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

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ELA GK:M3:U2:L3

Reading, Speaking, 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).
  • LK.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • 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.5: With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
  • 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 Opening, use the Language Checklist to track students' progress toward L.K.5b.
  • During the read-aloud in Work Time A, continue to use the Reading Informational Text Checklist to track students' progress (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 Determine the Main Idea: Be a Friend to Trees, Pages 18-32 (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: Sharing Our Writing (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?
  • Work Times A and B both contain repeated routines from Lesson 2. Refer to that lesson for more detail. Continue to allow students to orally process their ideas before writing and drawing.
  • During the Opening, students identify and act out adjectives used to describe the living things in the "Who Depends on Trees?" riddles. This offers students multiple opportunities to engage with a text in fun and active ways and supports their developing vocabularies and knowledge of language (L.K.1d, L.K.1f, L.K.5b).

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • Students were introduced to several riddles in Lesson 2. During the Opening of this lesson, they study the adjectives included in those riddles more closely.
  • This is the second 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).

Down the road:

  • In this lesson, students finish reading Be a Friend to Trees to determine the main idea. In Lessons 4 and 7, students will return to portions of this text to more closely study how people and animals depend on trees for food.

In Advance

  • Prepare Living Things Word Wall cards for shelter and oxygen.
  • Post: Learning targets, "Who Depends on Trees?" Version 1, and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).
  • Determine students pairs for the Opening activity.

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.1, K.1.B.6, and K.1.C.12

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 shared writing. In a guided series of tasks, students analyze the use of adjectives and their opposites, generate their own language, and 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 spans pages 18-32 and covers a range of topics, from how animals use trees for homes to photosynthesis and recycling. 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:

  • Before adding illustrations to the poster with riddles, ask students to suggest ways to visually represent the adjectives you discuss. Consider creating a basket of items that exemplify the riddle adjectives for students to touch or observe closely. Starting in this lesson and in subsequent lessons, as you read the riddles, select a student to come match up the item with the written words and/or lift it out of the basket (e.g., a piece of furry and/or smooth material). Additionally, challenge students to identify classroom items or bring from home other examples of things that can be defined by the riddle adjectives.

For heavier support:

  • Before the partner share-out and writing in Work Time B, invite two students to model the question and possible answers to provide peer language modeling. In addition, as students draw and label their animals from class notes, provide struggling writers with index cards with illustrations for key words. They can use the index cards as guides.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, students engage with Be a Friend to Trees in a read-aloud. During this read-aloud, students notice facts about what trees provide. They need strong flexible thinking and metacognitive skills as they develop this knowledge. Provide scaffolds to support diverse abilities in using these skills, such as explicit highlighting of information in the text to guide students in new understandings.
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): Continue to support a range of fine motor abilities and writing needs by offering students options for writing utensils. Also consider supporting students' expressive skills by offering partial dictation of their responses.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Throughout this lesson, students have opportunities to share ideas and thinking with classmates. Continue to support student engagement and self-regulatory skills during these activities by helping them anticipate and manage frustration what to do if they need help from their classmates.

Vocabulary

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

New:

  • adjective (L)
  • shelter, oxygen (T)

Review:

  • main idea, depend, collaborate (L)

Materials

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

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

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.
  • Remind students that in the previous lesson, they read a few riddles and tried to figure out what the riddles were describing.
  • Remind students that the riddles described living things that depend on trees.
  • Tell students that today they are going to revisit the riddles, and this time they are going to focus their attention on specific words that describe those living things.
  • Tell students that words that describe the living things in the poem have a special name: adjectives.
  • Define adjectives (words that describe a person, place, or thing).
  • Direct students' attention to the posted "Who Depends on Trees?" Version 1. Tell them you are going to read the riddles again, stopping after each riddle to ask about the adjectives they hear that describe the living things in the riddles.
  • Read the first riddle and, as you read, circle or highlight the adjectives. Refer to "Who Depends on Trees?" Version 2 as necessary.
  • Reread the adjectives in the first riddle and tell students that these words describe a person.
  • Invite students to quietly and quickly stand up and use their bodies to act out each of the adjectives (example: students hold hand down low to show short and hold hand above head to show tall).
  • Repeat this process with the second riddle:
    • Read the riddle and, as you read, circle or highlight the adjectives.
    • Reread the adjectives and remind students that they are describing the subject of the riddle.
    • Invite students to quietly and quickly stand up and use their bodies to act out each of the adjectives.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What is the difference between the words short and tall, furry and smooth, fast and slow?" (They are opposites.)

