MADISON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
Kindergarten Literacy Curriculum
Authored by: Meredith Waryha
Reviewed by: Mr. Lee S. Nittel
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Ms. Janine Loconsolo
Supervisor of Elementary Education
Approval Date: Fall 2012
Members of the Board of Education:
Lisa Ellis, President
Patrick Rowe, Vice-President
Kevin Blair
Thomas Haralampoudis
Linda Gilbert
James Novotny
David Arthur
Shade Grahling
Superintendent: Dr. Michael Rossi
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road, Madison, NJ 07940
www.madisonpublicschools.org
I. PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
The Madison School District elementary literacy program provides a balanced instructional approach
which includes the study of authentic and rich children’s literature, work in leveled texts for guided reading,
introduction to patterns and sounds through phonics and spelling instruction, and experience and practice in
effective writing traits within a workshop approach. We recognize that children enter literacy stages at
different developmental points in time. The curriculum is designed to be responsive to these developmental
stages. Our differentiated workshop approach allows students to be engaged with reading and writing
experiences appropriate to their point in development, and our teachers assess students at regular intervals to
inform their instructional decisions.
II. GOALS (Linked to Common Core State Standards)
Reading Literature (RL)
Key Ideas and Details

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RL.K.1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.K.2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
RL.K.3. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
Craft and Structure

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RL.K.4. Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RL.K.5. Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
RL.K.6. With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in
telling the story.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
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RL.K.7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which
they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
RL.K.8. (Not applicable to literature)
RL.K.9. With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in
familiar stories.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

RL.K.10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Reading Informational Text (RI)
Key Ideas and Details


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RI.K.1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.K.2. With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
RI.K.3. With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces
of information in a text.
Craft and Structure
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RI.K.4. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RI.K.5. Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.
RI.K.6. Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or
information in a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

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RI.K.7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they
appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
RI.K.8. With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
RI.K.9. With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the
same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

RI.K.10. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Reading Foundational Skills (RF)
Print Concepts

RF.K.1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
o Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
o Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
o Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
o Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Phonological Awareness

RF.K.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
o Recognize and produce rhyming words.
o Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
o Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
o Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme
(consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.1 (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or
/x/.)
o Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
Phonics and Word Recognition

RF.K.3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
o Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most
frequent sound for each consonant.
o Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major
vowels.
o Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
o Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
Fluency

RF.K.4. Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
1
Words, syllables, or phonemes written in /slashes/refer to their pronunciation or phonology. Thus, /CVC/ is a
word with three phonemes regardless of the number of letters in the spelling of the word.
Writing (W)
Text Types and Purposes
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W.K.1. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a
reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the
topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).
W.K.2. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in
which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
W.K.3. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked
events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.
Production and Distribution of Writing
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W.K.4. (Begins in grade 3)
W.K.5. With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add
details to strengthen writing as needed.
W.K.6. With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish
writing, including in collaboration with peers.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
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W.K.7. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite
author and express opinions about them).
W.K.8. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information
from provided sources to answer a question.
W.K.9. (Begins in grade 4)
Range of Writing

W.K.10. (Begins in grade 3)
Speaking and Listening (SL)
Comprehension and Collaboration

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SL.K.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts
with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
o Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the
topics and texts under discussion).
o Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
SL.K.2. Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by
asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
SL.K.3. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not
understood.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
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SL.K.4. Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide
additional detail.
SL.K.5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
SL.K.6. Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
Language (L)
Conventions of Standard English

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L.K.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
o Print many upper- and lowercase letters.
o Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
o Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).
o Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).
o Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).
o Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
L.K.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.
o Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.
o Recognize and name end punctuation.
o Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).
o Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
Knowledge of Language

L.K.3. (Begins in grade 2)
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
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L.K.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on
kindergarten reading and content.
o Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and
learning the verb to duck).
o Use the most frequently occurring inflections and affixes (e.g., -ed, -s, re-, un-, pre-, -ful, -less) as a
clue to the meaning of an unknown word.
L.K.5. With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
o Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories
represent.
o Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their
opposites (antonyms).
o Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at school that are
colorful).
o Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action (e.g., walk, march,
strut, prance) by acting out the meanings.
L.K.6. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to
texts.
III. ASSESSMENT
Student learning will be assessed through:
▪ Teacher observation during whole group instruction and independent work time
▪ Contribution during instructional time
▪ DIBELS testing
▪ Student writing
IV. SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
Please see attached table.
V. INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
Horn, Ellen and Mary Ellen Giacobbe. Talking, Drawing, Writing. Portland Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2007.
Collins, Kathy. Growing Readers. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2004.
Fundations. Oxford, MA: Wilson Language Training Corporation, 2002.
Kindergarten Reading and Writing Project. Teachers College.
Pinnell, Gay Su and Irene Fountas. Interactive Writing How Language and Literacy Come Together, K-2.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000.
