Kindergarten - Gateway 2
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Building Knowledge
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and TasksGateway 2 - Does Not Meet Expectations | 43% |
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Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks | 14 / 32 |
The instructional materials for Kindergarten do not meet the expectations of Gateway 2. Some texts are organized around topics. Materials contain few sets of questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. The materials do contain some sets of text-dependent questions and tasks; however, the questions and tasks do not require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts. Culminating tasks do not promote the building of students’ knowledge of the theme/topic. The materials include a year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words across texts throughout the year, however, it is not cohesive and the vocabulary does not connect across texts. Materials include some writing instruction aligned to the standards and shifts for the grade level, although teachers may need to supplement to ensure students are accessing end-of-year skills. The materials include little focused research skills practice. The materials partially meet the expectations for materials providing a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
Indicator 2a
Texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students knowledge and vocabulary which will over time support and help grow students' ability to comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.
Materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the expectations that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students’ knowledge and their ability to read and comprehend complex texts proficiently. Materials organize each unit by a broad, universal theme such as “Helping Hands,” and then each weekly lesson is centered around a knowledge building topic that supports the unit theme. Overall, the materials focus mostly on relationships, citizenship, science, and social studies topics. Within each weekly lesson, students will read multiple texts related to the lesson topic. The read-alouds, big books, paired selections, fluency charts, vocabulary readers, and guided readers are aligned to the lesson topic to support student comprehension of their reading as well as knowledge building.
Because the unit themes are broad, the lessons cover multiple topics in each unit. With the exception of Unit 2: Imagine It, the weekly lessons are linked to each other to help students extend their learning. Though all the lesson topics in Unit 2 are focused on teaching description (colors, sounds, movement, shapes), the lessons are chunked into topics that do not connect to each other. Unit 5, Lesson 24, does not align with other lessons or the unit theme “As We Grow” because it looks at how animals have various colors or can change like the chameleon, whereas the other four lessons in the unit are specifically about the growth of people, plants, animals, or relationships. Despite a few lessons that do not connect to others, the materials overall are organized and sequenced to help students develop knowledge, vocabulary, and literacy skills across the year beginning with a focus on introducing the school experience in Unit 1 to celebrating the school year and motivating students to persevere in Unit 6.
Below is a sample of unit themes and lesson topics:
- Unit 1: Helping Hands
- Lesson Topics: Families, Going to School, Pets, Jobs, and Helping
- Unit 2: Imagine It!
- Lesson Topics: The Five Senses, Sounds and Language, Ways to Move, Machines and Wheels, Using Shapes
- Unit 3: Nature’s Wonders
- Lesson Topics: Seasons, Weather, Animal Bodies, Animal Homes, Up in the Sky
- Unit 4: The World to Explore
- Lesson Topics: Testing Ideas, Nature All Around, Oceans and Waterways, Outdoor Adventures, Making Discoveries
- Unit 5: As We Grow
- Lesson Topics: Working Together, Growing Up, How Things Grow, Animal Colors, Growing Food
- Unit 6: Do Your Best
- Lesson Topics: Trying Your Best, Family Outings, Getting Help, Learning New Things, Good Neighbors
Indicator 2b
Materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.
Materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for containing sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. Lessons contain sets of questions and tasks that require students first to comprehend and then analyze the language, main ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. Over the course of the year, instructional materials grow in rigor. Students respond with pictures or discussion in the first few Units and build to creating sentence responses later in the year.
As students engage with texts, they work in a Reader’s Handbook which provides some opportunities throughout the year to record main ideas, details (evidence) or story structures. They may also draw or write about characters in the story. Students also work in a Writer’s Handbook to practice writing about the topics they study, these tasks are not text-dependent until Unit 6 in which they begin writing responses to literature, mainly the big books. These tasks are in addition to the lesson questions provided in the Teacher Edition.
Each core text (read-alouds, big books, and paired selections) is accompanied by a section titled “Think Through the Text” as stopping points for students to summarize what they are reading. “Think through the Text” sections contain questions that focus mostly on details and language in the text but may also ask students to make inferences based on what they read or see in pictures. These questions lead students to either a “Dig Deeper” or “Analyze the Text” section which is indicated by a red square in which students extend their thinking about the text; however, there is not a “Dig Deeper” section for all texts. Most of these questions are answered orally in whole group sessions until students build more writing capacity.
