My Kindergarten Unit on Mo Willems!
Common Core State Standards: Reading Standards for Literature
Key Ideas and Details
1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
3. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
<--- Mo Willems and the Pigeon.
Enduring Understandings
1. When retelling a story, it is key to tell the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
2. The characters are those that take part in the story’s plot. The setting(s) is (are) the place(s) or date(s) that the story takes place in. The major events in a story are the key occurrences within a story.
Essential Questions
1. What are the key components to retelling a story?
2. What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
Materials/ Resources
- Mo Willems’ books:
o Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late
o Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
o Let’s Go For A Drive
o Elephants Cannot Dance
o Should I Share My Ice Cream
o The Duckling Gets A Cookie
o The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog!
Media Resources:
· Website for all Mo Willems information, ideas, and games concerning his books: http://www.mowillems.com/
· Website for games, book listings and other interactive activities: http://www.pigeonpresents.com/
· Website for teacher supplies and ideas on how to teach with Mo Willem’s books: http://www.pigeonpresents.com/grownup.aspx
Audiovisual materials:
- Youtube video, “Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!”, and a printed picture of Mo Willems
- SMART board
Supplies for acitivities in unit:
- Popsicle sticks, paper cutouts of characters, poster board, markers, crayons, party supplies, large white lined paper to make lists/charts on, scissors, and glue.
Unit Schedule
Introduction- Day 1
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to become familiar with the characters from Mo Willems’ books that will be read throughout the unit.
· For the activities /learning strategies in this particular lesson, the teacher will put the eight different books by Mo Willems that will be read during the unit on display for the students to see, show and hang up a picture of Mo Willems on the board (which will remain their throughout the unit), give a minilesson on what characters are by using the four different characters shown on the covers of the book, and have the students color and glue cutouts of the characters onto popsicle sticks to make puppets that will be used throughout the lesson.
- The assessment for this lesson will be for the students to hold their puppet(s) in the air to show what characters are in a particular book after the teacher holds up the book and asks, “From looking at the cover of the book, what character(s) are in this book?
Day 2
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to identify the setting(s) in the story.
· The activities /learning strategies used in this lesson will consist of a read aloud with the book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, have students bring their pigeon puppets with them to the read aloud area and use it when the character is speaking by holding it up, have a minilesson on what settings are, and identify the setting(s) in Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late.
- The assessment will be for each student to choose a card from a hat that gives a particular place they have been before (playground), and have them describe that setting to a partner. Teacher will observe, listen in, and take notes of how each pair does with the assessment.
Day 3
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to understand what major events are, in regards to reading.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson consist of a read aloud with the book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, have students bring their pigeon puppets with them to the read aloud area and use it when the character is speaking by holding it up, watch the animated video of the book, discuss/ review what the characters and setting(s) are in the book, and learn what major events are through a minilesson, using the events in the read aloud book to connect to.
- The assessment for this lesson requires each student to illustrate one major event that occurred in, Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, and share it with his/her desk group. The teacher will take notes and listen in on the discussions, as well as collect the students’ drawings.
Day 4
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to review what characters, setting(s), and major events are by identifying them in the book.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson are for the class to do a picture walk through the book, Let’s Go For A Drive, have students bring their elephant and piggie puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, making a large chart to list the characters, setting(s), and major events in the story, doing a read aloud with the book, and then sharing what they saw/heard in the book that fits under one of those three categories.
- The assessment for this lesson will be for each student to choose one of the items on the list, illustrate it, and then pair up with another student and share what they drew and why. Teacher will move around, listening in and taking notes on how each student does with the activity.
Day 5
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for each student experience using the three categories: beginning, middle, and end, which will be used in retelling the story later on.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson are doing a read aloud with the book, Elephants Cannot Dance, have students bring their elephant and piggie puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, play a sorting game with pictures from each part in the story by having students choose one card each and having three students stand up at a time and have the class put them in order of beginning, middle, and end, and possibly (if there is enough time and class earns it) allow students to take turns playing the Elephant and Piggie dance game on the Smartboard.
- The assessment for this lesson will be a worksheet for students to complete that shows three of the pictures from the sorting game and asks students to put a “B” under the picture from the beginning of the book, an “M” for middle, and “E” for end. Then, students will hand that paper in to the teacher.
