1
Kindergarten
Think, Read, Discuss Course Overview
Course Overview
Contents
Course Introduction and Overview .................................................................................................................................... 3
Program Tenet Alignment: .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Purpose of the Think, Read, Discuss Block: ....................................................................................................................... 4
Instructional Philosophy: .................................................................................................................................................... 4
Course Organization............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Course Content and Progression ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Scope and Sequence: Year At A Glance (all regions) ......................................................................................................... 5
Interdisciplinary Alignment ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Scope and Sequence of Discussion Habits .......................................................................................................................... 7
Overview of Units................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Assessment and Evaluation .............................................................................................................................................. 11
Appendix A: Habits of Discussion Definition and Prompting Guide: ................................................................................... 12
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Course Introduction and Overview
Program Tenet Alignment:
As outlined in the Program Overview, below are the Tenets of the ELA program. These tenets are the driving force behind the
Literature Course.
 Foster Voracious, Lifelong Readers and Writers
 Build Knowledge of Words and the World Grounded in Critical Topics and Transferable Themes
 Cultivate Critical Curiosity about Our Ever-Changing World
 Become Critical Consumers of Complex Text
 Encourage Rigorous, Evidence-Based Thinking and Argumentation to Ensure Students Communicate Persuasively
The Think, Read, Discuss Course also supports the K-4 ELA Program Outcomes, also shown on the Program Overview. The
Highlighted Outcomes are most heavily supported during the Think, Read, Discuss class.
K-4 Program Outcomes:
Foundational Skills:
Kindergarten- 2nd Grade:
o Create a strong foundation of fluency with appropriate accuracy, prosody and rate of 100 words per minute by the end of
second grade.
o Develop sound phonological awareness to support phonics development; apply phonics and word-analysis skills to
accurately and automatically decode words.
3rd-4th Grade:
o
Support the continued development of fluent, accurate, and prosodic readers, increasing rate of words per minute above
2nd grade benchmark while maintaining accurate decoding, emphasis and use of tone to convey meaning.
Academic and Oral Language Development:
o
o
o
o
Development of a robust academic vocabulary by building word knowledge through direct acquisition of roots and words and
through indirect acquisition by volume of reading in all classes;
Develop understanding of syntax, namely how sentences are put together and the author’s intent in doing so;
Build thinking, listening and speaking skills through rich discussion of text and application of the habits of discussion; adapt
conversation to the demands of the situation;
Ensure the constant development of oral language through expression and synthesis of ideas in presentation and
conversation.
World Knowledge:
o
Build world knowledge intentionally and systematically to deepen scholar understanding of essential and relevant topics
across the day.
Thinking Skills:
o
o
Build critical thinking skills by asking and answering oral and written text dependent questions that allow access to the big
ideas of the text, core comprehension and engagement with critical text demands;
Build ability for students to navigate texts of different purposes, genres and styles at different levels and read in a variety of
formats (e.g. listening to a text read aloud, reading a text at the CCSS level, reading a text at an independent level).
Love and Engagement:
o
o
o
Build a love of literacy through exposure to rich, relevant high-interest text and genuine teacher enthusiasm for the discipline;
Enhance scholar capacity and motivation to sustain a volume of engaged reading;
Creatively engage with self-discovery as well as new worlds, ideas and their own imagination while exploring text and their
own writing.
Writing:
o
o
Demonstrate the ability to clearly communicate strong ideas and produce a variety of types of writing across the curriculum
through the application of the habits of academic writing;
Write fluently and with clarity through attention to sound-letter basics (letter recognition, formation, automaticity and legible
handwriting), accurate spelling (as expected by defined spelling sequence), and sentence composition (grammar, syntax, and
punctuation).
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Purpose of the Think, Read, Discuss Block:
There are four main purposes of the Think, Read, Discuss class:
 To systematically build scholars’ word and deep topic centered world knowledge
 To develop strong listening and speaking skills through participation in class discussion
 To promote evidence based thinking about complex texts and ideas
 Instill a deep appreciation and interest in complex literature and informational text through engaging read
alouds and rigorous discussions
Instructional Philosophy:
Kindergarten is a time for scholars to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to “learn to read”. At Achievement First
