Kindergarten - Gateway 2
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Building Knowledge
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks| Score | |
|---|---|
Gateway 2 - Partially Meets Expectations | 75% |
Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks | 24 / 32 |
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the expectations for Gateway 2. Materials do provide organized and cohesive year-long academic vocabulary support, as well as comprehensive writing instruction that supports students in building their writing skills. Students have some practice to analyze different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials. The materials partially meet the expectations of building students’ knowledge of topics, with some texts and text sets supporting a topic. Texts are accompanied by questions, tasks, and activities that partially support attention to the topics within and building knowledge.
Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the expectations for Criteria 2a through 2h. Materials do provide organized and cohesive year-long academic vocabulary support, as well as comprehensive writing instruction that supports students in building their writing skills. Students have some practice to analyze different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials. The materials partially meet the expectations of building students’ knowledge of topics, with some texts and text sets supporting a topic. Texts are accompanied by questions, tasks, and activities that partially support attention to the topics within and building knowledge.
Indicator 2a
Texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students knowledge and vocabulary which will over time support and help grow students' ability to comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students knowledge and vocabulary which will, over time, support and help grow students’ ability to comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.
In Shared Reading and ELA, there are some texts that are organized around a text topic. Students listen to the same text for five days and the text changes each week. It is stated within the Bookworms Teacher Manual that they, “searched for texts that were high quality and likely to build knowledge and motivation”, and then sequenced these texts, “qualitatively more difficult over time, and to match seasons”. Texts were “not selected to be entirely thematically related, as in a preschool curriculum”, but were selected “for their quality first, and then were sequenced into spark connections.” In some sections, the materials provide limited teaching notes that give guidance on how teachers can support students building knowledge of a topic, and a single text set rarely includes more than two books, thus limiting the students' opportunities to apply knowledge and vocabulary in a new context.
Materials include limited examples of texts organized around a topic in ELA. For example:
- In Weeks 10-17, students listen to several books about early life in America. In Week 12, they listen to Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation by Diane Stanley, in Week 13, they listen to Pocahontas by Caryn Jenner, and in Week 14, students listen to American Is... by Louise Borden.
- In Weeks 27-33, students are read books about life cycles. In Week 29, they listen to Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean by Arthur Dorros and Clouds by Anne Rockwell. Then in Week 34, students continue learning about life cycles when they listen to the book, How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan.
Book topics in Shared Reading that correspond to book topics in ELA include, but are not limited to:
- In Week 7 of both Shared Reading and ELA, students read about magnets. In Shared Reading, students read What Makes a Magnet by Franklyn M. Branley and in ELA students listen to What Magnets Can Do by Allan Fowler.
- In Week 8, students read about pumpkins. In Shared Reading, students read Pumpkin Day by Candice Ransom and in ELA students listen to the Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz.
Indicator 2b
Materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.
Throughout the Kindergarten materials, both the ELA and Shared Reading components of the curriculum contain a number of questions and tasks that require students to analyze key ideas and details with some that require students to analyze language, craft, and structure. Questions and tasks about language occur before, during, and after the lessons. Almost daily, students learn about the craft and structure of the text, and at times, questions require students to analyze craft and/or structure.
Questions in both ELA and Shared Reading ask students to analyze key ideas and details. Examples include:
- In ELA, Week 4, students hear The Full Belly Bowl by Jim Aylesworth and Wendy Anderson Halperin. While reading, students are asked analysis questions about details and key ideas such as, "How do we know the man is poor? Why was the man weak? and Why did he put the violin on the very top shelf?" After reading, students are asked if they think the wee little man wanted the full belly bowl to make money.
- In Shared Reading, Week 14, students read Sarah Morton’s Day by Kate Waters and are asked a series of questions, including some analysis of detail questions. Example questions include: Why does Sarah have to chase the hens?, How does Father feel about the meal?, How does Sarah know a ship has been sighted?, and Why does Sarah think Father is proud?
- In ELA, Week 29, students hear Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean by Arthur Dorros. Students asked a series of questions while listening to the text such as: What can people do in a river besides boating and swimming?, Why water is so important to humans?, and Why is water important for plants and animals?
Lessons that require students to analyze language, including words and phrases in texts. Examples include:
- In ELA, Week 10, after listening to A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer, the teacher asks the students what the author really means when she says that the moss is a blanket.
