Frog Street Pre-K 2020 Spanish

Evaluation for 2.1
Materials are cross-curricular and integrated in an authentic way to support students’ unified experience throughout the day and/or unit.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include specific, intentional, and purposeful cross-curricular connections to create a unified experience for students. For example, in Unit 2 (“Mi Familia y mis Amigos”), the teacher starts the day with the greeting circle. The students sing the song “Mi Familia de la Escuela.” Then the teacher relates the morning message to the theme. The teacher says, “Las familias son fabulosas.” First, the children repeat the sentence verbally; then, the teacher writes the sentence and points to each word, and the students identify the letter sounds (/f/, /s/, /b/). The “Música y Movimiento” section includes family-related songs, such as “Mi familia” and “Tengo una familia” for the students to sing along with the teacher. During story time, the teacher reads books such Las familias and Un sillón para mi mamá and discusses the roles of the authors and illustrators. In the next week of the theme, the teacher leads a small group where the students use plastic letters to make the names of family members. The lessons are organized under a common theme across multiple days and weeks, providing children many opportunities to build background knowledge, make connections, and explore concepts in a variety of ways across multiple domains. 

In Theme 6, “El movimiento,” the materials provide lessons that integrate multiple developmental domains. For example, in Week 2, the teacher guides the students in exploring types of transportation. The teacher reads the book ¿Cómo nos vamos de aquí para allá? during the first read-aloud of each day and leads the students in discussion about different modes of transportation. Throughout the week, the students engage in activities such as constructing a sailboat that moves across the water, singing songs about transportation (“La moto, El helicóptero, En avión”), learning theme-related vocabulary, and participating in shared writing experiences to identify which mode of transportation would be best to get to a grocery store or a field trip. The students also construct cities and vehicles in the construction center, continue to explore boats in the sensory center, and make different kinds of transportation vehicles using pattern blocks in the math center. These activities, organized around a common theme, support children’s abilities to build background knowledge, make connections, and explore concepts in a variety of ways through different skill domains such as Emergent Reading, Emergent Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Fine Arts.

The materials tell which domains are purposefully developed and reinforced in each learning activity. The “Apendíce” in the “Guía de bienvenida” provides information about the standards taught for each domain of the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines. Additionally, in the Teacher’s Guide, for each theme, there is a scope and sequence in the back that identifies which skills are taught each week of each theme. The scope and sequence includes all domains of the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines plus “Approaches to Learning.” Furthermore, each activity in each week’s lessons (for every theme) is marked with the skills from each domain being covered. For example, in Theme 5, the STEAM activity “Ruedas decoradas” targets I.B.2., I.D.2., VII.A.2., VII.D.8., VI.E.5., and IX.A.2, which integrates Language and Communication, Science, Math, and Fine Arts.

Evaluation for 2.2
Materials utilize high-quality texts as a core component of content and skill integration.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Guía de bienvenida” describes the texts as supporting content and skill development in multiple domains. For example, the library contains a balanced number of literature (fiction) and informational texts (nonfiction), including popular titles, books with attractive photographs, and books of various artistic styles. These titles include fairy tales like Rapunzel, popular texts like Llaman a la puerta/The Doorbell Rang, and nonfiction books such as It’s Alive, to name a few. These title examples support content and skills such as story elements, counting, making equal groups, life science, and phonological awareness. The Appendix also includes a list of texts by theme. For example, in Theme 3, teachers read books such as The Alphabet Food, Workers in My Community, and In Shape, which connect to literacy, health and safety, and social studies concepts. 

All themes in the curriculum include a mixture of translated texts and those originally written in Spanish. For example, the texts Grasshopper Gus/Salvador the Grasshopper are not direct translations in order to maintain the authenticity of the original text. Popular English tiles like The Dot and A Chair for my Mother are also available in Spanish and are translated in a way in which the meaning is not interrupted. 

The materials include culturally relevant and diverse texts. For example, Theme 1 includes the text Tu piel fabuloso/Your Fabulous Skin, which has real pictures of multi-ethnic children that students can relate to. The content covered in the book Celebra el cuatro de Julio/Celebrate the Fourth of July is relevant to American children living in the United States because it is a national holiday. The illustrations depict diverse families celebrating. Theme 2 includes the book Abuela, which many children can relate to. The book is also bilingual and provides some words in English and Spanish. Theme 6 includes the book El baile de los números/The Number Dance, which includes children from various ethnic backgrounds and abilities. The teacher in this story gives each child a number up to 9 and invites each child to create a signature move. The children pick a movement that is appropriate for their abilities. These are few examples of diverse and culturally relevant texts included in the materials.

Evaluation for 2.3
Materials support developmentally appropriate practice across all content domains.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Guía de bienvenida” includes information for teachers to set up purposeful play that promotes student choice and provides opportunities for students to practice learning objectives through “Centros de práctica.” The materials explain that for each week, materials suggestions are provided for each center. Teachers may leave the suggested materials in the centers all week or switch out materials using the suggestions for the “mediados de semana.” The materials also encourage teachers to incorporate guided play, which is a good balance between structure and free-choice and a successful teaching tool to support a range of educational outcomes (Weisberg et al., 2013). 

The materials suggest 12 play-based centers that support the practice of all skill domains in the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines. For example, in Theme 1, in the Centros de práctica section, the materials recommend that children explore playdough by kneading it, folding it, taking it by the handful, and pinching it in the “Motor fino” center. In the “Ciencias” center, the children can explore the instruments or tools that scientists use to investigate and describe their findings. In the “Matematicas” center, the students freely explore math manipulatives and describe the materials by their shape, color, and material. In the “Abecedario” center, children explore the features of letters and use them to copy their names. Through these center opportunities, the children engage in purposeful play to practice skills from a variety of skill domains.

The materials have an intentional balance of direct instruction and student choice through the whole group, small group, and practice centers. For example, in Theme 6, children learn about modes of transportation. During whole group lessons for the week, the teacher reads a book about transportation, directly explains new words such as helicopter, carriage, jet ski, airplane, and leads the students to graph the types of transportation they have used. In the small group lessons, the teacher reinforces vocabulary and leads the students in a shared writing activity. The students identify the type of transportation needed to travel to places such as the grocery store, a field trip, or a farm. Finally, in centers, students can continue to explore the concepts and skills learned during the whole group and small group. In the “Sensorial” center, the children explore moving boats from one side of the pretend ocean to the other. In the “Estación de la creatividad,” the students have the option of making their vehicle of choice with shapes cut from construction paper. In the Motor fino center, the children have the option of using a magnetic wand to move a “car” (a magnetic marble) down a zig-zag road. The curriculum purposefully provides direct instruction opportunities while supporting children’s choices and interests throughout the curriculum.

The materials provide opportunities for children to meet and practice learning objectives through exploration and play. In Theme 6, the children design an obstacle course. The teacher builds students’ background knowledge by showing students pictures of different equipment used on a playground and tells them that the owners want to include a fun obstacle course. The teacher and students brainstorm ideas. The teacher reminds the students that they have to follow the design criteria, which states the obstacle course must fit on land, have a start and finish, include three obstacles, and three ways to move their bodies. On days 2–4 of the week, the students explore creating an obstacle course with different materials to make a model of the obstacle course. Finally, on day 5, the students share their ideas. Each week in the materials provides a STEAM activity for children to engage in that makes the learning engaging, fun, and exploratory.

Evaluation for 2.4
Materials fit within a developmentally appropriate programmatic structure.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Guía de bienvenida” includes a variety of options that clearly differentiate instruction for level of development. For example, one section includes guidance for teachers on the prewriting shapes and symbols that support letter-writing. The “Trazos de la preescritura” chart lists what a child can normally do at a certain age. For example, at age 3, children can usually form vertical and horizontal lines; between the ages of 4 years and 1 month to 4 years 6 months, children can draw diagonal lines and squares with defined sides, and at 5 years and 3 months, children can typically copy a triangle with defined sides and corners. The “Escritura” section also has a chart explaining the development stages of writing and includes scaffolding suggestions for each stage. For example, when children scribble or write mock letters, the teacher should model writing and call attention to letter features; when children use invented spelling, the teacher should model listening to sounds in one-syllable words when he/she writes. This guidance provides teachers the information needed to support children at varying levels of development. 

The mathematics section explains a developmental progression for numbers and operations that allows a teacher to differentiate instruction. The materials explain that in the “Entendimento informal” stage, children can usually identify small quantities up to 3 without counting and use terms such as more and little to talk about quantity. In the “Entendimiento emergente” stage, children can usually count up to sets of 10 with one-to-one correspondence and demonstrate cardinality. In the “Entendimiento de las operaciones” stage, children can represent quantities with numerals, make sets of 10, count to 30, and more. In the “Entendimiento prealgebraico” stage, children can count on and tell one more or one less. This section also shows how the curriculum incorporates these skills into the themes based on the progression. For example, the skills in the earlier stages of learning are incorporated in the early themes, while the more challenging skills are incorporated later in the curriculum.

In addition to the differentiation supports mentioned above, teachers with multi-age classrooms can make adjustments to the curriculum based on each child’s individual learning profile of strengths and growth areas. To meet these individual needs for all children, the program provides a focused analysis of where each child is within all developmental domains through the “AIM Observational Assessment” tool, which is embedded within the curriculum. AIM outlines 60 “Learning Progressions” that pinpoint where children are at in relation to specific age levels, birth to age 5 and well into kindergarten. These Learning Progressions are cited at point of use for specific lessons and center activities in the teacher guides. The learning progressions are highlighted with icons to remind teachers when to consult the 9-level, age-specific continuum to determine where each child is in relation to that outcome measure.

Furthermore, the materials provide strategies for supporting and challenging students within small group instruction. For example, in Theme 6, the teacher targets initial sounds in words. The students listen to a tongue twister and identify the common initial sound in the words. The “Apoye” section guides the teachers to only say two words and have the students repeat the words to help students identify the initial sound. The “Desafíe” section guides the teacher to invite students to create their own tongue twister with words that begin with the same sound. The majority of the small group lessons include these supports.

The Guía de bienvenida includes recommended schedules to guide the teacher in planning for half- or full-day prekindergarten. Each schedule is broken down based on the length of each activity. The schedule recommended for full-day includes a greeting circle, music and movement, three read-alouds, outdoor play twice, lunch, quiet time, two small group sections (literacy and math), a STEAM lesson, and a closing circle. The difference for the half-day schedule is that it includes only two read-alouds, one outdoor playtime, omits lunch and quiet time, and does not include STEAM. However, the materials include a flexible weekly plan for each of the themes of the curriculum, which details the sequence of the activities throughout the week. Therefore, teachers can create unique plans using the time recommendations and prepare personalized daily plans that fit their schedule and preference.

Although the materials do not explicitly specify whether the program is intended for three- or four-year-old children, the provided differentiation allows for young children to be accommodated. The instructional materials provide differentiation, such as challenges for students who have mastered the skills and content taught and support for students who are struggling in various areas  and challenge students who have mastered the skills; however, three-year-old children do not automatically fall under struggling students. Three-year-olds are children whose developmental milestones differ from four- and five-year-olds in their development. 

Evaluation for 2.5
Materials include detailed guidance that supports teacher’s delivery of instruction.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include explicit guidance for teachers to support student development of content and skills through the use of teaching scripts. For example, each week in every theme, the materials include a “Brain Smart Start” lesson to target learning. Each lesson includes a four-step routine (“Una,” “Calme,” “Conecte,” “Compromiso”). The purpose of the Una component is to bring the students together as members of the class. The Calme component teaches students how to deal with stress through calming strategies. The Conecte component encourages practice skills to build relationships, and the Compromiso component asks students to commit to one of the “Acuerdos de la familia escolar.” For example, in Theme 1, to begin the lesson, the teacher tells the children that this week they will be learning about feelings. The students sing the song “Mi Familia de la Escuela” for the Une component. The materials guide the teacher to include all people that are assigned to the classroom in this activity. For the Calme component, the students learn the “El globo” calming strategy. The materials provide an instructions card for the teacher to guide students to raise their arms, interlace their fingers, and rest them on top of their head. The children take several breaths through their noses and move their hands upwards as they breathe as if filling a balloon. When their arms can extend no further, they release. During the Conecte component, the children take time to think about the friends not in school today, touch their hearts, and wish them well. Finally, in the Compromiso portion of the lesson, the students learn how to use their big voice. The materials guide the teacher to tell the students that using a “Voz grande” means we use our words to tell others about safer ways to treat us, such as saying, “I don’t like it when….” This explicit guidance for teacher and student actions supports students’ development and proficiency of content and skills—in this case, social and emotional skills.

The materials provide detailed guidance for connecting students’ prior content knowledge and experiences to new learning. For example, in Theme 5, the students learn about construction. After the students have spent some time discussing the basic steps to constructing a building during the week, the teacher invites them to use pictures to show what they remember. The teacher displays different phases of the house under construction, such as the frame, structure, electrical outlets, paint, installation of a door, and a complete house. The teacher asks the students to remember what they learned to put the pictures in order from the start of construction to the finish. The teacher then places the “Fases de la construcción” cards in the “Centro de construccion” as a reference while students make a skyscraper. Later in the unit, the teacher discusses “Monte Rushmore” after reading the book Gigantes hecho por hombre. The teacher turns to the page in the book with construction vehicles and asks the students if they remember the names of the vehicles. The teacher then builds on that knowledge and tells the students that these machines are simple machines. The teacher explains that the dump truck’s trailer is an inclined plane and the front loader’s bucket acts like a shovel. These vehicles use wheels and axles. 

The materials provide guidance for teachers on explicit instructional strategies for teaching prekindergarten skills. For example, in every small group lesson, the materials provide step-by-step instructions, along with the materials needed for the lessons. For example, in a small group lesson for math in Theme 4, the teacher engages students in identifying and recognizing the shapes. The materials guide the teacher to show a round, smooth rock and compare it to the one they saw in a video from ABCmouse. The teacher then asks students to choose the papercut that most resembles the shape and tell another object that has the same shape. Then the teacher invites the students to paste the shape chosen and “dibujar los detalles para completar su dibujo.” At the end of the lesson, the teacher asks, “¿Qué figura escogieron? ¿Qué están dibujando?” All small group lessons provide bulleted guidance for teachers with scripted comments and/or questions to support students’ learning of prekindergarten skills.

Evaluation for 2.6
Materials are supported by child development research on children’s development within and across all domains.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Guía de bienvenida” states that the program was authored and reviewed by “experts in anti-bias education, cultural sensitivity, early brain development research, comprehensive STEAM systems, and dual language acquisition.” One of the authors is F. Isabel Campoy, PH.D., who is a leader in bilingual education, the recipient of multiple literary awards, and a member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language. Other authors include Alma Flor Ada, Ph.D. (bilingual education leader and author), Dr. Thomas Moore (internationally recognized early childhood educator), and Mary Jo Huff (puppeteer, recording artist, and storyteller). 

The materials draw upon five research-based recommendations developed from What Works Clearinghouse’s publication Teaching Math to Young Children: Educator's Practice Guide (Frye, Baroody, Burchinal, Carver, Jordan, & McDowell, 2013). The primary research team who compiled this guide conducted an exhaustive review of the literature (2,300 peer-reviewed studies altogether), surveying best practices for teaching math to young children. The math instruction in the curriculum follows the recommendations from the panel, which include teaching numbers and operations, geometry, patterns, measurement, and data analysis using a developmental progression. They also include using progress monitoring to ensure that math instruction builds on what each child knows, teaching children to view and describe their world mathematically, dedicating time each day to teaching math, and integrating math instruction throughout the school day. 

The Welcome Guide includes a section about early brain development research and discusses five key findings cited in Rethinking the Brain: New Insight into Early Development by the Families and Work Institute. One key finding is that experiences wire the brain, and repetition strengthens that wiring. Another is that early relationships affect wiring. The section goes on to explain each key finding in-depth and provides ways for teachers to apply this brain research in the classroom to optimize student learning. Some recommendations are for adults to ensure children feel safe, keep lessons short, nurture curiosity, tap into prior knowledge, and provide time for practice. 

The materials also provide research-based guidance for instruction within the materials. The materials provide a brain-based strategy, “Impulsor Mental,” throughout the teacher guides to boost brain function and optimize learning. For example, in Theme 3, the Impulsor Mental box explains that daily routines have a positive effect on young children. Children feel most comfortable when there is predictability in the day’s activities because the brain responds positively to patterns. These brain-based strategies are consistently integrated into every teacher’s guide to enrich educators’ understanding of early childhood development.

Throughout each theme, there is also a box titled “¿Lo sabía?” that offers insights, suggestions, and research that support the activities taking place. For example, during a read-aloud in Theme 3 about different foods, the ¿Lo sabía? box states that talking about regional foods can expand horizons. The teacher is encouraged to include foods from all over the world during the conversation. In theme 7, the students engage in acting out a math addition story problem. The ¿Lo sabía? box states that acting out a problem helps children remember the sequence of events and visualize the actions of joining (coming together) that make the number increase. These embedded research tips/insights enrich teachers’ understanding of early childhood development to support student learning.

The materials include a bibliography in the “Apéndice” of the Guía de bienvenida. The “Referencias” section cites the resources used for all of the materials. For example, the materials cite Ram, K.W Glover, M. (2008), Already Ready Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten, which supports practices for writing with young children. The National Early Literacy Panel is also referenced, and their research can be connected to the information shared in the phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge sections of the Guía de bienvenida. There are many resources cited that are current and were written within the last ten years.

Evaluation for 3.1
Materials include direct social skill instruction and explicit teaching of skills.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

For each theme, the day begins with a “Brain Smart Start,” which includes an opportunity to “Unite, Calm, Connect, and Commit.” In Theme 1, teachers use full lessons to explore social competencies with students. The teacher scaffolds the welcome activities and models appropriate social interactions. The class is welcomed by meeting, greeting, and getting to know each of their classmates. Students take part in singing the “My School Family” song to promote class unity. Next, students do a calming strategy called “Stop, Take a breath, and Relax” (STAR) to learn about self-awareness skills, practice introductions to reinforce social awareness skills, and participate in goal setting to commit to positive experiences and self-regulation during the day. These components are essential to the morning routine. They provide social learning experiences and reinforce social skills instruction. They also address each of the social competencies outlined in the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines. Daily read-alouds connect to current themes and support social skills instruction. For example, in Theme 1, the texts Chloe Gets Ready for School and Sara Sidney’s First Day of School are examples of stories that identify common emotions that students experience at the beginning of the year. These texts also develop social competencies, emotional understanding, and responsiveness. The characters self-regulate their feelings and serve as an example for the student to connect to and learn coping strategies from; they also provide reassurance. Visual prompts such as “Balloon” and STAR are available during modeled lessons and routines as well as for student self-regulation. A full lesson in Theme 1 utilizes the text Feelings Are Real. Teachers model and scaffold learning to identify and name feelings. Materials provide scenarios for students to cope with complex emotions and offer suggestions on how to manage emotions once they are identified. Digital resources are available for parents to extend learning. During Week 4 of Theme 1, the digital book Feelings Are Real is shared with families to facilitate discussions at home about emotions their child may experience. The associated family newsletter offers explanations and guiding questions to guide family discussions about emotions; it also suggests activities to provide emotional support. Photo cards with pictures of children expressing different emotions, labeled with text, are used to facilitate instruction and discussion about feelings that students experience. The “Songs and Stories” resource has many examples of songs and stories that connect to the students’ emotions and feelings, such as “If You Are Happy and You Know It,” “I Wish You Well,” and “I Like Me.”

In Theme 2, teachers facilitate, and learners explore a full lesson on classroom agreements. Students can access a visual anchor chart for support. Students are able to focus on one commitment for the day; their choices include “listening ears,” “walking feet,” “helping hands,” and “big voice.” This allows for students to follow their classroom agreement and manage their own behaviors. During the “CONNECT” section in Theme 3, the learners sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Familiar songs are another form of text that can be used to develop social competence and emotional understanding. The teacher models how children should represent the song with their bodies. One student is the boat, and one student is the passenger. When the seas get rough because of a storm, the “boat” wraps his/her arms around the “passenger” to promote self-concept, self-regulation, and social awareness; this also strengthens relationships with others. 

The instructional materials provide a “Cultural Responsiveness” section throughout all themes. Explicit modeling of responsiveness by teachers promotes relatability to all learners and their backgrounds. For example, in Theme 6, the “Cultural Responsiveness” section suggests that teachers model responsiveness by displaying the word of the week in multiple languages, use languages spoken by families of students in the classroom, and have families help with the translations. The materials include instructional practices that support child self-concept, self-regulation, relationships with others, and social awareness. The teacher models these practices in each theme, building and reviewing. For example, the teacher models how to take deep breaths and slowly releases the breaths as a strategy for reducing stress and building self-regulation. Posters with visual prompts such as Balloon and STAR calming strategies are available for modeled lessons and routines as well as for students who need to use the strategies throughout the day. After explicit instruction, students are able to use the resources around the room to review, remind themselves, and take control of their emotional responses. The teacher instructs students on how to utilize anchor charts. The instructional materials include instructions and suggestions for teachers to use as guidance for teaching and demonstrating social behaviors. Teachers first present instructions as a guide for students, then lead students to follow them on their own. For example, in Theme 6, the teacher models the “Unite” piece of the “Greeting Circle,” in which students sing “The Wheels on the Bus,” review a previous walk-and-stop activity, and think of other ways that they could move and stop to the song or a different song. 

