2024
Express Steps

Kindergarten Report Overview

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Gateway Ratings Summary

ELA Kindergarten Overview

The materials for Kindergarten partially meet the expectations for alignment to research-based practices and standards for foundational skills instruction. 

The materials include a defined scope and sequence for letter recognition. Weekly lessons provide systematic and explicit instruction in letter-sound correspondence and upper- and lowercase letter identification. The materials also provide instructions on explicit letter formation and include opportunities to assess letter formation throughout the year. 

The materials include a scope and sequence hyperlinked to the lessons within the Teacher Planner. On the Teacher’s Platform, Steps 1-5, Phonological Awareness, there is a Phonological/Phonemic Awareness Map containing a phonological awareness scope and sequence for the Daily Dos. The Phonemic Awareness Map provides a breakdown of each phonological/phonemic awareness skill during the allotted weeks of instruction. Materials do not contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence of phonemic awareness skills. The materials do not contain a phonemic awareness sequence of instruction and practice related to the phonics scope and sequence, and phonemic awareness skills do not align consistently with the phonics focus for the week. While there is no complete sequence of phonemic awareness tied to the phonics scope and sequence, phonics lessons generally begin with phoneme instruction and link the grapheme. The materials include limited systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness. Most lessons include some instruction but primarily student practice with limited explicit instruction. Materials include daily opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness skills through Daily Dos activities, not specifically phonemic awareness. The materials provide articulation instruction for phonemes. The materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities over the course of the year in phonemic awareness, providing check-ups, formal assessments, and sound fluency assessments. A variety of assessments are provided to assess students’ mastery of phonemic awareness skills.

The materials do not contain elements of instruction that are based on the three-cueing system for teaching decoding. The materials include a scope and sequence that includes high-utility patterns and/or common generalizations; however, materials do not contain a clear evidence-based explanation for the sequence of phonics instruction. The materials contain opportunities for systematic teaching of phonics; however, the lessons do not consistently provide explicit instruction. The use of dictation is inconsistent across materials and there is no consistent routine explicitly modeled. Materials provide guidance in the modification section of the lesson plan but do not provide guidance for corrective feedback. Materials include decodable texts aligned to the phonics focus of each week of instruction. The materials include formal assessments, Check-Ups, and Practice Pages for teachers to collect ongoing data about students’ progress in phonics. Teachers are provided with information on how to analyze the results of assessments; however, limited information is provided to teachers to respond with follow-up phonics instruction or instructional adjustments to address phonics skills.  

The materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words within the SOS lessons, including Sticky Words and See-Me-Say-Me words. Lessons include teacher modeling of the spelling and reading of high-frequency words, which includes connecting phonemes to graphemes. The materials include student practice for identifying and reading high-frequency words in isolation and context; however, students have limited opportunities to write high-frequency words in tasks to promote automaticity and fluency. The materials include some evidence of syllable-type activities; however, there are missed opportunities for explicit instruction in syllabication and morpheme analysis. The materials have regular and systematic assessment opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of word recognition, but not word analysis. Assessments provide limited guidance on student skill levels and recommendations for assessment-based steps to help students progress toward mastery in word recognition.

