Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grades 3-5
This series offers grade-by-grade curricula in reading designed to meet ambitious 21st century global standards. Drawing on learning gleaned from decades of research, curriculum development, and working shoulder-to-shoulder with students, teachers, and school leaders, this new reading series is rooted in the Project’s best practices and newest thinking. The series includes state-of-the-art tools and methods for teaching reading and is undergirded by the Project’s learning progressions in reading for literature and informational texts.
Virtual Samples
Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grades 3-5
Authors
Lucy Calkins
Lucy Calkins is the author of the best-selling new grade-by-grade Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grades K-5 and Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing, Grades K-8 series, which are quickly becoming an essential part of classroom life in tens of thousands of schools around the world, and companions such as the Workshop Help Desk series; as well as the author or coauthor of numerous foundational professional texts with Heinemann, including The Art of Teaching Writing, Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions, Grades K-8 , Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement, and One to One: The Art of Conferring with Young Writers. She is also the author of The Art of Teaching Reading.
In her role as the Founding Director of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, a New York City–based organization that has influenced literacy instruction around the globe for more than thirty years, Lucy has developed a learning community of brilliant and dedicated teacher educators who have supported hundreds of thousands of teachers, principals, superintendents, and policy-makers in schools that bear their distinctive mark: a combination of joy and rigor in the classrooms, and entire school communities—teachers, principals, parents, kids—who wear a love of reading and writing on their sleeves.
Lucy is the Robinson Professor of Children's Literature at Teachers College, Columbia University where she co-directs the Literacy Specialist Program—a masters and doctoral program that brings brilliant teachers and coaches to TCRWP schools everywhere and to the Project itself.
She and her husband John are the parents of two sons, Miles and Evan.
Testimonials
PILOT TEACHERS REPORT Dramatic Results
“The children loved the unit! They especially enjoyed playing the ‘games’ with reading partners. In fact, they continued to play the games and sing the songs long after we completed the pilot. I have observed an increase in the application of certain skills. For example, one of the lessons teaches ‘sight words in disguise.’ The children still use this term when decoding new words while reading. I also noticed the reading partnerships are stronger and they really use partners as someone to go to for help. I noticed skills learned in reading workshop carried over to writing workshop. It was amazing.
“The units fit nicely within my balanced literacy program in kindergarten. They include whole-group lessons for reading workshop and ideas or guidance for guided reading groups, one-to-one conferences, or reading partners. The units also include lessons for shared reading, interactive read-aloud, and interactive writing. The reading units flow nicely into writing workshop for a well-connected literacy block.”
—Allison Hepfer, Kindergarten Teacher
“The content of the units pushed my students to stretch their thinking and also question author’s purpose. ‘What was this author really trying to teach me?’ ‘What is the takeaway message from this text?’ The content also challenged my students to search for symbols and life lessons. And the knowledge they gained transferred into their other reading.
“My students could not wait for reading workshop every day so they could discuss what was happening in their readings. They pushed each other to read way more pages than if I had assigned them. It was a pleasure to listen to their conversations; the students really pushed others in the group by challenging their ideas and questioning to make them look deeper into the text. They were also excellent at using the text as evidence to support their answers.”
—Sarah Binversie, Grade 5 Teacher
“Unit 2, Super Powers: Reading with Print Strategies and Sight Word Power, gave my students a collection of ‘super reading powers’ and the knowledge of when to use, or ‘activate,’ them. The unit was highly engaging for my students and easy for me to differentiate for various levels in my classroom. The sessions fit easily into my literacy block from the beginning of the unit and beyond as students built reading stamina and reading fluency. I also appreciated the ability to modify the sessions to follow student progress. Lucy Calkins and her team have given teachers the tools to support their early kindergarten readers from the tiniest first step in the beginning of the year to the confident leap they will make to first grade.”
—Connie Finkestein, Kindergarten Teacher
“The units provide clear and concise goals and teaching points, as well as an amazing selection of easily accessible resources to use within the units, such as anchor charts, mentor texts, and student exemplars. Each lesson is developed with multiple opportunities to differentiate and customize throughout the sixty-minute workshop framework. The high literacy expectations in the new units offer teachers a solid path aligned to ELA Standards, but also the opportunity to embrace their expertise with pacing and responsive teaching for the growth of all students.”
—Rachon Miller, K–5 Literacy Specialist
Overview
Series Overview Contents
- About the Author
- The 10 Essentials of Reading Instruction
- Why Choose Units of Study for Teaching Reading?
- What Does the Series Contain?
- A Quick Look at Primary Reading Development
- A Quick Look at Intermediate Reading Development
- Unit Summaries, Grades K–5
- Reading Workshop Framework
- Minilesson
- Conferring and Small-Group Work
- Share
- Trade Book Packs
- Reading Aloud, Grades K–5
- Shared Reading, Grades K–2
- Teaching Tools for Literacy Development
- Assessment
- Yearlong Planning
- Reading and Writing Connections
- Pilot Teachers Report Dramatic Results
Classroom Videos
Classroom videos are available from Columbia University Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.
Getting Started Course Videos
In these 45- to 90-minute grade-level study groups, teachers will learn:
- The options Lucy suggests for the sequence of units across the year
- Whether at each grade level, it's advisable to start with Unit 1 even if kids are new to reading workshop
- The books teachers will need for Unit 1 (and 2) and ways to give kids access to them
- The skills that are highlighted in Unit 1, the storyline of the Unit, the special tips Lucy has for making the Unit work
- Plus, a crash course in how to teach the mini lessons so they're mini—and other start-of-the year teaching methods.
