unit 2 - kindness

Copyright © Dr. Amy Murdoch, 2019 Murdoch, Warburg, & Corbo Mount St. Joseph University, 5/2021

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Unit 2 - Kindness

Knowledge Building Targets Ways to show kindness to our friends,

family, animals, planet

Caring Animal Jobs: Veterinarian, zoo

keeper, animal shelter worker

Places: animal shelter, Vet, zoo

Life cycle of dog and cat

Vet’s tools: Stethoscope, thermometer,

scale, measuring tape, x-ray, tweezers, etc.

Earth is our planet to take care of

Environmentalism: recycling, conservation

Earth Day

Oral Language Skill Targets Answering questions

Stating an opinion

Basic Vocabulary—prepositions, basic

directional words

Academic Vocabulary- kindness, recycling,

softly, planet, good deeds, Veterinarian, etc.

Story Vocabulary: author, illustrator, title,

Character-Who, Setting--Where

Length of sentences

Extended decontextualized accounts,

explanations, and narratives

Retelling/Summarizing

Early Literacy Skills Alphabet Letter Names & Sounds

Name Recognition

Phonemic awareness

Print/Book Skills: title, author,

directionality

Listening Comprehension

Answering key questions (focus on

Who, When, What questions)

Memory for events

Retelling

Sequencing of events

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Knowledge of Common Stories

Writing Skills: Prewriting strokes, Letter

formation, Shared writing

Math Skills Shapes

Directional words

Small Number Recognition without Counting

Counting

Number Recognition

More Than, Less Than, Equal To

Number-after knowledge

Number comparisons

Number-after equals one more

Addition

Subtraction Categories: Sizes

Patterns

Story Problems


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Table of Contents

Unit 2: Kindness Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

Material List for Unit 2-Kindness ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Circle Time with Follow up Activities - 1, 2, 3, Shared Story Routine .................................................................................. 6

Shared Writing Experience - Basic Outline ............................................................................................................................ 7

Kindness Unit Center: Creating a Kindness Garden Activity ................................................................................................. 8

Kindness, Part 1—Showing Kindness to Family & Friends ................................................................................................... 9

Book 1: Showing Kindness by Bullfrog Books .................................................................................................................. 9

Book 2: Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen ......................................................................................................... 12

Book 3: Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry & Tom Lichtenheld ............................................................................................ 18

Book 4: Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story by JaNay Brown-Wood .................................................................. 21

Book 5: One Winter’s Day by Christina Butler & Tina Macnaughton (Challenge Book) ............................................... 24

Book 5: How Kind! By Mary Murphy (Simpler Book) .................................................................................................... 27

Kindness Part 2—Showing Kindness to Animals ................................................................................................................. 29

Book 6: Kitten and the Night Watchman by John Sullivan .............................................................................................. 29

The Veterinarian’s Office Center ...................................................................................................................................... 34

Book 7: Biscuit Visits the Doctor by Alyssa Satin Capucilli............................................................................................ 35

Book 8: A Day in the Life of a Veterinarian by Heather Adamson (Challenge Book) .................................................... 37

Book 9: Doggies by Sandra Boynton (Simpler Book) ...................................................................................................... 40

Book 9: How to Two Book by David Soman (Challenge Book) ...................................................................................... 42

Book 10: Lola Gets a Cat by Anna McQuinn ................................................................................................................... 45

Book 11: A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip Stead ................................................................................................. 49

Book 12: I Want to Be a Zookeeper by Dan Liebman ...................................................................................................... 51

Book 13: Fiona The Hippo by Richard Cowdrey ............................................................................................................. 52

Kindness Part 3—Kindness to Our Planet ............................................................................................................................ 54

Book 14: The EARTH Book by Todd Parr....................................................................................................................... 54

Book 15: Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration by Alyssa Satin Capucilli .............................................................................. 55

Book 16: 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh .............................................................................. 57

Kindness Wrap Up, Book 17: A World of Kindness by Pajama Press ................................................................................. 59

Wordless Books Small Group ............................................................................................................................................... 63

That Neighbor Kid by Daniel Miyares .............................................................................................................. 64

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschak ................................................................................................................... 65

I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoet (Challenge) ............................................................................................... 66

Small Group Math Instruction .............................................................................................................................................. 67


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Unit 2: Kindness Overview Overview of Part 1—Showing Kindness to Family & Friends

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5

Book: Showing

Kindness

Kindness Garden

Book: Good People

Everywhere

Book Stick

&Stone

Book: Grandma’s Tiny

House

Book: How Kind!

Book: One Winter’s Day

Overview of Part 2—Showing Kindness to Animals

Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 Book 9 Book 10 Book 11

Book: Kitten

and the Night

Watchman

Book: Biscuit

Visits the Doctor

Vet’s Office

Center is

Introduced

Book: A Day in the

Life of a Veterinarian

Book: Doggies

Book: Lola

Gets a Cat

Book: A Sick Day

for Amos McGee

Book: How to Two

Book 12 Book 13

Book: Life of a

Zookeeper

Book: Fiona The

Hippo

Overview of Part 3—Showing Kindness to our Planet

Book 14 Book 15 Book 16 Book 17

Book: The EARTH Book

Book: Biscuit’s Earth Day

Celebration

Book: 10 Things I Can

Do to Help My World

Book: A World of

Kindness

Wordless Books for the Kindness Unit

Part 1: Kindness to Our Family & Friends

Wordless Books—Kindness

That Neighbor Kid with retell activity

A Ball for Daisy with retell activity

I Walk with Vanessa with discussion of characters in the story

Center Activities for Kindness Unit

Writing Center—Kindness

Garden—Begin with Part 1

Dramatic Play--Vet’s Office

Begin with Part 2

Library—Kindness Books

Writing and coloring materials

Name tags

Blank flowers

Vet Costumes, Vet medical play items,

bandages, carrying case, x-rays, etc.

Kindness Book Basket – see p. 7 for

suggestions

Reference books on animal


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Whole Group Reading

Books Cost

Showing Kindness by Bullfrog Books (paperback) $6.99

Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen (hardcover) $13.20

Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry & Tom Lichtenheld (hardcover) $16.19

How to be a Friend by Laurie Krasny Brown & Marc Brown (paperback) $5.95

One Winter’s Day by Christina Butler (paperback) $16.60

How Kind! By Mary Murphy $6.90

Kitten and the Night Watchman by John Sullivan (hardcover) $12.75

Biscuit Visits the Doctor by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (paperback) $3.99

A Day in the Life of a Veterinarian by Heather Adamson (paperback) $7.99

Lola Gets a Cat by Anna McQuinn $6.64

Doggies by Sandra Boynton (board book) $5.98

How to Two by David Soman $12.19

Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story by JaNay Broqn-Wood (hardcover) $15.45

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip Stead (hardcover) $16.58

I Want to be a Zookeeper by Dan Liebman (paperback) $3.99

Fiona the hippo by Richard Cowdrey (hardcover) $15.11

The Earth Book by Todd Parr (hardcover) $9.99

10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh $8.17

Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration by Alyssa Satin Capucilli $3.99

A World of Kindness by Pajama Press $14.95

Total Circle Time Book Cost $203.60

Wordless Books

That Neighbor Kid by Daniel Miyares (hardcover) $9.98

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka (hardcover) $8.99

I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoet (hardcover) $12.59

Manipulatives

Set of small toy dogs (Doggies) $6.00

Set of small hearts (Grandma’s Tiny House) $6.00

Small white dog with clay red ball, flatten red ball, & blue ball (A Ball for Daisy) $10.00

Miniature Trash & Recycling Cans (10 Things I Can Do to Help My World) $15.00

Total Cost of Small Group Books & Manipulatives $62.56

Materials to Make

Kindness Garden Flowers Template Vet Center – X-Rays, Vet Writing Form

Kindness Sort Cards Math Cards – all math books

Recycling vs. Trash Game Materials Number Card Set (used across the program)

Life Cycle of Dog and Cat Cards Math Manipulatives—all math books

Total Cost of Unit 1 (without center materials) = $266.16

Material List for Unit 2-Kindness


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Vet Center Material Examples with Costs Melissa and Doug Vet play kit $29.99

2 Melissa and Doug Vet costumes $46 ($23 each)

Melissa and Doug Pet Travel Kit $23

Pack of 26 bandages $14

Kitchen scale $12.95

Tape Measure $5

Two Small clipboards $6

Books about Cats and Dogs $14.97

Total Cost of Center $150.95


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Outline of Circle Time with Follow up Small Group - 1, 2, 3, Shared Story Routine

Whole Group Circle Time—Basic Outline

1. Gathering Together (2 min): Gathering Song (see Music) or ABC Song to call students to circle.

2. Language Time! (3 min) – Nursery Rhyme, Finger Play, Song, Poem

3. Learning New Things (10 min)

a. Topic discussion for week 1: Showing Kindness to our Friends & Community

b. Story & Discussion Using 1, 2, 3 Shared Story Routine

c. Included periodically: Shared Writing Experience

4. Highlight Center Where You Can Learn More

Second Read of Circle Time Story – Basic Outline

1. Story & Discussion, 1, 2, 3 Shared Story Routine (Small Group)

2. Follow Up Activity or Craft

The 1, 2, 3 Shared Story Routine – Read Two Times

1st Read – Focus on Listening to the Story—Whole Group Story Time

1. Before:

1. Introduce the topic

2. Introduce the book to generate excitement.

3. Point out title, author, & illustrator.

2. During:

1. Read with very few interruptions so children can get a sense of the full story.

2. Model Thinking Aloud.

3. Draw children’s attention to key content, vocabulary, and story elements: characters,

setting, the problem, etc.

3. After:

1. Ask their opinion—did they like it? Thumbs up/down. Why? Provide a sentence stem.

2. Questions: Ask simple questions about the book.

3. Review vocabulary & connect content of the book to their knowledge of the topic.

(2 & 3 should go in the order that makes sense for the book discussion)

2nd Read – Discuss Together & Activity

1. Before: 1. Ask the children if they can remember what this book is about—show them the cover to remind

them.

2. Point out the title, author, & illustrator.

3. Tell them we are going to read the story again and discuss the story. So be ready to share your ideas!

2. During:

1. Read with excitement and fluency.

2. Ask questions about how characters feel or what they might be thinking.

3. Highlight key vocabulary, content, and story elements.

3. After:

1. Ask for their opinion—did they like it? Thumbs up/down. Why? Provide a sentence stem.

2. Ask a few questions about story elements and discuss 2-3 interesting vocabulary words.

3. Complete follow up activity

3. Do a follow up activity.


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Shared Writing Experience - Basic Outline

Exposing children to print at an early age is helpful in many aspects of learning to read. The Shared Writing

Routine is done across a number of books (not all) in each Unit at least once a week.

Goals of the Shared Writing experience:

Meaningful exposure of children to print, helping them understand that print carries meaning,

Demonstration of the process of transcribing speech to print,

Highlighting of specific letter-sound relationships and conventions of writing.

When planning Shared Writing experiences, make sure to keep the following in mind:

1. Facilitate the production of a topical message that is reflective of your current Project Ready! theme.

Make sure this message incorporates target vocabulary and current theme.

2. Keep sentences constructed short (5-7 words) and the total text brief (2-4 sentences).

3. When gathering input from children regarding the written message construction, “recast” the messages

to ensure that they are clear and reflect content from the theme. This “recasting” requires restating

students’ input into clear and grammatically standard statements.

You can use this Shared Writing Preparation Template to prepare for a shared writing experience:

1. Topic of Message: (to be reflected in the first and last sentence):

Plan your topic sentence or the topic that you will communicate in the first sentence.

Vocabulary word(s) to include: Include a word or words that have been highlighted in the 1, 2, 3 Shared Reading Routine.

Specific letter(s) or conventions to highlight: This could include attention to spaces between words, directionality, punctuation, capital letters, and sentence types.

2. Plan your sentences. Often you will follow this pattern:

Topic -

Detail -

Detail -

Detail -

Concluding

The Shared Writing Routine utilizes these three steps repeatedly for each sentence written together:

Plan – talk to the children about what to write

Write – write within view of the children and “think aloud” as you write your sentence,

highlighting the vocabulary and conventions you planned

Read – Point to each word and read the sentence together.

There are four different types of writing highlighted across the curriculum

1. Tell a Story 2. Express Ideas

3. Share Information 4. Discuss & Respond to Questions

With most writing teachers should facilitate the development of a paragraph structure including an introductory

(topic) sentence, followed by details, and finished with a “wrap up” (concluding) sentence. By continually

modeling the basic paragraph structure, a foundation for this type of organization within children’s writing is

established.


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Kindness Unit Center: Creating a Kindness Garden Activity

The Kindness Garden

How it Works:

Find a place in the classroom where you can put up a “field of grass” to place the flowers (large green

paper). You might want to make flower stems on which children can place their flowers. Consider

doing this with the children as a way to talk about “setting up a garden.”

In the writing center, place the materials for children to color their flowers and place their name (or first

letter of name for 3s). Name tags should be available for children to copy their name if needed.

When someone sees an act of kindness occur, they let one of the teachers know and the child involved

in the act of kindness creates a flower and puts it in the garden. Teachers should be on the lookout for

kindness and ask children to make flowers. Encourage children to point out acts of kindness too!

After a book is read, a different child can be offered the opportunity to tell the teacher a “kindness” they

noticed to be added to the Garden.

This can be used throughout the year in the classroom.

Additional Preschool Books About Kindness to Include in Kindness Book Basket

Because of You: A Book of Kindness by B.G. Hennessy

Kindness Makes the World Go Round (Sesame Street) by Craig Manning

The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin

Batman is Kind by Cala Spinner

One Good Deed by Terri Fields

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

What Does it Mean to be Kind? By Rana DiOrio

Be Polite and Kind by Cheri J. Meiners

Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller

A Little Spot of Kindness by Diane Alber

I Can Save the Earth! By Allison Inches

The Earth and I by Frank Asch

Purpose: Promote kindness, oral language, and name

recognition/writing.

Materials: Large green paper for field of grass, blank flowers for

children to color (see Kindness Materials for template), nametags,

crayons, tape.


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Language Time: Learning New Things—1, 2, 3 Shared Storybook

Ten Fingers A finger

play

I have ten fingers hold up both hands, fingers

spread

And they all belong to

me, point to self

I can make them do

things-

Would you like to see?

