Welcome BACK to Kindergarten

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Welcome BACK to Kindergarten

• Where Learning is Fun

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Integrating Our Curriculum

• Young children must be provided a rich and varied
  environment that allows for social, emotional,
  physical, and intellectual development. An
  environment in which all children feel success,
  can make choices and decisions, question and take
  risks, make mistakes and try again, assume
  responsibility for their learning, and enjoy
  their many successes. The kindergarten program
  helps children view themselves as competent and
  worthy.
• At the kindergarten level, the emphasis is on
  developing a strong literacy foundation as well
  as the habits of mind that contribute to
  students development as life-long readers and
  writers. Providing an environment that is rich in
  print and positive language experiences will
  emphasize meaning and foster each childs desire
  to become literate.

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Bridging the Gap

• It is important to ease the movement from the
  pre-Kindergarten level to the Kindergarten level.
  
• Based on observations, how can we make the first
  day, or the first week, an easier transition for
  children?

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Language Arts- Literacy

• The kindergarten Language Arts Literacy block
  consists of a minimum of 120 minutes of
  uninterrupted time. This time is devoted to
  reading, writing, listening, speaking, and
  viewing.

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Where to Begin

• Components of the language Arts Literacy Block
  include
• Daily mini lessons direct instruction of
  contextualized reading, writing, listening,
  speaking and viewing strategies
• Teacher read alouds
• Shared, guided, and/or literature reading circles
• Independent reading and writing of a variety of
  genres and text types
• Teacher and student conferring to inform
  instruction
• Sharing time to respond personally and critically
• Opportunities for student self-assessment

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Examples

• Timing
• 10 15 minutes Daily Shared Reading Message
  Time Plus
• This includes focused whole-group instruction of
  skills/strategies, mini-lesson determined by
  student needs, district curriculum, and NJCCS.
• (sight words, introduce and reinforce skills,
  phonics, oral language skills, phonemic
  awareness, capitalization, mechanics, building
  background knowledge, integrating other content
  areas)

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Continuing

• 15 minutes - Daily Interactive Teacher Read
  Aloud and Whole Group Discussion
• -Whole group direct instruction of
  comprehension/fluency/vocabulary/authors craft
  strategies
• -Text frequently connected to science, social
  studies, math, character themes, other curricula
• -Whole group instruction to facilitate thorough,
  imaginative, and creative understanding of text

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Questioning..

• A prepared skill by thorough teachers.
• After reviewing the order of Blooms Taxonomy-
  how can we elicit higher level thinking?

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Review of District mandated CPTs

• Word walls
• Guided Reading
• Literacy Learning Centers
• Evidence of Writing
• http//www.nbps.k12.nj.us/curriculum/default.htm

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Kindergarten Assessments

• ELAS - Ongoing
• Anecdotal assessments - Ongoing
• Placement Test By September 12th
• DIBELS Fall, Winter, Spring
• Skills Tests
• Terra Nova Spring
• Portfolio Writing Journals
• Early Screening Inventory Revised (ESI-R)

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New Curriculums

• Science Kindergarten Science curriculum was
  developed this summer.
• Social Studies Kindergarten Social Studies
  curriculum was also developed this summer.

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Making it Work

• Time management
• Integrating curriculums keeping reading and
  writing a priority.

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Data Team Meetings

• Raising student achievement
• Using data to drive our instruction
• Becoming a grade level team THAT WORKS!
• Creating Smart Goals Specific Measurable
  Achievable Relevant Timely Recorded and
  Received
• mapthemind.com

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Smart Goals

• Identify your most important objectives for
  student achievement based on the challenges your
  team identified through analyzing the data and
  the determination of your prioritized needs
  analysis.

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Suggested Format

• Percentage of (student group) scoring at
  proficiency or higher in (objective) will
  increase from ____ to ____ by the end of
  (period of time) as measured by (assessment
  tool).
• After 15 days of the attached instructional plan
  and subsequent evaluation, 75 of all students
  will be able to attach a sound to each letter and
  blend 3 letter sounds to form a nonsense word.
• Example

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Using the DAIP
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Together We Can Make It Work

• A well managed classroom is a task oriented and
  predictable environment.
• Harry Wong, 1998
• We are all in this together reach out to your
  peers for assistance. Together we can succeed.
• Have a wonderful year!