A Curricular Plan for the
Reading Workshop
By Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from TCRWP
Grade Kindergarten Unit Map
Unit # 2: Read, Think, and Talk About Story Books Time: October
(Week 5, 4 Weeks)
Overview: The purpose of this unit is to help students develop storybook language and vocabulary and
to establish a strong sense of how to make meaning from books. The Common Core State Standards
expect that by the year's end, kindergartners will be able to read emergent-reader texts with intent and
understanding, ask and answer questions about key details in a text, retell familiar stories, and identify
key components in a story. This focus will support students as they read and story tell their emergent
storybooks with elaboration and as they read and talk about books with their partners. The work of this
unit will also set students up to accumulate a repertoire of strategies to choose from on their own,
across time, with scaffolding and support.
In this unit children will read and reread familiar emergent storybooks with purpose and understanding.
Each time they reread they grow a deeper understanding of the story, a stronger sense of the language
of the text, and an increased willingness to read it themselves-because they believe they can. They
develop a ‘can do’ attitude, which the teacher will want to capitalize on. You will want to provide time
for your children to read, think, and talk together about these books as you continue to build on their
growing knowledge of early reading skills and concepts about print. Create baskets of ‘Old Favorites’
with titles the children know well. Think about a story line or theme like ‘We don’t just say I can’t. We
figure out how to read the story.’ This would highlight readers being active problem solvers, focusing
on the mechanics of reading. Then move on to, ‘We don’t just read through books, slam them to the
side and say, I’m done.’ This highlights how we study books, think between books and grow ideas about
books thinking and discussing. The last part would be ‘Readers invent fun things to do with our books.’
Students will learn to use the pictures and the story to help them story tell across the pages of the book
to a partner, to connect the pages into one unified story (rather than talking about each page as though
it were separate), and to elaborate and say as much as they can (as opposed to pointing to each object
and naming it).
This unit will focus on reading familiar shared reading and shared writing texts, in addition to reading
emergent storybooks. Students will learn to use everything they know from the first two weeks of the
unit: connecting the pages to story-tell, using the pictures and the story to say as much as they can on
each page, stopping and thinking all along the way and to think about how the book sounds, if it rhymes,
or it repeats, if it has a pattern, or a rhythm. They will learn that the language in the book can sweep
them along as they think across the pages to tell the story. In addition to reading and retelling, students
will learn to have conversations about their books, sharing interesting or confusing parts, and discussing
connections they have made while reading. Lastly, students will learn that they can reread their books in
many different ways, reading more fluently and expressively each time. They can use props, puppets,
taking turns reading, even singing their books.
Part One: Readers Figure Out How to Read the Story
 Reread well known books
 Approximate reading
 Concepts About Print
 Notice high frequency words in text
 Memorize patterns
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



