KinderLiteracy in ACTION!

I am so excited to be typing this post! If I am passionate about anything it’s – – teaching with a read aloud in hand!  There is just something about looking out over your carpet full of kiddos and seeing them engage with a book, get excited about so much they can hardly contain their answers, and truly have a passion for books!  I feel that the one thing that can stifle the kids love for learning- – is when their teachers lose a little of theirs!  That is where I found myself three years ago… I would read my teacher’s manual and ask the questions that were given to me but I was far from passionate about what was in front of me on those pages!  Thankfully we were blessed to be introduced to close reading and there…that day I regained my passion!

That day three years ago I immediately started to take books my kids LOVED and write close read plans… some of you might even own those very first plans I created with my fiction and nonfiction close reads…then my bundled close reads!  I taught those plans that year and the following year and continued to love on them more and more each week!  So much so that at our team planning we were constantly tweaking and deciding on additional things to add!  I realized this past spring that it was time to take those original close read plans and “beef them up!” I was tired of reinventing the wheel each week and hunting down additional ideas to bring into my classroom!  I wanted a COMPLETE-TEACHER CREATED-TEACHER TESTED-KID APPROVED curriculum… thus was born my sweet baby, KinderLiteracy!

I get a lot of questions from teachers that simply want to know what IS KinderLiteracy and they want to know how revitalize their whole-group reading to once again become passionate about teaching whole-group reading!

So, I am going to answer the above two stated questions briefly but then will let the lessons speak for themselves!  KinderLiteracy is a 35 week COMPLETE whole-group literacy program!  KinderLiteracy isn’t for small group or guided reading, but a reader’s workshop program where the teacher will lead the students in rich lessons using ONE main text throughout the entire week!  Why has KinderLiteracy brought the passion back for so many teachers? Well, I’ll let this teacher tell you why….

Oh, My, Goodness!!! This is the BEST RESOURCE I have EVER purchased! I love your Close Read Units and I wasn’t sure that I really needed all of this…but I was wrong. I NEED all of this! I love how you tied in a craft to each activity. And the Poetry. I am so excited about the poetry. I always say I need to do more poetry, but I always seem to let it slide. I love how you included cut up sentences with pictures for the poetry. I need to go buy some ink so I can start prepping this bad boy. It is EXACTLY what I needed. You are so talented. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

I really cannot put into words my love and desire to make a difference for students!  I am confident that actually being in the classroom and listening to how my students are responding to the units along with what teachers are saying/questioning/asking for…we are on the right path with KinderLiteracy!  I decided that I would step out of my comfort zone and truly stand behind my units since I am in the classroom and able to show you what a complete week of KinderLiteracy would look like in the classroom!  Now a couple disclaimers…let’s be teacher real…NO lesson is perfect!  There will always be more strategies and techniques to try!  So, I ask that you not judge the lessons upon that… trust me I am critical of myself -ha!  However, I ask that you look at each lesson and listen more to how the students are holding conversations and responding!  I apologize for obvious safety concerns you will only see me in the videos! After each video I will explain how that day of KinderLiteracy looks and after all the videos I’ll go more into the “behind the scenes” of KinderLiteracy!

Day one- Teacher immediately draws students in to the lessons by introducing the weekly theme, students turn and talk to discuss what they know about the theme, teacher charts their knowledge, teacher quickly introduces the skill-based essential question, teacher states the purpose of day 1 {listen for enjoyment}, teacher reads the texts, students turn and talk about new knowledge they gained from the text, teacher charts additional information, students follow-up with a quick exit ticket. * *This will look slightly different for a fairy tale week* *

Day one’s lesson takes about 15-20 minutes!  I accidentally turned off the camera before explaining and releasing the kids back to their tables to do the day one follow-up practice sheet so this lesson was about 15 minutes total!  The BIG idea of day one is to draw in your little learners….get them EXCITED about the book!  Now with fairy tales this is a little different because you don’t have a “theme” as if you were doing apples or sharks!  If you’re afraid the kids will get “bored” each day from the same book- –  you will be so surprised!  They love it and eat it up….they get to become experts and they truly want to please!


Day two- Teacher revisits the weeks essential question, teacher reviews the knowledge that has been charted, teacher has students turn and talk to state something they learned the day before, teacher states purpose of day 2 {listen and help the teacher figure our unknown words}, teacher reads the text again stopping on the vocabulary words, teacher states definitions and/ or has students turn and talk to discuss their thoughts on the vocabulary words, teacher adds a motion to each vocabulary word, teacher reviews all vocabulary words with student motions, students follow-up with an exit ticket.
The BIG idea of day two is to 1) read the text again and 2) state to teach the kids about context clues and understanding unknown words 3) have students start to use the rich vocabulary in their everyday life! Below you can see the chart we made for The Three Bears!

