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Rationale: I chose to include this text in the thematic unit because the text supports the fulcrum text. It is important to remember to use text that "talk to each other" (Wessling, 2011, p. 23). The text helps to provide students with an understanding of kindness and how it affects others no matter how big or small. The mentor text will also activate prior knowledge about acts of kindness they have experienced in their own lives.

Writing skill: The students will think critically by answering a prompt by responding to a reflective writing prompt.

Objectives: Students will use the mentor text to respond to a reflective writing prompt using details from the story to tell about a time someone made them feel happy due to an act of kindness.  Students will write a shortened version of a personal narrative through the reflective writing in order to prepare them for the end of the unit writing project.

Standards:
CC.1.3.1.K Read and comprehend literature on grade-level, reading independently and proficiently.
CC.1.4.1.B Identify and write about one specific topic.
CC.1.3.1.A Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CC.1.4.1.M Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.

CC.1.4.1.F Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Capitalize dates and names of people. • Use end punctuation; use commas in dates and words in series. • Spell words drawing on common spelling patterns, phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

Lesson Ideas: Teacher will read aloud the story to the students.  Students will turn and talk with their neighbor to determine the lesson of the story by providing examples from the text.  Students will complete reflective writing activity responding to the following prompt: Describe and illustrate a time in your life when someone made you happy by doing something kind.  Use 3-5 complete sentences.

Another lesson idea would be to talk about walking in someone else shoes and how it is important to understand how others might be feeling.  I even found a poem in Peaceful Pieces that would go along with this idea.

Students could also create their own personal narrative about something they really wanted and how someone showed them kindness by providing it to them.

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Rationale: I chose to include this text in the thematic unit because the text has a powerful message about kindness.  It is a great example of mentor text from diverse literature author.  Since we live in such a global society the text will help bridge the gap between other cultures by building understanding of cultural differences.  The story is also realistic fiction so it will serve as the fulcrum text for the students writing.

Writing skill: The students will write their own realistic fiction narrative about kindness.

Objectives: Students will use the mentor text to create a realistic fiction narrative about to demonstrate their understanding about acts of kindness.  Students will use the writing process from beginning to end to publish their realistic fiction narrative.  With teacher assistance students will digitally record their narrative using storyjumper.com and then present it to the class during writer's workshop.

Standards:
CC.1.3.1.K Read and comprehend literature on grade-level, reading independently and proficiently.
CC.1.4.1.B Identify and write about one specific topic.
CC.1.3.1.A Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CC.1.4.1.M Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events.
CC.1.4.1.N Establish who and what the narrative will be about.

CC.1.4.1.F Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Capitalize dates and names of people. • Use end punctuation; use commas in dates and words in series. • Spell words drawing on common spelling patterns, phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

Lesson Ideas: Teacher will play YouTube.com video recording of the book for students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt6GhejLPrQ.  Students will turn and talk with their neighbor to discuss the acts of kindness found in the book.  The teacher will add the examples to the class graffiti board created previously by students about kindness.  After examining the text, students will create their own realistic fiction narrative about kindness.

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Try a Little Kindness Song from Sesame Street

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Try a Little Kindness Song from Sesame Street

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Rationale: I chose to include this text in the thematic unit as an activating strategy because song is a way for students to easily remember information being presented to them.  The song describes kindness and what it means to be kind to others.  Therefore the students will be able to begin to draft a definition of kindness.

Writing skill: The students will illustrate and/or write what kindness means to them on a classroom graffiti board to be referenced throughout the unit.

Objectives: Students will work in collaborative groups to establish an understanding of kindness by using their background knowledge to define kindness on a graffiti board.

Standards:
CC.1.4.1.O Include thoughts and feelings to describe experiences and events

CC.1.5.1.F Add drawings or other visual displays when sharing aloud to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

CC.1.4.1.B Identify and write about one specific topic.

CC.1.4.1.F Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Capitalize dates and names of people. • Use end punctuation; use commas in dates and words in series. • Spell words drawing on common spelling patterns, phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

Lesson Ideas: Teacher will play YouTube.com video recording of the song for students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enaRNnEzwi4.  Students should dance and sing along with the song as a kinetic experience.  After the song students will work in groups to create a working graffiti board to define kindness.   The boards will be shared with the class and then displayed in the classroom for future reference.

Additional idea: students work in groups to write and sing their own song about kindness. The students song will be recorded by the teacher and presented to the classroom.

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Rationale: I chose to include this text in the thematic unit because nonfiction text is a genre often forgotten, yet it plays an integral role in acquiring reading and writing skills.  Students not only need to read text, but they also need to analyze the illustrations or photographs presented as well to build visual literacy and think critically. Additionally, not only humans can show kindness but animals can as well by building friendships and helping each other out in order to survive.

Writing skill: The students will think reflectively by completing I see, I think, I wonder writing activity using nonfiction text.

Objectives: Students will their prior knowledge on kindness to write what they see, think, and wonder about the front cover of the Scholastic News Article.

Standards:
CC.1.3.1.K Read and comprehend literature on grade-level, reading independently and proficiently.
CC.1.2.1.G Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
CC.1.2.1.L Read and comprehend literary non-fiction and informational text on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.

CC.1.4.1.F Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Capitalize dates and names of people. • Use end punctuation; use commas in dates and words in series. • Spell words drawing on common spelling patterns, phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

Lesson Ideas: Teacher will display the magazine cover to students by projecting on the front board for all students to see clearly.  Based on the picture and title of the article students will record their ideas about what they see, think, and wonder about the picture onto a graphic organizer.  After completing the organizer students will turn and talk with their neighbors to share their ideas.  The class will then whole group discuss their inferences about the picture by using the I see, I think, and I wonder format.  http://sni.scholastic.com/SN1/09_03_16_SN1/book

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Peaceful Pieces by Anna Grossnickle Hines

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Peaceful Pieces by Anna Grossnickle Hines

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Rationale: I chose to include this text in the thematic unit because poetry is an essential component of the writing process.  Students need to be able to write for a variety of genres.  Poetry is often a difficult but creative way for young writers to showcase their writing skills.  The content of the poem I chose focuses on showing kindness to a student without any friends.  The poem will provide another great example of kindness in another genre by incorporating this mentor text.

Writing skill: The students will create an acrostic poem about kindness.

Objectives: Students will use what they know about kindness to create an acrostic poem. Each letter of the word kindness will represent a word or phrase associated with kindness.

Standards:
CC.1.3.1.K Read and comprehend literature on grade-level, reading independently and proficiently.
CC.1.4.1.B Identify and write about one specific topic.
CC.1.3.1.F Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CC.1.4.1.F Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. • Capitalize dates and names of people. • Use end punctuation; use commas in dates and words in series. • Spell words drawing on common spelling patterns, phonemic awareness and spelling conventions.

Lesson Ideas: Teacher will read about the poem What Would You Choose? . Students will discuss the act of kindness presented in the poem.  Teacher will introduce acrostic poetry to students by creating a whole class acrostic on friends.  Students will work in collaborative pairs to create an acrostic poem on kindness.

Students could also create their own free verse form of poetry by examining the poems throughout the book to understand rhyme and rhythm, along with other important aspects of poetry.