we believe that in addition the foundational reading knowledge and skills (phonics, fluency, phonemic awareness), to
prepare Kindergarten scholars for the expectations and rigors of future grades we must also build scholars knowledge of
words and the world, as well as, the key oral language skills (speaking and listening) . The Read, Think, Discuss class
focuses on building scholars’ knowledge of words and the world through units organized by topic aligned to science,
history and classic literature identified from the Core Knowledge Listening and Learning Curriculum.
There is one may lesson type that drives the Read, Think and Discuss Class.
Lesson Type
Overview of Lesson Type
Read Aloud
The Read Aloud lessons focus on developing scholars’ word and world knowledge, as well as,
their key oral language skills through read alouds of complex text, discussions of text based
questions and culminating tasks that help scholars synthesize the information discussed in the
text into their own understanding of unit topic.
Course Organization
-
The Course is organized into Topical units that support development of World & Word Knowledge aligned to the
Core Knowledge Listening and Learning Curriculum.
There are two types of resources used in each topical unit to support students word and world knowledge
development:
o Core Knowledge Listening and Learning (CKL&L) Units are the foundation for the scope and sequence
of the block and the CKL&L unit materials (unit guides and lessons) are the primary instructional
materials used during the block.
o Read Aloud Project Modules - These multiday lessons supplement the CKL&L units and provide
opportunity for students to participate in read alouds of authentic trade books aligned to the topic of
each unit.
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Course Content and Progression
Scope and Sequence: Year At A Glance (all regions)
Estimates for this 40 week calendar are based on recent versions of the academic calendar. We have attempted to take all regional calendars and non-instructional days
(including IA days, PD days, etc.) into consideration
Week 1
R
W
R
W
R
W
R
W
R
W
R
W
R
W
Week 0
Week 7
Week 2
Unit 1: Nursery Rhymes and Fables
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Unit 2: 5 Senses
Week 6
Unit 1: Informational: Concept Books
Week 9
Week 10
Week11
Unit 4: Plants
Week 8
Week 12
Unit 3: Stories
Unit 2: The Writing Process and " Small Moments
Unit 3
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Unit 4 continued: Plants
Unit 5: Farms
Unit 6:
Unit 3 Continued: Narrative
Unit 4: Informational All About Plants and Farms
Unit 5
Week 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22
Week 23
Week 24
Unit 6 Cont.: Native Americans
Unit 7: Kings and Queens
Unit 8
Unit 5: Informational Procedural (How To)
Unit 6: Opinion
Week 25
Week 26
Week 27
Week 28
Week 29
Week 30
Unit 8 continued: Weather and Seasons
Unit 9: Columbus and the Pilgrims
Unit 10
Unit 6 continued: Opinion
Unit 7: Poetry and Weather
Week 31
Week 32
Week 33
Week 34
Week 35
Week 36
Unit 10: Colonial Towns and Townspeople
Unit 11: Taking Care of the Earth
Unit 12
Unit 8: Writing Deep Dive: Taking Care of the Earth
Week 37
Week 38
Week 39
Week 40
Unit 12: Presidents and American Symbols
EOC Wrap Up
Unit 8 Continued
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Interdisciplinary Alignment
This provides an overview of how the different subjects align over the course of the year. Timing is less precise than on
the calendar above, but reflects overall sequencing of units. Only units that align across contents are highlighted.
SS
Science
Week 0
Unit 1: Intro to Civics
Think Read Discuss
Unit 1: Nursery Rhymes and
Fables
Unit 2: The Five Senses
Unit 2: Intro to Economics
(aligns to TRD Native
American Unit)
Unit 3: Intro to Geography
(aligns to TRD Columbus
Unit)
Writing
Week 0
Unit 1: Informational:
Concept Books
Unit 3: Stories
Unit 2: Narrative: Small
Moments
Unit 4: Plants
Unit 3: Narrative: Stories
Unit 4: Investigations of
Culture
(aligns to American Symbols
Unit)
Unit 5: Improving the
Community
Unit 5: Farms
Unit 6: Native Americans
Unit 1: Exploring and
Pushing
Unit 3: Informational All
About Plans and Farms
Unit 4: Informational:
Procedural/ How To
Unit 7: Kings and Queens
Unit 2: Patterns of Weather
Unit 8: Seasons and Weather
Unit 9: Columbus and the
Pilgrims
Unit 3: Organisms and
Ecosystems
Unit 5: Opinion
Unit 6: Poetry (Weather)
Unit 10: Colonial Towns and
Townspeople
Unit 11: Taking Care of the
Earth
Unit 4: Changing and
Protecting the Environment
Unit 5: Learning to Keep
Cool
Unit 7: Deep Dive Taking
Care of the Earth
Unit 12: Presidents and
American Symbols
EOC Wrap Up
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Scope and Sequence of Discussion Habits
This chart outlines the sequence of habits implemented in over the course of the year in the TRD block. For more detail
about each habit see the Habits of Discussion Definition and Prompting Guide in Appendix A.
Habit:
Kindergarten:
o Listen & Talk Only in Turn
o Audible
o Complete sentences
Timeline:
First 2 weeks of school (Sept)
3rd week of school (Mid-Sept)
o Elaborate on own answer
Start of Month 2 (Oct)
o Evaluate others’ responses
Middle of Month 2 (Mid-Oct)
o Peer-to-Peer
Month 3 (Nov)
o Bulding on Another’s Answers
Month 4 and 5(Dec-Jan)
o Reinforcing all K Habits
Months 6-10 (Feb-June)
1st Grade:
o Reinforce K Habits of Discussion
o Peer Praise
o Build of Another’s Answers
Month 1 (Sept)
Middle of Month 1 (Mid-Sept)
Month 2-(October)
o Prompting Peers with Universal Prompts
Months 3-4 (Nov-December)
o Hint, Don’t Tell
o No Hands
Reinforcing all K-1 Habits
Months: 5-6 (Jan-Feb)
Months 7-8 (March-April)
Months 9-10 (May-June)
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Overview of Units
Unit #Topic/Text
Duration
Content Goals