To make days two and three more manageable for for rereading the pages specific for the vocabulary words or text-dependent questions I will tag them in the book using flags.  I will also highlight in my lesson plans which questions/vocabulary words I want to discuss whole-group and which I want to have the students turn and talk.

In my classroom I am able to make a large display for our vocabulary words!  The picture cards are part of KinderLiteracy so you’ll have those as well!

Below is a closer look of our follow-up exit ticket for day two! These are a quick way for students to show their understanding of the words introduced!

Day three– Teacher revisits essential question, teacher reviews vocabulary words with motions, teacher has students turn and talk to discuss previous learning, teacher states the purpose of day 3 {Think critically about questions from the text- – and use EVIDENCE}, teacher reads parts of the texts that lends to their text-dependent questions, students turn and talk to generate answers for text-dependent questions, students follow-up with practice sheet

The BIG idea of day three is to teach the students how to use the text to answer specific questions. You also want to teach them about using specific evidence from the text to support their answers.  How do we know that?  How did the author teach us that?  You will be able to relinquish more and more the kids as the year progresses!

Below is a closer look of the follow-up practice sheet we did with day!  I love these quick “assessments” of student learning!


Day four– Teacher revisits essential question, teacher has students turn and talk to discuss skill-based and life-based essential questions,  teacher reviews vocabulary words with motions, *if retell book students work with teacher to retell the story using story sequencing cards*, teacher reads an alternate text that links to the same theme, students turn and talk to discuss connections from the text, students follow-up with practice sheet.
Not seen in the video was after we had a quick brain break we followed up with the black line practice sheet for this book which was a sequence of events retell!

The BIG idea of day four is to review the learning that has taken place thus far in the week and bring in an alternate text of the same theme!
Below are the two texts I read for this week!  Each week of KinderLiteracy it is suggested you bring in two texts…with the text second being any book you have on hand that follows the same theme! 🙂

You wouldn’t believe me if I told you that on Friday one of my team teachers had to go home sick so I had 40 kindergartners for the morning HA!  So, I don’t have a video of day five, but day five is the wrap up and day and really the super fun day for the week!

Day five– Teacher revisits essential question, teacher has students turn and talk to discuss skill-based and life-based essential questions,  teacher reviews vocabulary words with motions, teacher leads a discussion for the week’s book/theme, students take weekly skill check, students create weekly craft

Below us a look at our retell craft for this week!  For the retell weeks we made retell sticks/crafts, but all weeks of KinderLiteracy have an included craft for the kiddos!

I really like the theme or close read in general to become a big part of our classroom each week so I am always sure to hang up our posters and post our crafts in the classroom or in the hallway!  I feel it makes the books even more meaningful as they become a part of our classroom!

I also wanted to briefly discuss this picture! During my close read lesson I like to utilize the information I have about the book around the classroom for the kiddos to see!  I think it’s so important that they understand the meaning behind what we have posted around our rooms! Although at this time they are not able to read it all themselves, they will soon enough!  You can see me reference the large vocabulary wall, posted essential questions, charter information, and the book that’s always available for the kiddos to look at in the front of our room!

Now that you’ve seen KinderLiteracy in action I think it’s important to discuss the nuts and bolts of the program!  I believe I have included any and everything you’ll need to teach a successful reading program!  I am also happy to make additions when teachers contact me with needs so they get added and you download them as well! I decided to do bullet points because well…we all like to read bullet points!

*KinderLiteracy is currently 35 weeks {but will grow} KinderLiteracy contains lessons for your whole-group close read, phonemic awareness, writing lesson plans, craft, skill check, weekly poem with retell pieces, vocabulary cards, practice sheets, skill check grade books, and editable files!


*KinderLiteracy is made up of 7 units which on focus on a certain skill for 4-6 weeks

*KinderLiteracy IS aligned to the standards

*KinderLiteracy contains a curriculum map for each unit like this one!
*KinderLiteracy comes with VERY detailed lesson plans for each week!  The lesson plans are on a two-page spread so you can easily place them into a binder and view the entire week!  They are easy to understand and teacher-friendly!  Each lesson plan will also detail the Unit big idea, Unit standard objective, weekly theme, close read texts, literacy Skill focus {standard based},essential questions, I can statements, comprehension strategy, story element, literacy standards, writing genre

If you have additional questions you can also view THIS post and THIS post!  You can of course also leave questions below and/or email me at ta******@ho*****.com!

As I mentioned above…I am passionate about close reads and now most excited for my KinderLiteracy program!  KinderLiteracy was not thought up in my head and then typed up and then placed on TpT.  It has all been kid tested in my room and I stand behind KinderLiteracy in the fact that since I am actually teaching KinderLiteracy I realize when extras need to be added or replaced…I listen to the teachers and make those adjustments as needed!  If you ever have questions about the units or if they would work for your class please let me know!  

Still not sure if KinderLiteracy is for you?  You can download a FREE week of KinderLiteracy HERE!  This will help you to see the “meat and potatoes” you get each week! 🙂

If you are using or your district is considering to implement the KinderLiteracy program I offer professional development!  I also special licensing for multiple teachers in a district. You can have your district contact me so we can discuss that further! 