I can shut them up tight make fists

I can open them wide open hands

I can put them together palms together

I can make them all

hide behind back

I can make them jump

high over head


low touch floor

I can fold them up

quietly fold hands in lap

And hold them just so.

Notes on Book: This is a simple book defining kindness and showing examples.

Kicks off the unit with a simple book.

Key Vocabulary: kindness, good deeds, title, planet, recycling, softly

Read Using the 1, 2, 3 Shared Story Routine

Before 1. Topic Intro.: Introduce the concept of kindness & define the word.

We are going to talk about kindness this week. Kindness is being nice. When we are

kind, we make others feel good. There are many ways we can be kind in our

classroom to our friends & teachers. We can also be kind at home to our families.

2. Book Intro. We are going to read this book about kindness. See if you can find

people being kind to each other as we read.

3. Point out title (point as you read title). The title of this book is Showing Kindness

During

1. Read with few interruptions so the children get a sense of the story.

2. Model Think Aloud: Connect to how kindness makes others feel

p. 11 “Drew is kind to his mom. He helps her put groceries away.” Wow, that is so

kind! It really makes Mommies happy when their children help them. I bet Drew’s

Mommy is really happy—look at that smile.”

p. 17 kindness to the cat. Oh, that cat looks very happy. I bet it feels great to be

softly pet if you are a cat (softly means gently, carefully). Look, its eyes are closed,

and it is rubbing the boy happily. Lucky cat to have such a kind boy!

3. Vocabulary: Briefly define/highlight key vocabulary using child friendly

definitions. Reinforce these words throughout the day!

Kindness = being nice

Good Deeds = doing something that is kind

Planet = that is planet Earth, where we live

Recycling = recycling is when we use things again instead of throwing them in

the garbage.

Softly = gently, carefully

Kindness, Part 1—Showing Kindness to Family & Friends

Book 1: Showing Kindness by Bullfrog Books

Materials Needed: book, kindness garden set up in the classroom,

flowers & coloring materials, kindness book basket.


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After

1. Ask their opinion: Did you like this book? Did you see people showing kindness?

Thumbs up/Thumbs down if you liked the book. Be ready to tell me what you liked

about the book (call on a few individuals). Help them with a sentence stem if needed,

I liked this book because…. I like the part of the book where….

2. Vocabulary: Ask them to tell you what the word kind means (to be nice). If they

do not say “be nice,” tell them that kindness means, to “be nice” and have them

repeat it.

3. Questions: Have the children tell you the acts of kindness from the book—show

pictures if they need help. Reinforce that kindness is being nice. Tell me some of the

kind things that we read about in the book.

Introduce Kindness Garden Activity:

Tell the class We are going to really work on showing kindness in the classroom. To

help us think more about kindness we are going to make a kindness garden. Take

students to where the kindness garden will be. When we see kindness, we are going to

make a flower and put it in our kindness garden. You can color your flower and put

your name on it.

Engage the children in a discussion of ways they can show kindness in the classroom.

Also, we have lots of new books about being kind in our library so you may want to

check these out! Show them the book basket and highlight one or two of the books.


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Before:

1. Ask the children if they can remember what this book is about—show them the cover to remind them.

2. Point out the title. The title of this book is, Showing Kindness.

3. Generate excitement: We are going to read this book again and talk more about the kind thing we see.

During:

1. Read with excitement and fluency

2. Ask Questions

a. (p. 5). A good deed is another way of saying showing kindness. What kind thing do we see in this

picture?

b. (p. 9) Ask how the people feel in the pictures as you read. How do you think the boy feels when the girl

gives him the pencil?

c. (p. 11) Ask how the people feel in the pictures as you read. How do you think the boy feels when he

helps his mom with the groceries? It feels good to help others doesn’t it!

3. Reinforce/highlight key vocabulary. As these words come up, give a brief child friendly definition. If

time allows, have the children repeat the word and possibly the definition and do a motion. Point out acts

of kindness. Kindness = being nice

Good Deeds = doing something that is kind

Planet = that is planet Earth, where we live

Recycling = recycling is when we use things again instead of throwing them in the garbage.

Softly = gently, carefully

After: 1. Ask for their opinion—did they like it? Why? Provide a sentence stem, I liked the book because …

2. Questions: Ask for everyone to think of something they do that is kind. Put your thumb up when you think

of something that you did that was kind. Help them express the kind act (or think of one). Call on children

to share.

3. Follow Up activity: Kindness Sort

Materials: Showing Kindness book and Laminated Kindness Sort Cards—See kindness sort cards in the

Kindness Unit Materials 1. Tell the children these are pictures of children showing kindness and some pictures where they are not

showing kindness. Let’s see if we can find the pictures where children are showing kindness.

2. Show children the cards in pairs. Ask which picture shows kindness. Then, ask them to describe

the act of kindness. The girl is being kind to the boy by sharing. Don’t focus on the not kind picture.

3. Reinforce that these are all things that they can do to be kind. Go back through the kind pictures

only and reinforce how they can share toys, clean up materials in the classroom, etc.…


Book 1: Showing Kindness

Re-Read & Activity – Kindness Sort

Materials: Book and Kindness Sort Cards (in Kindness Unit

Materials)


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Language Time: Learning New Things


play


spread


me, point to self

I can make them do

things-





I can make them all

hide behind back


high over head


low touch floor

I can fold them up



Notes on Book: This book focuses on kind acts that people do in neighborhoods all

over the world. It lets children see that kindness is everywhere and is the

expectation. The book shows lots of different professions as well as people doing

kind acts. Broadens the definition of kindness.

Key Vocabulary: kindness, carpenters, musician, author, helper

Before 1. Topic Reminder. Kindness.

We are talking a lot about kindness this week. Remember, kindness is being nice to

others. Who can tell me a way we can be kind? Take ideas and guide as needed.

Today we are going to talk about being kind in our classroom but, also outside the

classroom. At home, in our community, everywhere! There are so many ways of

being kind!

2. Introduce the book and generate excitement. We are going to read this book. It tells

a story about lots of people being kind.

3. Point out title & author. The title of this book is Good People Everywhere. Lynea

Gillen wrote it. Lynea Gillen is the author. Say author. An author writes the story.

What does the author do? Good! She writes the story.

During

1. Read with few interruptions so the children get a sense of the story.

2. Model Think Aloud: Point out a couple of the acts of kindness and how it helps.

Building Houses: the carpenters make homes for people to live in.

Musician: musicians play beautiful music to help people feel happy.

3. Vocabulary -- Draw children’s attention to key acts of kindness and the variety

of professions highlighted in the book.

After

1. Ask their opinion—Did you like this book? Thumbs up/down. What part did you

like?

2. Ask questions:

a. What were the kind acts seen in the book. (prompt with pictures from the

book if needed)

b. What kind acts do you see at home or in your neighborhood?


Book 2: Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen

Materials Needed: book

Note: This book has 2 follow up activities – art & shared writing.


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c. Who are some of the people in your neighborhood that you see who are doing

kind work? How is their work kind? Prompts: Mail carrier, garbage collector, cashier at the supermarket.

3. Review Vocabulary & Key Content: Ask children to tell you what the following

words mean. Have all children repeat the word and the definition.

Kindness = What does kindness mean? (being nice)

Carpenter = In this book we learned about different people who are kind.

What does a carpenter do? (builds things. In this book the

carpenters were building a home.) Show picture if needed.

Musician = What does a musician do? (play music)

Highlight Center: Kindness Garden Activity: Remind the class that we are

working on showing kindness in the classroom and remind them how the kindness

garden works. Highlight a few acts of kindness seen the previous day.

Also, remind them that we have many new books about being kind in our library

so you may want to check these out! Show them the book basket and highlight one

or two of the books.


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Before:

1. Ask the children if they can remember what this book is about—show them the cover to remind them.

2. Point out title & author and remind the children that the author writes the story.

3. Generate excitement: We are going to read this story again and discuss the kind acts in this story. Then we

are going to do a fun art activity to show our kindness.

During: Question suggestions


2. Ask Questions

a. (p. 2) – ask Who cooks in your family?

b. (The page with musician and then dancers): How is playing music or dancing an act of kindness?

c. (The page where child skinned knee): How did the child feel when they skinned their knee? How does

the child feel when the boy helped?

d. (The page with a big sister holding baby brother): Do any of you have a baby sibling? Do you help? What

do you do?

3. Vocabulary: Ask children to tell you what the following words mean. Have all children repeat the word and

the definition.

Kindness = What does kindness mean? (being nice)

Carpenter = In this book we learned about different people who are kind. What does a carpenter do?

(builds things. In this book the carpenters were building a home.) Show picture if needed.

Musician = What does a musician do? (play music)

After: 1. Ask for their opinion—Did they like it? What was their favorite act of kindness? Provide a sentence stem.

I liked when ...

2. Discuss Key Content & Vocabulary:

a. Discuss Key Content: Ask everyone to think of a kind act that someone did for them. Model thinking

about this. This morning when I came into school Mrs. Smith told me she liked my shirt. Oh! Also,

when I dropped my papers Sally came over and helped me pick them up. When you have a kind thing

to share raise your hand. Ask children to share.

Kindness, Part 1—Showing Kindness to Family &

Friends

Book 2: Good People Everywhere

Re-Read & Activity – Making a Card

Materials: Good People Everywhere book, paper and

crayons for cards


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b. Vocabulary: Reinforce/highlight key vocabulary. Ask them to put their thumbs up or down to answer

each question about kindness = Tell me with a thumbs up, yes or thumbs down, no if this is kindness.

Say so kind if it is a thumbs up. Say not kind for thumbs down.

A brother helping his baby sister pick up her toys.

A child grabbing a toy from another child.

A mommy reading her child a story.

A friend sharing their toys without other friends.

3. . Follow Up activity: Make a picture/card for a special person in their life who is kind to them.

Materials: Crayons, paper

1. Tell them We are going to make a picture for someone in our lives who is kind to us.

2. Give examples: Mom who helps me get ready in the morning; grandma who cooks my favorite

cookies; dad who makes dinner or shovels snow; sister who helps me tie my shoes.

3. Have the children talk about the kind act they want to draw and have them make a picture for their

person showing the kind act. Encourage them to take pictures home and give it to their special person

to thank them for their kindness.

4. Shared Writing Experience (See Scripted Lesson)


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Shared Writing Routine:


Write – write within view of the children and “think aloud” as you write your sentence, highlighting the

vocabulary and conventions you planned


This writing gives the students an opportunity to express their own ideas about people the encounter in their school who

show kindness.

Shared Writing Preparation Template: Tell A Story

Topic of Message (to be reflected in the first and last sentence): Plan your topic sentence

We know good people who help us.

Vocabulary word to include:

Kindness – being nice and thinking about the feelings of others (try to find an opportunity to show students the little

word “kind” within kindness).

Specific letter(s) or conventions to highlight:

Capital letters, periods.

Plan your sentences. Topic, Details (2-3), Conclusion

Topic: We know good people who help us.

Detail: {Mr. Jones} keeps our hallways clean.

Detail: {Mrs. Smith} helps us when we are sick.

Concluding: Our helpers are good people.

STEPS IN THE PROCESS:

1. Discuss the book and vocabulary:

We read a book called Good People Everywhere. This book tells us about many, many good people who are helpers.

If we look around, we can find helpers. We have helpers who are good people right here at our school! Let’s write

about this so that we can think more about the good people right here at our school. Close your eyes and think of a

good person who helps us here at (school name). (Give students a chance to think about helpers at the school.) Now

share with your neighbor the good person you thought about.

2. Topic Sentence:

Plan: Now let’s write! We start our writing with a sentence that tells what we are going to write about next. Today we

are going to write about the good people in our school. I think that our sentence will say, “We know good people who

help us.” I think that sentence is a good one to start with because it tells what we are going to write more about.

Write: Write the chosen sentence in view of students and “think aloud” as you write:

I am starting my sentence so I will begin with a capital letter.

As I write each word, I make sure to leave a space between each of my words.

I have finished my sentence so now I will add a period to show that my sentence is done.

We know good people who help us. Read aloud pointing to each word. Read a second time asking students to “read” with you.

We know good people who help us.


Book 2: Good People Everywhere

Shared Writing Materials: Good People Everywhere book, Whiteboard or chalkboard to create shared writing.

Express Ideas


17

3. Detail Sentences:

Plan: Gather input from students for the detail sentences:

Now we have written our important first sentence that tells what is coming next. We wrote, “We know good people

who help us.” Now it is time to write a sentence about a good person who helps us here at school. Can you raise

your hand if you would like to tell me the name of a good person who helps us here at school and what that good

person does? Gather input from students and choose one to expand into a sentence.

Write:

Thank you, all of those people help us here at school. Let’s write about {Mr. Jones}. {Mr. Jones} helps us by cleaning

our hallways. Hmmmmm. I can add that detail sentence to our writing by saying, “{Mr. Jones} keeps our hallways

clean. Can you say, {Mr. Jones} keeps our hallways clean?” Good, let’s write that. Write sentence on the board

following the end of the topic sentence, again drawing attention to the capital letter and punctuation by thinking aloud.

{Mr. Jones} keeps our hallways clean.

Read aloud pointing to each word. Read a second time asking students to “read” with you.

{Mr. Jones} keeps our hallways clean.

**Repeat with another 1-2 sentences discussing someone at the school who is a helper. (i.e., {Mrs. Smith} helps us

when we are sick.)

4. Concluding Sentence:

Plan: Just like in our book, Good People Everywhere, here at school there are many helpers, and they are good people.

Let’s finish our writing today by saying that again because that is really important. Can you say,” Our helpers our

good people?”

Write: Good, let’s write that.

Write final sentence on the board following the end of the detail sentence, again drawing attention to the capital

letter and punctuation by thinking aloud.

You can also think aloud about the word “helpers.” I hear a little word inside the word “helpers.” Say helpers.

[helpers] Now say help. [help]. The little word inside helpers is help! A helper is someone who helps! Now let’s

read our writing together.


Our helpers are good people. 5. Read Finished Writing Together: To finish, read the paragraph together pointing to each word. Keep the writing

posted and in view of students, returning to it and reading together when possible.

