Starfall Kindergarten - Week 1
This is a one-week excerpt from the Starfall Kindergarten Teacher’s Guide.If you have questions or comments, please contact us.Email: helpdesk@starfall.comPhone: 1-888-857-8990 or 303-417-6414 Fax: 1-800-943-6666 or 303-417-6434StarfallKindergartenTeacher’s GuideMaking FriendsUnit 1 Week 1Starfall Kindergarten Reading and Language Arts Curriculumincorporating Science, Social Studies and TechnologyOpportunities for child-directed learning Target skills that are introduced, then applied,integrated, and practiced throughout the year English language learners and strugglingreaders learn alongside their peers Interactive technology incorporates visual, auditory, andkinesthetic learning Appropriate for Kindergarten classrooms and homeschoolersTeacher-tested, research based, and meets state standardsMotivation for children to learn and have fun at the same timeStarfall Education P.O. Box 359, Boulder, CO 80306 U.S.A.Phone: 1-888-857-8990 or 303-417-6414Copyright 2009, 2012 by Starfall Education. All rights reserved. Starfall is a registered trademark in the U.S., the European Community and many other countries.
Authors and CreditsSenior AuthorsJoan Elliott: 18 years teaching kindergarten in North Carolina and Texas public schools, 12 years teaching in Department of Education, Universityof North Carolina at Asheville and University of Texas at Brownsville; recipient of Christa McAuliffe Teaching Award, recipient of Fulbright fellowshipto KoreaPam Ferguson: 34 year veteran kindergarten teacher, Holy Family Catholic School, St. Petersburg, FL; serves on the Florida Catholic ConferenceAccreditation team for past 10 yearsConsultantsDr. Karen Cole, Associate Professor of Education, K-6 Program Coordinator, University of NC - AshevilleDr. Greta Freeman, School of Education, University of South CarolinaEducatorsMyrna Estes, 35 years, NYC; Chester, MA; Pittsfield, MA Public SchoolsJudy Goetze, 35 years, Pittsfield, MA Public SchoolsStephanie Riess 15 years Pinellas County, FL Public Schools; 17 years, Diocese of St. Petersburg, FLHeidi Suburu, 25 years, Fruitvale Public School District, Bakersfield, CA, and Elk Hills Public School District, Tupman, CAAdditional Contributors to this project:We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our project team of over 150 kindergarten teachers. This project would not be possible withouttheir help.Senior Editor and DesignerBrandi ChaseLayout DesignMarc BuchannanSenior Artist and Print DesignerFaith GowanContributing Artists and DesignersMatthew Baca, Ric Beemer, Dale Beisel, Kimberly Cooper, Craig Deeley, Catherine George, Stefan Gruber, Heather Hogan, David Lebow, Debby Lee,Frank Lee, Claire Lenth, Gina and Art Morgan of AMGG, Julie Ann Quinsay, Michael Ramirez, Jared Ramos, Scott Stebbins, and Triska WasserMusicians/ComposersRandy Graves, Keith Heldman and Richard JamesEngineers and Quality AssuranceKerry Dezell, Adam Griff, Tom Meyer, Larry Moiola, Steve Patschke, Troy Tazbaz, and Roger WilsonStarfall gratefully acknowledges the following school districts where the Starfall Kindergarten Program was piloted:Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, Las Vegas, NVAppling County School District, Surrency, GABoulder Valley School District, Boulder, COBriarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NYBuncombe County School District, Asheville, NCBuckner-Fanning Christian School, San Antonio, TXCatholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks, CACatholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FLCurrituck County School District, Knotts Island, NCFruitvale School District, Bakersfield, CAEpiscopal Diocese of Northwest Texas, All Saints Episcopal School,Lubbock, TXKent City Community Schools, Kent City, MIFullerton School District, Fullerton, CALos Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District, Los Fresnos, TXLivermore Valley Charter School, Livermore, CAMatanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Wasilla, AKItaly Independent School District, Italy, TXPittsfield School District, Pittsfield, MAOgden City School District, Ogden, UTRainbow Dreams Charter School, Las Vegas, NVPort Jervis City School District, Cuddebackville, NYSalina School District, Salina, OKRhea County School District, Spring City, TNScreven County School District, Screven, GASaugus Union School District, Valencia, CASouth Sarpy School District 46, Springfield, NESierra Sands Unified School District, Ridgecrest, CAWayne County School District, Jesup, GAVinita Public Schools, Vinita, OKWaynesville R-VI School District, Ft. Leonard Wood, MOSpecial thanks to the Alliance for Catholic Education’s English as a New Language Program (ACE-ENL) at the University of Notre Dame for their helpwith the ELD component of this program.Starfall also wishes to thank:Stephen Schutz, Karen Bidgood, Tad Elliott, and the Purchasing, Customer Service, and Warehouse teams at SPS Studios.