Unit 1: Nursery
Rhymes and Fables
Unit 2: The Five
Senses
17 days:

Lessons:

12 CK
4 RAP
1 Asses
1 flex day



15 days


Lessons:

9 CK
4 RAP
1 Assess



Unit 3: Stories
16 days

Lessons:
10 CK
4 RAP
1 Assess
1 flex







14 days
Unit 4: Plants



Demonstrate familiarity with
common nursery rhymes and fables
Develop an awareness of language to
become better readers and writers
Identify rhyming words and
repetition in nursery rhymes
Explain that fables teach a lesson that
is stated as the moral of the story.
Identify the moral of fables
Explain how animals often act as
people in fables (personification)
Id. And describe the five senses
Id. the body parts associated with the
five senses
Explain how the eyes, ears, nose,
tongue and skin work.
Describe how the five sense help
people learn about the world.
Describe ways people take care of
their bodies.
Describe ways the five senses protect
people from harm
Demonstrate familiarity with stories
including the ideas they express.
Explain that stories are made up and
come from a writer’s imagination are
called ficion.
Identify the beginning, middle and
end of a given story.
Identify the sequence of events in a
given story.
Identify the characters of a given
story.
Identify the plot of a give story.
Identify the setting of a give story.
Identify the characteristics of
subgenre fiction including folktales
and trickster tales.
Identify the fundamental parts of
plants
Describe how plants grow and what
they need to survive.
Describe the life cycle of plants
CCSS Focus
Standards1
Materials





RL.K.2
RL.K.3
RL.K.4
RL.K.5
RL.K.7



Nursery Rhyme Anthology
Nursery Rhyme Flip Book






RI.K.2
RI.K.7
W.K.2
W.K.8
SL.K.4
SL.K.5


Five Senses Anthology
Five Sesnse Flip Book

The Listening Walk, by Paul
Showers and Aliki (480L)


RL.K.3
RL.K.5


Stories Anthology
Stories Flip Book

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene
Mosel (1190L)



Plants Anthology
Plants Flip Book
Wangari’s Tree of Peace: A
True Story from Africa by
Jeanette Winter (730L)



