Kindergarten Writing Plans Unit 2
Lesson 6
Topic: Using Our Senses
Read Aloud: Listen, Listen
Big Book: My Five Senses
Companion Piece: Poems About Senses
Essential Question: How do our senses help us learn
about the world?
Target Skills: Text and Graphic Features; Compare
and Contrast
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 6
Days 1 and 2: Writing in response to read aloud book, Listen, Listen
Comprehension Skill: Identifying Details from the Text; Text and Graphic Features
Report Card Skill (if applicable): dictates or writes using pictures or words/using details
to describe familiar people, places, things, or events/acquires and uses increasingly
difficult vocabulary.
Before Reading: Introduce/Review vocabulary. This week we will be reading stories about
using our senses. Our senses give us information about the world around us. We can use
our senses to get information about what we see, feel or touch, hear, smell, and taste.
Today, since our story is titled “Listen, Listen” we will be talking about our sense of
hearing. (You can split this into 2 days- read about 2 seasons a day)

This story is divided into seasons (summer, fall, winter, spring) - As I read this
story aloud, I want you to think about the different sounds you might hear
during the season. We’ll stop after each season and discuss.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading about Each Season:

Tell your partner one thing you might hear in the summer- if needed provide an
example, “One thing I might hear in the summer is insects buzzing and chirping”
What is something else we might hear? -teacher recaps and writes on chart paper.
(see samples below) You may have to prompt them by using the picture clues

Repeat with fall, winter, and spring.

Explain that we used the information from the text and the pictures to identify the
different sounds of each season.
Sample Chart:
Summer
insects buzzing and
chirping
children playing
leaves rustling
waves splashing
Autumn/Fall
acorns dropping
leaves crunching
seagulls squawking
wind blowing
geese honking
Winter
crunching of snow
children playing in
snow
fire crackling
snow shovels
Spring
birds chirping and
singing
rain falling
eggs cracking and
hatching
frogs croaking
Extension: Students can select a season and illustrate something that takes place during
the season. They can complete the sentence, “In ____ (the season) I hear _______.”
They can share with a partner then write or complete the preprinted sentence stem.
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 6
Days 3 and 4: Writing in response to read aloud book, My Five Senses (you could
spread this out over 2 days if needed)
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Identifying Details; Text and Graphic
Features
Report Card Skill (if applicable): Main idea and details in an informational text
Before Reading: Earlier this week we read a book about using our sense of hearing to
identify the sounds we hear during the seasons of the year. In this big book, you are going
to learn about all 5 senses (sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell)

As I read, I want you to use the pictures and the words to find out what the boy
sees, touches, smells, tastes and hears.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
*You may want to have certain students listen for what he sees, some listen
for what he touches, some listen for what he smells, etc…
After Reading: We are going to use a chart to help us organize what we read. (You could
also pause after you read about each sense and record information on the chart.)
Turn and tell your partner one thing the boy saw. –teacher recaps and records on chart.
Turn and tell your partner one thing the boy felt. –teacher recaps and records on chart.
Turn and tell your partner one thing the boy smelled. –teacher recaps and records on
chart.
Turn and tell your partner one thing the boy tasted. –teacher recaps and records on chart.
Turn and tell your partner one thing the boy heard. –teacher recaps and records on chart.
Sample:
saw
stars
moon
sun
frog
felt/touched
bunny
water
kitten
ball
The boy
smelled
soap
pine tree
fresh
cookies
tasted
ice cream
milk
food
heard
fire engine
bird
Writing Activity: (If helpful, you could have this preprinted on paper)
In the story My Five Senses, the boy used his senses to...
See:
Touch:
Smell:
Taste:
Hear:
*They can draw at least 2 items beside each sense using the information from the chart
and text.
Example: By “see” they could draw stars or a frog.
Compare/Contrast Writing:
After reading the poems about senses, you could create a modeled writing on the
following:
How are the poems similar to My Five Senses and how are they different? (the poem and
the stories are about senses; they are about the sense of sight and hearing and in My Five
Senses, it refers to all the senses)
Kindergarten Writing Plans Unit 2
Lesson 7
Topic: Sounds and Language
Read Aloud: Amelia’s Show and Tell Fiesta
Big Book: Mice Squeak, We Speak
Companion Piece: The Fort Worth Zoo
Essential Question: How do animals communicate?
How do people communicate?
Target Skills: Understanding Characters; Author’s
Word Choice
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 7
Days 1 and 2: Writing in response to read aloud book Amelia’s Show and Tell Fiesta
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Understanding Characters and Author’s
Word Choice
Report Card Skill Addressed: Students will dictate or write using pictures and words.
Before Reading: This week we will read stories that will help us learn ways people and
animals communicate. When we communicate we let others know how we feel. We can use
our words or our bodies to communicate our feelings. In today’s story, Amelia’s Show and
Tell Fiesta, Amelia goes to a new school and experiences many different feelings.