Pinnell, Gay Su and Irene Fountas. Phonics Lessons, Letters, Words, and How They Work. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann, 2003.
READING
Readers Build Good Habits/ Back to School
September
Understandings
Goals:
Students will
▪ Learn about reading time routines
▪ Become a community of readers who
care about books and each other
Skills:
Students will
▪ Learn how to take care of books
▪ Learn how good readers sit during
reading time and listen to a story
▪ Identify title and author of a story
▪ Begin to make predictions about a
story based on the cover and
illustrations.
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
▪ Who reads and why do we read?
▪ What do readers read?
▪ Establish reading time routines:
Rules, expectations for sharing ideas
during reading time, how reading time
should sound, listening to others,
raising hand
▪ Share/Discuss and enjoy different
books about being in school for the
first time.
▪ How do we take care of our books?
Careful page turning, identify front
and back cover, model proper way to
handle book, hold book right side up
▪ Locate and learn how to use classroom
library
(Baskets may include ABC books,
math, rhyming, holidays, class made
books, specific authors, leveled
readers)
▪ How do readers choose a book of
interest?
▪ Good readers:
- Identify front/back cover
- Take good care of their books
- Go from left to right, top to
bottom
▪ Readers look at the cover of a book to
make guesses about what may happen
in the story.
▪ Readers can reread books they have
heard before by remembering what
happened in the story and reading the
pictures
▪ Readers identify title and author
Mentor Texts/Resources
Mentor Texts:
▪ The Kissing Hand, Audrey Penn
▪ The Night Before Kindergarten,
Natasha Wing
▪ David Goes to School, David
Shannon
▪ Welcome to Kindergarten, Anne
Rockwell
▪ Franklin Goes to School, Paulette
Bourgeois
▪ Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for
Kindergarten, Joseph Slate
Resources:
▪ Book bins, poems, songs, rhymes
▪ Big books
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation of students
participation during shared reading and
mini lessons
▪ Teacher observation of child’s attitude
and reading behavior during reading
time
▪ See also Fall Kindergarten
Assessment packet
Introducing Concepts of Print Using Rhymes
October
Understandings
Goals:
Students will
▪ Be introduced to early concepts of
print
▪ Become familiar with basic reading
strategies modeled by teacher during
shared reading time
Skills:
Students will
▪ Learn that print contains a message
▪ Identify rhyming words
▪ Find letters and high frequency words
in text
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
▪ Set a purpose for reading
▪ Print contains a message
▪ Locate where on the page readers start
▪ Readers read left to right, top to
bottom (Practice directionality using
nursery rhymes, charts, songs, and other
short rhyming poems)
▪ Introduce concept of letters vs. words
▪ Letters make up words and words
make up sentences
▪ Spaces are between words
▪ Readers touch each word as they learn
to read (one to one correspondence)
▪ Identify rhyming words in text and
produce other words that rhyme with
provided word
▪ Listen to and sing along with rhymes
▪ Retell story/rhyme using own words
▪ Answer comprehension questions
about rhyme/story
▪ Readers look for letters and words they
know in familiar poems and books
▪ Readers will be introduced to high
frequency words and recognize those
words in text
▪ Readers recognize, locate, and identify
simple punctuation in text
▪ Readers preview and predict what will
take place in selected text
▪ Begin to develop fluency: reread, echo
read, and choral read text together
▪ Identify/discuss characters met in
books/rhymes. Notice what the
character is doing, what he/she looks
like, and his role in the story
Mentor Texts/Resources
Mentor Texts:
▪ Mother Goose
▪ Nursery Rhymes
▪ Songs
▪ Tumble Bumble, Felicia Bond
▪ There Was an Old Lady Who
Swallowed a Fly, SimmsTaback
▪ Is Your Mama a Llama?, Deborah
Guarino
Resources:
• Big books
• Poems
• Songs
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation of child’s attitude
during reading time
▪ Teacher notes of students’ recall of
high frequency words and alphabet
letters
▪ Teacher observation of students
participation during shared reading and
mini lessons
Strategies to Use When Reading/My Family and Me
November/December
Understandings
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
Mentor Texts/ Assessment
Goals:
Students will
▪ Learn that readers always think
about the story being read and try
to make connections
▪ Be introduced to reading across a
word to decode
▪ Learn new vocabulary words
▪ Learn to make inferences about a
character based on story and
pictures
▪ Tie in with My Family and Me Social
Studies Unit through shared reading
experiences
▪ Continue to teach sight words and
vocabulary from social studies unit
including:
Immediate family, extended family, shelter
▪ Good readers make connections with
characters met
How is the character similar/different to me?
When reading books about families, raise
questions including: Is this family like
mine? How are they similar and different?
