I am a kindergarten Teacher in the Downingtown Area School District. This is my third year teaching kindergarten and I absolutely love it. My favorite thing to teach my students is how to read and write. Kindergarten is such a crucial time for students when it comes to reading. It is amazing seeing the growth of my students throughout the year.
A lot of students come into kindergarten not knowing how to write their name, recognize letters, or sounds. By the the end of the year these same students are reading books on grade level. There is such a huge jump from beginning of the year kindergarten to the end. There is also a huge range of academic levels which is why it is so important to differentiate my instruction for my students.
I differentiate my instruction in many different ways. I group my students according to academic levels during our center time. Each center will be working on a different reading or writing activity based on their academic level. We also do RTII in my school. What this looks like in the beginning of kindergarten is as a whole we teach Fundations to all kindergarten students. By mid-year we look at our students and decide which students still need the instruction from Fundations and which students are ready to move on. We then group students based on their reading level and academic needs and we have small instructional groups led by a teacher or aide. Those students who still need that Fundations instruction will meet with our literacy specialists during this time for this instruction.
In the article, ” The Nature of the Reading Process”, Carroll ( 1985) talks about teaching students to read and how there is not a ” one size fits all” approach. All students are going to learn to read at their own pace using different strategies. This is why I group my students based on their instructional needs. Some students are going to need practice with their letter names and sounds while other students are going to be working on comprehension questions. Carroll ( 1985) states that reading skills should not be taught one skill at time until the student masters that skill. It is important to teach students multiple skills that they can use in their reading.
I think it is so important to remember that every child can learn and it is our jobs as teachers to help these students learn in the best way for them. Right now in the beginning of the year I am in process of getting to know each and every one of my students and figuring out how they are best going to learn and succeed in my classroom. 
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Theory to Practice 