In Theme 7, in the “COMMIT” section of Brain Smart Start, teachers invite students to think about how they keep the “School Family” safe throughout the day through “how they do and don’t move their body.” This promotes self-awareness and self-regulation as well as builds positive relationships with others and social awareness. The instructional materials provide additional resources to support the development of social competencies. Portions of Dr. Bailey’s Conscious Discipline, which connects with each of the pieces of Unite, Calm, Connect, and Commit, are accessible for support. The materials include texts that are culturally relevant to children as well as developmentally appropriate books that support emotional literacy and self-control, such as Wild Feelings, How Lucy Feels, Taking Control, and Role Playing, among others. A list of additional books to reinforce and/or extend learning for each lesson and throughout the themes is located in the curriculum resources and digital books materials.

Evaluation for 3.2
Materials include repeated opportunities for students to practice social skills throughout the day.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” gives teachers explicit direction on how to incorporate social skills instruction throughout the day. Children begin the day with special greetings led by the student-assigned greeter. This experience provides a student model and builds natural relationships. A “Kindness Tree” is established in the classroom to bring attention to kind interactions and experiences that occur during the day. School jobs are assigned; they include positions such as line leader, kindness recorder, STAR (“Stop, Take a breath, and Relax”) leader, door holder, greeter, and new child buddy. These whole group and individual experiences build understanding and community and support social skill practice in a variety of ways. Students are given many opportunities to work together in both whole group and small group settings. This promotes natural interactions with peers and teachers; children demonstrate their competence in self-concept, self-regulation, social awareness, and relationships with others. Daily routines, such as the “Brain Smart Start,” are structured to lead the students in a morning ritual of uniting as a school family. Whole class practice of calming strategies, connecting with classmates, and making a daily commitment is the focus. The day ends with a “Closing Circle” that reviews morning commitments, new learning, and family connections, thus providing an essential application component. Throughout the day, the children have access to “The Safe Place” to practice self-regulation. Weekly ideas are given for “Brain Breaks,” which model and facilitate self-regulation and social awareness skills throughout the day and during transitions. 

A Safe Place is set up in the classroom and introduced to the students in Theme 2, Week 1. It utilizes guidance from the Conscious Discipline resource. The area has comfortable seating, a “we care” basket, and visuals and posters with calm-down strategy icons to assist children with self-regulating as needed. The resource guides teachers to explicitly introduce each component of the area and provides ways to encourage students to go to the area when they need to practice or apply the skills throughout the day. After the introduction and a read-aloud, song, or role-play lesson focused on emotions and appropriate responses, the teacher engages in play with students. Modeling and encouragement for each student to express themselves are naturally experienced in the “Pretend and Learn” center. 

In Theme 3, the teacher introduces new vocabulary by providing a vocabulary routine scaffold: The teacher points to a new vocabulary word and names it; the teacher invites students to use a hand gesture to signal their response to the “Reflect” question; the teacher invites students to select a partner to take turns expressing the vocabulary word with their bodies. Students are given many opportunities to practice the skills that have been learned. For example, in Theme 3, students are reminded that calming strategies are healthy habits. Students are taught the calming strategy “drain,” in which they hold their hands out in front of them with their fists tightly closed, then relax, exhale, and relax their fingers by opening them and making a swishing sound. Students are able to continue to practice this strategy throughout the day and are encouraged to practice with their classmates. In Theme 3, during an outside activity, the teacher invites students to pair up and pass the ball back and forth to each other without letting it drop; students count the passes made before a miss. This provides an experience that allows children to work together in small and large groups to practice turn-taking, which builds social awareness, relationships with others, and self-regulation. Weekly ideas are given for Brain Breaks that facilitate self-concept, self-regulation, and social awareness skills throughout the day and during transitions. 

In Theme 8, students practice counting while working on self-regulation: They count out loud as a feather falls to the ground. Students refocus their attention and use their entire body to “fly,” flapping their arms, to calmly transition from one activity to another. This provides purposeful practice opportunities that are authentically integrated throughout content domains.

In Theme 9, the teachers facilitate a discussion centered on change and how to care for people who are not at school or absent. Students apply their understanding of relationships with others and sing the “We Wish You Well” song to build and support their classroom community. Students are provided a tangible way to view their growth throughout the year. In Theme 1, during the first weeks of school, in the “Writer’s Corner” practice center, students are encouraged to draw a self-portrait. Teachers are encouraged to save this artwork. During Theme 9, children draw another self-portrait and discern their self-concept development. 

Evaluation for 3.3
Materials include ideal classroom arrangements that support positive social interactions.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

In the “Welcome Guide,” there is a section on “Practice Centers” that supports classroom arrangement; daily opportunities for the practice of social skills through daily learning centers are provided. Students manage their choice preferences by using a choice board. This allows the student to be independent and self-directed, cooperate with others, and engage in conversations with adults and peers, thus practicing a variety of social skills. Opportunities to practice self-regulation and self-management skills are modeled and then reinforced as the students participate in the practice centers. Materials state: “Child-centered and guided play suggests an approach to early learning that refers to the child-directed nature of free play with a focus on learning outcomes and adult scaffolding. ‘Free Play’ and ‘Guided Play’ focus on the child as an active participant, leader, and problem-solver.” The materials include specific guidance for the practice of social skills in daily learning centers; for example, throughout the themes, for each week of instruction, the materials provide meaningful opportunities to participate in six core learning centers as well as resources to place at “Listening” centers and “Technology” centers. The materials provide resources to aid the teacher in identifying specific areas of the room where students practice social skills. For example, in the “STEAM” center, students are presented with a problem to solve using the engineering design process. Students meet as a whole group to brainstorm solutions to the problem, then explore ideas at the STEAM center, and finally reconvene as a whole group to share discoveries. In the Welcome Guide, instructions on developing a center management system include ideas to provide for the learners; for example: “Provide a visual center management system that helps children manage choices about what they want to explore” and “Encourage children to be independent and self-directed, build cooperation skills as they work with others, engage in conversation with other children and adults, and use their names and print in a meaningful way.” 

The Welcome Guide resource gives specific direction to assist teachers in arranging the classroom in such a way as to promote and support teacher-student and student-student interactions. Learners make decisions about where they want to play and with whom they want to play. The resource offers guidance on how to facilitate cooperation, conversation, and collaboration. The centers in prekindergarten focus on practicing learning goals after children have received intentional small group or whole group instruction. Practice centers offer opportunities to “develop decision-making and problem-solving skills, individual instruction, scaffolded learning, encourage contextual use of language, informally assess children’s progress, provide a playful setting where children socially engage with both peers and adults, and practice skills and reinforce new concepts.” The Welcome Guide materials state: “Recent research on child-centered explorations and guided play suggest an approach to early learning that refers to the child-directed nature of free play with a focus on learning outcomes and adult scaffolding.” Materials further state: “Adults design the setting to highlight a learning goal while ensuring children can choose to explore within that setting.” “Adults observe child-directed activities and comment, question, and extend children’s interest.” In Theme 2, the teacher introduces the class “Safe Place.” Calming strategies, visuals, flexible seating for more than one student, proximity to other “quiet areas,” and procedures to access the Safe Place by teacher, peer, or self-initiated recommendation is explained, practiced, and then made available to the students. The Safe Place creates an environment for individual self-regulation and reflection. It also provides a space for problem solving and conflict resolution between peers. The instructional materials provide various resources for teachers to use as a guide for creating meaningful interactions in the classroom. The materials provide suggestions for small and large group gatherings, centers, and what teachers should be doing during the times that learners are in their learning centers. 

In the Welcome Guide, the teacher is given directions and procedures to put into place to support the students’ independence and self-direction, which builds their social development. The resources consider a variety of factors and components of the physical space and their impact on students’ social development. For example, materials are labeled so that children can locate and put away materials independently. It is suggested that the room is divided into loud and quiet areas to better facilitate cooperation and conversation. It is suggested that culturally responsive materials are displayed in the areas to help support the family community and build peer acceptance and understanding. Materials suggest that areas are set aside to facilitate independent, partner, and small group play structures to build social skill development. On page 87, the Welcome Guide gives specific guidance on establishing the environment and also on the introduction of the centers to the students: “Walk children through the classroom to introduce a few of the centers. Discuss the types of activities available in each center. Model the rules for using the materials in each center…. Introduce additional centers as children develop their self-regulation skills. Invite children to play in the center without a management system before you actually begin a formal approach. Provide practice sessions to introduce centers and invite children to practice the management system. Practice transitions you will use to move children into and out of learning centers.” In Theme 6, the instructional materials provide opportunities for teachers to conduct whole group read-alouds with all learners and talk about personal physical space. For example, in Theme 6, teachers read aloud “The Numeral Dance”; students are introduced to other content areas while also exploring personal space and learning how to not invade others’ personal space. In the “Dance It Out” activity, students act out the story while learning how to maneuver without getting into others’ personal space. 

Materials can be implemented easily and effectively within a classroom arrangement that supports positive social interactions. Rituals are in place each day, in the same location and time, to build positive social interactions. Materials such as posters and charts utilize photographs, pictures, and recognizable icons to facilitate independence, self-regulation, and positive social interactions. Examples of these visuals include job chart posters, practice center sign-up charts, and calming strategy posters for the “Safe Place” located in the classroom. The “Kindness Tree” celebrates children for participating in acts of kindness with adults and peers throughout the school setting. The “Class Jobs Chart” fosters children’s leadership and responsibility as members of the classroom community. All of these resources are defined with directions in the Welcome Guide. There is also detailed introductory support in the lessons during the daily “Brain Smart Start” time. Students have opportunities to interact socially in large and small groups as well as participate in them individually. The materials include resources that teachers can use to set up effective organization and management to support positive social interactions. For example, in Theme 6, students learn about ways they can move and maneuver their bodies. Students become aware of their own personal space and how to be respectful of the personal space of others. The instructional materials include suggestions for the teachers to use labels for center materials so that students can recognize the materials and access them independently. Materials include opportunities for students to participate in “Greeting Circle” time, where they are able to unite as one family and connect with each other through various activities. For example, in Theme 9, during the “Brain Smart Start,” students take part in the “Mr. Sun” activity with a partner: They draw a sun on their partner’s hand as they sing, connecting with each other, communicating their feelings, and showing empathy and caring for others. 

In the Welcome Guide, as well as in the individual themes, students have opportunities to participate in the classroom arrangement. Much of this is done as posters and charts are introduced for the children to facilitate. Some routines that invite student participation, ownership, and engagement are the “Wish You Well” board, which marks attendance; the “Kindness Tree,” which is dependent on the students identifying the kind acts of others; and the “Class Job Chart,” which gives students responsibilities for things such as clean-up, lights, holding doors, and welcoming new friends. The materials provide suggestions for how to engage students in classroom arrangement in order to promote student ownership of the space. In each theme, new weekly practice centers are introduced to the learners. The hallmark of the practice centers is student choice and responsibility as students navigate different practice centers of interest to extend their learning. The students make key decisions about how to use, manipulate, and take care of the materials in the centers. Opportunities for social interaction, including compromise, sharing, problem-solving, and turn-taking, are abundant in each of the areas. In Theme 1, teachers introduce students to a “safekeeper” ritual in which students learn more about classrooms and how each person works together to keep the classroom and themselves safe. Students make promises to keep the classroom safe and put their name into the “safekeeper box.” The students and teacher also co-create classroom agreements and learn how to make commitments throughout the year by deciding how they want the classroom to look, sound, and feel. The guidance in the materials presents a balance of classroom setup before children arrive at the beginning of the year and what is done with children throughout the year. For example, the “Writer’s Corner” should be large enough to accommodate two learners, a teacher, a table, chairs, and many types of writing materials. The resource also suggests bringing novelty to the center throughout the weeks by changing the materials, writing implements, and paper options. 

Evaluation for 3.4
Materials include activities to develop physical skill and refine motor development through movement.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” provides resources for children to use to practice gross motor skills, such as multiple games and outdoor activities for teachers to plan and include. The guide also recommends “using music and movement activities throughout the day to pull children together as a group, engage them during a waiting time, or offer a break between lessons.” Materials state: “Music rhythms, patterns, varying tonalities help children remember new information presented in this way.” Materials provide these playful movement opportunities. The guide states that crossing the midline happens during movements “such as wiping off a table, sweeping the floor, or reaching across the body for passing or retrieving objects.” The materials provide play ideas that help children develop coordination and balance, and “crossing midline is reflected in correctly forming specific pre-writing shapes and symbols.” By using “playdough, shaving cream, stamps, stickers, magnets,” playing “velcro matching games,” and “cutting (tape top edge to a surface) on vertical surfaces,” students strengthen the small muscles of their hands in preparation for writing. Many of the math manipulatives, such as connecting cubes, chain links, frog counters, and shape stencils, provide opportunities for students to develop fine motor skills. 

The materials include a resource kit to develop gross motor skills with beanbags and pattern blocks. In Theme 3, in the Gross Motor practice center, students throw bean bags onto a horizontal target and then progress through the week to hit a vertical target. In an outdoor activity, students ride tricycles or scooters and respond to red, yellow, and green signs that indicate when to stop and go. In Theme 3, during the “Outdoor” practice center, students “ride a tricycle around an obstacle course, crawl under, over, around and through an obstacle course, perform animal antics, such as hopping like a bunny, jumping like a frog, and bouncing like a kangaroo, play circle games like ‘Duck, Duck Goose’ or the ‘Hokey Pokey.’”

In Theme 5, during centers, students develop gross motor skills by creating floor designs with dots. After creating the design, students are encouraged to walk around the design to see it from a different view. A midweek extension utilizes masking tape to create a throw line about five feet away; students toss bean bags in an attempt to land on a dot. A transition idea from Theme 5 is to “invite the children to count the number of giant steps it takes to reach their center or large group area activity.” The materials include a resource kit with eye droppers, tweezers, connecting cubes, and chain links to be used for developing fine motor skills. In Theme 5, in the Sensory practice center, materials use resources like “sand, small plastic shovels, tongs, medium-sized stones, tongue depressors, and rolling pins.” Also in Theme 5, teachers are told to “invite children to use connecting cubes to measure the length of their shoe….” 

Materials provide songs that incorporate large movements in addition to singing. In Theme 6, “If You Are Happy and You Know It,” “Tooty Ta,” and “I Can Dance” are a part of the first week and give the students an opportunity to sing, dance, and use large motor movements. The Sensory centers and Creativity centers include opportunities to use tools such as scissors, glue, paintbrushes, sponges, paint, and playdough to create and explore. These activities develop fine motor skills and support content areas. In Theme 6, the students build transportation pictures with shapes and explore water with funnels and toy boats. Materials provide pre-writing activities, including tracing cards for letters and numbers, which are incorporated into small group literacy lessons. In Theme 6, during a small group literacy lesson, the teacher “invites children to write the letter with their finger on the floor.” Also in Theme 6, during a small group literacy activity, the teacher “invites volunteers to demonstrate the movements from ‘The Numeral Dance.’” 

In Theme 7, some transition activities are: hop or jump like a flea from one location to another; walk together as a joined group of three to a destination; a game of “Hop, hop, hop… Stop!” in which students hop and freeze when they hear the word stop. The instructional materials provide suggestions for gross motor learning and development throughout all themes through the learning and play centers. The instructional materials provide suggestions for teachers to use in the classroom to help grow and develop students’ fine motor skills through purposeful activities such as in the learning and play centers. For example, in Theme 8, students are encouraged to feed “chicks” using tweezers: Students pick up worms, which are chenille stems, then drop and feed them to the hungry chicks, which are in the holes in the boxes.

In Theme 9, students use eye droppers to drip colored water onto white coffee filters to create a colorful design. Thus, materials provide suggestions for daily opportunities to develop fine motor skills through tasks that are not limited to writing. These suggestions are integrated within the lessons and are also included as separate support in the Welcome Guide. For example, in Theme 9, one of the multiple opportunities to develop fine motor skills in the learning center suggests teachers fill one small bowl with small objects and then challenge the students to use tweezers and tongs to transfer each small object to another bowl. This activity also includes a list of materials to use.

Evaluation for 3.5
Materials include activities that develop safe and healthy habits in students.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” gives teachers the rationale for outdoor activities. The guide explains the connection between physical and mental health: “Children’s social, psychological, academic, and physical health is positively impacted when they have daily contact with nature.” In the “Connection” description and rationale for the “Conscious Discipline” structures, the Welcome Guide explains that “connecting activities provide opportunities for children to interact with each other, which builds healthy friendships, increases attention span, and fosters cooperation…. Working with others allows children to practice social engagement.” 

Theme 1 includes guidance for teacher-student discussions on healthy eating as part of the “Pretend and Learn” practice center, where students pretend to make school lunches. Theme 1, Week 2, is titled “My Body” and is about identifying the parts of the body, their function, and the importance of staying healthy. In this unit, a lesson on handwashing includes posters, discusses the importance of skincare, and provides opportunities to practice. For example, in a post-activity reflection, the teacher is prompted to ask the following questions: “Which body part helps us breathe? Which body part holds our food after we swallow it?” In a lesson on skincare, the teacher reads Your Fabulous Skin and then facilitates the following discussion and activity: “Talk about protecting our skin by wearing sunscreen. Demonstrate the power of the sun by placing a block on top of a blue sheet of paper and leaving it out in the sun for three or four hours. The paper will fade in the areas not protected by the block. Explain that the block protected the paper from the sun just as sunscreen protects our skin.” In Theme 1, students are able to talk about playground positions and being safe. While students are discussing the different locations and positions that they are doing on the playground, they are able to practice personal safety while playing outdoors. The instructional materials provide book suggestions in Theme 1, such as Sara Sidney’s First Day of School, Chloe Gets Ready for School (in which feelings and emotions can be discussed), and also “Conscious Discipline” as a resource for teachers. 

A “Transition/Brain Break” idea in Theme 3 guides the teacher to create a classroom job called “traffic control person.” This student will “give classmates directions on how to get to the center of choice or provide safety signals indicating to slow down or stop.” Theme 3 is titled “Safe, Healthy, Helpful Me” and has lessons about community helpers who keep students safe and help them and about eating healthy and staying active. Students identify different food groups through class discussions; these are included in the practice centers to guide students’ play. Songs and dances like “Hop, Jump, Leap, Bounce, Pounce” and “Cool Cat Boogie” encourage students to be physically active. The practice centers in Theme 3 provide opportunities for the students to identify community helpers and learn about their jobs and how they keep people safe. Materials embed lessons with activities that help children identify with the act of helping others. Additionally, students can act out the roles of community helpers in the Pretend and Learn center as they explore ways that others help keep them safe. Read-alouds such as Workers in My Community, What’s For Dinner? and ABCs of Food support the concept of safe and healthy choices and are available in digital format for the students to share at home with families. Writing activities give students the opportunity to respond to prompts about staying safe and making healthy choices. In Theme 3, the materials provide guidance for the teacher to communicate the connection between physical and mental health. In the “Facing Challenges” lesson, the class reads a story about a character who can’t do something. Teachers are encouraged to facilitate a discussion for personal connections: Students discuss not being able to do something physically and thinking that you can’t do something; the lesson identifies that both physical and mental reasons can make something difficult. The follow-up lesson, “Not Yet,” encourages a growth mindset to overcome things that you may not be able to do physically or that you think you can’t do. The instructional materials provide family connections for each theme. For example, in Theme 3, the family connections include helping to make dinner, creating healthy grocery lists, and identifying foods from each of the food groups. The instructional materials provide many suggestions throughout each theme that allow teachers to connect with students, teach them, and encourage them by discussing feelings and emotions. For example, the instructional materials use a “Brain Smart Start” every morning in which students are able to connect with one another and discuss feelings and emotions. 

The materials include resources that the teacher can use to support children in developing safe and healthy habits. For example, the materials suggest teachers add the “Calm” strategy to “Greeting Circle” every morning to practice healthy habits. The materials provide information for teachers about the importance of developing physical skills as a connection to mental health. The materials provide, throughout the themes, a “Brain Booster Box,” where explanations and resources are given for a better teacher approach, connection, and understanding. For example, in Theme 3, one of the Brain Booster Boxes explains the following: “Students are exposed to an abundance of completely new information each day. Young students need ‘downtime’ to process new knowledge in order for it to ‘stick.’ When bombarded with too much new information and no downtime, memories will be hazy at best.” The materials communicate the connection between physical and mental health to children in an appropriate way, providing support for teachers to learn about the importance of planning and encouraging physical activity to promote the teacher-child relationship. For example, the materials suggest teachers help students stay on task and gain mental alertness by having students stop and take a deep breath, and then put their hands over their heart to feel the beat.

