Celebrating Fall

Students begin a year-long exploration of the seasons and how weather, plants, and animals are different depending on the season by reading about the beauties of fall and fall harvests.

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ELA

Unit 3

Kindergarten

Unit Summary


In this unit, students begin a year-long exploration of the seasons and how weather, plants, and animals are different depending on the season by studying the beauties of fall and fall harvests.. This unit is a chance for students to stop and think about the changes that are happening in the natural world around them and why the changes happen. It is our hope that by the end of the year, after studying winter and spring in subsequent units, students will have a deeper understanding of the unique features of each season.

This is students’ first introduction to informational texts and reading to learn information. Because the subject matter relates to students’ daily lives, they should be challenged to ask questions and make connections between what they are reading and learning and what they are seeing outside. Students will also begin to explore the idea of a main topic, identifying key details that tell more about the main topic. Additionally, students will begin to think about how details are connected. When discussing the text, students continue to work on clarifying and sharing their thoughts about texts read or information presented orally by asking and answering questions. Students also begin to learn strategies for continuing conversations through multiple exchanges.

Students continue to build their writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question. Students begin to learn strategies for how to craft different types of sentences, learning how to construct simple sentences orally and in writing, if they are ready. Students also begin to write informational texts by adding details to their drawings in order to explain key facts. 

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Texts and Materials


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Core Materials

Supporting Materials

Assessment


These assessments accompany this unit and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

Unit Launch

Before you teach this unit, unpack the texts, themes, and core standards through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.

Essential Questions

  • What makes fall special?
  • What is the weather like in the fall? How does the weather impact different living things?

Reading Focus Areas

  • Readers ask and answer questions about key details in a text to learn more about a specific topic. 
  • The main topic is what the text is mostly about. Key details tell more about the main topic.
  • To understand an informational text, readers think about how details are connected. 

Writing Focus Areas

Informational Writing Focus Areas

  • Name the topic they are writing about. 
  • Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to include some information about the topic. 

Speaking and Listening Focus Areas

  • Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions. 
  • Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. 
  • Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally by asking and answering questions about key details. 
  • Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. 

Vocabulary

Text-based

collect crop fall/autumn forecasting harvest jagged narrow observe record ripe smooth stem vine weather wide

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 3, view our Kindergarten Vocabulary Glossary.

Supporting All Students

In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the intellectual preparation protocol and the Unit Launch to determine which support students will need. To learn more, visit the Supporting all Students teacher tool.

Content Knowledge and Connections

  • Identify autumn/fall and characteristics of local weather patterns during fall.
  • Chilly, windy, frost, cloudy, rain
  • Explain why leaves change colors and describe the different types of leaves they may see.
  • Identify apples and pumpkins as fall harvests.
  • Identify the basic parts of a pumpkin plant (seed, root, stem, branch, leaf).
  • Identify facts about apples and how they grow.

Lesson Map


Common Core Standards


Core Standards

K-ESS2-1
K-ESS2-2
K-ESS3-2
L.K.1
L.K.1.b
L.K.1.c
L.K.1.d
L.K.1.f
L.K.2
L.K.2.b
L.K.6
RI.K.1
RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.4
RL.K.1
RL.K.2
RL.K.3
RL.K.5
SL.K.1
SL.K.2
SL.K.3
SL.K.6
W.K.2
W.K.8

Supporting Standards

L.K.1.a
RI.K.5
RI.K.6
RI.K.10
RL.K.4
RL.K.9
RL.K.10
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Unit 2

Noticing Patterns in Stories

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Unit 4

Falling in Love with Authors and Illustrators

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