INSIDE THE CLASSROOM: ENGLISH

Maggie Tejada, Universal Literacy reading coach, P.S. 54, Bronx

Kindergarten students learn the alphabet and letter-sound correspondence, the sounds that letters and combination of letters make. They work on decoding strategies to break unknown words into syllables to “solve” them, and on phonemic awareness – listening to the sounds letters make.

They also develop a love for reading as they listen to stories and dive into non-fiction texts. By listening to stories multiple times, retelling these stories to their classmates, and participating in group discussions, they explore meaning and main ideas. By the end of kindergarten, we expect students to be able to read simple books and stories.

Meanwhile, they learn to write in different types of genres: narrative, opinion, and informational. They write stories, letters, and informational text – all with lots of support and guidance from their teacher.

Many kindergarten ELA lessons utilize the Venn diagram, a graphic organizer that helps students identify important elements in reading material. An informational book about the habitats of animals that live in the city can be the basis for such a lesson.

Before reading the book — “City Animals,” by Claire Llewelyn — aloud, I prompt the students with discussion questions: What are some animals that live in the city? What is a habitat? Have you noticed any animal habitats in the city? Which ones?

I listen to the students’ responses to determine how much they already know about this topic. Then I tailor a short explanation to the needs of the group to “front- load” the important vocabulary words they will need to understand t he reading.

For example, I may decide to introduce t he word “perch,” explaining that a perch is where a bird sits. I point out to the students that this is a word they can sound out on their own, because they have learned all the sounds that its letters make. I’ll often ask the students to turn and talk to a partner and try to decode this word. As they work, I circulate among the pairs and listen. I make sure to praise the students for their hard work at decoding, and point out to the class how certain pairs are sounding out each part of the word or blending it to say the whole word.

Now we are ready to read the book itself. I show the students the cover and tell them that, as I read, they will need to think about how these animals’ habitats are similar and different. I stop at the end of each page to ask the students what they have learned.

Afterward, the students work individually to compare and contrast two city animals. Then they share with their partner their animal comparison. At the end of this independent work time, the class comes together to admire each other’s work.