Unit Materials for Kindergarten English Language Arts
Explore the texts and supporting materials used in each unit of Kindergarten English Language Arts.
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Noticing Patterns in Stories
Core Texts
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Book: The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle (Philomel Books, 1985)
— 330L
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Book: Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan (Greenwillow Books, 1989)
— NPL
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Book: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen (Alladin Paperbacks, 2003)
— BR280L
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Book: We’re Going on a Lion Hunt by David Axtell (Square Fish, 2007)
— BR260L
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Book: Sitting Down to Eat by Bill Harley (August House, 2005)
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Book: The Napping House by Audrey Wood (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2009)
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Book: Rap a Tap Tap: Here’s Bojangles – Think of That! by Leo Dillon (Blue Sky Press, 2002)
— AD360L
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Book: Hush! A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho (Scholastic Inc, 2000)
— AD600L
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Book: Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business, by Esphyr Slobodkina (Harper Collins, 1987)
— AD480L
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Book: Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018)
— AD630LL
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Assessment Text: “Hot Pot Night!” by Vincent Chen and illustrated by Vincent Chen (Charlesbridge)
— AD190LL
Celebrating Fall
Core Texts
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Book: Fall Weather: Cooler Temperatures by Martha E. H. Rustad (Millbrook Press, 2011)
— 530L
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Book: Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro (HarperCollins, 2015)
— 580L
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Book: Fall Harvest Fun by Martha E. H. Rustad (Lerner Publishing Group)
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Book: Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins (Scholastic Press, 1998)
— IG570L
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Book: Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt, 2005)
— AD310L
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Book: We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger (Cartwheel Books, 2008)
— AD410L
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Book: Leaves by David Ezra Stein (G.P. Putman’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2010)
— AD180L
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Book: The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, 1999)
— AD570L
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Book: Apples by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, 2001)
— 650L
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Assessment Text: “Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie” by Jill Esbaum (National Geographic Kids)
— AD507LL
Falling in Love with Authors and Illustrators
Core Texts
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Book: The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin (Charlesbridge, 2001)
— 390L
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Book: Kite Flying by Grace Lin (Dragonfly Books, 2004)
— 280L
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Book: Dim Sum for Everyone! by Grace Lin (Dragonfly Books, 2003)
— AD250L
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Book: Fortune Cookie Fortunes by Grace Lin (Dragonfly Books, 2006)
— 490L
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Book: Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales (Square Fish, 2015)
— 420L
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Book: Tito Puente, Mambo King by Monica Brown (Rayo, 2013)
— AD620L
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Book: My Name is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz by Monica Brown (Cooper Square Publishing LLC, 2004)
— AD0L
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Book: Pelé, King of Soccer by Monica Brown (HarperCollins, 2017)
— AD620L
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Book: My Name is Gabriela: The Life of Gabriela Mistral by Monica Brown (National Geographic School Pub, 2010)
— AD440L
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Book: The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009)
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Book: Just in Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Book Press, 2008)
— AD530L
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Book: The Tortoise & the Hare by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition, 2013)
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Book: The Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition, 2015)
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Book: Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales (Chronicle Books, 2016)
— 540L
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Book: Dreamers by Yuyi Morales (Neal Porter Books; Illustrated Edition, 2018)
— AD480L
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Assessment Text: “Thanking the Moon” by Grace Lin (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
— AD1060LL
Winter Wonderland
Core Texts
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Book: It’s Snowing! by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, 2012)
— AD790L
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Book: The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino (Chronicle Books, 2009)
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Book: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Viking, 1962)
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Book: Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner (Chronicle Books, 2014)
— AD600L
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Book: Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft (HarperCollins, 1996)
— AD480L
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Book: Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints by Millicent E. Selsam (HarperCollins, 1998)
— AD490L
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Book: Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature’s Footprints by Jim Arnosky (Sterling Children’s Books, 2015)
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Book: The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader (Aladdin; Reprint edition, 1993)
— AD710L
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Book: Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee (Square Fish; First edition, 2007)
— AD440L
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Book: The Mitten by Jan Brett (G.P. Putman’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 1996)
— 600L
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Book: The Hat by Jan Brett (G.P. Putman’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 1997)
— 540L
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Book: Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett (G.P. Putman’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2012)
— 490L
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Assessment Text: “Curious About Snow” by Gina Shaw (Grosset & Dunlap)
— NC830LL
What is Justice?