Examples of text-dependent questions that focus on language, key ideas, details, craft, structure provided in the teacher materials inlcude :
Unit 1, Lesson 1: Families-
- “Think Through the Text”questions - How can you tell the school is almost finished? Use the book’s words and pictures to help you answer. What have we learned so far about families in this book? What do the words say about how family members affect one another’s feelings?
- “Dig Deeper”/”Analyze the Text”- What is the main idea on these pages? Have children compare the poetry and the big book. How are they the alike or the same? How are they different?”
Unit 4 , Lesson 16: Testing Ideas
- “Think Through the Text”questions - What does Emily do after reading Mr. Blueberry’s letter? What information does Mr. Blueberry give Emily about whales in this letter? What question does the author asks? What do these pages tell us about what science is?
- “Dig Deeper”/”Analyze the Text”- What is the main idea of these pages? What are some ways you can tell this is a poem?
Indicator 2c
Materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.
Materials reviewed for Kindergarten do not meet the expectations of materials containing a coherently sequenced set of text-based questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts. Though the materials contain sets of text-based questions and tasks that lead students through the comprehension and main ideas of the text, these are only provided during the actual reading of the text. There are very few tasks that ask students to demonstrate knowledge gained from a text or across multiple texts. The major prompts and/or tasks are not text-based. Students respond to their readings with more self-to-text connections and devote most of their writing practice about topics and not texts. Although text-based questions are utilized to help students comprehend and analyze a text, any tasks for building knowledge across multiple texts is done typically without reference to the texts.
As students engage with texts, they work in a Reader’s Handbook which provides some opportunities to list evidence from the texts in graphic organizers. They may also draw or write about characters in individual or multiple texts but most writing is based on their personal feelings or response. Students also work in a Writer’s Handbook to practice writing about the topics they are studying but these tasks are not text-based until later units.
The Teacher’s Edition also contains a textbox for most readings that is labeled Cross-curricular Connection. These are typically discussion starters that extend what students learned from the text to their own experience or how it is relevant to their community or future learning. Most lessons also provide specified text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world discussions but it is not indicated how students are accountable for this information.
This is a representative example of how tasks for knowledge building are generally not text-based in the Kindergarten materials.
Unit 1, Lesson 1:
- Essential Question: What is the same about all families?
- Summarize: Have children summarize after reading page 18. What else have we learned about families? Retell it in your own words.
- Write about Reading: Students connect the text to their own family by answering “What does your family like to do together?”
- Write about Reading: After reading their big book, students respond to “What is special about your own family?
- Text to text: (compare genres) Students discuss the two core texts they read about families to determine what is the same or different between the texts.
- Independent Writing task: Have students draw a picture of themselves on a separate sheet of paper. Then have them write their first and last names.
Indicator 2d
The questions and tasks support students' ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
The instructional materials for Kindergarten do not meet the expectations for providing questions and tasks that support students’ abilities to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic or theme through integrated skills e.g combination of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Each lesson series provides an independent writing performance task as a culminating piece for the week. To complete the task students have an opportunity daily to practice the focus writing skill, share their ideas and pieces with peers, and discuss the topic about which they are writing. The majority of writing tasks focus mostly on the writing skill and rarely integrates the topic studied during the week. Though some lessons feature a performance task in which students discuss or respond to a question about the text they are reading, there is less emphasis on the knowledge of topics themselves.
The end of each weekly lesson builds to an independent writing task that does not consistently require students to use the knowledge built from their readings. Some can be completed based on their own personal experience or by demonstrating the weekly writing skill.
Below are examples of weekly independent writing tasks. These are found in the Teacher’s Edition and students complete some of the tasks in their Reader’s Notebook or Writer’s Handbook. The independent writing task is usually built over a series of days, examples include:
- Unit 1, Lesson 5, Narrative Writing- Helping
- Independent Writing: Tell children to think of something fun and interesting they have done in school. Have them write or draw their topic ideas in the circles graphic organizer. next instructional day Tell children they are now going to write a draft about the topic they chose. This task does not build knowledge of the topics read and studied, but does integrate the skills of reading and writing.