StarfallKindergartenMaking FriendsUnit 1 Week 1Frequently Asked Questions4Reading Research5Week 1 Overview6Preparation7“Simon Says”10Introduce Title and The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn10Introduce Backpack Bear11Introduce Top and Bottom, Author and Illustrator12“The Alphabet Song”14Introduce the Alphabet14Introduce Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?15Introduce Rhyming Words and Backpack Bear’s ABC Rhyme Book 16Rhyming Words17Introduce: Bb /b/17Introduce High-Frequency Words: see and me19Introduce The Starword Wall19Rhyming Words21Introduce Same / Different - Animals Given Human Characteristics 21Introduce: Listening and Writing, Page 122High-Frequency Words: see and me23Initial /b/24Bb /b/24Nighttime and Daytime25Review Children’s Names25UNIT 1 3
Frequently Asked QuestionsWhy is it important to use thesuggested “Ongoing Routines”outlined in the Read Me First?These daily routines reinforcelanguage arts, science, socialstudies, and math. They establish,review, and integrate concepts,such as months of the year, days ofthe week, weather, and personalresponsibility. Establishing theseongoing routines early in the yearwill ultimately make concepts introduced in the lesson plans easier.Why are children asked towrite letters before they learnto form them properly?Children come to school withdiverse levels of small motor/eyehand coordination. There should beno expectation that they perfectlyform letters, or even write letters onthe lines! Although letter-formationguides appear on pages withinListening and Writing, the book’sinstructional focus is letter/soundrelationships. As children becomeable to properly form letters, generate one of the many practice pagesdedicated to this skill.Why are so many letters,sounds, and high-frequencywords introduced so early inthe year?It seems like a lot to ask forkindergarten children to writewords in a dictionary. Why isthis introduced so early?We introduce letters, sounds, andhigh-frequency words early toensure that children have amplepractice and review with thesefoundational skills before expectedmastery by year’s end.We agree, it is a lot to ask! However,the Starfall Dictionary is an essentialand meaningful practice tool, andas such, must be introduced early.Children enter kindergarten withdifferent levels of preparedness.For example, many have familiaritywith beginning sounds. As a result,introducing this skill will seem “appropriate” because children havethe background knowledge tounderstand it. Distinguishing finalsounds or recognizing high-frequency words, on the other hand,will be skills to which many will beunaccustomed. For most childrenyou will establish their fundamental understanding of this concept.Expect to see blank faces at first!No need to worry, review and practice is fundamental to the lessonplans and practice materials.I am truly amazedas to what this programhas done for my children.When I began, I was reallyvery apprehensive andunsure and now that we arehere on Week 30, I am sothrilled. All my children arereading and writing. I wouldhave never been able to saythat in years past.—Pittsfield, Massachusetts4UNIT 1Children use their dictionaries to: organize and referenceinformation alphabetically. meaningfully review highfrequency words. assist them during writing.We acknowledge that some children will struggle to write withinthe prescribed lines of their dictionaries initially. If children do notdemonstrate the necessary motorskills to copy words from the boardinto their dictionaries, we encourage you to choose one of the following methods: Dot the words in advance forthem to trace. Write the words in their booksusing a highlighter. Childrenthen trace inside the highlightedarea to form the words.Periodically review the children’sdictionaries and, if necessary,rewrite the high-frequency wordscorrectly. This is especially important at the beginning of the year, sothat when children reference thewords in their dictionaries, they arewritten correctly.This process will be time consuming at first. Rest assured, the benefits will outweigh the initial frustration! As with any new skill, practice(and lots of it) makes perfect!
