Literacy Matters
Core Knowledge Edition
Greetings Kindergarten and First Grade Teachers!
First, thank you for your continued efforts to provide quality literacy instruction to our kindergarten and first grade students every day. Your hard work and dedication are greatly appreciated as we all work together to implement new literacy resources for our students. Speaking of working together, we are excited to launch a newsletter with updates and information just for kindergarten and first grade teachers. Please review the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) updates and information below. Also, don’t forget to join the ELA Canvas course, so that you always have access to the latest information and updates. Enjoy the first edition of Literacy Matters for kindergarten and first grade teachers!
Wondering about Sight Words?
Have you been wondering about sight words instruction? What is important is not the sequence in which you teach high frequency words, but that children learn the words in the early grades. Click the link below to learn more about teaching sight words in CKLA.
I know what to teach, but where are the materials?
As of today, all kindergarten and first grade teachers should have the materials needed for the current units except the following items:
- Ox and Man big book needed for Kindergarten Lesson 13 in Skills Unit 5 (Delivery to schools will begin on Tuesday, January 16th which is prior to Lesson 13 according to GCS pacing.)
- Different Lands, Similar Stories flip book and image cards (Please see the Different Lands, Similar Stories Resources document for instructional resources to use until the flip book and image cards are delivered next week.)
If you are missing any other materials, please notify your CF.
Did someone say assessments?
This month includes a number of assessments for our students. Check out the CKLA/mClass assessment crosswalk below for more information about how our literacy curriculum aligns with DIBELS and TRC in kindergarten and first grades.
Remember the mClass assessments are meant to provide a temperature check for the progress students are making with literacy skills. The goal is not to teach to the assessments, but to provide quality instruction for students that leads to progress in literacy skills. Feel free to download the chart below for future reference.