- In ELA, Week 20, after listening to Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, students focus on the word wilted and draw pictures of someone who is happy and someone who has a “wilted” look. This word is used in the text to describe Chrysanthemum.
- In ELA, Week 25, while listening toThe Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume, the teacher explains the term slob and asks the students if the picture shows that the character is a slob.
Indicator 2c
Materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.
Throughout the program, students analyze knowledge and ideas within individual texts; however, opportunities are limited for students to analyze and integrate knowledge across multiple texts. Students answer a series of discussion questions and then answer a written response. Some of the writing tasks require students to build upon knowledge in more than one text.
Examples of questions and texts that require students to integrate knowledge in Shared Reading and ELA include:
- In Week 18, students listen to Happy Birthday Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo and draw a picture that shows Martin’s dream of people living together without being mean.
- In Week 22, students listen to George Washington by Garnet Jackson. At the end of the week, students draw a picture showing what they liked best about George Washington as a leader.
- In Week 26, after listening to From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman, students discuss the most important things that happened in the book in the correct order.
- In Week 26, students listen to From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman and are asked questions such as: Where do caterpillars turn into butterflies?, What is molting?, and Why is the chrysalis hard?
- In Week 29, students draw a picture of a river delta and label their picture after listening to Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean by Arthur Dorros.
Materials provide limited opportunities for students to answer a series of questions and tasks that require them to integrate knowledge and ideas across multiple texts include. For example:
- In Week 5, students listen to Forest Bright, Forest Night by Jennifer Ward and then draw a picture of their favorite animal. Then, in Week 6, students listen to What Lives in a Shell by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and draw a picture of their favorite animal that lives in a shell. In these representative examples, the questions and tasks may be completed without reading the texts.
- In Week 7, students listen to What Makes a Magnet by Franklyn M. Brantley in Shared Reading and What Magnets Can Do by Allan Fowler in ELA. During shared reading, students are asked a series of questions to build knowledge about magnets such as what kinds of objects are magnetic and how can you make a compass. In ELA, students are asked if the earth is a kind of magnet. At the end of the week, students write sentences about magnets.
Indicator 2d
The questions and tasks support students' ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g., combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
Within the program, there are two final culminating tasks at the end of the year that are intended to integrate skills and have students demonstrate their knowledge. Within these tasks, students demonstrate their knowledge of a text and their knowledge of themselves as readers and writers, but do not demonstrate their knowledge of the topics learned throughout the program. These tasks do not always require synthesizing knowledge of content, but rather depend on students’ ability to form an opinion and/or write about themselves. Some writing tasks are provided throughout the year that could serve as culminating tasks that require students to integrate some knowledge of a topic through integrated skills.
At the end of Kindergarten, students are given two weeks to complete two culminating tasks. These tasks, according to the publisher, are similar in every grade, though the rigor increases due to the standards. These tasks do have students integrate skills, but students are not asked to demonstrate their knowledge of the topics learned throughout the year. The culminating tasks focus only on reading and writing skills, and do not highlight content knowledge gained across the year. These tasks include:
- In Week 35, students write a book review of their favorite book. Students are exposed to this genre throughout the year in order to prepare them for this final writing assignment. For example, in Week 2, students write one sentence about whether they like the book Frederick by Leo Lionni. The final book review is a commercial instead of a written project where they share their favorite book.
- In Week 36, students reflect on their year by explaining how they have grown as readers and writers throughout the year. Students look at previous writing assignments that they have completed to do this task. While the teacher models each step, students complete the project independently. However, there are no writing assignments or tasks before this culminating assignment that require students to reflect on their progression. Additionally, while this activity does incorporate different skills, it does not demonstrate knowledge gained.
Students are provided some writing assignments throughout the year that require them to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills. These occur in the ELA portion of the curriculum. Examples from the ELA program include:
- In Week 6, students listen to What Lives in a Shell by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and write a sentence about something they learned in order to teach someone else the fact.
- In Week 18, students draw a picture that shows Martin Luther King’s dream of people living together without being mean, after having listened to Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo.
- In Week 22, students write why they think George Washington was a good leader after hearing George Washington by Garnet Jackson.
- In Week 27, students write information about plants after reading In a Nutshell by Joseph Anthony.
Indicator 2e
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.
