Relationships: A Kindergarten Literacy Unit

Kate Wills, Carlinville Unit School

District #1

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Background

• Present, 2010– First year as a kindergarten

teacher, Carlinville, IL– 21 Students

• 2007-2010– Instructional aide,

kindergarten Carlinville, IL

• 2005-2007 – Pre-K teacher, Mason City, IL

Challenges• Differentiating

instruction during literacy times

• Providing meaningful and engaging literacy activities

• Connecting content, process, and product to prior knowledge

• Authentic assessment

• Will adding a student digital product as a summative assessment increase student engagement during the relationships unit?

• Will incorporating technology during literacy center time allow for greater connections between content and prior knowledge?

Questions

What is Reading In Kindergarten?

• Cognitive process – Involves decoding symbols for the purpose

of comprehension– Includes phonics, phonemic awareness,

vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, elements necessary for success in early literacy (Morrow, 2005)

• What do students learn?– Letters and sounds– Sight words– Concepts about print and books– Decoding– To build on prior knowledge in order to make

text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections

Making connections between new information and prior knowledge/experience is necessary

for comprehension. The cars and wheels on the train are the essential components of

instruction that will help you to do this.

Reading Strategies

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Text boxWith shadow

Summarizing

visualizingQuestioning

Synthesizing

Making Connections Prior Knowledge

Inferring

Evaluating

Reading Strategies

www.reading.ecb.org

Reading Strategies DefinedSummarizing: Readers identify key elements and condense important information into

their own words during and after reading to solidify meaning Synthesizing: Readers create original insights, perspectives and understandings

reflecting on text and merging elements from text and existing schema Visualizing: Readers create images in their minds that reflect or represent the ideas in the text. These images may include any of the five senses and serve to enhance understanding of the text

Inferring: Readers think about and search the text, and sometimes use personal knowledge to construct meaning beyond what is literally stated

Questioning: Readers ask questions about the text and the author's intentions and seek information to clarify and extend their thinking before, during and after reading

Evaluating: Readers judge, justify, and/or defend understandings to determine importance based on stated criteria

Activating prior knowledge: Readers activate what they currently understand or misunderstand about the topic and use this knowledge before, during, and after reading to clarify misconceptions and understand the text .

Making connections: Readers relate what they read to personal experiences (text-to-self), to information from other text (text-to-text), and to information about the world (text-to-world)

Assessment: process of documentation used to measure

knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, or skills • Diagnostic: Process of assessing for the purpose of

determining what students know about a given topic or skill – We will complete a graphic organizer to connect “Me” to friends,

family, and school family. We will discuss traits of friends and family members.

• Formative: Carried out throughout a unit or project and used to support student learning – I will use ongoing observation throughout the unit to support

student learning and use student products from activities to assess understanding of key social emotional and literacy concepts.

• Summative: Carried out at the end of a lesson or unit to evaluate knowledge gained as the result of that lesson or unit– I will be taking photos of students demonstrating specific social

emotional skills and the students will create a student digital

product with voice over using Photo Story for Windows.

Relationships Unit Overview

Early Learning Standards www.isbe.net

With High-Order Thinking Outcomes

STATE GOAL 31: Develop an awareness of personal identity and positive self-concept. Learning Standard A--Develop a positive self-concept. BENCHMARKS 31.A.ECa Describe self by using several basic characteristics. 31.A.ECe Use appropriate communication skills when expressing needs, wants and feelings.(Me) Learning Outcome: Describe yourself including your likes, dislikes, wants, and

feelings.

STATE GOAL 32: Demonstrate a respect and a responsibility for self and others.Learning Standard A--Perform effectively as an individual.BENCHMARKS 32.A.ECa Begin to understand and follow rules.32.A.ECc Show empathy and caring for others.Learning Standard B--Perform effectively as a member of a group.BENCHMARKS 32.B.ECc Respect the rights of self and others. 32.B.ECd Develop relationships with children and adults.(Friends) Learning Outcome: Discuss how showing care, empathy, and respect help

you to make friends and help you to be a good friend. (School Family) Learning Outcome: Indicate how following rules and procedures and

showing care, empathy, and respect for others contributes to the school family.

STATE GOAL 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States. Learning Standard A--Compare characteristics of culture as reflected in language, literature,

the arts, traditions and institutions. BENCHMARKS18.A.EC Recognize similarities and differences in people. Learning Standard B: Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in

society. BENCHMARKs 18.B.EC Understand that each of us belongs to a family and recognize that families vary.(Family) Learning Outcome: Describe your own family and discuss how families are

the same and different.

Time Frame and Overview

General Outline of Activities

(diagnostic assessment, pre-reading, during,

summative assessment, post lessons)

Summative AssessmentThis is an example of Photo Story for Windows. Students will use their own photos and talk about what they learned during the unit about friends, family, school family, and themselves. I will be using this particular digital storybook to introduce myself at the beginning of the year.

References

• Literacy Development in the Early Years by Leslie Mandel Morrow