▪ Good readers stop and think as they
read or when they are listening to stories:
Does it sound right?
Does it make sense?
▪ Readers think about the story as they
read and don’t just read the words
▪ Readers retell story events in the correct
sequence using terms like first, next, last
etc.
▪ Readers identify the beginning, middle,
and end of story
▪ Readers identify characters met in
stories and discuss character traits
▪ Readers understand the definition of
“setting” and identify the setting of
various texts
▪ Readers make inferences about
characters by paying attention to their
expressions in pictures, actions, and
words
▪ Readers use picture clues to help them
read and understand a story
▪ Readers look for sight words and other
words they know in text
▪ Readers look at the initial sound to
decode words
▪ Readers are able to count how many
words are in a sentence.
▪ Readers locate the first and last word in a
sentence.
▪ Readers continue to point under words
while reading charts, poems, and big
books during shared reading time
▪ Readers acquire an understanding of
words while reading
▪ Readers read across the entire word to
decode
▪ Readers understand that each spoken
word matches one word in print
Mentor Texts:
▪ I Like Me, Nancy Carlson
▪ I’m Gonna Like Me, Jamie Lee
Curtis
▪ It’s Okay to be Different, J.L. Curtis
▪ I Like Myself, Karen Beaumont
▪The Hello Goodbye Window, Norton
Juster
▪ When I Was Little, Jamie Lee Curtis
▪ Chrysanthemum,Kevin Henkes
Skills:
Students will
▪ Implement reading strategies
taught up to this point
▪ Students will know to refer to the
word wall and “read the room”
Resources:
▪ Books about Family and Me
▪ Large poems/songs on charts
▪ Book bins
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation of students
participation during shared reading
and mini lessons
▪ Student work generated during center
time
Winter and Introduction to Guided Reading
January/February
Understandings
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
Goals:
Students will
▪ Review and practice reading strategies
taught up to this point of the year while
learning more about the season
▪ Experience small group reading
instruction to practice skills taught
▪ Introduction of guided reading
groups for those children who are
ready
▪ Readers will enjoy winter books,
poems and songs during shared
reading time
▪ What do we see outside during
winter? How does it feel? How
should you dress? What are things
that you can do outside in the
winter?
▪ Readers will use reading strategies
previously taught including: pointing
under each word, recognize sight
words within text, look at the
beginning of words to decode, use
picture clues to figure out what is
going on in the story
▪ Readers locate known words on page
during shared reading time
▪ Readers look at the first letter/letters
in a word to predict what the word
could be and then move on to ending
letters
▪ Careful readers get their minds ready
to read books (activate prior
knowledge and schema)
▪ Good readers make sure the text
makes sense, and if it doesn’t, they
try again
▪ Readers make personal connections
with characters met
How is the character similar/different to
me?
▪ Readers read in a smooth voice that
sounds more like talking rather than
word by word choppy reading
Skills:
Students will
▪Attempt to read across basic words to
decode
▪ Continue to build repertoire of
reading strategies, especially prediction,
recognizing sight words, and using
picture clues
Mentor Texts/Assessment
Mentor Texts:
▪ Snowballs, Lois Ehlert
▪ The Mitten, Jan Brett
▪ When it Starts to Snow, Phillis
Gershator
▪ The Smallest Snowman, Sarah Fisch
▪ Winter Coats, Margo Mason
▪ Snow Friends, Christina Butler
Resources:
▪ Charts with winter songs/poems
▪ Winter books
▪ Fountas and Pinnell
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation during whole
group and guided reading instruction
▪ Teacher implementation of running
records for those children who are
ready to read
▪ DIBEL testing
Nonfiction
Seeds/Plants and Spring
March/April
Understandings
Goals:
Students will
▪ Learn the difference between fiction
and non-fiction
▪ Learn about the different
characteristics of seeds and plants
through shared reading experiences
Skills:
Students will
▪ Access prior knowledge
▪ Read pictures
▪ Use print strategies to read
challenging words
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
Mentor Texts/Resources
▪Continue to practice reading strategies
taught throughout the year including
concepts of print and decoding
▪ Students will be formally introduced
to nonfiction texts.
▪ Readers read nonfiction texts to learn
more about a topic they are
interested in
▪ Students will become familiar with
characteristics of nonfiction
▪ Readers will identify fiction vs.
nonfiction and determine how the
two are different
▪ Readers access prior knowledge
before reading a nonfiction selection.
What do I already know about this topic?
▪ Tie into science unit. What do you
know about seeds and plants? What
would you like to learn?
