Big Day for PreK Walkthrough Tool

Classroom Environment

STUDENTS: / Teachers:
  • Gather comfortably in whole-group space
  • Accessing materials easily
  • Following established traffic patterns
/
  • Utilizes word wall
  • Work with up to five children in small groups
  • Store and arrange materials to help students learn how and why things are grouped together
  • Utilize Big Day Centers: Blocks & Building, Creativity, Dramatic Play, Math, Reading & Listening, Science, Technology, and Writing

Around the room, I see…
  • Whole group instruction space
  • Small group instruction space
  • Learning Centers
  • Alphabet Frieze posted at eye level in central area
  • Program posters (Big Wall Chart, Science Poster, Big Ideas Poster, Be Big in the Classroom Poster)
  • Children’s writing displayed
  • Environmental print, theme-related books, and literacy-rich props in Learning Centers
  • Word wall

Routines and Procedures

STUDENTS: / Teachers:
  • Know what to expect
  • Reference the daily schedule
  • Transition effectively from activity to activity
  • Practice routines throughout the day
  • Explore and navigate Learning Centers independently
/
  • Reference the daily schedule
  • Include 3 whole-group Big Experiences, 2 small group instruction blocks, and theme-specific Learning Center activities
  • Use clear and positive language
  • Use visual and verbal cues to help students carry out routines
  • Use a signal to indicate when it is time to rotate Centers

Around the room, I see…
  • Illustrated daily schedule
  • Classroom rules posted with visual reminders
  • System of vacancy/no vacancy to regulate student involvement in Centers

Instruction & Instructional Materials

STUDENTS: / Teachers:
  • Access theme-related fiction and nonfiction books
  • Utilize math manipulatives to practice and reinforce math learning
  • Utilize language and literacy manipulatives to build letter knowledge and support literacy learning
  • Engage in social conversations with one another
  • Participate in whole-group, small group, and Learning Centers
/
  • Incorporate the books listed in Week at a Glance
  • Read/re-read Big Day for PreK books associated with the theme
  • Utilize math manipulatives (snap cubes, attribute blocks, pattern blocks) and Math Mats to reinforce math instruction
  • Utilize language and literacy manipulatives (magnetic letters, alphabet boards, letter vest, and vest pocket letters; concrete representations of literacy/language concepts)
  • Incorporate Big Experiences in Circle Time and Story Time
  • Explicitly teach vocabulary
  • Use BookStix prompts to guide dialogic reading
  • Model skills and check for understanding
  • Provide feedback for each child
  • Ask open-ended questions to prompt conversations
  • Utilize informal learning opportunities to monitor growth and progress
  • Provide differentiation for English Learners, students with special needs, and enrichment

Around the room, I see…
  • Thematic books and audiobooks available in the Reading and Listening Center
  • Evidence of one-to-one follow up

Assessment

STUDENTS: / Teachers:
  • Participate in ongoing assessment
/
  • Provide evidence of ECI to monitor students’ development
  • Uses Classroom Observation guides daily
  • Collect Clipboard Observations monthly

Around the room, I see…
  • Portfolios including work samples, anecdotal records, observation results, ECI results

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