Kindergarten - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for anchor texts (including read aloud texts in K-2 and shared reading texts in Grade 2 used to build knowledge and vocabulary) are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading/listening and consider a range of student interests.

Materials include Read with Me Big Books and Read Aloud Trade Books that are worthy of careful reading. Many of the texts are engaging and represent a wide range of cultures. Through the read alouds, students gain knowledge as well as literary skills, making them worthy of careful listening.

Examples of texts included in the Kindergarten material that are of varying degrees of worthiness include:

• In Unit 1, students hear the book Come with Me to School by Olga Romero, which is a big book filled with simple songs and poems. The text has bright illustrations that show the parts of the narrators’ classroom and explains the things students do in school.
• In Unit 2, students read a folktale called The Creaky Bed, but no author is provided. The story is engaging and age-appropriate and the teacher is instructed to read with different voices for the various animal characters. Students also listen to Goldilocks and the Bear Family, which is a classic fairy tale.
• In Unit 3, students listen to the big book, Honza’s Little House, a folktale about a farmer and the animals moving into his home. While the illustrations are colorful, the teacher is instructed to change voices to the character, without attention being given to the text. Students also listen to Sofia and the Sunflower, which is a fairy tale retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk and helps students understand the fairy tale genre.
• In Unit 4, students listen to the classic folktale, The Little Red Hen.
• In Unit 5, students listen to an informational text that is relevant and interesting to their age called How to Grow a Garden.
• In Unit 6, students hear a story called The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom, which introduces four-wheeled vehicles but without character development or plot development. The text is simple and the illustrations are colorful.
• In Unit 7, students read The Apple Dumpling by Rowan Sellers which is a photo essay and includes questions and information about studying animals.
• In Unit 8, students hear a lullaby called “The Night is Singing” by Jacqueline Davies.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level. The whole group and read aloud texts include a mix of nonfiction and fictional texts with a variety of genres including folktales, scientific texts, articles, poems, and songs. Students are exposed to various texts throughout the program.

Examples of fictional texts throughout the curriculum include:

• Unit 1: “Mary Wore a Red Dress”- Song
• Unit 2: “Families, Families”- Song
• Unit 3: The Tale of the Three Little Pigs- Folktale
• Unit 4: The Four Friends- Folktale
• Unit 5: The Evergreen Tree- Story
• Unit 6: City Cat, Country Cat- Fable
• Unit 7: The Builder and the Oni- Folktale
• Unit 8: The Night is Singing - Story
• Unit 9: “Now I am Ready”- Poem

Examples of informational texts throughout the curriculum include:

• Unit 1: My School Day by Lee Scott- Big Book
• Unit 2: Families by Cory Phillips- Big Book
• Unit 3: "Amazing Animal Facts"- Informational Article
• Unit 4: "How to Grow a Garden"- Informational Article
• Unit 5: Winter Everywhere- Nonfiction Opinion
• Unit 7: “Help Wanted”- Informational Article
• Unit 9: “My School Map”- Map

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for texts (including read-aloud texts and some shared reading texts used to build knowledge and vocabulary) have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade level according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and a relationship to their associated student task. Read-aloud texts at K-2 are above the complexity levels of what most students can read independently.

Students listen to read alouds from the Read with Me Big Books and Read Aloud Trade Books. Leveled books are used for Small Group Instruction. One read-aloud book is chosen each week relating to the concept of the unit provided. According to the publisher, the books provide more challenging vocabulary and concepts than students can read independently.

Examples of texts read aloud to students and their qualitative complexity include:

• In Unit 1, students hear the poem, "We Always," which is labeled qualitatively low. In small groups, one text read with students is The Night Before Kindergarten, which has a 570L.
• In Unit 2, one text students hear is The Creaky Bed, which is labeled qualitatively middle low. One of the small group texts is Fred Stays with Me, which has a 430L.
• In Unit 3, students hear the text, Amazing Animal Fact, which is labeled qualitatively middle low. In a small group, students read Seven Hungry Babies, which has a 460L.
• In Unit 4, students hear the text, The Four Friends, which is labeled qualitatively middle low.
• In Unit 5, all of the texts are labeled as qualitatively low or qualitatively middle low. One of the small group texts is Winter is the Warmest Season, which has a 480L.
• In Unit 6, students hear the text, Stone Soup, which is labeled qualitatively middle low.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that anchor and support materials for the core text(s) provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year.