Day 6
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson if for students to draw pictures of their favorite parts from the book and retell the story as a class.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include reading aloud the book, Should I Share My Ice Cream, have students bring their Elephant and Piggie puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, having students illustrate their favorite part in the book, and then organizing themselves (with help if needed) with their pictures in order from beginning to end.
- The assessment portion of the lesson will require the students to retell the story by explaining what their picture is.
Day 7
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to meet a new character in the series of Mo Willems’ books and to review identifying the characters, setting(s), and major events in a story.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include reading aloud the book, The Duckling Gets A Cookie, making a list of the characters, setting(s), and any major event(s) that occurred in the story on the SMART board, and giving supplies for students to make their duckling puppets.
- The assessment for this lesson will require the teacher to go around the room to each student as they are making their puppets and ask them who the duckling is and key questions about the book.
Day 8
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to verbally retell the story together, using the key words (beginning, middle, and end).
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include doing a read aloud with the book, The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog!, have students bring their Pigeon and duckling puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, recording our verbal retelling on a large piece of paper by going through each of the three parts, reading back what we wrote/ said, and (if enough time) taking turns playing the hot dog dress up game on the SMART board.
- The assessment for this lesson will require the teacher to take students aside as they are taking turns with the game and ask them to retell the story.
Day 9
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students in groups of three to choose one of Mo Willems’ books they enjoyed and make a poster, giving an illustrated retelling of that book.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include the teacher placing students in groups of three, giving direction/ instruction on how to make their retell poster project, showing an example of the project, and having the students get to work on choosing a story and drawing their detailed illustrations.
- The assessment for this lesson will include the teacher walking around the room, observing each group, taking notes on how each group is working, and collecting everyone’s posters at the end to analyze (even if they are not completely done.
Closure- Day 10
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for each student to present their posters, explaining them to the class using the key word (beginning, middle, and end).
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include having a Mo Willems party, allowing students time (if needed) to finish up their projects, and having students present their posters to the class and guests.
· The assessment will require the teacher to observe/listen to each student’s presentation and use the rubric as a checklist to critique how each student fulfilled the assignment.
Key Ideas and Details
1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
3. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
<--- Mo Willems and the Pigeon.
Enduring Understandings
1. When retelling a story, it is key to tell the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
2. The characters are those that take part in the story’s plot. The setting(s) is (are) the place(s) or date(s) that the story takes place in. The major events in a story are the key occurrences within a story.
Essential Questions
1. What are the key components to retelling a story?
2. What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
Materials/ Resources
- Mo Willems’ books:
o Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late
o Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
o Let’s Go For A Drive
o Elephants Cannot Dance
o Should I Share My Ice Cream
o The Duckling Gets A Cookie
o The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog!
Media Resources:
· Website for all Mo Willems information, ideas, and games concerning his books: http://www.mowillems.com/
· Website for games, book listings and other interactive activities: http://www.pigeonpresents.com/
· Website for teacher supplies and ideas on how to teach with Mo Willem’s books: http://www.pigeonpresents.com/grownup.aspx
Audiovisual materials:
- Youtube video, “Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!”, and a printed picture of Mo Willems
- SMART board
Supplies for acitivities in unit:
- Popsicle sticks, paper cutouts of characters, poster board, markers, crayons, party supplies, large white lined paper to make lists/charts on, scissors, and glue.
Unit Schedule
Introduction- Day 1
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to become familiar with the characters from Mo Willems’ books that will be read throughout the unit.
· For the activities /learning strategies in this particular lesson, the teacher will put the eight different books by Mo Willems that will be read during the unit on display for the students to see, show and hang up a picture of Mo Willems on the board (which will remain their throughout the unit), give a minilesson on what characters are by using the four different characters shown on the covers of the book, and have the students color and glue cutouts of the characters onto popsicle sticks to make puppets that will be used throughout the lesson.
- The assessment for this lesson will be for the students to hold their puppet(s) in the air to show what characters are in a particular book after the teacher holds up the book and asks, “From looking at the cover of the book, what character(s) are in this book?
Day 2
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to identify the setting(s) in the story.
· The activities /learning strategies used in this lesson will consist of a read aloud with the book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, have students bring their pigeon puppets with them to the read aloud area and use it when the character is speaking by holding it up, have a minilesson on what settings are, and identify the setting(s) in Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late.