Vocabulary is embedded throughout the Kindergarten materials in both Shared Reading and ELA. In Shared Reading, where most of vocabulary instruction occurs, there is a vocabulary routine called Word Walk. This routine provides the students with a student friendly definition, identifies the words within the text, and then helps students use the target words in a simple sentence. The ELA portion has routines with both fiction and nonfiction texts. Tier II words are introduced after reading literary texts. For informational texts, the words are previewed prior to reading. In both ELA and Shared Reading, Tier II and Tier III words are taught. To encourage review of the vocabulary words, the Teacher Manual recommends the use of a word wall and anchor charts with the words.
Word Walk occurs each week during Shared Reading. The teacher teaches two words on Days 1 and 2, and another two words on Days 3 and 4. Students review the words on Day 5. Some examples of vocabulary instruction in Shared Reading include:
- In Week 5, students listen to multiple readings of Biscuit Loves the Library by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and participate in before- and after-reading Word Walks focusing on the words librarian, cozy, and spot. At the end of the week, the teacher models a retelling of the story incorporating the vocabulary words in phrases such as, Biscuit finds the librarian and a book that is just right.
- In Week 10, after listening to the book A Bee’s Life by Dona Herweck Rice, students review and apply the words learned throughout the week such as discussing the word nectar.
- In Week 23, students listen to multiple readings of Daring Amelia by Barbara Lowell and participate in before and after reading Word Walks focusing on the words stunts and daring. Discussions during the week include the words such as asking students if they could do stunts, what would they do and Charles Lindbergh was daring because.... The teacher models retelling at the end of the week incorporating the words such as next Amelia became a pilot and did stunts.
- In Week 28, students read Henry and Mudge and the WIld Wind by Cynthia Rylant and learn the word rippled. Students learn that the word can mean when something is into small wrinkles or waves or it could mean when water in the lake rippled when the wind blew on it.
In ELA fiction texts, vocabulary is taught after reading the text, but not everyday. Most of the words are Tier II words. Examples include:
- In Week 1, Week 4, after reading The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins, the teacher introduces the word started. Students repeat the word and then the teacher gives the definition and provide examples of the word in context. The teacher then illustrates how students can use the word using sentence frames. This routine is repeated with the word enormous.
- In Week 13, students hear Pocahontas by Caryn Jenner and learn words such as smelly and piping. When learning the word piping, the teacher explains that if something is piping, it is very hot and you could burn your mouth.
- In Week 20, students hear Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and learn the word wilted. The teacher explains that when a plant is wilted, is it dead and dry and curled up. The teacher then explains when a person might wilt, such as when they receive bad news. Students also learn the word appreciate.
- In Week 28, students hear Tikki, Tikki, Tembo by Arlene Mosel and learn the word chattering. Teacher tells students to chatter to their partners about the word.
In ELA non-fiction texts, vocabulary is taught before the text is read. These words are primarily Tier III words so teaching the words ahead of time helps students comprehend the text. After learning the words, the teacher models how to incorporate the words in their discussions and writing. Examples include:
- In Week 6, before listening to What Lives in a Shell by Kathleen Weidner, and students learn about the word shell. Students are told that animals with shells are found on land and in water. Students are then asked questions such as, “What if a shell had no opening?”. On the final day, the students draw a picture of their favorite animal and its shell.
- In Week 10, students hear the word A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeifler and learn the word umbrella. Students are asked questions such as, “Can an umbrella be made of leaves? and Does the author mean that this is a real umbrella?”.
- In Week 26, prior to reading Actual Size by Steve Jenkins, students discuss the term actual size. While reading, students also learn the words goliath and pygmy. The teacher helps the students understand the difference between the two terms.
- In Week 35, after listening to Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner and How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan, students write some facts they learned about gardening and growing plants. The teacher models how to incorporate vocabulary words from the texts.
- In Weeks 34-36, students listen to the text How a Seed Grows and the teacher draws a diagram of a plant with the vocabulary words root, root hairs, leaf, soil, and stem.
Indicator 2f
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to support students' increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students' writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a year long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts.
