English Curriculum Guide

Description

The Montague Township School English Language Arts curriculum for kindergarten addresses all areas of speaking and listening, writing, reading foundational skills, reading literature, reading informational texts, and language. The curriculum is organized into 10 student-centered units, each spanning 4-6 weeks within an 80-minute daily literacy block. Each unit anchors instruction to focus New Jersey Student Learning Standards in reading and writing, with embedded language skills developed through reading and writing activities. The curriculum follows Understanding by Design principles, providing teachers flexibility in how they meet stipulated requirements while maintaining consistent skill scaffolding across the year.

Big Ideas

• As children read, view, and interact with texts they build deep topic knowledge about their learning environment, sharing ideas, solving problems, and celebrating differences.
• Children develop foundational skills in phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, phonics, and fluency that support all reading and writing.
• Students engage in collaborative discussions, active listening, and oral language development to build communication skills.
• Through exposure to diverse text types and genres, students learn to comprehend, analyze, and respond to literature and informational texts.
• Writing and language skills are developed through meaningful contexts tied to unit themes and concepts.

Essential Questions

• What will I discover in kindergarten?
• What makes each of us special?
• What makes a community?
• How can I be my healthiest me?
• What does it mean to try hard?
• What makes the USA special?
• What can I learn when I look closely?
• How do plants become food?
• What makes a habitat a home?