KINDERGARTEN BEGINNING OF YEAR EXPLICIT WRITING CURRICULUM

Start your year off right with this beginning-of-year kindergarten writing curriculum. With this unit, students learn proper letter formation through handwriting practice as well as develop basic writing skills so they are ready to rock and roll with opinion, narrative, and informative writing.

Best of all, we've done all the work for you. Just copy the writing pages and follow the directions on the slides. That's it!

We are talking NO PREP and no more than 5 minutes of planning a day!

This Common Core Standards Aligned writing curriculum is the perfect way to

introduce writing to your kindergarteners. Why? Because it sets students up for success in writing by focusing on essential foundational skills that are oftentimes overlooked. These foundational skills are needed before expecting them to engage in personal narrative, informative, and opinion writing.

Your kindergarteners will learn to…

• form letters with an emphasis on letter/sound relationships

• illustrate with shapes and lines

• tell about illustrations (you can add dictation if you choose)

• begin to use invented spelling

The BEST PART is that this unit is designed to go hand in hand with the scope and sequence of any reading program. Whichever letter you are introducing in reading, you can easily pull up the two writing lessons that support it. An additional bonus that teachers LOVE is that ALL the planning has been done for you – making writing time stress-free, painless, and FUN!

(NOTE: Please know that this unit focuses on teaching kindergarteners correct letter formation using three lines. This is explained more in the FAQ section, but we want to let you know that if your philosophy differs from this, this resource may not be the best fit for you.)

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WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY ABOUT TEACHING WRITING?

While there is a massive amount of research on best practice in reading, that is not the case with writing.

A few books we recommend you read if you want to learn more about best practice in writing instruction using evidence-based strategies are:

• The Writing Revolution by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler
• The Writing Rope by Joan Sedita
• Best Practices in Writing Instruction by Steve Graham, Charles A MacArthur, and Michael Hebert

What we do know is that writing is an extremely complex skill that requires time and solid instruction. (Graham et al., 2012)

Additionally...

• Writing should be taught systematically and explicitly
• Writing instruction should be carefully scaffolded

Our curriculums provide teachers with DAILY scripted lessons that are explicit, systematic, and scaffolded. Students are so successful because of the gradual release of responsibility, explicit instruction, and daily writing practice where they implement the use of skills taught.

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ORGANIZATION OF THIS UNIT

This is a 12-week unit with a total of 58 lessons.

This unit begins with six “Getting Ready” lessons that focus on lines, shapes, and drawing. There’s also a lesson that familiarizes students with line guides, dot guides, and coloring a picture with multiple colors.

The remaining 52 lessons focus on the letters of the alphabet. There are two lessons for each letter. Each lesson includes a handwriting portion and an illustrating/sharing portion. Letter and sound relationships as well as an introduction to labeling and invented spelling are integrated into each lesson.

The alphabet lessons are organized in ABC order so you can easily find lessons that follow the letter/sound sequence you follow.

A lesson format is used that guides the teacher in explicitly teaching skills and concepts using a strategy called – Watch Me, Our Turn, Your Turn. This teaching model gradually releases responsibility to the learner.

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WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THIS RESOURCE?

•58 DIGITAL LESSON PLANS that make your teaching stress-free.

Display using your computer and an interactive board and follow the Watch Me, Our Turn, Your Turn format.

•116 Student writing pages: One handwriting page and one “writing” (illustration/ labeling) page for each lesson.

•Pre/post assessment:

•Optional pencil grasp lesson (with parent letter)

•Letter formation observation checklist (2 versions):

• Letter formation assessment pages (multiple versions to choose from)

•5 Posters: Print in color and display.

•Blank Penmanship and Writing/Drawing Pages

•BONUS: 15 Editable NAME WRITING

“auto-fill” templates

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HOW TO USE THIS UNIT

Everything you need for instruction (directions, teacher talk, writing pages for modeling) is built into the PowerPoint slides. There’s no separate teacher’s guide to follow. All you need to do is click through the slides as you teach. Before beginning the unit, you may want to give the optional pre-assessment.

Begin with the six Get Ready lessons. These lessons are designed to engage students in prewriting skills that will be referred to later in the unit, such as drawing lines, shapes, and simple pictures. They also are introduced to line guides and dots to help with letter formation.

Depending on the letter/sound scope and sequence you are using, scroll through the alphabetized lessons to find the one you need. There are two lessons for each letter of the alphabet. Day 1 lesson should be taught before Day 2 lesson due to more scaffolding being integrated into it.