Learn problem solving and resourcefulness
Predict what will happen next
Retell favorite books
Reenact stories through dramatic play, build the setting with blocks, paint murals to bring stories
to life
 Partnerships
Part Two: Readers Can Read Emergent Story Books with a Partner-and Notice Connections between
Texts
 Partnerships talk about how the stories go together
 Learn how to use post-it notes to be prepared to talk about parts they want to discuss with their
partner
 Make connections within and across books
 Find parts that are similar and different
 Teach children how to talk in more detail
Part Three: Readers Can Invent Fun Things to Do with Stories We Know Really Well
 Read and talk about books with more confidence
 Invent fun things to do with stories you know well
 Use tools (voices, facial expressions, body gestures) to tell stories
 Read like a storyteller
During this unit:
 When reading books they know well, readers should use their knowledge of the story and of story
structure, to "tell" the story across pages in a way that connects the key details including
characters, setting, and major events of the story.
 When reading books they know well, readers can talk about connections within and across books,
comparing and contrasting the characters.
 It is important to read with purpose and understanding, using knowledge of story structure,
patterns and the sound of language.
 When reading familiar text, students can use drama to retell in various ways, to grow an
understanding of characters, setting and events in the text as well as orally confirm their
understanding of it.
 Reread familiar emergent story books
 Teach private reading time
 Teach partner reading time with formalized partnerships
 Additional reading time
 Shop for 2 kinds of books and management of books
 Identify conventional readers and launch into guided reading ASAP
Stage 1 – Common Core State Standards and Indicators– What must students know and be able to do?
Reading Standards for Literature
Key Ideas and Details
RL.01 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.02 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
RL.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Reading Foundational Skills
Print Concepts
RF.01a Follow words left to right, top to bottom, and page to page.
Fluency
RF.04 Read emergent-reader text with purpose and understanding.
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Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.01. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and
texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.01a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking
about the topics and texts under discussion).
SL.01b. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
SL.02. Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other
media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is
not understood.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.60. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.07. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in
which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
Essential Questions for Students
Guiding Questions for Teachers
1. How can I teach students to read their books so that
1. How can I learn read a book I
know well so that it sounds like
the pages of the story are connected and so that they
a story?
hold on to the storyline as they read?
2. How can my partner and I talk
2. How can I teach students to deepen their
about several books we know
understanding of the text through conversation with
well, noticing patterns,
others?
language, rhyme, repetition, and 3. How can I teach students to use rereading as a way
how the stories are alike?
to confirm and deepen their understanding of books?
Stage 2– Common Assessment – What is the evidence of understanding?
Universal Screens
Formative Assessment Strategies
Performance: Authentic Task
Pre:
- Teacher Observation: What books are children
seeking?
- Concepts About Print Checklist
Interim:
Emergent Storybook Conferring Sheet
- Partnership Behaviors and Conversations
- Teacher Observation During Student Retell,
Drama, Blocks, Mural Painting
- Conferring: What makes you think that?
What do you think about that? Why do you
think that?
Post:
- Concepts About Print Checklist
- Emergent Storybook Conferring Sheet
- Teacher Observation During Student Retell,
Drama, Blocks, Mural Painting
-Conferring: What makes you think that?
What do you think about that? Why do you
think that?
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Common Assessment
Stage 3 – Instruction – What learning experiences will lead to understanding?
Skills:
Key Terms/Vocabulary
NOTE: Two sets of skills were
generated for Unit 02 Kindergarten
Domain Specific Words
Reading. Both are included below.
goal focus
message/lesson
-Student is able to label the pictures
pictures in your mind
- Student is able to follow the action on
prediction problemthe page
solve
-Student is able to tell the story in

Retell
dialogue using the pictures and oral

make sense/look
language
right
-Student notices print

"In the air/on the
- Student is able to connect pages
carpet"
- Student is able to identify letters

Word wall
- Student is able to identify sounds
-Student is able to identify some
known words
-Students is able to appear as if they
are reading an emergent storybook
with fluency
- Student is able to revise their reading
using meaning, pictures, story
language and print
- Student is able to use oral story
language
- Student is able to use storytelling
language
- Student is able to use pictures for
elaboration
Novice Skills:
Phonics:
-Reads some letter sounds in isolation
-Reads a very limited number of high
frequency words
Monitoring for Sense
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-With prompting and support, retells
story or identifies main topic including
key details
Integrating Text Sources
-Uses illustrations as a source of
information
Fluency
-NA
Intermediate: Skills/
Phonics:
-Reads initial sounds for most
consonants
-Reads a limited number of high
frequency words
Monitoring for Sense
-With prompting and support,
sometimes asks and answers questions
about key details
in a text
-With prompting and support, retells
story or identifies main topic including
key details
-Sometimes makes sure text read
makes sense
Integrating Text Sources
-Makes sure it makes sense, sounds
right and looks right by using
illustrations and the first letter of tricky
words
Fluency: NA
Proficient: Skills
Phonics
-Demonstrate basic knowledge of oneto-one letter-sound correspondences
by producing the primary sound or
many of the most frequent sounds for
each consonant
-Associate the short and long vowel
sounds with common spellings
(graphemes) for the five major vowels
-Reads common high frequency words
by sight
-Distinguishes between similarly
spelled words by identifying the sounds
of the letters that differ
Monitoring for Sense
-With prompting and support, asks and
answers questions about key details in
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a text
-With prompting and support, retells
story or identifies main topic including
key details
-Makes sure text read makes sense
-Makes inferences on characters and
events
Integrating Text Sources
-Makes sure it makes sense, sounds
right and looks right by cross-checking
different sources, and looking all the
way through words
Fluency
NA
One Possible Sequence of Teaching Points
(A Note To Teachers: Below is a series of teaching points that could be used during whole class
minilessons, mid-workshop teaching points, teaching shares and to support small group instruction.
Please remember that this is one possible sequence of teaching points. Teachers will alter this list,
especially by adding to it, based on the students in your class. You may decide to spend more time on
some things and not others. Make sure not to extend the unit beyond its time frame. )
Part One: Readers Figure Out How to Read the Story
How can I teach students to read their books so that the pages of the story are connected and so that
they hold on to the storyline as they read?

Today I want to teach you that we can use the pictures to name the things we see in our books,
predict what will happen next and then move on to the next page of our story.