As we read, I want you to think about how Amelia’s feelings change in the story.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading: We are going to create a chart to identify the different feelings Amelia
had in the story.
Beginning of Story: Ask: How did Amelia feel at the beginning of the story? (If
needed, go back and prompt- she is running up the stairs, she sits up front and listens to
every word… she must be excited about school) Go back through the story to look at the
pictures and reread when necessary to see how Amelia is feeling.
Ask: How do you think Amelia felt about showing her fiesta dress? How do you know? –
excited- she twirled around and couldn’t wait to show her classmates
Middle of Story: Ask: How did Amelia feel when she got to school and realized no one
else was dressed in costume? (probably embarrassed, foolish)
End of Story: Ask: After her teacher had her share, how did Amelia feel? What clues
help you see that she was happy?
These questions will guide the students through- you can also stop and ask after you read
the beginning, the middle, and the end to allow for conversation and to keep the students
engaged as you read.
Sample Chart:
Beginning
Excited- she ran up the
stairs;
Sat up front; couldn’t wait
to show off her fiesta dress
Middle
Embarrassed- no one else
was in costume; she didn’t
have anything for the basket
End
Happy/Proud- she got to
share about fiesta; students
hoorayed for her
Writing Activity: (this could be done on 2nd day if needed)
Students will draw pictures that demonstrate how Amelia’s feelings changed
throughout the story. You could have a trifold and have them label “beginning”
“middle” and “end” and then have them draw a picture that shows how she felt
during each part of the story. After they have drawn a picture for each section,
have them share with a partner. They can explain by saying, “In the beginning of
the story, Amelia felt ____; in the middle, she felt ______, and in the end she
felt _____. “
They can dictate to you to explain how she felt, or they can write if they are able.
They can use your words from the chart to help write their feeling words.
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 7
Day 3: Writing in response to read aloud book Mice Squeak, We Speak
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Author’s Word Choice; Main Idea and
Details
Before Reading: Yesterday we discussed the different ways people can communicate
their emotions or feelings by their words and actions. Today we will read a story about
the different ways animals communicate.

As I read, I want you to pay close attention to how the different animals in the
story communicate.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading: In the story each animal made a unique sound to communicate. Turn to
your partner and tell them one animal from the story and the sound it makes. Have one
student from each pair share an animal that was discussed.
Writing activity:
In this story we read about how different animals
communicate. Provide students with the topic sentence and have them draw at
least 2 animals and write/dictate to you the sound that animal makes.
Sample Topic Sentence: Animals communicate in different ways. (you could have
them preprinted or they could copy- feel free to change-just make sure it reflects
the overall main idea)
Tell them that all of the pictures and details must show how the animals
communicate or the sounds they make. This can also help you assess their
understanding of main idea and details to support.
**Differentiate: The student can dictate the sound word. The student can write
the initial sound of the sound word. The student can write the sound word.
Kindergarten Writing Plans Unit 2
Lesson 8
Topic: Ways to Move
Read Aloud: Jonathan and His Mommy
Big Book: Move!
Companion Piece: The Hare and the Tortoise
Essential Question: Why do different animals move in
different ways?
Target Skills: Details; Compare and Contrast
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 8
Day 1: Writing in response to read aloud book Jonathan and His Mommy
Before Reading: This week we will be reading about the different ways that people and
animals move. People can move in many different ways. For example, you can run, skip,
jump, etc…

As I read this story, I want you to pay attention to the different ways that
Jonathan and his Mom move as they go on their walk.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading: We are going to create a chart to identify the different ways Jonathan
and his mom moved as they went for a walk.
Model: “One type of step they took was zig-zag steps, or they moved side-to-side.” I’m
going to add this to our chart.
What was another way they moved?
After students have shared with their partners, have each pair share a different
movement and add to the chart. If they have difficulty recalling the different
movements/steps, you can go back and reread.
How might they move if they were in a hurry? (what type of steps?)
How might they move if they were not?
Sample Chart:
Jonathan and His Mom Moved in Different Ways
zig-zag steps
giant steps
itsy-bitsy baby steps
bunny steps
running steps
slow-motion steps
ballet steps
criss-cross steps
reggae steps
backward steps
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 8
Day 2: Writing in response to the big book Move!
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Main idea and details from the text
Report Card Skill Addressed: Students will dictate or write using pictures and words.
Before Reading: Yesterday we read a story about some different ways that people can
move. Today, we are going to be reading about animals and how they move.

