Kindergarten Weekly Routines
Day 1
Opening routines:
 Poem- select a poem that matches the theme that students can read daily with teacher to increase fluency- place on
chart paper.
 Use flip chart to introduce song or poem that relates to topic for the week (optional, if you are using poem above
that relates to topic).
 Daily Phonological Awareness (optional) - this same skill can be addressed in small group
 Daily High Frequency Words (Briefly introduce using the high frequency word card, introduce the word and place on
focus wall- follow instructional routine 15)- omit any games or suggested activities.
 Daily Vocabulary Boost-Briefly introduce oral vocabulary about the topic- do not spend a lot of time on these wordssome may be suitable to add to the theme word bank related to the theme or topic of the week.
Note: Many of these activities are best utilized in a small group setting.
Read and Comprehend:
 Introduce read aloud book and follow the “Think Through the Text” questions located in the teacher’s edition as you
read.
 Respond to Read Aloud-in the “Discuss Oral Vocabulary” section, you will go over oral vocabulary words that were
encountered in the read aloud- these are located on the left side of the teacher’s edition. Use questions in the
“Discuss Oral Vocabulary” section to guide you.
Also, go over the “Dig Deeper” section which focuses on taking them back to the text and using text evidence. You
can omit the other sections because you will be guiding them through a written response later in the lesson.
 Begin a “themed based” word bank. These will be words that you will collect through the week as you read, talk,
and write. Look for words that relate to the topic for the week- this list will expand throughout the week. Refer
back to the chart when you are constructing written responses about the topic to model for students how to
effectively use the charts as a resource.
Phonemic Awareness/Phonics and Review Words to Know: (optional)-Use your best judgment on these activitiesmany are best covered through your small groups and are not necessary to do in a whole group setting.
Grammar/Writing:
 Introduce the grammar skill (5 minutes) - you can also integrate this into your writing as you construct your written
response.
 Introduce the writing focus by using the projectable or through your modeled writing that you construct with the
students.
 Complete a modeled writing based on the read aloud or one that is based on the topic for the week- be sure to
integrate in the writing focus of the week when applicable:
Example: Teacher models drawing a picture of her family doing something together. Add labels (nouns) to the pictures.
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Kindergarten Weekly Routines
Day 2
Opening routines:
 Poem- select a poem that matches the theme that students can read daily to increase fluency.
 Warm up With Word Play (optional)
 Daily Phonological/Phonemic Awareness (optional) - this same skill can be addressed in small group
 Daily High Frequency Words (Briefly introduce/review using the high frequency word card, introduce the word and
place on focus wall) - omit any games or suggested activities.
 Daily Vocabulary Boost- review oral vocabulary for the week.
 Phonemic awareness/phonics - only use if the skill is appropriate for a majority of the students in your class- (these
routines should take no longer than 10 minutes).
Note: Many of these activities are best utilized in a small group setting.
Read and Comprehend:
 Introduce the Big Book- use the teacher’s edition to briefly go over the comprehension skill and strategy for the
week as well as the genre of the text.
Also, go over any selection vocabulary found in this section on the right hand side of the teacher’s edition- tell
students they will hear these words as you read the big book together.
 Read the Big Book using the “Think Through the Text” sections as you read to guide you through the text.
 Revisit the vocabulary theme board and add words from the selection that relate to the theme.
 Respond to the Big Book- you will be completing a written response later in the lesson so you do not need to do this
section.
Grammar/Writing
 Review the grammar skill (5 minutes) - you can also integrate this into your writing as you construct your written
response.
 Create a modeled/shared writing that supports the comprehension skill/strategy- when possible base it on the Big
Book that was just read aloud.
Example: In lesson 1, the big book is, “What Makes a Family?” and the focus skill is main ideas so you could
construct a modeled/shared response to the following:
In the story we learned that families like to do things together. What does your family like to do together?
You could construct a sample like: What does your family like to do together? Draw a picture and label the
people in the picture. (These are nouns)
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Kindergarten Weekly Routines
Day 3
Opening routines:
 Poem- select a poem that matches the theme that students can read daily to increase fluency.
 Warm up With Word Play (optional)
 Daily Phonological/Phonemic Awareness (optional) - this same skill can be addressed in small group
 Daily High Frequency Words (Briefly introduce/review using the high frequency word card, introduce the word and
place on focus wall) - omit any games or suggested activities.