Begin on the first slide of the lesson (the learning target slide) and teach away. Progress through the slides until you reach the On Your Own Slide for handwriting. After students complete it, either teach the illustrating/labeling portion immediately after or teach it later in the day. Last, have students complete the On Your Own “writing” page.

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WHY DOES THIS UNIT USE EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION?

It’s simple… IT WORKS!

This unit uses explicit instruction. This teaching method allows teachers to scaffold learning by giving structured lessons that target specific skills. Each day targeted skills are explained and modeled by the teacher. They are then practiced with guidance. Students are held accountable for their learning by engaging in daily assignments that specifically target the focus skills. This means ALL learners are set up for success.

If you’re thinking that this doesn’t sound like Writer’s Workshop, you’re right. It’s not. Years ago, we implemented Writer’s Workshop in our classrooms, but it didn’t work for us or for our students. The biggest problems were…

•It was difficult to manage and keep students on track.

•It was a planning nightmare trying to find mini-lessons for the diverse needs of students.

•Students were expected to “draw” their stories, but many just stared at their papers saying, “I can’t draw.”

•Students were encouraged and expected to use invented spellings when many were unable to form letters and had not yet learned letter/sound relationships.

We felt as though we were “rushing” writing and, inadvertently, caused frustration and bad habits. We knew we had to do something different. We knew we needed to put structure and intentionality into our teaching. So, now, we clearly state what students will be working on, give thoughtful instruction through modeling and discussion, and provide time to practice as we observe and guide. It is simple to manage and gives students the support they need.

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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING THIS STRUCTURED WRITING RESOURCE?

· The entry point for this unit is assessable to all learners.

· Lessons are carefully and thoughtfully scaffolded, ensuring success for all learners.

· Our I Do, We Do, You Do format sets your kindergarten writers up for success.

· At the completion of this unit, your students will have the basic skills they need to be able to confidently engage in kindergarten lessons designed to teach opinion, narrative, and informative writing.

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WHO IS THE RESOURCE FOR?

❤️ Kindergarten teachers looking for a strong, yet easy to implement, writing curriculum that is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and fun for kids.

❤️ Special Education Teachers who need to take students at other grade levels back to the basics and build a strong writing foundation.

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HERE'S WHAT TEACHERS LIKE YOU ARE SAYING:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I absolutely loved the first-grade version. Now that I’m teaching kindergarten, this is going to make planning so much easier. Everything you’d need is included. Such an efficient and systematic way to teach writing. It still allows for student creativity. -DEB

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I LOVE these units! When I taught 1st Grade I used this and knew when I switched to Kindergarten it was a must to get. Thank you for creating an engaging curriculum for students and something extremely easy for teachers and substitutes to follow. -JESSICA

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the goal of this writing unit?

This writing unit is all about preparing students with prewriting skills that will empower them to be successful later in the year with personal narrative, informative, and opinion writing. This unit helps kids learn how to form letters, illustrate and add details, begin using invented spelling, and verbally tell about pictures… which is their story. This happens before students write freely on their own.

Why is handwriting integrated into this writing unit and why is there so much emphasis placed on it?

Having a strong foundation in letter/sound relationships and being able to write letters legibly are essential skills for students to have before expecting them to write on their own. Instead of rushing independent writing, this unit thoughtfully teaches the name, sound, and formation of each letter and, as it is taught, students apply it using invented spelling.

In addition, we’ve found that when students are encouraged to write without having mastered letter formation skills, they oftentimes create their own way of forming letters which may interfere with legibility and ease of writing. The longer they are allowed to practice incorrect letter formation, the more ingrained the bad habits become, making it very difficult to change later in the year or in later grades.

Why are students expected to write letters on three lines instead of on blank whiteboards or paper?

The use of three lines is critical for handwriting development. Proper letter sizing and formation play an important role in legibility and help students write with ease. The lines, which are labeled sky line, fence line, and grass line, make it easier for children to know where to start and end their letters. We believe in immediately teaching how to use line guides so students learn correct formation from the get-go, instead of trying to correct bad habits later in the year. It may not be easy for all students at first, but the more practice they have using lines, the easier it will become.

Since the program is digital, what should I do if I can’t display the slides digitally and/or write on the slides?

You can print a hard copy of the teaching slides and display them on your document camera.

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HERE ARE OTHER KINDERGARTEN WRITING CURRICULUMS YOU'LL LOVE:

KINDERGARTEN OPINION WRITING CURRICULUM

KINDERGARTEN INFORMATIVE WRITING CURRICULUM

KINDERGARTEN PERSONAL NARRATIVE CURRICULUM

KINDERGARTEN YEARLONG WRITING CURRICULUM BUNDLE

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Becky & Cindy

Team Primary Bliss Teaching