Thematic Unit Description and Culminating Activity

Basic Literacy Skills Unit: Phonics Fun with Clifford the Big Red Dog

Unit Description: After working with my student in observations this semester and looking at his running record and other assessments, I was inspired to create a unit plan that would get back to the basic literacy skills (phonics, word recognition, fluency, comprehension). The student I had in mind when creating this unit plan is a fifth grader reading at a first-grade level, so I designed the unit using first to second grade common core ELA standards. My main goal for this unit is to start with foundational skills and help students, specifically struggling readers, build on those skills.

Culminating Activity (extension of the unit): To extend and enhance this lesson, I would like to do a writing activity as the culminating activity. I will provide students with a list of the sight and high frequency words we have gathered throughout the three lessons, and with support and assistance, the students will write their own short Clifford story. I would also direct students to the various activities on the scholastic website designed to help students work on their basic literacy skills while playing Clifford the Big Red Dog games.