Reading ResearchCan I write the words on theboard when doing phonemicawareness activities to givechildren visual clues?Research indicates a strong relationship between early phonemicawareness (the ability to identify,hear, and manipulate the smallestspeech sounds) and later reading success. It is important thatyou conduct the short, daily, oral“Phonemic Awareness Warm-Up”independent of letters or words soas not to distract from the speechsounds.Lack of phonemic awareness seemsto be a major obstacle for somechildren in learning to read(1,2).When delivering phonemic awareness instruction it is more effective to be explicit than implicit(3).Our brief, daily, explicit PhonemicAwareness Warm-Up focuses purelyon cultivating the children’s awareness of spoken sounds throughexplanation, demonstration, andpractice. Phonemic Awarenesstopics are broken down into smallparts and taught individually allyear long.In a study with kindergarten children by Ball and Blachman(4),seven weeks of explicit instructionin phonemic awareness, combinedwith explicit instruction in letter/sound correspondences, was moreeffective than instruction in letter/sound correspondences alone andmore effective than other languagerelated activities conducted by thecontrol group.In summary, by developing thechildren’s awareness of the individual sounds in our spoken language,you ensure that they are preparedto map those sounds to letters.(1) Vellutino, F.R., Scanlon, D.M. (1987b). “Linguistic coding and reading ability,” Advancesin Applied Psycholinguistics (1-69). New York:Cambridge University Press.(2) Wagner, R., Torgesen, J. (1987). “The natureof phonological processing and its causal rolein the acquisition of reading skills,” Psychological Bulletin, 101, 192-212.(3) Cunningham, A.E. (1990). “Explicit versusimplicit instruction in phonological awareness,”Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 50-,429-444.(4) Ball, E.W., Blachman, B.A. (1991). “Does phoneme awareness training in kindergarten makea difference in early word recognition anddevelopmental spelling?”, Reading ResearchQuarterly, 26(1), 49-66.UNIT 1 5
Week 1 OverviewMaking FriendsWelcome to school! Children will spend this weekgetting oriented to classroom routines, schedules,and most importantly, each other! Children will helpBackpack Bear overcome common anxieties in thefirst week of school. This week we will: learn about the alphabet.B learn about Bb /b/. identify rhyming words.Literature SelectionsWEEK 1 —OVERVIEWThe Kissing Hand—Audrey Penn started takingballet to control the pain from juvenile rheumatoidarthritis. In spite of the pain, it was evident she had a gift. She performed as a ballerinawith the New York City Ballet, National Ballet and the Stuttgart (Germany) Ballet. Shewrote her first book, Happy Apple Told Me, when the pain from the arthritisprevented her from dancing.bbBAudrey Penn grew up and now lives her with her family in Maryland. Audrey’sdaughter felt worried about leaving home to attend kindergarten. Audrey observeda raccoon help her baby who seemed uneasy about separating from its mother.Inspired by the raccoon’s behavior, Audrey kissed her daughter’s hand and told herwhen she needed a kiss from Mommy to put her hand on her face.Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?—Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004)grew up in Kansas. He liked to tell stories and sing folk songs just like those helearned from listening to his grandmother.Bill Martin, Jr. didn’t write books in the usual way. He would tell a story softly to himself over and over until every word sounded just right. He wrote Brown Bear, BrownBear, What Do You See? just like this while he was riding the Long Island Railroad.When he arrived at Penn Station, the story was finished and all the words had beenwritten crossways on a newspaper.Bill Martin, Jr. eventually moved to Texas. His favorite things were reading and writingbooks and chocolate ice cream.Starfall Books & Other MediaBBackpackk k BBear’sABC Rhyme Book6UNIT 1Sing-AlongStar Writer Melodies
Dayy1PreparationEach day, prepare Backpack Bear’s message and place it in his backpack.Generate and prepare Vocabulary Word Cards for Week 1. You will use strange, cozy,interested, and lonely on Day 3 and nocturnal on Day 5.Hi! My name isBackpack Bear. Iwant to learn howtoread. May I joinyourkindergarten class?Your new friend,Backpack BearDay One Hide Backpack Bear in your classroom, near a reading area, or on a bookshelf. Write a note “from your principal” stating there should be another child in the classand place it on your desk. Create a name card for each child, yourself and Backpack Bear. Write the first letterof each name in red and the rest of the name in black. You will use these cardsthroughout the year.Day 2DayI brought a surprise.It’s my favorite book!Could we read it?I putit on (your name)desk!Your friend,Backpack BearDay TwoNoneD y3DayDay ThreeGenerate a “Bb ABC Rhyme” practicepage for each