- Unit 4, Lesson 19, Opinion Writing- Outdoor Adventures
- Independent Writing: Remind children that the big book Sheep Take a Hike tells about sheep going for a hike in the country. Ask them to write opinion sentences about a walk they have taken with family or friends. Again, this task does not build knowledge of the topics read and studied, but does integrate the skills of reading and writing.
Indicator 2e
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the expectations of materials providing guidance for supporting students’ academic vocabulary. The materials do not include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Vocabulary is taught within the context of each weekly lesson as well as within each text read. The unit lessons do not always connect from one week to the next therefore, vocabulary practice across an entire unit is limited to the skills practiced instead of the focus topic for building knowledge. Students spend time practicing for fluency, high-frequency words, and spelling but these are set apart from vocabulary instruction.
Each lesson has a box for “Words to Know” on the Focus Wall. There are usually around 5-6 words in this box and are high-frequency words and not vocabulary from the texts. Each weekly pacing guide instructs the teacher to introduce words from the core text through “Oral Vocabulary” on Day 1, and then “Apply Vocabulary Knowledge” as well as an “Oral Vocabulary Boost” on following days. Students also work with the high-frequency words throughout the week using Context Cards. Students may also “Warm-up with Wordplay” that reviews the weekly words or engages students in speaking about the topic. On Day 5, students are introduced to “Domain Specific Vocabulary” which adds more to the weekly words found in the texts. In each of these vocabulary tasks, students answer questions or discuss the words in and out of the context of the week’s lesson topic. Though students practice reviewing the words, there are typically not opportunities provided within the writing and reading tasks to intentionally utilize the words. The vocabulary words are highlighted within the texts but generally do not overlap across texts and teachers are not prompted within the text to identify or engage with the highlighted words.
Vocabulary is generally introduced with Context Cards that students can view examples of how the word is used in real-life settings. The cards have images and sentences that offer a definition and example of the word. These are not based in the context of the texts they will read. Lessons are also accompanied by a Vocabulary Reader that is aligned to the week's topic for most lessons. Each vocabulary reader extends a language skill from the prior text and include tasks in which students practice using language or vocabulary; however, this vocabulary is not typically aligned to the vocabulary pulled from the core texts.
This is an example of vocabulary instruction for a weekly lesson. Though vocabulary is emphasized each day there is not a cohesive plan for interacting with and utilizing words across the week or into other lessons.
Unit 3: Lesson 13:Animal Bodies
- Vocabulary Strategy: Context clues
- High Frequency Words: you and what
- Vocabulary Reader: Lots of Birds Level B (focuses on the various colors of birds)
- Day 1: Oral Vocabulary: Revisit bloom, treasures, speckled, and pasture. Introduce Oral Vocabulary Words from the Read-Aloud Text: daily, herd, muscles, pattern, several, and usually. Students respond to questions about the text or outside context using the words. For example, “Do you usually brush your teeth in the morning?”
- Day 1: Introduce Words to Know: you and what. Students practice using these words in sentence frames or discussions.
- Day 2: Daily Vocabulary Boost: Students review words from the weekly vocabulary list. Students also hear four new words from the reading selection: belong, capture, nasty, sensitive
- Day 3: Daily Vocabulary Boost: Students review words from the weekly vocabulary list.
- Day 3: Enrich Vocabulary: Students work with prefixes -un and -re
- Day 3: Apply Vocabulary Knowledge: Students are introduced to new vocabulary words antics, heroics, purpose, fantastic in addition to reviewing the words for the week from Day 1. The examples provided for meaning are connected to the anchor text though these words do not appear in the text itself. Then, students answer questions such as “What types of antics make you laugh?” to utilize the vocabulary out of the context of the texts or topic.
- Day 3: Vocabulary Strategies: Students warm up by using the new words learned in Day 3 and then practice using the prefix -over. This is a connection to the vocabulary word overlooked.
- Day 4: Warm Up with Wordplay: Students play Hot Potato to think of words that begin with letter f.
