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. The materials include texts organized around a topic to build students' knowledge and vocabulary. Coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts are included; however, opportunities for students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts are limited. Some questions and tasks support students' ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills. The materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary and words in and across texts. Writing instruction and tasks do not consistently increase in complexity or lead to students independently demonstrating grade-level proficiency by the end of the year. The materials provide opportunities for focused research projects that encourage students to develop knowledge by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and sources. While the materials include a design for independent reading, a plan for how independent reading is implemented and a system for accountability for independent reading both inside and outside of the classroom are not present.
Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
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 materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. The text sets within each unit that the whole class hears during read alouds build students’ knowledge in the units. The same topic is addressed in small group reading and in the Learning Stations.
The eight units contain topics about science or social studies content. Over the course of four weeks per unit, students participate in listening, reading, writing, and discussion around a science or social studies topic and a Big Question.
Examples of units throughout the program that are organized around a topic include:
- In Unit 2, students read about the social studies topic, family. They read songs, poems, picture books, folktales, stories, and a fairy tale to answer the question, "What do families do together?" Specific topics each week under this broad category include family members, family activities, meals and food, and being together. Texts include Gio and his Family by George Ancona, Families by Cory Phillips, Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell, and You and Me Together by Barbara Kerley.
- In Unit 4, students read and learn about plants by focusing on the Big Question, "How are plants alike and different?" Students read poems, folktales, fairy tales, informational articles, photo essays, and stories. The individual topics each week include making plants grow, the life cycle of plants, plants that people use, and plants and animals. Texts include Sofia and the Sunflower by Guadalupe V. Lopez, Seeds by Douglas Florian, Apples by Jennifer Peters, and Hurt No Living Thing by Christina Rossetti.
- In Unit 6, the social studies topic is town and students study how communities are different. Over the course of four weeks, students read stories, fables, songs, and folktales to address the Big Question. Students learn about places to live, places to go, transportation, and mapping the community. Texts include Race Day by Hector Ramirez, Flowers Around Town by Shirleyann Costigan, The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom, and Bear About Town by Stella Blackstone.
- In Unit 8, the science topic is the sun, moon, and stars. Students read folktales, poems, and lullabies in order to explain what is in the sky. Throughout the four week unit, students learn about waking and sleeping, the day sky, day and night, and the night sky. Texts include The Night is Singing by Jacqueline Davies, Why the Sun Comes Up When, The Story of the Sun and the Moon by Kenn Nesbitt, and Live in the Sky, retold by Lada Josefa Kratky.
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 program, students are asked a series of questions to help them analyze the details, key ideas, and structure of individual texts. Weekly lessons focus on a different reading comprehension skill such as identifying main idea and detail, cause and effect, and sequencing. Toward the end of the curriculum, questions begin to prompt students to refer to the text.
Examples of a series of coherently sequenced questions and tasks about analyzing details and structure include:
- In Unit 1, Week 2, the teacher reads aloud, Come with Me to School. Students learn about text structure by learning that things happen in a specific order or sequence. Students use the text and fill out a three-column chart to identify the beginning, middle, and end. Students use keyword cards to prompt responses for what happens in school in each column.
- In Unit 2, Week 3, students listen to The Donut and learn about sequence. Students are asked questions about sequence: "What happens at the beginning of the story? What happens next? What happens at the end of the story?"
- In Unit 3, Week 4, students listen to the text, Amazing Animal Facts. Students learn about compare and contrast. Students are asked, "How are people like other animals? How are people different from sharks? What is one way people are different from all animals?"
- In Unit 4, Week 1, students listen to the folktale, The Four Friends. Students learn about cause and effect. After listening to the story, the teacher explains that they will use details in the story to think about what happens and why and answer questions: "Why does the monkey put dark soil around the elephant's back? What is the effect of doing that? What happens at the end of the story? Why were the animals able to share the apples?"
- In Unit 5, Week 4, students are asked questions requiring them to analyze details as they learn about the skill of visualizing: "What details help them imagine what the window looks like? What details help them picture the palm trees?"
- In Unit 7, Week 3, students learn about topic, main idea, and details as they listen to the article, A Firefighter’s Tools. Questions focus on details: "How do a mask and air tank help a firefighter? Why do firefighters need to use long hoses?"
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.
Instructional materials provide opportunities for students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas in individual texts; however opportunities across multiple texts is limited. Most questions found within units focus on building comprehension of the text, instead of the topic. Question types primarily include retelling, language, and making connections.
Examples include:
- In Unit 3, Week 1, students hear the story, Rooster’s Big Job. During the first lesson, students answer comprehension questions about the story: “What lesson did the rooster learn in the fable?” On the second day, students answer questions that require them to analyze characters in the story, There’s a Billy Goat in the Garden. Students are asked to think about both stories when asked how the two stories are alike; however, this question does not require students to analyze the integration of knowledge.