The instructional materials provide suggestions for teachers to incorporate outdoor activities into their daily schedules. In Theme 6, one suggested outdoor activity for both students and teachers is to have students stand in a line, extend their right arm, and create a wheel. The teacher guides the students in a circle, and they sing “The Wheels on the Bus” to represent land travel. The materials encourage children to identify safe and healthy habits, covering personal safety, nutrition, exercise, and personal health. For example, the “7 Steps” poster has pictures of how to wash hands. There are also photo cards of doctors, nurses, firefighters, dentists, among others. In Theme 6, the students “move within their space and respect the space and safety of peers” as they learn moves from “The Numeral Dance.” In Theme 9, during the outdoor whole group activity, there is a safety note for the teacher: “Talk to children about things they should not pick up, such as sharp glass or metal pieces.” 

Evaluation for 4.1
Materials provide guidance on developing students’ listening skills.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Theme 1 provides guidance for the teacher to model active listening by introducing a classroom listening agreement to children. The teacher says, “Hoy aprendemos a usar nuestros oídos que escuchan. Esto significa prestar atención cuando el maestro habla o cuando un compañero de clase habla.” The teacher demonstrates how the “Oídos que escuchan” agreement sounds and feels by modeling with another person. In this activity, students have the opportunity to practice listening skills when pairing with a partner. This example provides explicit modeling for the teacher on how to provide daily opportunities to listen for understanding. 

Theme 1 also includes opportunities for students to hear conversations that follow conversation norms. The teacher uses a puppet and states, “Me llamo Fanny. ¿Cómo te llamas tú?” After the child gives his/her name, the teacher responds to the child by shaking his/her hand and saying, “Mucho gusto.” In this greeting exchange, teachers model appropriate grammar and sentence structure, and students have the opportunity to practice and follow common conversation norms. In addition, Theme 1 provides scaffolds for conversational opportunities. The materials guide the teacher to “usar gestos, como señalar una parte del cuerpo mientras se menciona su nombre.” This use of gestures scaffolds listening for understanding and allows the students to practice, even when they are unable to communicate verbally. 

The materials provide various opportunities to practice conversational skills. For instance, in Theme 2, a teacher converses with a child about her family by sharing a picture and naming the members of her family. The teacher prompts the children to tell about their families and asks, “¿Quiénes forman sus familias? ¿Quién los cuida?” This discussion allows the students to practice and engage in authentic listening and conversational skills, which supports communication and understanding. 

Additionally, Theme 2 materials direct the teacher to different sections in the digital media resources to engage students and support listening, understanding, and comprehension skills. Students have access to digital resources in “El libro de las letras: A, E, I, O, U.” These digital materials provide opportunities for students to hear sounds, appropriate sentence structure, and grammar in a variety of contexts. Technology integration also allows the teacher to scaffold listening for understanding by repeating, slowing, or skipping specific parts to adapt the activity to the students' needs. 

The materials also provide a scaffolded activity with step-by-step instructions for the teacher to explain different nonverbal conversational rules. For example, in Theme 9, the teacher follows the “Demuestre cómo jugar” activity and says, “Mi cara tiene un regalo para ti.” Then, the teacher makes a fist with each hand and places them behind his/her back. After a couple of seconds, the teacher brings both hands forward and asks one student to pick a hand. The student picks a hand, and the teacher reacts by making a facial expression, laughing, or making a noise depending on which hand the student selects. In this activity, it is implied that each hand causes a different reaction, and students’ nonverbal communication depends on the facial expression or noise made. When the teacher finishes modeling the activity, students practice with a partner. Students follow the game rules, paying close attention to nonverbal communications from their partners. After the students complete this activity, the materials instruct the teacher to discuss the changes students notice in the communication they or other students make. This activity allows verbal and nonverbal students an opportunity to hear and practice communication norms.

Evaluation for 4.2
Materials provide guidance on developing students’ speaking skills.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Theme 1, the materials utilize both large/small groups and learning centers to facilitate oral language activities. The read-aloud lesson scripts include leveled questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy to support children’s critical thinking and expressive language. For example, the teacher reads Sentidos Sensacionales and asks leveled questions from the script: “Recordar: ¿Qué le gusta oler a la niña cuando cocina?” “Aplicar: ¿Qué es lo que ven cuando miran algo de cerca?” and “Si quisiéramos cambiar el título del cuento, ¿cuál creen que sería una buena elección?” The materials also provide guidance on ways to scaffold child responses for differing verbal speaking abilities. For example, during “Grupos pequeños” the teacher provides a sentence stem for the student to complete: “...es mi compañero de clase.” In another activity the materials state, “Anime a los niños a compartir las rutinas que hacen en la casa por las mañana y por la noche.” These types of activities provide teacher guidance on how to support speech production and appropriate sentence structure and grammar. 

In Theme 4, the materials provide guidance on setting up a collaborative activity for children to practice oral language. The students retell a story using the “Magnetic Story” resource. The materials state, “Escoja un elenco e invite a los niños a representar el cuento.” The teacher sets up the materials and repeats the activity with a new group. The materials also provide guidance on supporting the children’s oral language using the “Think, Pair, Share” strategy. The materials explain the following three-step process for the teacher: “Piensa: El maestro hace una pregunta. Emparejate: Los niños miran a un compañero y hablan al respecto. Comparte: Las parejas comparten sus ideas con la clase.” This collaborative exchange allows children to practice conversational norms between two people and in a large group. 

Additionally, the materials include a guide for asking student questions. The guide states, “Guíe la exploración de los niños haciendo preguntas como las de abajo y otras que empiezan con qué, cómo y por qué.” Furthermore, the materials include opportunities for students to practice speaking skills across content areas. STEAM activities permit students to participate in opinions and discussions. For example, in one activity, the teacher asks, “¿Qué tipo de problema resolverá tu robot?” The inclusion of these STEAM activities provides support on how to facilitate and set up activities that allow students to practice speaking using appropriate sentence structure and grammar. 

In Theme 7, the students work in a math small group and sing the song “Esto es grande. Esto es pequeño.” Both teachers and students sing along. Another opportunity for children to practice producing appropriate sentence structure and grammar can be found in a shared writing activity. The teacher invites students to read a list of sentences that they wrote together using the verbal prompt “Estoy muy ocupado cuando….” The teacher engages students in a discussion by asking, “¿Cuáles palabras son las mismas en cada línea?” and “¿Cuál palabra empieza con una letra mayúscula?” These activities support the development of oral language in a variety of contexts. 

In Theme 9, supports are found for setting up and facilitating speaking interactions that follow conversation norms as well as opportunities for the teacher to provide corrective feedback. The teachers says, “Espere su turno para hablar, si alguna persona les pregunta cómo están, responder y hacerles la misma pregunta.” In addition, during a STEAM whole group activity the teacher uses visual prompts to exchange ideas with students and engage them in a discussion about creating a bag to carry school supplies. The teacher says, “¿Cómo estarán seguros de que los útiles escolares no se caerán? ¿Cuáles materiales serían los más fuertes para usar en hacer el cuerpo de la bolsa? ¿Cómo podrían hacer las correas? ¿las ruedas? ¿los bolsillos? ¿Qué podrían hacer para que su bolsa sea original, diferente a los demás?” This authentic oral discussion occurs during science time, which promotes conversations throughout different parts of the day.

Evaluation for 4.3
Materials support expanding student vocabulary.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include 10 “Libros pequeños” with six copies of each title. The prekindergarten small books provide a topic-related vocabulary story with simple sentence structure for which the last word includes a picture (rebus format). The books are connected to the themes of the curriculum. The book always ends with a page that reads: “¡Hablemos!” so that the teacher and students can discuss the vocabulary in the book.

The materials also include “Tarjetas de vocabulario.” The vocabulary cards include a large photo on one side of the card. The other side has additional vocabulary related to the word, the sign for the word, questions to engage the students in discussion about the word, and information to provide the children. For example, the vocabulary card for turtle includes additional words such as caparazón (shell), especie (species), and reptiles. The card also states that turtles lay eggs and where they lay eggs depends on the type of turtle. The teacher is to ask questions such as “Hablen con un amigo sobre una tortuga que vieron. ¿Cómo era? ¿Cómo caminaba?” In addition, the card has an “Apoyo para el desarrollo del lenguaje” section, which provides teachers strategies for supporting Spanish language learners at the preproduction, early production, and speech emergence stages.

The “Guía de bienvenida” also states that the curriculum integrates key steps to promote attention to the depth of processing words and their meanings and help determine future instructional planning. The key steps involve identifying words to be taught, defining words in a student-friendly way, contextualizing words into meaningful formats, and monitoring children’s progress of vocabulary. For example, in Theme 2, the children study families. Before the teacher reads La mejor fiesta del mundo, the teacher points out the word parientes. The materials guide the teacher to tell the students that parientes are people related to us like our tío, tía, primo, abuela, etc.

The “Vocabulario” section of the Guía de bienvenida also guides the teacher to use “cognados” as a tool to support transfer from the first language to the second (Espinosa, L. M. 2014; Durgunoǧlu, A. Y., 2002; colorin.colorado.org). The materials suggest that teachers stop to discuss cognates during read-alouds and invite speakers of other languages to share cognates in their language. Although this guidance is in the welcome guide, this strategy is not consistently found within the lessons. The “Semana en un vistazo” in each teacher’s guide does, however, encourage the teacher to display the word of the week in various languages based on the languages spoken in the classroom. Parents can help with translations. This supports children in accessing vocabulary they may know in one language to build vocabulary in the other. Although, within this strategy suggestion in the teacher’s guide, the materials do not remind teachers to take advantage of highlighting cognates when appropriate. 

The materials include small group lessons that target and reinforce vocabulary. For example, in Theme 4, the children learn about opposites. During small group instruction, the materials guide the teacher to show a thick book and a skinner. The teacher says, “Grueso y delgado son opuestos.” The teacher shows the vocabulary card opuestos. The materials prompt the teacher to tell the students that opposites are “os palabras que significan algo completamente diferente.” The teacher then engages the students in a conversation about opposites such as a mouse/elephant, happy/sad, and rabbit/tortoise. In Theme 5, the students learn about construction. During the vocabulary small group lesson, the teacher reinforces the words construccion, rascacielos, and silueta. The teacher reminds the students that construction “es el proceso e construir algo.” The students then discuss if they have ever seen skyscrapers anywhere and what the experience was like. To support the students with this term, the teacher provides blocks, legos, or cubes so that children can show what they might use to build an imaginary skyscraper.

Evaluation for 4.4
Materials include appropriate strategies for supporting students’ biliteracy development.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include songs, poems, and rhymes to support listening and speaking in both languages. For each week, in each theme, songs are listed to support the topic of the week in the “Música y movimiento” (“Music and Movement”) section of the teacher’s guides. For example, in Theme 7, the students learn about bugs. The English materials list songs such as the “Eensy Weensy Spider” and “Wiggle Worm,” while the Spanish materials list songs such as “Una arañita” and “La araña chiquita” (an adaptation of “Eensy Weensy Spider”). The materials include at least 18 songs to support each theme in both the Spanish and English materials to support language development. Although the materials state that teachers receive access to sets of materials in both languages to support the development of L1 and L2 in a bilingual program model when using the “Dual Language” program,  it is unclear whether teachers in a different bilingual program model would receive access to both sets of these materials. 

The materials also encourage multiple reads of a book to develop language in the English and Spanish materials. For example, in Theme 8, the teacher reads and revisits the book Mamiferos several times throughout the week. On day 1, the teacher revisits the word mammal. During the reading, the teacher describes words such as eucalipto, galopar, and bolsa. The students share how they know when an animal is a mammal. Throughout the week, the teacher expands the students’ knowledge of mammals as they discuss what mammals eat and drink and how mammals sleep, move, and communicate. The same sequence is used in the English materials. This provides children multiple exposures to vocabulary and allows them to expand on their own responses as they revisit the topic throughout the week. However, there is a lack of evidence that the materials highlight opportunities for the students to make cross-linguistic connections relating to the vocabulary being learned within the Spanish lessons throughout the themes in the curriculum.

The “Guía de bienvenida” includes a variety of strategies that support the Spanish and English language development of dual language learners (DLLs) and English Learners (ELs). Specific strategies include “Piensa en voz alta (Think Aloud), Piensa-emparéjate-comparte (Think, Pair, Share), Indicaciones visuales (Visual Cues), Soporte (Scaffolds), and Translenguaje (Translanguaging),” to name a few. However, these strategies are not consistently embedded in the Spanish lessons. For example, during a small group math lesson in Theme 5, the English materials guide the teacher to use a translanguaging strategy and allow children to “recite the color pattern using color words from their home language.” However, the same lesson in the Spanish materials does not include this strategy for Spanish language learners. Embedding these strategies in the Spanish materials would support the Spanish language development of students learning Spanish as a second language.

This section also guides teachers to use the transfer of knowledge of home language to support learning by first introducing key phrases and vocabulary in Spanish and then teaching the lesson in English. This is called the “estrategia de vista previa y revisión” (“preview-review” strategy). This approach is more appropriate when the target language of instruction is English. In addition, this section suggests that teachers encourage student peer support to aid communication and to learn basic home language vocabulary as it relates to the lessons. 

The “Vocabulario” section of the guide suggests teachers use cognates as a strategy to build biliteracy and make cross-linguistic connections. Read-alouds are highlighted as daily opportunities to use cognates in context. The materials state: “Cuando les lea en voz alta a los niños, deténgase para hablar sobre un cognado.” However, there is a lack of evidence that this strategy is explicitly incorporated with the read-aloud lesson scripts or vocabulary activities.

Evaluation for 5.1
Materials provide opportunities for students to develop oral language skills, including through authentic text conversations.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide opportunities for students to listen actively, ask questions, and engage in discussion to understand information in text. The materials encourage multiple reads of the same book and offer various activities throughout the week to reinforce the concepts and skills taught through the read-aloud. For example, in Theme 1, the teacher reads El primer dia de clases de Sara Sidney. The lesson script provides the teacher with questions and prompts to engage students in the reading before, during, and after. Before reading, the teacher conducts a book walk. The materials state: “Haga un paseo por las ilustraciones. Modele y anime a los niños a hacer comentarios en el camino.” During the reading, the materials prompt the teacher to strategically stop on certain pages to provide information about the illustrations. The materials state: “Haga pausa en las páginas 12 y 14 y pregunte cuántos compañeros de clase están almorzando con Sara.” After reading, the lesson script provides questions for the teacher to ask based on the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. The teacher asks, “¿Qué actividades hizo Sara en la escuela?” (Remember) “¿Con qué compañeros has jugado hoy?” (Apply) “¿Qué compañero creen que es el favorito de Sara? ¿Por que?” (Evaluate) On day 2, the teacher rereads the book and encourages children to compare their lunch to the character’s lunch as they listen to the book. After the reading, the materials guide the teacher to revisit the book from the previous day, Cloe se alista para ir a la esecula, to compare what Cloe and Sidney ate during lunch by using the chart created the day before. On days 3 and 4, the students continue to engage in book extension activities. The varied questions and activities provided for each read-aloud provide children many opportunities to listen actively and engage in discussions about text read aloud.

The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in discussions and share information and ideas about the texts. For example, in Theme 2, the students learn about friends and family. At the beginning of the week, the teacher reads Las familias. On another day, the teacher re-reads the book and focuses the conversation on the vocabulary word fabuloso and reviews previously taught words, such as increíble, fantástico, and sensacional that are on the letter wall. The teacher invites the students to share one word to describe their families. During another read of the same book, the teacher focuses the lesson on family celebrations. The teacher strategically stops on pages 14 and 17 of the book. The teacher points out that these are some ways that families celebrate. The teacher invites the students to describe what they see on these pages, specifically the type of clothing the family is wearing. Afterward, the teacher asks children how their celebrations are different or the same as the ones in the book. 

The materials provide support and guidance for students to work collaboratively to engage in discussion. Every week there is a STEAM lesson available for teachers to implement. On day 1, the teachers present the problem and brainstorm with the children how to solve the problem. On days 2–4, the students work together to solve the problem, and on day 5, the children present to the class. For example, in Theme 7, the students learn about construction. During the STEAM portion of the day, the teacher challenges the students to be architects, engineers, and builders to design and make their own homes. The teacher leads the students in brainstorming what their house might look like and asking some guiding questions to support their thought process. On days 2–4, the teacher works with the students in a small group to talk about the project and help them make their plan for the house. The children work together to make their house and present their project to their peers. These STEAM lessons are provided each week in every theme throughout the school year. These collaborative projects support oral language as students engage in discussions to carry out their tasks.

All read-alouds include leveled questions, prompts, and shared/interactive writing opportunities to engage the students in discussion about the text. In Theme 9, the teacher reads the book Changes. On day 1, the teacher is provided stopping points and leveled questions, such as “¿Por qué cambio está preocupado el niño?” “¿Por qué se sentía triste Braydon?” (Remember) “¿Qué hace la madre de Braydon para ayudarlo a sentirse mejor?” (Understand) “¿Cómo se sienten por tener que dejar Pre-Kinder?” (Apply) On days 2 and 3, the teacher re-reads the book and invites the children to share changes they have experienced. On day 4, the students brainstorm a list of what they have learned as the year has progressed. These opportunities, for each read-aloud throughout each week, provide students chances to engage in discussion about text in multiple ways, which supports their oral language development.

Evaluation for 5.2
Materials provide direct (explicit) instruction and opportunities for student practice in phonological awareness skills.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials follow the research-based developmental continuum of how children acquire phonological awareness. For example, the “Conocimiento fonológico” section in the “Guía de bienvenida” states that research on learning to read has provided insights into the order in which children acquire this knowledge. A colorful chart displays an order of skills. The order is  “Escuchar (Listen), Segmentación de oraciones (Sentence Segmentation), Palabras Compuestas (Compound Words), Sílabas (Syllables), Rimar (Rhyme), Aliteración (Alliteration), Inicio y rima (Onset-Rime), Unir fonemas (Blending Phonemes).” Although onset-rime is not a focus in Spanish phonological awareness, this sequence aligns with the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines. The materials also provide information about the progression within each skill. For example, the Rimar section states that children move through a continuum of rhyming skills: “Reconocer (Recognize), Identificar (Identify), Distinguir (Distinguish), Producir (Produce).” The phonological awareness activities in the curriculum follow specific developmental timelines. 

The materials take into consideration the specific characteristics of Spanish phonics. The Guía de bienvenida states that in Spanish, the main phonological structure is based on syllables. A chart highlights the difference between Spanish and English language structures. The materials explain that syllable blending and segmenting are important in the Spanish language. Therefore, Temas 5 a 7 provide activities for Spanish-speaking children to “segmentar, unir, quitar, reconcer, y producir sílabas.” The curriculum includes additional information that clearly identifies the Spanish implications while teaching phonological awareness. For example, the “Unir fonemas” strategy card states that in Spanish, few words of one and two syllables are known for young children and can be represented by an illustration. Teachers should use words with two or three phonemes, such as pan, té, and yo.

The materials include a variety of types of activities that engage students in identifying, synthesizing, and analyzing sounds. For example, the materials include resource strategy cards for each phonological awareness component. The Palabras compuestas strategy card provides information for the teacher about compound words and strategies to support the students in learning this skill. The strategy card reads: “Las palabras compuestas, formadas por verbos, que sean conocidas por los niños pequeños son pocas en español.” The strategy card even has a “Cántico de las palabras compuestas,” which goes like this: “sacapuntas, ponlas juntas, ¿Qué podría ser? Una palabra compuesta, Díganle conmigo: saca puntas, sacapuntas.” The strategies continue by encouraging teachers to use pictures to help students blend words to make compound words and deleting a word from a compound word with pictorial support. 

The materials provide support for students to develop foundational skills for phonological awareness. For example, in Theme 1, the teacher helps children extend and refine their listening skills. The materials guide the teacher to create a sound pattern by tapping two sticks together two times, pausing, tapping the sticks together two times again, and stopping. Then the children copy the sound pattern. Then materials provide the teacher with simple to more complex patterns. The teacher tells the children that their ears allow them to hear the pattern, and their brain helps them remember the pattern. Additional opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness skills in isolation occur in small group instruction. For example, in Theme 3, the teacher focuses on rhyming skills in a small group. The teacher uses basic words and thematic words to provide practice. The teacher says two words, such as “camió/vión.” If the words rhyme, the children give thumbs up. If the words don’t rhyme, the children give a thumbs down. For those students that struggle, the materials suggest the teacher have students repeat the pair of words first to ensure students hear the words correctly. For those who need a challenge, the teacher invites the students to produce another word that rhymes with the pair given.

