Areas Definition Strategies Differentiation

for EL Students
Phonemic The ability to Phoneme Segmenting- segmenting Go through picture
Awareness identify and phonemes in words. cards ahead of time.
manipulate Phoneme Feud
individual sounds k1_pa046_phoneme_feud.pdf Choral Reading
(acsitefactory.com)
(phonemes) in
Clap the sounds
spoken words.
Phoneme Matching- matching
initial phonemes in words.
k1_pa025_one_card_out.pdf
(acsitefactory.com)

Phonics Matching the Matching initial phonemes to Model Activity

sounds of spoken graphemes.
English with Brown Bag It Partners
individual letters k1_p012_brown_bag_it.pdf
(fcrr.org) Offer one-on-one
or groups of
assistance when
letters.
Encoding and Decoding -blending possible.
sounds of letters to make words.
Letter Cube Blending
k1_p036_letter_cube_blending.pdf
(acsitefactory.com)

Vocabulary The knowledge Word knowledge - producing Pair photos with

of words, descriptive words. words.
including their Choose and Chat
structure k1_v007_choose_and_chat.pdf Make an extra set of
(fcrr.org) pictures to look at
(morphology),
when guessing.
use (grammar),
Words in Context - identifying and
meanings sorting words by categories. Peer Partner
(semantics), and Word Fill-In
links to other k1_v024_word_fill_in.pdf
words (acsitefactory.com)
(word/semantic
relationships).

Fluency The ability to Word Fluency -gaining speed and Modify words used
read with speed, accuracy in reading words. or use just letters
accuracy, and Fast Match depending on
proper k1_f009_fast_match.pdf student’s level.
(acsitefactory.com)
expression.
Make partner
choices based on
needs.
 Comprehension  The Narrative Text Structure- Use pictures of
understanding sequencing events in a story. events instead of or
and Sequence-A-Story along with sentence
interpretation of k1_c009_sequence_a_story.pdf strips.
(fcrr.org)
what is read.
Student completes
Narrative Text Structure- activity individually
identifying story elements. with teacher’s
Story Question Cube guidance.
k1_c011_story_question.pdf
(fcrr.org) Illustrate instead of
writing answer.

Seat students who

may need extra help
next to the teacher.

Assessments:

1. PALS – Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening

PALS is a research-based screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring tool. In my classroom I

use PALS to identify students at risk of developing reading difficulties, diagnose students'
knowledge of literacy fundamentals, monitor progress, and plan instruction that targets
students' needs. Student data collected from PALS provides a direct means of matching literacy
instruction to specific literacy needs. PALS-PreK - Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for
Preschool, measures name writing, alphabet knowledge, beginning sound awareness, print and
word awareness, rhyme awareness, and nursery rhyme awareness. As the classroom teacher, I
administer PALS individually to each student in my class during the fall and spring of the year.
There is an optional winter window for an additional screener if I feel it is valuable to collect
additional data. This assessment also provides quick checks that can be used throughout the
year to monitor alphabet knowledge.
 2. ESGI – Educational Software for Guiding Instruction
ESGI's pre-kindergarten and transitional kindergarten assessments include basic developmental
skills and observational assessments. They have been developed to align to preschool
foundational standards as well as CCSS for kindergarten. I use EGSI multiple times throughout
the school year to monitor both pre-literacy skills and beginning math skills. The data I collect
from ESGI guides my instruction and helps me form literacy groups to better meet the needs of
the students in my class. ESGI provides class reports as well as individual data reports. It also
has a parent letter available to improve communication and keep families updated on their
child’s skills. Along with the parent report, flashcards are available to print which encourages
practice of skills at home. At the end of the school year, the results of these assessments are
used to help determine kindergarten readiness and guide title services for the following year.

3. Individual Reading Conferences

About halfway through the school year, I begin having individual reading conferences with each
student once a week. This is done after the students have had two days of small group
instruction during math and literacy time. During those two days, a new level aa reader is
introduced, each child writes and/or illustrates his/her own page in the book and practices
reading the text. Individual reading conferences allow a one-on-one meeting between the
student and teacher. During that meeting I can provide personalized feedback to support
individual reading instruction. Specific skills I am observing and instructing include, left-to right
progression, one-to-one correspondence as children track the text, alphabet knowledge,
beginning sound awareness, print and word awareness, rhyme awareness, and beginning
decoding skills.

4. Teacher Observations (During group time, small group learning centers, math and
literacy time)
Most of the four-year-old kindergarten curriculum in my classroom is designed to include hands
on activities in which specific skills are targeted to practice. During these purposefully thought
out and set up activities, I can monitor and observe the practice, as well as mastery of targeted
skills. Literacy skills are among the skills introduced, practiced, and mastered during a variety of
whole group and small group activities. Some activities are designed to be teacher lead, and
some are completed independently by the students. In each case, the teacher can observe, and
document literacy skills and use that information to guide further instruction.