Navigating the Unknown
Unit Overview
DAY #1: Writing Lesson
Objective After the mini lesson, students
will identify the five parts of
friendly letters.
After the mini lesson, students
will compose a friendly letter,
using the correct letter format,
to send to their pen pals.
Standards IAS: 2.W.3.3
Materials Friendly Letter Power Point
Elmo
lined paper for modeling and for
each student
Management Behavior:
- If students do not follow
directions or break a rule,
their card will be flipped
- If a student is on stripes by
recess time, they will owe
five minutes
- If students do well and
listen, they will earn a
warm fuzzy – toward a
whole class reward
- Use call and response to
grab attention – “Class,
class!” the class will
respond, “Yes, yes!”
Anticipatory Read Dear Dragon, A Pen Pal
Set Tale by Josh Funk
After read aloud ask:
- “What was your favorite
part?”
- “Why do you think people
write letters?”
- “What are some of the
things George and Blaise
talked about in their
letters?”
Purpose “Today we are going to write
letters to our pen pals! But
before we write the letters, we
are going to learn about the
parts of friendly letters and how
we use them when we write
letters!”
Lesson Minilesson (Whole Group) –
Presentation The organization of letters
Introduce Trait – 1 minute
- “Today we are going to be
talking about the
importance of organization
within our writing.
Organized writing helps
the reader understand what
you are trying to say. We
will practice this through
writing our first letter to
the pen pals I told you
about last week!”
DAY #2 – Social Studies #1
Through movement in the classroom,
students will identify the four cardinal
directions.
Using cardinal direction paddles while
navigating Allen Elementary in search of
Halloween candy, students will identify
the four cardinal directions.
-Given a worksheet, students will
complete the compass rose.
NCSS: 3; IAS: 2.3.1
- Maps: 1 sheet of grid paper, pre-made
map of neighborhood for each student, 2
maps (each with a different route) of Allen
- Elmo (for displaying grid paper)
- Marker for anticipatory set
- Pencils (for first activity)
- Halloween candy (for second activity)
Behavior
- To get students attention I will you
the call and respond, “Class, class” to
which they will respond, “Yes, yes.”
When they respond, they are expected
to turn and look at me.
- When a student’s voice is above the
expected level, or they are not
following directions, they will get
two warnings. After two warnings,
they will have their card flipped.
- I will inform students at the
beginning of the lesson that they have
the opportunity to receive candy at
the end of the lesson, but if they do
not follow directions, they will not
earn the candy.
General Expectations during the lesson:
Student’s voices will be at a level three
during whole group discussions, and a
level one during independent work
Students will follow directions, although
they may ask clarifying questions if need
be
When sitting on the rug, students are to sit
on their bottoms facing me
During Activity #2:
Students are expected to keep their voices
at a level two or below, keep their hands to
themselves, and walk through the hallways
If, after two warnings, a student does not
follow directions, they will be promptly
removed from the activity and will lose
their chance at getting candy
If the whole class does well in the lesson,
they will earn a “warm fuzzy.”
- Students will participate in a game of
Simon Says
“I just gave you all a bunch of directions!
Today, we are going to learn about the
cardinal directions - north, south, east, and
west – which we will use to find
Halloween candy that is hidden
somewhere in the school!”
Mini Lesson: Cardinal Directions  5
minutes
The anchor chart will include:
- The names of the cardinal directions
- A compass rose (to show how it
would look on a map)
Go over the anchor chart with the students
- “Has anyone ever heard the words
north, south, east, and west?”
- Allow a few students to answer
- North, south, east, and west are called
cardinal directions
“North points to the north pole, and south
Name: Micah Hendriksen
DAY #3 – Read Aloud
Students will identify at least three describing
characteristics of each sister in Virginia Wolf
Using the given sorting cards, students will
correctly sequence events from Virginia Wolf
into the beginning, middle, and end of the
story.
IAS: 2.RL.4.1
Center directions
Describing characteristics Work sheet
Sorting cards
Ziploc baggies
Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear Photo of Grace
and I
Expectations – Students are expected to work
quietly, but they are allowed to talk. Talking
should be at a level two and students should
be making adequate progress on their work.