- In Unit 5, Week 1, students engage in a nonfiction opinion text about winter weather in four different parts of our world. During this lesson, students answer comprehension questions that integrate knowledge: “How is winter sunshine in Alaska and Florida different? What is one way that winter in Florida is similar to winter in other states?” Students also hear Every Season and answer comprehension questions that help integrate knowledge: “What is summer like? How is summer like spring? What do flowers do in spring?”
- In Unit 7, Week 3, students hear the informational article, A Firefighters Tool, and are asked both story element questions and questions that help students analyze knowledge: “How do a mask and an air tank help a firefighter?” However, students also hear the text, Tools, which asks more questions about the text than the topic: “How many sentences are on these three pages? What is the farmer growing?”
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 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).
Instructional materials provide some culminating tasks in which students demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills. Students work on writing projects that span three weeks within each unit, and some of the writing projects require students to use what they have learned throughout the week to complete the writing task; however, some of the writing projects are narratives and do not require integration of skills to demonstrate knowledge.
Examples of process writing tasks that require students to integrate skills and knowledge include:
- In Unit 3, Week 4, students make a fact book that they work on throughout the unit. Students create a page for the class book. Throughout the unit, students read a variety of texts on animals and beginning in Week 2, they pick one animal to write facts about. Students listen to texts about animals, discuss animals, and write about animals, all to help with the culminating project.
- In Unit 5, Week 4, students make a final copy of an opinion paper they worked on throughout the week. Students begin the task in Week 2, pick their favorite season, and write about it. Throughout the four-week unit, students read several texts about seasons and talk about the seasons.
- In Unit 7, students spend three weeks writing facts about a job. Students read texts throughout the week that highlight different jobs to help them with this culminating task. Students hear the big book, Jobs, to help them with this task. Students integrate skills throughout the week to complete this project such as interviewing each other about different jobs they might like. In the third week, students focus on firefighters and are asked questions such as, “How can a mask and an air tank help a firefighter?”
However, not all units have a culminating task that integrate skills or require students to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic. For example:
- In Unit 2, students create a narrative about a family activity. During the week, students read a variety of texts, including nonfiction texts about animals.
- In Unit 8, students create a narrative. While they are reading narratives and use them as model texts throughout the unit, no knowledge of a topic is built nor do students have to show their understanding of a topic.
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.
The instruction materials have a daily emphasis on vocabulary. Some of the activities involve learning the word, while others focus and aid in the comprehension and building of knowledge.
There are three vocabulary routines listed in the Best Practices section in the Teacher’s Edition. One is the Introduce Word routine where students begin by repeating the word and rating the word using a thumb up or thumb down. The teacher defines the word for the students and then together they work on elaborating. The teacher often has students talk about the word, give examples and non examples, and connect the word across content areas. Examples of the implementation of this routine include, but are not limited to:
- In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, students are introduced to the Key Words, friend and share. Routine 1 is carried out and then the students hear the story, My School Day, where the words are used.
- In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 2, students learn four key science words (adult, baby, parent, young), before hearing a book called Baby Names. All four words are prevalent in the story and important to know in order to understand the book.
- In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 2, students learn the Key Word, store. They learn about it out of context using this vocabulary routine, but then read a story about a store. On the next day, the students review all of the words from this unit with a partner.
The second routine is the Expand Word Knowledge where students work in pairs using a graphic organizer, which is often a four corners: word, picture, word in context, and definition. Students are then assigned keywords for the graphic organizer. Examples of the implementation of this routine include, but are not limited to:
- In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 3, students make a “window” (piece of paper laid horizontally and with ¼ of each side folded in toward the centerline of the paper to create two flaps) for the word weather. Students write the word on the left-hand flap and draw a picture to represent the word on the right-hand flap.
- In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 3, students make a Four Corners graphic organizer with a small group to illustrate and define a single word from the week’s vocabulary.
The final vocabulary routine is the Share Word Knowledge where pairs are formed and students share their filled-in graphic organizer from the second routine. Then they discuss and write sentences in their journals with the words. Examples of the implementation of this routine include, but are not limited to:
- In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 4, students use the 4 Corner Posters they made the day before for the week’s Key Words. They follow the routine to share their knowledge of the words then write sentences to accompany them on the back of the posters.
- In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 4, students use the window they created to share a vocabulary word with a partner. Each student shows their window, reads his or her sentence, and talks about the word. Then, the students work together to write additional sentences.
In addition to learning new vocabulary words, students also learn vocabulary strategies. These lessons occur on Weeks 2 and 4 of the unit. Examples include:
- In Unit 3, Week 2 students review that a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea and that an action verb tells what someone or something does. The teacher then reads sentences and explains that sentences can have multiple nouns or verbs in the sentence. Students read a variety of sentences that contain Key Words and identify nouns and verbs.
