FREE FOR K–5 TEACHERS
Talk it. Draw it. Write it.
Get a free, ready-to-teach Write to Understand™ Kindergarten lesson: one read-aloud, one scripted lesson plan, and leveled pages so every student can tell, draw and write what they learned.
From one sentence to RACE. Start this week.
Get a free, ready-to-teach Write to Understand™ 1st grade lesson: one passage, one scripted lesson plan, and response pages at four levels, from a one-sentence answer to a full RACE response.
No more one-sentence answers. Start this week.
Get a free, ready-to-teach Write to Understand™ RACES week, with the passages, teacher scripts and answer keys done for you.
What grade do you teach?
What is Write to Understand™?
A reading comprehension and writing system for K–5. Students read a short passage, talk about it, then write about it with evidence from the text, using the same routine every week. Your free lesson comes straight from it.
WHAT YOU GET
Inside your free Kindergarten lesson
- One read-aloud passage with picture labels
- A scripted lesson plan straight from the WTU Library
- 3 leveled writing pages, a Let’s Talk! page and an Evidence Hunt
- Answer keys for every page
- Passage
- How Squirrels Get Ready for Winter
- Question
- What does the squirrel do to get ready for winter?
- Time
- About 25 minutes
WHAT YOU GET
Inside your free 1st grade lesson
- One nonfiction passage with picture support
- A scripted lesson plan straight from the WTU Library
- 4 response options, with and without sentence stems
- Answer keys with model responses
- Passage
- How Popcorn Pops
- Question
- How does popcorn pop?
- Time
- About 30 minutes
WHAT YOU GET
Inside your free RACES week
- Monday I Do, Tuesday We Do, Wednesday You Do
- Thursday and Friday paired passages
- 4 passages with answer keys and teacher scripts
- RACES poster, bookmarks and an “I taught it” checklist
- Passages
- Javan Rhino, Susie’s Dilemma, The World’s Rarest Cat, Telephone + Internet
- Goal
- A RACES paragraph from two sources by Friday
- Time
- One short lesson a day for five days
HOW TO TEACH IT
Four steps. Every student writes.
One lesson, about 25 minutes. Here’s how it goes.
- 1Read it twice.
Read the passage aloud while students point to the pictures, then read it again together.
- 2Talk before writing.
Use the Let’s Talk! page so every student says the answer out loud before they write it.
- 3Pick one page per student.
The word-bank page, the sentence frame and the multi-sentence page are the same lesson at three levels.
- 4Hunt for evidence.
Students circle the picture and the sentence that prove the answer: their first step toward citing the text.
HOW TO TEACH IT
Four steps. Every student writes.
One lesson, about 30 minutes. Here’s how it goes.
- 1Read it together.
Read the passage aloud while students track with a finger, then read it again chorally.
- 2Model a warm-up question.
Answer an easier question out loud first, so students see you go back to the text.
- 3Pick one option per student.
A one-sentence answer or a three-sentence RACE response, each with and without sentence stems.
- 4Check and draw.
Students check capitals, punctuation and finger spaces, then draw the popcorn popping.
YOUR WEEK
Model it. Build it. Hand it over.
Five scripted days that take students from watching you write a RACES paragraph to writing one from two sources.
Javan Rhino
Susie’s Dilemma
The World’s Rarest Cat
Telephone + Internet
Paired response
A LOOK INSIDE
Everything is done for you
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. Pick your grade, enter your email and the download comes straight to your inbox.
I teach more than one grade. Which should I pick?
Pick the grade you teach most. You can come back and sign up for another grade anytime.
What happens after I sign up?
You get your lesson right away, then a few short emails with tips for teaching it and what to do next.
Can I share it with my team?
Please share this page so each teacher gets their own copy.
Pick your grade. Teach it tomorrow.
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