▪ Readers can learn more about a topic
by reading into the pictures
▪ Provide various non-fiction books on
the same topic: seeds, plants, spring
▪ During shared reading of nonfiction
texts model taking picture walks,
activate prior knowledge, use print
strategies to read challenging words
Mentor Texts:
▪ From Seed to Plant, Gail Gibbons
▪ Growing Vegetable Soup, Lois Ehlert
▪ The Carrot Seed, Ruth Krauss
▪ All About Seeds, Susan Kuchalla
▪ The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle
▪ How Does My Garden Grow?,
JoAnne Nelson
Resources:
▪ Enlarged poems/stories on chart
paper
▪ Books about seeds and plants
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation of student
understanding during whole group
instruction
▪ Running Records
▪ Teacher observation of student
participation during instructional time
Mentor Study Eric Carle and Leo Lionni
May/June
Understandings
Goals:
Students will
▪ Recognize Eric Carle as an author
and know elements of his work
▪ Recognize Leo Lionni as an author
and know elements of his work
▪ Make connections across books
Skills:
Students will
▪ Compare books written by one
author
▪ Identify characters and make
personal connections
▪ Identify setting
▪ Continue to build repertoire of
reading strategies
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
Mentor Texts/Resources
▪ Students will be introduced to and study
the work of specific authors
▪ Readers recognize authors by the style of
their illustrations, their topics, or the
characters they use
▪ Read mentor text and bring to students
attention that this author always
remembers to use proper punctuation
(period at end of sentence, start sentence
with uppercase letter, all of the other letters
are lowercase)
▪ Read mentor text that demonstrates how
an author uses details in pictures/words to
create images in the minds of their readers
▪ Read aloud mentor texts, listen to, and
discuss text features
▪ Readers identify main character in text,
think and talk about character
▪ Readers get to know characters across
different books
▪ Readers talk about characters feelings and
learn more about them through their
actions
▪ Readers think about the characters lives
including:
Where do they live? Is the character
kind/mean? Do they have friends?
▪ Readers make personal connections to
characters met in text
▪ Readers identify/discuss the problem in
the story and how it impacts the character
▪ Readers identify setting and how it
influences the story
▪ Recall information by creating a story map
sequencing events in order using pictures
and/or words
▪ Read aloud mentor texts with focus being
on story structure (beginning, middle, end)
Mentor Texts:
▪ The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric
Carle
▪ Brown Bear Brown Bear, Eric
Carle
▪ Little Cloud, Eric Carle
▪ The Alphabet Tree, Leo Lionni
▪ A Color of His Own, Leo Lionni
▪ It’s Mine, Leo Lionni
▪ Swimmy, Leo Lionni
Resources:
▪ Books written by Eric Carle and
Leo Lionni
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation
▪ Participation during class
discussions
▪ Running records from guided
reading sessions
WRITING
September
Introduction
Understandings
Teaching Points(Possible MiniLessons)
▪ Students will write some alphabet letters
Goals:
▪ Students will write their first name
Students will:
▪ Successfully participate in interactive ▪ Students will learn that writers write to
communicate about different things
writing
▪ Students will help to generate a list of ideas
that they think kindergarten children would
Skills:
like to write about
Students will:
▪ Students will draw a picture about ideas
▪ Offer words and letters as teacher
generated through class discussion.
composes text
▪ Students will observe teacher compose text
▪ Listen for sounds in words
going from left to right top to bottom
▪ Students will learn that we can tell stories
orally
▪ Students will learn that we can tell stories by
using pictures
▪ Students will participate in writing classroom
signs/rules, messages with teacher as scribe
▪ Students will listen to stories and respond to
books using illustrations
Resources
Possible Resources:
▪ The Kissing Hand, Audrey Penn
▪ The Night Before Kindergarten
▪ David Goes to School, David Shannon
▪ Welcome to Kindergarten, Anne
Rockwell
▪ Franklin Goes to School, Paulette
Bourgeois
▪ Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for
Kindergarten, Joseph Slate
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation
▪ Student participation during instructional
time
▪ Samples of student writing
October
Establishing Writing Behaviors
Understandings
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
Resources
▪ The teacher will introduce children to the Resources:
Goals:
idea of writing time
Students will:
• Big books
▪ Learn that writers write for many different ▪ The teacher will introduce children to
• Favorite classroom books
writing time routines
• Poems
reasons
▪ Become a community of writers through ▪ The teacher will model and practice
• Songs
routines for using writing materials and
storytelling and interactive writing
then putting them away.