  • Direct students' attention to the Adjectives anchor chart and briefly review it to confirm their understanding that the pairs of adjectives are opposites.
  • Tell students that now they are going to work with a partner to act out the opposite adjectives that have been collected on the Adjectives anchor chart.
    • Move students into pre-determined pairs.
    • Read the first pair of adjectives (short and tall).
    • Invite pairs to act out these adjectives.
    • Repeat the process with the remaining adjectives as time permits.
  • Circulate as students act out the adjectives and make note of progress toward L.K.5 using the Language Checklist (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
  • Tell students that over the next few lessons, they are going to do even more work with the adjectives in these riddles!
  • For ELLs: (Word Meaning) The definition of adjectives as words that "describe" may be abstract for some students. Consider saying: "This is how something looks (point to your eyes), feels (touch your hand), smells (point to your nose), or sounds (pull on your ear)." Post sketches or icons on the Adjectives anchor chart that will help jog students' memory.
  • For ELLs: (Leadership) As you read, consider inviting a student to model movements or gestures for the adjectives in front of the class, as classmates follow along.
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Scaffold understanding by providing a visual display of how adjectives describe objects. (Example: Write adjectives on index cards and affix to classroom objects.) (MMR)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reading Aloud to Determine the Main Idea: Be a Friend to Trees, Pages 18-32 (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 its main point or overall idea and that in the previous lesson they began reading the text.
  • Display Be a Friend to Trees, read the title aloud, and remind 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 information did we learn from this text when we read it in the previous lesson?" (People depend on trees for food. Animals get nuts from trees.)

  • 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."

"So far, based on what we have read, what is this text mainly about?" (It is about how people and animals depend on trees.)

  • Direct students' attention to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart and remind them that as they read, they can collect information to help them answer the question:
    • "How do living things depend on trees to meet their needs?"
  • While displaying the text, turn to page 18 and begin reading slowly and fluently through page 20.
  • Reread the third sentence on page 20 and focus students' attention on the word shelter.
  • Show students the Living Things Word Wall card for shelter (a place or structure that gives protection) 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.
  • Turn back to pages 18-19 and review the illustrations with students, pointing out what each section of the illustration shows (examples: birds building a nest, tree frogs living on branches, etc.).
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"These pages tell us and show us about another way that animals depend on trees. What do we learn from these pages about how animals depend on trees?" (Animals make homes in trees. Birds build nests, and squirrels live in tree trunks.)

  • As students share out, confirm their understanding that animals depend on trees for shelter. 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.
  • 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."

  • While still displaying the text, continue reading page 21 slowly and fluently.
  • Reread the last two sentences on page 21 and focus students' attention on the labels as you read them and connect them to the illustrations.
  • Tell students that page 21 tells us that people depend on the water that tree roots keep underground and add that idea to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart. Continue to refer to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • While still displaying the text, continue reading slowly and fluently through page 29.
  • Reread the first sentence on page 29 and focus students' attention on the word oxygen.
  • Show students the Living Things Word Wall card for oxygen (a gas that all living things need to breathe) 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.
  • Tell students that oxygen is the air that people and animals breathe and that trees provide us with this oxygen.
  • Turn back to page 27 and use the illustrations and labels to show that leaves push out oxygen so that people and animals can breathe.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

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

 "How do trees help us get air?" (Trees put clean air out so that humans and animals can breathe.)

  • As students share out, confirm their understanding that humans get air from trees. Capture their thinking on the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart.
  • Tell students they have gathered a lot of information from this text!
  • Direct students' attention back to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart. Turn and Talk:

"What did we learn from the words, illustrations, and labels of this book?" (People and animals depend on trees for shelter, air, and water.)

"What is the main point or overall idea of this text? 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 target a few students to share out with the whole group.
  • Inform students that during the next lesson, they will read a few sections of this text more closely to research more deeply how living things depend on trees.
  • For ELLs: (Text Engagement: Movement and Metacognition) Consider adding movements that help define shelter and oxygen (examples: lifting hands above your head in an arc for shelter, breathing deeply for oxygen). Ask a few students to share why those movements help us remember what the words mean.
  • For students who may need additional support with sustained engagement: Provide options for physical action by inviting students to join you in a quick movement break if they seem restless during the read-aloud. (MME)

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, similar to the previous lesson, they will now use the information they gathered during the read-aloud to write and draw about how living things depend on trees to meet their needs.
  • Use the same process as Work Time B of Lesson 2 to guide students through completing the Be a Friend to Trees response sheet.
    • Display the response sheet.
    • 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; people use the wood from trees; and/or people get sap from trees for syrup.)

    • As students discuss, encourage them to think of different ideas than the previous lesson.
    • Point out the Be a Friend to Trees response sheet and pencils already at their workspaces. Review the prompt and remind students to take their time to include details in their writing and labels in their drawings.
    • Transition students back to their workspaces and invite them to begin working.
    • Circulate to support students as they work and refer them to the Unit 2 Guiding Question anchor chart.
    • 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: (Visuals) Display photographs from Lesson 1 to help jog their memory. Tell them that this time they will draw their own pictures.
  • For students who may need additional support with self-regulation: Continue to give students a warning before the transition, provide a clear routine for what to do with unfinished work, and use a visual timer. (MME)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face Protocol: Sharing Our Writing (10 minutes)

  • Invite students back to the whole group area.
  • Tell students they will now share their completed Be a Friend to Trees response sheet with a classmate using the Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face protocol. Remind them that they used this protocol in Module 1 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.)
  • Guide students through the protocol to share their work.
  • Gather students whole group and provide specific, positive feedback about their ability to share their writing with a friend.
  • Tell students that over the next few lessons, they will research more closely how living things depend on trees!
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with sustained effort: (Partner Share-Out) Invite students to share what their partners said to promote attentive listening, retelling, paraphrasing, and peer language modeling. (MME)

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