Curriculum

Children will participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.For example, during a small group discussion about a story they read, children might take turns sharing their favorite parts, asking questions like, "Why did the character do that?" or "What do you think will happen next?"

Children will recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters. For example, they will understand that the word "cat" is made up of the letters C, A, and T. They will develop the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words through activities like saying the sounds aloud or using phonemic games, such as blending sounds together to form words, like /k/ /a/ /t/ to say "cat." This foundational skill supports their reading and writing development.

Children will appropriately use new vocabulary in their own speech. For example, during a group activity, they might point to a picture of a green frog and say, "Look at that frog!" or during playtime, they might use words like "I wear my blue shirt today!" They can practice using greetings by saying, "Hello, friends!" or talking about transportation by saying, "We go in a car!"

Children will follow agreed-upon rules for discussions, such as listening to others with care and speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion. For example, during a classroom discussion, children will practice waiting for their turn to speak by raising their hands and allowing their peers to finish before they respond. They might say, “I agree with what Maria said about the story,” demonstrating that they listened carefully.

Children will understand that words are separated by spaces in print. For example, during a reading activity, they will learn to identify where one word ends and another begins by pointing out spaces between words. They might practice this by reading simple sentences and saying, "I see spaces here, which means these are different words!" This helps them recognize the structure of written language and improves their reading comprehension.

Children will learn how to make requests and ask for permission using polite phrases. For example, they will practice saying phrases like "Can I please have a turn?" or "May I go to the bathroom?" Additionally, they will learn to give positive responses, such as "Yes, of course!" and negative responses, like "I'm sorry, not right now," in a respectful way during role-playing and interactive activities.

Children will build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. For example, if one child says, "I loved the way the main character helped his friend," another child might respond with, "Yes! That part made me feel happy," and then the first child can build on that by saying, "I liked it because it showed how important friendship is."

Children will recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet. For example, during a classroom activity, they might sing the alphabet song, point to letters on a chart, or play games where they match upper- and lowercase letters, such as finding and pairing "A" with "a."

Children will participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts.For example, they will engage in small group discussions about a story they read, sharing their thoughts and asking questions like, "What was your favorite part?" or "How do you think the character feels?"

Children will ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.For example, during a conversation about a story they just read, if a child hears a classmate mention a character they don't understand, they might ask, "Can you tell me who that character is?"