The Chromebook laptops used twice a week, the handful of desktop computers in a corner of the room, and the technology used by teachers to project lessons onto classroom screens make it abundantly clear: This isn’t kindergarten of decades past.
In looking for changes in Natomas Unified since voters made it a unified school district in 1992, kindergarten is a good place to start.
NUSD replaced half-day kindergarten with full-day kindergarten about four years ago, providing more time for learning, more time for students and teachers to interact, more time to identify and chip away at learning gaps, and more time for children to interact and practice social skills like making friends and sharing.
“We have more time for teaching and more time for other things that can help the kids develop,” said Wendy Heu, a kindergarten teacher at Jefferson School.
Unlike decades past, kindergarten is aligned with the state’s new Common Core State Standards, so even as 5-year-olds learn to write and sound out words they are practicing collaboration, analysis and critical thinking.
One recent day in Heu’s class, for example, the teacher used hand-held technology to project onto a screen the title of a learn-to-read book, “Pat and the Vet.” She then asked her class to think about that title. What clues did it give about the book’s content? What is a vet? What does a vet do?
Heu then read “Pat the Vet” aloud, calling upon individual students to help sound out words and identify text patterns. The 5-year-olds then practiced teamwork, breaking into pairs and telling their partner about the book’s plot and what they liked best about it.
Asked later about the reading exercise, Heu explained that the idea is to stress upon kids the need to think as they read, not just to pronounce words correctly. “It’s not just read and that’s it, you’re done,” she said. “You’re reading because you’re trying to learn something.”
Later, the class discussed an extinct flying reptile, the Pteranodon, which lived during history’s Cretacious period and had wings, ate meat and fish, but had no teeth – just a beak. Students were instructed to color a picture of a Pteranodon, provide a title, and write down something they had learned about Pteranodons.
Heu said her kindergarten students use Chromebook laptops twice a week. On other days, they are free to use a handful of desktop computers or two class iPads to practice reading or mathematics once they finish their classwork.
On one wall of Heu’s classroom is an hour-by-hour kindergarten schedule, which sets aside time during the day for Math, Language Arts, Story Comprehension, and either Writing, Science, Social Studies or Art. Slots also are reserved for universal access or small group work, and for social development/play-based learning.
Higher expectations than in decades past? Yes, Heu said. “I’d say you have to want to be a kindergarten teacher — it can be tough, but it’s rewarding.”
