Download Unit Plan for Kindergarten Narrative Account: September

Unit Plan for Kindergarten Narrative Account: September-October, 2009
Writer’s Workshop:
Week 1: Tell stories.
Big theme: We all have stories. Some are make-believe,
some are real.
Introduction: We all have stories. We tell our stories. We
draw our stories and then tell the story of our picture.
(Don’t worry about labeling yet).
** Start a chart. What do good writers do. What do good
readers do.nh
Reader’s Workshop:
Week 1: Tell Stories.
Big theme: Authors have stories to tell.
Their stories can be real or make believe.
Try to read at least one read aloud a day.
Focus: Routines of the writers workshop and
discuss read alouds.
**Decide with grade members which
touchstone to use week 3. This week read
aloud a new story each day.
Possible mini-lessons:
Mini-lessons:
 Model with your own story. Make sure to model real
 Day 1: How do we turn and talk with a
and make-believe stories.
partner?
 Invite people to come in to tell their stories—family
 Day 2: What did you like about the
and teachers.
story? Favorite part?
 Write a group story. Interactive writing/sharing the
 Day 3: What’s reading time going to
voice.
look like this year? What will we
spend our time doing as readers?
 Retelling read alouds. Interactive read alouds.
Teach structure of workshop model.
 Interactive read aloud questioning prompts:
 Day 4: Practice turn and talk and
o Where do you think the author came up with
workshop model. Discuss real or make
this idea?
believe. Do you think it’s real or make
o Do you think it’s real or make believe? Why?
believe? Why? How can you tell?
How can you tell?
 Day 5: How do reader’s hold a book
o How does the author show how the
character is feeling? (Look at illustrations,
and turn the pages? Discuss: Who’s in
words)
this story? Where does it take place?
o Connect to the text: Does it make you think of Who’s
Who’s in the Where
Real or
a time that you felt that way?
the
story?
is it?
make
o Turn and talk: Tell your partner about a time
author? (Characters) (Setting) believe?
that your were feeling _______.
Work time: Think about what you might want to draw
today. Go draw your story. Kids should draw a new story
every day this week.
Share/Discuss:
o Share with a partner. Tell your talking partner
the story of your picture.
o Whole group share—2 or 3 kids share a day
(doesn’t have to be all in one sitting).
 Encourage talk: After listening to the child’s
story, encourage talk around the story. Start
Work time: Kids go to their seats and choose
a book to talk about. Teachers do an informal
assessment of reading readiness skills.
 Readers think about and talk about
what’s happening in their book.
 Readers talk about whether the book

by modeling what you noticed: “I noticed
your story has… (setting, beginning, middle,
end)”. Start an attribute chart using the kids’
ideas and the kids’ stories.
Keep a chart (record) or the kids’ stories
each time someone shares. Make sure to
hear from every kid at least one time during
the week.
Who’s the Who’s in the
author?
story?
(Characters)
Jose’s

Where is
it?
(Setting)
Park in the
summer

ithey are looking at is about real
things or make-believe things.
Readers use the pictures to tell the
story.
Real or
make
believe?
Teach these conversation starters/question
frames:
o Who’s in the story?
o Where is it?
o How does the character feel?
o Kids should start asking other kids
these questions (it shouldn’t always
be the teacher). After a couple of days
kids should be asking ALL the
question.
Week 2: Telling stories and adding details.
Big theme: We all have stories. We tell our stories. We
draw our stories and then tell the story of our picture.
We revisit our stories and add details.
Possible mini-lessons:
 Stories have lots of events (things that happen).
Let’s count how many things happen in this story.
 We can retell events in order across our fingers.
(Who, where, what, what, what).
 Show how to think of more details.
 “When I was looking at my picture I
realized there were some things I
forgot to tell about…”
 Ask: Does anyone have a question
about my story?
 If not, model questioning your own
story—i.e.
 Where did this happen?
 How did the character feel
Week 2: Telling stories and adding details.
Big theme: Authors have stories to tell.
Their stories can be real or make believe.
**Note: This week read aloud a new story
each day.
Possible Mini-lessons:
 We look at the cover of a book and talk