The materials connect phonological awareness skills to letter knowledge instruction throughout many lessons in the day. The daily morning message allows students to practice and connect phonological awareness skills to alphabetic knowledge. For example, in Theme 5, the teacher writes sentences each day related to construction. On day 1, the teacher reviews some construction vocabulary words with students before writing, such as constructor, instaantechos, constructores, and ductos. The teacher asks the students to say the word, then clap it in syllables. Next, the teacher asks the students to repeat the sentence of the day: “El señor Quezada es un constructor.” The students repeat the sentence out loud while the teacher writes the sentence. The teacher then re-reads the sentence, tracking each word. Lastly, the teacher reviews letter names and sounds used in the sentence (T, t, D, d, Q, q). The students say the name of the letter, the sound, and air write each letter. The students then find the letters in the message and circle them, naming each letter and sound again. The morning message routine in each unit provides many opportunities for students to connect phonological awareness skills to alphabetic knowledge and concepts of print.

Evaluation for 5.3
Materials provide direct (explicit) instruction and opportunities for student practice in alphabetic knowledge skills.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials support a research-based, strategic sequence for alphabetic knowledge in Spanish. The “Conocimiento del alfabeto” section in the “Guía de bienvenida” states that research on literacy in Spanish (Escamilla, 1999) supports exposure to letter sounds before letter names and exposure to vowels before consonants. The materials, therefore, introduce the vowels first, then consonants, such as f, s, b, p, l, v, and m, which are most commonly used to form syllables to make words. The materials state that the trajectory of Spanish alphabet learning moves from the initial sounds of letters to letter names, syllables, and ultimately individual phonemes by the end of the school year. This section also outlines a format for teaching letters and sounds called the “Mejoramiento del conocimiento del alfabeto.” This includes modeling and guided practice for identifying letter names and sounds, recognizing letters in context, and producing the letter form with visual and verbal modeling. This format is implemented through the daily “Mensaje de la mañana,” “Instrucción de grupos pequeños,” and “Actividades intencionales en los centros.”

The materials provide teachers with developmentally appropriate strategies for teaching letter names and sounds. The “Conocimiento del alfabeto” strategy card includes a purple box with eight development milestones to support teaching instruction. The guidance encourages teachers to supervise children’s progress and review the skills listed throughout the entire year. The developmental milestones begin with skills such as students recognizing the graphic symbol, then move to saying the letter name, saying the sound, and ultimately discriminating a letter from others. The card also provides teachers with strategies to teach the letter names and sounds. The strategy card suggests a scavenger hunt around the classroom to find matching letters, encouraging children to talk about letter features, having children write letters with their magic finger, and playing guessing games by providing children clues about letters based on their shape, sound, and relevance to children's names.

The materials provide teacher guidance on directly introducing, modeling, and using letter names and sounds. The Conocimiento del alfabeto section of the Guía de bienvenida also includes an activity called “Continuo de Marcar tarjeta” (“Sign-in Continuum”). The teachers follow a four-level sequence to introduce the letters and sounds in the children’s names. At Level 1, the teacher supports students to recognize their names and identify the first letter by name or sound. At Level 2, teachers support students to focus on the letters (or sounds) as they read their names. The child places his/her name card on the pocket chart, points to the first letter, and says that letter (or sound). Over the next few weeks, children continue to name other letters (or sounds) in their first name. The sign-in continuum is a developmentally appropriate and authentic way for students to learn and practice the letter names and sounds most valuable to them.

The materials also provide a “Póster de Sonidos de las letras” to teach letter sounds and digraphs. The poster begins with introducing vowel sounds. In the “Apéndice” of the Guía de bienvenida, there are instructions for the teacher on how to teach the sound chant with movement. The materials state: “Por cada letra/sonido, la canción usa este ritmo repetitivo: dibujo-sonido-dibujo-sonido.” For example, for the letter o, the students say, “ojo-/o/-/o/-ojo” while signaling to their eye (ojo). The sounds follow the order of letters and sounds the way they are taught in the curriculum. The small group lessons support students focusing on letter sounds early in the year and many times reference the Sonidos de las letras poster. For example, in Theme 3, the teacher uses one card with a picture and letter or digraph. The rest of the cards are just pictures. The children sort the pictures by those that begin with the /t/, /d/, and qu (/kw/) sound. In Theme 4, the small group lessons progress to emphasize the letter name and sound. For example, in one small group lesson, the teacher shows the letter card for Cc with a picture. The students air-write the letter, match the individual Cc letter cards to the Cc on the letter wall, and discuss the sound using the Sonidos de las letras poster. The students do the same for the letters Mm and Jj. In Theme 6, the evidence shows that small group alphabetic knowledge activities shift to joining the sounds in letters to make simple syllables. For example, in one small group lesson, the teacher shows the s, a, e, and i letter cards. The materials guide the teacher to show the s card and say the sound, then show the a card and say the sound. The teacher then says the sounds slowly, showing students how to blend them together to make the syllable sa. The teacher does the same thing for the syllables se and si. Then the students pair a picture with a syllable they hear in the name of the picture (e.g., sapo—sa).

Evaluation for 5.4
Materials provide direct (explicit) instruction in print knowledge and concepts and opportunities for student practice.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide opportunities for students to develop an understanding of the everyday functions of print. The “Escritura” section of the “Guía de bienvenida” explains how teachers can connect the use of print to the students’ experience at school. The teacher should model recording information in different formats, such as writing an ingredient list for a kitchen center or a list of characters for a story, sequencing the main events of a large book and creating a prediction chart, and using graphic organizers to record children’s ideas. This section also encourages teachers to provide students with opportunities to copy classroom environmental print, such as words on the word wall, classroom labels, and book titles. 

Materials follow a developmentally appropriate continuum for the development of print awareness. The scope and sequence shows that teachers target print directionality and distinguish between letters/words/pictures the first few weeks of school. The skills then move to understanding that sentences are made of up words. Then in Theme 3, teachers add the identification of punctuation and letter case. Beginning in Theme 3, all skills are reinforced in every unit to provide students with repeated practice to develop concepts of print.

The materials also provide direct teacher guidance to use the “Mensaje de la mañana” (Morning Message) to reinforce “Conceptos de impresa.” During the Morning Message, the teacher uses the “Rana espaciadora” (Space Frog) to model leaving spaces between words and pointing out that the first word in each sentence begins with a capital letter. The materials also guide the teacher to read the entire sentence with the class and track the words. This occurs every day during the morning message throughout each week of each unit, providing the children many opportunities to develop print concepts.

The materials provide direct (explicit) instruction in print awareness and connect print awareness to books/texts. For example, in Theme 1, the teacher engages the students in a shared writing opportunity about feelings. The children use the sentence stem “Me siento… cuando…” to share how they feel in certain situations. The teacher writes the students’ responses and invites children to read the sentences while tracking the print. The teacher posts the sentences in the “ABC” center, where students circle words and letters. In this lesson, there is also a strategy box (“¿Lo sabía?”) that states shared writing is a powerful method for teaching concepts such as punctuation, spacing, and left-to-right progression. For each shared writing activity, teachers are encouraged to reinforce concepts of print. In addition, in Theme 3, the materials guide the teacher to display the cover of the book Workers in My Community and read the title. The teacher uses Fanny the frog to engage the students in the lesson. Then the teacher tells the children that Fanny will ask a question, and the information in the book will help them find the answer together. As the reading begins, the teacher displays the table of contents. The teacher reads the topics on the page and reminds the students that the table of contents helps us know what information is in the book. These instructional activities provide children with opportunities to develop print concepts within the context of a meaningful learning activity.

Evaluation for 5.5
Materials include a variety of text types and genres across contents that are high-quality and at an appropriate level of complexity.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Text selection is at the appropriate level of complexity for students’ developmental level. For example, the “Guía de bienvenida” explains that the curriculum resources include six developmental story books that are told at three different levels. The collection includes Los tres chivos, Los tres cerditos, Rapunzel/Rumpelstiltskin, El nabo enorme, and La gallinita roja. The small books collection includes ten pre-emergent readers (6 copies each) with thematic vocabulary and a storyline with simple sentences in a rebus format, which supports young children as they read books. The book Bichos que brincan y saltan from the literature collection has a mix of simple text with rhyme to engage students and more detailed information about bugs for a teacher to share. One page reads: “Pequeños bichos e insectos, por todos lados están. Vuelan, se arrastran, camina, los ves que vienen y van.” The texts included in the materials are developmentally appropriate for prekindergarten students and provide multi-level reading development support. 

The materials include both fiction and nonfiction texts. The Guía de bienvenida classifies the read-aloud books into genres such as “Literatura (Ficción),” “Informativo (No ficción),” and “Títulos temáticos.” The books include titles such as El primer día de clases de Sara Sidney; ¿Qué es el tiempo? and Estas son mis manos. The materials state that the literature library in the dual language program includes 156 books, 14 “carpetas de cuentos bilingües,” 3 “cuentos en desarrollo,” and 3 “libros digitales.” The “Apéndice” lists all the books included in the curriculum by theme. 

The materials include texts such as poems, songs, and nursery rhymes. The curriculum includes “Poemas con ton y son” and “Canciones y cuentos” to support emergent reading skills through songs and rhyme. 

The texts include content that is engaging and include opportunities for students to interact with the stories. For each read-aloud, there are scripts for teachers to use each day as the story is reread or revisited. Sometimes additional text is provided to support the skills through the text. For example, in Theme 7, the lesson script provides before, during, and after questions for the students to interact with the informational text Animalitos rastreros. On the second day, the teacher revisits the book to emphasize the “Tabla de contenido.” The lesson script prompts the teacher to use the “póster ‘¿Ficción o no ficción?’” to point out characteristics of informational text. On the fourth day of the week, the teacher revisits the book and focuses on the mantises section of the book, inviting a student to turn to that specific page based on the page number in the Tabla de contenido. The teacher reads the pages and engages the student in a conversation about different types of mantises using a picture card. All read-aloud lessons provide various ways for students to interact with text. 

The read-aloud texts cover a range of student interests. For example, the students can relate to the texts El primer dia de clases de Sara Sidney (a book about school), Las mascotas son familia (a book about pets), Bichos que brincan y saltan (a book about insects), Cambios (a book about change), and Preparándose para el Kinder (a book about kindergarten). Children can relate to many of these books and find the topics interesting.

The materials include guidance for the use of purposeful environmental print throughout the classroom. The “Conocimiento fonológico” and “Conocimiento del alfabeto” sections of the Guía de bienvenida recommend that at the beginning of the year, teachers place alphabetical cards in order on a wall to form a letter wall, post a sound poster of letters, and post a pocket chart with name cards. The materials also recommend that teachers label supplies for children to easily access and post a daily schedule with visuals and labels for each activity. 

Evaluation for 5.6
Materials use a variety of approaches to develop students’ comprehension of text read aloud.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include guidance for the teacher to connect texts to children’s experiences. The “Guía de bienvenida” notes that before reading, teachers need to activate prior knowledge and create a personal connection that is relevant, meaningful, and culturally appropriate. For example, in Theme 2, the teacher reads the book Las familias trabajan juntas. The teacher stops on pages 8–9 and discusses the ways families work together. The teacher asks the children to discuss the daily jobs they help do with their families. After the teacher finishes reading the story, the children brainstorm a list of jobs they can do to help at home. In Theme 3, the teacher displays the cover of Los trabajadores en mi comunidad and reads the title. The teacher points out that the book is about people they might find in their community. The children listen for community workers who are familiar to them and think of people they know who are community helpers. These lessons allow children to make connections to experiences at both school and home. 

Materials include guidance for the teacher on basic text structures. For example, in Theme 4, the teacher reads the book Una piedra enorme (The Great Enormous Rock). The materials guide the teacher to ask questions using basic text structure to support comprehension. During the first read-aloud, the teacher tells the students that the rock is a problem. The students listen to see “por que esta piedra es un problema.” During the second read-aloud, the teacher asks the children, “¿Quién es el personaje principal?” and “¿Quiénes son los personajes secundarios?” The children then dramatize the story and the setting. 

Materials support the teacher in scaffolding questions during read-alouds. The Guía de bienvenida states that each read-aloud includes questions based on the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. For example, in Theme 4, the teacher reads the book Enrique y Javier to reinforce living and nonliving things. The lesson script provides the following questions for the teacher to ask after the story: “¿Dónde encontró Enrique a su piedra?” (Remember) “¿Por qué el papá y la mamá parecieron sorprendidos cuando Enrique le puso nombre a su piedra?” (Understand) “¿Alguna vez le pusiste nombre a algo que no estaba vivo? ¿Qué nombre le pusiste?” (Apply) Including these questions in the lesson scripts provides a guide for teachers to move from asking simple to more complex questions.

Evaluation for 5.7
Materials include appropriate strategies for supporting English Learners (ELs) in their development of emergent reading skills.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide some suggestions for teachers to support cross-linguistic connections. The “Vocabulario” section of “GuÍa de bienvenida” suggests using cognates to develop comprehension. This section also states that evidence supports that children benefit from using cognates as a tool for transferring knowledge from the first language to the second. The materials mention that the English and Spanish “Letter Wall Cards” in the curriculum use cognates. This section suggests that the teacher stop to discuss cognates during read-alouds or if discussing a topic to increase children’s understanding. However, these specific strategies are not embedded within specific lessons to support implementation.

The materials suggest that teachers compare languages side by side to develop students’ metalinguistic ability. For example, the teacher might draw attention to the spelling of hamburger and hamburguesa while comparing the initial sound of /h/ in English and Spanish. Although there is some teacher guidance on supporting cross-linguistic connections, the materials lack guidance to embed these strategies within the lessons. 

The materials also suggest teachers encourage children to respond in their home language during discussions and interactions. This allows the teacher to use what children know in one language to support learning in the target language. Though the materials offer this general guidance, strategies to specifically support English Learners (ELs) in their development of emergent reading skills are not embedded throughout the activities and lessons.

Evaluation for 6.1
Materials include a variety of experiences through which students can engage with writing.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” states that the “Morning Message” offers a daily opportunity to model writing for children. When modeling writing for young children, the teacher uses direct instruction; the teacher asks questions to encourage children’s engagement in the process and uses “teacher talk” (thinking aloud) to narrate writing actions. For example, “I am writing the word cat. It begins with the letter c. Who has the letter c in your name?” The “Shared Writing” sub-section of the Welcome Guide states that during shared writing, teachers model writing for many different purposes: recording information in different formats, such as writing a list of ingredients for a cooking center or a list of characters in a story; sequencing the main events in a big book; creating a predictable chart; and using graphic organizers to record children’s ideas. This type of writing can be described as “functional writing,” which is taking dictation from your life (Ray & Glover, 2008). The teacher thus models writing and connects it to topics of interest to children and personal experiences. Continually, the first step of writing begins with a child’s recognition of her first name and identifying the first letter of her name by the letter name (or sound). Before students arrive, teachers write each child’s first name on card stock or on a sentence strip; they then take each child’s photo, print it, and adhere it to the name card. Students use these name cards to “sign in” when they arrive in the morning. Later in the year, teachers remove the photo when students no longer need that support. Teachers place a piece of paper and writing instruments near the pocket chart that displays children’s names. When students are ready to move to this next level, the teacher models the way students should write their names as they sign in each morning. The next level of signing in provides students with an opportunity to write their names. Teachers provide a sheet of paper where the child’s name is written five times; there is space under each name for the student to write her name. This progression provides daily opportunities to write for authentic purposes. Learning centers also include writing opportunities to respond to informational text and literature with print and writing materials. For example, students design a card or “write” a thank-you letter to a story character. 

In Theme 3, the teacher reads the story Workers in My Community. In a shared writing activity, students respond to text read aloud, making the connection between reading and writing. Students orally share different forms of transportation that they know or have used. The teacher creates a chart and guides learners to write the names of people referred to as “helpers” who help the children get to school. The teacher models labeling community helpers such as bus drivers, neighbors, family, and babysitters. The teachers assist students in writing their names on the chart. The next day, the activity progresses to include an opportunity to imitate adult writing. The teacher asks students about who helps them go home from school. Students write a thank-you note to the helpers. The teacher writes the words thank you for the students to copy and include in their own writing. An additional activity in this unit provides children the opportunity to respond to a text with independent writing. Students read about a character named Pete, who likes to dance. After a discussion about Pete’s favorite dance moves, students write in their personal journals about a dance move they would add to the story. Students draw, label, and write about the dance move. The teacher takes their dictation if needed. After reading Pete, the Cat, students create a timeline with the teacher, using shared writing strategies to put the dance moves in the correct sequential order in response to the story. The materials guide the teacher to use questions such as “What did Pete do first?” and “Which move came next?” to solicit student contributions to the timeline. The teacher writes students’ answers along the line to show the dance sequence. Materials include opportunities for students to generate independent writing; materials also include opportunities for group writing on shared experiences. In another section, students write in their personal journals about healthy food choices, using an anchor chart with examples of grains, vegetables, fruits, protein, and dairy for support. The poster includes real pictures and labels. Students draw simple illustrations and label their drawings. The materials guide the teacher to provide dictation as needed and to encourage students to include examples from all of the food groups. Students share their work with their peers.

In Theme 5, the teacher facilitates a conversation about building a house and models writing sentences, using content that the students dictate. The teacher places sentences in the correct sequential order. The teacher then rereads the sentences, and the students create a word bank of jobs that they would do if they worked in the construction field. Finally, students copy the sentence stem “I would...” and fill in the blank with words from the word bank or write their own words using emerging literacy skills. Teachers recast the sentence for struggling students; students who need a challenge can write an additional sentence after copying the sentence stem in their personal journals. This guided writing routine supports the development of independent writing and illustrating. It is repeated throughout the materials, including in a lesson where students respond to a shared read-aloud of the book My Classroom and then follow a prompt to independently write about what they see in their classroom, in their journals. During a read-aloud of The Dot, the class discusses the different sizes and colors of the dot artwork in the book. Students are able to see how illustrations support the text. The teacher encourages students to create a picture made of dots at the “Creativity Station.” The instructional materials include opportunities for illustration/drawing with detail, which transfers to writing. Students use writing to communicate ideas about a text read aloud. Students also write an invitation welcoming families to an art show showcasing student work. The materials include opportunities for students to write in response to reading; materials make explicit the connection between reading and writing. During a “Writer’s Corner” center, students create a class book. Students draw a tool and how it is used. The teacher utilizes “Photo Cards” to support student thinking. The teacher takes students’ dictation or challenges students to write about the tool. Teachers provide blank books for students to create their own “My Tools” book. Teachers encourage students to label each illustration.

Evaluation for 6.2
Materials instruct students along the developmental stages of writing.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” offers a framework to describe emergent writing practices, which is composed of three domains. “Conceptual Knowledge” is when children learn that writing has a purpose and is meaningful. “Procedural Knowledge” is when children learn the mechanics of writing. “Generative Knowledge” is when children develop the ability to translate thoughts into writing. The guide also includes the developmental stages of writing to include drawing, scribbling, mock letters, letter strings, transitional writing, invented spelling, phrase writing, and whole sentence writing. The guide suggests that teachers use “teacher talk” during writing lessons in order to think aloud and narrate what they are doing. For example, “I am writing the word cat. It begins with the letter c. Who has the letter c in your name?” There are multiple other strategies teachers can use to scaffold children’s writing, such as verbally reminding children to use writing in their classroom activities and providing appropriate writing instructions. The guide provides teacher guidance that includes strategies for intentional instruction. During the drawing stage, teachers respond to students’ attempts at writing. Teachers engage students in conversation about their “writing” (illustration). During the scribbling stage, teachers model writing and call attention to the features of letters. During the random, controlled, and circular marking stage, teachers display the alphabet and refer to letters while modeling letter formation. Teachers provide plastic letters and the “Letter Builder Set” to support letter features. During mock letters, students create letter strings. Teachers model using the “Space Frog” for separating words. During transitional writing, teachers suggest students copy environmental print, including the letter wall, classroom labels, and book titles. During invented spelling, students segment and blend phonemes of one-syllable words to guide hearing medial sounds, beginning letters, and ending letters. During phrase writing, students focus on individual words with conventional spelling. Continually, during whole sentence writing, students focus on the use of appropriate uppercase letters and punctuation marks.

In Theme 1, writing instruction begins to follow the “Morning Message” structure. There are three steps to Morning Message. First, teachers say the sentence (phonological awareness) with a focus on listening. Second, teachers write the sentence (concepts of print) with a focus on modeled writing. Third, teachers identify letters (alphabet knowledge) with a focus on letter lines and shapes. The concept of the daily sentences is also used in the “Shared Writing” and in the “Guided Writing” sections. A shared writing small group activity invites students to share their ideas for completing the sentence frame and then write their ideas on the chart. The next day, during a guided writing small group activity, students draw themselves in their journals to connect back to the sentences from the Morning Message. The teacher thus scaffolds writing instruction by involving a combination of modeled writing, shared writing, and interactive writing. Materials follow the developmental continuum of how children learn writing. Still, in Theme 1, materials provide a sentence stem for a shared writing experience: “I can…with my….” Students offer ideas for the teacher to record. Once completed, students draw their bodies and write their names in their personal journals. Materials include recommendations for scaffolding. Students who are ready can label the drawings. For students requiring more support, the teacher offers cards to copy or imitate. Also in this theme, students participate in a shared writing experience where they smell a cotton ball with a fragrance. Students then come up with a list of the things that they like to smell; the teacher writes their dictated thoughts. The teacher then displays the responses as a chart for review during transition times. In Theme 1, students begin using a personal writing journal. Students draw a picture of themselves and label it with their name. To assist their drawing, if necessary, students use a photograph to assist their drawing. Students in need of a challenge can elaborate and share their first stories with their peers. 

