need to be sure that I leave spaces between words so each word is separated. Write the first word of a sentence (i.e. the). Now watch me leave a space before I start the next word. Finish writing the sentence, demonstrating another space between two words. When I finish my message, I will reread my sentence again to make sure that there are spaces between my words. Now write a sentence with no space between words and demonstrate trying to read the sentence. (These tear so well.) T h e s et e a r s o we ll Do you see how important it is to put space between our words? TIP: Add leave spaces between words to a class writing chart. Active Engagement (guided practice): Writers, now I am going to give you a paper. There is a sentence on this paper. We will highlight (or have students circle with pencil) the spaces between the words in the sentence and then count the words. Please take a moment to do that now. Assist students as needed. How many words did you find? Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-17 REVISED June 2014

Bridge to Independent Practice: When you are writing today, remember to keep the letters of each word close together and leave space between the words. Closure: Choose two or three students to show work that demonstrates space between words. Reflection: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Linda Hoyt and Teresa Therriault, Mastering the Mechanics (K-1) (p.52) Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-18 REVISED June 2014

End of Unit Checklist: Informative Fall Marking Key: X = Independently / = With Support = Not Yet Demonstrating STUDENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Writes factual information about a familiar topic. Makes lists. Uses a graphic organizer. Labels a picture or diagram. Attempts to use spacing to make writing more readable. Use phonemic awareness to write. Uses resources to spell. Kindergarten Writing! Informative Fall IWF-19 REVISED June 2014

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