When a student does not follow directions, I
will: 1) give them a warning, 2) remind them
of what will happen if they continue, 3) flip
their pineapple card, 4) consult Miss Johnson
for next step
Behavior – to positively reinforce my
students, I will
- Have a tally up on the white board for
each group
- The group that earns the most
points/tallys by the end of centers will
earn a fun size piece of candy for each
member
- IF each group earns the same amount of
tallies OR there is a tie, all of the
students involved will earn a piece of
candy.
Share story (and pictures) to lead into the
book Virginia Wolf
- Thanksgiving? Turn to the person next to you
“Today we are going to read a story called
Virginia Wolf, written by Kyo Maclear and
illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. During
centers, you will use what you learned from
listening to this story to describe the
characters and put parts of the story in order.”
Read Aloud: Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear –
15 minutes
Grand Conversation – Guiding questions to
facilitate discussion – 5 minutes
New Content – 5 minutes
- “When you are thinking about how to
describe characters in a story there are
four things you need to pay attention to:
- What the characters say
- What other characters say about them
- What the characters do
- What the characters think
- *Write those on the white board
- “When you are trying to figure out what
DAY #4 – Social Studies #2
Through working in groups, students will
identify different traditions for the
Thanksgiving holiday.
After the minilesson, students will be able to
explain what traditions are and why they are
important.
NCSS: 4; IAS: 2.1.4
- Three anchor chart sheets – two
previously made
- Marker for anticipatory set
- “Exploring traditions” information
sheets
- Recording sheet  Students will turn
this sheet in to Miss Johnson’s table
after the closure
- Candy (for incentive)
To get students attention I will you the call
and respond, “Class, class” to which they
will respond, “Yes, yes.” When they respond,
they are expected to turn and look at me.
When a student’s voice is above the expected
level, or they are not following directions,
they will get two warnings. After two
warnings, they will have their card flipped.
I will inform students at the beginning of the
lesson that they have the opportunity to
receive candy at the end of the lesson, but if
they do not follow directions, they will not
earn the candy.
General Expectations during the lesson:
- Student’s voices will be at a level three
during whole group discussions, and a
level two during group work
- Students will follow directions, although
they may ask clarifying questions if
need be
- When sitting on the rug, students are to
sit on their bottoms facing me
- If students do not follow directions, they
will not receive their candy at the end of
the lesson.
If the whole class does well in the lesson,
they will earn a “warm fuzzy.”
“Did you guys know that thanksgiving is
coming up? It is next week Thursday! What
are some things that you do for
and whisper to them your ideas. When you
are done give me a thumbs up!
- “Okay now can you tell me what you
told your partner?”
- As students share ideas, write them on
an anchor chart paper, titled with
“Things we do to celebrate
Thanksgiving”
“These things you do are called traditions!
Today we are going to learn more about
traditions as well as some other Thanksgiving
traditions!”
Mini Lesson: 10 minutes
- Ask students what they think traditions
are.
- *Flip to anchor chart for traditions, have
definition covered with paper
- Show students definition of tradition
Compare what two kids do for Thanksgiving
w/chart
- Right underneath the chart, I will have a
pre-made Venn Diagram (the students
have been learning about Venn
diagrams over the past week)
Talk about traditions
- When a student says a tradition, move
the sticky note to the corresponding area
Navigating the Unknown
Share Examples (Short
Text/Read Aloud) – 4 minutes
- “Because it is almost
Christmas time, Santa has
been really busy. He gave
me some of the letters he
has received to help him
save time, and I figured
because we were learning
about how to write letters
today, I would read you
some, is that okay?”
Provide Information (Model) –
5 minutes
- “The organization – or
format – of a letter is very
important.”
- *Open friendly letter
power point
- Go over parts of friendly
letters
- Heading/date
- Greeting  “Hello,”
“Dear,” “Hi,”
- Body  What you say to
the other person
- Closing  “Sincerely,”
“Thank you,” “Your
friend,” “I look forward to
hearing from you,”
- Signature  Name
Supervised Practice (Shared
Writing) – 5 minutes
- “I need to write a letter to
the teacher of the class in
Kenya, can you guys help
me?”
- Using lined paper, model
letter writing process over
the Elmo, asking for
student help during each
part
Ex) what greeting should I use?
Ex) what should I ask her
about?
Ex) what closing should I use?
