Strategies
Listening Comprehension
In Kindergarten the students cannot read stories, but they are asked to comprehend stories. This takes the form of listening comprehension. As the teacher reads a story, students are expected to follow along paying special attention to details from the text and the pictures that accompany the words. Some of the details that I could specifically ask probing questions about are the characters, the setting, and the events from the beginning, middle and end of the story.
When we discuss characters, students should be able to answer questions that relate to our study of culture. What are the characters wearing? Are they eating anything that seems new to you? Do they speak any words that are unfamiliar to you?
Students are questioned about setting. By carefully paying attention to the setting students can pick up details about the culture. Some guiding questions could be; what can you see about the house that looks different? Are there any paintings or pictures hanging on the walls? What does the town look like? What kinds of things can you observe during the parade?
Plot would also be useful to discuss. Sample questions could be; what does the character do next? Why do you think that happened? How is this event different from what you are used to?
Making Connections
Throughout the unit I have mentioned making connections to the stories. This is a great comprehension strategy. I regularly ask the students to share what the story brings to mind for them. It is essential to model this strategy for the kids. Modeling is of course just doing the activity yourself first while talking through your thinking aloud for the kids to hear. But beware, whatever you model, you will get parroted back at you. I always try to connect a story to some event that I know the kids won’t be able to connect to themselves. For example, that part of the story reminds me of when I first drove a car… Giving an answer like that models the connection strategy but it also keeps them thinking, as no five or six year old can convincingly say they have also driven a car. I would probably hear a lot of stories about the riding of bikes, though. I hope that as the unit progresses students find connections between the Chinese and the Mexican cultures. I am, however, absolutely certain that they will find connections between each culture and our culture found in New Castle, Delaware. That means the kids are connecting the texts to themselves. This is a skill which will serve them well far beyond kindergarten. Being able to connect a story to them selves, to a different story, or to the world at large is a skill that is practiced by good readers regardless of their grade level.
Graphic Organizers
A strategy for organizing material is to use a graphic organizer. Using graphic organizers is practically mandated by the Common Core State Standards. Beyond that though, the use of graphic organizers helps students to arrange and retain information that they are learning. Organizers do everything from sequencing to comparing and contrasting. I am using a web to track our discoveries of the cultures and a T-Chart for comparing and contrasting the Mexican and Chinese cultures. A large variety of graphic organizers can be found online by using a search engine. If you would like to see examples of T-Charts or webs, run a web search. One good site for finding graphic organizers is www.fcrr.org.
Picture Sorting
I will be using a “blind sort” to introduce the unit as well as to assess how we did as the unit closes. Doing so will bookend the unit nicely in my mind and allow me to see the students’ growth. A blind sort works like this. I will print out a variety of pictures depicting clothing, foods, traditions, holidays, architecture, and other “ingredients” of culture. These pictures will feature both “ingredients” from Chinese and Mexican culture. Each child will get one picture. They will then without guidance have to find other people whom have pictures that seem to fit with their own. I will tell the kids that in the end there should be two big teams. This should stop the kids from forming many little partnerships with their buddies. At the end of the sorting we will discuss why they think all members of the team belong together. This can be a powerful way for kids to start discovering the differences between our two cultures of study.
Kindergarten Writing
In kindergarten writing is not just considered words, sentences, and paragraphs put to paper by the child’s own hand. Right in the CCSS kindergarten writing is defined as “using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing.” What this means is, if a child were to draw a picture to express their idea it is considered writing. A student relaying their story to me as I transcribe is writing. A child putting letter strings together is writing. Different children have different levels of writing skill. I will be teaching this unit in January or February. By that point of the year I anticipate many students will be at least attempting to sound out words. We will be writing for different purposes in this unit. The students will be writing expository pages to show examples of the different cultural “ingredients”. They may draw a sombrero and then copy letters as I spell the term, or attempt to sound the word out themselves. They could draw a paper dragon from Spring Festival and then create a label for their art. We will also be writing a story which will feature elements of the cultures. They may draw a child bowing to a grandfather. They could attempt to sound out the words in a sentence that says as much (though I most always require a picture too). They could even dictate what they would like to say about an event for me to record.
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