In Theme 4, a written expression lesson focuses on the process of writing, from thinking to developing a shared piece. In this lesson, teachers ask students to recall each word in the sentence as they write it on a chart and utilize the “Space Frog” between words. Teachers model proper punctuation and capitalization. Teachers read the complete sentence with the class and track the words. Teachers connect the sentence content to the theme or students’ experiences. Materials provide guidance for teachers on how to nudge students along the continuum for writing development. For example, teachers display a two-column chart labeled Fast and Slow on bulletin-board paper and invite students to illustrate opposites that are fast or slow. Teachers encourage students to label the illustration, or they take their dictation if needed. Teachers also provide a “Visual Cues Box Guide” that takes students on a scavenger hunt to find objects or photographs that represent the words students write from the environment. Students illustrate the items they find next to the corresponding words they wrote.

In Theme 6, Day 4, in the literacy small group portion, during guided reading/writing instruction, students move to more independent writing. Students review the shared writing chart from the previous day. Students read The Beach and then draw an illustration to complete the sentence stem “I like….” The teacher nudges students along the writing continuum, encouraging those who might be ready to copy the words and complete the sentence on the lower half of their journal page. Teachers assist students who are not able to write the words that they use in their responses. Repetition of the guided writing routine further supports students’ development of writing along the continuum. During another guided writing small group activity, teachers review the shared writing chart from Day 3, and students engage in the writing process with some support from the teacher. Students illustrate their favorite way to travel on the first blank page of their journal and write their name and label the transportation on their drawing. With permission, the teacher assists students by taking their dictation. Students share their journal entries; as they share, the teacher models how to suggest edits to their work. Teachers use “TAG” as a guide: “Tell something you like. (‘I like to ride horses, too!’) Ask questions. (‘Where do you ride a horse?’) Give a suggestion. (‘I suggest you add grass to show you are riding in a pasture.’)” Teachers provide time for students to edit their journal entries during small groups or at practice centers.

Evaluation for 6.3
Materials support fine motor development alongside and through writing.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the transadapted and translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

Throughout every theme and as a part of all lessons related to literacy, math, and science instruction, in whole group instruction, practice centers, and small group instruction, the materials provide a variety of opportunities for children to develop their fine motor skills. The “Welcome Guide” gives explanations and guidance to include important prerequisites to writing, such as establishing hand dominance, crossing the midline, and developing the tripod pencil grasp. Additionally, the guide offers explicit and detailed direction in developing scissor skills, including crumpling, ripping, snipping, and cutting paper. Another fine motor recommendation is to create a “cutting box” in the classroom so that students can practice crumpling, ripping, snipping, and cutting. The guide also provides teacher guidance to create a “Writer’s Corner” with a wide variety of materials, including pencils, markers, crayons, chalk, paper, index cards, journals, folders, letter cards, dry-erase markers and boards, story starters, multisensory models for letter writing, manipulatives such as letter tiles, models of different forms of writing, and props related to the topic or theme. The guide discusses the importance of incorporating vertical surface writing among a variety of surfaces in the classroom or at home, such as chalkboards (they offer resistance when writing), a stand-up easel, butcher paper taped to the wall, the side of a filing cabinet (instant magnet center), and paper taped to the underside of a table. Students move beyond writing and drawing, using modeling clay, shaving cream, stamps, stickers, magnets, Velcro matching games, and cutting (tape top edge to surface) on vertical surfaces. 

The materials include activities designed to increase muscle strength and coordination of the small muscles in the hands. In Theme 1, in the Writer’s Corner, teachers provide options for learners to explore multisensory writing experiences that utilize the small muscles in the hands. Teachers encourage students to form letters using modeling clay, trace “Letter Cards” placed under a gel bag, and draw letters in a sand tray. Teachers spray non-menthol shaving cream on a tray and encourage learners to use their pointer and middle-man fingers to write their name in the cream. To extend, teachers challenge students who are ready to also write the names of their friends. The materials include activities that are clearly identified as appropriate tasks to lead children to writing. For example, teachers prepare “Special Delivery” packages or envelopes for students to open in the literacy small group at various times throughout the year. Materials provide templates for teachers to access. Receiving a letter offers students an authentic opportunity to read a message and respond by writing a message back to the sender. The materials also provide suggestions for supporting writing opportunities in multiple learning centers with a variety of tools that develop fine motor skills. For example, the “Writing” center has crayons, chalk, and markers for the students to use to draw/write about themselves. At the “Creativity Station,” children use paint and a variety of painting tools to paint pictures.

In Theme 4, students engage with multiple opportunities to develop fine motor skills that lead to writing. For example, students build shapes with “AngLegs,” explore with “Cloud” dough in the “Sensory Station,” draw letters in colored sand trays and paint with a variety of different-width foam brushes at the Creativity Station, and make playdough impressions with a variety of shaped blocks, trace shapes, write letters in sand trays, build letters with letter-builder manipulatives, and draw pictures on charts in the Writing center. During a math small group lesson, students discuss curved and straight lines with regard to shapes. The teacher then models, and students apply their knowledge of curved and straight lines to make shapes. The math practice center displays the “Shapes” poster; students build shapes using chenille stems and modeling clay. Students display a sample shape on a sheet of tag board and write their name next to it. Also in this theme, at a Creativity Station center, students “demonstrate control/strength of small muscles” by drawing pictures in sand. Teachers show students how to erase their work to begin again with a new drawing. Teachers also provide paper, glue, brushes, and colored sand in salt shakers. Students brush glue on their paper and then shake colored sand over the glue to create a picture of a colorful sandstorm. These activities are designed to increase muscle strength and coordination of the small muscle in the hands. In the “Fine Motor” center, students connect to the story of The Princess and the Pea; students count pebbles through a sock to determine how many “peas” are inside, using their fingers to feel the number of “peas.” The materials provide multiple and varied opportunities for children to develop fine motor skills. In a suggested midweek option for the center, students cut apart “creature builder” cards and interchange the three sections of the creature’s body. The materials prescribe a variety of tools and surfaces for student writing experiences. For example, at the Creativity Station, students draw pictures in the sand. The materials also suggest students can explore wide and narrow paintbrushes as well as thick and thin tempera paint in order to see the difference between wide and narrow lines. The materials suggest different forms of sensory materials, including modeling clay, cloud dough, paint with paintbrush varieties, and sand trays to trace shapes, letters, and numbers. 

In Theme 9, in the Fine Motor center, students use tweezers and tongs to transfer small objects to a bowl. Objects include magnetic marbles, connecting cubes, and straw pieces. Opportunities during the middle of the week include transferring small objects using other tools, such as a pastry brush or a magnetic wand. Another activity in the Fine Motor center includes materials such as tweezers, rock salt, construction paper, and wiggle eyes. Students use tweezers to move “stars” (rock salt) from a night sky (black construction paper) to a day sky (white construction paper). The instructional materials provide differentiation and guidance on how to develop students’ fine motor skills towards writing. In a midweek suggestion, students compare amongst each other to see how many uppercase letters of the alphabet that they can write in one minute; they repeat the task with lowercase letters. Materials suggest teachers should provide the “Alphabet Arc” as a display for students who need a visual cue of letter shapes. During the “Morning Message,” the teacher uses chart paper to write the message. It is implied that the chart paper is displayed on an easel at the students’ eye level. The materials include chain links, a sand timer or a minute timer, markers, paper, and the Alphabet Arc poster in practice centers. The instructional materials prescribe a variety of tools and surfaces for student writing experiences.

Evaluation for 7.1
Materials follow a logical mathematical continuum of concrete, pictorial, then abstract representations.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” states that materials follow “a developmental progression centered on the same big idea for the week identified by the ‘Focus’ at the beginning of each week’s lessons.” In the guide, the complete scope and sequence demonstrate a developmental progression that begins with attributes and subsequently moves on to more rigorous concepts that build on each foundational step of numeracy and mathematical concepts. In the guide’s “Program Components” section, a page on manipulatives lists connecting cubes, pattern blocks, frog counters, attribute buttons, chain links, “AngLegs,” bean bags, pocket cubes, and a balance scale. These are all concrete manipulatives to support understanding of math concepts through play. The guide emphasizes that teachers should dedicate time each day to teaching mathematics and integrating math meaningfully in other areas of the curriculum. Focus areas include “Number and Operations” (understanding quantity and numerical relationships); “Geometry” (understanding shape, location, and spatial transformations); and “Measurement” (quantifying and comparing space, length, weight, area, and volume). Mathematical content related to Algebra and Data Analysis is integrated within the three main content strands noted above. The materials identify the strand of Algebra as “Patterning” and Data Analysis as “Graphing and Classification.”

In Theme 1, during the first week, students freely explore the introduced manipulatives. Teachers use question stems to move the students from simple exploration and play to noticing attributes and supporting emerging sorting skills. Once comfortable with the materials, students sort the materials into bins with pictures to support the concrete and pictorial connection. Throughout the year, the focus is on describing and exploring the attributes of various manipulatives and materials that model mathematical concepts and thinking. In Week 3, students explore attribute buttons. The teacher divides chart paper into four columns: color, shape, size, and number of holes. Students sort buttons by physical attribute, with scaffolded support, to create a picture representation of the sorting activity. The focus next is on introducing math manipulatives and noticing and sorting by attribute. Students classify different manipulatives by size, shape, color, and function. Materials support this process through discovery and question stems that extend students’ understanding of the concepts. In each lesson, students have opportunities to freely explore before teachers introduce content.

In Theme 2, materials suggest using frog counters as concrete representation when discussing measurable attributes. Students are able to identify and compare size, length, height, and width. The teacher uses the story The Three Bears and draws attention to the three sizes of the bowls, chairs, and beds (small, medium, and big). The teacher presents a set of cups to the students; students explain which cup represents each bear and why based on the attributes. Students then receive a set of small, medium, and big frog counters; they sort the counters based on size and describe who is represented by each counter. During “Math” centers, students play a game of “Long or Short”: Students roll a number-dot cube and use links to make a chain representing their number. Students then compare their chain link to their partner’s to see which one has more, fewer, or the same number of links. A math small group time focuses on counting quantities up to 5; students sing “Bingo,” clapping to spell out each letter of their name. Students are thus able to incorporate movement and music into their learning, learning that each clap represents a letter and that the last count represents how many. There is evidence of counting in another math small group activity: Teachers state that remembering all of the counting words to ten and reciting them in order takes practice, effort, and concentration. Students play “Hide and Seek” to practice reciting the counting sequence to ten and review spatial relationships. Teachers select one child to be the hider; other children cover their eyes and rote count to 10. Materials use concrete representation to teach all skill areas for the counting skill. Students can first use their fingers or manipulatives and then work their way up to being comfortable with abstract representation. Materials also include activities that build conceptual understanding of measurement skills. Within the provided “Strategies for Intentional Instruction” for measurement, step two is to identify measurable attributes: “Distinguish between the attributes of size (length, height, width) as well as weight (heavy, light) and capacity (full, empty).” Step three is to directly compare objects using formal language: “This one is longer than (shorter than, heavier than, lighter than).” Materials also teach geometry and spatial sense skills in the “Construction” center. 

In Theme 5, teachers encourage students to use square pattern blocks as a “tool” to measure the length of a variety of small objects. Students draw a picture of the measured objects and write a numeral next to each one to show how many orange pattern blocks long it is. Instruction in all mathematical competencies progresses from concrete to pictorial to abstract, with the greatest emphasis on using concrete manipulatives. The materials include lessons that incorporate a variety of concrete manipulatives, including various pictorial representations of mathematical concepts. For example, the teacher provides each student with a hexagon, triangle, square, trapezoid, and rhombus. Students use three shapes to make a shape. Teachers tell students to study the design closely for five seconds and then cover the design so they can no longer see it. Students use their shapes to recreate the design they remember. During Math centers, students create a frame for a house or for another type of building using precut paper strips. Students discuss which shape would be represented by their frame or roof. Teachers question students about how they could make a triangle using the strips of paper, how many strips would be needed to make a triangle, and what shape the roof of a house would be. Throughout each theme, students are able to build conceptual understanding of various math concepts using manipulatives and more. There is evidence of concrete manipulatives to teach mathematical concepts during the “Creativity Station” center. Students create a city skyline of tall and short buildings by gluing rectangles and square paper shapes to drawing paper and adding triangle rooftops. A midweek option is to use construction paper rectangles or crayons to add windows to the buildings.

The instructional materials provide a variety of types of concrete manipulatives and pictorial representations throughout all themes. Measurement is represented concretely in a math small group activity: Teachers show students boxes holding egg crates from the farm. Students compare the dimensions of the boxes. Teachers ask, “Which is biggest/deepest/widest/tallest/longest? Which box do you think will hold the most ‘eggs’ (connecting cubes)? Why?” Teachers pair off students, give each pair a box, and instruct students to fill their boxes with connecting cubes. After filling the boxes, pairs count the cubes. The class counts to confirm each box holds the same number of cubes (12). The class discusses differences between their estimates and the actual counts. The teacher supports building students’ conceptual understanding of measurement by asking questions such as “Why do you think each box holds the same amount even though they are different sizes?” Later in the unit, students engage in an abstract application of this learning by making predictions about the capacity of various sizes of plastic cups. Filling the cups with manipulatives, students predict which cup will be heavier or if the cups will be the same weight. Teachers place each filled cup on either side of a balance scale to test predictions; they ask, “Which is heavier/lighter? How do you know?” Teachers explain that even though the cups are the same size and equally full, the items inside have different weights. During a math small group activity, students sort and count pattern block shapes. In an activity that builds conceptual understanding of adding to/taking away skills, teachers present the digital book Counting Fingers and Toes from ABCMouse. Students count the fingers on both hands of two volunteers and confirm that two children together have 20 fingers. Students match each pattern block to a finger on their hand and confirm that if each partner has exactly 10, there should be 20 altogether. In another activity that builds conceptual understanding of adding to/taking away skills and builds from concrete to abstract understanding, students apply the concept of classifying and sorting in a game of “Copy Cory.” In the game, students use a number-dot cube and count to fill sides of a pretend boat with frog counters. Teachers explain that both sides must have the same number of frogs, or the boat will tip to one side. Teachers reflect with the class, asking, “What do you have to do to the (name of color) side to make it equal to (the same as) the (name of color) side?” During a midweek option, students write a number sentence that matches the operation (add to or take away from) to make one side equal to the other. The instructional materials provide many opportunities for students to receive mathematics instruction using a variety of manipulatives. Throughout all of the themes, materials suggest that teachers use concrete manipulatives when teaching mathematics so that students are able to gain a better understanding of math instruction and concepts.

Evaluation for 7.2
Materials promote instruction that builds on students’ informal knowledge about mathematics.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” supports teachers in understanding students’ informal mathematical knowledge and offers suggestions for inquiring about a child’s developmental status and mathematical development. The Welcome Guide supports the use of play as an informal approach to developing math. The guide explains that there are challenges when teaching mathematics learners from low socio-economic backgrounds; these students come into preschool demonstrating fewer competencies with beginning math skills than their peers from higher socioeconomic means (Arnold& Doctoroff, 2003). This gap, the guide explains, is not attributed to IQ but rather to disadvantages, such as lack of opportunities experienced in poverty (Lee & Burkam, 2002). Students’ mathematical learning significantly improves and accelerates when early childhood teachers receive development and coaching to support their implementation of a cohesive, thoughtfully sequenced mathematics curriculum that balances explicit instruction through teacher-guided modeling and child-initiated exploration (Mononon, Aunio, Koponen, & Aro, 2014). The guide suggests following the developmental progressions: First, teaching numbers and operations; then, teaching geometry, patterns, measurement, and data analysis; and using progress monitoring to ensure that math instruction builds on what each child knows. Teachers are to encourage children to view and describe their world mathematically, dedicate time each day to teaching math, and integrate math instruction throughout the school day. The instructional materials offer daily, explicit math instruction supported by teacher modeling, questioning, and child-led exploration and practice in a small-group setting. By using the small group style, teachers can closely and thoroughly monitor children’s understanding on a more individualized, ongoing basis. Materials offer a weekly “Math” center, which enables teachers to assess children practicing skills that were introduced in group lessons. Each Math center offers one or two reflection questions to help teachers probe children’s emergent understanding and thinking related to each skill and concept. Teachers use the “AIM Developmental Assessment” to document progress and understand children’s mathematical development. The guide provides significant detail to support teacher understanding of informal mathematics development across the mathematics concepts. Lessons include strategy cards to support instruction as well as activities to support incorporating math throughout the day, such as during snack time or lining up. 

In Theme 2, teachers encourage students to pair objects with AngLegs to make matches that are about the same length. As learners pair the AngLegs to a matching item, teachers ask, “Is the AngLeg a little bit shorter than, longer than, or exactly the same size as the (name of the object)? How do you know?” The materials include resources that support the teacher in intentionally building children’s math knowledge across different skill areas and systematically building off of what children already know. The materials include guidance to support the teacher in building upon students’ mathematical understanding through prompts and questions. The materials prompt teachers to inquire about students’ developmental status and mathematical knowledge. Students sing “Sing a Song of Math Attributes,” focusing on the first verse that compares the words big and small. Teachers then present a collection of frog counters. A volunteer selects a big and small frog counter and displays a medium-sized frog counter. Teachers ask students if the frog is small or big. Teachers pair it with a small frog counter and ask the question again; teachers then pair it with a big frog counter and ask the question again. In another activity, teachers refer to the family portrait they drew at the “Creativity Station” in Week 1; this is a connecting cube tower that shows the number of people in their family. Teachers invite children to compare their family tower to the family of two and the family of eleven on page 5 in Families. Teachers ask, “Which has fewer? More? Are they the same? How do you know?” The materials include cross-curricular opportunities to authentically integrate mathematics throughout the day. Students extend their learning to create a block family using different block shapes or boxes in the “Construction” center. During a math small group activity, students use the “Pet Graph” cards and stick-on notes to vote for the pet they think would make the best classroom pet, taking into consideration facts they learned about each animal in a book. Materials direct teachers to showcase graphic representations of responses by using a graph. Following the read-aloud of The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins, students explore algebraic representation with an activity connected to the literacy domain. The teacher demonstrates how dividing the cookies kept resulting in fewer cookies for each child. Teachers point out that there are twelve cookies on the plate and discuss that twelve represents the number of cookies. Using cubes, the students engage in problem-solving.

In Theme 4, in a set of lessons, the teacher introduces math material, and the students freely explore 3D block manipulatives. By allowing the children to notice and explore the materials on their own, the teacher gives them time to discover their attributes, quantities, and physical qualities. Questioning, such as “Which ones can you stack? Which ones can you roll?” guides students to begin to make comparisons beyond simple physical attributes to include function and purpose and to build off their informal understanding of math. In another lesson, the focus is on comparing and contrasting. In addition to the “Brain Smart Start” time each day (taking attendance and counting the children present), students practice counting during “Music and Movement” time, where they sing songs such as “Dancing Robots.” Students use categorizing skills in a literacy activity, making a picture chart of living and nonliving things. In math, students sort shapes and later use their knowledge of shapes to build a robot during STEAM time. The practice centers allow teachers to embed math concepts throughout the classroom environment. For example, the “Science” center includes sorting mats and cards; the “Sensory” center includes variously shaped cookie cutters; the Math center includes shape posters, pipe cleaners, and modeling clay; math small groups include “Anglegs” to build shapes; STEAM lessons include a robotic frog, provided with the curriculum, to introduce simple coding; and the Creativity Station includes salt trays to draw shapes. In this theme, students use real objects to build upon informal understanding of mathematical concepts. Students review that the size of an object (small, medium, big) can be determined by comparing it to another object. Teachers display a small and medium-sized frog counter, point to the medium-size frog, and ask, “What size is this frog? (big).” Next, teachers replace the small frog with a large frog and point to the medium-sized frog and ask, “What size is this frog now? (small).” Finally, teachers display an assortment of different-sized books that vary in length, width, and thickness and invite students to find a book that appears big; students identify the dimensions of the book. Students thus make a connection to real-world math concepts with real objects: They explore weight and measurement. At the beginning of each math small group section, the “focus” includes a developmental progression; it builds on concepts in a specific order for students to acquire math understanding. For example, students progress from “Sorting and Describing Two-Dimensional Shapes” to “Sorting and Describing Three-Dimensional Shapes” to “Measuring” to “Sorting by Two Attributes.” Students begin with shape-sorting and build to anchor charts to summarize and analyze their thinking. Materials thus engage children in activities that become more complex as their knowledge increases. 

