Picture Writing

Content Objectives

This weather unit mainly addresses Science standards, although it also covers many other standards, including: California State Standards for English Language Arts and Math, California Department of Education English Language Development Standards, and Common Core Standards. Students will understand different kinds of weather, the water-cycle, scientific experiments, seasons, and attributes affecting the world and earth's inhabitants. Throughout this unit, hands-on projects and the dual focus on images and words together for learning vocabulary will help bridge the "prior knowledge" gap. Students are expected to master basic skills of speaking and writing Narrative, Informational, and Opinion pieces throughout this Kindergarten year. By the end of this unit, students will be able to explain weather by producing verbal, illustrative, and written work.

This weather unit is a fun way to teach the content while also addressing the issue of teachers having to increase overall comprehension despite students' limited vocabulary and prior knowledge of basic concepts. Strategies of building knowledge can be applied to other lessons and units since they help teachers and students gain a depth of understanding. Teaching students systematically and explicitly how to make connections will build their comprehension and knowledge, which then build their prior knowledge for future learning. As seen in most standards and in research, building on students' prior knowledge is key. Furthermore, Burmark states, "Activating students' prior knowledge is a critical comprehension strategy." ⁶ Students will continuously build and activate their knowledge in significant ways.

Relevant modes of learning about the weather content that reflect technological advances are imbedded in this unit to enrich comprehension. Research on visual literacy and visual learning allows for up-to-date strategies to make learning more meaningful to students in this global, technological society. Bazeli and Olle point out that engaging methods for students actively developing vocabulary include technology such as interactive video, computer software packages, graphic organizers, story maps, and collaborative practice of new vocabulary, all activities that which can all be done dynamically ⁷. Updated strategies in relation to weather images, text, and experiments make learning more meaningful to students in this tech-savvy society.