Assessment:
▪ The teacher will show books in the
▪ Teacher observation
classroom and explain that they are
Skills:
▪ Student participation during interactive
written by authors
Students will:
writing
▪ Learn that writers stretch out words for ▪ Students will learn that authors are people
who write stories like the books in our
sound spellings
classroom
▪ Use the word wall to find conventional
▪ The teacher will point out that books have
spelling
pictures and words, authors and
illustrators
▪ The teacher will establish a purpose for
writing and further discuss reasons why
kindergarten children may write
▪ Writers make labels for the classroom
▪ Writers use labels to tell people what
things are
▪ Writers make labels easier to read by
writing down the sounds they hear in
the word
▪ Writers say a word slowly and write
down the sounds they hear one by one
▪ Writers use pictures to match their labels
▪ Writers add details to their pictures to
make it even better
▪ Writers learn what they should do when
they think they are done
▪ Students may also practice skills taught
through reader response activities to
stories read in class
November/December
Telling a Story on Paper
Understandings
Goals:
Students will:
▪ Learn that writers write about
personal experiences
▪ Generate story ideas and tell a
cohesive story orally
Skills:
Students will:
▪ Attempt to use word wall words in
their stories
▪ Attempt to stretch out words and
write down the sounds they hear
Teaching Points(Possible MiniLessons)
Resources
▪ Writers write about many different things
Mentor Texts:
▪ Writers like to tell stories about things that
▪ I Like Me, Nancy Carlson
they have experienced
▪ I’m Gonna Like Me, Jamie Lee Curtis
▪ Writers think about their story first then tell it ▪ It’s Okay to be Different, J.L. Curtis
orally
▪ I Like Myself, Karen Beaumont
▪ Writers practice telling a cohesive sequenced ▪The Hello Goodbye Window, Norton
narrative orally
Juster
▪ Writers put pictures on their paper to tell their ▪ When I Was Little, Jamie Lee Curtis
story
▪ Chrysanthemum, Kevin Henkes
▪ Writers add details to their pictures to make
their story more interesting
▪ Writers label their pictures
Resources:
▪ Writers use pictures and words
• Big books
▪ Writers learn that the pictures and words in a • Favorite classroom books
story should match
• Student stories
▪ Writers stretch out a word slowly several
times in order to hear the initial, medial, Assessment:
and final sounds through interactive
▪ Teacher observation
writing
▪ Student work in journals, reader response
▪ When we write words we write down the
pages
sounds we hear, try our best, and keep
going
▪ Writers write words that they already know in
a snap (sight words)
▪ Writers use sight words in their stories
▪ Writers say their sentence out loud, then say
each word across their fingers in order to
see how many words they will need
▪ Writers will put spaces in between words
through interactive writing
▪ Writers always capitalize the pronoun “I”
▪ Writers start a sentence with an uppercase
letter. The other words in sentence use
lowercase letters.
▪ Writers will add a punctuation mark at the
end of their sentence through interactive
writing
▪ Writers will practice skills in journals and
reader response activities
January/February
Making Writing More Conventional Using Different Kinds of Writing
Understandings
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
▪ Writers make signs, labels, stories, and also write for
Goals:
other reasons.
Students will
▪ Writers write for their friends, including cards and
▪ Review and practice writing
strategies taught up to this point notes
▪ Writers think about the person they are writing to
of the year
▪ Check their words as they write and what they would like to say to that person
their sentence to make sure that ▪ Writers use pictures and words in their notes and
cards so that our friends know what we are trying to
it makes sense
say
▪ Writers look at their words and try to make them
Skills:
easier to read by adding more letters and sounds
Students will
▪ Use letter sound knowledge to ▪ Writers must use careful handwriting to make it
easier for others to read
put their sentences on paper
▪ Know to use careful printing to ▪ Writers will attempt to use end punctuation
make their words easier to read ▪ Writers will use letter knowledge to write down
letters in a word
▪ Writers will demonstrate understanding that a
sentence tells a whole idea
▪ Writers will recognize that a sentence starts with an
uppercase letter
▪ Writers will continue to practice spacing between
words and use of end punctuation through
interactive writing
▪ Writers will continue to record letter/sound
association in writing.
▪ Writers know their sight words and use them in their
sentences
▪ Writers constantly check their work as they write to
make sure the sentence makes sense
▪ Writers must use careful printing so that other people
can read their stories
▪ Students will recognize familiar parts of words when
composing a text
▪ Writers will practice skills taught through interactive
writing, reader response activities, journal writing
Resources
Mentor Texts:
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, by
Doreen Cronin
A Letter to Amy, by Ezra Jack Keats
Dear Polar Bear, by Barry Ablett
Resources:
• Big books
• Favorite classroom books
• Interactive writing experiences
Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation
▪ Student work in journals, reader
response pages
March/April
Tell Me More
Understandings
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
Mentor Texts/Resources
▪ Writers will learn how to make their
Goals:
Mentor Texts:
sentences/stories interesting by telling
▪ From Seed to Plant, Gail Gibbons
Students will
more
▪ Learn that authors write stories across
▪ Growing Vegetable Soup, Lois Ehlert
▪ Famous authors include more than one ▪ The Carrot Seed, Ruth Krauss
pages
page in their books. We should try that ▪ All About Seeds, Susan Kuchalla
▪ Learn that writers can write about many
too!
different things in their booklets
▪ The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle
▪ Writers can write about different things in ▪ How Does My Garden Grow?, JoAnne
booklets.
