KIndergarten Unit Seven

Kindergarten
Pacing Guides:
Unit Seven Support

Extending Readerly and Writerly Life

As educators, we realize that one of the unique challenges is that many of the children we teach do not see themselves as readers and writers beyond the walls of our classrooms. The primary purpose of this unit is to allow teachers to draw their year to a close in a way that allows children to celebrate their successes as readers and writers while at the same time encourages them to look closely at ways to be ‘real readers and writers’ in their lives beyond the school day and into the summer. Closure for the school year will include the completion of some end-of-year assessments with an ongoing emphasis on enjoying our lives as readers and writers! Kindergarten readers and writers will be encouraged to envision themselves as first grade readers and writers.

District Provided Resources/Materials:
Big Books
Classroom Libraries
Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists (A reference tool for word study K-12)

Suggested Professional Reading Online:
http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/pdf_files/morningmeeting/8909over.pdf (An overview of Morning Meeting from the book by the same name)
http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/pdf_files/rc_fact_sheet.pdf (Article: Creating Safe, Challenging and Joyful Elementary Classrooms and schools
http://www.cylc.org/nylc/fuel/ (Website of the authors of The Daily Five--membership fee required)
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/ (Free newsletter, partial access without membership fee)

Suggested Professional Reading Offline:

Helpful Web Resources:
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems16.html (Poems, songs & fingerplays to celebrate spring)
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems6.html (Poems, songs & fingerplays to celebrate summer)
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-rhymes.htm (Fingerplays, action poems, nursery rhymes & songs)
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/transition-rhymes.htm (Transition time fingerplays, poetry & songs)
http://www.kididdles.com/ (Online lyrics to 100’s of familiar children’s music, organized thematically and alphabetically
http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/songs/alphlist.html (Mrs. Jones Sing Along Songs for darned near everything you can think of)
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-ch1.html (Jim Trelease on why reading aloud matters--something you may want to share with parents)

Books About Summer and Ending the School Year:
The Night Before Summer Vacation (Katie Davis)
Last Day Blues (Julie Danneberg)
When It’s The Last Day of School (Maribeth Boelts)
No More Pencils, No More Books, No More Teacher’s Dirty Looks (Diane DeGroat)
Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the Last Day of Kindergarten (Joseph Slate)
Carl’s Summer Vacation (Alexandra Day)

Books About Starting First Grade
First Grade, Here I Come (Nancy Carlson)
Ramona the Brave (Beverly Cleary)
Junie B. Jones, First Grader at Last (Barbara Park)

Assessments (A star indicates a required assessment):
DRA2 Reading Assessment
TCSD No Excuse Checklist
TCSD Chunk Checklist
Please See Assessment Calendar
for Assessment Window and Collection Deadlines !