Reading, Speaking and Listening, and Writing: How Living Things Depend on Trees | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA GK:M3:U2:L2

Reading, Speaking and Listening, and Writing: How Living Things Depend on Trees

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • RI.K.2: With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
  • RI.K.4: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
  • RI.K.6: Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text.
  • 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).
  • L.K.1d: Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).
  • L.K.1f: Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
  • L.K.5b: Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their opposites (antonyms).
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can determine the main idea of the text Be a Friend to Trees. (RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4, RI.K.6, RI.K.7)

Ongoing Assessment

  • During the read-aloud in Work Time A, use the Reading Informational Text Checklist to track students' progress toward RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4, RI.K.6, and RI.K.7 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Poem and Movement: "Who Depends on Trees?" (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Reading Aloud to Research: Be a Friend to Trees, Pages 1-17 (25 minutes)

B. Writing to Respond to Text: How Do Trees Help Living Things Meet Their Needs? (15 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol: Reflecting on Collaboration (10 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • This lesson invites students to continue researching, reading, writing, and discussing ideas to support answering the Unit 2 guiding question: How do living things depend on trees to meet their needs?
  • This is the first lesson in a series of four (Lessons 2-4, 7) in which students use the informational text Be a Friend to Trees to research how living things depend on trees (RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4, RI.K.6, and RI.K.7).
  • During Work Time B, students write and draw to respond to a question about the text Be a Friend to Trees. Before independently writing and drawing, students discuss their ideas with a partner. Recall that offering students multiple opportunities and methods for responding to and processing information from a text supports their understanding of that text.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • In Lesson 1, students were introduced to the habit of character that is the focus of this unit: collaboration. In this lesson, they continue to reflect on how they demonstrate this habit of character and why it is important to do so.

Down the road:

  • Students continue to read aloud to research how living things depend on trees with the text Be a Friend to Trees across Lessons 3, 4, and 7.
  • In this lesson, students are introduced to a series of riddles describing different living things that depend on trees. In Lessons 3-6, they will engage with these riddles to learn more about adjectives. (L.K.1d, L.K.1f, and L.K.5b)

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Living Things Word Wall Cards for sap, twig, bud, and bark.
    • "Who Depends on Trees?" Version 1, by writing it on chart paper and hiding or covering the answer to each riddle.
  • Distribute Materials for Work Time B at student workspaces.
  • Post: Learning targets, "Who Depends on Trees?" Version 1, and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive white board or document camera to display lesson Materials.

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-2 to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards K.1.A.2, K.1.B.6, and K.1.B.8

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to interact with different types of text, including a riddle, an informational text, and a shared writing. Students practice finding and recording text-based evidence to answer a research question.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to recall the details of the read-aloud, since it covers pages 1-17 and many different ways trees are useful. Because ELLs may need to focus on understanding new Vocabulary (especially the text labels) and syntax, stop often to ask engagement questions that encourage retention.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • During Work Time C, consider reminding students that they can use the Word Wall, anchor charts, and classmates as resources to support their writing. In addition, students can draw their answers to the question first, and then use their drawing as a place from which to develop a written response.

For heavier support:

  • During the Opening, consider including visuals that exemplify the nouns and adjectives in the riddle. Before reading it aloud, use a total participation technique for students to predict what the riddle is about, using the pictures included as clues. This gives students the chance to register the meaning of the riddle before being asked to make sense of it by guessing the answer.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): Kindergarteners are developing spellers and benefit from environmental support to sound out words in their writing. Some students may need explicit prompting to use environmental print when they cannot recall letter sounds or sight words. As you model writing, emphasize process and effort by modeling how to sound out a word with tricky spelling and how to use environmental print.
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): Similar to Unit 1, continue to support a range of fine motor abilities and writing needs by offering students options for drawing utensils and writing tools.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Similar to Unit 1, continue to remind students of the learning goals and their value or relevance.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

New:

  • riddle (L)
  • sap, bud, twig, bark (T)

Review:

  • main idea, depend, collaborate (L)

Materials

  • "Who Depends on Trees?" Version 1 (one to display)
  • Be a Friend to Trees (one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Reading Informational Text Checklist (see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1; added to during Work Time B; see supporting Materials)
  • Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Living Things Word Wall card (new; teacher-created; four)
  • Living Things Word Wall (begun in Lesson 1; added to during Work Time A; see Teaching Notes)
  • Be a Friend to Trees response sheet (one per student and one to display)
  • Pencils (one per student)
  • Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol anchor chart (begun in Module 2)
  • Collaboration anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1)

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Poem and Movement: "Who Depends on Trees?" (10 minutes)

  • Gather students whole group.
  • Tell students that you have a few riddles to share with and teach them.
  • Briefly explain that a riddle is a puzzling, tricky, and often funny question asked as a game or as a test of one's thinking skills.
  • Share that you are going to try to challenge them with these riddles and their goal is to figure out what each riddle is describing!
  • Direct students' attention to "Who Depends on Trees?" Version 1 and read the first riddle aloud while tracking the print.
  • Invite students to think of hand gestures, motions, or accompanying actions to go along with the text as you reread the first riddle.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite students to act out their response to the question:

"What is this riddle describing? Who depends on a tree?" (a person)

  • With excitement, reveal the answer to the first riddle and read it aloud.
  • Repeat the process with the second riddle:
    • While tracking the print, read through the riddle once fluently and without interruption.
    • Invite students to think of accompanying hand gestures, motions, or actions to go along with the text as you reread the riddle.
    • Invite students to act out their response to the question:

"What is this riddle describing? Who depends on a tree?" (Responses will vary based on the riddle.)

