Literacy Matters
CKLA Updates & Information
Greetings Kindergarten and First Grade Teachers!
Every day, we see teachers working hard to create strong literacy instruction for their young readers through CKLA. We recognize it’s tough to change programs and appreciate the ways folks are using their valuable prior experiences and background knowledge to enhance their literacy instruction. As we were in classrooms, the level of preparation, thoughtfulness of implementation, and vulnerability to be in the mode of a learner was inspirational to us, and we wanted to share a few highlights with you. Below are some shout-outs of just a few of the many great teachers and teams we saw as we coached in classrooms!
Shout-Outs!
General Greene: Shout-out to both teams at General Greene for working so hard to make CKLA the best it can be for their students. Ms. Canon on the Kindergarten team thought outside the box for her differentiated instruction time, and modified the independent group 1 activity so that students could complete it without any teacher support! What's great about this customization is that it keeps the purpose of the activity the same, but just makes it easier on everyone to complete. Awesome job!
Hunter Elementary: Shout-out to Jeanna Hawkins, Hunter Elem CF for working with her new and veteran teachers on internalization strategies, as evidenced by post-it notes and annotations in Anthologies and Teacher Guides, and seen in the comfort in delivering lessons. That type of planning frees up brain space for in-the-moment decisions that teachers have to make (about 1500 decisions per day!). Planning is an upfront investment in time well spent. Keep up the good work!
Southwest Elementary: Shout-out to Ms. Luchsinger in first grade, who read aloud “The Girl with the Red Slipper,” in such an animated way that her students were on the edge of their seats the entire time during Listening and Learning! Students were also really eager to make connections to the story of Cinderella which they read yesterday. Way to fuel that excitement for reading and connections, Ms. Luchsinger!
HELP! When will my students focus on writing?
As we dive into the many components of CKLA, it would be good to consider another resource that will help in preparing for writing instruction. The writing trajectory document provides a basic layout of where and when writing will be explicitly taught in a Skills unit or Listening and Learning domain. You can also look at the last column of the scope and sequence document to see writing lessons.
Finally! My kindergarteners have their own decodable reader. Now what?
These readers provide students opportunities to practice daily oral reading. Students can read independently or with a partner. Reading in assigned pairs provides each student the opportunity to spend almost half of the available time reading aloud. Use any combination of teacher modeling, choral or echo reading, partner reading, and small group work appropriate for your classroom. Readers are intended to be utilized even after a unit has been completed.
Grade 1- How can my students utilize the individual code charts?
The Vowel Code Flip Book is used in teaching the new vowel sound-spellings. The Spelling Cards are added to the Code Flip Books when the sound-spellings are taught. Students will also fill out their own Individual Code Charts. Students are highly encouraged to refer to the Individual Code Charts when reading and writing on their own or with a partner.
What's Next?
The key to blending sounds..... "t" does not say /tuh/
Kindergarten Skills Strand- Unit 6:
This unit is where each student will have their own decodable reader. The first 4 stories are very short and simple. The length and complexity of the stories will increase as students learn more letter-correspondences and strengthen their decoding skills. Even though students have their own readers, it is still vital for teachers to continue modeling reading behaviors and the reading process.
Tricky Spelling lessons are introduced in this unit. The purpose of these lessons is to make students aware of a particular tricky spelling and give them opportunities to practice sounding words out, trying different pronunciations. The first tricky spelling is taught in Unit 6, when students learn that ‘s’ is sometimes sounded /z/, as in is, his, and runs.
Kindergarten Listening and Learning- Domain 4:
This domain is a great way to get students outside to explore the plants, trees, and grass around them. There are several activities that encourages students to explore the plants around their school. If you have time, take a quick 5-7-minute trip outside after a read aloud to explore certain plants or trees on your campus.
1st Grade Skills- Unit 3:
In this unit, we begin formal instruction in the writing process by focusing on narrative writing. The first few lessons students will practice retelling a previously read story, incorporating key story features by identifying the setting, describing the characters, and then recounting a sequential series of events from the plot. Students then progress from writing a simple narrative retelling to writing a book report. All writing activities are presented in scaffolded steps, modeled first by the teacher with the group, followed by additional student practice. This process allows for a gradual release of responsibility, as students learn how to plan, draft, and edit pieces of writing.
1st Grade Listening and Learning- Domain 4:
This domain will introduce students to the development of early civilizations by examining the fundamental features of civilizations, including the advent of farming, establishment of cities and government, and creation of other practices, such as writing and religion. In the first two parts of the domain, the concept of religion (polytheism) in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt is introduced as one of the major forces shaping those civilizations. Teachers should not use lessons 13-16 at the end of the domain.