We have a finalized Kindergarten Program Document that I absolutely love. I have already blogged about many of the highlights in this new document, including the value of play-based learning and an inquiry mindset for children and adults. To support this, the document emphasizes that literacy and math should not be taught in blocks of time, but integrated in meaningful ways throughout the day. I embrace this approach, and was even vocal about it last year when we were still using the Draft Kindergarten Program Document. All of this being said though, I’ve come to realize that sometimes what seems simple in theory is far more complex in practice.

My teaching partner and I have talked a lot about literacy instruction (in particular) over the past couple of weeks. Since the school year began, we’ve made some significant changes to our classroom program. These changes initially stemmed from some Kindergarten team reflections. There are two Kindergarten classes at our school, and both classes have 32 students in them. The classrooms are attached, and due to the location of the cubbies, there’s only a partial wall between both classrooms. With two full classes, this means that there can be a lot of noise. We realized that the noise was a stressor for many students. To reduce this stress, we decided to make more use of our outdoor classroom, split both classes in half (as much as possible), and support smaller groups of students instead of always supporting larger ones. 

We’ve definitely noticed the value in these changes. Both the indoor and outdoor classroom environments are a lot calmer. With smaller groups, there are also more opportunities to model play and problem solving, which helps all children when interacting in the larger groups. Even when all 64 students are between the two classrooms, the noise is less, and the play is far more productive. Clean-up time can still be a challenge, but there’s definitely been a lot of growth in less than a week!

While this part is wonderful, my teaching partner and I continue to contemplate how we can use our small group time in the classroom. Play is definitely how the majority of this time is used, but should it be all the time? This is where we’re struggling. Right now, when I bring in the first group of students, we spend about five minutes, looking at, reading, and discussing books. Yes, I do ask every child to get a book. 

• Students can sit anywhere.
• They can look at a book alone or with friends.
• They can spend the whole time looking at one book, or select multiple books to explore.

I should say that all of our students know how to open a book, track text (even if they’re making up a story to go along with it), and tell stories based on illustrations. They love books, and taking a few minutes to explore one after running around and playing outside, seems to calm them down. I’ve noticed that many students go back to looking at books during the day and/or refer to the books around the room as they play. I wonder if a little time exploring a book in the morning, helps with this.

After this reading time, we connect together on the carpet for a quick morning meeting. This meeting time is 5-10 minutes, maximum. It’s the instruction that happens at this meeting that has my teaching partner and I wondering if there’s a better option. At this point, I’ve used this time for a reading or writing mini-lesson. 

• This IS NOT about a letter or sound of the day program.
• This IS NOT about reviewing sight words.
• This IS about showing how writing allows us to communicate with others, and how we can write in many different ways: from pictures to conventional spelling.
• This IS about trying to create more confident readers and writers that are willing to share their thinking and ideas, even if they’re not perfect.
• This IS about highlighting a few decoding strategies (not naming them, but showing how they’re used), with the hope that more students will start to use them as well.

I don’t have a mandatory follow-up activity, and I don’t have reading, writing, or math centres set-up around the room. I do encourage students to apply what they’ve learned as they play, and then I circulate, observe, and look for opportunities to encourage and/or support this reading and writing during play. 

My intention is not to forget about the other frames, and I definitely observe learning that happens beyond reading, writing, and math, but I wonder if I capture enough of this other learning. Does this kind of morning mini-lesson run contrary to the play-based learning approach? I keep thinking about the fourth point in Kristi Keery-Bishop’s recent blog post: “We need the check ins and instruction.”  While her post was not about Kindergarten, it does speak to the fact that we need to support students to move them forward. From the data we’ve collected these past few days (i.e., work samples and group contributions), can we better support this learning through play instead of through a group mini-lesson? What if we used this meeting time to provoke thinking around a topic of interest, and see where children go next?

We’ve already seen an interest develop, and maybe digging deeper into this topic, developing vocabulary, asking and answering questions, and observing how children share their knowledge with us, will also give us opportunities to read, write, and develop math skills in a meaningful context. Tomorrow morning, I will still bring in a group of children. We will still spend a few minutes looking at books, but after that, we’re going to look back at some photographs and videos on the blog, discuss an evolving interest connected to them, and see what happens next. My teaching partner and I feel better about this new plan, but we still have some nagging questions, and would love to hear about your experiences.

• In a play-based learning environment, is it okay to have a “book time?” How do you decide?
• How do you handle group instruction? 
• How do you inspire children to extend learning beyond this instruction? Do you use provocations, leave them with a question, just wait and see what happens, or do something else entirely?
• How do you support reading and writing during play? How do you determine the right time to do so? 

I know the value in oral language. I understand the need to develop social skills, problem solving skills, and self-regulation … usually before academics. But when we have a group of learners that are ready — and even eager — to read and write, we want to capitalize on this interest. Every book that I’ve read on inquiry, also speaks about the value of direct instruction. I think this would also hold true for our youngest learners, but what does this balance look like in a play-based, Kindergarten environment? Let’s extend this important discussion.

Aviva