child to take home.As part of the routine for introducing anew sound-spelling, children will sing“The Letter March” song (To the melodyof “The Ants Go Marching”) with thatletter’s sound and ASL sign. Please:Vocabulary Word CardsABC Rhyme Practice Page memorize “The Letter March” song and teach it to your children (see page 18).I was practicing LittleBoy Blue. My namebegins with the samesound as Boy andBlue!Bb is my favoriteletter!Backpack BearD y4Day learn the ASL sign Bb (picture on facing page).Day FourChildren encounter their Listening & Writing Books for thefirst time. If you have not already done so, write children’snames on the front cover in permanent marker. They willreference your example when writing their own names.Day FiveFamiliarize yourself with the index and functionalityof Backpack Bear’s ABC Rhymes on more.Starfall.com,as you will demonstrate it in your classroom. Choose the “ball” icon to see the “Bb Ball” rhyme. Page 1—Listen to the rhyme read aloud. Page 2—Select words that begin with the focus sound.We will get a specialbook today to help uslearn about letters&sounds. I’m so excited!Backpack BearD y5DayI rode the bus toschool today. Doyouknow the sound atthebeginning of bus?Your new pal,Backpack Bear Page 3—Watch the letter’s formation.UNIT 1 7
DAYReadingPhonemic AwarenessPhonicsHigh-Frequency (HF) WordsPrint ConceptsOneDAYTwo“Simon Says”Alphabet OrderRecognizing NamesRhyming WordsTitle, author, and illustratorPredictionTop and BottomPredictionComprehension Skills &StrategiesWEEK 1 —OVERVIEWListening & SpeakingLiteratureRhymes, Poems & Songs“Mary Had a Little Lamb”“Backpack Is a Little Bear”ScienceUNIT 1”Alphabet Song”Backpack Bear’s ABCRhyme BookVocabularySocial StudiesBrown Bear, Brown Bear, WhatDo You See?“Little Boy Blue”Concept DevelopmentWriting8The Kissing HandChildren write their names anddraw self portraits
DAYThreeDAYFourDAYFiveRhyming WordsL&W, p.1Initial /b/Bb /b/RhymingWordsRecognizing NamesHF Words:see and meHF Words:see, meIntroduce Starword WallBrown Bear, Brown Bear, WhatDo You See?Brown Bear, Brown Bear, WhatDo You See?The Kissing HandThe Kissing HandABC Rhyme Book“Humpty Dumpty”“One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”Same, different, top, bottomVocabulary strange, cozy,interested, lonelyMore.Starfall.com: “ABC Rhymes”The Kissing Hand“Wheels on the Bus”“Backpack Is a Little Bear”Daytime, nighttimeVocabulary nocturnalAnimals given humancharacteristicsUNIT 1 9
WEEK 1DayPhonemic Awareness Warm-UpOne“Simon Says”Say: Let’s play “Simon Says.” I will say an action. Only do the action if I say“Simon says” first. Let’s practice: Simon says, put your hands up in the air.Put your hands on top of your head.Listening & SpeakingListen carefully andunderstand directionsfor performing tasksObserve the children and clarify as needed. Continue with other statements.Compliment the children on being good listeners who are ready for kindergarten!1MaterialsIntroduce Title and The Kissing Hand byAudrey PennListening & SpeakingDescribe people, places,things, locations, andactionsReadingIdentify the title andcover of a bookUse pictures andcontext to makepredictions aboutstory contentConnect to lifeexperiences theinformation andevents in textDescribe commonobjects and events inboth general andspecific languageListen attentively tofiction and nonfictionread-alouds anddemonstrateunderstandingF Picture Card: lambF Sing-Along Track 20F The Kissing HandWelcome the children to your classroom. Explain that they will do many interestingthings and meet many interesting people this year. For the next few weeks they willlearn about school. Soon they’ll know all about being in kindergarten.Display the picture of a lamb. Identify the picture andrepeat the word, lamb. Explain that a lamb is a babysheep. Children discuss the lamb’s appearance.Mary Had a Little LambMary had a little lambWhose fleece was white as snowSay: Here is a song about a lamb that goes toschool! Play Sing-Along Track 20: “Mary Had aLittle Lamb”. Children sing along.And everywhere that Mary wentHer lamb was sure to goIt followed her to school one day Discuss the feelings the lamb might haveexperienced on its first day of school.Which was against the rules Children compare their own feelings on the first dayof school to the lamb’s feelings.To see a lamb at schoolIt made the children laugh and playDisplay The Kissing Hand. Say: Here’s a book about another animal’s first day of school.This book is called The Kissing Hand. The Kissing Hand is the title of this book.Explain that the picture or illustration on the cover usually shows what a book isabout. Children discuss the cover illustration, then tell you what they think the bookwill be about (raccoon).Picture-walk through the book. Children discuss the illustrations on each page.Read the book aloud, then ask:10UNIT 1NighttimeDid Chester go to school during the daytime or thenighttime?DaytimeDo you think the lamb went to school during thedaytime or the nighttime?