We know good people who help us. {Mr. Jones} keeps our hallways clean. {Mrs. Smith} helps us when

we are sick. Our helpers are good people.


18



play


spread


me, point to self

I can make them do

things-


I can shut them up

tight make fists


I can put them

together palms together

I can make them all

hide behind back


high over head


low touch floor

I can fold them up



Notes on Book: This book is about being a friend and also, a message about bullying.

Key Vocabulary: kindness, characters, stone, lonely, vanish


Before: 1. Topic Intro: Introducing the concept of being a good friend and connect it to kindness.

We have been talking about kindness this week and today we are going to read a book

about being kind to our friends and what it means to be a good friend.

2. Point out title & author – remind children what an author does.

3. Intro. the book: In this book we will see some examples of being mean and then some

examples of being kind. I want you to listen to the story and think about how it feels

when someone is mean and how it feels when there is kindness. What kind of friend do

you want to be?

During:


2. Model Thinking Aloud—KEY points

a. When pinecone is mean to stone. This is not a good choice for a friend. Pinecone is

being mean, I would feel really sad if someone was this mean to me, poor stone.

b. When stick and stone become friends: Oh, I am so glad stone found a friend. It is

fun to have a kind friend. c. When thunder and rain come: Oh, I think something bad is about to happen. Raise

your hand if you think something bad is going to happen.

d. After stone rescues stick: I am so happy Stick’s friend helped him out. Stone is a

good friend.

3. Highlight Key Content & Vocabulary:

a. Content: Draw children’s attention to key story elements and story vocabulary

1. The characters are Stick and Stone.

2. Point out the Happy Ending = At the end, all are friends—even pinecone comes

back and says sorry.


Book 3: Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry & Tom Lichtenheld

Materials Needed: Stick and Stone book


19

b. Vocabulary: Point out & provide a student friendly definition.

Kindness: being nice

Stone: a rock

Lonely: sad because you are all by yourself

Vanish: Go away!

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—Did you like the book? Who was your favorite character?

2. Ask a few basic understanding questions.

a. Who was this story about?

b. At the beginning of the story how did Stick and Stone feel? Why? Open

to the sad pictures at the beginning of the book.

c. How did Stick and Stone help each other?

3. Review Key Vocabulary

Lonely – In this story Stone felt lonely. Why was he lonely? What does lonely mean?

Have you ever felt lonely? When?

Kindness – In the story Pinecone was not kind to Stone. What were some of the

unkind things Pinecone did? (Review with pictures)

Vanish – Stick did show kindness for Stone by sticking up for him when Pinecone

was not kind. He told Pinecone to Vanish! (make a go away pointing motion

with your hand, like in the book). What does vanish mean? How did

Pinecone show kindness at the end? (said sorry)


20

Before:

1. Ask if the children can remember what this book is about—show them the cover to remind them.

2. Point out title & author –ask if anyone can tell you what the author does.

3. Tell them that this time we are going to read and discuss the story, so be ready to share your ideas!



2. Ask Questions & Review Vocabulary (Put a post-it on these pages so you can easily find them)

a. Before the first page. Who is this story about? Who are the characters?

b. “Alone is no fun” page—How do Stick and Stone feel? Why?

c. Vanish! Page…What do you think the word vanish means?

d. “They wander, explore, laze by the shore” Now, how do Stone and Stick feel? Why?

e. “Again, he’s alone” What do you think Stone will do now?

f. Last page. Why is Pinecone on the last page? What does Pinecone say? (Sorry)

After: 1. Ask for their opinion—did they like it? Thumbs up/down. Why? Provide a sentence stem.

2.Discussion Questions:

1. Who was this story about? (That is right, Stick and Stone were our main characters.)

2. How did Stick and Stone show they were good kind friends?

3. At the end, why did Pinecone come back? What did he say to make things better? That was kind!

3. Follow Up activity: Shared Retell

Read the shared retell below but, leave out the underlined word to see if children

can provide it. If they can’t after 3 seconds, you provide it and then re-read the sentence. Show key

pictures as you go (put post it notes to mark 3-5 key pictures). I am going to tell the story again using

my own words and I want you to help me fill in words in the story listen carefully!

Shared Retell:

At the beginning of the book, Stone and Stick were alone. They did not have a friend and felt SAD. Then,

Pinecone was mean to Stone, and Stick told Pinecone to go away. This made Stone feel happy and soon Stone

and Stick became FRIENDS. They had lots of fun together. Then one night a storm came, and Stick blew away.

Stone searched for Stick and found him stuck in a PUDDLE. Stone rescued Stick and they were happy friends

again. The End.


Book 3: Stick and Stone

Re-Read & Activity – Retell

Materials: Book with post-it notes on key pages for retell.


21



play


spread


me, point to self

I can make them do

things-





I can make them all hide behind back


high over head


low touch floor

I can fold them up



Notes on Book: This sweet book tells the story of a large family gathering at

Grandma’s house to share a feast. The rhyming text encourages the children to

count the food items in the bright pictures. Consider using this book with older

preschoolers who are ready for counting from 1-15.

Key Academic Vocabulary: kind, tiny, scrumptious, jugs, bulge


Before: 1. Topic Reminders. We are talking about kindness and ways to show kindness to

each other. One way people like to show kindness is by sharing a meal with people

they love. Look at this picture. I see a woman and a child, and they seem very happy

together.

2. Introduce the book— This is a book about a big, loving family sharing food

together in a very small house.

3. Point out title & author–ask what the author does.

During:

1. Read with very few interruptions so child can get a sense of the full story.

2. Model Thinking Aloud

a. When neighbors show up with food – How kind! Grandma must really feel

happy.

b. Nine chatting aunties page – Wow! Those deserts all look scrumptious, so

yummy!

c. When the little girl whispers in grandma’s ear “I know” – What do you think

she is telling grandma? Hmm. I wonder if she is thinking about moving to a bigger

space. I wonder where could they move?

3. Point out the key vocabulary words & key content:

a. Key Vocabulary: highlight and provide a student friendly definition.

Tiny – Very small

Scrumptious – tastes really good. Yummy! The turkeys smell scrumptious. That

means they smell good, yummy.

Jugs- The uncles carry big jugs of lemonade. Do you see the jugs? Jugs are big

containers that hold liquid, like the lemonade.


Book 4: Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story by JaNay Brown-Wood

Materials Needed: Grandma’s Tiny House Book

Math


22

Bulge - bending outward. The walls bulge because everyone is crammed inside

the tiny house. That means the house is so full that the walls are starting to bend

and swell. That is not good!

b. Key Content:

1. At a number of points in the story pause to count the food items or people,

pointing as you go.

2. At the end of the book, talk about the things the family members are doing in

the backyard.

After:

1. Ask for their opinion: Did you like this book? Thumbs up if you did? What was

your favorite part?

2. Vocabulary: Ask them what the word tiny means. Ask them to put their thumbs

up and say tiny if you say something that is tiny, very small. Go through around 5

items.

Is an elephant tiny? (thumbs up and children say tiny!)

Is a ladybug tiny? (thumbs down)

Other items: our school building; an ant; bus, blade of grass, paperclip, a tree

3. Questions. Use book’s pictures to prompt answers if needed.

a. What was this story about? (A big family trying to share a feast in a too small

house)

b. Can you remember some of the foods that were brought to the feast? (pies,

cheesecake, lemonade, greens, etc.)

c. If you were invited to this feast, what food would you like to eat the most? (I

think I would be most excited about the honeydew melon. I love melon!)

d. Math Story Problem: In the story Grandma had lots of people coming over to

her house for a feast! If two of her grandchildren came over (hold up 2

fingers) and then two more came over (hold up 2 more fingers on your other

hand and bring two hands together), how many grandchildren does that

make? Let’s count—1-2-3-4 (wiggle each finger as you count). 4

grandchildren! 2 plus 2 = 4.

4. Work together to retell the story. Focus on beginning, middle, and end.

I am going to tell the story again using my own words and I want you to help me fill

in words in the story listen carefully!

First, Grandma cooked turkeys and waited at her tiny house for her family to arrive

for the feast. Then, her big family arrived. They brought lots of food and lots of

people. They tried to fit in the house, but it was too small. Finally, the family went

outside to eat and play. They had a lot of fun together.


23

Before:

1. Ask if they can remember what this book is about—show them the cover to remind them.


3. Tell them this time we are going to read and discuss the story so be ready to share your ideas!

During:


2. Ask Questions

a. “Grandma’s house stays small as the family grows”- Wow! Look at these pictures. Is Grandma’s

family big or small/ tiny?

b. “Five family friends strut straight up the stairs”- Why do they have so many dinner rolls? Are those

five friends going to eat all the rolls or are they planning on sharing them with the rest of the family?

c. “but the yard’s long and wide” - How does this little girl think the family can solve the problem?

3. Vocabulary: Reinforce/highlight key vocabulary. As the words come up, give a brief child friendly

definition.

Tiny – Very small

Scrumptious – tastes really good. Yummy!

Jugs- big containers that hold liquid

Bulge- bending outward.

4. Point to each Number on the page and draw attention to it. Ex: Oh look there is the number 5.

After

1. Ask for their opinion—did they like it? Thumbs up/down? Why? Provide a sentence stem. I like this book

because_________

2. Discussion Questions

a. Who was this story about? (a big family having a feast)

b. What was the problem in this story? (the family was too big to fit inside Grandma’s tiny house.

c. Did the family have fun together? (Yes!)

d. Math Story Problem: In the story Grandma had lots of people coming over to her house for a feast! If

two of her grandchildren came over (hold up 2 fingers) and then two more came over (hold up 2 more

fingers on your other hand and bring two hands together), how many grandchildren does that make?

Let’s count—1-2-3-4 (wiggle each finger as you count). 4 grandchildren! 2 plus 2 = 4.

3. Do a variety of small group math activities across the next week or two. See small group math

instructions at the end of the unit. Use the hearts manipulatives to represent the loving people in

Grandma’s family as manipulatives for one of the math activities.


Book 4: Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story by JaNay Brown-Wood

Re-Read & Activity – Math Activities

Materials Needed: Grandma’s Tiny House Book, Math Activity Cards, hearts,

number cards

Math


24



play


spread


me, point to self

I can make them do

things-





I can make them all

hide behind back


high over head


low touch floor

I can fold them up



Notes on Book: This is a longer book with more complex sentences and language. It

is an engaging story of a kind hedgehog who gives away his warm things so others

can be warm. In the end, his friends repay his kindness by rebuilding his nest, cozier

than ever!

Key Vocabulary: characters, hedgehog, gust of wind, trembled, cozy, shivering,

kindness


Before: 1. Topic Intro.: Revisit the concept of being kind to others. We have been talking about kindness this week and today we are going to read a book

about a little hedgehog who helps other friends when they need his help most. I want you to

be on the lookout for kindness. When we see it, let’s all say “How Kind”

2. Introduce the book:

This is a book about a hedgehog (point to the animal). He is the main character of

the story. It takes place on a cold windy winter’s day. In this book the hedgehog does

many kind things for his friends. His friends are other characters in the book See if

you can spot the acts of kindness as we read the story! Also, be on the lookout for

something special that happens at the end!

3. Point out title & authors – Ask (if needed remind them) what an author does.

During:



a. When hedgehog meets the mice and learns the babies are cold, model your

thinking: poor babies. I wonder if hedgehog will help them. When he does,

encourage everyone to say “How Kind”

b. When hedgehog reached the woods (after otter) and wind was howling, model

your thinking: I bet hedgehog is cold and a little scared all alone in the storm.

c. When hedgehog finally makes it to badger’s house but, he falls, model your

thinking: Oh, no I hope hedgehog is alright. I bet badger is home and will help

him. Let’s find out.


Book 5: One Winter’s Day by Christina Butler & Tina Macnaughton (Challenge Book)

Materials Needed: One Winter’s Day


25

3. Draw children’s attention to key story elements and key vocabulary

a. Key story elements

1. This story is about hedgehog and his friends. They are the characters.

2. At the end, the friends repaid hedgehog’s kindness with kindness of their own!

b. Key Vocabulary with student friendly definitions

characters = who the story is about. The people or animals in the story.

Hedgehog = small animal who lives in the forest.

gust of wind = strong wind

trembled = shake

cozy = warm and comfortable; feeling good

shivering = shaking with cold

kindness= being nice

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—who was your favorite character?

2. Ask a few basic understanding questions and reinforce vocabulary.

a. Why did hedgehog give away all of his warm things when it was so cold? What

did he do as he became more and more cold? (He started to shiver. Show shivering)

Let’s all pretend it is really cold in the classroom and shiver. What are you doing?

(call on different children to tell you what they are doing). Shivering because it is so

cold!

b. What did the animals do at the end of the story to show kindness to hedgehog?

c. How did hedgehog feel when he saw his new cozy nest? What does cozy mean?

(warm and comfortable) What do you have at your home that is cozy?

3. Highlight Center: Kindness Garden:

Highlight a few acts of kindness seen the previous day.


26

Before:

1. Ask if the children can remember what this book is about—show them the cover to remind them.



During:


2. Ask Questions:

a. Before the first page. Who is this story about, who is the main character?

b. When little hedgehog’s nest is “tossed high in the air”: What happened to hedgehog’s nest? How

did it get destroyed?

c. The next page, hedgehog “trembled as the wind whistled around him”: What do you think the

word tremble means (shake with cold or fear)? Why is hedgehog trembling?

d. When hedgehog meets the deer family and hedgehog sees the little fawn (baby deer) shaking:

What do you think hedgehog will do now?

e. At the very end when the friends have created a new nest for hedgehog: Why did they create a

nest for hedgehog? How do you think hedgehog feels?

After: 1. Ask for their opinion—did they like it? Thumbs up/down. Why? Provide a sentence stem.



b. When did this story take place (A snowy day)?

c. What were some kind things that hedgehog did in this story? 3. Follow Up activity: Shared Retell

Read the shared retell below but, leave out the underlined word to see if children can provide it.

If they can’t after 3 seconds, you provide it and then re-read the sentence. Show key pictures

as you go (put post it notes to mark 3-5 key pictures).

Shared Retell:

At the beginning of the book, hedgehog was making his bed and he was knocked over by a big gust of WIND.