Nelson
▫
Their
own
experiences
Skills:
Resources:
Students will
▫ Retelling of stories
▪ Attempt to write across pages
▫ All about books (seeds and plants, my • Big books
• Favorite classroom books
▪ Attempt to match pictures and words in
family and me)
their booklets
▪ Writers use booklets when they have a lot • Student stories
to share about their story
▪ Writers tell one part of their story on each Assessment:
▪ Teacher observation
page with pictures and/or words
▪ Writers often say their story aloud first ▪ Student work in booklets, journals, reader
▪ Writers touch each empty page as they response pages
talk about their story
▪ Writers add a title to their booklet
▪ Writers include illustrations on each page
▪ Writers attempt to add a sentence to each
page that matches the illustration
▪ Writers read what they have written to see
if it makes sense
▪ Writers add details to their pictures
▪ Writers remember to add end punctuation
▪ Writers use careful handwriting so that
others can enjoy their stories
▪ Writers look at the word wall to help
them spell sight words used in their
booklets
▪ Writers learn that a story is about one
thing
▪ Tell me more. Where is your story
happening? Who is in it? What is
happening?
▪ Writers use describing words to tell the
readers more
▪ Writers will practice skills taught through
interactive writing, journal writing,
reader response activities or booklets
May/June
Author Studies Eric Carle and Leo Lionni
Understandings
Teaching Points
(Possible Mini-Lessons)
Mentor Texts/Resources
▪ Writers will be introduced to authors
Goals:
Mentor Texts:
Eric Carle and Leo Lionni
▪ The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
Students will
▪ Writers notice traits that mentor authors ▪ Brown Bear Brown Bear, Eric Carle
▪ Learn to name special things that
use in their writing
▪ Little Cloud, Eric Carle
published writers do well
▪ Attempt to use some of the authors ideas ▪ Students explore how the author lives ▪ The Alphabet Tree, Leo Lionni
as a writer
in their own writing
▪ A Color of His Own, Leo Lionni
▪ Immerse children in mentor texts and ▪ It’s Mine, Leo Lionni
create list of things we notice about the ▪ Swimmy, Leo Lionni
author’s work
Skills:
▪ Writers identify setting author chooses Resources:
Students will
and type of characters used
▪ Develop a class character through
▪ Books written by Eric Carle and Leo
▪ Writers notice if characters in text are Lionni
interactive writing
people or animals
▪ Identify and including characters and
▪ Writers notice how the author includes Assessment:
setting in class story
punctuation at the end of sentences
▪ Teacher observation
▪ Writers notice how the author puts
▪ Student work in booklets, journals,
spaces between words
reader response pages
▪ Writers notice that the pictures on a
page match the words
▪ Writers identify relationships made
between the characters and make
connections
▪ Writers use describing words when
writing about feelings and characters
▪ Writers will develop a class character
and emulate some of the characteristics
used by mentor author
▪ Writers will discuss what the character
will be like, where story happens, impact
of setting on character
▪ Through interactive writing over several
days, writers will compose text about
character, setting, and what character is
doing in story.
▪ Writers will think of
problems/solutions for character as a
class
▪ Writers will practice skills taught
through interactive writing, journal
writing, reader response activities or
booklets
Kindergarten Phonics Instruction
Rationale: Phonics instruction will provide a systematic scope and sequence of learning uppercase letters, lowercase letters,
and sounds with multiple opportunities for hands-on practice and application at the instructional level of the student.
During word study, children learn appropriate letter formation, sound mastery, sight word instruction, and phonological
awareness through visible and explicit instruction.
Teacher Resources:
Fundations by Wilson Language Training Corporation
Units of Study
Week 1 Orientation
Goal: Students will be introduced to Fundations and materials
Materials: Echo, baby echo, writing grid, large and small sound cards
Activity: Introduction
 Teacher will introduce Echo the owl.
 Teacher will introduce the names of the lines on writing grid
 Teacher will introduce how to follow verbalizations.