RI.K.3
RI.K.7
SL.K.5
Town Mouse Country Mouse
by Jane Brett(530L)
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All of the CCSS standards to some extent should be practice in each unit. The CCSS identified in this column are the most
predominate standards addressed in each unit. CCSS RI and RL K.1, K.4 and K.10 and SLK.1, SLK.2 and SL.K.6 are embedded in every
lesson
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Unit #Topic/Text
Duration
14 days
Unit 5: Farms
Lessons:
10 CK
3RAP
1 Assess
14 days
Unit 6: Native
Americans
Lessons:
9CK
3 RAP
1 Assess
14 days
Unit 7: Kings and
Queens
Unit 8: Seasons
and Weather
Lessons:
8CK
4 RAP
1 Assess
Flex
13 days
Lessons:
8 CK
4 RAP
1 Assess
Content Goals















Unit 9: Columbus
and the Pilgrims
15 days

Lessons:
9 CK
4 RAP
1 Assess
1 Flex day



CCSS Focus
Standards2
Materials
Describe a farmer’s job
Identify animals found on a farm and
the sound the animal makes
Identify the needs of farm animals:
food, water, and space to live and
grow
Describe how farm animal babies
need to be feed and cared for by
their parents or people.
Explain why farmers raise animals.
Describe the food, clothing and
shelter of the Lakota Sioux,
Wampanoag, and Lenape.
Describe the environment in which
the Lakota Sioux, Wampanoag, and
Lenape lived.
Describe aspects of the Lakota Sioux,
Wampanoag and Lenape culture.
Describe the responsibilities, lifestyle
ad custom associated with royalty
throughout history.
Describe the characters, setting and
plots in fiction read alouds.
Demonstrate familiarity with a given
story or poem.




RI.K.2
RI.K.7
W.K.3
SL.K.4



Farms Anthology
Farms Flip Book
Daisy Comes Home, by Jan
Brett (540L)





RI.K.3
RI.K.7
RI.K.9
W.K.2
W.K.8



Native American Anthology
Native American Flip Book
The Story of Jumping Mouse: A
Native American Legend, by
John Steptoe (540L)


RL.K.3
RL.K.5


Kings and Queens Anthology
Kings and Queens Rhyme Flip
Book
The Twelve Dancing
Princesses, by Rachel Isadora
Describe that different regions of the
Earth experience different
characteristic weather patterns
throughout the year.
Describe the characteristics of the
four seasons.
Describe the different weather
patterns relate to different times of
the year
Explain why knowing about the
weather is important and how
weather affects our day-to-day lives
and activities.
Describe details related to Columbus
voyage to America
Describe details related to the
Pilgrims voyage to America
Describe the motives that prompted
both Columbus and the Pilgrims
voyages.
Compare and Contrast the voyages
of Columbus and the Pilgrims





RI.K.2,
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
W.K.2
SL.K.5








RI.K.3
RI.K.7
RI.K.8
W.K.2
W.K.8
SL.K.3
SL.K.5






Seasons and Weather
Anthology
Seasons and Weather Flip
Book
Thunder Cake, by Patricia
Polacco (630L)
Columbus Anthology
Columbus Flip Book
Encounter by Jan Yolen (680L)
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All of the CCSS standards to some extent should be practice in each unit. The CCSS identified in this column are the most
predominate standards addressed in each unit. CCSS RI and RL K.1, K.4 and K.10 and SLK.1, SLK.2 and SL.K.6 are embedded in every
lesson
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Unit #Topic/Text
Unit 10: Colonial
Towns and
Townspeople
Duration
Content Goals
15 days

Lessons:
10CK
4 RAP
1 Assess



15 days
Lessons:
10CK
4 RAP
1 Assess



Unit 11: Taking
Care of the Earth

15 days
Unit 12:
Presidents and
American
Symbols
Lessons:
8 CK
4 RAP
1 Assess
2 flex