Hedgehog was very cold, so he grabbed his hat, scarf, and MITTENS. The wind destroyed his NEST. He went

on a journey to his friend badger’s house and along the way he met a number of animals. The other animals

needed hedgehog’s help because they were very COLD. Hedgehog helped the animals by giving them his warm

things. At the very end, the animals surprised hedgehog by building him a new cozy NEST.


Book 5: One Winter’s Day by Christina Butler & Tina Macnaughton




27



play


spread


me, point to self

I can make them do

things-







high over head


low touch floor

I can fold them up



Notes on Book: This is simple book showing how kindness inspires more kindness!

Key Vocabulary: Kind, fetched, characters


Before: 1. Topic Intro: Revisit the concept of being kind to others.

We have been talking about kindness this week and today we are going to read a

book about animals being kind to each other.

2. Intro. the Book: This is another book that shows kindness to friends.

3. Point out title & authors – ask the children what the author does.

During:



a. When rabbit picks flowers: Because pig was kind, rabbit also wanted to be kind.

Pig inspired rabbit to be kind!

b. Rabbit was kind to cow and now cow wants to show kindness. Kindness is

growing!

c. End: Oh look, pig is now doing something kind for hen! The book started with

hen being kind to pig.

3. Draw children’s attention to key story elements & Vocabulary:

a. Story Elements:

1. Characters: This story is about pig and his friends.

2. At the end, the pig repaid hen kindness with kindness of their own!

b. Vocabulary: Briefly define with a child friendly definition. Reinforce across the

day & weeks.

Kind = Being Nice

Fetched = To go and get something


Book 5: How Kind! By Mary Murphy (Simpler Book)

Materials Needed: book


28

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—who was your favorite character?

2. Vocabulary:

a. Ask them to tell you what the word fetch means.

b. Ask different children to fetch close by objects in the classroom.

Example: June, please fetch me the pencil on the table. Oh, thank you that was

so kind of you!

c. Have the children ask you to fetch something in the classroom.

Example: Mica would you like to ask me to fetch something? What should I

fetch. Say, Ms. Murdoch please fetch the _____.

3. Questions: Ask a few basic understanding questions.

a. Why did pig choose to give rabbit a carrot? (to be kind—rabbits like carrots)

b. What were some of the kind things in this book?

c. How can you be kind to friends?

Highlight Center: Kindness Garden:

Highlight a few acts of kindness seen the previous day.


29



play


spread


me, point to self

I can make them do

things-







high over head


low touch floor

I can fold them up



Notes on Book: This book is about a friendship between a kitten who needs a home

and a kindly night watchman. This book is filled with beautiful imagery and

figurative language.

Key Vocabulary: characters, kitten, vehicles, killdeer (type of bird), excavator,

backhoe, worried


Before: 1. Topic Intro.: Kind

We have been talking about kindness and how important it is to be kind to our

family, our friends, our teachers, everybody! When we are kind it makes us feel good

and makes others feel good. It is also important to be kind to animals. Over the next

few days, I want to share with you some books about people being kind to animals.

2. Introduce the book

This is a book about a man who finds a little lost kitten. It is called Kitten and the

Night Watchman. That is the title!

3. Point out title & author & illustrator –ask what each the author does and explain

that the illustrator creates the pictures.

During:



a. When he sees the kitten for the first time, model your thinking: Oh, he must

know this kitten as the book says, “back again.” The kitten has been there

before. They must be friends.

b. As the book describes the vehicles like circus animals: That is a fun way to

describe what a backhoe looks like!

c. As the book describes how the kitten follows the night watchman everywhere: I

think they are friends. They are keeping each other company. That is kind.

d. When the night watchman is too worried to read. Why is he so worried? I think

he is really worried about the kitten. Where is the kitten?

Kindness Part 2—Showing Kindness to Animals

Book 6: Kitten and the Night Watchman by John Sullivan

Materials Needed: Kitten and the Night Watchman


30

3. Draw children’s attention to key story elements and vocabulary

a. Story Elements

1. The characters are the kitten and the night watchman.

2. Once it is clear the kitten is lost point out that: The problem in the story is

that the kitten is lost.

3. At the end of the story point out that it is a happy ending: The story has a

happy ending—the kitten found a home.

b. Vocabulary: Briefly define vocabulary with student friendly definitions.

Kitten: baby cat

Worried: think something bad might happen

Vehicles: cars & trucks

Killdeer: type of bird

Excavator: construction truck

Backhoe: construction truck

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—what was your favorite part?

2. Question & Vocabulary.

a. What is a baby cat called (kitten)?

b. Who was this story about?

c. What happened to make the night watchman really worry?

d. When did this story take place? (at night)

e. How do you think the children felt at the end of the story when the night

watchman brought home the kitten?


31

Before:


2. Point out title, author & illustrator –ask if anyone can tell you what the author & illustrator does.


During:


2. Ask Questions

a. Before the first page. Who is this story about? Who are the characters?

b. When he first sees kitten: How does the night watchman feel when he sees the kitten?

c. When the machines are described like circus animals: Why do you think the author describes the

excavator like a strange giraffe? (both tall)

d. As they are walking around together: Do you think the night watchman and kitten are friends? Why?

e. When the kitten hears a nighthawk call out and then on the next page the kitten isn’t there: Where do

you think the kitten is? Is she ok? (went to chase the bird—may need to turn back to previous page

and point out the kitten’s attentive look)

After: 1. Ask for their opinion—did you like it? Thumbs up/down. Why? Provide a sentence stem.


1. Who was this story about?

2. Were they friends? How do you know they were friends?

3. At the end, where did the night watchman take the kitten? How did the kitten feel about that?

3. Follow Up activity: Shared Retell

Read the shared retell below, but leave out the underlined word to see if children

can provide it. If they can’t after 3 seconds, you provide it and then re-read the sentence. Show key

pictures as you go (put post it notes to mark 3-5 key pictures).

Shared Retell:

At the beginning of the book, the night watchman left his family and went to work. When he first got to work, he

was a little lonely, but then he heard a meow and saw a KITTEN. When he saw the kitten, he was HAPPY. The

kitten and the night watchman walk around checking the machines and they eat dinner together. Then, the kitten

hears a bird and runs off. The night watchman is very WORRIED. But the kitten comes back, and the night

watchman is so happy to see her. The night watchman decides to take the kitten to his HOME. The End.

Kindness, Part 2—Kindness to Animals

Book 6: Kitten and the Night Watchman




32



Write – write within view of the children and “think aloud” as you write your sentence, highlighting

the vocabulary and conventions you planned


Shared Writing Preparation Template: Discuss & Respond to Questions

Response to the Question - Why did the watchman take the kitten home at the end of the story?

Topic of Message (the question can be the first sentence in the writing): Question you will be responding to:

Why did the watchman take the kitten home?

Vocabulary words to include:

Kitten – baby cat

Worried – Concern/upset, the night watchman was worried when the kitten ran off and did not return.

Wonder – think something bad might happen


Capital letters, question mark, period

Plan your sentences. This writing can use the question as the topic sentence.

Question: Why did the watchman take the kitten home?

Response: The night watchman wanted the kitten to be safe

Expanded response: He did not want to worry about the kitten.

STEPS IN THE PROCESS: 1. Discuss book and vocabulary: Do a shared retell: Let’s think about the book, Kitten and the Night Watchman. At

the beginning of the book, the night watchman left his family and went to work. When he first got to work, he was a

little lonely, but then he heard a “meow” and saw a kitten. When he saw the kitten, he was happy. The kitten and the

night watchman walked around, checking the machines and they ate dinner together. Then, the kitten heard a bird

and ran off! The night watchman, an important character, was very worried. But the kitten came back, and the night

watchman was so happy to see her. The night watchman decided to take the kitten to his home.

2. Topic Sentence = The Question

Plan: Today we are going to wonder about something that happened in the book and write about it. To wonder

about something means to think about it for a while, to try to understand it. I have a question to wonder

about…Why did the watchman take the kitten home at the end of the story? Sometimes when we wonder about

something it helps to write about it. We are going to write about this question today.

Write: Let’s get started. We are going to start our writing with a question. “Why did the watchman take the kitten

home at the end of the story?” We will start our writing with this question and then we will write a

response/answer to the question. Watch me write my question:

Why did the watchman take the kitten home? Think aloud as you write the sentence and point out the capital, spaces between words, and the question mark.




Book 6: Kitten and the Night Watchman

Shared Writing

Materials: White board or Chalk board for whole group writing

Discuss and

Respond to

a Question


33

3. Response sentence

Plan: Next, gather input from students for the response sentences:

We have written our important first sentence, the question we are going to respond to. Now we need to wonder. I

wonder why the night watchman took the kitten home at the end of the story. He took the kitten home to live with

his family. Close your eyes and think about why the night watchman took the kitten home to his family. (After a

short pause) Please raise your hand if you would like to tell me why you think the night watchman took the kitten

home.

Gather input from students and choose one to expand into a sentence. Hopefully students will respond with

answers along the line of: (if not, model these ideas)

He wanted the kitten to be safe.

He wanted his family to meet the kitten.

He did not want the kitten to run away again.

Write a response sentence on the board following the question. Draw attention to the capital letter and punctuation

by thinking aloud. Make sure to keep your sentence short and clear. Read aloud pointing to each word.

The night watchman wanted the kitten to be safe.

Read a second time asking students to “read” with you.

The night watchman wanted the kitten to be safe.

4. Expanding the response sentence

Plan: Let’s wonder some more. Remember that in the story the night watchman got worried when the kitten ran

away. Remember if you worry that means that you think about something bad that might happen. We do not like to

worry. The night watchman did not like to worry. I wonder if the night watchman wanted to stop worrying about

the kitten.

Write sentence on the board following the end of the detail sentence, again drawing attention to the capital letter

and punctuation by thinking aloud. Read aloud pointing to each word. Read a second time asking students to

“read” with you.

He did not want to worry about the kitten. Read the writing in its entirety, repeat with the children reading with you.


The night watchman wanted the kitten to be safe. He did not want to worry about the

kitten.

5. Wrap Up: We wondered why the night watchman took the kitten home. Do you think we understand now? Did our

writing help us to understand? Sometimes writing about something can help us understand it better.

Keep the writing posted and in view of students, returning to it and reading together again when possible.


34

Part 2 – Kindness to Animals

The Veterinarian’s Office Center

How it Works:

In the dramatic play center set up a vet’s office.

Make sure there are materials so that children can play different roles: vet, vet’s assistant, pet owner,

receptionist, etc.

Introduce the center to the children after reading the books on Day 1 about a vet’s office. Explain how

they can play vet’s office. Talk about the different roles and model how to use the different toys. On the

first couple days, a teacher should be in the center facilitating play and providing them with language

prompts.

Dog/Cat Life Cycle

Dramatic Play Area: Vet’s Office

Skills Targeted: Oral language, noticing details in pictures, observing similarities and differences

Materials: Cat or Dog life cycle cards—see Kindness Unit Materials for cards.

Outline of Activity: Cat Example

1. Explain that cats look different depending on their age. A grown-up cat doesn’t look the same as a

kitten.

2. Show the four life cycle picture cards.

3. Look at each picture carefully with the children. Talk about details in each picture. For example,

point out the fact that the newborn kitten’s eyes are closed. Talk about things that are similar and

different in each picture.

4. Ask guiding questions to engage the children in the discussion. For example, you might say, “What

do you notice about the adult cat? Is it the same color as the kitten? Is it bigger or smaller than the

kitten?”

Purpose: Promote creative play and oral language skills.

Materials: stuffed animals, vet supplies, writing tools,

clipboards, bandages, vet dress up materials, animal books,

x-rays, carrying case for stuffed animals, scale, measuring

tape, etc.

Make Sequence cards: life cycle of a cat, life cycle of a dog

(see materials)


35


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song

Open, Shut Them Open and shut hands


Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times



Lay them in your lap.

Put hands in lap.

Notes on Books: This is a simple book showing what happens when Biscuit the dog

visits the vet.

Key Vocabulary: Veterinarian/Vet, gentle, check-up, scale, measuring tape, stethoscope


Before:

1.Introduce the topic & book—kindness to animals, and a Veterinarian

Last week we talked about kindness and how we can be kind to our friends and family. It

is so important to show kindness to our friends, family, community and to animals.

Today, I want to talk more about being kind to animals. Does anyone here have a pet?

What can you do to be kind to a pet? One way we are kind to our pets is to make sure

they stay healthy by taking them to a Veterinarian. A Veterinarian is a doctor for

animals. We are now going to read a book about a dog named Biscuit going to the

Veterinarian’s office for a check-up with his family. The title is Biscuit Visits the Doctor.

2. Read title and author.

During:



a. Beginning of the book: Animals need to go to the doctor just like we do for check-

ups and when they are sick.

b. Veterinarians take care of lots of different kinds of pets.

c. The Veterinarian is very gentle and kind to Biscuit as she checks him out.

3. Vocabulary: Draw children’s attention to key vocabulary and provide student friendly

definitions.

Veterinarian/Vet – animal doctor

gentle – kind and soft

check-up – when you go to the doctor to make sure all is well.

scale – tells you how much something weighs

measuring tape = tells you how big something is

stethoscope = doctors use it to listen to your heart


Book 7: Biscuit Visits the Doctor by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Materials Needed: Dramatic Play Center—Vet’s Office, Book


36

After:


2. Ask questions and review vocabulary.


b. What do you call an animal doctor? (Vet/Veterinarian)

c. Where does this story take place?

d. What animals did you see at the Vet’s office?

e. Did Biscuit like going to the Vet?

f. What were some of the tools the veterinarian used to check Biscuit? (find pictures

to review the name of the tool and what it is for: Scale, measuring tape, stethoscope)

3. Do a guided retell focusing on sequence of what happens at a Vet’s office—review

key pictures (this will help them in the dramatic play center):

a. Arrival, waiting room

b. Review the parts of the exam: weighing, measuring, listening to heart, checking

ears and mouth, shot, treat.

c. Leaving—saying goodbye

Highlight Center: Introduce Vet’s Office Tell the class that we thought it would be fun to play Vet’s office in our classroom and

practice being a kind pet owner and vet. Go through how they can play in this center. See

notes outlining the center (pg. 24 –Vet Center).