Throughout the year, students engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines as well as a volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading proficiency. Throughout the week, students hear a read aloud and participate in small reading groups. There are also learning stations that students go to where students may listen to a text, read a text in unison with a group of other students, or read with a partner.  Students also read independently at various times throughout the week.

In addition, students are exposed to a broad range of text types and disciplines throughout the year during read alouds, small groups, learning centers, and independent reading. Units have a shared reading and a close reading pairing each week with additional supplemental texts. There are also leveled readers related to the topic of each unit for small group and independent reading.

Below are examples of the various disciplines a student might listen to in various units throughout the Kindergarten materials:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, during shared reading students hear the poem, "What Families Do"; during close reading students hear the photo book, Gio and His Family by George Ancona; and students read a recipe as a supplemental text, "Tasty Treat" by Kristin Cozort.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, during shared reading students hear the folktale, The Donut by Lada Josefa Kratky; during close reading they hear the story, Feast for Ten by Cathryn Falwell; and students read poem as a supplemental text, "Mix a Pancake" by Christina Rossetti.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students hear the folktale, The Little Red Hen; during shared reading students close read the story, Just One Seed by Alma Flor, and the poem, "Seeds" by Douglas Florian.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, during shared reading students hear the informational text, Amazing Bugs!; during shared reading students close read a photo essay, Garden Helpers by Sarah Chauhan; and students read the supplemental text, Hurt No Living Thing by Christina Rossetti.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, during shared reading students hear the story, A Home for Silly Bear; students close read the fable, City Cat, Country Cat by Julius Fester; and students read another fable as a supplemental text, Race Day by Hector Ramirez.
• In Unit 6, Week 4, during shared reading students hear the folktale, Stone Soup by Gabriel Setoun; students close read the story, Bear About Town by Stella Blackstone; and students read a song as the supplemental text, "The Bear Went over the Mountain."
• In Unit 8, Week 3, during shared reading students hear the folkstale, How Day and Night were Divided; students close read the folktale, The Story of the Sun and the Moon by Ken Nesbitt, and the poem, "My Shadow" by Robert Louis Stevenson.
• In Unit 8, Week 4, during shared reading students hear the folktale, Fox, Mole, and the Moon; during close reading students read the folktale, Why Sun and Moon Live in the Sky, and the poem, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." 

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-based, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

The materials throughout the program include opportunities for students to discuss the text by being asked text-dependent and text-specific questions. Students answer specific questions related to the text and, at times, answer retell questions. Students often must refer to the text to answer questions.

Examples of text-dependent questions found throughout the program include:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students hear the big book, Come to School with Me, and after the second read, the teacher asks the students what the boy and the other children do at the beginning of the school day.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, students hear the big book, Feast for 10, and students are asked recall questions such as what happens first in the story and what happens next in the story.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, students hear the story, Rooster’s Big Job, and begin analyzing characters. They are told that the most important characters often do the most talking in a story and are then asked which character does the most talking in this story. Students are also asked what lesson the rooster learned in this fable.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, students hear "Amazing Bugs," and then are asked what the topic of the article is and to identify the main idea. Students identify the main idea of the individual sections and identify a detail that tells about the main idea.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, students hear Winter Everywhere, and after the second read, they are asked how winter is different in Alaska and Florida and what is one way that winter in Florida is the same as in all the other states.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, hear the big book, The Bus for Us, and are asked to retell what they read by identifying what happens first, next, and at the end of the story.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, students hear the big book, Career Day, and after the second read, students are asked what job Mrs. Madoff does, where she does her job, and how a teacher’s job is similar to a principal’s job.
• In Unit 8, Week 4, students hear Fox, Mole, and the Moon, and students are asked after the second read why Fox and Mole have to wait until the moon gets thin to tie a rope around it and where the mole lives today.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, students hear Much to Learn and are asked how the hawk grabs the mouse.  

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

The materials provide practices and protocols for opportunities to discuss and interact with the curriculum content and vocabulary. The Best Practices Routines, which are the speaking and listening protocols, are located in the front of the Teacher Guide. There are protocols for partner discussions, group conversations, and presentations. Clear directions and protocols are provided and supported by the Academic Talk Flip Chart. Group conversations are scaffolded with roles that are clearly defined and supported with sentence stems to help students fulfill their role in the discussion.

