Hello everyone,
Since I am early childhood oriented, I decided to select the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English and Language Arts for Kindergarten age children:
1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
2. With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
3. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
4. Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
5. Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
6. With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.
7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between the illustrations and the story in which they appear.
8. With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences
of characters in familiar stories.
9. Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
Generally speaking, the standards set forth in this literacy curriculum are highly dependent on scaffolding for the students. Without scaffolding, the children run a risk for being set up for failure. Although these standards do not specify the following, scaffolding should NOT only occur between the teacher and the student. It should also occur from student to student.
Since these expectations are quite general, there are myriads of ways in which I could modify the curriculum so that it bolsters sound critical thinking. For instance, standard 1 mentions that educators should ask and answer certain questions about the story to children. However, I would ensure that all of these questions are rich open ended questions, such as those beginning with "what" or "how." Additionally, I would also provide children with opportunities to take the floor and ask the questions or begin the discussion. While people believe otherwise, kindergarteners are capable of that. Another way in which I could foster critical, inquiry based thinking is by creating expectations that link the curriculum to the child and his/her experiences. For instance, standard 8 requires us to have the children compare and contrast the adventures/experiences of characters in stories they are familiar with. In my classroom, I would have the children compare and contrast those experiences of those characters with themselves or with their classmates. Essentially, having them engage in text-to-self connections.
Like any curriculum, this one has its fair share of flaws. The main components that I would incorporate are those relating to technology, children with special needs, and English language learners. For instance, I would add another standard that would look like the following, "With prompting and support, engage children in technology that fosters their literacy skills." Examples of this technology would be books on tape, books on the internet, computer software, and recording story telling sessions on video. Furthermore, I would also annex another component such as the following, "With prompting and support, children with special needs and disabilities will participate in a rich, functional literacy curriculum along with their general education classmates." It is so important for children with disabilities to have similar literacy experiences as their peers. If they have these early on, they will also learn to love reading and literacy. Lastly, I would establish a tenet that states, "All kindergarteners will have access to a classroom and school library that introduces them to foreign, multicultural children's literature." If children have the opportunity to read or browse books in other languages, they will be motivated to learn another language and about other cultures.
Once again, thank you for bearing with my tardiness lately.
Best,
Maria Valarezo
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