Re-Read:

Place the book in the Vet’s Office Center and re-read with small groups of children as

they are playing in the Vet’s Office. Give them ideas on how to play in the Vet’s Office.


37


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song



Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times




Put hands in lap.

Notes on Books: This non-fiction book has real pictures showing what happens at a

Vet’s office. Both the Biscuit book and this non-fiction companion book should be

highlighted in the Vet’s Office play center.

Key Vocabulary: Veterinarian/Vet, emergency, stethoscope, grooming, x-ray, non-

fiction


Before:

1. Topic Intro: Connect this book to the Biscuit story and remind students of the topic—

Kindness to animals. Yesterday we read a book about a dog going to the Vet, (show

Biscuit book) and you got to play in our new Vet’s Office center. Today, we are going to

learn more about Veterinarians and how they help animals.


3. Introduce the Book: Tell them this is a nonfiction book—a book with real pictures, not

a pretend story. Biscuit was a pretend story, and this is a real story.

During:



- Beginning of the book: Animals need to go to the doctor just like we do for check-ups

and when they are sick.

- Veterinarians take care of lots of different kinds of pets.

- The Veterinarian is very gentle and kind to the animals.

3. Vocabulary: Draw children’s attention to key vocabulary and provide student friendly

definitions.



emergency = need help right away

grooming = brushing

x-ray = special pictures doctors take that can see your bones


Book 8: A Day in the Life of a Veterinarian by Heather Adamson

Materials Needed: Dramatic Play Center—Vet’s Office, Books: A Day in the

Life and Biscuit Visits the Doctor


38

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—What was something new you learned?

2. Ask questions.

a. What was this story about?

b. What animals did you see at the Vet’s office?

c. Why do animals need to go to the Vet?

3. Highlight Center: Introduce Vet’s Office

Tell the class that we thought it would be fun to play Vet’s office in our classroom and

practice being a kind pet owner and vet. Go through the different Vet tools in the center

(reinforcing vocabulary across the two books as you do) and how they can play in this

center.




grooming = brushing



Scale – tells you how much something weighs


Writing at the Vet’s Office Center:

Add small notebooks, and pencils to the Vet Center so that the Vets can write

prescriptions, record the weight of animals, etc. Also, a clip board with a paper

on it that asks for the pet’s name and picture of the pet.

Children can be encouraged to pretend that they were a vet and use the small

notebooks or clipboards to pretend to be a vet and write prescriptions and take

notes.

Re-Read:

Place the book in the Vet’s Office Center and re-read with small groups of children as

they are playing in the Vet’s Office, giving them ideas on how to play in the Vet’s

Office. Reinforce the idea of fiction and non-fiction.


39

Before:

1. Show children both books and ask if they can remember what these books are about—show them the

cover to remind them.

2. Point out that one book is a pretend story (fiction), and one is a real story (non-fiction). See if they can

identify which is which.

3. Tell them this time we are going to read and discuss the kind acts in this story. Read one or both of the

books.


1. Ask questions about types of animals a Vet works with.

2. Ask what types of things the Vet is doing—weighing the dog, giving a shot, etc. Why do we do these

things?

3. Reinforce the vocabulary




grooming = brushing



scale – tells you how much something weighs


After: 1. Ask for their opinion—did you like it? Thumbs up/down. Why? Provide a sentence stem.

2. Has anyone taken their pet to a Veterinarian’s office? Help them share their experience.

3. Follow Up activity: Play in the Vet’s office with the children! Help them think of ways to play Vet’s office.

Model, extend language, and have fun together!


Books 7 & 8: Biscuit and A Day in the Life of a

Veterinarian

Re-Read & Activity – Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Materials: Biscuit Visits the Doctor and A Day in the Life

of a Veterinarian Books.


40


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song

Open, Shut Them Open and shut

hands


hands

Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times


hands


hands

Lay them in your

lap.

Put hands in lap

Notes on Book: This simple book includes different words for mimicking different dogs’

barks. Be prepared to be silly for this one!

Key Academic Vocabulary: quiet, moonlit


Before: 1. Introduce the book: This is a counting book about all different kinds of dogs. Look at the

dogs on the cover. Do they look the same or different?


During:

1. Read with very few interruptions so child can get a sense of the full story.


a. Point out the key vocabulary words.

Quiet - Look, these dogs aren’t barking. They are quiet.

Moonlit- This is a moonlit night. Do you see the moon in this picture? Yes. I see it.

The moon is giving light.

b. At a number of points in the story pause to count the dogs, pointing as you go.

c. At the end of the book count each dog and point out the cat. Ask, How do you think

this cat feels right now?

3. Point to each Number on the page and draw attention to it. Ex: Oh look there is the

number 5.

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—did you like this book? Thumbs up if you did?

2. Ask a few basic understanding questions. Use book’s pictures to prompt answers if

needed.

a. What was this story about? (different doggies and the noises they make)

b. Can you tell me one noise dogs make? (woof, ruff ruff, bow wow wow wow wow)

c. Which dog did you like best? (I liked the fluffy dog that said yap yap!)

d. Math Story Problem: If your dog barks once at the cat (hold up 1 finger) and then

two times as the squirrel (hold up 2 more fingers on your other hand and bring two

hands together), how many times did your dog bark? Let’s count—1-2-3 (wiggle or

each finger as you count). 3 times!


Book 9: Doggies by Sandra Boynton (Simpler Book)

Materials Needed: Doggies Book, Math Activities (see

Kindness Unit Materials)

Math


41

Before:




During:


2. Ask Question

a. (First page) What sound does the first dog make?

b. (“Six quiet dogs”) How many dogs were quiet?

c. (“on a moonlit night”) How many dogs were out on a moonlit night?

d. (Last page) How many cats were in this book?

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—did they like it? Thumbs up/down? Why? Provide a sentence stem.



b. What noise were the dogs making?

c. Were there any quiet dogs in this book?

d. Math Story Problem: If your dog barks once at the cat (hold up 1 finger) and then two times as the

squirrel (hold up 2 more fingers on your other hand and bring two hands together), how many times

did your dog bark? Let’s count—1-2-3 (wiggle or each finger as you count). 3 times!

3. Do one of the math activities for this book (see small group math instructions at the end of the unit).

Do multiple math activities across the unit.


Book 9: Doggies


Materials Needed: Book, Math Activity Cards, small dog figurines,

number cards


42


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song


hands


hands

Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times


hands


hands

Lay them in your

lap.

Put hands in lap

Notes on Book: This is a challenge book. Consider using it with older preschoolers. The

beautiful pictures tell the story while the simple text counts the number of people in the

illustrations. Therefore, student discussion about the pictures tells the actual story.

Key Vocabulary: (Because the text itself is so simple, these are suggestions of words you

may want to introduce while discussing the illustrations.) alone, shelter, depart


Before: 1. Topic Intro. I see lots of children on this book cover. I wonder how many there are? It

looks to me like they are happy. They are playing. We have been talking about kindness and

in this book, we are going to see a lot of kindness!

2. Introduce the Book: This book is a counting book with lots of numbers in it. It is called

How to Two. And this word “two” (point) is the number two. (Hold up two fingers.) We

are going to be on the lookout for numbers in this book!


During:

1. Read: This story is best told by discussing what is happening in the pictures. First model

this by reading the text and talking about what you see in each picture. Then, as children

become engaged and want to share their observations, allow them to talk about what they

notice but continue to read the text on each page before encouraging the children to talk

about the illustrations.

2. Model Thinking Aloud and Point out Numbers

a. At a number of points in the story pause to count the children, pointing as you go.

Talk about how the number of children is going up.

They keep adding children and finding new ways to play together. b. On the page where the children depart, pause to count backward. Point to the numbers

and talk about how each child is going home with his or her family.

3 Highlight key vocabulary* and key actions in the story:

*Alone- All by yourself. This child is playing alone, all by himself, on the slide. He is

having fun. But I notice someone back here. Do you see her?

Jumping Rope- The children are jumping rope together. These two swing the rope in

circles and this one jumps over it.

*Shelter- Cover from rain or other weather. Oh no! It’s raining. The children are hiding

under this shelter to stay dry. The roof will keep the rain off of them.


Book 9: How to Two Book by David Soman (Challenge Book)

Materials Needed: How to Two book

Math


43

Hide and Seek- The children are playing hide and seek. This child is closing her eyes

while everyone hides. Do you think she will be able to find everyone?

*Depart- leave. It’s time for the children to leave the playground and go home now. They

are departing one by one. Depart means to leave.

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—did you like this book? Thumbs up if you did?

2. Questions. Use book’s pictures to prompt answers if needed.

a. What was this story about? (children playing together)

b. What games did the children play? (the teeter totter, they jumped rope, they splashed

in a puddle, etc.)

c. Which page was the most interesting to you? (I liked the page where it was raining

because they didn’t go home. They stayed and played in the shelter.)

d. Math Story Problem: In this story children were playing on a playground. If on the

playground, one child is playing on the slide (hold up 1 finger) and two children are

playing on the swings (hold up 2 more fingers on your other hand and bring two

hands together), how many total children are on the playground? Let’s count—1-2-3

(wiggle or each finger as you count). 3 children! One plus two = 3 total children.

3. Work together to do a simple retell. Pause at the underlined words so children can

complete the sentence. If children cannot do so within three seconds, provide the word and

reread the sentence.

First, there was one child playing alone in the park. He had fun going down the slide.

Then he invited another child to play with him. They went up and down on the teeter-totter.

More and more children joined in. They played lots of games and felt very happy.

Everyone was included in the games. When it got late, everyone had to go home. The

children said goodbye and they departed for home. What does departed mean?


44

Before:






2. Ask Questions

a. (“How to three”) What do you think this boy in the purple shirt is thinking?

b. (page before “How to five!”) What do you think the children are saying to the child in the sand box?

c. (“How to…”) What are the children thinking as they watch this boy play in the puddle?

d. (“nine!”) What animal are they observing?

e. (“How to ten!”) How does the boy in the purple jacket feel now? Do you like to be included when other

people are playing?

f. (“How to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”) Where is everyone going?

3. Highlight Key Vocabulary—Practice using the word depart below AND across the day.

At the end of the story all of the children departed the playground. What does depart mean? (To Leave)

Let’s see if we can use the word depart today! Soon we will depart circle time and play in the classroom.

When it is recess time we will ______(depart) the classroom and go to the lunchroom. At the end of the day

we will _____(depart) and go home.

After: 1. Ask for their opinion—did they like it? Thumbs up/down? Why? Provide a sentence stem. I like this book

because_________


a. What was this story about? (Children playing together and including new friends.)

b. What are some games you can play with friends? (jump rope, hide and seek, tag, etc.)

c. Let’s see if we can find the animals hidden in the pictures. (Activity on last page)

d. Math Story Problem: In this story children were playing on a playground. If on the playground, one

child is playing on the slide (hold up 1 finger) and two children are playing on the swings (hold up 2

more fingers on your other hand and bring two hands together), how many total children are on the

playground? Let’s count—1-2-3 (wiggle or each finger as you count). 3 children! One plus two = 3

total children.

3. Do one of the math activities for this book. Do multiple math activities across the unit.


Book 9: How to Two Book by David Soman (Challenge Book)

Re-Read & Activity – Math Activities

Materials Needed: book, Match Activity Cards, small figurines of children or picture

cards of children’s faces, number cards

Math


45


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song



Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times




Put hands in lap.

Notes on Books: This is a sweet book about a little girl getting a kitten. The book

shows Lola taking great care of her kitten—lots of kindness!

Key Vocabulary: animal shelter, kitten, adopt, kindness


Before:

1. Reinforce the Theme and Introduce the Book: We have been talking about kindness

and practicing kindness in our classroom. We have been talking about kindness to our

friends, families, teachers, and animals. Today we are going to read a story about a

girl named Lola who gets a new kitten. She is so very kind to her kitten.


3. Tell them to be on the lookout for all of the ways Lola shows kindness to her kitten.

During:



a. There is a lot that needs to be thought about and done before getting a new pet. It

is a big responsibility.

b. Oh, I bet it was hard for Lola to patiently wait for her kitten to be comfortable at

her new home. That was very kind of her to give the kitten space and wait to

play with her.

c. Lola takes care to give her kitten lots of attention and even reads her books! I bet

the kitten loves Lola.

3. Draw children’s attention to key story elements & Key vocabulary

a. Key Story Elements

1. Point out that the characters in the book are Lola, cat, mom. They are who this

book is about.

2. Point out the key things kitten needs: carrier, water, toys, etc.

3. Point out that at the end, the conclusion—cat and Lola are happy together


Book 10: Lola Gets a Cat by Anna McQuinn

Materials Needed: Lola Gets a Cat book


46

b. Highlight key vocabulary as it comes up in the story and give a brief student

friendly definition.

animal shelter: A place where animals go when they don’t have a home

kitten: baby cat

adopt: to make one part of the family

After:


2. Questions.


b. Where did this story take place? (home and animal shelter)

c. What did Lola get from the animal shelter?

d. What does a kitten need to be happy?

3. Connect to their lives

a. Do you have a pet? Would you like one?

b. How do you/could you help take care of a pet?

c. What would you name your kitten if you had one?

Highlight Center: Vet’s Office Point out that in the vet’s center, the animals might need food and water or maybe they

would like a story read to them.


47






In this writing, the children will have the opportunity to share their own ideas about ways to be kind to animals.

Shared Writing Preparation Template: Express Ideas

Topic of Message: Plan your topic sentence.

We are kind to animals.


Kindness – being nice and considerate of the feelings of others (try to find an opportunity to show students

the little word “kind” within kindness).


Capital letters, periods.

Plan your sentences. You can follow this pattern:

Topic: We are kind to animals.

Detail: We are gentle when we pet a kitty.

Detail: We can give a dog water when it is thirsty.

Concluding: It is important to be kind to animals.


1. Discuss the book and vocabulary: We have been talking about kindness and being kind. We have been talking about

kindness to our friends, families, teachers, and animals. We read a story about a girl named Lola who gets a new cat.

She is so very kind to her cat. Let’s think how we can be kind to the animals, too.

2. Topic Sentence:

Plan: Let’s think about animals that we see or animals that live with us. (Give students a chance to think about animals

that they come in contact with.) Now share with your neighbor an animal that you see sometimes or that you live with.