The partner discussion protocol includes sentences stems and opportunities for each partner to talk. The group conversation protocol includes roles for each student including a facilitator, encourager, timekeeper, and note taker. There are also sentence stems to help students with the discussion. At the end of the discussion, the class comes back together and a few students share what their groups discussed.

The presentation protocols are outlines for students and include criteria such as stand up tall, speak clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear, and introduce the presentation. The protocol also includes directions for listeners and includes listen attentively, ask questions if you do not understand something, and make eye contact. The Cooperative Learning suggestions in the text also provide support for partner and group discussion configurations that can be used with the protocols.

Examples of opportunities for evidence-based discussions include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, students review the book, My School Day, and revisit the Big Question, "What happens at school?" Students form three groups and each group is assigned one of the Key Words: learns, share, and friend. Groups gather to discuss the Big Book and the Big Question. Students then apply the Key Word for their group to school and then the students come together to share their ideas.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 1, students review how trees change with the seasons. The teacher guides students through a discussion of other changes that occur during seasons (e.g., air temperature, precipitation, etc.) using vocabulary words including hot, cold, cool, etc. The students do a Pair and Share to discuss their findings and then to share out with the larger group. However, there is no protocol for this routine.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 4 in the whole-class setting, the teacher reminds the student of the Big Question for the week, “What do we learn at school?” and uses sentence frames to help students make statements about what they have learned from the text and activities. Then, the students do a Turn and Talk using the sentence frames. The teacher calls on a few of the pairs to share what they have created with the frames.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

Materials include multiple opportunities for both on-demand and process writing tasks that span the year’s worth of instruction. In each lesson, students write either in response to the text or use the text as a model and there are also process writing tasks that take place on the fifth day of the week and span for three weeks. In kindergarten, students often draw first and then either write themselves or dictate the sentences to an adult.

Examples of opportunities for students to participate in on-demand writing throughout the week include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 4, students draw pictures to show different activities in the classroom and then label their pictures with the time of the day. Then students share their drawings, order the activities, and create a class book.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 2, students draw and then write or dictate sentences about characters in the read-aloud, There’s a Billy Goat in the Garden.
• In Unit 5, Week 4, Day 1, students draw a picture from the poem, “Jack Frost,” and then write a sentence about it.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 2, students choose a tool they read about in the book, Tools, and draw a picture of it. They then write the name of the tool to label their tool.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 4, students work with the teacher to brainstorm words that describe the sun based on the story they heard in class. They then write about the sun, using one or more of the words on the list.

Examples of Process Writing opportunities where students participate in longer writing projects over the course of several weeks to help them understand the writing process include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, students begin a three-week project on writing a narrative. The first week they decide on which family activity they are going to write about and plan what happens first, next, and last. Then the second week, students make their writing even better by adding or changing words. In the final week, students publish their writing.
• In Unit 4, Week 2, students are introduced to a three-week writing project on plants. In the first week, students choose a plan and write facts about it. In the second week, they revise and edit their writing, and in the final week, they will publish their writing.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, students learn how to revise an opinion writing piece they started earlier in the unit. The teacher models how to revise and then students revise and edit their work.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials including regular opportunities for evidence-based writing to support recall of information, opinions with reasons, and relevant information appropriate for the grade level.

Throughout the Kindergarten materials, students have an opportunity to draw or write about the text that they listened to or the text that they read. In the beginning units, there is less of this, but after the first few units, students have multiple opportunities to write each week about the stories they are listening to in class.