WEEK 1 DAY 1(variable)Why is Chester afraid to go to school?Kisses his hand,then tells himto put his handon his cheekWhat does his mother do to help keep him frombeing afraid?NighttimeYou go to school during the daytime. When doesChester go to school?Kissed herhandWhat did Chester do for his mother when hegot home?If you were going to tell your parents this story tonight,what would you tell them the story was about?2MaterialsIntroduce Backpack BearChildren sit in a circle on the floor near a pocket chart.Give children their name cards, and ask them to placethe cards face-up on the floor in front of them.Demonstrate each step below. Show your name card and introduce yourself:Hi, my name is [your name].F Note “from yourprincipal” placed onyour deskF Backpack Bear, hiddenin your classroomF Pocket chartF Name cards foryourself, BackpackBear, and each childF BallF Sing-Along Track 5 Place your name card in the pocket chart. Roll the ball to a child.ReadingUse pictures andcontext to makepredictions aboutstory contentLis
Starfall Kindergarten Reading and Language Arts Curriculum incorporating Science, Social Studies and Technology Opportunities for child-directed learning Target skills that are introduced, then applied, integrated, and practiced throughout the year English language learners and struggling readers learn alongside their peers Interactive technology incorporates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic .
Starfall Education P.O. Box 359, Boulder, CO 80306 ns Kindergarten Starfall UUnit 9nit 9 . (fi ction, nonfi ction, nursery rhymes) to children in lively, engaging, and thought-provoking ways. Participation in repeated . and Domino, husband Ted, son Blake, daughter Linze, and a big collection of thrift store shoes that she uses as models .
(prorated 13/week) week 1 & 2 156 week 3 130 week 4 117 week 5 104 week 6 91 week 7 78 week 8 65 week 9 52 week 10 39 week 11 26 week 12 13 17-WEEK SERIES* JOIN IN MEMBER PAYS (prorated 10.94/week) week 1 & 2 186.00 week 3 164.10 week 4 153.16 week 5 142.22 week 6 131.28 week 7 120.34
Starfall begins with basic phonemic awareness and phonics skills that children need to learn to read. These phonemic awareness and phonics skills can be found in Starfall’s first tier which is “ABCs: Let’s Get Ready to Read” (Starfall, 2013). In this tier, students are exposed to Kindergarten Readiness standards. A kindergarten readiness
Find free worksheets, lesson plans, guides, and more on teach.starfall.com. Starfall Education Foundation P.O. Box 359, Boulder, CO 80306 U.S.A. Email: helpdesk@starfall.com Phone: 1-888-857
Penguin, Penguin Begin with free reading and math activities for computers and mobile devices. Discover even more interactive activities with a Starfall membership! Find free worksheets, lesson plans, guides, and more on teach.starfall.com. Shop at store.starfall.com for curricula and educational products.
Find free worksheets, lesson plans, guides, and more on teach.starfall.com Catalog & Order Form Phone: 888-857-8990 or 303-417-6414 Fax: 800-943-6666 or 303-417-6434 Email: orders@starfall.com The new edition of the Starfall Pre-K Curriculum integrates early lang
The Starfall Kindergarten Program regularly uses the writing process as a means of teaching and integrat-ing skills, as well as demonstrating progress in all of these instructional areas. Comprehension The ultimate purpose of reading and listening is to understand. Starfall lessons deliver comprehension skills and strategies throughout the day through direct instruction, teacher modeling or .
Week 3: Spotlight 21 Week 4 : Worksheet 22 Week 4: Spotlight 23 Week 5 : Worksheet 24 Week 5: Spotlight 25 Week 6 : Worksheet 26 Week 6: Spotlight 27 Week 7 : Worksheet 28 Week 7: Spotlight 29 Week 8 : Worksheet 30 Week 8: Spotlight 31 Week 9 : Worksheet 32 Week 9: Spotlight 33 Week 10 : Worksheet 34 Week 10: Spotlight 35 Week 11 : Worksheet 36 .