Write: Now let’s write! We start our writing with a sentence that tells what we are going to write about. Today we are

going to write about how to be kind to animals. I am thinking about that and I think that our sentence will say, “We are

kind to animals.” I think that sentence is a good one to start with because it tells what we are going to write more about.

Write sentence in view of students and “think aloud” as you write: Capital, space between words, period.

Read aloud pointing to each word. Read a second time asking students to “read” with you. We are kind to animals.

3. Detail Sentences:

Plan: Gather input from students for the detail sentences:

Now we have written our important sentence that tells what is coming next. We wrote, “We are kind to animals.” Now

it is time to write a sentence about how we are kind to animals. Can you raise your hand if you would like to tell me

about a way that you are kind to animals? Gather input from students and choose one to expand into a sentence.


Book 10: Lola Gets a Cat by Anna McQuinn

Shared Writing

Materials Needed: Lola Gets a Cat book and white board or chalkboard

Express Ideas


48

We can be kind to all of the animals that we see or live with. EXAMPLE: Tessa says that she lives with a kitty and pets

her kitty gently. Is that a kind way to treat a kitty? It certainly is! Let’s write that in a sentence. “We are gentle when

we pet a kitty.” Can you say, “We are gentle when we pet a kitty?” Good, let’s write that.

Write: Write the sentence on the board following the end of the topic sentence, again drawing attention to the capital

letter and punctuation by thinking aloud. We are gentle when we pet a kitty.


We are gentle when we pet a kitty. **Repeat with another 1-2 sentences discussing being kind to different animals. Example: Let’s write about

dogs. What do we do when a dog is thirsty? That is right, we give him water. We can give a dog water if it is

thirsty. Can you say, “We can give a dog water if it is thirsty?” Good, let’s write that.

4. Concluding Sentence:

Plan: Lola took such good care of her kitty. She made sure that her kitty was warm and fed. She was gentle and kind to

her kitty. And that it important, isn’t it? Can we finish our writing with a sentence that says that it is important to be

kind to animals? It is important to be kind to animals. Now you say that, “It is important to be kind to animals.”

Write: Great, let’s write that sentence. It is important to be kind to animals. Write final sentence on the board following the end of the detail sentence, again drawing attention to the capital letter

and punctuation by thinking aloud. You can also think aloud about the word “kind.” I see the word “kind in our first

sentence. Now look! Here is the word kind in our last sentence! Kind must be a very important word.

Read: Now let’s read our writing together. Read aloud pointing to each word. Read a second time asking students to

“read” with you.

We are kind to animals. We are gentle when we pet a kitty. We can give a dog water when it is

thirsty. It is important to be kind to animals.

Keep the writing posted and in view of children, returning to it and reading together when possible.


49


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song



Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times




Put hands in lap.

Notes on Book: This is beautiful book showing animals taking care of the zookeeper

when he is sick one day. Full of great language and examples of kindness.

Key Vocabulary: zookeeper, early riser, amble, point out animals’ names children may

not know.


Before:

1. Reinforce the Topic: Remind the children that we are talking about kindness to

animals. Review what a veterinarian is and does. What does a veterinarian do?

2. Introduce the Book: Tell them that another person who takes care of animals is a

zoo keeper. She/he takes care of the animals at the zoo. Today we are going to read

a book about a kind zoo keeper.

3. Point out the title, author, and illustrator. Remind them that the illustrator makes

the pictures in the book. They are the artist.

During:



a. Point out the kind way Amos takes care of the animals and note that shows he cares.

b. When Amos is sick: I think the animals miss Amos.

3. Draw children’s attention to key story elements/events and key vocabulary

a. Key Events

1. Note the setting – zoo

2. Key point in the story—when animals leave to see Amos…Where do you think

they are going?

b. Point out new vocabulary and provide brief student friendly definition

Zookeeper – takes care of animals at the zoo

Early riser—that means he gets up early to start his day.

Amble—walked

Point out animals your students might not know.


Book 11: A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip Stead

Materials Needed: A Sick Day for Amos McGee


50

After:


2. Questions.


b. Where did this story take place?

c. Why did the animals go to Amos’ house?

3. Do a guided retell focusing on sequence of what happened in the story (show pictures

to help them remember). Let’s see if we can tell this story all together. First,

1. Amos went every day to take care of the animals.

2. One day Amos was sick, and the animals missed him.

3. The animals made Amos feel better. They were kind.

Highlight Center: Vet’s Office Remind the children of the Vet’s office and how to play in the Vet’s office.


51


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song



Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times




Put hands in lap.

Notes on Book: This is a non-fiction companion book to A Sick Day for Amos McGee

(similar to the Biscuit and Veterinarian book set earlier in this unit). It has real

pictures showing what a zookeeper does.

Key Vocabulary: zookeeper, nonfiction, lots of unique animals to point out!


Before:

1. Reinforce Topic. Remind the children that we are talking about kindness to animals.

Review what a veterinarian is and does. Review what a zookeeper is and does.

2. Introduce the book. Yesterday we read a pretend story (fiction) about

a zookeeper and today we are going to learn more about zookeepers by reading a

nonfiction book (real book, not pretend) about zookeepers.

3. Point out the title and author.

During:


2. Point out the many different things zookeepers do to help animals.

3. Point out the different animals in the book. Note that nonfiction books have real

pictures, photographs.

After:


2. Question.

a. What do zookeepers do?

b. What animals did we see in this book?

c. What is your favorite animal?

3. Comparing Fiction & Nonfiction Books – Have Sick Day for Amos & Zookeeper

a. Show them both books and ask if they can remember what these books are

about—show them the cover to remind them.

b. Point out that one book is a pretend story (fiction), and one is a real story (non-

fiction). See if they can identify which is which.

c. Ask How are these books different?


Book 12: I Want to Be a Zookeeper by Dan Liebman

Materials Needed: I Want to Be a Zookeeper AND A Sick Day for Amos McGee


52

Language

Time:

Learning New Things—1, 2, 3 Shared Storybook

Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2

times

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Lay them in your

lap.

Put hands in lap.

Notes on Book: This book is about Fiona and the Veterinarians and Zookeepers at the

Cincinnati Zoo who took care of her. This book brings together the last 2 days by discussing

another place veterinarians work—the zoo, zoo keepers, and taking care of animals. The

Fiona show trailer is a short video that would be a good one to show before reading the

book.

Key Vocabulary: Veterinarian, zookeeper, hippopotamus/hippo


Before: 1. Topic & Book Introduction:

We have been talking about showing kindness to animals and about some of the

professionals who take care of animals: Veterinarians and zookeepers. This book has both!

And it is about a very special hippopotamus in our city, Cincinnati, at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Fiona was so special because she was born really early. So early that everyone worried she

would not live. She was the littlest hippo ever born! Zookeepers and veterinarians at the zoo

helped her and now she is a strong hippopotamus! Let us read about her story.

2. Point out title & author – remind children what an author does.

During:



a. Oh Fiona was so little when she came out of her mama. I bet the zookeepers and

veterinarians were so worried about her.

b. Swims with her mama and daddy. Fiona looks so happy. I bet she loves swimming with

her Mommy and Daddy!

c. End – Look how healthy and happy Fiona is now! Everyone took such good care of her!

3. Draw children’s attention to key story elements & vocabulary

a. Key Story Elements

1. Characters – Fiona, zookeeper

2. Setting - Zoo


Book 13: Fiona The Hippo by Richard Cowdrey

Materials Needed: Fiona Book

*If possible, consider showing photos or video of the real Fiona before reading the

book http://cincinnatizoo.org/the-fiona-show/

http://cincinnatizoo.org/the-fiona-show/


53

b. Key Vocabulary – highlight & provide brief student friendly definition.

Veterinarian – takes care of animals when they are sick or need a check-up

Zookeeper – takes care of animals who live in the zoo

hippopotamus/hippo (this is a great word to clap out the syllables)

After:

1. Ask for their opinion—what was their favorite part. Has anyone been to the Cincinnati

Zoo? Have you seen Fiona?

2. Questions.


b. Once Fiona was healthy—walking and swimming, who did she want to be

with?

3. Follow Up activity: Shared Retell & Craft!

Read the shared retell below, but leave out the underlined word to see if children can

provide it. If they can’t after 3 seconds, you provide it and then re-read the sentence. Show

key pictures as you go (put post it notes to mark 3-5 key pictures).

Shared Retell:

This is a story about the smallest hippo ever born. Her name is FIONA. She was born in the

zoo and when she was born, she was taken care of by ZOOKEEPERS. At first, she was so

little and needed lots of care but, eventually she got stronger. She learned to walk and swim.

Finally, one very happy day she was strong enough to go swimming with her Mommy and

DADDY. She is now a big and strong hippopotamus. People can see Fiona at the Cincinnati

ZOO.

Materials: Paper plates, grey paint, construction paper, googly eyes, glue

black marker, scissors

Steps:

1. Have children cut one paper plate in half and glue it on to a full paper plate.

2. Cut ears and nostrils and have children glue these on.

3. Have children paint the plates grey. Let dry.

4. Glue on eyes, tongue & tusks, and make whisker dots.


54


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song


hands


hands

Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times


hands


hands

Lay them in your

lap.

Put hands in lap.

Notes on Book: This is a simple book about showing kindness to our planet. It discusses

things we can do to be kind to our planet. Next Unit we talk more about planet Earth and

the continents on Earth starting with North America.

Key Vocabulary: Earth, recycle

Read Using the 1, 2, 3 Shared Story Routine 1. Introduce the topic—being kind to the Earth.

We have been talking about kindness this week and today we are going to read a book

about being kind to our planet. Being kind to the earth involves not wasting things like

paper (made from trees) or water that we need, and animals need. It also means recycling

and throwing garbage away. It means keeping our Earth beautiful.


Today we are going to read this book. It tells us many ways we can be kind to our

planet Earth.

3. Point out title & authors – ask the children what an author does.

During:


2. Model Thinking Aloud:

Pick a few pictures and talk about how this helps us take care of our planet Earth. Remind

them that these are all things that we can do to be kind to the Earth.

3. Vocabulary: Highlight key vocabulary and provide brief student friendly definition.

Earth – the planet where we live.

Recycling – using something again in a different way.

After:

1. Ask for their opinion. Did you like the book?

2. Ask them to tell you some ways we can be kind to the Earth and review ways to take

care of the Earth. Use pictures to remind them if needed.

Kindness Part 3—Kindness to Our Planet

Book 14: The EARTH Book by Todd Parr

Materials Needed: The EARTH book


55


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song


hands


hands

Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times


hands


hands

Lay them in your

lap.

Put hands in lap.

Notes on Books: This is a simple book that talks about Earth Day. It features Biscuit the

dog celebrating Earth Day with his girl.

Key Vocabulary: Earth, Earth Day, Recycling


Before:

1. Remind students of our topic:

We have been talking about being kind to our Earth. Today, I want to tell you about a

special holiday called Earth Day. Earth Day is a day we celebrate our planet Earth and

think about all the ways we can be kind to our Earth.

2. Read title and author


Who remembers reading about Biscuit the puppy? What was our other Biscuit book

about? (Going to the vet). In this book Biscuit discovers what a special holiday called

Earth Day is all about.

During:



a. Beginning of the book where Earth Day is described:

Oh, I see, Earth Day is a special holiday about being kind to the Earth

b. Look Biscuit is doing lots of things to help the Earth-- cleaning up trash, conserving

(saving) water, etc.

3. Draw children’s attention to key story elements & vocabulary

a. Key story elements

1. The characters –Biscuit, girl

2. Setting, where the story takes place—outside in nature.

3. There are many ways of taking care of the Earth

b. Vocabulary

Earth Day: holiday in the Spring to celebrate Earth and remind us to take care of

Earth


Recycling – using something again in a different way.

Kindness, Part 3—Kindness to Our Planet

Book 15: Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Materials Needed: Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration book & Craft Materials: Blue &

Green Finger paint, paper, recycled objects to paint with (paper towel rolls, lids, etc.)


56

After:


2. Ask a few basic understanding questions.


b. What did Biscuit and his girl do to take care of the Earth?

c. Where did this story take place/the setting?

d. When is Earth Day (spring)?

e. Discuss recycling:

One of the ways we take care of the Earth is by recycling. When we recycle, we take

an old object and make it into something else. We do this when we put our old cans and

newspapers in the recycling bins. They are taken to recycling plants and made into new

products—new cans, paper, etc. We can also recycle for ourselves by using something

again in a new way. We are going to do that today in our art craft. We are going to use

lids and paper towel rolls as painting tools!

3. Craft Time! Recycle & Finger Paint

This activity was found on: https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2013/04/painting-with-recycled-objects-earth-day-art.html

Materials: Blue & Green Finger paint, paper,

recycled objects to paint with (paper towel rolls,

lids, etc.)

1. Provide children with a variety of recycled lids

and rolls and finger paints.

2. Tell them that one way we take care of the

Earth is by recycling objects, using objects more

than one time. Today we are going to use these

things that typically we would just throw away,

for painting tools.

3. Let children have fun experimenting with the

different objects and creating interesting pieces of

artwork!

https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2013/04/painting-with-recycled-objects-earth-day-art.html

https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2013/04/painting-with-recycled-objects-earth-day-art.html


57

Language

Time:

Learning New Things—1, 2, 3 Shared Storybook

Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2

times

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Open, Shut

Them Open and shut

hands

Lay them in your

lap.

Put hands in lap.

Notes on Book: This is a book about the simple things we can do to help our planet. Next

Unit we talk more about planet Earth and the continents on Earth starting with North

America.

Key Vocabulary: Earth, recycle


1. Remind students of our theme—being kind to the Earth. We have been talking about kindness this week and yesterday we talked about kindness to

our planet. What is the name of our planet? Today we are going to read another book about

being kind to our planet. Being kind to the earth involves not wasting things like paper

(made from trees) or water that we need, and animals need. It also means recycling and

throwing garbage away. It means keeping our Earth beautiful.

2. Point out title & authors: remind children what an author does.


This book is going to tell us lots of way we can help to take care of the Earth. Ways we can

show kindness to our planet Earth.

During:


2. Model Thinking Aloud: Point out things that help us take care of our planet Earth.

Remind them that these are all things that we can do to be kind to the Earth.

