Following the Common Core Standards- The Evolution of a Unit

We recently began an integrated Language Arts/Social Studies Unit, called "Family, Friends, and Feelings."  As the opening activity to our unit, I introduced a Venn diagram as a tool they can use to compare things.  We read books about different families...

 then used Venn diagrams to compare our own families as a class.

 Then we thought about comparing how we felt about foods.  Together with partners, students used Venn diagrams to compare foods they liked!

But our comparing didn't stop there!  We decided to start comparing characters in different books.  We realized that Venn diagrams are not the only way you can compare things, they are just one way to organize your thoughts!

 

Then we read Stellaluna.  It is a fiction book about a bat who gets lost and lives with birds.  My intention was to have students compare the Stellaluna, a bat, with the bird characters in the book (Pip, Flap, and Flitter).  However, some students wanted more of a challenge so they compared/contrasted characters that were the same species:

 

 

 

 

After we read Stellaluna, it really got us thinking!  It made us wonder about real life bats and birds.  First we generated a list of questions the students had, and I asked them where we could find the answers.  We decided to look in nonfiction, teaching books from the school library about bats and birds to find the answers to our questions:

 

   

 

 Here are the books we used:

 

 And look at all the great information we found!

By integrating a unit with Language Arts, Science, & Social Studies the students really showed some impressive higher level thinking skills and learned some lessons about practical ways we use books!  We also addressed all of these standards:

Reading: Literature

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.9 With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. 

Reading: Informational Text 

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.5 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

Writing

•  CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Speaking/Listening

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.1a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.1b Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.6 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.