Publication Details

TitleISBNEditionPublisherYear
Bug Gets Wet978-1-941532-00-32014
Bug Has a Hut978-1-941532-01-02014
Cat Can978-1-941532-02-72014
Cub And The Nap978-1-941532-03-42014
Dog And The Gift978-1-941532-04-12014
Dog Gets a Job978-1-941532-05-82014
Dog Gets a Van978-1-941532-06-52014
Duck And His Mom978-1-941532-07-22014
Duck And The Mess978-1-941532-08-92014
Duck Has a Nest978-1-941532-09-62014
Fish Had a Wish978-1-941532-10-22014
Chimp Camps978-1-941532-11-92014
Chimp Gets a Check-Up978-1-941532-12-62014
Duck Up a Hill978-1-941532-13-32014
Frog Hunts For a Pal978-1-941532-14-02014
Pig Has a Pet978-1-941532-15-72014
Pig Was Hot978-1-941532-16-42014
Frog And His Sled978-1-941532-17-12014
Cub Has a Picnic978-1-941532-20-12015
Duck Sings a Song978-1-941532-21-82015
Snake 1 And Snake 2978-1-941532-22-52015
Dog And His Bone978-1-941532-23-22015
Pig Hikes978-1-941532-24-92015
The Snakes Race978-1-941532-25-62015
Frog Has The Blues978-1-941532-26-32015
Cat Gets a Scare978-1-941532-27-02015
Pig At The Beach978-1-941532-28-72015
Snakes On a Train978-1-941532-29-42015
Dog’s Feast978-1-941532-30-02015
Duck Bakes a Cake978-1-941532-31-72015
Duck Feels Sick978-1-941532-32-42015
Fish Gets Clean978-1-941532-33-12015
Cat On The Road978-1-941532-34-82015
Cub On a Boat978-1-941532-35-52015
Short Vowels With Bug978-1-941532-42-32018
I Am Bug978-1-941532-43-02016
I Am…978-1-941532-44-72016
Cat’s Hat978-1-941532-45-42016
Cub Hid978-1-941532-46-12016
Frog The Kitchen Whiz978-1-941532-48-52018
Chimp At The Market978-1-941532-49-22018
Frog’s Bad Day978-1-941532-50-82018
Pig At The Pool978-1-941532-51-52018
Practice Pages, Step 1, ED. 2978-1-941532-52-22018
Tool Kit, Step 1, ED. 2978-1-941532-53-92018
Tool Kit, Step 6978-1-941532-54-62018
Practice Pages, Step 6978-1-941532-55-32018
Dog Surfs978-1-941532-56-02018
Practice Pages, I Am Ready, ED. 2978-1-941532-57-72018
Fish’s New Jewel978-1-941532-58-42018
Cat’s Bow978-1-941532-59-12018
Cat’s Claws978-1-941532-60-72018
Cub Frowns978-1-941532-61-42018
Cub’s Loyal Pal978-1-941532-62-12018
Snakes In A Storm978-1-941532-63-82018
Dog’s Book978-1-941532-64-52018
Duck’s Night Light978-1-941532-65-22018
Pig’s Magic Trick978-1-941532-66-92018
The Snakes Make a Snowman978-1-941532-67-62018
Practice Pages, Step 2 and Step 3, ED. 2978-1-941532-68-32018
Tool Kit, Step 2 and Step 3, ED. 2978-1-941532-69-02018
Practice Pages, Step 4 and 5, ED. 2978-1-941532-70-62018
Tool Kit, Step 4 and 5, ED. 2978-1-941532-71-32018
The Consonant Play Book978-1-941532-83-62018
The Picture Find Book978-1-941532-84-32018
Alphabet Book978-1-941532-85-02020
Pig Is Sad978-1-958513-00-22022
Dog Is978-1-958513-01-92022
Dog’s Pop978-1-958513-02-62023
Cat’s Fan978-1-958513-03-32023
Cub In The Tub978-1-958513-04-02023
Dog’s Big Bag978-1-958513-05-72023
Get Up, Cub978-1-958513-06-42023
Pig’s Fit978-1-958513-07-12023
Pig Tags978-1-958513-08-82023
Cat Naps978-1-958513-09-52023
Teacher Planner, Green, Step 1978-1-958513-24-82023
Teacher Planner, Blue, Steps 2-3978-1-958513-25-52023
Teacher Planner, Orange, Steps 4-5978-1-958513-26-22023
Teacher Planner, Orange, Steps 4-5, (Step 6 Version)978-1-958513-27-92023
Teacher Planner, Purple, Step 6978-1-958513-28-62023
Teacher Planner, Yellow, I Am Ready978-1-958513-29-32023
Teachers Guidebook, Steps 1-5 Ready, Set, Go, Ed. 4978-1-958513-30-92023
Express Spelling, Steps 1-5978-1-958513-31-62023
Express Spelling, Steps 4-6978-1-958513-32-32023
Teachers Guidebook, Steps 4-6 Big Steps, Ed. 4978-1-958513-33-02023
Teachers Guidebook, I Am Ready, Ready to Read, Ed. 4978-1-958513-34-72023
Student Activities Book, Ed. 4978-1-958513-35-42023
Ready to Read Activities Book, Ed. 4978-1-958513-36-12023
Big Steps Activities Book, Ed. 4978-1-958513-37-82023
SOS Words, I Am Ready978-1-958513-38-52023
SOS Words, Steps 1-5978-1-958513-39-22023
SOS Words, Steps 4-6978-1-958513-40-82023
The Daily Dos, Yellow Level, I Am Ready978-1-958513-41-52023
The Daily Dos, Green Level, Step 1978-1-958513-42-22023
The Daily Dos, Blue Level, Steps 2-3978-1-958513-43-92023
The Daily Dos, Orange Level, Steps 4-5978-1-958513-44-62023