Throughout the year, there is a cohesive plan for writing instruction. The ELA section of the Bookworms curriculum includes weekly written responses that provide students the opportunity to demonstrate what they learned from listening to the interactive read-aloud. The responses progress gradually from drawing, to drawing and labeling, to simple sentences. During the first nine weeks of instruction, students learn how to formulate sentences by arranging subjects and predicates and drawing pictures to match given sentences. Then, in the second nine weeks, students match subjects and predicts, write subjects and predicates, and draw pictures to given sentences. During the third nine weeks, students write a sentence with subjects and predicates with a given sentence frame and draw pictures to match sentences. In the final nine weeks, students write sentences with subjects and predicates, using sentence frames if necessary, and the teacher models using a simple checklist to edit writing. These checklists are genre specific and include narrative checklists, descriptive writing checklists, book review checklists, opinion checklists, and sentence writing checklists. Over the course of the year, the writing demands build to increase students’ ability to express knowledge of text though writing.
At the beginning of the year, students are tasked with drawing a picture. By the second 9 weeks, students are drawing and labeling. By the end of the year, students draw a picture and write a sentence using a fill in the blank sentence provided by the teacher. The teachers explicitly tell students when this switch is happening such as in Week 10, when the teacher tells students that they will no longer glue sentences together, but will now write the words themselves. Examples of the cohesive plan throughout the year include:
- In Week 1, students draw a picture of George teaching the dragon something after hearing The Egg by M.P. Robertson.
- In Week 13, students draw a picture of Pocahontas and include one word to describe their picture. During Week 16, students draw and write about their favorite vehicle from the story Building with Dad by Carol Nevius.
- In Week 26, students write a sentence about their size and use the fill in the blank sentence: My hand ,______ and _______ are ________ size.
- In Week 29, students write their own sentences telling a writer which book they liked the best and what that book teaches them.
- In Week 34, students draw a series of pictures showing the steps of planting a seed and growing into a plant after hearing How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan. Students are also expected to write a sentence to go with their picture. A sentence frame is not provided.
Within process writing, the plan also includes a cohesive plan that is similar to the on-demand writing. Examples include:
- In Week 2, students arrange subjects and predicates and draw pictures to match sentences after hearing Rosie’s Walk and Frederick.
- In Week 33, students write a narrative about a personal adventure. The teacher reminds the students to include a subject, a predicate, and a detail in their sentence and then after the teacher models how to use the Sentence Checklist, students use it to revise their sentence.
- In Week 36, students revise and edit their writing independently after watching the teacher model.
Indicator 2g
Materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.
In Kindergarten, students are engaged in exploring books and giving their opinions about the texts with guidance, modeling, and support from the teacher. Students have opportunities to learn, practice, and apply developing writing skills in varying contexts, typically with teacher modeling and peer partnering. While students build upon these skills throughout the year, there are limited opportunities for students to engage in projects designed to build their research skills. In the program, research skills involve informative writing based on the texts read during read-aloud. Opportunities are missed for students to progress in research skills due to the lack of research activities.
Students have minimal opportunities to participate in research projects. Some of the opportunities include:
- In Week 7 of ELA, students hear What Makes a Magnet by Franklyn M. Brantley and What Magnets Can Do by Allan Fowler, and then participate in shared writing about something they have learned.
- In Week 27, students read Nutshell by Joseph Anthony and How Plants Grow by Dona Herweck Rick and write a descriptive text that teaches about something they have learned.
- In Week 34 of ELA, students hear How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan and then write about whether a giant tree can grow from a tiny seed using evidence from the text.
- In Week 34 of ELA, after listening to Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner and How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan, students write the best facts they learned about gardening and growing plants.
Indicator 2h
Materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
The Kindergarten materials include time for independent reading during the day. The program includes a proposed schedule that includes time for differentiation each day, which does include daily opportunities for self-selected, independent reading. There are suggestions for a shared reading homework procedure and a home reading log.
During the differentiated block of instruction each day, students engage in three 15-minute blocks of instruction that allow the teacher to meet with small groups of students. During this time, students engage in daily self-selected independent reading from the classroom library after finishing their handwriting practice. Appendix B provides a sample classroom library book list to help teachers pick books for independent reading.
For independent reading at home, the Teacher Manual recommends that grade level teachers collaborate to develop a consistent grade level homework procedure. Specifically, for Kindergarten, it is suggested that they listen to a family member read aloud. A Family Connections letter is included to tell families the importance of reading a variety of texts to children. A sample reading log is included that can be used for accountability purposes, but the manual also states that the teacher can create his/her own log for the classroom, without adding the homework piece.