Examples of this include:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, students write about their favorite thing that the boy does in My School Day.
• In Unit 2, Week 4, students choose a character from The Creaky Bed and then draws a picture to show how the character feels in the story and then writes a sentences or dictates a sentence about how the character feels.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, students draw their character and then complete a sentence frame to tell about the character.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students write a cause and effect sentence about the story, The Four Friends, and draw a picture of it.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, students draw a tree in one of the seasons in The Evergreen and write in the sentence frame, "This is a tree in _______."
• In Unit 6, Week 2, students revisit the story, The Apple Dumpling, and fill in the sentence, “The old woman trades ______ for _______."
• In Unit 7, Week 1, students think about the bridge in The Builder and the Oni and then complete the sentence, "The bridge is _________.”
• In Unit 8, Week 2, students choose a meeting between the main character, Henny Penny, and a secondary character and draw a picture about the meeting with a sentence about what happens.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, students write a sentence about their favorite page in the book and draw a picture of what happened.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

In each week of each unit, there is a five-day grammar lesson sequence. On Day 4 of each instructional sequence, there is a Vocabulary and Grammar focus for instruction that teaches about nouns, verbs, prepositions, and the components of a complete sentence. Writing is included daily. While this component mostly focuses on the writing process, capitalization and ending punctuation is reviewed during publishing.

Students have opportunities to print many upper- and lowercase letters. For example:

• In Unit 1, T62, the teacher is directed to use Scripts for Letter Formation and the backcover of Alphachant Mm to model forming the letter M and m. Students follow along and trace the letters. There are additional practice pages for students to complete.

Students have opportunities to use frequently occurring nouns and verbs. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 4, the teacher explains that words that name things are called nouns. The teacher uses Vocabulary Builder and Manipulatives to develop the students understanding of a noun. Using a sentence frame, the students create sentences that include nouns. Students then complete a Master Practice page for more practice.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher explains that fix is an action word, or verb, and that an action word tells about what a person does. The teacher presents several examples of verbs that are similar in meeting. Students then complete a Practice Master page to practice verbs and shades of meeting.

Students have opportunities to form regular plural nouns orally by adding -s or -es. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 4, students learn how to make nouns show more than one. The teacher displays the Vocabulary Builder and Manipulatives Set. The teacher holds up the salad and uses a self stick note to add an -s to the end to make the word salads and -es to the end of sandwich to make the word sandwiches. The teacher explains that -s and -es can be added to the end of words to make them mean more than one. Students complete the Practice Master for more practice.

Students have opportunities to understand and use question words (interrogatives). For example:

• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher introduces the Big Question for the unit: "What jobs can people do?" The teacher creates a concept web about jobs and writes a question that will be the focus for each week: "How do people work? What different jobs do people have? How do people use tools to do work? How do people work together?"

Students have opportunities to use the most frequently occurring prepositions. For example:

• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 4, the teacher explains the function of prepositions while pointing them out during a Big Book read aloud. Students are asked to look at the pictures and to give a sentences that tells where, using a preposition. Children interview a partner and the partner uses a sentence frame that requires the use of preposition.

Students have opportunities to produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities. For example:

• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 4, T78, the teacher explains that there is a naming part and a telling part in each sentence. Students identify phrases that are not complete sentences and turn them into complete sentences by adding either a naming or telling part. The teacher provides a sentence frame and modeling to scaffold.

Students have opportunities to capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun, I. For example:

• In Unit 5, Week 4, Day 5, students publish an opinion piece of writing. The teacher reminds the students to use a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence.

Students have opportunities to recognize and name end punctuation. For example:

• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 1, students use word cards and punctuation cards to build sentences.

Students have opportunities to write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, students spell s. The teacher says a word that begins with /s/. The teacher segments the onset and rime and asks students to identify the letter card that makes the sound of the initial sound. The students write the letter on their wipe boards.

Students have opportunities to spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships. For example:

• In Unit 8, Week 4, Day 3, the teacher says the word robe and the students repeat it. The teacher segments the sounds. The students identify the sounds in the words and matches them to the appropriate letter card. The students write the word on the wipe board. The activity is repeated for the words home, joke, and rope.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials, questions, and tasks directly teach foundational skills to build reading acquisition by providing systematic and explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle, letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, and phonological awareness (K-1), and phonics (K-2) that demonstrate a transparent and research-based progression for application both in and out of context.

Kindergarten materials contain opportunities for students to learn Kindergarten phonological awareness and phonics. Within the materials there are routines for phonological awareness, dictation, and decoding. Phonological Awareness is practiced during Days 1-4 during Learn Sounds, Letters, and Words for five minutes per day, which contains twelve routines for phonological awareness.

