Sample Unit of Study Calendars: Kindergarten Readers' Workshop

Month	Unit of Study	Focus Lesson Topic(s)
September & October	Welcome to Kindergarten! Fairy Tales, Nursery Rhymes, and Old Favorites (incl. Phonemic Awareness)	Shared Reading, Literacy Centers, Interactive Read Aloud, and Interactive Writing
November​	Concepts about Print, Alphabet, and Cueing Systems (M, S, and V) ​	Shared Reading, Literacy Centers, Interactive Read Aloud, and Interactive Writing
December	Launching Readers' Workshop	We are all readers! (building community) Procedures and Routines for Independent Reading What’s your favorite book?
January	Emergent Literacy: Old Favorites and Reading Partnerships	Labeling using the pictures Storytelling picture walks Using dialogue "Read like you talk" - storytelling with expression Retelling Partnership behaviors
February	Just Right Books and Early Print Strategies	Choosing JR Books Using letters and sounds Recognizing and reading sight words Noticing a pattern and using it to read​
March	Stories and Story Structure	Learning about Characters Beginning → Middle→ End Story Elements (character, problem, solution) Retelling a simple story
April	Non-Fiction: Reading to Learn	What is nonfiction? What do I already know, and what do I want to learn? (having a purpose) Noticing and remembering when I learn something new​
May	Author Study: Eric Carle	Text-to-Text (what do we notice about EC’s books?) Using pattern and repetition to read Paying close attention to illustrations
June	Character Study: Literature Circles and Reader's Theater	Connecting to the characters (activating schema) Growing ideas and making inferences about characters Talking about our ideas with partners and in groups Acting out scenes and role playing

See Appendix for a blank Unit of Study Calendar template.