Picture Writing

Rationale

For most of my students, Kindergarten is their first experience with academic language, skills development, and a structured environment for learning. All are second language learners explicitly developing their English language speaking skills. Using visual images greatly supports their learning and provides better comprehension-building opportunities. Combining that with the use of meaningful vocabulary will help them better express themselves when speaking and writing. Students will learn to comprehend content with a depth of knowledge and learn key vocabulary in this weather unit so that they can fill the gaps in prior knowledge. This unit will combine visual literacy strategies with hands-on experience to strengthen students' knowledge base. The strategies will be explained, and then implemented in student projects and activities. I have included a few sample lessons in Classroom Activities. Please use any part of this weather unit including the links, and adjust lessons to your own students' needs. Every school has its unique qualities.

Mount Pleasant Elementary School is part of a small community in the eastern foothills of San Jose, California. It serves students Kindergarten through fifth grade with general education, English Language Development (ELD), intervention, a Reading Partners program, and an after-school program. The school is primarily Hispanic/Latino (94%) with few of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Chinese descent (4%), and even fewer Caucasian (2%). It is currently in its fourth year of Program Improvement and is restructuring into a "themed" STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) school. I look forward to helping all these students develop into leaders and creative problem-solvers by teaching critical thinking skills across all subject areas, even though the focus for this first year is on the science theme. In looking through all our Kindergarten standards, I find that the phrase "build on prior knowledge" is quite general, and difficult for teachers to do when prior knowledge of five-year olds is minimal. Some may question what prior knowledge then should a four or five year old possess upon entering Kindergarten? What prior knowledge is common among this young age?

There is ongoing research into Kindergarten Readiness and Preschool. For example, in a study by Hatcher, Nuner, and Paulsel reported in "Kindergarten Readiness and Preschools: Teachers' and Parents' Beliefs Within and Across Programs," they found six main concerns from parents and educators regarding Kindergarten Readiness. When summing up their findings, they cited "social and emotional factors as the core of readiness, combined with perceived academic components such as literacy skills." The literacy skills they mention include "letter recognition, sound/letter association, recognizing sight words, and names, and writing – especially the ability to write one's own name." ¹ To be honest, my students do not come to school with most of the above-mentioned literacy skills. I have found that it is not just my students who lack these important skills: it is the same situation beyond East San Jose.

Research uncovers more insight into our plight: "More and more children arrive in kindergarten never having been read to, not knowing how to hold a book, unaware of what to do with the letters that could spell their own names. 'Although the average child in the United States has had approximately 3,000 hours of pre-school language literacy experience at home before entering the 1 ^st grade, the ever-growing population of at-risk children averages only 260 hours of such experience."' ² Sarah D. Sparks shares in her article in Education Week that, according to a study by Hart and Risley, children from well-off families have a working vocabulary of 1,116 words, compared to 749 words for children in working-class families, and 525 words for children whose families are on welfare. She goes on to quote them as saying, "The consensus among researchers and educators has been that students must close such vocabulary gaps to succeed academically and deal with rigorous content." ³ This unit will provide fun ways to connect images and key vocabulary words to help fill the gap our students face when trying to gain a deeper understanding of weather and the world around them.

When I began researching and writing this unit, I believed that more students over the years began Kindergarten with less academic readiness. This was the premise for addressing the problem teachers of young children have in "building on [students'] prior knowledge" as required in our standards. I still believe it because of my research; however, I have also realized that incoming students may unknowingly have a different set of skills centered on and around various modes of technology that may not match our traditional academic requirements and teaching styles. This is an important insight on which both teachers and students can build.

Technology is something many of my students have experienced in their personal lives through interactive games on their parents' smart phones, tablets, home consoles, and hand-held devices. As teachers we can embrace what Burmark says, "The workplace landscape is changing dramatically, corresponding to the frenetic pace of technological progress." ⁴ I plan to integrate teacher and student use of technology into this unit to build knowledge in meaningful and relevant ways. Of course, adjustments can be made according to what technology is available at your school. In order to instill our school's vision, "to be a high-achieving school and to set students on the path to the university," ⁵ there is much needed to bridge the gap and build a solid foundation of academic skills preparing students for the twenty-first century college and career path. In this unit, project-based learning, along with strategic integration of visual literacy techniques and technology, will enhance student comprehension regarding weather concepts.