• Reading:

    Children learn to read by reading and listening to stories read aloud. We do plenty of that in kindergarten!

    I start the year with read along books that may be familiar to children. (ex: I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly, Old MacDonald Had A Farm, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom) That way they can read along, even if only from memory rather than an actual decoding of the text. From there, we move on to big books that might be a little less known to children. They may incorporate a math concept we are learning, highlight a science topic or help us learn our letter sounds. This part of our reading fun is done whole group.

    Another part of our day involves read aloud time. This is my favorite part of the day! We gather together on our rug or on our rest rugs and listen to a story read aloud. The stories that I read aloud are almost always books that kindergartners couldn't read independently. Just because they can't read them doesn't mean that they can't understand and enjoy them! I also try to read non-fiction texts to the children. They love learning about new things and my little read alouds often inspire them to find out more about the subject matter.

    Not all of our reading is done in whole group, though. We begin guided reading (usually) in October. This part of the day allows me to meet with small groups of children in order to teach them a skill or strategy and to help them unravel the reading puzzle. In my opinion this is all developmental. Your children did not talk or walk at the same time and I would never expect that they will read at the same time. Some children come to this group and learn more about letters or words. Some are already reading and learn new tricky word strategies. Still others learn about how books work, where to start reading, etc.

    You are probably wondering what the rest of the class is doing while I am meeting in small groups, right? The other children are practicing a variety of skills as they work in centers. Activities within the centers may change, but children go to one or two stations each day. Centers include the Writing Center, PokeyPinning Center, Poetry Center, Art Center, Word Detective Center, Word Work Center, Puppet Center, Library Center, Big Book Center, ABC Center and Non-Fiction Center. I choose which centers to use in a given week.

    I was part of a committee that helped to choose a new Reading Series to use as a basis for reading instruction. The committee (along with the elementary principals) chose the ReadyGen Program. I am excited to see how this program can help my children grow as readers. This year, I will be supplementing instruction with a variety of other resources and tricks I have gathered in my years of teaching. Children will be able to interact with books independently, with a partner and with the whole class on a daily basis.

    Children will begin bringing books home to read with you by mid-October. These are called "Baggie" books and should be returned to school each day. These books should be accessible to your child's reading level, meaning that they will increase in difficulty as your child's skills grow.

    Writing:

    Writing instruction and reading instruction go hand in hand. The ReadyGen program that has been adopted by our district has a writing component in it. Gone are the days of "Write about your summer vacation." Now, children write stories based on things that have happened to them and are important to them.

    As a teacher, my job is to model the things that writers do in order to scaffold your child's learning. That way, the children see themselves as writers and aren't afraid to make a mistake.

    Here are some important things you need to know about writing in kindergarten this year:

    1. We write just about every day. We start off writing for just a few minutes, but work up to 30 minutes daily. That sounds like a long time, but the kids really get to enjoy expressing themselves in a stress-free atmosphere and actually get mad when writing time is over!
    2. Your child's writing could be anything from drawing a picture to writing a book of several pages. The process is what's important.
    3. I will keep one or two pieces of writing at school, but I will send the rest home at the end of the unit. As you look through your child's hard work, notice the progression of understanding. Their work will not be perfect. They will have been taught (when ready) to stretch out words and write the sounds they hear. Some will be closer to "book spelling" than others. That's O.K.! Your job is to praise, praise, praise!!! Let your child know how special he or she is to be a real author! A positive attitude about their writing will carry them far!