Relationships: A Kindergarten Literacy Unit Kate Wills, Carlinville Unit School District #1

Background Present, 2010 –First year as a kindergarten teacher, Carlinville, IL –21 Students –Instructional aide, kindergarten Carlinville, IL –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 Text box With shadow Text box With shadow Summarizing visualizing Questioning Synthesizing Making Connections Prior Knowledge Inferring Evaluating Reading Strategies

Reading Strategies Defined  Summarizing: 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 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. BENCHMARKS 18.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 Assessment This 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