- Read finished letter to class
and ask if there are any
more changes that need to
be made
Assess Learning
I will informally assess students
as they help me write my letter
to the teacher of the class in
Kenya.
Closure or Sharing (table groups)
Conclusion
After all students are done, they
will share their letters with their
tables
“Now that everyone is done,
share your letters with your
tables. If you notice that
someone is missing one of the
parts of friendly letters, you
may nicely let them know by
saying, ‘Make sure you don’t
forget…’”
points to the south pole. If you were to
walk north for a very long time, you would
eventually reach the north pole, and if you
were to walk a long time south, you would
eventually reach the south pole. The sun
rises in the east and sets in the west. If you
look at the sunrise, you are looking east,
and if you look at the sunset, you are
looking west.”
*Gesture to the compass rose* “Most
maps have this symbol on them, it is called
a compass rose. A compass rose helps you
know where one place on a map is
compared to another place.
- “If you look at the walls, on each wall I
have a letter that represents a cardinal
direction. Can you all point to the north?
The south? The west? The east?
Activity #1: Cardinal direction practice 
10 minutes
- “In a second, you are going to stand
up and walk over to your seats at a
level zero, but when you get to your
seats, do not sit down. Can someone
repeat back to me what you are going
to do?”
- Allow a student to answer
- *Clap, clap, “go to your seats”
Students: *clap, clap, “Okay”
- Once each student is at their seats,
give directions for the activity.
“We are going to play a little game to go
over the cardinal directions. I am going to
ask you to take a certain number of steps
in one direction. After I give you the
direction, you must follow it, BUT if you
come to a desk or table, stop and raise
your hand, and I will tell you what to do
next.”
- Give directions such as: “take five
steps west” or “take four steps south”
- When the first student runs into
something, model what I would like
them to do
Ask: “How many steps in what directions
would you have to take to be able to finish
the first thing I told you to do? If I were in
your spot, I would need to take five steps
north before I could finish taking three
steps east.”
After the first student does this, ask each
student that runs into something what they
would need to do to finish the instruction
Activity #2: Trick or Treating  15
minutes
- “Now, we are going to have a chance
to use our knowledge of cardinal
directions to find actual candy! I am
going to split you up into two groups,
one with Miss Johnson, and one with
me. Each of you will get two cardinal
direction paddles: one for north and
south, and one for east and west. As
we are walking in the hallway, you
are going to flip your paddle to the
direction we are walking. After you
get your candy and we get back to the
classroom, you are going to grab
*this* sheet (hold it up *see closure
for sheet). You are going fill in the
compass rose and trace a path to the
candy room. Once you are done, you
are going to describe to a person
sitting next to you the directions that
you would go if you were following
your path. (Both Miss Johnson and I
will remind our groups what they
need to do once we get back to the
classroom).
Students will fill out the compass rose and
trace a route to the candy, starting at Miss
Johnson’s room and ending in the copy
room.
After they are done, they will share what
directions they would use/ they would go
if they were to use their route to the person
next to them.
When students are done, they will turn
their papers in and can either read or color
until everyone is done.
When I notice that all of my students are
done…
- “To review, I need you all to point to
the north for me! The south! The
west! And the East!”
Name: Micah Hendriksen
the characters say and what others say on the diagram.
about them, there is a clue you can use.
Who knows what tells you in a story that Explain expert and teaching groups, and
someone is talking? display groups
Students will explore these topics:
“Now that you know what to pay attention to - TV
in a story when you are thinking about a - Feast
character, what are some words you would - Turkey Pardon
use to describe Virginia?” - Wishbone
- If students are having trouble processing, - Visit Family
I will have them turn and share with a
partner before sharing with the whole Let students go to expert groups
group
- “What about her sister? What words Switch to teaching groups
would you use to describe Virginia’s
sister?”
- Turn and share if needed
Introduce centers – 5 minutes
Centers – 35 minutes (10 minutes each with
about a minute and a half rotations)
- *There will be directions at each center.
- Transitions will be signaled through the
use of a timer. After time, students have
until the end of a short song to pack up
supplies and move to the next station.
Describing characteristics – reading rug
- Students will grab two of the describing
characteristics worksheets and find a
space on the rug to work.
