Wonders
The state of Utah has standards for each grade level in each subject area that students are expected to achieve by the end of each year. The teachers and staff of Whittier are dedicated to ensuring all students learn the skills they need to know before moving on to the next grade level. We use these standards as a guideline for every lesson we plan and teach to your children. Our reading curriculum, Wonders, is directly linked to the Common Core Language Arts Standards that Utah requires and serves as a wonderful baseline of knowledge for your child. Below you can find information about each unit we will study this year as we study them.
Unit 1: Getting to Know Us
Weekly Units: At School, Where I Live, Our Pets, Let's Be Friends, Let's Move
Our first unit of the year focuses on getting to know more about each other. Here is a list of recommended books to check out from the library about the topic:
David Goes to School by David Shannon
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
First Grade Stinks by Mary Ann Rodman
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton
First Day Jitters by Kevin Henkes
How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague
This School Year Will Be The Best by Kay Winters
Alicia's Happy Day by Meg Starr
Cool Dog, School Dog by Deborah Heiligman
Friends All Around by Miela Ford
Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Unit 2: Our Community
Weekly Units: Jobs Around Town, Buildings All Around, A Community in Nature, Let's Help, Follow the Map
Our second unit focuses on our community and where we live. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
Let's Meet A Construction Worker by Bridget Heos
Career Day by Anne Rockwell
The Berenstain Bears: Jobs Around Town by Stan Berenstain
What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney
Follow That Map! by Scot Ritchie
There's A Map on my Lap! by Tish Rabe
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier
The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett
Babies in the Bayou by Jim Arnosky
The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore
Unit 3: Changes Over Time
Weekly Units: What Time Is It?, Watch It Grow, Tales Over Time, Now and Then, From Farm to Table
Our third unit focuses on how things change over time, as well as how plants grow. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
Now and Ben by Gene Barretta
The Secret School by Avi
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla
The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons
A Second Is A Hiccup by Hazel Hutchins
Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
The Last Train by Gordon Titcomb
Where Does Food Come From by Shelley Rotner & Gary Goss
Unit 4: Animals Everywhere
Weekly Units: Animal Features, Animals Together, In the Wild, Insects, Working with Animals
Our fourth unit focuses on animals and their habitats. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
What If You Had Animal Teeth? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Hair? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had An Animal Nose? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Ears? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Feet? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Eyes? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had T. Rex Teeth? And Other Dinosaur Parts by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Babies In The Bayou by Jim Arnosky
Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre & Steve Jenkins
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Any books by National Geographic for Kids
Unit 5: Figure It Out
Weekly Units: See It Sort It, Up in the Sky, Great Inventions, Sounds All Around, Build It
Our fifth unit is about the scientific process and understanding some key elements of science. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford
On A Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne
If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty
Tracking Trash by Loree Griffin Burns
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
Marvelous Mattie by Emily Arnold McCully
Mistakes that Worked by Charlotte Foltz Jones
The Story of Inventions by Anna Claybourne
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada & Mae Besom
The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
The Inventor's Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford by Suzanne Slade & Jennifer Black Reinhardt
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives by Gene Barretta
Whistle For Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Unit 6: Together We Can
Weekly Units: Taking Action, My Team, Weather Together, Sharking Traditions, Celebrate America
Our sixth and final unit is about teamwork and how we can all work together to make our world a better place. Here are some books to check out at the library about this topic:
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
Two Mice by Sergio Ruzzier
Winners Never Quit by Mia Hamm
The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck
Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan
Children Around the World by Donata Montanari
Mama Panya's Pancakes by Mary and Rich Chamberlain
I Lost My Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakite
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Rain School by James Rumford
Lissy's Friends by Grace Lin
The state of Utah has standards for each grade level in each subject area that students are expected to achieve by the end of each year. The teachers and staff of Whittier are dedicated to ensuring all students learn the skills they need to know before moving on to the next grade level. We use these standards as a guideline for every lesson we plan and teach to your children. Our reading curriculum, Wonders, is directly linked to the Common Core Language Arts Standards that Utah requires and serves as a wonderful baseline of knowledge for your child. Below you can find information about each unit we will study this year as we study them.
Unit 1: Getting to Know Us
Weekly Units: At School, Where I Live, Our Pets, Let's Be Friends, Let's Move
Our first unit of the year focuses on getting to know more about each other. Here is a list of recommended books to check out from the library about the topic:
David Goes to School by David Shannon
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
First Grade Stinks by Mary Ann Rodman
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton
First Day Jitters by Kevin Henkes
How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague
This School Year Will Be The Best by Kay Winters
Alicia's Happy Day by Meg Starr
Cool Dog, School Dog by Deborah Heiligman
Friends All Around by Miela Ford
Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Unit 2: Our Community
Weekly Units: Jobs Around Town, Buildings All Around, A Community in Nature, Let's Help, Follow the Map
Our second unit focuses on our community and where we live. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
Let's Meet A Construction Worker by Bridget Heos
Career Day by Anne Rockwell
The Berenstain Bears: Jobs Around Town by Stan Berenstain
What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney
Follow That Map! by Scot Ritchie
There's A Map on my Lap! by Tish Rabe
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier
The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett
Babies in the Bayou by Jim Arnosky
The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore
Unit 3: Changes Over Time
Weekly Units: What Time Is It?, Watch It Grow, Tales Over Time, Now and Then, From Farm to Table
Our third unit focuses on how things change over time, as well as how plants grow. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
Now and Ben by Gene Barretta
The Secret School by Avi
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla
The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons
A Second Is A Hiccup by Hazel Hutchins
Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
The Last Train by Gordon Titcomb
Where Does Food Come From by Shelley Rotner & Gary Goss
Unit 4: Animals Everywhere
Weekly Units: Animal Features, Animals Together, In the Wild, Insects, Working with Animals
Our fourth unit focuses on animals and their habitats. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
What If You Had Animal Teeth? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Hair? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had An Animal Nose? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Ears? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Feet? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had Animal Eyes? by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
What If You Had T. Rex Teeth? And Other Dinosaur Parts by Sandra Markle & Howard McWilliam
Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Babies In The Bayou by Jim Arnosky
Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre & Steve Jenkins
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Any books by National Geographic for Kids
Unit 5: Figure It Out
Weekly Units: See It Sort It, Up in the Sky, Great Inventions, Sounds All Around, Build It
Our fifth unit is about the scientific process and understanding some key elements of science. Here are some books to check out from the library about this topic:
Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford
On A Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne
If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty
Tracking Trash by Loree Griffin Burns
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
Marvelous Mattie by Emily Arnold McCully
Mistakes that Worked by Charlotte Foltz Jones
The Story of Inventions by Anna Claybourne
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada & Mae Besom
The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
The Inventor's Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford by Suzanne Slade & Jennifer Black Reinhardt
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives by Gene Barretta
Whistle For Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Unit 6: Together We Can
Weekly Units: Taking Action, My Team, Weather Together, Sharking Traditions, Celebrate America
Our sixth and final unit is about teamwork and how we can all work together to make our world a better place. Here are some books to check out at the library about this topic:
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
Two Mice by Sergio Ruzzier
Winners Never Quit by Mia Hamm
The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck
Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan
Children Around the World by Donata Montanari
Mama Panya's Pancakes by Mary and Rich Chamberlain
I Lost My Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakite
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Rain School by James Rumford
Lissy's Friends by Grace Lin