- In Unit 6, Week 4, students learn about compound words. Students work in partnerships to define compound words. They do this over the course of several days.
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 partially 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.
Instructional materials include multiple and varied opportunities for both on-demand and process writing tasks that span the year’s worth of instruction. Students draw, dictate, or write daily; however, not all writing tasks increase in rigor from the beginning to the end of the school year.
Daily writing skills lessons do not consistently increase in complexity or lead to students independently demonstrating grade-level proficiency by the end of the year. In the beginning of the year, students draw and write one-word answers in sentence frames, and in the middle of the year, students complete sentence frames. Towards the end of the year, students continue to draw, label, dictate, and fill in one-word sentence frames.
Examples include:
- In Unit 1, Week 1, students begin by drawing pictures of themselves learning. Students either label their drawings or complete a sentence frame on Day 1. On Day 2, students draw their favorite thing the boy does during the day in the read-aloud story, My School Day. They write a one-word label for their picture and complete a sentence frame. Then on Day 3, students draw one thing the boy does at school in My School Day that they also do in school, which builds on the previous day's writing prompt. On Day 4, students write which color they like best. On Day 5, students choose a food they like to eat for lunch and they draw a picture of it. In all of the examples, students draw a picture to get their ideas across, though the topic changes daily.
- In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, students begin the week by naming an animal they have read about, draw a picture, and fill in a sentence frame. On Day 2, students write or dictate sentences that tell about the different kinds of animals moving into Honza’s house. On Day 3, students draw Honza’s house with all of the animals and fill in a sentence frame to describe their picture. On Day 4, students write about animal homes by also filling out a sentence frame. On Day 5, students begin a writing project where they write about an animal and include facts about it.
- In Unit 7, Week 4, students write a thank you note from either Gus or Bessie from The Shoemaker and the Elves. The teacher models and they work on a shared writing example on Day 1. On Day 2, students draw a picture answer to the question about what they would like to be when they grown up. Students write or dictate sentences to tell about their picture. On Day 3, students draw a picture of a character from Bear at Work doing his or her job and fill in a sentence frame, which is similar to writing tasks in the beginning of the year. On Day 4, students write or dictate sentences that tells what is happening in the picture they draw of a scene in The Enormous Turnip. On Day 5, they work on publishing their fact book that they began in Week 2.
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 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.
Over the course of the year, Kindergarten students have some opportunities to learn different components of research skills such as using sources and encyclopedias. Students also have opportunities to contribute to class books, such as Things to Read and a class encyclopedia on animals. There are points of practice within the materials for students to demonstrate individual research components with texts.
Examples include:
- In Unit 1, Week 2, students draw a picture and complete the sentence frame: I like to read _____. Teachers are prompted to bind student work together to make a class book, Things to Read.
- In Unit 3, Week 2, students practice identifying and collating facts about animals. Students choose an animal and write facts about it after they have read about different farm animals. In the cross-curricular activity in this unit, students practice classifying farm animals. They use photos to discuss and sort animals.
- In Unit 3, students learn about an encyclopedia and create an encyclopedia page for the class encyclopedia on animals.
- In Unit 6, Week 2, students make a map about a place in the community. They complete the sentence frames: My page shows the ____. I get ____ at the ____. Student pages are then organized into a community map.
- In Unit 7, Week 1, the teacher guides students through creating a job ad using information from the read-aloud, Help Wanted!
- In Unit 9, Week 2, students complete a unit project that includes creating a book about what they have learned. The students divide their books into two chapters, At School and Outside of School. They create a cover, title, and name the author. The book include skills and activities they learn at school and outside of school.
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 partially 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.
Independent reading is mentioned in this program, but a plan for how it is implemented and a system for accountability for how students will engage in a volume of independent reading both inside and outside of the classroom does not exist. While all the information for independent reading is found in the Small Group Reading Guide, it does not explain when this should occur in or outside of the classroom nor for how long each day. There is no recording device provided nor accountability for how much students read or how well students read.
The Teacher’s Edition provides a basic independent reading routine but is not specific. It suggests that teachers select topics and provide a rich collection of books to choose from, though teachers need to select these books. Recommended Books for each unit are listed in the Teacher’s Edition and are identified by fiction and nonfiction, and are connected to the overall unit and topic/theme. It is suggested that the books include known texts, classroom favorites, and picture books. Students should be supported in selecting their books of interest for independent reading according to the Teacher’s Edition, but how a teacher should do this is not explicitly stated. After independent reading, students should share their reading experiences and summarize what they read. Teachers are encouraged to extend the independent reading by giving extension activities such as drawing a picture related to the book or writing a short play based on the book.