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29 Comments

  2. Hey Tara !
    So I am in week six of Kinderliteracy … LOVING WHAT MY KIDS ARE DOING !!! Thank you so much for the 'completeness' of this material ! Right now I am printing one lesson ahead so I am SO looking forward to next year – pulling each week out and running with it ! I cannot say enough about this set of units … I've been teaching for 25 years and really think this is one of the best things I've come across !

  3. I am loving your plans and I was just saying last week that I should email and request to see a video or two of how you make it flow in your class. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you!

  5. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful I think this post is. I was glued to my computer screen watching . Very well done and so helpful. You are a talented teacher. I'm an old kindergarten teacher and learned some new tricks! Thank you! Have you ever seen/heard the Three Bears Rap? Your kids would love it. I'm a nobody in the teacher bloggy world, but I use my apron to sing the song with the same cards that you have for retelling the story. If you'd ever like to try one of my aprons, please let me know, I'd love to send you one for the kids!
    Thank you again for sharing this wonderful post!

  7. My first impression of Kinderliteracy is the lessons appear to be well thought out and engaging. I am very interested in your program. My question, because the weekly lessons are theme related, can the order of the weeks be rearranged to follow our own theme order or are the lessons systematically arranged and should not be changed?

  10. This is by far the best purchase I've made! If you are considering KinderLiteracy, but it! It is easy to use, but so powerful! Teaches the CCSS! Builds vocabulary, thinking skills, teaches students how to ask questions and respond to text dependent questions. Allows you to be flexible and make it work for your own teaching and classroom! LOVE it!!! Thanks to Tara for such an awesome product!

  13. Hi Tara, I just bought the KinderLiteracy unit, and have been working on getting it together this summer. Even though I have taught for 30 years, this will only be my 2nd year in kindergarten. The videos were so helpful, and got me even more excited about teaching these units. I teach in a tough urban district, and I am praying that using this way of teaching full group reading, will get the kids just as excited as I am. You are an amazing teacher!

  14. I need your advice: We hired a person to help us build curriculum. The teachers love your units but this is what the lady said that helps us:
    "We left the meeting agreeing that teachers would use the best parts of Kinder Literacy to get the year started, but it does not contain enough to be the sole curriculum, and that more instructional methods would need to be incorporated to provide young students with the skills and comprehension they need to get a strong start in the early grades. For K-1, it’s really about designing an early literacy curriculum that is incorporates the best of what the field has to offer across all of the ELA standards in a cohesive way. So it’s not about being interdisciplinary, really; it’s about being cohesive so learning makes sense for students. For example, if you are teaching nonfiction reading and writing, why would you not incorporate the science or social studies standards as the content? If you are teaching phonics, why would you teach a poem that does not have the rimes you are targeting and that is written at a high grade level? That’s what I’m trying to help teachers do. I’m trying to help them be good consumers of materials like Kinder Literacy and other things they find online, so they can use solid criteria for the instructional choices they make, rather that choose a program because it is convenient. I tried to model this for them when I examined Kinder Literacy in detail.

    Can you provide some advice?
    Thanks!

  15. I need your advice: We hired a person to help us build curriculum. The teachers love your units but this is what the lady said that helps us:
    "We left the meeting agreeing that teachers would use the best parts of Kinder Literacy to get the year started, but it does not contain enough to be the sole curriculum, and that more instructional methods would need to be incorporated to provide young students with the skills and comprehension they need to get a strong start in the early grades. For K-1, it’s really about designing an early literacy curriculum that is incorporates the best of what the field has to offer across all of the ELA standards in a cohesive way. So it’s not about being interdisciplinary, really; it’s about being cohesive so learning makes sense for students. For example, if you are teaching nonfiction reading and writing, why would you not incorporate the science or social studies standards as the content? If you are teaching phonics, why would you teach a poem that does not have the rimes you are targeting and that is written at a high grade level? That’s what I’m trying to help teachers do. I’m trying to help them be good consumers of materials like Kinder Literacy and other things they find online, so they can use solid criteria for the instructional choices they make, rather that choose a program because it is convenient. I tried to model this for them when I examined Kinder Literacy in detail.

    Can you provide some advice?
    Thanks!

  16. Hi Tara! I have to say watching you in action makes your KinderLiteracy come alive in my head! I keep thinking I am doing something "wrong" or question how my lesson was suppose to go.. but 'REWATCHING" helps me validate that I am okay and believe in what I am doing for these kiddos.. my husband calls me a prefectionist… I tell him I am a "reallyist" I REALLY want to make a difference for these kiddos! Thank you for all you do to support and help us teachers feel confident with what we do everyday! I love your products and one day hope to thank you in person!!

  17. Pingback: KinderLiteracy in Action: Dinosaurs!

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