The underlying theme of this unit is building a deeper understanding of families. The world we live in is increasingly diverse, even within family structures, so it is incredibly important for students to see that there are many different types of families. Nuclear families are no longer the predominate type of family in society; more children are being raised by single parents, same-sex parents, in blended families or in families with mixed race, religion, or ethnicity. While these differences are common, it does not mean that students are comfortable with their own family experience or the differences between their families and their peers'. Therefore, one of the goals of this unit is to help students notice the similarities among families. With that said, not every type of family is covered over the course of the unit. This unit does not cover being part of a blended family or families with mixed religions or race. It does not cover families in which a child may not know his or her mother or father, families in which a child has been put into foster care, or families separated by immigration issues. These topics are incredibly important and applicable to a lot of students' lives; however, there is not a wealth of children's literature that adequately addresses these topics. Therefore, there are writing days added in to this unit as a way for students to reflect and share about their own families or for the teacher to bring in additional materials to reflect what they see with their students. These days should be based in conversations from the text but could lead to students talking about aspects of their families that make them unique or special.
There are three main bends in this unit. Bend one focuses on the idea that all families are different, but no matter what, families show each other love and support. Bend two focuses on the idea that siblings are an important part of a family, even though they can sometimes be annoying. Finally, bend three talks about grandparents and how grandparents, both near and far, play an important role in families. Throughout each bend, students will continue to work on determining the central message of a text, describing characters in-depth using details from the text and illustrations, and identifying words and phrases that appeal to the senses. In this unit students also begin longer shared reading. On shared reading days, students will read a text at grade level and practice using the strategies they have learned from read aloud to deeply understand and engage with the text.
In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. At this point students should be fluid in writing about the text in a structured way. Therefore, the focus of this answer is on pushing students to include the best and most accurate evidence and then to explain the evidence with inferences or critical thinking.