Kindergarten - English Language Arts

Kindergarten students in SFUSD engage in 125 minutes of daily literacy instruction. During this time, students engage in a variety of instructional contexts to build foundational skills in reading and writing that provide a strong sense of agency in order to support their identities as readers and writers.

Foundational Skills: Students engage in a 40-minute foundational skills block that includes phonological awareness, explicit phonics instruction, and the application of foundational skills in decodable text. Lots of practice with all these foundational skills are potent steps toward their becoming joyful and competent readers. 

Reading & Writing: Students engage in an 85-minute reading and writing block that includes differentiated small group instruction, independent reading and writing, participation in shared reading, and interactive read-aloud. Students also begin to explore and utilize writing conventions and are supported to use a combination of drawing, dictation, and writing letters to share information, feelings, and ideas.    

Students' vocabulary and knowledge about themselves and their world grow exponentially through regular opportunities to read, think, talk, and write about rich stories and other read-aloud books. 

• Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print
• Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes)
• Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words
• Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

• With prompting and support ask and answer questions, describe connections, and retell important information and key details from texts
• With prompting and support ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text 
• With prompting and support compares and contrast key elements within and across texts.

• Participate in daily collaborative, small-group, or partner discussions about anchor texts to process and extend their learning:
• Engage in productive talk through peer partnerships
• Reflect on each other’s thinking using evidence, as well as consider and challenge each others’ perspectives
   

• Share new learnings about topics through the study of anchor texts
• Respond to texts through writing in order to deepen comprehension 
• To ensure equal access to the topic they are writing about, write about topics connected to texts they are reading or listening to
• Engage in writing tasks that are connected to literary texts they are reading or listening to in order to promote perspective-taking 
• Write stories and personal narratives rooted in social-emotional learning
• Demonstrate command of writing conventions

These quick routines provide students with time to review and consolidate their phonological knowledge (letter names, sounds, phonemic awareness, high frequency words, etc.)

Phonics instruction is delivered to ensure all students have access to become independent readers and writers. The methodology includes explicit instruction, inquiry, physical hands-on application, and collaborative partnerships and discussion for students to engage in productive struggle and carry the cognitive load.

Interactive and shared writing involves the teacher and students working together to compose text, with the teacher “sharing the pen” with students at strategic points. During interactive writing, the teacher and students create text word by word, with the teacher demonstrating the process and students participating in aspects of the writing.

The purpose of interactive writing/shared writing is for teachers and students to collaborate on negotiating the content of the text, constructing words through the analysis of sounds, developing concepts of letter, word, and punctuation, as well as increasing letter knowledge and gaining familiarity with frequently encountered words.

Decodable text helps children connect what they are learning in phonics to what they are reading to build a faster foundation in early reading. Children progress at a much faster rate in phonics when the bulk of instructional time is spent on applying the skills to authentic reading and writing experiences, rather than on isolated skill and drill work. At least half of phonics lessons should be devoted to application.

Shared Reading is a community literacy experience that provides students the opportunity to engage in the reading process together. Students participate in multiple readings of the text as the teacher guides them in text-based discussions and addresses teaching points that focus on letter/sound relationships, word analysis skills, vocabulary, language structure, and aspects of fluent reading and comprehension skills. During Shared Reading thinking and questioning of students is the focal point. Students build connections to prior learning and experiences through meaningful conversations and collaboration.

Literacy centers provide students with the opportunity to practice previously taught literacy skills or reinforce content area learning. There may be some permanent centers, like writing, reading/listening, word study/phonics, on particular literacy skills. There may also be literacy centers that have a particular content area focus (i.e. science) and change periodically. These content area centers would include reading and writing practice on a specific topic. The centers have appropriate materials to enable students to work independently, with partners or in small groups.

Small group instruction is a strategic and targeted component that is planned based on the analysis of student data (both formal and informal) to meet specific, differentiated needs of students.  During independent reading, the teacher gathers 2-4 students with similar strengths and needs and leads them in instruction on a skill or strategy.

The lesson is designed to scaffold the students in applying the skill or strategy in their own independent reading.  The lesson structure and teaching methodology is varied based on the level of scaffolding needed. During the lesson, as students are actively engaged in practicing the skill or strategy, the teacher monitors understanding and provides feedback directly to students. The teacher will often follow up the small group instruction with additional lessons as needed.

Class communities gather daily to build knowledge in content-rich, grade-level complex texts. Teachers guide students using text-dependent questions and facilitate engaging conversations and written responses that promote evidence-based deeper thinking.

This block may include a variety of instructional contexts, including minilessons, interactive read-aloud, close/shared reading, academic conversations, and shared writing about text.

During the writing block, students are engaged in creating writing pieces from the Common Core State Standards that follow the writing process. This writing block includes lessons that provide direct, explicit instruction and guided practice in skills and strategies connected to the genre. Afterward, students apply learning to writing in partnerships and individually. There are multiple opportunities for students to share their writing in addition to providing and receiving feedback.

Kindergarten classroom libraries provide student access to a range of text types including leveled books, decodable text, informational text, and literature. Libraries should also include culturally relevant texts that represent diverse language and cultures. Leveled books support students' early reading behaviors and print concepts as well as give readers access to reading increasingly complex text. Decodable books reinforce phonics and decoding skills explicitly taught during the foundational skills block. 

Informational text and literature provide students access to familiar and/or high-interest books that have been read aloud to students, are connected to content area instruction, or just fun to read. The classroom library should be an inviting space with labeled bins organized by interest, theme, content, level, or phonics skill.  The organization of the library should support student engagement and interest along with ease of choice and maintenance.