 Daily Vocabulary Boost- review oral vocabulary for the week.
 Phonemic awareness/phonics - only use if the skill is appropriate for a majority of the students in your class- (these
routines should take no longer than 10 minutes).
 Phonics and Fluency and Student Book- omit
Note: Many of these activities are best utilized in a small group setting.
Read and Comprehend:
 Revisit the theme word bank and add words when necessary.
 Dig Deeper: How to Analyze the Text – you will use the teacher’s edition as a guide as you revisit the Big Book from
Day 2 and analyze specific parts of the story.
 Your Turn-Use this section to guide you in revisiting the essential question for the week and discuss orally.
 Enrich Vocabulary- you may be able apply some of this to your small group lesson- use your best judgment and do
not spend a lot of time on this section.
Grammar/Writing
 Review the grammar skill (5 minutes) - you can also integrate this into your writing as you construct your written
response.
 Review the writing focus for the week.
 Complete the “Write about Reading” on the Your Turn page or you can create shared writing based on the essential
question you have previously discussed orally. There will be more modeling at the beginning of the year, and you
can gradually release this as the students are capable as the year progresses.
Example: In lesson 1, the essential question was “What is the same about all families?” For your written response,
you could respond to the following: What is the same about all families and what is different about all families?
(You will base your answer on the information you’ve read throughout the week)
Sample Response: All families are special. Some families are large and some are small. Some live far apart and
others live close.
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Kindergarten Weekly Routines
Day 4
Opening routines:
 Poem- reread poem or poems from the week.
 Warm up With Word Play (optional)
 Daily Phonological/Phonemic Awareness (optional) - this same skill can be addressed in small group
 Daily High Frequency Words (Briefly introduce/review using the high frequency word card, introduce the word and
place on focus wall) - omit any games or suggested activities.
 Daily Vocabulary Boost- review oral vocabulary for the week.
 Letter Names and/or Student Book-omit
 Vocabulary Strategies-follow the guidelines in the teacher’s edition but do not spend more than 10 minutes on this.
Note: Many of these activities are best utilized in a small group setting.
Read and Comprehend
 Revisit theme word bank and add words if necessary.
 Read the “Connect to the Topic” selection and follow the guidelines for “Introduce Genre and Text Focus”
 Discuss the “Text to Text” portion of “Compare Texts” – this may be used for writing later.
Grammar/Writing:
 Review the grammar skill (5 minutes) - you can also integrate this into your writing as you construct your written
response.
 Students should be working on their draft for the writing focus of the week (topic should relate to the theme, and all
related pieces read during the week.) The “Compare Text” section above may give a good topic.
Example: In lesson 1, the students read several poems about family as well as the Big Book, “What Makes a
Family?” You could have students discuss how the poems were similar of the same as the story.
Sample Response: The poems and the story we read, both tell about families and the different people in the
families.
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Kindergarten Weekly Routines
Day 5
Opening routines:
 Poem- reread poem or poems from the week.
 Warm up With Word Play (optional)
 Daily Phonological/Phonemic Awareness (optional) - this same skill can be addressed in small group
 Daily High Frequency Words (Briefly introduce/review using the high frequency word card, introduce the word and
place on focus wall) - omit any games or suggested activities.
 Daily Vocabulary Boost- review oral vocabulary for the week.
Note: Many of these activities are best utilized in a small group setting. Omit the letter naming section or any
other phonics/phonemic awareness sections for Day 5.
Read and Comprehend
 Select a read aloud that is related to the topic for the week
 Use the interactive read aloud template for your planning purposes
 This is your opportunity to vary the genre for the week (example: if you’ve been reading informational texts, choose
a narrative selection)
Grammar/Writing:
 Complete a modeled/shared writing based on the interactive read aloud. Some weeks you may be completing the
final draft of a piece you began on Day 4.
Example: Revisit anchor chart from DAY 3. Add unique features of animal families and identify any that are the
same for both types of families.
Omit the Extend the Topic and Grammar sections
Assessments:
ComprehensionVocabulary-(this should be completed on Friday)
*At the beginning of the year, students will need more support, but as the year progresses, students can complete the
assessments during independent work time and turn in to a box for the teacher to check. This allows you to continue
working in small group while they are testing.
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