3. Key vocabulary: Highlight and provide student friendly definition.


Recycle – using something again in a different way.

After:

1. Ask for their opinion

2. Questions: Ask them to tell you some ways we can be kind to the Earth and review ways

to take care of the Earth.

3. Small Group Activity: Trash vs. Recycle Sort (see next page)

Kindness, Part 3—Kindness to Our Planet

Book 16: 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh

Materials Needed: 10 Things book, small group activity materials: Trash/Recycle

sort picture cards (in Kindness Unit Materials), small trash can and recycling bin


58

Materials: 10 Things I can do to help my world by Melanie Walsh, Trash/Recycle sort picture cards (in

Kindness Unit Materials), small trash can and recycling bin

Outline of Activity:

1. Read the book again.

2. Show the children the page about trash. Guide the children in a brief discussion of the importance of

throwing away trash in a garbage can. You might say, “What happens to garbage that we leave on

the ground?”

3. Show the children the page about sorting recycling. Guide the children in a brief discussion of the

benefits of recycling. For example, you might say, “Some things can be turned into new things.

This is called recycling. It’s important that we don’t throw these things into garbage cans. We

should recycle these things.”

4. Show the children the picture cards and explain that they will be deciding whether each item is

garbage or if it should go in the recycling.

5. Show the children the recycling and garbage cans and explain briefly what sorts of things go into

each can.

6. Work together with the children to determine where to properly place each picture card. Each child

should get at least one turn to open a can and place a picture card inside.

Trash: juice boxes and pouches, food scraps, Styrofoam cups, candy wrappers, containers with

remnants of food

Recycling: Macaroni and cheese box, paper scraps, empty and clean food cans, empty and clean

cardboard box, empty and clean milk jug

Trash vs. Recycle Small Group Sorting

Activity


59


Open Shut Them

Rhyming Song


hands


hands

Give a little Clap

Clap Hands 2 times


hands


hands

Lay them in your

lap.

Put hands in lap.

Notes on Book: This is a simple book about showing kindness.

Key Vocabulary: kind, gentle, shy, comfort

Read Using the 1, 2, 3 Shared Story Routine 1. Introduce the topic— Across the last couple weeks we have talked about the importance

of being kind. We have read lots of books about being kind and talked about how we are

kind to our family, our friends, animals, people in the community, and our Earth. You have

all showed how you are kind children. Our kindness garden has so many flowers from the

kind things you all have done in our classroom. Pick a few specific examples of kindness

(without saying children’s names, ex: children have helped each other clean up, given

compliments, shared toys, etc. All acts of kindness.

2. Introduce the book: This book is all about the different way children just like you show

kindness. Let’s see if you can see how many of the kind things in the book are things that

you also do. I bet there are so many!

3. Point out title & authors – ask the children what an author does.

During:


2. Model Thinking Aloud:

a. Do you wait your turn page: I know you all wait your turn! So Kind!

Point out a few examples

Ex: I saw _______ wait her turn to play with the _______.

b. Do you say please and thank you page: When someone does something nice for you, what do

you say (thank you!). Yes! If a friend shares their toys you say _____ (encourage them to say

thank you). When your Mommy gives you a delicious treat after dinner you say _____ (thank

you). So kind!

c. Will you be a friend to someone new page: I know it makes me feel so good when someone

wants to be my friend. I try to be a good friend to everyone.

3. Vocabulary: Highlight key vocabulary and provide brief student friendly definition.

Kind: being nice

Gentle: kind and soft

Shy: a little scared

Comfort: helping someone feel better

Kindness Wrap Up

Book 17: A World of Kindness by Pajama Press

Materials Needed: A World of Kindness book


60

After:

1. Ask for their opinion. Did you like the book?

2. Ask them to tell you some of the ways to be kind. Use pictures to remind them if

needed. This book showed lots of ways children can show kindness. What were some of the

ways the children in the book showed kindness?

3. Showing kindness across the day. I want everyone to think of something they will do

today that is kind. It could be saying please or thank you, sharing toys with a friend,

helping someone clean up a mess… When you think of something kind that you will do

today raise your hand. Call on a few children to share their kind act. Now turn to the friend

sitting next to you and share with them how you will be kind today.


61






This writing will allow students to respond to a question that is related to the book, A World of Kindness. You

can choose whether or not to include a concluding sentence. Shared Writing Preparation Template: Discuss & Respond to a Question

Response to the Question - How are we kind to each other?

Question: How are we kind to each other?


Kind: being nice. Thinking about how others feel

Gentle: kind and soft

Shy: a little scared

Comfort: helping someone feel better. We give each other comfort when we are sad.


Capital letters, question mark, period

Plan your sentences. This writing will have a topic sentence written in sentence form followed by

details and then a concluding sentence (if you choose).

Question: How are we kind to each other?

Response: We share with each other.

Response: We comfort each other.

Concluding sentence: We are kind.


1.Discuss book and vocabulary: We read a book called A World of Kindness. This book shows examples of lots of children being kind. Look

around, this room is filled with kind children and adults! Let’s think about our kindness garden and all of the

kind ways we have acted. We try to be kind every day. We try to make sure that we show kindness to

everyone.

2. The Question

Plan: Close your eyes and think of something that you did that was kind. (Give children just a few seconds to

think.) Share with the person next to you your kind deed.

Write: Now let’s write! We start our writing with a wondering. We will start with a question to help us think

about kindness. Today we are going to write about the kind things we do. Here is my question: How are we

kind to each other? Let’s write that first. Write the sentence in view of children and “think aloud” as you

write: How are we kind to each other?

Kindness Wrap Up

Book 17: A World of Kindness by Pajama Press

Shared Writing

Materials Needed: A World of Kindness book, Whiteboard or Chalkboard

Discuss and Respond

to Questions


62

Read aloud pointing to each word. How are we kind to each other?

3. Response Sentences

Plan: Gather input from children for the detail sentences: Now we have written our important sentence that tells what is coming next. We wrote, “How are we kind to

each other?” Remember that this is a question. A question can make us wonder about something. I wonder

how are we kind to each other? Gather input from children and choose one to expand into a sentence. This

can be tricky so you might have to be directive (i.e., I saw Andre help share with Lucy. Let’s write, “We

share with each other.”)

Write: Write sentence on the board following the end of the topic sentence, again drawing attention to the

capital letter and punctuation by thinking aloud. We share with each other.

Read aloud pointing to each word. Read a second time asking children to “read” with you.

***Guide students to create one or two more detail sentences and repeat the Plan/Write/Read process

for each of these. Here are a couple of examples:

We help clean up.

We comfort each other.

4. Concluding Sentence (optional):

Plan: Just like in our book A World of Kindness we are kind to each other. Let’s finish our writing today by

saying that again because it is really important. Can we say, “We are kind.”? That way our writing tells

anyone who reads it that in our class we are kind to each other. Can you say,” We are kind.”? Good, let’s

write that.

Write the final sentence on the board following the end of the detail sentence, again drawing attention to the

capital letter and punctuation by thinking aloud. You can also think aloud about the word “kindness.” I

hear a little word inside the word “kindness.” Say kindness. [kindness] Now say kind. [kind]. The little

word inside kindness is kind! Kindness is a good thing that happens when we are kind. Now let’s read our

writing together. We are kind. Read the entire written text together: Keep the writing posted and in view of children, returning to it and

reading together when possible.

How are we kind to each other? We help clean up. We share with each other. We

comfort each other. We are kind.


63

Wordless Books Small Group Work for the Kindness Unit

Wordless Books General Outline Skills Targeted: Length of sentences, retelling, explanations, vocabulary, and listening

comprehension, and print/book skills.

Materials: Books and follow up activity

Outline of Activity: Wordless book routine—SAMMY

1. Show children the book, read title & author, and generate excitement

2. Ask “What do you think this book is about?”

3. Model--Read it the first time with the children where you tell the story—

asking a few basic questions as you read.

4. Make sure they understood what happened in the story by asking a few

questions/reviewing: who the characters were, what the problem was that resolved, and

how it ended.

5. Your Turn: Read the story again, this time letting the children tell the story.

Provide prompts as needed—what is happening on this page? Who is that? How did the

story end? Have the child complete your sentence--The girl and the boy became

____(friends).

6. After Reading Activity.

Books in this Unit

1. That Neighbor Kid

2. A Ball for Daisy

3. I Walk with Vanessa (Challenge)


64

Skills Targeted: Length of sentences, retelling, explanations, vocabulary, and listening

Comprehension. Print/Book Skills

Materials: That Neighbor Kid by Daniel Miyares, three tags for marking pages before doing the story retell.

Story Synopsis: A young girl notices a moving van at the house next door. She watches her new neighbor, a

boy, from afar as he plays in his backyard. The young boy begins to take apart the large wooden fence

separating their yards. He uses the wood to begin building a treehouse. The little girl climbs his tree and brings

him a hammer. Together they plan, create, and paint a beautiful treehouse. They have lots of fun. At the end

of the night, they wave to each other from their own houses.


1. Show children the book, read the title & author, and generate excitement by pointing out the

children on the cover. “These kids look happy. They are playing by a tree.”

2. Ask “What do you think this book is about?” Ask the children if they think the girl and boy on the

cover are friends.

3. Model--Read it the first time with the children where you tell the story—asking a few basic

questions as you read. “What kind of truck is this? Why is it by that house?” “The girl is watching

the boy but is she playing with him?” “What is the girl bringing to the treehouse?” “What are the

girl and boy doing together?”

4. Make sure they understood what happened in the story by asking a few questions/reviewing.

“Who was in this story?” “Did they know each other at the beginning of the story?” “The girl

watched the boy for a long time. Why was she watching him?” “Did the girl and boy end up having

fun together?” “How did the story end?” “What were the girl and boy doing on the very last page?”


Provide prompts as needed— “What is the girl doing on this page?” “What is the boy doing?” Have

the child complete your sentence. “The girl and the boy became ____(friends).”

6. After Reading Activity- Story retelling. Flip through the book to each tagged page. Ask the child

to explain what is happening on each of those three pages. Emphasize the words “first,” “next,”

“last.”

Differentiation:

Children Who Need a Challenge: As you look at the pages from the beginning, middle, and end of the story,

ask the student to consider the thoughts and words of each character. “The girl sees a moving van next door.

How do you think she feels?” “How do you think the girl feels as she is bringing the hammer to the boy?”

“How do the girl and boy feel that night?”

Children Who Need Support: Pick out key vocabulary words for each page. Emphasize those words and ask

the child to use the words him or herself. For example, the teacher may say, “The girl sees a moving van next

door. (Teacher points to the van.) This is called a moving van. What is this called?”

That Neighbor Kid by Daniel Miyares


65


Comprehension, and print/book skills.

Materials: A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka, a small dog figure, a red ball made from playdough, a flattened

red ball from playdough, a blue ball from playdough, tags for marking three pages in the book

Story Synopsis: Daisy the dog loves playing with her red ball. Her owner, a little girl, plays with her. She

throws the ball to Daisy and retrieves it when it goes over a fence. One day, Daisy’s red ball pops. She plays

with the deflated ball for a bit before her owner throws it away. Daisy is very sad, but her owner is kind and

understanding. She sits quietly with Daisy while she feels sad. Soon they return to the dog park where another

dog owner has brought a blue ball. Daisy plays with the blue ball and it makes her happy again. At the end of

the story, the other owner lets Daisy leave the park with the blue ball.


1. Show children the book, read the title & author, and generate excitement by pointing out the dog, ball,

and bright colors on the cover

2. Ask “What do you think this book is about?” Guide children to the understanding that this book is about

a dog and a ball. Ask how the dog feels.

3. Model--Read it the first time with the children where you tell the story asking a few basic questions as

you read. “How does Daisy feel when she’s playing with her red ball?” “What happened to Daisy’s

ball?” “How does Daisy feel now?”

4. Make sure they understood what happened in the story by asking a few questions/reviewing. “Who

were the characters in the book?” “What was the problem? What made Daisy sad?” “How did the

story end?”

5. Your Turn: Read the story again, this time letting the children tell the story. Provide prompts as

needed. “What is Daisy doing on this page?” “Is Daisy happy or sad?” “What is Daisy’s owner

doing?”

6. After Reading Activity—Story retell with small dog model and play dough balls. Set out the dog and

three play dough balls, including the flattened red ball. Ask the children to use the materials to show

you what happened at the beginning of the story. The child should model the dog playing with the

round, red ball. Ask the child to show what happened next. The child should model the dog with the

flattened red ball. Ask the child to show how the story ended. The child should model the dog playing

with the round, blue ball.

Differentiation:

Children Who Need a Challenge: Place the dog model and play dough balls in front of the child and ask him or

her to use the materials to tell the story. Ask the child to show the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

Later, encourage the child to put himself into the shoes of Daisy’s owner. “How would you feel if you had a

dog to play ball with?” “How would you make Daisy feel better if she were your dog?”

Children Who Need Support: First model the story retell by using short sentences and manipulating the

materials. “First, Daisy had a red ball. She loved to play with the ball. Then the red ball popped. Daisy was

sad. At the end of the story, Daisy had a new blue ball. She was happy.” Then ask the child to use materials to

tell you what happened in the story. Encourage the child to identify the materials he/she is holding.

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschak


66


Comprehension, and print/book skills.

Materials: I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoet, tags for marking 3 pages in the book

Story Synopsis: Vanessa is a new student. On her first day of school, she is left out of many activities. At the

end of the day while the children are walking home, Vanessa is targeted by a bully who uses mean words to

make her feel bad. Vanessa runs home crying. Another little girl notices the bullying and feels badly for

Vanessa. She invites Vanessa to walk to school with her. Vanessa is soon surrounded by lots of friends all

walking to school together.


1. Show children the book, read the title & author, and generate excitement by pointing out the two

children on the cover. Describe the girls briefly.

2. Ask “What do you think this book is about?” Point out that the girls are wearing backpacks and

appear to be walking in a neighborhood.

3. Model--Read it the first time with the children where you tell the story—asking a few basic

questions as you read. “Vanessa is new to the school. How does that make her feel?” “How did

that boy make Vanessa feel?”

4. Make sure they understood what happened in the story by asking a few questions/reviewing.

“Who are the characters in this story?” “Who is new to the school?” “Why was Vanessa sad?”