Core Texts
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Book: All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold (Knopf Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition, 2018)
— AD370L
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Book: Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester (HarperCollins; Illustrated edition, 2008)
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Book: All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka (HarperCollins, 2020)
— AD540L
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Book: Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor (Philomel Books; Illustrated edition, 2019)
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Book: This Is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander (Amistad; 1 edition, 2009)
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Book: The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2001)
— AD490L
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Book: Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles (Aladdin; Reprint edition, 2005)
— AD600L
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Book: Rosa by Nikki Giovanni (Square Fish; Reprint edition, 2007)
— 800L
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Book: Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport (Hyperion Book CH; Reprint edition, 2007)
— 410L
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Book: We March by Shane W. Evans (Square Fish; Reprint edition, 2016)
— 290L
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Book: A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 2007)
— AD480L
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Book: I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Kadir Nelson (Schwartz & Wade; Har/Com Re edition, 2012)
— 1030L
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Book: Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford (Bloomsbury USA Childrens; Illustrated edition, 2018)
— 360L
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Assessment Text: “A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation” by Barry Wittenstein and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Neal Porter Book)
— 990LL
Exploring Life Cycles
Core Texts
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Book: It’s Spring! by Linda Glaser (National Geographic School Pub; 1 edition, 2010)
— AD590L
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Book: What’s Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (HarperCollins; 1 edition, 1995)
— 430L
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Book: How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan (HarperCollins; Revised edition, 2015)
— AD470L
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Book: From Seed to Sunflower by Mari Schuh
— 510L
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Book: The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (Little Simon; Reprint edition, 2009)
— 500L
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Book: Who Will Plant a Tree? by Jerry Pallotta (Sleeping Bear Press, 2010)
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Book: Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert (HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition, 2001)
— AD459L
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Book: From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman (HarperCollins; Revised edition, 2015)
— 490L
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Book: Have you Heard the Nesting Bird? by Rita Gray (HMH Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 2017)
— AD430L
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Book: A Nest Full of Eggs by Priscilla Belz (Jenkins, HarperCollins; Revised edition, 2015)
— AD630L
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Book: The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen and Jerry Pinkney (Morrow Junior Books; 1st edition, 1999)
— AD820L
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Book: Frogs by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House; Reprint edition, 1993)
— AD600L
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Book: From Tadpole to Frog by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (Scholastic Paperbacks, 2011)
— 520L
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Book: Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle (Henry Holt and Co)
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Book: Egg to Chicken (Follow the Life Cycle) by Rachel Tonkin (Crabtree Classics)
— 510L
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Assessment Text: “And the Bullfrogs Sing: A Life Cycle Begins” by David Harrison and illustrated by Kate Cosgrove (Holiday House)
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Core Texts
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Book: What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting Our Planet by Jess French (DK Children, 2019)
— IG920L
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Book: The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan Hood (HarperCollins; Illustrated edition, 2021)
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Book: Recycle! A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition, 1996)
— AD840L
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Book: The Three R’s: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle by Nuria Roca (Barron's Educational Series, 2007)
— AD1030L
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Book: One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul (Millbrook Press, 2015)
— 570L
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Book: Rainbow Weaver/Tejedora del Arcoiris by Linda Elovitz Marshall (Children’s Book Press; Bilingual edition, 2016)
— AD580L
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Book: Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood by Tony Hillery (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books; Illustrated edition, 2020)
— AD540L
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Book: Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals (Tricycle Press; Illustrated edition, 2010)
— AD650L
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