- Day 4: Vocabulary strategies: COntext CLues- Students look at the meaning of the word clues and use their big book text to understand the meaning of the vocabulary word nasty. Then they work through guided practice looking for context clues in sample non-text based sentences on a Projectable.
- Day 5: Domain Specific Vocabulary: Students use picture cards to focus on scientific terms for animals: insect, mammal, fish, reptile, bird. They orally place these words in sentences and then practice making their own sentences.
Indicator 2f
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to support students' increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students' writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet expectations for materials containing a year long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating a substantive understanding of topics and texts. Materials are not built around topics. Materials are organized around writing types to build students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level by the end of the school year. The majority of writing instruction and tasks are not text-specific nor do they require a substantive understanding of topics. For example, in Unit 1, Lesson 4, students read several texts about the topic of jobs, but the writing tasks for the week prepare students to write a class and individual story about something that they did in class or at school. While the development of narrative writing is cohesive throughout Unit 1, the tasks do not demonstrate student knowledge or understanding of the texts and topics.
Daily lessons have writing tasks that range from learning to write names and labels to building and combining complete sentences for short reports. The first three days of the lesson typically follow shared and guided writing in which the class composes together. Days four or five of the week focus more on independent writing practice, though this is supported by the materials such as the Writer’s Handbook, sentence starters, or group discussion. Each week generally focuses on one type of writing or task and each day builds student capacity to complete the independent task each of the three writing types focus on for two units.
The following are examples of the different writing types that build across the units:
- Unit 1, Narrative Writing- writing names, picture labels, and captions
- Unit 2, Informative Writing- building complete/descriptive sentences using sentence stems
- Unit 3, Narrative Writing- writing sentences to form complete thoughts.
- Unit 4, Opinion Writing- writing thank-you notes, friendly letters, and opinion sentences
- Unit 5, Informative Writing- writing to create lists, invitations, and reports writing a draft, revising with peers, and publishing a final draft digitally
- Unit 6, Opinion Writing- responding to literature and writing journals
Indicator 2g
Materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.
The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet expectations for materials including a progression of focused shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.
Daily and weekly writing tasks require students to brainstorm events or things that are familiar to them and discuss these with peers. In Unit 5, students write a report after walking through the writing process; however, this report is based on their opinion of a book they read in class and not based on gathering information from sources or texts.
Some lessons are accompanied by a “Research and Media Literacy” section. Kindergarten students have some opportunities to practice learning the components necessary to think critically and practice research skills; however, at times these tasks are not related to the writing type, text, or topic of the lesson. There is limited guidance as to how to conduct these tasks and most of research is completed by the teacher using the Internet while students discuss what they are seeing.
In Unit 5, an example of a “Research and Media Literacy” task is in Lesson 21 under the topic “Working Together.” This task asks students to think about musical instruments they read about in the text Zin!Zin! Zin a Violin!. The teacher researches video clips of these different instruments sound and instructs students that they will write a couple of sentences about an instrument they saw. After discussing different clips that the teacher should find, students draw and write about an instrument they read about in Zin!Zin! Zin a Violin! There are no recommended sources or links provided and students do not record the information they gather. The discussion is focused on how the instruments sound which is not aligned to the lesson topic of “Working Together” or the weekly writing task of making lists.
Indicator 2h
Materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
The materials for Kindergarten partially meet the expectations for materials providing a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
Students complete independent reading on Day 5 of every lesson. The directions and format for independent reading are generally the same across the entire year. Students are to go back and reread portions of the anchor text or big book and speak about the text in complete sentences. Students then complete self-selected reading from the classroom library or other source and look at several pages of the text to see if it is “just right” for them to read. Materials do not recommend additional texts for independent reading but encourage teachers to provide a classroom library.
The materials provide limited instruction on how to support reader independence. The Teacher Edition gives the guidance, “Self-Selected Reading: Tell children that before they choose a book to read, they should take a good look at it to see if it will be “just right” for them. Model selecting a book by guiding children through these steps: Look at the books on display in the classroom library. Find a book that looks like something you would like to read. Take a look at some of the pictures inside. Tell children that once they have selected a book, they should look at one or two additional pages to be sure it is “just right” for them.”