- The assessment will be for each student to choose a card from a hat that gives a particular place they have been before (playground), and have them describe that setting to a partner. Teacher will observe, listen in, and take notes of how each pair does with the assessment.
Day 3
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to understand what major events are, in regards to reading.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson consist of a read aloud with the book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, have students bring their pigeon puppets with them to the read aloud area and use it when the character is speaking by holding it up, watch the animated video of the book, discuss/ review what the characters and setting(s) are in the book, and learn what major events are through a minilesson, using the events in the read aloud book to connect to.
- The assessment for this lesson requires each student to illustrate one major event that occurred in, Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, and share it with his/her desk group. The teacher will take notes and listen in on the discussions, as well as collect the students’ drawings.
Day 4
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to review what characters, setting(s), and major events are by identifying them in the book.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson are for the class to do a picture walk through the book, Let’s Go For A Drive, have students bring their elephant and piggie puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, making a large chart to list the characters, setting(s), and major events in the story, doing a read aloud with the book, and then sharing what they saw/heard in the book that fits under one of those three categories.
- The assessment for this lesson will be for each student to choose one of the items on the list, illustrate it, and then pair up with another student and share what they drew and why. Teacher will move around, listening in and taking notes on how each student does with the activity.
Day 5
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for each student experience using the three categories: beginning, middle, and end, which will be used in retelling the story later on.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson are doing a read aloud with the book, Elephants Cannot Dance, have students bring their elephant and piggie puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, play a sorting game with pictures from each part in the story by having students choose one card each and having three students stand up at a time and have the class put them in order of beginning, middle, and end, and possibly (if there is enough time and class earns it) allow students to take turns playing the Elephant and Piggie dance game on the Smartboard.
- The assessment for this lesson will be a worksheet for students to complete that shows three of the pictures from the sorting game and asks students to put a “B” under the picture from the beginning of the book, an “M” for middle, and “E” for end. Then, students will hand that paper in to the teacher.
Day 6
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson if for students to draw pictures of their favorite parts from the book and retell the story as a class.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include reading aloud the book, Should I Share My Ice Cream, have students bring their Elephant and Piggie puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, having students illustrate their favorite part in the book, and then organizing themselves (with help if needed) with their pictures in order from beginning to end.
- The assessment portion of the lesson will require the students to retell the story by explaining what their picture is.
Day 7
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the characters, settings, and major events in a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to meet a new character in the series of Mo Willems’ books and to review identifying the characters, setting(s), and major events in a story.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include reading aloud the book, The Duckling Gets A Cookie, making a list of the characters, setting(s), and any major event(s) that occurred in the story on the SMART board, and giving supplies for students to make their duckling puppets.
- The assessment for this lesson will require the teacher to go around the room to each student as they are making their puppets and ask them who the duckling is and key questions about the book.
Day 8
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students to verbally retell the story together, using the key words (beginning, middle, and end).
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include doing a read aloud with the book, The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog!, have students bring their Pigeon and duckling puppets with them to the read aloud area and use them when the characters are speaking by holding them up, recording our verbal retelling on a large piece of paper by going through each of the three parts, reading back what we wrote/ said, and (if enough time) taking turns playing the hot dog dress up game on the SMART board.
- The assessment for this lesson will require the teacher to take students aside as they are taking turns with the game and ask them to retell the story.
Day 9
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for students in groups of three to choose one of Mo Willems’ books they enjoyed and make a poster, giving an illustrated retelling of that book.
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include the teacher placing students in groups of three, giving direction/ instruction on how to make their retell poster project, showing an example of the project, and having the students get to work on choosing a story and drawing their detailed illustrations.
- The assessment for this lesson will include the teacher walking around the room, observing each group, taking notes on how each group is working, and collecting everyone’s posters at the end to analyze (even if they are not completely done.
Closure- Day 10
· The essential question for this lesson is: What are the key components to retelling a story?
· The main objective for this lesson is for each student to present their posters, explaining them to the class using the key word (beginning, middle, and end).
· The activities/ learning strategies for this lesson include having a Mo Willems party, allowing students time (if needed) to finish up their projects, and having students present their posters to the class and guests.
· The assessment will require the teacher to observe/listen to each student’s presentation and use the rubric as a checklist to critique how each student fulfilled the assignment.