|
PURPOSE
 The
Total Reading Kindergarten Program , I AM UNIQUE, is an adaptation of the
Total Reading
methodology to an oral approach within the
framework of monthly self-esteem/self-determination units, based
on Read Aloud (K-1) children's literature.
Whole group instruction is employed, with
paired cooperative learning groupings also utilized.
The material is prepared in a manner so
that no child experiences failure, and every child is challenged
to develop to the utmost of his or her abilities.
The optimum outcome is a group of five to
six year olds who value themselves and each other in a positive
manner, have started a lifetime long enjoyment of reading
literature, and have begun to develop their creative language
skills.
ORGANIZATION
The following nine units (preceded by an Orientation Week and
concluding with a Culmination Week) have been developed to
coincide with the traditional nine months of the school year.
However, except for some seasonal projects and books, the units
may be easily adapted to the year round curriculum. Each unit
capitalizes on a particular area of concentrated growth.
- September
- I Am A Student - teaches classroom
rules and procedures and discusses classroom rights, with
emphasis upon the children's responsibility to do their best
and to make correct behavioral choices.
- October
- I Am Unique - concentrates on each
child's special qualities, feelings, and talents. Emphasis is
placed on appreciating similarities and differences, while
capitalizing upon individuality.
- November
- I Am Thankful - focuses upon all of
the wonderful things we have to be grateful for in our lives:
health, freedom, family, friends, talents, heritage, and
school.
- December
- I Am Helpful - aims to even the
balance away from the self-centeredness which can characterize
Christmas and to give the children specific ways to help their
families out during this busy season.
- January
- I Am A Friend - centers on the themes
of what makes a good friend and how to become one.
- February
- I Am An American - reflects on how
fortunate we are to be Americans, as we learn about the great
Americans of the past and present.
- March
- I Am A Scientist - focuses on the
qualities of curiosity and critical thinking, as we learn about
the different kinds of scientists, and study a specific science
unit.
- April
- I Am A Reader - coincides with the
reading of the Margaret Hillert Preprimers, and particularly
celebrates the imaginative author, Beatrix Potter.
- May
- I Can Play Safely - teaches the
safety skills needed to play safely in our particular
environment this summer.
Each unit consists of seventeen days (December has nine), and
each day has two main areas of emphasis: (1) the
self-esteem/self-determination concepts woven into a creative
language program, and (2) decoding and reading and language
skills. Each of these areas is further divided into short daily
activities to correspond with the early childhood attention
span.
TEACHER PREPARATION
A
shortened Capsule Course is provided after the Introduction. Teachers
unfamiliar with the Total Reading methodology are
advised to attend a one or two day Workshop or a summer Happening, or to
study Levels I and II from the Total Reading Video
Workshop.
POINTS TO PONDER
Our goal as teachers is to motivate and
equip each of our students to become literate, self-respecting,
well-balanced, socially useful citizens, who are able to make
maximum use of their natural gifts and abilities in an environment
where each one feels safe to make mistakes.
Self-reliance is the cornerstone of
self-esteem and enables a person to be independent and in control
of one's life. A successful teacher is one who becomes
progressively unnecessary, because of having built self-reliance
and independence into the students. The persistence of the teacher
in achieving this goal causes the children to feel success and
increases their self-esteem. Said in another way, children who
experience successful achievement feel a satisfaction that is the
result of a deep sense of self-appreciation.
The
purpose of the I AM UNIQUE
Kindergarten units is the realization of the above ambition for
the teacher and the children, and each of the following
contributes to this aim:
From Orientation Week onward
specific techniques are provided to aid the teacher in focusing
the children's attitudes correctly to help them develop
self-esteem, determination, and reliance in a balanced manner
that does not cause another child to feel less self-esteem but
stimulates mutual encouragement.
Discipline is fostered in the
classroom, so that each child feels comfortable in pursuing
individual achievement and self-appreciation. Role models are
provided through the Value Tale series. Certain books from the
wealth of children's literature are recommended for their
relevance to the overall unit topic.
An oral approach to a proven decoding
methodology allows no child to experience failure in unlocking
basic communication in the English language.
Parent participation is encouraged in
order to reinforce the attitudes and accomplishments being
developed in the classroom.
In the Introduction to each unit there
is a special Points to Ponder section and a Rainbow Remark from
Persevering with Pizazz.
COMMENTS FROM OUR PILOTS
During the school year 1991-92 eight experienced
Total Reading teachers piloted I AM UNIQUE
in Kindergarten in schools located in
various geographic and socioeconomic locations. Their comments
have been summarized at the beginning of each unit in the
following categories:
- LE/I - Limited English/Immature
- MM/ST - Medium Maturity/Small Town
- MM/R - Medium Maturity/Rural
- MM/C - Medium Maturity/City
FOSTERING SELF-ESTEEM AND
SELF-DETERMINATION
Self-esteem and self-determination are at the core
of the I AM UNIQUE
approach to Kindergarten, and are
fostered by the Value Books, the ME I AM Book, the unit projects,
and other special activities like the Special Week Bulletin Board.
BUILDING
SELF-DISCIPLINE
Self-discipline is encouraged from the beginning,
starting with emphasis on classroom rules, and strengthened through
techniques such as the Names Basket, the Weekly Friend, the Fix-It Game,
Sunshine Telegrams, and Band Aid Chart, the Take Home Envelopes, and the
I AM UNIQUE
Songs.
READING AND
LANGUAGE
Employing a mainly oral approach, the methodology
of Levels I and II of the Total Reading
Primary Program is taught by utilizing
K-1 Read Aloud library books, seven Big Books, sound and word
cards, charts, worksheets, and games, and the Margaret Hillert
Beginning to Read Preprimer collection.
Pencil and paper writing is begun in the second
half of the school year. Since the kinesthetic sense is important
to learn the Total Reading
process, the children also feel the letters and chalk on
their fingers, sand paper or other fuzzy letters. Plus
they learn fingerprinting and airwriting.
PARENT
PARTICIPATION
Participation at home in the Total
Reading
Kindergarten Program is enlisted in Orientation Week with
a group meeting to explain the units to come. A Parent Letter
covers that information as well as: daily (or nightly) reading
aloud from library books brought home and returned the next day*,
each child's Special Week, and how to discuss the Wonderful Words.
On Friday of Culmination Week a Parent Party is
planned.
*It has been shown that there is a direct
correlation between parents reading aloud to their children and
the child's success in the reading/language arts curriculum.
|