- They will:
- Identify (write on the sheet) at least three
describing adjectives for each sister in
Virginia Wolf
- With the remaining time, they can color
in each sister.
- After they are done with both sheets,
they will turn them in.
- I will use these as a formative
assessment
Beginning, middle, and end sort – kidney
table
- Students will grab a Ziploc baggie
containing the cards they are to sort into
the beginning, middle, and end of the
story.
- They may work with one partner.
- When they believe they are finished,
they will raise their hand and either Miss
Johnson or I will check their sort,
providing feedback if they misplaced
one of the cards.
- When their sort is approved, they may
quietly read with their partner.
Encouraging sentence poster – seats
- Students will grab a poster paper and
write an encouraging sentence in the
center of the paper.
- After their sentence is done, they will
color their poster
- Students may quietly talk with someone
who is sitting next to them, but they each
need to create their own.
- After school, Miss Johnson and I will
hang up students’ posters around the
school to encourage others in the school
Guiding Questions: After all students are at the carpet, ask for
- “What is one thing you liked doing in one student each to explain what each
centers today?” tradition was.
- “What did you learn?”
Closing questions: I will provide prompts
Allow students to share their posters with the like these, but my students are very good at
class discussing, so I am going to try and let the
- “What else can you guys do to bring joy discussion flow as much as possible.
to someone else? - “Do you guys do any of these traditions
- Hand out candy at home?”
- “Why do you think we all have different
types of traditions?”
- “Does the fact that we all celebrate
holidays differently make our world
more interesting?”
Navigating the Unknown
Formative I will collect my students’ pen
Assessment pal letters before I send them. I
will review the letters looking
for the parts of letters and what
they wrote in the body of the
letter.
Adaptations For students who have a lower
writing skill, I will allow them
to use a blank letter template.
This will help them organize
their thoughts.
For my students who finish their
letter and picture early, I will
have picture books that include
letter writing available for them
to read. This will allow them to
develop their understanding of
friendly letters.
For visual learners, I have
included a power point with
visuals to help them understand
where the various parts of
friendly letters go.
Summative N/A
Assessment
(as needed)
Informal: A combination of observation
and collecting the closing activity
worksheet will serve as a formative
assessment
I have purposely created activities that
target a variety of multiple intelligences,
so as to engage my students as much as
possible: interpersonal, intrapersonal,
visual/spatial, linguistic,
logic/mathematical, bodily/kinesthetic.
The use of multiple intelligences in my
lesson will also stimulate the brain, which
will heighten memory.
The way in which I have grouped my
students is purposeful. To avoid clashing
personalities and encourage engagement, I
have placed Et and Ez in different groups,
as well as strategically placed certain
students in groups because I know that
they will encourage some students who
tend to become distracted, to participate.
N/A
Name: Micah Hendriksen
Formative Assessment: I will collect the Informal: Observation and collecting their
students’ finished event sorts and describing recording sheets after the lesson
characteristic sheets to check how well
students grasped the ideas of sequencing and
describing characters. This is my Formative
Assessment because either Miss Johnson or I
will be providing prompts to students as they
work on this project and as we check their
work. These prompts and our observations
will provide us with information on how
students process the task as well as they’re
strategies for completing the task.
For my students who struggle with reading, I I have created groups specifically so that
have made the font in all of my recording and students who have clashing personalities are
direction sheets bigger and with more space not together, and that students who need
in between lines. more support are with peers who can help
provide that support.
I have included several different activities that
intentionally target several multiple For students who are slow processors, I have
intelligences (interpersonal, intrapersonal, included multiple times in which they are
mathematical/logical, visual/special, able to discuss their thoughts with peers
verbal/linguistic) to make the activities more before sharing with the larger group.
accessible.
If Ethan or Ezekiel will perform better by
For students who take longer to process, I working with Miss Johnson or Miss Bedle
have included several chances for students to rather than with a group, I will allow them to
share their thoughts with peers before sharing do so by giving them all of the tradition
with the whole group. sheets and a recording sheet.
Summative Assessment: I will collect the N/A
describing characteristics sheets that the
students completed during centers. As the
students work on this project, I will keep my
interaction/comments to a minimum, because
my goal is to see if they understand the
overall task of describing both Virginia and
her sister using adjectives.