when this happened?
 What were some of the main
events in my story?
 Model how to add speech bubbles
(even if kids can’t write the words,
they can orally explain what the
characters are saying; they can try to
write words—who knows what you’ll
see!)
Model with your own story. Make sure to model real
and make-believe stories.
Invite people to come in to tell their stories—family
and teachers.
Write a group story. Interactive writing/sharing the
voice.
Demo writing aloud. You write the story as you
think of the ideas.
Retelling read alouds. Interactive read alouds.
Interactive read aloud questioning prompts:
o Where do you think the author came up with
this idea?
o Do you think it’s real or make believe? Why?
How can you tell?
o How does the author show how the
character is feeling? (Look at illustrations,
words)
o Connect to the text: Does it make you think of
a time that you felt that way?
o Turn and talk: Tell your partner about a time
that your were feeling _______.
o Find or make student created books (from
last year’s K class). Read these aloud to
expose kids to what they could possibly do.
Work time: Think about what you might want to draw
today. Go draw your story. Kids should draw a new story
on day 1 this week. On day 2 they should revisit their
drawings/stories to add more detail. Day 3 start a new
story. Day 4 revise.
Share/Discuss:
o Share with a partner. Tell your talking partner
the story of your picture.
o Whole group share—2 or 3 kids share a day
(doesn’t have to be all in one sitting).
 Teach accountable talk around the story.



about what we think will happen.
We can retell events in order across
our fingers. (Who, where, what, what,
what).
Continue with questioning whether
the story is real or make believe.
Stories happen in different places, the
places change during the story. What
do we know about the setting?

Model “I wonder…” questions.
o I wonder why…
o I wonder how…
o I wonder what…
Keep a chart (record) or the kids’ stories
each time someone shares. Make sure to
hear from every kid at least one time during
the week.
Week 3: Telling stories and organizing ideas sequentially.
Big Idea: Things happen in stories. Things happen over
many pages.
** Word wall words that should be up: Kids names, month,
days of the week, names of family members, common
feeling words.
Possible Mini-lessons:
 Model a story and use a blank booklet (staple
together several pages). Connect to picture books—
notice that authors tell their story over many pages.
* Teachers you may need to differentiate this based
on developmental levels, i.e. kids drawing tadpole
people may benefit from continuing with one page
stories.
Work Time: Kids can write on one page or eight—it’s up to
them!
Art Connection: Kids make puppets in art (their own
characters).
Homework: 1.Tell stories with your puppets. 2. Read the
poem of the week at home.
Week 3: Telling stories and organizing ideas
sequentially.
Big Idea: Things happen in stories. Things
happen over many pages.
**Note: Start using a touchstone this week.
**This week you should start to introduce
three new vocabulary words from the
touchstones.
Possible Mini-lessons:
 Readers retell stories using props or
puppets.
 Retell by acting out.
 Retell using a (telephone)
conversation.
 Readers practice pointing to each
word (one-to-one correspondance).
* Introduce oral language center routines and
a few oral language centers.
 Oral language centers for beginning of the
year:
o Retelling, Sorting (objects),
o listening center,
o setting center (at the beach, long
ago, in the park, birthday party),
o poem of the week, talking about
calendar pictures—“oh look I see”
game- each time they name
something they see they get a
token;
o after first month: discussing
special vocab images and words,
letter knowledge/games.
o Book talk/book sell (why you
should read this book).
Possible mini-lessons for Weeks 4-7:
 Discuss: Does this story make you
think of a time that you felt that way?
 What makes a good story? What did
you like in this story?
 Where do you think the author came
up with this idea?
 How does the author show how the
character is feeling? (Look at


illustrations, words)
Turn and talk: Tell your partner about
a time that your were feeling _______.
Readers wonder what happens next.
o How is ___________ (character)
feeling?
o How does the author or
illustrator show the character
is feeling that way?
o Character feelings and
semantic mapping: Discuss
how the characters felt in the
story. Incorporating semantic
mapping into the discussions.
For example if they say “ I felt
happy”, start a discussion and
chart other ways to say happy
(content, etc.).