In all elementary classrooms reading is taught in a workshop style format. Each lesson is taught in three

parts; opening, work period and closing.

• Opening is a short 10-15 minute mini lesson where the teacher will present a concept or read aloud a book.

• Work period is 20-30 minutes. Students will be working independently and the teacher will be pulling small

groups to work on specific skills. • Closing is 10-15 minutes where the class comes back together as a group and discusses what they may have learned that day or clarifies any questions that student

may have.

Reading

Kindergartners read every day! From the first week, the teacher models and practices three ways to “read” a book: read the pictures, read the words, or retell the story. This builds motivation and stamina for independent reading and gives direct instruction on isolated skills more relevance (e.g., print awareness, phonics). Students also hear models of fluent reading as the teacher reads aloud every day, including narrative and informational texts. This also allows students to develop comprehension skills before they are able to fluently decode texts. The end of the year expectation is that students will be able to read independently for 10 uninterrupted minutes.

Kindergarten students are assessed three times a year on their reading skills. Teachers administer the DRA2 at the beginning, middle and end of the year. This assessment along with other tasks (beginning sounds, rhyming, letter identification, sound knowledge, sight words) allow teachers to determine what skills a students needs to work on to move to the next reading level.

At the beginning of the year students should be able to:• identify 15 uppercase letters• identify 15 lowercase letters• produce 10 letter sounds• write their name using primarily lowercase letters• read a simple book with repeated text (Level A)

Welcome to Nance

Mrs. Ah Leong

Writing Workshop-What is it?

• *A daily component of balanced literacy.

•* Students write about topics as the teacher conferences one on one or pulls small groups of students who need the same kind of support.

What does Writer's Workshop look like in the Kindergarten

classroom?

Opening/Mini-Lesson: 5-10 minutes where the teacher teaches one new writing strategy, models the stratetgy and students practiceWork Period/Independent Writing: 20-40 minutes where students work independently on writingConferencing: during independent writing teacher checks in with students to direct and instruct students one-on-one or in small groupsClosing/Share/Wrap-Up: 5-10 minutes when students get to share with each other

Beginning of the Year

• * Student selects random letters, letter-like shapes, or environmental print.

• * Students draw pictures to represent their words.

• * By October their goal is to record 10 letter sounds from a passage read by the teacher.

• * Picture matches the topic.

Middle of the Year

• * Student selects letters representing several dominant sounds in a word and may use some environmental print to convey meaning.

• * Uses letters that progress from left to right, top to bottom on the page.

• * Records 20 letter sounds.

End of the Year

• * Student links one action/idea to a picture or assigned topic.

• * Capitalizes ‘I’, spells using dominant vowel & consonant sounds, spells some words conventionally.

• * Uses upper and lower case letters more consistently and leaves spaces between words.

• * Records 30 sounds.

Hope this gives you a picture of what writing looks like in Kindergarten

Northwest ISD

Nance Elementary

Kindergarten Round Up

Mathematics

Number Corner

• calendar/grid• patterns• counting• estimation• probability

• place value• measurement• money• data

A short, daily, skill-building program designed to introduce, reinforce, and extend mathematical concepts regarding:

InvestigationsStudents will understand the fundamental concepts of:• number and operations• geometry• data• measurement• early algebra

Math WorkshopA typical math workshop includes:

• Opening

• Work Period

• Closing

example

Math WorkshopExample Work Period:

“Toss the Chips”• Students toss a fixed number of counters

and then find the different combinations of that fixed number.

Assessment(in addition to concepts assessed from Investigations curriculum)

Kathy Richardson – Mathematical Perspectives

Beginning of Year• Counting Objects• Counting Out a Particular Quantity• One More/One Less

Assessment(in addition to concepts assessed from Investigations curriculum)

Kathy Richardson – Mathematical Perspectives

End of Year• Changing Numbers

Math NotebooksMost work created by a student will be recorded in a math notebook. This notebook will remain in the classroom in order to review, and expand upon, mathematical concepts throughout the year.

Math HomeworkAfter the first six-weeks grading period weekly homework will begin.The homework should review concepts learned from the previous week.

Northwest ISD

Nance Elementary

Kindergarten Round Up

Science

5E Instructional ModelThe 5E model is a learning cycle, or sequence, that enables students to build their own understanding from experiences and new ideas.

5E Instructional ModelThe 5 stages are:• Engage• Explore• Explain• Elaborate• Evaluate

5E Instructional ModelEngage:• Raise curiosity and access prior knowledge

5E Instructional ModelExplore:• Hands on lab activities designed to

encourage the generating of questions and possibilities.

5E Instructional ModelExplain:• Students communicate what they have

learned and share ideas with each other.

5E Instructional ModelElaborate:• Students expand on what they have

learned, make connections, and apply their understanding through additional activities.

5E Instructional ModelEvaluate:• Assess how much student learning and

understanding has taken place.

5E Instructional ModelFrequently not all 5 phases are completed in one day. The student directed pace usually expands a lesson chronologically, but it also increases understanding.

Science NotebooksMost work created from the 5E model is recorded in a science notebook. This notebook will remain in the classroom in order to review, and expand upon, scientific concepts throughout the year.

Science FairThe district’s science fair is conducted in the spring.Whole classroom projects are entered, and they can all be viewed at a central location within the district.