Tip: Sometimes even careful readers forget how the story goes. When this happens,
we can use the pictures to remind us of what's going on in the story.
 Today I want to teach you that when we read our books we read them in a way that connects the
pages together so that it sounds like on whole story We can do this by saying things like “After
that,” “Then,” “And so…”
 Today I want to teach you that when we read books we can read in the way a storytelling voice
sounds-some parts are fast, and others are slow. Our voices get louder and softer in different
parts, and we match our voices to what is happening in the story.
Part Two: Readers Can Read Emergent Story Books with a Partner-and Notice Connections between
Texts
How can I teach students to deepen their understanding of the text through conversation with others?

Today I want to teach you that we can read and talk about our books with our partners. We can
mark the places in our books during private reading time that we want to share with our reading
partners.
 There are lots of things we can talk about with our partners, like parts that give us a strong
feeling, about pages that connect, or about how different books and different characters can be
alike and different. You can invent your own ways to talk about your books, too!
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 Today I want to teach you that we can make connections within and across our books by finding
parts of books that are similar and different. Then we can talk about what we've noticed with
our partners.
 Today I want to teach you that readers don’t always read alone but sometimes they can read
with a partner, knee to knee.
 Today I want to remind you that you can get ready to read by looking through the pictures in a
book to notice things that repeat (or stay the same), knowing that if something repeats in the
pictures, we can predict that it will probably repeat in the words too.
 Tip: Before reading, we can point to and name out loud what we see happening in the
pictures to get our minds ready to read the words on the page, knowing that sometimes it’s not
the object on the page that changes, it’s the action.
 Today I want to teach you that when we come to tricky parts in our books, sometimes it helps to
go back a page or two to get a running start. Read the words as smoothly as you can, and then
reread if you need to smooth it out so that you can hear how the pattern sounds. Sometimes if
we read too slowly it makes it harder to hear the pattern.

Today I want to teach you that when we come to tricky part in our books we can study the
picture and think, “What’s going on here?” or “What is on this page that might help me figure
out this word?” Finding and pointing to an object or action in a picture can help us make better
guesses about a tricky word.
Part Three: Readers Can Invent Fun Things to Do with Stories We Know Really Well
How can I teach students to use rereading as a way to confirm and deepen their understanding of books?
 Today I want to teach rereading our books helps us understand them better. One thing that we
can do when we reread our books is to choose scenes to act out together with our partners and
figure out the reason why we chose it (i.e., importance to the story, drama involved, favorite
part, and so on.)
 Today I want to teach you that another way we can reread our books is to think about how the
characters feel in our books, making our voices sound just like the characters would sound, and
to use the facial expressions and body gestures that go along with the actions and feelings of the
characters.
 Resources:
 Calkins, Lucy and Colleagues. 2011. A Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop Grade K.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
 Calkins, Lucy and Kathleen Tolan. 2010. Building a Reading Life: Stamina, Fluency and Engagement.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
 Mentor Texts
 Determined by personal preference
 Check with third grade to determine class favorites
Websites and Web-tools used
 www.highlights.com
 Author interviews can be found online - how to make stories (search Eric Carle on YouTube)

Texts Used (fiction, non-fiction, on-line, media, etc...)
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



Favorite read alouds brought in from home
Movie clips showing scenes from famous children’s stories made into movies
Look books
Emergent story books like:
 Caps for Sale
 The Snowy Day
 Corduroy

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shove

The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Suggested Poems
Ada, Alma Flor, and F. Isabel Campoy. Pio Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes. HarperCollins,
2003.
Ackerman, Diane. Animal Sense. Knopf, 2003. Adoff, Arnold. Touch the Poem. Scholastic, 2000.
Agard, John. Under the Moon and Over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems. Candlewick Press,
2003.
Bunting, Eve. Sing a Song of Piglets: A Calendar in Verse. Clarion, 2002. Chapman, Jane. Sing a Song of
Sixpence: A Pocketful of Nursery Rhymes and Tales. Candlewick Press,
2004.
Elizabeth Sulzby’s research on Emergent Storybook reading http://www.sulzby.com/
Differentiated Instructions: Small Group
Finding opportunities for small group instruction is essential for all of your kindergarten children, right
from the start.
ELL: Some students can write in their native language and we need to honor that at this point in their
progress. Students need to have picture mentor support to help them see and understand what we are
teaching.
Special Education: Modifications should always be based on IEPs. Students who have occupational
issues may have someone write for them or they may speak to a computer, which will write for them.
Interactive Writing: Students should write and share the pen with you to help them see and own what
writers do.
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