    • With excitement, reveal the answer to the riddle and read it aloud.
  • Refocus students whole group and offer them specific, positive feedback on their work guessing who or what the riddles are describing.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Restating) Consider having students restate in their own words what a riddle is to reinforce the definition and also surface any misconceptions. (MMR)
  • For students who may need additional support with oral language and processing: Allow ample wait time during the discussion. (MMAE, MME)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reading Aloud to Research: Be a Friend to Trees, Pages 1-17 (25 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning target and read it aloud:

"I can determine the main idea of the text Be a Friend to Trees."

  • Remind students that the main idea of a text is the main point or overall idea of the text.
  • Display Be a Friend to Trees, read the title aloud, and inform students that the author of the text is Patricia Lauber and the illustrator is Holly Keller.
  • While reading, consider using the Reading Informational Text Checklist to assess students' progress toward RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.4, RI.K.6, and RI.K.7.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What parts of the book did the author, Patricia Lauber, contribute to?" (She wrote it.)

"What parts of the book did the illustrator, Holly Keller, contribute to?" (She created or drew the illustrations and pictures.)

  • While displaying the text, begin reading slowly and fluently through page 7.
  • Reread the text on page 7 and emphasize the second sentence:

"Both people and animals need trees of all kinds, sizes, and shapes."

  • Tell students that need is another way to say depend.
  • Direct students' attention to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart and inform them that, as they read, they will be able to collect information to help them answer the question:
    • "How do living things depend on trees to meet their needs?"
  • While still displaying the text, continue reading slowly and fluently through page 8.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"This page tells us and shows us about items we get from trees. What do you learn comes from trees from this page of text and illustrations?" (pencils, chairs, blocks, bats)

"What are all of those things made of?" (wood)

  • As students share out, confirm their understanding that all of these items are made of wood and come from trees. Capture their responses on the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart. Refer to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Invite students to safely and quietly mimic using something that is made of wood that comes from a tree (examples: writing with a pencil, swinging a baseball bat, sitting in a chair, etc.).
  • While still displaying the text, continue reading slowly and fluently through page 11.
  • Reread the first sentence on page 11 and focus students' attention on the word sap.
  • Show students the Living Things Word Wall card for sap (the liquid inside that carries nutrients and water to all parts of the plant) and follow the same process established in Modules 1-2: provide its definition, clap out its syllables, use it in a sentence, and place the Word Wall card and picture for it on the Living Things Word Wall.
  • Point to the labels on page 11 and read them aloud.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What information do the labels, illustrations, and text on this page give us about something that we depend on trees for?" (Sap comes from trees. Sap is used for syrup and gums.)

  • As students share out, confirm their understanding that sap comes from trees and is used to make syrup and gums. Capture their responses on the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart. Continue to refer to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Invite students to safely and quietly mimic a use for sap (examples: pouring syrup over pancakes, chewing gum, etc.).
  • While still displaying the text, continue reading slowly and fluently through page 13.
  • Reread the first sentence on page 13 and point to and read the labels.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"These pages tell and show us that we, humans, depend on trees. What do we learn from the text, illustrations, and labels that we depend on trees for?" (food)

"What are some of the foods that we get from trees?" (nuts, apples, oranges, and cherries)

  • If productive, use a Goal 4 Conversation Cue to encourage students to add on to what a classmate said:

"Who can add on to what your classmate said? I'll give you time to think."

  • As students share out, confirm their understanding that humans get food from trees. Capture their responses on the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart.
  • Invite students to safely and quietly mimic eating or picking a food from a tree (examples: biting into an apple, picking a cherry, munching on nuts, etc.).
  • While still displaying the text, continue reading slowly and fluently through page 15.
  • Point to and read the labels on pages 14-15 and inform students that the labels tell us what types of trees are in the illustrations.
  • Reread the last sentence on page 15 and emphasize the words bark, twig, and bud.
  • Show students the Living Things Word Wall cards for twig (a small branch), bud (the swelling on a plant that can grow into new parts, such as leaves or flowers), and bark (the outside cover of the trunks, branches, and roots) and follow the same process established in Modules 1-2: provide their definitions, clap out their syllables, use them in a sentence, and place the Word Wall cards and pictures on the Living Things Word Wall.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"These pages tell and show us that animals depend on trees. What do we learn from the text, illustrations, and labels that animals depend on trees for?" (food)