 Teacher will teach appropriate pencil grip and tracing
 Teacher will introduce letter/keyword/sound and skywrite letter formation
 Teacher will introduce children to drilling sounds with Echo
Assessment: student letter page
Unit 1 (estimated time 12 weeks)
Goal: Students will be introduced to two new letters each week, learn letter/keyword/sound, and appropriate
letter formation
Materials: Echo and Baby Echo, large and standard sound cards, writing grid, pencil grip pictures, dry erase
writing tablet, letter and building board, student letter pages
Activities:
 Students will learn two new letters a week
 Students will be introduced to letter names and sounds with the help of a picture,
letter/keyword/sound activity
 Students will use gross motor memory to learn letter formation following the teachers verbalization
 Students will use motor memory to practice letter keyword sounds and letter formation on their letter
page
 Students will learn how to drill letters by saying the letter name, keyword and sound when the sound
card is presented
 Students will participate in make it fun activities which focus on letter formation, letter sounds or
phonemic awareness through games
 Students will reinforce their skill of matching a letter with a given sound through echo/find letters
activity
 Students will learn about basic sentence structure through word play activities
 Students will participate in listening, reading, and writing activities designed to develop awareness of
print, story structure and comprehension skills through storytime activities
Assessment: student letter page, teacher observation
Unit 2 (estimated time 3 weeks)
Goal: Students will be able to form uppercase letters
Materials: Echo and Baby Echo, large and standard sound cards, writing grid, pencil grip pictures, dry erase
writing tablet, letter and building board, student letter pages
Activities:
 Students will continue to do activities introduced in Unit 1
 Students will practice placing and naming letters in alphabetical order on alphabet overlay mat
 Students will become aware of word segmentation through syllable count activity
Assessment: letter pages and teacher observation
Unit 3 (estimated time 4 weeks)
Goal: Students will learn how to blend and read three sound short vowel sounds, and become aware of the
separate phonemes in a word
Materials: Echo and Baby Echo, large and standard sound cards, writing grid, pencil grip pictures, dry erase
writing tablet, letter and building board, student letter pages
Activities:
 Students will continue to do activities introduced in Unit 1 & 2
 Students will learn how to blend words with three sounds by tapping
Assessment: letter pages, teacher observation, accuracy with tapping out words
Unit 4 (estimated time 6 weeks)
Goal: Students will learn how to change initial, final and medial sounds to create new words
Materials: Echo and Baby Echo, large and standard sound cards, writing grid, pencil grip pictures, dry erase
writing tablet, letter and building board, student letter pages
Activities:
 Students will continue to do activities introduced in Unit 1, 2 & 3
 Students will learn how to tap out the sounds in a word and find the letters corresponding to each tap
in order to spell the word
 Students will develop the skills of phoneme segmentation and the matching of letters to the segmented
sounds
 Students will practice kid spelling
Assessment: letter pages, teacher observation, accuracy with tapping out words
Unit 5 (estimated time 6 weeks)
Goal: Students will learn about sentence structure, read short sentences and begin to write sentences
Materials: Echo and Baby Echo, large and standard sound cards, writing grid, pencil grip pictures, dry erase
writing tablet, letter and building board, student letter pages
Activities:
 Students will continue to do activities introduced in Unit 1, 2, 3 & 4
 Dictation/Sentences: students learn to leave a finger space between words, every sentence must begin
with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark
 Trick words/Sight words: students will continue to practice and memorize additional trick words
Assessment: letter pages, teacher observation, accuracy with tapping out words
Whole Group Phonics Lessons
(May also be taught in small groups)
September
Word Work/Fundations (possible mini lessons)
∙ Students will be introduced to letter time routines and expectations
∙ Students will be introduced to appropriate pencil grip
∙ Where do we see letters?
∙ Why is it important for us to learn our letters?
∙ Introduce children to Echo and Baby Echo
∙ Introduce writing grid lines
∙ Students will be introduced to proper letter formation
∙ Teach letter/keyword sound for the letters taught
∙ Students will match magnet letters to Fundations letter mat
∙ Students will be introduced to grade level sight words
∙ Students will learn to recognize names, read their name by using songs and chants
∙ Students will learn to write their names
∙ Students will notice and talk about the similarities/differences among letters
October
Word Work/Fundations (possible mini lessons)
∙ Students will learn that sentences are made up of words
∙ Students will become familiar with end punctuation marks
∙ Students will learn that when we write sentences we always start the first word with an
uppercase letter
∙ Students will learn how to use Fundations word frames to create sentence.
