Grade K: Introduction to Nursery Rhymes and Fables
Rating: 
http://www.engageny.org/resource/kindergarten-ela-domain-1-nursery-rhymes-and-fables
Common Core Standards
Reading Literature
RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.K.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
RL.K.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
RL.K.4 Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RL.K.5 Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
RL.K.9 With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.
RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Speaking and Listening
SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.K.1(a) Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).
SL.K.1(b) Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
SL.K.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
SL.K.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
SL.K.6 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
Language
L.K.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.K.1(b) Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
L.K.1(f) Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
L.K.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content.
L.K.4(a) Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and learning the verb to duck).
L.K.5 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L.K.5(c) Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are colorful).
L.K.6 Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) by acting out the meanings.
Description of Unit
This Kindergarten unit titled "Introduction to Nursery Rhymes and Fables" from engageny.org is intended to be completed in 12 fifty-minute lessons of ELA/Literacy instructional time at the start of the school year. The emphasis of this unit is for students to develop an awareness of language, learn vocabulary, and build phonemic awareness in order to become better readers and writers, as measured through formative and summative assessments.
Cautions
Connecticut teachers should be aware that each lesson is intentionally composed of two distinct parts, so that it may be divided into smaller chunks of time and presented at different intervals during the day.
Rationale for Selection
This unit plan is an exemplary example of a progression of learning activities where concepts and skills advance and deepen over time. Lessons are designed to gradually remove supports, requiring all students to demonstrate their independent capacities. A major focus of instruction is on building students’ academic vocabulary in context. The unit uses varied modes of assessment to determine whether students are mastering the standards-based content and skills. It is designed to cultivate student interest and engagement in reading and speaking about texts. All materials needed for instruction and assessment are included on the site.