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b^=n
Beyond Letter
t
^----
of flre Week
(indergaten
teachers often ask me whether it's a eood idea to use a
lcner of rie ueck progrrm. I repty Lhar alrlough ir],irll;. i, inlpor-
tanr ftrr children to know leRers rnd sounds. I beUeve thar tocusine on
one lerler rt d bme tor an exrendd period
doesn\ suDporr children in
mer urcracy oevelopmenr; tJ)ar hrtrns a le(er or $e wcek scnds Lhe
i'EEETai]*6s;n-.IG6E-n-G.ffi
E-Ene.'*f'"""-dr-idr
TadGtrer;fGEilph-;6Ei=outd
direc( and
suide che cu,riculum.
20 rects, and thereforc limirs, cuniculum contnr and th warr rhat chil,
dren and teachers generate curriculum, rhus restricting children,s de,
vrl opmenr : s i f el ong l earner. .
Lettrs and Sounds Throughout the Day
How then do we help children iearn about lefters and sounds in a
kindergarten rhat dos nor do lefter ofrhe week? How do we expard
the Literacy growth of the children who dreadv know letters and
sounds or who de readingt How do wc generate meaningnn curricu-
lum lor everyonel The following vignenes describe holv chil&eo in
varying degrees of literacy devlopment inreract with leners in nlean-
ingirl contxrs in my kindergarten, ard how I respood ro and evaluate
tiem during rhese ruLhenric lireracy evenrs.
.
It i: 8:a0 and $e
ihildren
begrn to enrer rhe classroom. Marl puts ,r
, nore in rhc basker llIng me 6r' <he will be pickcd up after school. I
read ,L wirh her rnd;9qSg!4!L6S4
in N,tr!. Fisher ltajrs tike her
nrme. steue gels hjllnamc strip ro copyk he signs in. I acknowledge
tnal h ls wntrne a lowercasc I
\44ren I siart singing
,,The
Wleels on the Bus,', the children
gathcr on the rug. Througlour group time, I point to rhe er arged
texts of songs, poems, and big bool$, I ask childrn to reise thcif
hands if rhey havc a 3 et thc begiDning of rlcir namc. Billy and Tom
Bloirrr rspond. Dcbby sa)s rhat shc has a l within hcr namc. For a
minur or cwo therc is chanet about lcncrs in namcs. The gloup rcfo_
cuses as we sing
"If
I Had a Hammcr.,, I ask dlc childJen what lhev
notice and ca! on individuals so we cnn all hear what is raid. Sam nol
tices th piclures of ihe hammet and we poin! !o thc corresponding
word. I ask vcryone to count the numbr oflrs on thc chart. There ii
silcnce. I raise my pointer and thc childrcn wtrisper the answcr. Then I
movc it along &\c txr and wc say the sound of, vry lime we com
rc r word beginning wirh ,:nd we say rhe word.
Someone asla if we will be going ou$ide for recess, and I refcr thc
class ro the day's schedule on the board. Rya_n has le*ned to read Lhe
schedrne. Reces is imporranr io him. We ralk
jbout
lookins for rb /
for recess. Nexr. r,he
leadcr
for r-he dav pick
rne big book thi Eno,now
waterm.ton
\rztks
dr smilh) ro read ro rhe clas. Ias a fivorite md
we've read it many tims. I focus on lhe tirte for a fw minutes, then ask.
-If
v99
)vJe +e
aurhor, whar word could vou rc itrF,,r 6f p,,/-
-4!!!
&\ | wnre rhe suggesrjons on rhe board, we ral( :bour rhe;
meaning and spelling. We decide to reid rhe storv substitutina the
.word
sganit
and I wirc ft on a to.r ir. *hich I mov;6om pase ;o pase.