∙ Students will become familiar with vowels and vowel sounds
∙ Students will identify pictures that start with specific beginning sounds
∙ Students will review sight words learned and be introduced to new words
∙ Students will hear and identify rhyming words
∙ Students will match rhyming pictures
∙ Students will match pictures of words that begin with the same sound
∙ Students will say words to hear and clap syllables
∙ Students will say words slowly to hear one particular sound
∙ Students will hear and identify beginning sounds in words
November/
December
Word Work/Fundations (possible mini lessons)
∙ Students will continue to learn/practice proper formation of uppercase/lowercase letters
∙ The teacher will review and model end punctuation, letters make up words, words make up
sentences
∙ Students will match beginning sounds to pictures shown
∙ Students will notice and identify the ending sound of a word
∙ Students will learn what a question mark looks like, where we find it, and its purpose
∙ Students will be introduced to counting/clapping syllables in words
∙ Students will identify number of syllables in a word
∙ Students will learn that letters come in a certain order, alphabetical order
∙ Students will review sight words and add additional sight words to the class word wall
∙ Students will match pictures with the same beginning sound
∙ Students will match letters by looking at their features
∙ Students will say words slowly and listen for the sounds inside of the word
∙ Students will recognize and identify several letters
∙ Students will make connections between children’s names and other words that begin with the
same sound
∙ Students will point to first and last words in sentences
∙ Students will identify first and last letters in words
∙ Students will hear and identify the ending sound in a word
∙ Students will write their name accurately and legibly
∙ Students will write some known high frequency words
January/
February
Word Work/Fundations (possible mini lessons)
∙ Review proper letter formation, end punctuation, creating sentences, syllable counting
∙ Students will say each sound separately in words and practice blending the sounds together
∙ Students will manipulate sounds with rhyming patterns and understand that you can make
rhymes by thinking of words that end the same
∙ Students will remove beginning sounds and replace with a new sound to create a different word
∙ Students will continue to hear and generate rhymes
∙ Students will read and write high frequency words
∙ Students will make a new word by changing the first letter
∙ Students will make a new word by changing the last letter
∙ Students will construct words in writing using known letter/sound relationships
∙ Students will listen for and identify the sound at the beginning of a word
∙ When you see a letter at the beginning of a word you say it’s sound
∙ Students will identify the sound in the middle of a word
∙ Students will be introduced to different word families and understand that these words have the
same patterns
March/April
Word Work/Fundations (possible mini lessons)
∙ Students will continue to drill letter/keyword/sound
∙ Students will practice tapping three letter words using the standard sound cards and magnetic
letter tiles
∙ The teacher will dictate sounds and students will echo and find the matching letter on their
magnetic letter board
∙ Students will identify ending sounds in words
∙ Students will identify beginning sounds in words
∙ Students will blend onsets and rhymes
∙ Students will build and write several high frequency words
∙ Students will recognize beginning and ending sounds in words
∙ Students will identify letters by name and related sound
∙ Students will make words with known word families
∙ Students will make new words by changing first and last letters
∙ Students will use known parts of words to solve unknown words
May/June
Word Work/Fundations (possible mini lessons)
• Students will continue to make words using known word families
• Students will continue to drill letter/keyword/sound
• Teach students that every word has a vowel
• Students will practice sentence reading using Baby Echo to point to the words and read the
sentence
• Students will understand that a sentence is a group of words that makes sense
• Students will practice creating sentences using blue word frames
• Students will place blue word frames in appropriate order during sentence dictation
• Students will start sentence with an uppercase letter and end with a punctuation mark
• Students will continue to practice sight words taught and use them in creating sentences
• Students will continue to practice tapping out the sounds in three letter words and blend those
sounds together
• The teacher will dictate a sight word or cvc word and students will create word using magnetic
letter tiles and/or dry erase boards
• Some words have a vowel, a consonant, and a silent e.
• Students will learn that sometimes we add s to the end of a word to make it sound right in a
sentence
• Some words are made up of two words that are put together and are called compound words.
We can read compound words by looking at the two words in them
• Students will learn that you can use parts of words you know to read or write new words
Suggested Progression of Grammar Skills
Skill
K
1
Letter Formation
I
M
Space Between Words
I
M
2
M
M
Capitalization (places, sentences, dates)
I
M
Capitalization (proper nouns, titles)
I
M
Complete Sentences
I
M
Ending Punctuation
I
M
Capitalization (names, I)
I
Capitalization (places, streets, months, etc)
Verb Tense (Regular) past-ed; present-ing
I
3
4
M
M
M
Verb Tense (some irregular)
bring/brought, teach/taught, write/wrote, am/was, catch/ caught
Verb Tense and Forms
(Master 5-10)
drink, drank, drunk/throw,threw/go,went/swim,swam,swum
Irregular Verbs
(lie/lay, set/sit/ hang/hung)
M
M
Irregular Verbs (any new ones)
M
Nouns as parts of speech
I
M
Verbs as parts of speech
I
M
Commas in lists
5
I
M
Punctuation Dialogue
I
D
Pronoun Substitution (w/o overuse)
I
M
Contractions (not, will, is, would)
I
M
Adjectives
Adverbs
Paragraphing (Introduce single paragraph in 2nd grade and multiple paragraphs
in 3rd +
Possessives (singular)
Possessives (plural)
I
I
M
D
M
I
M
M
Compound Sentences
(and, but, or, nor, yet, for so)
Complex Sentences
I
Subject/Verb Agreement
D
M
I, D
M
Interjections
D
M
Use of good-well
D
M
Use of much-many
M
Prepositional Phrases
D
I
Parts of Speech
D
Direct Object
D
Pronoun Agreement
(Object-Subject)
D
I =Introduced
D=Developing
M=Mastered