Students have frequent and adequate opportunities to learn and understand phonemes (e.g. produce rhyming words, segment syllables, blend onsets and rimes, pronounce vowels in CVC words, and substitute sounds to make new words). For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, students listen to a sentence, "We are at school." The teacher repeats the sentence and claps at each word. Students say the sentence and clap each word with the teacher.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher states, “I will say two words. Listen to the sound at the beginning of each word. If the beginning sound of each word is the same, give me a thumbs-up sign.” The teacher says the following combinations: rule/time, desk/dig, milk/bed, pet/pal, lunch/date, mud/met, table/write, match/mint.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher reviews the letter a and the sound that a makes at the beginning of the word apple. The students then identify which of the given picture card names begin with the /a/ sound using a thumbs up.

Lessons and activities provide students adequate opportunities to learn grade-level phonics skills while decoding words (e.g. one-to-one correspondences, long and short sounds with common spellings, and distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying sounds of the letters). For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher uses the Decoding Routine 1 to teach the sound and letter m. The teacher introduces the sound with words that begin with m. The teacher has students listen for words that start with m. The teacher displays the Sound/Spelling Card 2.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher uses the Decoding Routine 2 to blend words with short /a/. Word builder cards are used to spell am. Students are directed to say the first letter sound, then the second letter sound and then blend them to read the word. The activity is repeated with the following words: at, Sam, pat, cat, cap, tap, sat, map

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction to build toward application. For example:

• In Unit 1, students learn to match beginning sounds.
• In Unit 2, students learn to match beginning sounds, recognize rhyme, identify and isolate beginning sounds, generate rhyming words, and pronounce syllables in spoken words.
• In Unit 3, students learn to match final sounds, count syllables, segment syllables, blend onset and rime, and identify and isolate final sounds.
• In Unit 4, students learn to match middle sounds, blend sounds, identify and isolate middle sounds.
• In Unit 5, students learn to identify and isolate middle sounds, segment sounds, identify and isolate beginning and final sounds, add beginning sounds.
• In Unit 6, students learn to substitute final sounds, identify and isolate beginning and final sound, blend sounds and segment sounds.
• In Unit 7, students learn to substitute middle sounds, add final sounds, match and isolate middle sounds, substitute beginning and final sounds, blend sounds, add beginning sounds, and segment sounds.
• In Unit 8, students learn to substitute middle sounds, segment sounds, match and isolate middle sounds, match and isolate beginning and final sounds, add final sounds.
• In Unit 9, students learn to match and isolate middle sounds, match and isolate final sounds, segment sounds, substitute final sounds.

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonics instruction to build toward application. For example:

• In Unit 1, students learn the sound and letter /m/m.
• In Unit 2, students learn the sound and letter /s/s, blend and spell words with /s/s, the sound and letter /t/t, blend and spell words with /t/t, the sound and letter /p/p, blend and spell words with /p/p, the sound and letter /k/c, and blend and spell words with /k/c.
• In Unit 3, students learn to blend, read, and spell words with /a/, learn the sound for and letter /n/n, blend, read, and spell words with n, learn the sound and letter /h/h, blend, read, and spell words with h, learn sound and letter /r/r, blend, read, and spell words with r.
• In Unit 4, students learn the sound and letter /i/i, blend, read, and spell words with /i/i, learn sound letter /f/f, blend, read, and spell words with /f/f, learn sound and letter /g/g, blend, read, and spell words with /g/g, learn sound and letter /b/b, blend, read, and spell words with /b/b.
• In Unit 5, students learn the sound and letter /o/o, blend, read, and spell words with /o/o, learn the sound and letter /l/l, blend, read, and spell words with /l/l, learn the sound and letter /d/d, blend, read, and spell words with /d/d, learn the sound and letter /v/v, blend, read, and spell words with /v/v.
• In Unit 6, students learn the sound and letter /e/e, blend, read, and spell words with /e/e, the sound and letter /j/j, blend, read, and spell words with /j/j, the sound and letter /w/w, blend, read, and spell words with /w/w, the sound and letter /k/k, blend, read, and spell words with /k/k.
• In Unit 7, students learn the sound and letter /u/u, blend, read, and spell words with /u/u, students learn the sound and letter /y/y, blend, read, and spell words with /y/y, students learn the sound and letter /z/z, blend, read, and spell words with /z/z, students learn the sound and letter /kw/qu, /ks/x, blend, read, and spell words with /kw/qu, /ks/x.
• In Unit 8, students learn the sound and letter long /a/a_e, blend, read, and spell word with long /a/a_e,  the sound and letter long /i/i_e, blend, read, and spell word with long /i/i_e, the sound and letter long /o/o_e, blend, read, and spell word with long /o/o_e.
• In Unit 9, students learn the sound and letter long /yoo/u_e, blend, read, and spell word with long /e/e_e,  /e/e_e.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials, questions, and tasks provide explicit instruction for and regular practice to address the acquisition of print concepts, including alphabetic knowledge and directionality (K-1), structures and features of text (1-2).