“How did the other girl help Vanessa to feel better?”


Provide prompts as needed- “What is this girl’s name? Yes, Vanessa. She is new to the school.” “Is

Vanessa playing with the other children?” “What is this boy doing to Vanessa?” “The little girl is

talking to the other students. What is she saying?” “Vanessa and the girl ________ (walk to school

together.)”

5. After Reading Activity- Who are the characters in the story? Flip through the pre-marked pages

and point to each character (Vanessa, bully, girl) in turn. Ask the children who the character is.

Differentiation:

Children Who Need a Challenge: Ask the child to tell you one thing about each character.

Children Who Need Support: Encourage the child to tell you about each character. If he or she hesitates,

provide them with a sentence to complete. “This little girl is new to the school. Her name is

_______(Vanessa.)” “This is the person who is kind to Vanessa. She and Vanessa become

________(friends.)” “This boy is a ___________(bully.) He is mean to Vanessa.”

I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoet (Challenge)


67

Small Group Math Instruction - Kindness Unit


68

Table of Contents General Math Resource – Number Chart .............................................................................................................................. 68

Book 4- Grandma’s Tiny House - Math Activity Cards ....................................................................................................... 68

Book 4- Grandma’s Tiny House Math Manipulatives .......................................................................................................... 68

Book 9- Doggies - Math Activity Cards ............................................................................................................................... 68

Book 9- Doggies- Math Manipulatives, Patterning .............................................................................................................. 68

Book 9- How to Two - Math Activity Cards ......................................................................................................................... 68

Book 9 – How to Two- Math Manipulatives ......................................................................................................................... 68


69

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

General Math Resource – Number Chart


70

Small Number Recognition (1-3)

Object Counting

Quantity Compasrisons

Number-After Knowledge Number Comparisons

Addition

Subtraction

Grandma’s Tiny House – Math Activity Cards


Counting & Number Recognition

More Than/Less Than/Equal To

Quantity Comparisons

Number-After Knowledge

Addition

Subtraction

Materials

Book

Heart manipulatives

Math cards (numbers & symbols)

Number chart & counters

Developmental Progression for Number Knowledge

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Language of

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Small Number Recognition without Counting – Quantities of 1 - 3

1. Ask the children if they remember what this book was about (show book). Remind them that there were

numbers in this book. "Numbers tell us how many there is of something."

2. Say, "Sometimes when there is a really small group of things, I don't even need to count them to know

how many are there. I can just look and tell how many.”

3. Demonstrate by setting out a small group of 1-3 manipulatives, name the quantity and then check your

work by counting the items. Add the correct number card to label the quantity.

4. Continue to set out small groups and encourage the children to quickly name the quantity without

counting, check the work by counting the items together, and labeling the quantity with the number card.

Easy- Stay with 1 vs. 2 until they have this solid and without help. Start by having the children who are hesitant to

repeat the number after you. Then put the same quantity down for them to state the quantity. Repeat 1 vs 2 many

times so children practice saying each number multiple times.

Medium- Follow the procedure outlined above.

Hard- Move quickly and encourage the children to set out their own group to try to trick the teacher. The child sets

out a small group of 1-3, the teacher names the quantity (sometimes correctly, sometimes not) and the child tells if the

teacher is correct. Once they can do this, move on to larger quantities of 4-6.

Counting and Number Recognition

1. Ask the children if they remember what this book was about. Remind them that there were numbers in

this book. Say, "Numbers tell us how many." Show them your number cards and say I have some

number cards right here. As we read the book, I will put out the number card to match the numbers

talked about in the book.

2. Read the book again (or just look for the numbers on each page) emphasizing the numbers written in the

book. Lay out the appropriate number card for each page.

3. Set out the heart manipulatives and tell them: We are going to play a game where we will count the

hearts and then find the number card that tells how many hearts there are in each group. I choose

hearts to represent grandma’s family and friends. Why do you think hearts were a good choice? Let’s

start with this many hearts. Put three hearts out, count the hearts together, and match the correct number

card 3.

4. Repeat with different amounts.

For extra guidance: Encourage the child to count with you. For a challenge: Encourage the child to count alone.

Easy- Follow above procedure using numeral cards 1-5 and manipulatives in groups of 1-5.

Medium- Follow above procedure using numeral cards 1-10 and manipulatives in groups of 1-10.

Hard- Follow above procedure using numeral cards 10-20 and manipulatives in groups of 10-20.

Book 4- Grandma’s Tiny House - Math Activity Cards


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1. Ask the children if they remember what this book was about. Have a brief discussion.

2. Set out two groups of heart manipulatives (1-10) one clearly smaller (2 hearts) and one clearly bigger (5 hearts)

3. Explain. "Today we are going to play a game with groups of hearts called more than, less than, and equal to

with our heart manipulatives. We will say more than for the group that has more—is the bigger group, less for

the group that is smallest (has less) and equal to means the groups are the same—they have the same number of

hearts”

4. Count each group of hearts.

5. Point out which group is biggest and smallest. The group that has 5 hearts is bigger, it has more than the group

that has 2 hearts. Which group is the bigger group? Let’s say this group with 5 (point) has more hearts than this

group 3 (point). 5 is more than 3.”

6. Repeat this many times, encouraging children to tell which group has more than the other and which has less than

the other. Be sure to create equal groups as well and explain that we say "equal" when the groups have the same

number. Encourage the children to say the sentence: This group is greater than/less than/equal to this group.

Easy- Move slowly and encourage children to repeat after you (heavy modeling). Use sets with 1-5 times and start

with simply asking which is bigger vs. smaller with clearly bigger and smaller items.

Hard- Give the children the opportunity to "be the teacher" by creating two groups and telling which is greater than or

less than. Use larger groups of 10-20 if children have mastered counting objects that high.


Part 1

1. Show children the Number Chart, pointing to the number list at the bottom. “Here is a list of our numbers from 1

to 10. Let’s all say them in order together 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10. Great! We all just counted to 10.

Do this a couple times until they all can do it clearly.

2. Pointing to the number 1 ask the children what number comes next, what number comes after 1. Point to the

number 3 and ask what comes next. If they cannot tell you, start at number 1 and count up to 4 and point out 4

comes next. Do this for a variety of numbers (1-5), pointing each time as you ask. Once they have this down, ask

them without pointing to the number – what number comes after _____? Once they can do this for 1-5 move on to

part 2 and add numbers 6-10 in part 1.

Part 2

1. Give each child a number chart and a set of 6 counters (enough to make numbers 1-3 initially).

2. Tell them “we are going to put the number of counters to represent each number.” Point to the number 1, how

many counters do we need to show 1? Yes one. Let’s place the counter above the number 1. Have each child

place one counter above the number 1. Do the same thing for numbers 2 and 3.

3. Ask them questions comparing the numbers 1 – 3. Which number is bigger, 2 or 3? Yes, look 3 has more counters,

3 is more than/bigger than 2.

4. Point out that each number is one more than the number before it. 2 is one more than 1, 3 is one more than 2—show

this with the counters.

As children are ready, repeat these steps with numbers 1-5 and then 4-6


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Addition


2. Set out two groups of manipulatives (a group of 2 and a group of 1).

3. Explain, "Today we are going to do addition. Addition means putting together. When we add things

together they get bigger"

4. Count each group of manipulatives and place the matching numeral cards below the groups.

5. Say, "Now we are going to find out how many there are altogether. We are going to add these groups."

Show the addition card. This symbol means addition and we say plus when we read it. Place the addition

sign between the two numeral card and the equals sign after. Point to equal sign -- This symbol means

equals, the number all together.

6. Count the groups with the children. Place the matching numeral card for the sum at the end of the equation

7. Read the whole equation, encouraging children to read with you. “Two plus one equals three.”

Repeat this many times with groups of varying amounts with sums of 2 - 5.

Easy- Move slowly and encourage children to repeat after you. For example, "This groups has 2. How many? Yes,

2. This group has 1. How many? Yes, 1. When I add them together. I get (point to each manipulative as you count)

1, 2, 3. How many? Yes, 3. Two plus one equals 3. Say that with me again." *Use small groups with sums up to 5. *Do not use numeral cards.

Hard- Use groups with sums up to 10.

Subtraction


2. Set out one group of manipulatives with up to 5 manipulatives. Explain, "Today we are going to do

subtraction. Subtraction means taking away. When we subtract something, it gets smaller"

3. Count the manipulatives with the children and place the matching numeral card under the group.

4. Place the subtraction sign to the right of the numeral card and say, "This symbol means subtraction, we

say minus when we read it. Now we are going to subtract or take away."

5. Tell the children how many you will be subtracting and place the matching numeral card to the right of

the subtraction sign and the equals sign after that. “Let’s take away 2 hearts.”

6. Encourage the children to count with you as you take away that amount of manipulatives.

7. Say, "How many are left now?"

8. Count the remainder together and place the matching numeral card after the equals sign.

9. Read the whole equation. Five minus two equals 3.

Repeat this many times with groups of varying amounts and differences up to 10.

Easy- Move slowly and encourage children to repeat after you *Use small groups with differences up to 5. *Do not

use numeral cards.

Hard- Use groups with differences up to 20.


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Book 4- Grandma’s Tiny House Math

Manipulatives


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Object Counting



Addition

Subtraction

Doggies – Math Activity Cards






Addition and Subtraction

Patterns – Recognizing & Extending, Creating

Materials

Book

Small dog manipulatives



Dog Pattern Cards


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7. Set out the dog manipulatives and tell them: We are going to play a game where we will count the dogs

and then find the number card that tells how many dogs there are in each group. I choose hearts to

represent grandma’s family and friends. Why do you think hearts were a good choice? Let’s start with

this many dogs. Put 3 dogs out, count them together, and match the correct number card 3.






Book 9- Doggies - Math Activity Cards


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8. Set out two groups of dog manipulatives (1-10) one clearly smaller (2) and one clearly bigger (5 dogs)

9. Explain. "Today we are going to play a game with groups of dogs called more than, less than, and equal to. We

will say more than for the group that has more—the bigger group, less for the group that is smallest (has less)

and equal to means the groups are the same—they have the same number of dogs”

10. Count each group of dogs.

11. Point out which group is biggest and smallest. The group that has 5 dogs is bigger, it has more than the

group that has 2 dogs. Which group is the bigger group? Let’s say this group with 5 (point) has more dogs than

this group 3 (point). 5 is more than 3.”

12. Repeat this many times, encouraging children to tell which group has more than the other and which has less

than the other. Be sure to create equal groups as well and explain that we say "equal" when the groups have the

same number. Encourage the children to say the sentence: This group is greater than/less than/equal to this group.






Part 1









Part 2











78

Addition

















Subtraction








the subtraction sign and the equals sign after that. “Let’s take away 2 hearts.”







use numeral cards.



79

Recognizing and Extending Patterns

1. Ask the children if they remember what this book is about. Have a brief discussion.

2. Explain that “today we are going to be learning about patterns. Patterns repeat over and over.”

3. Using the dog patterning cards, create the start of a simple pattern and read it aloud to the children. "Big dog, little

dog, big dog, little dog, ____________"

4. Ask, "What comes next in my pattern?"

5. Allow the children to add the next card in the pattern of big/little/big until it is done.

6. Read the completed pattern.

Repeat many times with a variety of increasingly difficult, but still simple patterns. AABAA or ABBA or

AABB patterns are all appropriate.

Easy- Follow the steps outlined above but move slowly. Build the simple AB patter a couple times. Encourage the

children to read the pattern with you before telling what comes next.

Hard- Follow the steps above in Outline (Medium) but move quickly. Encourage the children to read the patterns

independently before extending them. Use more complex patterns from the onset. Consider using a growing pattern

like AB, AAB, AAAB.

Creating Patterns

1. Ask the children if they remember what this book is about. Have a brief discussion

2. Explain that “today we are going to be making patterns. Patterns repeat over and over.”

3. Create the AB simple pattern and read it aloud to the children. "Big dog, little dog, big dog, little dog" Create a few

more patterns as models for the children.

4. Tell the children, "Now, it is your turn to make a pattern." Encourage the children to create a pattern.

5. Read the completed pattern.

Repeat many times, encouraging children to create more complex, but still simple, patterns. AABA or ABBA or

AABB patterns are all appropriate.

Easy- Follow the steps outlined above but move slowly. Use very simple AB patterns. Create a few patterns first

before encouraging children to create their own.

Hard- Follow the steps above in Outline (Medium) but move quickly. Create just one or two model patterns before

asking children to create their own. Encourage children to use more complex patterns from the onset. Consider using

a growing pattern like AB, AAB, AAAB.


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Book 9- Doggies- Math Manipulatives, Patterning


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Object Counting



Addition

Subtraction

How to Two – Math Activity Cards






Addition

Subtraction

Materials

Book

Children’s faces manipulatives




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Language of

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3. Set out the heart manipulatives and tell them: We are going to play a game where we will count the

children and then find the number card that tells how many children there are in each group. I

choose children for this book. Why do you think children were a good choice? Let’s start with this

many children. Put three children out, count the children together, and match the correct number card 3.






Book 9- How to Two - Math Activity Cards


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2. Set out two groups of heart manipulatives (1-10) one clearly smaller (2 children) and one clearly bigger (5

children) Explain. "Today we are going to play a game with groups of children called more than, less than, and

equal to with our heart manipulatives. We will say more than for the group that has more—is the bigger group,

less for the group that is smallest (has less) and equal to means the groups are the same—they have the same

number of children”

3. Count each group of children.

4. Point out which group is biggest and smallest. The group that has 5 children is bigger, it has more than the group

that has 2 children. Which group is the bigger group? Let’s say this group with 5 (point) has more children than

this group 3 (point). 5 is more than 3.”

5. Repeat this many times, encouraging children to tell which group has more than the other and which has less than

the other. Be sure to create equal groups as well and explain that we say "equal" when the groups have the same

number. Encourage the children to say the sentence: This group is greater than/less than/equal to this group.






Part 1









Part 2











84

Addition

















Subtraction








the subtraction sign and the equals sign after that. “Let’s take away 2 children.”







use numeral cards.



85

Book 9 – How to Two- Math Manipulatives

unit 2 - kindness

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