The implementation of effective instructional materials, such as a core reading program, by a qualified teacher is an important part of improving students' reading achievement. But selecting those instructional materials can be time-consuming. Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast created this rubric for evaluating reading/language arts…

A kindergarten teacher of children with advanced language discusses her use of poetry activities to promote reading readiness, auditory discrimination, oral language, creative thinking, independent working, and a love for poetry. Creative activities begin with drawing picture interpretations and proceed to the students writing their own poems. (CL)

In this kindergarten unit, students learn to name and talk about their address. The purpose of the lesson is to meet requirement K.4 of the California History Social Science Standards, to guide young children as they become aware of themselves in relation to the earth upon which they live, to develop a story which focuses the student's learning,…

In this interdisciplinary curriculum unit for kindergarten, students gain an appreciation for the challenges facing the United States when the Declaration of Independence was written. Students work in groups to create their own pretend declaration of independence and develop a flag, national anthem, monuments, and plans for holidays. The student…

With "mice" as a theme, this classroom learning center is designed for independent use by kindergarten and first grade children, whether or not they have yet learned to read. Its activities focus on reading, language, thinking, and writing skills. A bilbiography of children's books about mice is appended. (SJL)

Presents math, language arts and movement, and arts and crafts activities (poetry, crafts, artwork, and a song) for kindergarteners and other young students. The article features learning centers that explore the past, the present, and the future using dinosaur, caterpillar, and community helper projects. (SM)

In this kindergarten unit, students read "My Blue Suitcase" by Sharon Katz as an introduction to traveling. After reading, students gather resources, including books, magazines, maps, CD-ROMs, videos, and information from the Internet. After collecting resources, students make a collage of the items they will need for the trip they are taking.…

This document contains 16 lesson plans that can be used for career awareness activities in kindergarten. The lessons were developed by teachers and submitted as part of the Florida Blueprint for Career Preparation. The lesson plans include a topic, materials and information needed, and directions for activities. Lesson plans are designated by…

This packet provides the Seattle public schools' kindergarten learning goals and objectives for the curriculum areas of mathematics, reading, English and language arts for the 1987-88 school year. Four reading goals, five English and language arts goals, and six mathematics goals are further specified in terms of student learning objectives,…

Providing a low-key, nonthreatening way for teachers and parents to build partnerships for kids, this book presents short, concrete activities in English and Spanish to foster communication between teachers and parents and between parents and children. While the activities in the book are designed for kindergartners, none of the activities have…

Provided are Tennessee's state kindergarten curriculum guides in the 6 areas of health, social studies, language arts, science, physical education, and mathematics. The health curriculum guide centers on developing and maintaining good health. The social studies guide aids children in understanding self as an individual and in relation to other…

Concept-teaching procedures in five basal language programs for kindergarten were analyzed on the basis of 11 design-of-instruction criteria. Concepts such as position, color, shape, size, and directionality were examined. Results suggest that the programs' concept-teaching procedures failed to adhere to essential principles for designing…

This thematic unit involves kindergarten and 1st grade students in the production of a theatrical performance based on the folktale, "The Little Red Hen." The interdisciplinary unit connects knowledge related to theater arts, art, language arts, music, applied mathematics, social studies, and science. Students visit a local theater and…

This kindergarten curriculum guide for Philadelphia public schools has as its overall goals the development of: (1) competence in reading, writing, speaking, listening, mathematics, science, reasoning, life skills, social studies, the arts, and physical and health education; (2) citizenship skills; (3) career preparation skills; and (4) human…

In this colorfully illustrated kindergarten activity, students read (and re-read) "My Blue Suitcase" (Sharon Katz), as an introduction to traveling. The book uses all of the basic forms of transportation and forms the transportation lesson outline. The activity gives the students the task of learning about each mode of transportation:…