Kindergarten curriculum guide - Middleton Cross Plains Area School ...

Literacy
Students in grades
kindergarten through
second have a literacy block with a minimum of 90
minutes daily. This provides a focused time to
develop skills in reading, writing and word study.
MCPASD teachers use whole group instruction,
small group instruction, individual instruction and
independent practice to differentiate for the
student learner.
All students are actively engaged in learning
whether they are in a small teacher led group of
students or reading independently, or writing.
Independent activities will often focus on concepts
being studied in science, and social studies.
Reading
The National Reading Panel identified key skills and
methods central to reading achievement. The five
essential elements of reading instruction are what
we teach. The elements are phonemic awareness,
phonics, vocabulary,
fluency, and
comprehension. Current
research states that
systematic and explicit
approaches to instruction in
each of the major
components are
imperative.
Balanced Literacy
Balanced literacy is how we teach literacy. It
involves several methods for teaching reading and
writing. These essential literacy skills are taught in
the context of authentic reading and writing
experiences. There are eight components of
balanced literacy: reading aloud, shared reading,
guided reading, independent reading, modeled &
shared writing, guided writing, independent
writing, and interactive writing.
The power of the balanced literacy framework is
the manner in which students are supported as
they are exposed to new learning and guided as
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they learn to use skills and strategies
independently. During read alouds and modeled
writing lessons, the teacher explicitly models
his/her own thinking for students. Students are
supported as they learn to apply new skills and
strategies in authentic reading and writing tasks.
Our ultimate goal is for students to take on the
responsibility for these skills and strategies and be
able to use them independently.
Writing Process
We use Units of Study for
Primary Writing, developed by
Lucy Calkins and her colleagues
from the Teachers College
Reading and Writing Project.
Each year, teachers deliver
seven “units of study,” each lasting four to six
weeks.
Launching the Writing Workshop
Small Moments: Personal Narrative Writing
The Craft of Revision
Authors as Mentors
Nonfiction Writing: Procedures and Reports
Poetry: Powerful Thoughts in Tiny Packages
6 + 1 Traits
Not only do we talk about the writing process, we
also talk about the craft of writing. We use the
common language of the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing to
discuss and describe authors’ craft. The 6 + 1 traits
include the following: ideas, organization, voice,
word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and
presentation.
Handwriting Without Tears
Handwriting Without Tears is a
research based developmentally
appropriate program. It is the
selected manuscript handwriting
program because it is an easy-toteach,
easy-to-learn curriculum that
makes handwriting mastery joyful
for students and their teachers.
MCPASD Kindergarten Curriculum Brochure