Theme 9 is the last theme in the materials; all of the math manipulatives have been introduced, and the basic concepts have been taught. This theme ties the learning together, which gives an opportunity for the teacher to inquire about the students’ developmental status and mathematical knowledge. This is evident in the slight shift in math concept presentation. Still focused on current understanding, materials are presented in an open-ended fashion, supported with questions to facilitate an extension of current thinking around specific math concepts. For example, the focus of this theme is “analyzing the world mathematically.” The first week looks at the daily schedule to determine what happens before, during, and after a benchmark event. Students sort daily routine pictures into “what is happening now,” “what has already happened,” and “what will happen later.” This transfers to elapsed time and compares how long something lasts or how long it will be until something happens. These skills are foundational to learning to tell time and to navigate a calendar, which are a part of the mathematical world. Open-ended questioning tied to personal connections and experiences continues to be the process to inquire about students’ developmental status and mathematical knowledge; students combine all that they have learned and apply it in their world through provided learning center activities. Students build upon their experience with sorting and classifying through graphing: They complete a survey and graph the responses to the question, “Do you have a friend who is in kindergarten this year?” Teachers explain that a graph shows everyone’s responses. Students receive a stick-on note and write their name on the note; they then draw a happy face at the top of the note if their answer is yes and a sad face if their answer is no. Students thus continue making real-world connections in the classroom. The materials provide guidance that supports the use of the classroom environment and materials to explore math concepts and skills; they develop mathematics concepts through real-world connections in the classroom environment.

Evaluation for 7.3
Materials intentionally develop young children’s ability to problem solve.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to math instruction in whole group instruction, practice centers, and small group instruction, the materials develop children’s capacity to ask thoughtful questions in content areas such as literacy, science, and STEAM. The materials provide question stems for the teacher to use. Teacher questioning is consistently used as an instructional strategy to extend the students’ thinking and determine their current understanding of concepts and content being introduced in all areas. As is modeled, the children are then encouraged to ask questions to develop a deeper understanding of the instruction, usually in a “Think, Pair, Share” format. Materials give frequent guidance to use this strategy with English Learners, and it is also consistently placed in the literacy or science block of instruction.

In Theme 5, number stories are contextualized around potential real-life events such as picking flowers and finding worms. In the “Construction” center, students create a bathtub big enough for an animal that has been taped out on the floor. Working together, students decide the type and number of building materials needed to meet the challenge. During a read-aloud, students use a recipe and have to count and measure to make playdough. In another math challenge, students create a paper-chain necklace to fit a creature they created in an earlier lesson and explain their strategy. As a part of the morning routine, when the children sign in, it is a recognizable problem that a part of the whole group may be absent. Counting the number of present and absent children and then combining for the entire class population makes for a real-life “problem” in the environment. In another example, students use blocks, rocks, mud, sticks, grass, and other natural elements to count, manipulate, and build and create shapes. Students use formal manipulatives (e.g., AngLegs, pattern blocks, cubes) and creative materials (e.g., play dough, pipe cleaners, toothpicks) to apply mathematical reasoning as they create new, more complex shapes out of simpler shapes. During a STEAM activity, students explore the roles of architect, engineer, and builder as they design and construct a house using a variety of building materials. Some examples of quality questions to develop children’s capacity to use mathematical reasoning and discussion are “What would happen if you added material to the bottom of your walls?” “Why would it be important to add a roof? Windows? Door?” These questions provoke clarification, extension, and development of new conceptual understanding and vocabulary. 

In Theme 7, the focus is on joining and separating quantities, comparing quantities, and part-part-whole relationships. After students listen to a number story about worms, the materials tell teachers to “invite the children to work in pairs using connecting cubes, yarn ‘worms,’ and drawing material to model or illustrate how the number decreased from 5 to 2.” The materials provide guidance for student engagement through thoughtful questions in other content; it is only implied in the math instruction. The instructional materials provide opportunities for students to grow and develop their thinking and questioning in a variety of ways. Through learning centers, students have opportunities to explore and engage with different materials in relation to problems or things in their environment. In the “Language and Literacy” center, after hearing the story Betty Beetle’s Birthday Bash, students retell the story and sort the guests to determine how many different types of insects came to the party. Teachers ask students, “Which of Betty’s guests do you find most interesting and why?” In the “Science” center, students use their nose to follow a trail that is full of scented cards. Obstacles in the trail require them to use their senses to know which way to go. Students make the connection that ants use their antennae to smell and that people use their noses to smell. Teachers ask students, “How did you know which path to follow, and did you make any mistakes?” This activity has a clear real-world connection. Through various opportunities and explorations, teachers guide students and deepen their thinking through intentional questioning that leads students to ask questions on their own. The materials provide opportunities for students to recognize problems in their environment through various activities and lessons. Through centers, math small group lessons, and whole group lessons, students are able to recognize these problems in their environment. During the “STEAM” center rotation, students design a spider and a spider web that can hold ten “insects.” Teachers facilitate a discussion about spiders, their body features, their homes, and their food. Students brainstorm design ideas through questions and responses. Teachers ask open-ended questions, like “How did you decide which kind of spider to create? Why did you choose these colors? Why did you make the choices (materials, placement of supports for attachment, and actual design pattern) for web creation that you did?” Materials thus provide direct instruction and intentional activities that encourage exploration and include open-ended questions. The materials develop students’ capacity to use mathematical reasoning with familiar materials in the classroom and world outside of the classroom through various opportunities. 

In Theme 9, children use mathematical reasoning with familiar materials in the classroom and world outside of the classroom and learn to ask thoughtful questions. The materials include lessons and activities that encourage curiosity and questioning about informal mathematics, guiding teachers in providing feedback to children’s questions. Teachers discuss students’ familiarity with the word minute, asking, “Have you ever been asked to wait a minute? Did the minute last a long or short amount of time? Why do you think so?” Teachers label three columns on chart paper with the headings “Shorter than a minute,” “About a minute,” and “Longer than a minute.” Students write their names, tie their shoelaces, snap their fingers, sing a song, and use the sand timer to see how long each task takes. Teachers write the name of the task in the appropriate column on the chart. During a math small group activity, students sort and describe objects. Teachers demonstrate how to use letters to label the colors in a four-colored pattern. Students label the pattern core ABCD. Teachers ask guiding questions. When students finish, the teacher points out that the pattern has four different letter names, just as it has four different colors. As a group, the class chants the pattern. Students build their pattern by placing connecting cubes of the same color in the spaces below the letters. Students read their pattern using color words and then letter names. Materials thus suggest activities that build on children’s natural curiosity about the world around them and plan opportunities to explore mathematics. During a STEAM activity, students design a temporary shelter that will keep rain out. Teachers present the problem, explaining that they will design and create a temporary shelter that will keep a toy figure dry from the “rain.” Teachers facilitate brainstorming with questions like “How can you make the design large enough and tall enough for the toy figure?” Students explore during centers, while the teacher monitors. Teachers ask the group open-ended questions, such as “Why did you choose those materials?” and “How will you keep your toy figure dry during the ‘rain’ testing?” These are some of the examples and recommendations materials provide for teachers to model think-alouds that ask thoughtful questions about mathematics.

Evaluation for 7.4
Materials build students’ number sense.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

Every day, as part of the morning routine, the students “sign in,” which indicates who is present and who is absent. The class thus has a daily opportunity to practice counting skills. Additionally, number sense skills and routines are part of explicit math instruction during math small groups; they are also embedded in other areas, such as practice centers and daily routines. A spiraled and recursive approach builds conceptual understanding in math. The materials outline a scope and sequence that builds conceptual understanding of math concepts, starting with exploring attributes; then moving on to counting, sorting, and patterning; then geometry, measurement, and data analysis; then joining, separating, and comparing numbers; and finally connecting math concepts to real-world applications and experiences. Each of the five math units builds on the previous unit; there are frequent, spiraled, and varied opportunities for students to participate in activities that build number sense. The “Welcome Guide” provides a chart titled “Where Mathematics Live in a School Day,” which summarizes three contexts in which teachers can incorporate mathematics into the instructional day in a balanced, developmentally appropriate, and child-friendly way. In whole group instruction, teachers build interest in each math topic and make connections to the students’ everyday lives; they also demonstrate mathematical thinking that engages students in the new learning. In small group instruction, the teacher builds conceptual knowledge through guided inquiry, practice, and intentional questioning; materials provide differentiation for individual children, accommodating a range of skills and ability levels. In learning centers, there are opportunities to individually practice for content mastery, extend engagement and interest, and apply and connect mathematics to other domains, such as science and literacy. The materials provide guidance for teachers on building conceptual understanding in math. In the “Songs and Stories” resource, for Theme 1, there is a song called “Sing a Song of Math Attributes.” For Theme 2, there is a song called “Six on the Bed.” For Theme 5, there is a song called “The Numeral Dance.” And for Theme 7, there is a song called “Five Little Ladybugs.” Teachers incorporate these songs during certain weeks of each theme. Materials thus incorporate math into the daily routine by using math songs and activities for transitions. Songs also help engage children in activities when they work in learning centers.

In Theme 2, students have opportunities to participate in various activities that build number sense. In the “Math” center, students play a game from Week 1 called “Long or Short”: They roll a 0–5 cube and make a chain that has that many links on it. Students recognize the number of dots on the cube without counting and identify quantities of up to 5 without counting. Students practice one-to-one correspondence: They place one link on each dot to be sure that the chain has the same number of dots. During this center, the teacher models and describes the strategies that they observe English Learners using to make equivalent sets. The materials allow students to build upon previous mathematical concepts through a developmental progression. The materials also provide many opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts; they are able to build their number sense through a variety of activities. In a math small group activity, the teacher places a set of “Counting Cards” from 1 to 10, in random order, face-up on the floor. Students stand, hold hands, and move around the card display, pretending to fly, to get a bird’s eye view of the quantities (students can make the connection to flying with Rosalba in the story Abuela). As students move around, teachers challenge them to take a mental picture of the number of objects they see on each card; teachers ask, “Are there any cards that you think are easy to tell how many without counting?” A volunteer “flies down,” finds one of the cards, and tells how many are on that card. This is an example of the opportunities and activities that build number sense in specific skills within the materials. During another math small group activity, students learn the song “Hey, Little Froggie.” Teachers remind students to concentrate on rote counting as they sing and tap once for each number spoken. Students repeat the song with different quantities and learn that the last number they say tells them how many were in that count. This is an example of the frequent practice students have to count objects in playful, meaningful, and authentic ways within the materials’ small group lessons. 

In Theme 5, the materials guide the teacher to use the skills taught in the prior theme: identifying the two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes and building new shapes from other shapes. This process of combining to create a new product is the introductory and precursory instructional opportunity for the next unit on joining and separating. The math focus next is on classifying shapes, measuring with non-standard units, making shapes, and building sets of 10. However, students have frequent, spiraled, and varied opportunities to practice previously introduced math concepts in independent and recursive settings throughout the learning environment. For example, they use orange pattern blocks to create their own ruler and count the squares using counting one-to-one and counting on. In the “Fine Motor” center, students cut strips, create a paper chain, and count the links, revisiting the math concept of comparing set size and numbers covered in the previous unit. When students measure their shoes with cubes, pointing to each cube as they make a tally point, they use counting one-to-one and representing numbers with pictures, which they learned in Themes 2 and 4. Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to math instruction in whole group instruction, practice centers, and small group instruction, the materials provide frequent, spiraled, and varied opportunities for students to participate in activities that build number sense. During a math small group activity, teachers divide the group into two teams and give each team a “lake,” which is a sheet of blue construction paper. One team receives cotton balls, and the other team receives paperclips. Each team measures the widest part of their lake, using either cotton balls or paperclips; each team member counts and measures to verify the others’ measurements. During the next day’s lesson, students record the results using stick-on notes for comparison. Teachers ask, “Why were the counts different? Why did we use fewer paperclips than cotton balls?” Students compare the size of a paperclip to that of a cotton ball. Teachers ask, “Which is longer? How does the size of the unit affect how many?” Teachers point out that the larger the unit, the fewer are needed to measure; the smaller the unit, the more are needed to measure. Students thus compare the size of sets and apply number knowledge to the sets.

In Theme 7, the teacher begins with a concrete approach to number operations. The teacher tells a story about insects in the grass, and the students act it out. Building on prior learning objectives, students use one-to-one correspondence for each set; they use visual props such as colored papers to identify different sets and then combine and recount them. This scaffolded and conceptual learning continues as the students use a flower mat to create a picture of a number story. Teachers reinforce counting one at a time and counting each set independently before combining and recounting. All of the recursive understanding and concrete experiences precede the introduction of the + and = symbols. In another lesson, the math focus is on joining, separating, and comparing quantities. To establish the idea of two sets becoming one, students create visual models of number stories; they use cubes to compare lengths, establishing whether they are equal, greater, or less than each other. Measurement was a focus in Theme 5 and is now used to visualize that the set increases when another set is joined with it. This approach connects prior learning to current instruction and reinforces foundational understanding. Also in this theme, materials revisit other recursive math skills in practice centers, including throwing balls and counting them in the “Gross Motor” center; rolling a number die and putting a clothespin on the number it landed on using a number line; and singing counting songs such as “Two Little Ladybugs” during the “Brain Smart Start Greeting Circle.” During a math small group activity, students use the “Insect Number Story” work mat to retell a number story from day 2; connecting cube “insects” model the story events. At the beginning of the story, four insects (cubes) sit on the flower. In the middle, two more insects (cubes) crawl up the stem. At the end, six insects (cubes) sit on the flower. Students make a connecting cube tower to model the number of insects on the first card (beginning) and the last card (end). Teachers ask, “How many insects started out on the flower? How many ended up on the flower?” This is evidence of the frequent opportunities students have to model story problems with manipulatives, reinforcing the concept of making a collection larger by adding one more. During another math small group, students spill counters and record the combinations on 3x5 cards. Groups track repeated combinations by adding clothespins to the existing cards. Teachers ask, “Are there other combinations we have not found?” and may model any combinations that are not represented. Teachers ask, for example, “If all five counters land on red, how many yellow would there be?” Teachers confirm that in such a situation, there would be 5 red and 0 yellow. Teachers record all “Combinations of 5” on chart paper. Students thus subitize small quantities to explicitly reinforce the link between counting and subitizing, supporting the skill of counting. The materials also provide teacher guidance on building conceptual understanding in math in the following instructional settings: whole group, small group, and practice centers focused on mathematical content.

Evaluation for 7.5
Materials develop students’ academic math vocabulary.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to math instruction in whole group instruction, practice centers, and small group instruction, students have repeated opportunities to hear and practice math vocabulary. The “Songs and Stories” resource for Theme 1 contains a song called “Sing a Song of Math Attributes.” For Theme 2, there is a song called “Six on the Bed.” For Theme 5, there is a song called “The Numeral Dance.” For Theme 7, there is a song called “Five Little Ladybugs.” Materials incorporate these songs during certain weeks of each theme; they provide students with repeated playful opportunities to hear and practice math vocabulary. 

In Theme 2, teachers use content-related vocabulary through the literature, songs, questioning, and hands-on experiences included in the lessons. For example, in a small group math lesson on attributes, teachers use the traditional story The Three Bears to introduce the new vocabulary small, big, long, short, tall, height, and width. Materials embed the vocabulary within the suggested post-story discussion questions; for example, the teacher asks, “Who is taller/shorter?” as students explore story props. Students use the vocabulary to compare the characters and their chairs, bowls, and beds. Students also learn “The Attribute Song,” which uses the vocabulary words: “This is big. This is small. This is big. This is small. This is big. This is small.” The materials thus guide the teacher to introduce, scaffold, and support the students’ development and use of academic math vocabulary through literature. The materials include other math-related, age-appropriate text choices, such as The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins. This book is about a mother who bakes a dozen cookies for her two children. The doorbell rings, and the two children must share (divide) the cookies with friends. Each time the doorbell rings, more friends arrive, and the cookies must be shared (divided) again. Materials incorporate math into the daily routine, using math songs such as “The Numeral Dance.” The teacher gives each student a numeral necklace and invites them to create a signature move. “Counting to 9 has never been more fun!” “Can you shimmy numeral nine?” “You are lookin’ mighty fine.” Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to math instruction (in whole groups, practice centers, and small groups), the materials provide guidance on how to support the students’ development and use of math vocabulary. In a whole group STEAM lesson, teachers use math vocabulary to build a house that will fit their selected stuffed animal. Practice centers extend the students’ learning; students explore attributes using toys, manipulatives, and lesson-supported materials. For example, the “Construction” center challenges students to create structures and use math vocabulary to describe and compare their structures; students also create a block family out of block shapes or boxes. In the “Math” center, students take turns rolling a number-dot cube and then make that many “cookies” with playdough. The materials identify key vocabulary to introduce during whole group and small group instruction, in both English and Spanish.

In Theme 6, teachers use content-related vocabulary through the songs, questioning, and hands-on experiences included in the lessons. One math focus in this theme is rote counting to 30. Materials identify key vocabulary in both English and Spanish; vocabulary includes digit, rote count, numeral, decade, and pattern. The teacher uses the vocabulary with “The Numeral Dance.” The teacher displays a counting chart that shows the number pattern found in the teens-twenties and asks, “What stays the same? What changes? Is there a pattern?” The teacher introduces the “1–30 Counting Board” and explains that when a counter reaches the end of a decade, it must be moved to the next row of numerals. In a whole group “Closing Circle,” the teacher asks, “What number comes after twenty? If the pattern repeats, what number do you say after thirty?” Students work with counters and manipulatives to practice rote counting to 30. Students answer question prompts to indicate how to count, whether they recognize a pattern, and what to do when they come to the end of a decade when counting. In the Construction center, students receive cars with numbers and find the parking place with the corresponding number. Reflection questions encourage students to explain how they were able to locate matching parking spots and how they counted the objects. The materials provide repeated opportunities to use math vocabulary in the following instructional settings: whole group, small group, and practice centers focused on mathematical content. Another math focus is on using location words to describe where something can be found. Students use manipulatives in a small group lesson setting. Provided differentiated instructional supports scaffold their vocabulary development. The teacher guides students that struggle with vocabulary to use gestures, such as “pointing up, down, left, right,” to help children visualize the location words taught in the lesson. Students who are ready for a challenge can use location words to give directions to a partner; the partner then follows the directions. This activity supports the use of vocabulary and provides a scaffolded approach for varying levels of understanding and use. The materials include recommendations for purposefully talking about mathematics using math vocabulary. The materials also provide guidance for identifying math vocabulary in stories read aloud or songs and texts that are math-related. 

In Theme 9, teachers use songs and literature, such as “I Measure Myself,” “When I Was One,” and “Tiny Things” to reinforce math concepts and vocabulary. After the read-aloud The Waiting Game, students note the difference in size between two small hands. Students look for tiny things throughout the story; they also note and explain a sequence of events after birth, using math vocabulary such as before, after, long, and short. Students have opportunities for continuous interaction with and exposure to math vocabulary; they have many opportunities to practice using math vocabulary through various activities and lessons. During small group math instruction, students measure time and compare the duration of events to a common unit, such as “longer than a minute” or “shorter than a minute.” Students discuss the time words hour, day, week, and month. Students explore an analog clock and a ruler, describing the features that they see on the tools. Teachers point out the hash marks and numerals 1–12 that go around the clock as opposed to the numerals that go straight across on a ruler. Students use the math vocabulary words clock, long, and short during small group instruction. In another small group math activity, students work on sharing eight cookies, focusing on equal groups (a vocabulary term taught during the lesson). After students explore and figure out how to equally share the cookies so that two or four frogs get the same amount, they draw a picture that shows their solution and explain how they did it. In another activity, each student chooses one “Arrangements of 6” card and creates the design by filling the puzzle shape with connecting cubes. Teachers challenge students to use positional and numeral vocabulary to describe the parts of the design (e.g., there are four cubes on the bottom and two on the top). Materials contain guidance on how to scaffold and support students’ development and use of academic math vocabulary in small group instruction, whole group instruction, and learning centers. 

Evaluation for 8.1
Materials build science knowledge through inquiry-based instruction and exploration of the natural world.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

In Theme 3, in the “Science” center, students use their sense of smell to match aroma canisters that have the same scent. Students must use their senses and inquiry skills to investigate and identify scents. Midweek, teachers change the aroma in the canisters to allow students to explore and discover other scents and match them. Students connect their inquiry and discoveries to a book read in the classroom; in the book, a dog goes on an adventure following a hotdog scent. The instructional materials develop children’s ability to communicate ideas through a variety of experiences. During a “Sensory” center, students explore making ripples, drops, and streams using simple tools: a tub of water, ripple-making tools (eye droppers, basters, pipettes), and lightweight objects (ping-pong balls, connecting cubes, buttons). The teacher fills a tub with water and uses an eyedropper or baster to drip drops of water into the tub. The teacher points out that the ripples start close to where the droplet hits the water and then move outward in circles. The class connects this to kindness and its ripple effect. This is an authentic and meaningful opportunity for children to explore the environment using scientific tools. The instructional materials provide opportunities for students to explore physical science, life science, and earth and space science through hands-on experiences. In the STEAM portion of a lesson, students use engineering and process skills to solve problems. In this lesson, students design a game using a ball and a cup, either by themselves, with a group, or with a partner. Students brainstorm ideas on how to create a game using the provided materials, discuss the problems associated with the task, explore, and analyze their findings. The teacher guides them with questions, such as “If you are using yarn or string with a ball, how will you attach the ball?” or “How could you use two cups with one ball?” Once the game is created, students share their discoveries with the class. The instructional materials develop children’s ability to communicate ideas through a variety of experiences throughout all themes. 