Kindergarten materials contain opportunities throughout the school year for students to learn and practice concepts of print. Concepts of print such as directionality and letter spacing are addressed during the reading of decodable text. Opportunities to learn letter identification and letter formation are addressed during Learn Sounds, Letters, and Words.

Materials include frequent and adequate lessons and multimodal activities for students to learn how to identify and produce letters. There are scripts in the Best Practices section for teaching students how to write all 52 letters. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher displays eVisual 1.1 and sings “The Alphabet Song” while pointing to the letters. The teacher shares the Phonics Picture Cards for students to name the letters of the alphabet. Students participate in a letter chant when they find a partner with the same letter from PM1.1.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher and students sing “The Alphabet Song” and then students are placed into small groups to alphabetize the letters they have.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher shows Alphachant Ss and identifies the capital S and lowercase s. Students find and point to the letter s. On Day 2, students learn the letter formation for Ss.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 2, students learn to identify and write Hh. Students who have difficulty forming the letters are to practice writing the letters by dipping a finger in water and writing on the chalkboard.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 2, students learn to identify and write Ii. Students who have difficulty forming the letters are to practice writing the letters by dipping a finger in finger paint and writing on paper.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher shows Alphachant Jj and identifies the capital J and lowercase j. Students find and point to the letter j. On Day 2, students learn the letter formation for Jj.
• In Week 6, Week 4, Day 1, the teacher shows Alphachant Kk and identifies the capital K and lowercase k. Students find and point to the letter k. On Day 2, students learn the letter formation for Kk.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher shows Alphachant Zz and identifies the capital Z and lowercase z. Students find and point to the letter z. On Day 2, students learn the letter formation for Zz.

Materials include frequent and adequate tasks and questions about the organization of print concepts (e.g. follow words left to right, spoken words correlate sequences of letters, letter spacing, upper- and lowercase letters).

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, students learn book handling skills. With a partner, students Turn and Talk to show each other how to handle the book.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, students receive letter cards and the teacher asks students to identify various letters.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 4, the students find the book cover, title, and title page. The teacher uses page 2 of See to show pictures and words.
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 4, students learn about directionality using a text called Tap, Nan, Tap!. The teacher shows how to track print from left to right and how to make a return sweep to the next line. The teacher asks, “Where will you begin reading? Show how you will read the words on page 3.”
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 4, students learn to recognize words and spaces between words. Students are directed to put a finger at the beginning and end of words. The teacher then asks, “What comes right after the word Look, before the next word?” Students identify a space.
• In Unit 6, Week 4, Day 4, the teacher demonstrates how to open the book shows directionality. Students track the print as the teacher reads aloud. The teacher reminds students to track print as they read on their own.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 4, students point to the book cover and title. The teacher asks students how many words are in the title.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks providing systematic and explicit instruction in and practice of word recognition and analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.

The materials include opportunities for students to read and write words based on a word pattern. Students read pre-decodable (Unit 1 and Unit 2) and decodable texts that focus on the word pattern each week. Students also read and write high-frequency words. Students read decodable texts that contain high-frequency words.

Materials support students’ development to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills (e.g. one-to-one correspondences, syllable segmentation, rime and onset recognition, long and short sounds with common spellings and distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying sounds of the letters) in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher uses the decodable text, Mmmmm!, to do a shared reading. While reviewing the text, the teacher asks students to identify the capital M and lowercase m. Students point to the m and say /m/. Students whisper read the text and then read the text with a partner.
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher uses Alphachant Mm with students. The teacher reads the text, and students find the letter m in the text.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 4, the students whisper read the decodable book, What Is It?. The decodable book includes the high-frequency word, what, that was instructed in this five-day instructional sequence along with the phonics focus of blending words with l.