As I read this story, I want you to listen to find out the different ways that
animals move or get from one place to another.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading:
As we read the story, you were to listen to find out some different ways that animals
move.
Turn and tell your partner the name of one animal we read about and then tell them how
they move or get from one place to another.
After each partner has shared, have them share out and you can record the different
animals and the movements. Explain that they move this way because of the features they
have (wings, no legs, etc…)
Keep this chart up so they can refer back to the movement words in their writing.
Writing Activity:
This entire story was about how animals move. We read about many different ways that
they move, so for my topic sentence, we can say, Animals move in different ways.
You will select at least 2 different ways that animals move and draw a picture of the
animal and label with their movement. For example, you could draw a snake and beside the
snake, you would write slithers (these words will be on the chart)
You could have a paper with the topic sentence and space for 2 animals and their
movement.
Animals move in different ways.
Sample:
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
To differentiate, the students can dictate to the teacher and those who able can write a
sentence such as, The snake slithers.
Kindergarten Writing Plans Unit 2
Lesson 9
Topic: Machines and Wheels
Read Aloud: Good Morning, Digger
Big Book: What Do Wheels Do All Day?
Companion Piece: Wheels Long Ago and Today
Essential Question: Why do people use wheels?
Target Skills: Text and Graphic Features; Conclusions
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 9
Day 1: Writing in response to the read aloud book Good Morning, Digger
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Main Idea and Details from the Text
Report Card Skill Addressed: Students will dictate or write using pictures and words.
Before Reading: This week we will be reading several stories about wheels. People use
machines with wheels to do different kinds of heavy work such as moving, digging, and
building.

As I read this story, I want you to listen to find out how the trucks help in the
building of the community center.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading:
As we read the story, you were to listen to find out how the different trucks helped to
build the community center. We are going to go back through and identify the different
trucks and the job that each one did. (start a chart)
Go back through the story, pointing out each type of truck- First, we see the flatbed
truck- point out- What important job did the flatbed truck have? Turn and tell your
partner- Start your answer with, “The flatbed’s job was to…”
Continue, pointing out the different trucks and adding them to the chart and listing their
job (see sample chart below)
Sample Chart:
Type of Truck
flatbed
backhoe (Digger)
dump truck
cement mixer
crane
Job
brought the backhoe (Digger) – carried other trucks
dug hole in the dirt
carried away dirt that was dug up
pour cement into hole
lifts doors, windows, and parts of walls in the air
As you can see, each truck had an important job.
Writing Activity:
Students can draw a picture of one of the trucks – be sure to draw how it helped in the
building of the community center. (Example: draw cement mixer pouring the cement)
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 9
Days 2-3: Writing in response to the big book, What Do Wheels Do All Day?
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Text and Graphic Features; Main Idea
Report Card Skill Addressed: Students will dictate or write using pictures and words.
Before Reading: Today we are going to read a story about wheels. What Do Wheels Do
All Day? is a book that gives information about wheels and how people use them.

As I read this story, I want you to use the pictures and the words to identify ways
that we use wheels in our everyday lives. How are wheels helpful; how do we use
them? (Explain that we can get information from the photographs as well as the
words in the text)

