First Grade Unit Six

First Grade
Pacing Guides:
Unit Six Support

Culture, Time Periods & Revision

The primary purpose of this unit is to introduce students to legend and expose them to the stories, celebrations and traditions of other cultures. First grade readers may not all yet possess the reading skills to independently access legends, so there is an expectation that children will have rich read aloud opportunities. First grade readers are expected to articulate some of characteristics or facts about legends and are learning to make comparison statements about legends, celebrations and traditions representing different groups of people. They are learning to generate meaningful connections and questions, with an emphasis on response to legend. First grade readers are revisiting character, setting and being introduced to problem and solution. First grade writers continue to build their skills as writers with regular, daily opportunities to write across the curriculum and in writer’s workshop. They are expanding their ability use conventional spelling and increasing the sophistication of invented spelling. They are now be expected to reference and correctly spell all words from the District No Excuse List for first grade. They are expanding their strategies for revision through extension and inclusion of craft or detail First grade speakers can identify their address or community, follow rules of conversation are are active participants in choral reading, conversation and retellings. First grade listeners are expected to demonstrate an ability to follow three-step directions. At this point in the school year, first grade students are be assessed in a variety of ways to demonstrate proficiency in reading and word study.

District Provided Resources/Materials:
Big Books
Classroom Libraries
Personal Story Text Sets (Purchased for all first grade classrooms during the 2008-09 school year, see below for complete list of books)
Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists (A reference tool for word study K-12)

Suggested Professional Reading Online:
http://www.cylc.org/nylc/fuel/ (Website of the authors of The Daily Five--membership fee required)
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/ (Free newsletter, partial access without membership fee)

Suggested Professional Reading Offline:
Word Matters: Teaching Phonics and Spelling in the Reading/Writing Classroom (Pinell & Fountas), chapters four and eleven
Apprenticeship in Literacy: Transitions Across Reading and Writing (Dorn, French, Jones), chapter 7

Helpful Web Resources:
http://www.americanfolklore.net/ (Lots of support for thinking about folklore, including ESL support)
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html (Lots of folklore/mythology links organized alphabetically
http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/folk.html (Aaron Sheppard’s online collection of folk, fairy and legend, tall tales and legends, some reader’s theatre scripts)
www.theteacherscorner.net/thematicunits/talltales.htm (Thematic units for teaching tall tales, myths and legends)
http://www.cln.org/themes/fairytales.html (Lots MORE links related to legend, folk and fairy)
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-rhymes.htm (Fingerplays, action poems, nursery rhymes & songs)
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/transition-rhymes.htm (Transition time fingerplays, poetry & songs)
http://www.kididdles.com/ (Online lyrics to 100’s of familiar children’s music, organized thematically and alphabetically)
http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/songs/alphlist.html (Mrs. Jones Sing Along Songs for darned near everything you can think of)

Legend/Culture Story Text Set (In all first grade classrooms):
Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World
Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions…
Japanese Celebrations
American Indian Games: A True Bok
American Indian Families: A True Book
American Indian Festivals: A True Book
DK Readers: Holiday!
Whirlwind Is a Spirit Dancing
Coyote: A Trickster Tale
Jabuti the Tortoise: A Trickster Tale
Raven: A Trickster Tale
Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Take
How Coyote Stole Summer
Tomie DePaola’s Big Book of Favorite Legends
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes
Turtle’s Race With Beaver
Wake Up, World! A Day in the Life of Children…
Let’s Eat: What Children Eat Around the World
Hats, Hats, Hats (Around the World)
Shoes, Shoes, Shoes (Around the World)
Bread, Bread, Bread (Around the World)
All the Colors of the Earth
Life Around the World (Capstone Press Series)
Holidays and Culture (Capstone Press Series)

Other Suggested Books:

Teacher Created Resources

Assessments (A star indicates a required assessment):
First Grade Early Literacy Screening

Please See Assessment Calendar
for Assessment Window and Collection Deadlines !