Describe the daily life of colonial
towns people
Describe the different kinds of
trades people found in a colonial
town
Identify and associate with the
appropriate trade, the tools used by
colonial tradespeople.
Compare and contrast the daily life
of colonial towns people with
present day life.
Explain why people have a special
responsibility to take care of the
earth
Explain different types of pollution,
including litter, air pollution, and
water pollution, and how most types
of pollution are caused by people.
Explain what happens to garbage
from its creation to being dumped in
landfills; to recyclable materials from
home to a recycling factory; to
discarded food from the table to the
compost pile to the garden and the
water cycle.
Identify possible solutions for
problems of garbage, litter,
pollution, and conserving natural
resources
Identify and describe the lives and
legacies of George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln,
Theodore Roosevelt, and Barak
Obama.
Identify and describe the significance
of four America Symbols: The
American Flag, the Declaration of
Independence, the Statue of Liberty,
and Mount Rushmore.
Explain the similarities and
difference between a king and a
president.
CCSS Focus
Standards3
Materials








RI.K.3
RI.K.7
RI.K.9
W.K.2
W.K.3
W.K.5
W.K.8
SL.K.4



Colonial Towns Anthology
Colonial Towns Flip Book
Ox-Cart Man, by Donald Hall
and illustrated by Barbara
Cooney (AD1180L)







RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
RI.K.9
W.K.2
W.K.3
W.K.8



Earth Anthology
Earth Flip Book
The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss (560L)






RI.K.3
RI.K.7
RI.K.9
W.K.1
W.K.2
W.K.3



President Anthology
President Flip Book
Grace for President, by Kelly S.
DiPucchio and illustrated by
LeUyen Pham (570L)
3
All of the CCSS standards to some extent should be practice in each unit. The CCSS identified in this column are the most
predominate standards addressed in each unit. CCSS RI and RL K.1, K.4 and K.10 and SLK.1, SLK.2 and SL.K.6 are embedded in every
lesson
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Assessment and Evaluation
Assessment Types and Description:
Assessment Type
CKL&L Domain
Assessments
End of Unit
Performance
Tasks
How it is used
There are two types of domain assessment provided in the CKL&L curriculum. The first assessment
determines student content knowledge learning taught throughout the unit. The second
assessment assesses students’ understanding of key topic specific vocabulary taught throughout the
unit.
These summative assessments vary throughout the year, but evaluate student mastery of the
content and skill goals of the unit. Teachers use this data to track student progress toward
standards mastery as well as to gauge whether re-teaching of any content or skill is necessary prior
to moving on to the next unit of study. These assessments align with Reading, Speaking and
Listening, Writing, Language, and Foundational Reading standards.
Scoring:
CKL&L Domain Assessments:
The Core Knowledge Language Arts Program uses a unique system of assessment, called the Tens. In the Tens system of
assessment, all scores are converted to numbers between 0 and 10. A 10 indicates excellent performance and a 0
indicates very poor performance.
Tens scores are recorded on a simple grid, called a Tens Recording Chart, where the students’ names are listed in the
horizontal rows and the various activities are listed in the vertical columns. (A blank Tens Recording Chart is provided as
part of the program materials and can be copied as needed.)
Once a number of Tens scores have been recorded, it is very easy to get a sense of who is doing well and who is not
because all of the scores are comparable. By simply running your eye along the row where a particular student’s scores
are recorded, you can form a reliable estimate as to how the student is doing. If Susie’s scores are 8, 9, 10, 7, 9, 10, you
can feel confident she is learning the words and concepts taught in the read-alouds. If Bobby’s scores are 2, 3, 5, 1, 3, 2,
you can be pretty sure he is struggling.
Tens score are based on the number of correct answers on an
the domain assessment. To record this kind of Tens score, use
the following Tens Conversion Chart to convert a raw score into
a Tens score. This chart is also included in the introduction of
each domain. Simply find the number of correct answers the
student produced along the top of the chart and the number of
total questions on the worksheet or activity along the left side.
Then find the cell where the column and the row converge. This
indicates the Tens score. By using the Tens Conversion Chart,
you can easily convert any raw score, from 0 to 30, into a Tens
score
End of Unit Performance Tasks:
In each unit the End of Unit Performance Tasks will be scored using the corresponding rubric which will be included in
the unit guides. As much as possible written assessments will be scored using the PBA Writing Rubrics.
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Appendix A: Habits of Discussion Definition and Prompting Guide:
12