Frameworks and District Visits

My district has specific things they look for each and every time they come into our classrooms.  It seems like every year their focus changes (and it takes a while for the message to get sent down to the teachers).  This year their big focus is on posting our daily objectives.  These are taken from our standards and are written in "kid friendly" language.  Another thing they are focused on is "gift", great instruction the first time.  They are looking to see that our students are receiving that great instruction the first time, which in their mind would decrease the need for intervention.  One of the tools we are using this year is GLAD.  These strategies are really helping with student engagement and comprehension.

As we are looking toward next year, my district has already begun to focus on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  They are focusing primarily on grade levels K-1.  As we come back from Christmas break I have been chosen to help write our district kindergarten assessments for the new standards.  This will be interesting, in years past we have always done something out of the book, but for the next several years, our curriculum won't match up to our standards, we will have to align them ourselves.  It sounds like a lot of work.  I just hope as they continue to walk through our classrooms they can see we are moving toward the new standards. 

Literary Experiences

I believe literary experiences are more crucial to educating citizens.  Literary experiences are happening all the time in my classroom.  They are so important in Kindergarten.  For some of my students it my be the first time they have been read to or have held a book, so this is a huge learning experience.  Take for example what we did last week for science.  I read a book about pumpkins and then we carved a pumpkin open to see the seeds, then we had to have a pumpkin seed taste test and graph who liked them and who didn't and wrote about it.  The following day I read the book The Ugly Pumpkin, which is a book about a squash who thinks he is a pumpkin, but in the end finds out he is a squash.  (This is a great book to transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving.)  I was able to use real pumpkins and squash for my students to see the difference.  On Monday we are going to do a comparison chart of a pumpkin and a squish. 

I know my students learned so much information by reading the books and having the realia in front of them, instead of just going straight from a text book.  Lessons like these are the ones my students will remember for the rest of the year!