"What are some of the foods that animals get from trees?" (buds, twigs, nuts, seeds)

  • As students share out, confirm their understanding that animals get food from trees. Capture their responses on the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart.
  • Invite students to safely and quietly mimic an animal getting food from a tree (examples: bird eating leaves, squirrel munching on nuts, etc.).
  • While still displaying the text, continue reading slowly and fluently through page 17.
  • Direct students' attention back to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart. Turn and Talk:

"We gathered a lot of information from this book. What did we learn from the words, illustrations, and labels of this book?" (People and animals depend on trees. We get wood from trees. Animals get nuts from trees.)

"Based on what we read so far, what is this text mainly about? What is the main idea of the text?" (People and animals depend on trees for many things.)

  • As students talk, circulate and listen in to pre-select a few students to share out with the whole group.
  • Inform students that during the next lesson, they will continue reading this text to determine the main idea and gather more information to help them answer the Unit 2 guiding question.
  • For ELLs: (Realia) Consider having classroom items mentioned in the text prepared to share as you discuss them during the read-aloud (e.g., pencil, paper, an orange, a nut, some sap or syrup).
  • For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. "Some trees/can be tapped/for their sap." (Be a Friend to Trees page 11.)
    • Deconstruct: Discuss the sentence and each chunk. Language goals for focus structure:
      • for: "What is the reason some trees are tapped?" For points us to the reason the trees are tapped. (preposition)
      • sap: "For what?" What are the trees tapped for?" Trees can be tapped, or used, for sap. (noun)
      • their: "Whose sap?" The trees' sap. Their refers back to some trees. (possessive determiner)
    • Practice: Some trees can be used __________ [for their wood/for their fruit].
    • Reconstruct: Reread the sentence. Ask:

"How does this Language Dive add to your understanding of how we depend on trees?"

"What does Patricia Lauber say we can use tree sap to make?" [syrup/chewing gum/soap/rubber]

    • Practice: I would use tree sap for  _____. Ask:

"What is another way to say this sentence?"

  • To reduce barriers to comprehension, activate relevant prior knowledge of the learning target. Invite students to recall previous read-aloud sessions in which they determined main idea. (MMR)

B. Writing to Respond to Text: How Do Trees Help Living Things Meet Their Needs? (15 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group.
  • Offer students specific, positive feedback on their engagement and ability to find information to answer a question during the read-aloud.
  • Tell students that now they will have the chance to use the information they gathered during the read-aloud to write and draw about how living things depend on trees to meet their needs.
  • Display the Be a Friend to Trees response sheet. Tell students that before they write and draw, they will have a chance to work with a partner to discuss their ideas.
  • Turn and Talk:

"How do living things depend on trees to meet their needs?" (Responses will vary, but may include: People get food from trees; we use the wood from trees; we get sap from trees for syrup.)

  • Tell students that they will find the Be a Friend to Trees response sheet and pencils at their workspaces. Remind them of the prompt they are responding to and that they should include details in their writing and labels in their drawings.
  • Invite students to safely and respectfully return to their workspaces.
  • As students work, circulate to support them by prompting students to remember their earlier conversations with a classmate and by referring them to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart and the Living Things Word Wall as needed.
  • After about 8 minutes, signal students to stop working and invite them to put away their writing Materials in the designated area.
  • Refocus whole group.
  • Offer students specific, positive feedback on their drawing and writing for their responses.
  • For ELLs: (Sentence Frame: Hand Off) To encourage students to use complete sentences in speaking and writing, consider asking students to orally generate a sentence frame or starter before they share and write.
  • For students who may need additional support in organizing ideas for written expression: Consider inviting students to draw their idea first, and then offer support by asking about details in their drawing. (MMAE)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol: Reflecting on Collaboration (10 minutes)

  • Invite students back to the whole group area.
  • Tell students they are going to use the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol to reflect on collaboration. Remind them that they used this protocol in the previous lesson and review as necessary using the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol anchor chart. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • Before leading students through the protocol, direct their attention to the Collaboration anchor chart and briefly review it, including the definition of collaborate (to work well with others to get something done).
  • Guide students through two rounds of the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol using the following questions:

"How did you show this habit of character today?" (Responses will vary, but may include: I worked with my partner to discuss my ideas.)

"Why was it important for you to collaborate during today's activities?" (Responses will vary, but may include: If I didn't work well with my partner, I wouldn't have been able to discuss my ideas, and then I wouldn't have been able to complete my writing and drawing.)

  • Tell students that they have done hard work today being researchers, finding information to answer a new research question. Inform students that they will continue researching this new question over the next several lessons.
  • For ELLs: (Celebrate) Consider celebrating students who exemplify taking risks by sharing whole class.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Restating) Consider asking students to define the word collaborate in their own words. (MMR)

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