In Theme 4, during an outdoor activity, the students use “living and nonliving” cards that have pictures and words. Students hunt for and collect items that represent examples of living and nonliving items such as twigs, pebbles, flowers, and insects. Students use scientific tools such as magnifying glasses, tablets, and journals. For example, if the item is too large or living and can not be picked up, students draw a picture in their journal. The materials include opportunities for students to develop observational and questioning skills in their environment. After learning about the characteristics of living and nonliving things, students discuss and classify pictures of living and nonliving things in a chart with their peers. In the “Literacy” center, students look through a collection of books about living and nonliving things, select an image, and tell their partner if it is living or nonliving. Materials guide teachers to challenge students to explain how they know if it is living or nonliving. The materials provide opportunities for students to communicate ideas related to science content. In another activity in Theme 4, students interact with their environment while developing their ability to communicate and ask questions about science. They lie on different surfaces outside (grass, concrete, wood chips, or rocks), and the teacher prompts them to communicate using science vocabulary, asking, “Is it hard or soft?” “Is it cool, warm, soft, or hard?” “Is it smooth or bumpy?” Students have another opportunity to use scientific tools in this theme when they compare properties of objects using magnets and the balance scale. Additionally, in the Sensory center, they use eye droppers, basters, funnels, bowls, bottles, and cups to explore the properties of water. 

In Theme 9, in the Science center, students place water beads in a bowl; using an eyedropper, they add water to the bowl and observe how the beads grow and change. Students then place the bowl on the windowsill to observe what happens with the addition of sunlight. Teachers also give students blue and yellow playdough balls that are the same size; students explore them and put them together to create a new color. Teachers ask questions during these explorations to extend students’ thinking. The materials specifically include opportunities for students to engage in experiences that include observing and asking questions; planning and carrying out investigations; obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; and a number of other meaningful experiences. In the STEAM portion of the lesson, students think creatively and use engineering and process skills to solve problems. For example, students design and create a colorful noise-making toy for a baby, using materials in the classroom in their toy design. As students brainstorm ideas, teachers talk through their ideas with them and pose questions. After students have had the opportunity to explore and create, they share their creations with the group. When sharing, students can also discuss the similarities and differences of the toys that were created. In a Science center, students use an eyedropper to experiment with a “cloud” in a jar: They drop food coloring into a jar of water to make “rain”; shaving cream acts as the “cloud.” The instructional materials include exploration with scientific tools throughout the presented themes. During a read-aloud of Nature’s Giants, students discuss ecosystems. Students name living and nonliving things in the book and in their homes. Teachers discuss examples of ecosystems. At the end of the week, students build a terrarium. They add small plants, pebbles, water, and a lid and place it in direct sunlight to see it grow over time. The instructional materials thus provide opportunities for students to explore physical science, life science, and earth and space science through hands-on experiences.

Evaluation for 8.2
Materials build social studies knowledge through study of culture and community.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The materials follow a logical sequence of social studies, beginning with self and moving to family, community, city, state, and country. Theme 1 focuses on “My School and Me,” Theme 2 focuses on “Family and Friends,” and Theme 3 focuses on community workers. The materials provide opportunities for children to explore and identify how people and families are alike and different, using positive, friendly language. Teachers discuss the concept of friends and friendship; they discuss that friends can be family members, including pets, classmates, or neighbors; friends can also be older or younger. Teachers display the vocabulary card for loyal and explain that friends are loyal, which means to keep promises, be faithful, and do what you say. Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to social studies instruction, in whole group instruction, small group instruction, and practice centers, students have opportunities to explore commonalities and differences in individuals. The “Welcome Guide” explains that the materials are culturally responsive, meeting the needs of diverse classrooms. The guide suggests filling classrooms with literature, images, and materials that “mirror and window” students and their families; students should see themselves and their families reflected in the classroom, and the environment should also provide windows to people and experiences that are not in the students’ own family and classroom. 

In Theme 2, during the read-aloud Families, the teacher pauses on pages 12–13 and discusses some of the foods being described. The teacher points out that in the United States, families eat rice in many ways: in soups, with gravy, and in puddings. The teacher asks, “What food does your family enjoy eating?” A “Cultural Responsiveness” tip suggests to “invite children’s parents to bring food representative of their family’s home country.” The teacher places students’ photos near the country they come from on the world map. In the “Pretend and Learn” center, students explore the roles of consumers in their community. Students pretend that they are running a pet grooming business and experience how goods and services work. Teachers encourage students to reflect on and describe how they are caring for the animals. During a read-aloud of Pets Are Family, students discuss how animals are cared for by a pet doctor (veterinarian) and how people bring their animals to them to be treated and taken care of. Also in this theme, students talk about the jobs their family members do when they go to work and the jobs they do at home (cook, clean, do laundry, garden). The teacher reminds students of the groups that make up a school family. The teacher asks, “What jobs does our School Family do here in the classroom?” The teacher reminds students that family members are people who love each other and take care of each other and that doing class jobs is one way we take care of our school family members; this supports learning about roles and responsibilities at home.

In Theme 3, students explore three types of kindness: “to give, help, and pay attention.” Students discuss the “ripple effect” kindness has on others and the community. In the Pretend and Learn center, students can explore the roles of consumers in the community. With materials such as envelopes, stamp stickers, and other props, students run a post office, a doctor’s office, a hair salon, a pet store, and a grocery store. Engaging in these community jobs allows students to see how goods and services work. In another community-focused opportunity, after listening to a read-aloud about community workers, students draw a community worker they would like to be. Teachers display the “Photo Cards” for visual reference and, if possible, provide pictures of students’ family members at community worker jobs. Teachers facilitate a community worker reflection activity; students discuss their drawings and write thank-you notes to community workers. These opportunities allow students to identify community helpers and their roles in the community. During another Pretend and Learn center, students compare and contrast. The teacher invites students to explore a variety of costumes, including make-believe characters and characters that represent real-life people. The class discusses, “Which costume did you choose to be a make-believe character? How is your character the same as you? How is your character different from you?” Instructional material thus accepts and embraces differences in the classroom and helps students accept the diversity in the classroom. In the “Language and Literacy” center, students sequence the cards in the “Handwashing Card Set.” They refer to the “How to Wash Your Hands” poster to check their work, connecting to past lessons.

In Theme 9, in the Language and Literacy center, in a lesson on life stages, students explore similarities and differences between individuals. The teacher facilitates a discussion about the current life stages of the class and then extends the discussion to consider family members at home. Visual life cycle cards are used to show how things grow and change, allowing students to compare and contrast with other life cycles. This lesson connects students to the idea of past, present, and future. Also in this theme, students categorize parts of the day by what happens before, during, or after a benchmark event. Students compare the duration of everyday events to a common unit, such as longer or shorter than a minute, and discuss other time words (hour, day, week, month). Students connect their daily life to events, time, and routines. In a lesson focused on the community, students explore their role as consumers. Teachers display the word change and explain that some words have more than one meaning; change describes money received back when making a purchase or a collection of coins, and it also describes the ways we can impact and change our environment. The materials provide suggestions for dramatic play experiences that replicate community experiences. In an effort to reduce consumerism, teachers facilitate a conversation about passing down items to siblings or friends once they have outgrown the item. Students discuss donating items no longer needed and how reusing instead of throwing away can protect our communities. Teachers encourage students to name, draw, and write about one thing they have given away.

Evaluation for 8.3
Materials expose children to fine arts through exploration.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to fine arts, in whole group instruction, small group instruction, and practice centers, the materials include opportunities for daily experiences through dance, music, dramatic play, painting, sculpture, drawing, and movement. The Songs and Stories guide contains songs, and the Frog Street Portal has a digital library of songs and music. Music is connected to the content and embedded in the lessons throughout the day. Music and movement experiences are also used to transition from one activity to another and to offer breaks between lessons. Most songs have movements that accompany the lyrics. 

Theme 1 introduces 28 songs that include opportunities to sing, dance, and move. Some of the titles are “The Alphabet Song,” “The More We Get Together,” “This Ol’ Skin,” “I Like Me,” and “Body Bop.” Also in this theme, students use play dough to make their names; use “Muscle Movement Cards” with beanbags; fingerpaint; and play with sand at the “Sensory Table.” Students use different artistic mediums, including playdough, paint, scissors, crayons, markers, and chalk, for the sole purpose of exploration and without any expectation of a product. The materials thus include opportunities for students to engage in the process of creating rather than focus solely on the product that is created. 

Theme 5 contains 23 songs that include opportunities to sing, dance, and move. Some of the titles are “Herman the Worm,” “Jazzy Shapes,” “Late Last Night,” “Rainbow Dancers,” and “This Little Pig.” This theme focuses on creativity. Students build houses with shapes, play with playdough, cut with scissors, paint, build with straws, and use stencils. Students engage in a variety of daily experiences through multiple mediums in whole group instruction, small group instruction, and practice centers focused on fine arts content. In the “Creativity Station” center, students use tempera paint, paintbrushes, easel paper, and crayons to paint a picture of what they think a place called “CandyLand” would look like. The teacher asks, “What things might be made of candy? What types of candy might be there?” After the read-aloud CandyLand Journey, the teacher invites students to draw or paint their new ideas. On several occasions, in Week 4, students create dot pictures with pencils and stamp pads. They arrange dots into a design of choice, practicing spatial reasoning. Students also use clay to create a picture and learn vocabulary such as pinch, squeeze, poke, push, pull, and roll; use puppets to create stories; and dance with rainbow streamers to the song “Rainbow Dancers.” These opportunities allow children to explore art as an activity. At another Creativity Station, students paint a picture of their family participating in a favorite sport or activity. Teachers celebrate their ideas and creations. The materials emphasize the students’ engagement in the process of creating rather than the product that is created. Students explore self-expression; for instance, they do so when participating in dance activities. The materials provide suggestions for smooth transitions from one activity to another; this is another opportunity for students to move through dance. For example, teachers can use music as a cue to move to another activity. The teacher may say, “When I start the music, dance over to your next activity and be in place when the music stops.”

In Theme 7, in the “Gross Motor” center, students lie on the floor face down and wiggle like worms. The teacher uses masking tape to create a start and finish line and challenges students to wiggle from one line to the next. The teacher reminds students that since worms have no arms or legs, they also cannot use their arms or legs. The students reflect on the question “Why was it hard to move?” This opportunity allows for dramatic play. At a Creativity Station, students create crazy critter hats. The teacher challenges students to think outside of the box and use their imagination to decorate their headbands. The teacher points out that their critter may have more than two eyes and antennae, that it may have a square head or an oval head, or that it may have a long tongue or no mouth at all. This opportunity allows students to draw as a way to express their personal experiences, thoughts, and ideas.

Evaluation for 8.4
Materials include technology applications.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

Materials provide opportunities to link technology into the classroom experience. Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to technology instruction, in small group instruction, practice centers, and home/family connections, materials link technology into the classroom experience. The Frog Street Portal gives access to digital resources such as books, songs, and parent connections. ABCMouse is a web-based app that has digital activities connected to literacy, math, and thematic lessons. 

In Theme 2, materials introduce “Frog-E,” the programmable robot that helps children develop basic coding skills. Frog-E supports and enhances student learning, does not distract from it, and includes appropriate teacher guidance. Students explore with Frog-E for one week every theme. Students also access technology in Theme 2 to gather information about pets and for counting from 1 to 5. In another technology experience, the teacher demonstrates and explains how to open and navigate ABCMouse programs. Teachers and students also snap digital photos to document the design and construction of “favorite comfy chairs,” including a final shot of a stuffed animal sitting in the student-designed chair. Teachers use the photos to create a digital design timeline for a STEAM bulletin board.

In Theme 6, materials link technology into the classroom experience. During a “Math” center, the mid-week option is to have learners practice tracing numerals using the ABCMouse game “Traceable Numbers.” The game displays numerals on a number line; students select the numeral they want to trace. Students also use ABCMouse to learn about bar graphs. In the “Technology” center, students read the “Letter Books” (for A, B, and C) and watch “Letter Videos” (for A, B, and C). These activities support the “Morning Message” activities, where students identify beginning letters and sounds. They also support the math lessons, where the focus is on number recognition. These resources are designed for young children, with a focus on vocabulary development and clear concepts. Throughout every theme and as part of all lessons related to technology instruction, in small group instruction, practice centers, and home/family connections, the materials use technology as a support; it enhances learning as appropriate. Digital stories, such as “How Do We Get There?” are used to guide discussions around a theme and are then provided to the families to connect learning at home and at school. Students thus explore and use various digital tools; they use individual devices for access. Frog Street Portal provides access to songs such as “Are We There Yet?” and “The Wheels on the Bus.” 

In Theme 8, in the Technology center, students read the Letter Books for H, N, L, and U and watch the Letter Videos for H, N, L, and U. Once more, these activities support the Morning Messages, where students identify beginning letters and sounds. The ABCMouse activity is “Counting Fingers and Toes.” In the STEAM lessons, learners utilize Frog-E, the codable robotic frog, and code a path for him to find the fish. Students also use technology in learning centers. This theme is about animals, and it contains four digital books to guide discussion: I Am A Mammal (Week 1), The Lizards in the Window (Week 2), Victor the Sea Turtle (Week 3), and Petie’s First Flight (Week 4). Students have access to these books at home; they are able to connect their learning at home and at school when reading with their families. The available books are listed in the “Teacher Guides” at the beginning of each week. The materials’ use of technology supports and enhances student learning as appropriate, as opposed to distracting from it; technology includes appropriate teacher guidance.

Evaluation for 9.1
Materials include developmentally-appropriate diagnostic tools (e.g. formative and summative progress monitoring) and guidance for teachers, students, and administrators to monitor progress.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Welcome Guide” gives an overview of the assessments found throughout the curriculum. For example, the “Evaluation” section describes the “AIM Observational Assessment” as measuring 60 learning progressions to competencies indicative of Kindergarten aptitude across four areas: “Social Foundation,” “Language and Literacy,” “Cognition” (math, science, and social studies), and “Perceptual, Physical, and Motor.” The materials include formative assessments and a digital assessment tool for summative evaluations. The assessment tools allow children to demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways, such as “Muestra de Trabajo,” “Observación,” “Registro anecdótico,” “Conversación documentada,” “Fotografía,” and “Registro de audio/video.” The materials guide teachers to use the many evaluation tools and resources to communicate progress to families. These tools are based on kindergarten readiness skills that are measured in a progression and in a variety of ways while children are engaged in everyday activities, which makes them developmentally appropriate. Because the materials offer a variety of diagnostic tools, teachers are able to assess all content and process skills as outlined in the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines.

The Welcome Guide provides guidance for teachers to ensure consistent and accurate administration of diagnostic tools. For example, the guide includes a separate evaluation section that explains the types of assessments (such as informal assessments) that are often done for many children simultaneously using weekly checklists or by collecting anecdotal logs. The guide also provides recommendations so the teacher can evaluate the children accurately. For example, the “Portfolio” section suggests teachers make observations of skills regularly over time and focus on change, growth, and success from a development perspective. The guide goes on to explain how the criterion-based formal assessment tool works. For example, during the administration of each test, the teacher follows a set of standardized protocols and scripts that are ready for the child. The child sits in front of the computer screen or interacts with a group of manipulatives while responding to a series of guidelines or performing specific tasks to show a level of achievement in relation to the content and skill assessed.

The Welcome Guide also includes guidance for teachers on how they can share student sample work through the use of “Portafolios” in the “Evaluacion” section. The work samples help the teacher and families see and understand each child's developmental progress. In addition to collecting student work samples, teachers can also take photos or videos of a project. This allows teachers to have a copy of the project/work for the child’s portfolio and also gives the child the opportunity to take the project home and share it with their family. The materials also provide the ABCmouse digital tool. A how-to video describes how to “Set Learning Path Levels.” As children complete each of these lessons, they move to the next one and are motivated to continue on this path through tickets and a rewards system. Teachers can utilize both the portfolio and the ABCmouse digital tool to invite children to participate in tracking their progress and growth.

Evaluation for 9.2
Materials include guidance for teachers and administrators to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials yield meaningful information for teachers to respond to student data derived from the diagnostic tools. The digital assessment tool, “Learning Library,” provides teachers with 16 “Assessment Checklists” color-coded by domain. These checklists support teachers in understanding and interpreting results so that they can plan for further individualized instruction. For example, the yellow “Language and Literacy Checklist” (“Reading: Phonics and Letter Recognition”) can give teachers a snapshot of specific letters that each child, small group, or whole class of children know or need to learn. The red “Cognition” for “Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Patterning” can be used to identify the specific type of patterns the children are learning. These color-coded domain and skill-based checklists provide teachers specific, meaningful information to guide further learning experiences for individual children or the classroom in all domains.

The digital Learning Library assessment tool provides teachers with a “Differentiated Instruction Activities” resource. This tool provides information on all levels of development in all of the domains for children (from birth through kindergarten) for the assessments used in the curriculum. The prekindergarten development level is further broken down into “Preschool Entry,” “Preschool Beginning,” “Preschool Middle,” and “Preschool Exit.” In each of these preschool sub-sections, the teacher is provided with “Ongoing Instructional Strategies” and a sample activity. For example, in the Preschool Entry level, the teacher makes emotion plates by drawing a happy, sad, and mad face on each of three paper plates. The children sit in a circle and, one at a time, choose a plate that reflects the way they feel at that moment. For the Preschool Exit level, the teacher tells the story The Three Bears using story props. The teacher focuses on the emotions expressed by each of the main characters and pauses when events in the story provoke both explicit and inexplicit emotional reactions from various characters. The teacher uses a guided sequence of questions to engage the students in discussion. The children define the emotion the character is displaying. The teacher asks, “How do you know?” Each activity provides three levels of additional support (“Scaffolding for Support,” “Practicing for Mastery,” and ”Extending for Challenge”). This 209-page digital resource provides guidance to teachers on how to respond to the individual needs of children based on their progress and level.

The materials also provide teacher guidance and resources on how to leverage different activities, such as small group activities, to respond to the needs of children based on observational data. For example, many small group lessons have a section called “Instrucción Diferenciada” (Differentiated Instruction). This section provides teachers with ways to support and challenge students in the moment. For example, in Theme 4, the teacher guides the students to identify the attributes of shapes. The teacher places an object in a bag. The students feel the object and describe the characteristics of the shape to identify the shape. The “Apoye” section prompts the teacher to guide the child’s hand to explore the shape while talking out loud about the characteristics of the shape as the child feels the shape. The “Desafíe” section guides the teacher to encourage students to use advanced terms such as edge and face to describe the shapes. These supports are found in both literacy and math small group activities each week in every theme in the curriculum.

The materials provide administrators access to student data. The digital assessment includes an option (“Manage Staff”) where each teacher’s data can be seen. The data reports are available at the child, class, and program levels. Therefore, data can be analyzed for individual children, classes, the school, and the district. The “Apoyo para la implementación” section of the materials also includes guidance for administrators on how to use the “Observaciones de un administrador” in the classroom to ensure correct implementation of the curriculum. This observation, in combination with the data from AIM, provides administrators information to support teachers. Although administrators have access to data reports and observational tools, there is no clear guidance for the administrators on how to support teachers in analyzing and responding to the data.

Evaluation for 9.3
Materials include frequent, embedded opportunities for monitoring progress.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Throughout all the themes, the teacher’s guides have a “Big Ideas” section that summarizes the learning for each week of the theme. In this same section, the materials highlight opportunities for assessing certain skills through the “AIM Observational Assessment.” In addition, there are icons that highlight areas throughout the lessons where teachers can document student learning in authentic ways. This documentation includes work samples, observations, photographs, documented conversations, anecdotal records, and/or video/audio recordings. For example, in Theme 3, the materials guide the teacher to collect a “Muestra de trabajo” (work sample) and “Registro anecdótico” (anecdotal record) during a math activity. The same week, the teacher takes “audio/video” from the “STEAM” lesson. The following weeks’ additional assessment opportunities are highlighted, such as “Conversación documentada” during “Closing Circle” and “Observación” during the read-aloud. This systematic process of evaluating monitors students’ progress where teachers can clearly observe and document student progress over time. 

