“When Baby Echo points at me it’s my turn to say the sounds, then when Baby Echo looks at you, it’s your turn! Ready?”
The just-right challenge continues in Kindergarten literacy this week! Kindergarteners met in their flexible, leveled literacy groups this week to think about the lowercase letters T, F, and B. Using assessment data, all four homeroom teachers of Kindergarten, plus our Lower School Literacy Specialist & Challenge Coach, gathered students into groups to work on the same fundamental set of skills, but with differences in pace and the kinds of challenge offered. As they did the Fundations “Drill Sounds” routine with stuffed owl Baby Echo, students in one group focused on “clipping” their sounds (ie. saying the sound “/t/” sound crisply, versus more like “/tuh/”), while the next spent more time on writing the letters, and the next on generating words that begin with those sounds.
students in one group focused on “clipping” their sounds (ie. saying the sound “/t/” sound crisply, versus more like “/tuh/”), while the next spent more time on writing the letters, and the next on generating words that begin with those sounds.
Students in all groups practiced writing each lowercase letter, following the specific motor plan and using our Fundations lined paper or whiteboards (which feature a “sky line, plane line, grass line, and worm line” for learning the motor plans.) Students in all groups practice the sounds, sky-writing (gross motor practice of the letter’s formation), letter recognition and conversation about how it looks, and writing these “sky line letters.” These systematic routines for literacy support all students in learning foundational skills, while giving each student a chance to practice and shine in a “just right” space for them.
On Friday, October 20, we hope you’ll join us at an upcoming Community Coffee Hour on Early Literacy to learn more, ask questions, and see some of these routines in action!