Part 1
Read one (1) children’s book that can be used in your thematic unit and include the following information:
the appropriate grade level;
the social-studies theme(s) addressed by the topic;
a picture of the book;
a summary of the book;
why you chose the book;
a description of an activity for the book that addresses NYS Common-Core Standards for Reading (you must identify the standards);
a description of an activity for the book that addresses NYC Common-core Standards for Writing (you must identify the standards);
a description of student work resulting from the use of this book;
a virtual field trip that supports the lesson plan (give the name of the website and its URL); and,
one (1) learning-style material to be used with this book.
Part 2
Create a booklist for your students that relates to your thematic unit and meets the following Common-Core criteria as explained in New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy:
Staying on Topic Within a Grade and Across Grades:
How to Build Knowledge Systematically in English Language Arts K–5
Building knowledge systematically in English language arts is like giving children various pieces of a puzzle in each grade that, over time, will form one big picture. At a curricular or instructional level, texts—within and across grade levels—need to be selected around topics or themes that systematically develop the knowledge base of students. Within a grade level, there should be an adequate number of titles on a single topic that would allow children to study that topic for a sustained period. The knowledge children have learned about particular topics in early grade levels should then be expanded and developed in subsequent grade levels to ensure an increasingly deeper understanding of these topics. Children in the upper elementary grades will generally be expected to read these texts independently and reflect on them in writing. However, children in the early grades (particularly K–2) should participate in rich, structured conversations with an adult in response to the written texts that are read aloud, orally comparing and contrasting as well as analyzing and synthesizing, in the manner called for by the Standards.
Preparation for reading complex informational texts should begin at the very earliest elementary school grades. What follows is one example that uses domain-specific nonfiction titles across grade levels to illustrate how curriculum designers and classroom teachers can infuse the English language arts block with rich, age-appropriate content knowledge and vocabulary in history/social studies, science, and the arts. Having students listen to informational read-alouds in the early grades helps lay the necessary foundation for students’ reading and understanding of increasingly complex texts on their own in subsequent grades.
For this assignment, you will state the topic of your thematic unit and identify two books on the same topic for each of the following grades: kindergarten, first grade, second/third grade, and fourth/fifth grade. You must provide the title and author of each book. You may use the reading level in determining the appropriate grade.
https://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/literacy-briefs