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading:
As we read the story, you were to listen to find out different ways that we use wheels in
our everyday lives.
Brainstorm as a class some different ways that wheels are used and create a chart- then
go back to the text and have them use details to support each point
Sample Chart:
Wheels Are Used
To Help Us…
Move or Go Places
Work
Play
Details From Story
Wheels on car, bus, stroller, bicycle, skateboard, golf cart
Steer a ship, drive a tractor
Ferris wheel, toy cars and trucks, scooter, skating, merry go round
Writing Activity: At the top of the students’ paper or on the board, have the sentence,
Wheels are used to help us ______. The students can select a specific use for the wheels
that they would like to write about. After they have filled in the blank, they will illustrate
a detail that supports that use. You can model one to get them started.
Sample: Wheels are used to help us move. (then draw a picture of a child on a bicycle)
If students are able, they can draw 2-3 pictures representing several details about the
topic.
Kindergarten Writing Plans Unit 2
Lesson 10
Topic: Using Shapes
Read Aloud: David’s Drawings
Big Book: Mouse Shapes
Companion Piece: Signs and Shapes
Essential Question: What can we create with shapes?
Target Skills: Story Structure; Understanding
Characters
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 10
Day 1: Writing in response to the read aloud book David’s Drawings
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Story Structure; Retell Events in a Story
Report Card Skill Addressed: Students will dictate or write using pictures and words.
Before Reading: Stories have certain features or elements that make them special. They
have characters, which is who or what the story is about; they have a setting, which is
where the story takes place; and they have important events that happen in the beginning,
middle, and end.

As I read this story, I want you to listen to find out who the characters are, where
the story takes place, and what happens at the beginning of the story, the middle,
and the end.

Turn and tell your partner one thing you will be listening for as I read.- have
students share until they’ve identified all things they will be listening for as we
read
After Reading:
As we read the story, you were to listen to find out who the story was about, where the
story took place, and what happened at the beginning of story, the middle, and the end.
Start by asking: Who were the character(s) in the story? or Who was this story about?
Turn and tell your partner and start your answer with, “The characters in this story are…”
(David and his classmates)
Once they have shared with their partner, then have them share out and you can record
information on the chart.
After you have recorded the characters, flip back through the book and have students
discuss what happens at the beginning, the middle, and the end. They can turn and share
with partners each time you ask. When they share, you can put it in your own words and
summarize what they are saying. In the sample chart below, you will see an example.
Sample Chart: (this is just a sample, you can use a different story structure chart if
you’d like)
David’s Drawings
Characters/Setting David, classmates. David’s sister/school and home
Beginning of Story David saw a tree on the way to school and drew a picture of it when
he got there.
Middle of Story
David’s classmates all added to his picture.
End of Story
David drew the tree again and hung it on his wall.
Writing Activity:
Students can illustrate the events that took place at the beginning, middle, and end.
*Have students use their illustrations to retell with a partner the events in the story.
They can use the following format as they are retelling:
In the beginning, ______________. Next, ____________. In the end,
______________
Kindergarten Writing Plans Lesson 10
Days 2-3: Writing in response to the big book Mouse Shapes
Comprehension Skill Addressed in Writing: Story Structure
Report Card Skill Addressed: Students will dictate or write using pictures and words.
Before Reading: Yesterday, we read a story about David and after reading we identified
who the story was about and the events that took place in the story. (refer to chart) We
will be doing the same thing today as we read Mouse Shapes.

As I read this story, I want you to listen to find out who the characters are and
what happens to them at the beginning of the story, the middle, and the end.

Turn and tell your partner what you will be listening for as I read.
After Reading:
As we read the story, you were to listen to find out who the story was about and what
happened to these characters at the beginning of story, the middle, and the end.
Start by asking: Who were the characters in the story? or Who was this story about?
Turn and tell your partner and start your answer with, “The characters in this story are…”
(the mice and the cat)
Once they have shared with their partner, then have them share out and you can record
information on the chart.
After you have recorded the characters, flip back through the book and have students
discuss what happens at the beginning, the middle, and the end. They can turn and share
with partners each time you ask. When they share, you can put it in your own words and
summarize what they are saying. In the sample chart below, you will see an example.
Sample Chart: (this is just a sample, you can use a different story structure chart if
you’d like)
Mouse Shapes
Characters
Beginning of Story
Middle of Story
End of Story
Mice, cat
The mice are running from cat and hide in the shapes.
They build different things with the shapes and even make 3 large
mice.
The cat sees the shapes and gets scared and runs away.
Writing Activity:
Students can illustrate and write about the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Their illustrations should reflect what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the
story- this is a way for you to assess their understanding of story structure. They can
dictate what is taking place in each picture or they can attempt to write about it.
*You could also have preprinted in the three sections:
In the beginning, _________________________________.
In the middle of the story, _________________________________.
In the end, _____________________________________________.
*As an extension or to challenge those who are ready, you could have them respond to the
following question:
How do the shapes help the mice solve their problem? They can discuss with a partner
then write about it. If needed, you could give them the stem,
The shapes helped the mice solve their problem because
______________________________________________________________.