Example for an Integrated Kindergarten Unit- Habitats

 

Habitats Unit (Integrated)- A Guide
Created on December 8, 2020 by Amy Sims, Elisabeth Page for Wellpinint Kindergarten

Note: The structure for this guide is modeled after Patrick A. Allen's 'Planning a Strategy Study -Reading or Writing' form from his book Conferring; The Keystone of Reader's Workshop

Grade: Kindergarten

Enduring Understanding: Students will be able to ask and answer their own questions about their chosen habitat. Through student generated questions (based upon observations, discussions, and text) they will be able to describe and represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals that live in the students chosen habitat. Students will develop the skills necessary to ask and answer their own questions about various text and concepts, which will transfer to future academic topics.

Standards: 
  • K.RL.1- With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • K.RI.1- With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • K. RL.4- Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. K.RI.4- Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
  • K.W.8- With guidance and support from adults recall information from experiences or gathered information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • K.SL.1.- participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups *note- this standard is only applicable if we are in a model with students present in the classroom.
Cross-Curricular Standards:
  • K.LS.1- use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals, including humans, need to survive.
  • K.ESS.3-1- use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals, including humans and the places they live.
  • ELP.2- students can participate in grade-appropriate oral and written exchanges of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and questions.
  • K.L.1a Print some upper- and lowercase letters.
Preassessment: Students will self-generate a question based on an unknown stimulating text. Following that students will be asked how they would go about answering their question. 

Summative Assessment: Habitat Rubric, Student Self-Assessment Rubric, ELPA2 Rubric

Formative Assessment: Share circle, student journaling; observational data collection; Photographic evidence of student learning via GOLD app; phone conversations and family connections; student self-assessment.

Activities to Show Evidence of Learning: Share circle; class discussions; videos; photograph explorations; read aloud; KWL chart; independent reading; conferring; independent student work; nature walks; journaling; sentence stems "I wonder..."; exit tickets; student self-assessment.

Guiding Questions: What is a question? Why do we ask questions? How do we ask a question? How do we answer a question? Did you write all you know? Did you use a label? Did you answer your question on your poster? Did you write true (non-fiction) information? What is a habitat? Are all habitats the same? What can a habitat have? What plants/animals live in your habitat? What do the plants/animals need to live in that habitat? What needs does your habitat provide for the plants/animals?

Academic Language: Habitat, questions, answer, discovered, text, living things, needs, specialist, non-fiction, Tribal Lands

Thinking and Planning- How will it be taught/used: Texts; journaling; interactive hands-on exploration; share circle, nature walk; whole, small, partner, and individual work; sentence stems; cooperative learning; questioning chart.

Think Aloud- Modeling, demonstrating, sharing personal use of strategy: Habitat books at various levels; Plants and Animals Need Different things to Survive teacher made book; habitat photo cards; teacher led modeling of thinking and note taking.

Shared Experience- Inviting participation via whole group experiences: Observation charts; photo card sorting; 'I Wonder' and 'I discovered' sentence stem; CCD chart; nature walk; Inquiry, KW, Pictorial chart for each habitat; Questioning chart, whole class discussions, connect our habitat to the natural habitat of the Spokane Indian tribe (utilizing cultural educators/resources)

Guided Experience- Active participation in clusters or individually with support: Observation and discussion around habitats; formulating questions; how to answer questions; journaling practice using a combination of drawing, dictating, writing; conferring; share circle.

Cooperative Experience- Participation with peers, supporting growth and gathering evidence of understanding: small group hands on exploration of individual habitats; share circle; continuation of collaborative KW charts.

Independence- What learners know and do as a result of study: Poster/book/oral presentation using a combination of drawings, dictating, and writing to record individual question and answers on students chosen habitat; 'I wonder' and 'I discovered' sentence stems; presentation of project either to the whole group, small groups, or individually with the teacher.

Preassessment Rubric Guide: 
  • No understanding/unable to assess- 0: Student could not generate a question or answer with support.
  • Little/no understanding- 1: Student either generated a question or provided an answer to another student's question with support.
  • Moderate understanding- 2: Student generated a question, perhaps not on topic, and provided and answer, though perhaps not on topic.
  • Demonstrates understanding- 3: Student both generated an on-topic question and provided an on-topic answer.
Ask and Answer Questions Rubric Guide:
  • No understanding/unable to asses- 0: Student had no question, answer, nor stated the animal/plants needs by either starting/writing on their project, or no project was returned.
  • Little/no understanding- 1: Student stated/wrote their question, or stated/wrote their answer, or stated/wrote one need of a plant/animal in their habitat on their project.
  • Moderate understanding- 2: Student labeled (named) habitat. Student had question stated/wrote on their project, and/or stated/wrote answer, and/or had one need of a plant/animal in their habitat written on their project.
  • Demonstrates understanding- 3: Student labeled (named) habitat. Student had question stated/wrote on their project, had the answer stated/wrote on their project, and labeled two or more needs of two or more different plants/animals on their habitat on their project.
Student Self-Assessment Example



Reference

Allen, P. (2009). Conferring: the keystone of reader's workshop. Routledge.



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