In the “Welcome Guide,” the materials guide teachers on the appropriate frequency of progress monitoring. For example, the “Evaluación” section explains how often the “AIM Criterion-Referenced Assessment” should be given, as this is a teacher-delivered, one-on-one based assessment. The assessment occurs at three different control points within the preschool year (beginning, middle, and end) and is administered to each child individually, outside of the learning context. The materials also guide teachers on how to organize the student work samples into four-, six-, or nine-week intervals so that each student is able to demonstrate individual growth. This will help establish an advanced framework for looking at a child’s work in sequence and developmental progress over time. In addition, the teachers use the checklists on an ongoing basis to observe children in their learning environments. Teachers keep checklists handy throughout the day so they can mark the observations of each child as they observe the progress or mastery of a skill. The frequency of the administration of each assessment tool is appropriate for the age and skill being measured. 

Evaluation for 10.1
Materials include guidance, scaffolds, supports, and extensions that maximize student learning potential.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide recommended activities and strategies for students who have and have not mastered the content. For example, the “Phonological Awareness” section of the “Guía de bienvenida” describes strategy cards for teachers to reference to support each phonological awareness skill. They offer support at various levels to move children toward greater mastery. For example, the “Palabras que riman” card states that children learn rhyming in a developmental sequence. The supports move children toward mastery in the following sequence: (1) recognition (recognize and say words that rhyme), (2) identification (identify two words that rhyme), (3) distinguish (identify which word does not rhyme out of 3), and (4) production (produce rhyming words). These types of supports allow teachers to support and challenge students based on their level of understanding and application.

The digital tool ABCmouse provides additional opportunities for students to practice the skills and concepts from each theme. These activities can be used to support literacy and math instruction in whole group, small groups, or independently. The “How-to-Video for Plan and Teach” with ABCmouse gives explicit teacher guidance on the effective implementation of this tool. This video clearly shows the teacher how to create a guided learning playlist of activities that can be selected based on the student's needs, skill level, and/or interests. The “Set Learning Path Levels Video” allows children to explore learning using digital tools and gives teacher guidance on how to set up the activities for all levels of learners. 

In addition, in each teacher's guide (for every week, in every theme), there are small group reading and writing activities for the week. Each activity includes a differentiated instruction section that includes specific guidance on how to scaffold down (“Apoye”) for students who need support and scaffold up (“Desafíe”) for students that need a challenge. For example, in Theme 3, the teacher leads the students in a sorting activity. The students tell whether a picture shows a living or nonliving thing. To support those students that need assistance, the materials prompt the teacher to ask the students if a pencil eats or moves on its own. Therefore, it is not a living thing. To challenge students, the teacher asks them to identify their own object in the classroom, describe it, and tell whether it is living or nonliving. These types of scaffolds allow teachers to support and challenge students within the activities.

All the read-aloud lessons in the materials have questioning strategies to support different levels of reading comprehension. For example, in Theme 7, the teacher reads the book ¡Dejen de fastidiarme! This particular lesson lists questions at the “Remember,” “Understand,” and “Evaluate” levels. The Remember question asks students to name some of the flying insects they read about. The Understand question asks students if all insects are pests and to justify their answers. The Evaluate question asks students if they think some insects are helpful and why. These leveled questions, included for every read-aloud, allow the teacher to check for basic understanding and higher levels of comprehension.

The materials include enrichment activities that are directly connected to the curriculum themes in the form of extensions. For example, in Theme 9, the students discuss life stages. The teacher leads the students in a discussion about how a baby grows. The children list tiny things that are used for newborn babies. After the lesson, the materials prompt the teacher to extend the topic by sharing the poem “Cositas” (“Little Things”). The children then brainstorm a list of other little things. These extensions vary from simply extending the current discussion to engaging in additional activities to continue to explore the skill or concept.

Evaluation for 10.2
Materials provide a variety of instructional methods that appeal to a variety of learning interests and needs.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Content mastery is supported through a variety of instructional approaches with a balance between teacher-directed and student-directed learning. For example, in Theme 2, the children learn about pets. During the read-aloud portion of the day, the teacher engages the students in reading about pets, learning what pets need, digging deeper into learning about certain pets such as a guinea pig, and understanding how pets and people benefit from each other through direct instruction. Then during the STEAM lesson of the week, the children engage in a project to create a shelter model for a pet. On day 1, the teacher introduces the project. The teacher reviews what the children have learned about pets and presents the problem. In this case, the teacher tells the students that a bird, a rabbit, and a dog need a shelter. The students brainstorm ideas with the teacher’s support to make a list of what needs to be included in their shelter. On days 2–4, the teacher works with small groups of students to create a plan for which materials will be needed for the shelter and begin to build their shelter. On day 5, the students share their shelter with the class and check that it meets the list of criteria they created together. Each week follows this sequence, with children engaging in whole group and small group activities through direct instruction and having the opportunity to direct their own learning during the STEAM portion of the week.

The “Guía de bienvenida” provides guidance for teachers to use a variety of strategies, such as think-alouds, total physical response, translanguaging, and visual cues to support Dual Language Learners, English Learners, and children with special needs. For example, the “Respuesta física total” section recommends teachers incorporate physical movement in lessons for students to provide a verbal response to instruction. This section also recommends teachers use “Indicaciones visuales,” such as photographs, charts, drawings, and diagrams, to support language and vocabulary. The materials also include a “póster de Sonidos de letras” to teach letter sounds using a chant and physical movement. When the children sing the sound of the letter, they perform an action to help them remember the picture that represents each sound. A section in the “Apéndice” explains exactly how to chant the word and the movement that accompanies it. These are a few examples of how the materials provide guidance to use developmentally appropriate multimodal strategies. 

Each week, in every theme, the materials provide opportunities for whole group, small group, and center activities. These activities consist of a “Greeting Circle,” “Music and Movement,” two read-alouds, guided small groups for literacy and math, a STEAM lesson, and practice centers. These various groupings provide the teacher the opportunity to target and reinforce various skills throughout the day. For example, in Theme 5, the teacher builds the students’ background about construction. During one week specifically, the teacher shows a video, reads a book, teaches vocabulary, such as construccion, rascacielos, and silueta, and discusses various construction machines with students. At the same time, the teacher targets skills such as making predictions and story elements by reading Los tres cerditos. During small group activities, the students engage in activities related to the thematic vocabulary, participate in a shared writing activity about the steps to construct a house, learn letter names and sounds, and learn about shapes in math. During centers, the students continue to practice the skills taught in whole group and small group. For example, in the “Construction” center, the students work together to construct buildings using different shaped building blocks. In the “Sensory” station, the children explore with construction vehicles, sand, and small twigs. In the “Writer’s Corner,” the students design a house as an extension to reading Los tres cerditos. These opportunities support flexible grouping and multiple opportunities for practice to support student learning.

The digital tool ABCmouse provides additional opportunities for students to practice the skills and concepts in either English or Spanish during each theme. These activities can be assigned to individuals, groups, or classes of students to practice independently or with teacher support. “How-to-Videos,” such as the “Plan and Teach with ABCmouse Video,” give explicit teacher guidance on the effective implementation of this tool. This video clearly shows the teacher how to create a guided learning playlist of activities that can be selected based on the student's needs, skill level, and/or interests. These resources also support multiple types of practices and provide guidance and structures to achieve effective implementation.

Evaluation for 10.3
Materials include supports for English Learners (ELs) to meet grade-level learning expectations.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Guía de bienvenida” has a “Language Development Support” section that provides teacher guidance on how to use the “tarjetas ilustradas” to support children at various stages of second language acquisition. For example, in the “tarjeta ilustrada” for hands/manos, the materials suggest that the teacher invite students at the preproduction stage to point to each hand, students in the early production stage to use their hand to signal different things such as hello, stop, come here, and students at the speech emergence stage to comment about how our hand supports our sense of touch. However, this support is for students who are learning Spanish as a second language and does not directly support English proficiency. 

The Guía de bienvenida also provides teacher guidance on strategies to strategically use the home language to develop linguistic skills. The materials state that the use of the language spoken in the children’s home is used to promote the development of English vocabulary and the language of children. The teacher presents key vocabulary and concepts in the home language before teaching them in English. This is called the “Preview and Review” strategy. The teacher then presents the lesson in English. This sequence is specifically used when the target language of instruction is English; however, the focus of the Spanish materials is to support students in meeting grade-level expectations in the target language of instruction, which is Spanish.

In Theme 3, the “Centros de práctica semanal” section includes a blue box titled “Respuesta cultural” (cultural response). The information guides the teacher to support strategic use of students’ home language to develop affective and linguistic skills in the writing center. The teacher writes the phrases Te extrañamos and Que te mejores pronto in multiple languages appropriate to the students’ community. Even though this strategy supports the use of a student’s primary language, the goal of the program is developing students’ skills in Spanish, while this indicator also calls for supports to develop English proficiency. 

Evaluation for 11.1
Materials include year-long plans with practice and review opportunities that support instruction.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The “Welcome Guide” has a “Literacy Scope and Sequence” that includes English, Spanish, and Dual Language focus skills in “Phonological Awareness,” “Concepts of Print,” “Shared Writing,” “Guided Writing,” and “Alphabet Knowledge” mapped out throughout the year. The skills build on each other in a developmental and sequential approach with spiraled opportunities for mastery; they are consistent with the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines. For example, in the area of Alphabet Knowledge, each letter/sound is reinforced three to four times throughout the year. Specific language is provided in letter formation to support handwriting in the upper grades. Similarly, the guide has a “Math Scope and Sequence” that explores five units of mathematics: Unit 1: “Describing and Exploring Our World Mathematically”; Unit 2: “Developing Formal Skills for Learning Mathematics”; Unit 3: “Investigating Geometry, Measurement, Number, and Data”; Unit 4: “Joining, Separating, and Comparing (Number Operations)”; Unit 5: “Analyzing our World Mathematically.” As in the Literacy Scope and Sequence, the skills build on each other in a developmental and sequential approach with spiraled opportunities for mastery. In the “Standards” section, at the back of every theme book, the teacher can easily identify when each guideline is taught within the theme. This section includes all of the guidelines: “Approaches to Learning,” “Social and Emotional Development,” “Language and Communication,” “Emergent Literacy: Reading,” “Emergent Literacy,” “Writing,” “Mathematics,” “Science,” “Social Studies,” “Fine Arts,” “Physical Development,” and “Technology.” 

The materials provide review and practice of knowledge and skills in all domains throughout the span of the curriculum with several instructional approaches. For example, in Theme 1, in the daily “Morning Message,” students begin with tracking very short and repetitive sentences and identify specific letters such as P and Y. In Theme 6, the Morning Message routine continues, and the sentences become more complex; new concepts are introduced as students keep practicing letter identification and directionality. Additionally, students begin sharing the writing and contributing to letter formation within this routine. Another example is found in the progression and review of vocabulary. Throughout all themes and lessons, the materials make intentional and purposeful connections to prior learning by reviewing vocabulary from prior themes in the form of vocabulary cards, the letter wall, and instructional posters related to the themes. Math instruction is similar in its approach, giving multiple opportunities for students to learn and practice the content throughout the themes. Shapes are introduced in Theme 1; students sort with different shaped and multi-colored plastic button manipulatives. While the focus is on physical attributes and sorting, introducing shapes will be built upon in future instruction. In Theme 4, the students go on a hunt for different 2D shapes and are then later introduced to 3D shapes in the theme. The skills naturally build in rigor but spiral for review for those who may need reinforcement of previous learning or more practice to move towards mastery. Throughout all themes and lessons, the materials make intentional and purposeful connections to prior learning by reviewing vocabulary from prior themes in the form of vocabulary cards and instructional posters related to the themes. 

Evaluation for 11.2
Materials include implementation support for teachers and administrators.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

A “Scope and Sequence” is included in the Appendix of each of the nine themes; it includes each of the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines’ domains and notes when each skill is taught or reinforced throughout the theme and within each week of instruction. Additionally, within the “Teacher Guide” for each unit, the “Standards” section provides a reference for teachers to know the appropriate targeted guideline in the unit. Throughout all themes, the instructional materials provide differentiated instruction suggestions for students who are struggling, advanced, or have other needs. There is a clear connection to vertical alignment connecting how skills build beyond kindergarten. The “AIM” assessment does include progressions from birth to five years, and the “Differentiating Instruction Teacher Resource” provides strategies to move the student along a continuum of learning specific to infants, toddlers, and the “Pre-K 3” and “Pre-K 4” levels. The materials provide a correlation between the Frog Street Pre-K learning standards and the Kindergarten TEKS. 

The “Welcome to Pre-K Guide: Foundations for Implementation” provides an introduction to the authors and contributors of the program. It outlines the components of the Teacher’s Guide, including the schedules for planning the day, “Early Brain Research” to support best practices, and implementation of “Conscious Discipline” to build community; it also defines the prekindergarten areas of “Literacy,” “Mathematics,” and “Science” and stresses the importance of practice centers. For each theme, Teacher Guides include a “Getting Started” section, which provides teachers with the “Big Ideas” for the week, vocabulary, transitions and brain breaks, lesson planners, family connections, materials, and a “Week at a Glance” layout. Within this resource, teachers receive additional implementation guidance for assessment, meeting the needs of diverse classrooms to include cultural responsiveness, language supports, special needs, and family connections. All of these resources and materials can also be accessed online for ease of use. Further supporting implementation, each unit outlines the materials needed for the week. For example, in Theme 7, the Getting Started section includes a list of materials needed, including the literature, vocabulary cards, photo cards, card sets, strategy cards, posters, and manipulatives. The materials’ descriptions provide specific tasks and preparations for the teacher to do to get ready to teach the lessons. For example, the teacher receives the following guidance to create “Scented Trail Cards” for the “Science” center: “Dip some cotton balls in an extract (such as clear vanilla or peppermint). Leave some cotton balls with no scent. Glue one scented cotton ball on a 3 X 5 card. Repeat to make several cards, each with one scented cotton ball on it. Then prepare several 3 X 5 cards with an unscented cotton ball glued to each card so you have a collection of scented and unscented cards.” 

Materials support administrators in helping teachers plan for instruction via the optional assessment, the AIM assessment, and ongoing progress monitoring data disaggregation and grouping. The materials also provide support for administrators to monitor implementation by offering an “Administrator Classroom Observation Guide.” This tool provides specific instruction and guidance for observing classroom implementation, recording observations, and making recommendations as needed to ensure program implementation fidelity.

The themes include components for full-day instruction for a full school year. The day’s components include the “Brain Smart Start” ritual and routine, “Morning Message,” “Music and Movement,” two read-alouds, literacy small groups, math small groups, a STEAM lesson, “Closing Circle,” seven practice centers that are set up for the week, and outdoor activities that connect to the weekly theme. This consistent routine and amount of materials support realistic and appropriate pacing for a full year of lessons consistent with the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines and developmentally appropriate practices.

Evaluation for 11.3
Materials provide implementation guidance to meet variability in programmatic design and scheduling considerations.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The instructional materials provide guidance and follow a strategic implementation structure that does not disrupt the sequence of the content. The content must be taught in an order that follows a developmental progression. For example, in Theme 1, for letter recognition, the focus begins with the letters in the child’s name and the features of the letters. In Theme 2, three to four letters are introduced per week, with two letters that look similar and one that is distinctly different. In Theme 3, letters continue to be introduced, but the materials guide the teacher to begin to make connections between the letters and sounds. The letter wall is used as a tool to support the connections. Additionally, students begin to discriminate between uppercase and lowercase letters. In Theme 4, students identify sounds of letters and locate them at the beginning and ending of words. In Theme 5, students identify the sound a letter represents and have opportunities to sort pictures into groups based on letter sounds. In Themes 6 and 7, connections are made between writing letters and recalling the name and sound of the letters that are represented by the visual letter. All letters are reviewed in alphabetical order. In Themes 8 and 9, all letters and the sounds that they represent are reviewed. Materials place a focus on letters that are easily visually confused, such as n and u or p and q. Students have opportunities to match uppercase and lowercase letters. Each unit includes a “Week at a Glance.” This weekly plan offers a visual outline of all lessons, activities, music, and centers for the week, from Day 1 to Day 5. The order of the activities reflects a suggested daily schedule. The “Lesson Planner” allows customizable plans that can fit schedules and preferences. “Materials for the Week” provides, at a glance, all the program materials the teacher will need for the week. On the left side of the page, there are lists of resources to be found in the online portal. The column on the right-hand page describes items to prepare and offers a list of common classroom supplies to gather.

The materials offer 36 full weeks of lessons and instructions. For a half-day program, a district can follow the recommendations to shorten the time by five minutes in each of the instructional segments and eliminate the STEAM portions and third read-aloud to still fit in the majority of the content. The materials’ portal gives the teacher the ability to create a customizable daily plan to fit the teacher’s schedule and preferences. Teachers also utilize lesson planning time schedules, which allow them to meet the minutes of a suggested activity by incorporating their own activity. The lessons presented within the daily schedule are designed to build upon each other throughout the day, which may be difficult if a teacher is unable to implement the components of the daily schedule exactly as designed due to programmatic scheduling needs.

Evaluation for 11.4
Materials provide guidance on fostering connections between home and school.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The instructional materials provide many opportunities throughout all themes for relationships to be built between both teachers and families. In each of the themes, “Family Connections” support the importance of building strong relationships between families and school. Weekly Family Connections letters provide an overview of the week’s instruction and recommendations for ways to engage in learning at home. They explain the theme for the week and provide information and guidance on supporting the children’s learning through conversations describing their school experiences and engaging in creative experiences at home that connect and enhance learning. The letter includes a “Word of the Week,” which comes with the definition and suggestions for use. There are also four hands-on activities and a list of other important theme-related vocabulary words. Finally, there is a preview of upcoming themes and content. 

Theme 2, “My Family and Friends,” invites families to send pictures of themselves to school so the student can make connections to what they are learning and their home life. In the “Block” center, teachers tape the pictures to blocks so the students can play pretend. In Theme 5, students discuss “Tools” in the classroom; in Family Connections, materials encourage families to call attention to the simple machines that they use throughout the day. For example, a rolling pin is an example of a wheel and axle, and cookie cutters are wedges. Students are able to explore tools that they use both inside and outside of the house with their families. In Theme 9, while discussing “Changes,” materials encourage students and families to learn the meaning of their names. It is suggested that students ask their family where their names come from; if they do not know, they are encouraged to search for the meaning together on the internet. 

In addition to the information shared in these parent letters, in every week of every theme, parents have access to digital read-alouds to enjoy reading together with their student, such as Victor the Sea Turtle, Silly Stew, and How Do We Get There? To further help families understand developmentally appropriate prekindergarten content, materials provide content-specific letters, such as “Reading to Your Child” and “Moving on to Kindergarten.” These letters are accessed through the portal resources. 

Evaluation for 11.5
The visual design of student and teacher materials (whether in print or digital) is neither distracting nor chaotic.

The evidence from the English materials in this report can be verified in full within the translated Spanish materials.

Evidence includes but is not limited to: 

The materials’ theme guides have very little white space; they are visually supportive and provide color-coded boxes for specific point-of-use teaching points, icons to represent tips for assessment, and actual pictures of materials needed for each week. The instructional materials provide teachers with “Teacher Guides” that are easily accessible. The teacher guides include weekly tabs that allow teachers to easily navigate from week to week throughout each theme. The layout for each week is consistent throughout all themes. Teachers are able to locate different sections of the materials as they are located in the same spot for each teacher guide. For example, each teacher guide begins with a table of contents that allows teachers to see the page on which each week begins. Once teachers begin a week, they are able to see the full layout for the theme. The teacher guides are designed in a way that the teacher can locate important information by looking for the colored boxes on each page. These boxes include “Dual Language Learners” strategies, “Special Needs Adaptations,” “Differentiate Instruction,” “Did You Know?” and “Cultural Responsiveness.” Materials needed are listed at the beginning of each week and include pictures to support teacher reference. 

The texts, posters, and other visual resources use a balance of real photos and illustrations; the font size used is readable from a distance but not too large. There are 12 provided posters that include topics such as “How to Wash Your Hands,” “Greeting Choices,” and “The Four Seasons.” There are 24 strategy cards that are printed on both sides and include text and pictures to support the teacher with instructional strategies for a variety of topics, such as “Alliteration,” Patterning,” and “Syllables.” These use a balance of real photos and illustrations; the font size is readable from a distance but not too large. The picture cards predominantly use photographs that have been zoomed in to the object of reference so as to avoid distraction or cluttered backgrounds. One hundred ninety-one photo cards are provided with the materials to support content instruction. Each card is labeled with both English and Spanish labels. There are other card sets for specific topics such as “Numeral Tracing” and “School Routine.” Additionally, there are letter cards, sound cards, and vocabulary cards that support each theme. The provided vocabulary cards have the vocabulary words typed in a font size big enough for students to see and read; students are able to associate the new vocabulary word with a realistic image. The materials also include literature books with simple text and colorful pictures for students to engage with. The library features a balance of literature (fiction) and informational text (nonfiction) that includes well-loved trade titles, books with engaging photographs, and books with a variety of artistic styles. Big books use appropriate illustrations to gain the students’ attention and keep them engaged.