Materials provide frequent opportunities to read high-frequency words in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 4, the students whisper read the decodable book, Look!. The decodable book includes the high-frequency word, look, that was instructed in this five-day instructional sequence. The teacher monitors and listens for miscues. The teacher prompts for self-correction and uses corrective feedback for students that do not self-correct.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 2, the students review the high-frequency word, are, and chant a rhyme that spells the word are. Students then complete an assignment that includes reading sentences with the word, are.

Lessons and activities provide students many opportunities to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills while encoding (writing) in context and decoding words (reading) in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 3, students spell words with n. The teacher says the word an and the students repeat it.  The teacher segments the sounds. The students identify the first sound and match the sound to the letter.  The students write the word on their wipe boards. The activity is repeated for nap, can, pan.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, in the Reading and Writing Learning Station students partner read On Your Own Book 8, Tap, Nap, Tap! Then the students go through the book and list all the words that begin with the letter n.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, in the Reading and Writing Learning Station students build words with u using magnetic letters. Students write each new word on an index card.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials supporting ongoing and frequent assessment to determine student mastery and inform meaningful differentiation of foundational skills, including a clear and specific protocol as to how students performing below standard on these assessments will be supported.

The Kindergarten materials include assessments that monitor progress and inform instruction throughout the year with formative, interim, and summative assessment tools that include assessment of foundational skills. Reading Placement test assesses student reading level and places students in the appropriate leveled books. The Assessment Handbook includes Weekly Tests and Unit Tests that assess skills taught throughout the unit, including foundational skills. Embedded assessment informs instruction at point of use and then provides the appropriate instructional routine for any reteach that may be needed. Reach into Phonics Foundations Diagnostic Assessments have both a Beginning of the Year and Mid Year Assessment. The Beginning of the Year Assessment is used to identify students in need of intervention. The Mid Year Assessment is used to measure growth and also to identify students that have not yet mastered certain foundational skills.

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 2, T63, there is a Check and Reteach formative assessment that assesses students’ ability to associate the sound and letter m and to read the high-frequency word a. Students read the word a as it is displayed in a pocket chart. Then the students are to choose a word that begins with the m from a group of cards with several distractor cards. The card is placed next to the word a. Students read the phrase aloud and complete the sentence orally.
• In the Reach in Phonics Foundations Teacher Guide, A1, Assessment Overview, an assessment chart indicates Diagnostic Assessments for foundational skills (Concepts of Print, Phonological Awareness, Letter-Sound Correspondence, Dictation, High Frequency Words, Phonics, and Fluency. The Reading Progress Assessments include Decoding, High Frequency Words, Accuracy, Rate, and Expression.
• In the Reach in Phonics Foundations Teacher Guide, A2, Assessment Overview, an assessment schedule is included that indicates which of the Diagnostic Assessments to Administer at the Beginning, Middle and End of Year.
• In Unit 8, T348, a Foundational Skills Test assesses the Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Spelling, and High Frequency Words that were taught during the unit. Reteach and Practice resources anad routines are listed as a reference for teachers.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks providing high-quality lessons and activities that allow for differentiation of foundational skills, so all students achieve mastery of foundational skills.  

Each unit includes reteaching lessons in the area of phonological awareness, phonics, concepts of print, and high-frequency words. Teachers are directed to these lessons after administering the informal assessment, Check and Reteach. Each week also includes leveled readers for teachers to use in small group differentiated lessons. Additional teaching strategies are listed for students with specific needs and below level. The differentiation routines stay the same within each unit across the year. 

An example of the differentiation routine includes: 

• In Unit 3, Week 1, the materials contain a Reteaching section for Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Concepts of Print, Comprehension, High Frequency Words.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher is directed to use Decoding Routine 3 to reteach vowel-first blending with children that are having difficulty with sound-by-sound blending.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher is directed to use the Reteach lessons on T11 for any student having reading high-frequency words or decoding.
• In Unit 3, page LR2, there are Leveled Reader, Reading Routines that include 4 weeks of level text. There is a book for Below Level students, On Level students, and Above Level students.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Day 4, there are differentiated strategies listed for students with Special Needs for middle sound identification and Below Level students for high-frequency words.