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Episode 326: Finding Kindergarten Reading Success with Out of This World Program
It is a unique program that is helping students achieve huge success in reaching their reading goals, and students and teachers alike are having a blast in the process.
On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Riverton Elementary School where kindergarten students and teachers are dressed as astronauts to celebrate their incredible accomplishments in a Districtwide initiative called “Planet Kindergarten.” The space-themed program is helping students reach for the stars in achieving their literacy goals and we’re about to hear from some of the amazing educators behind it all.
Audio Transcription
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Michelle Lovell:
Planet Kindergarten is a movement that we've started in Jordan School District where teachers are working to have their kindergartners know all of their letters and sounds by the 1st of November. I love the sense of community that has come from this school and just getting everyone involved in the success of these youngest learners.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[BELL RINGING]
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to The Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a unique program that is helping students achieve huge success in reaching their reading goals, and students and teachers alike are having a blast in the process. On this episode of The Supercast, we take you to Riverton Elementary School, where kindergarten students and teachers are dressed as astronauts to celebrate their incredible accomplishments in a districtwide initiative called Planet Kindergarten. The space-themed program is helping students reach for the stars in achieving their literacy goals, and we're about to hear from some of the amazing educators behind it all.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with two of our literacy gurus in the District. Introduce yourselves and tell us why we're here today.
Michelle Lovell:
I'm Michelle Lovell. I'm the literacy consultant for Jordan School District for grades K through 6.
Lori McCarty:
And I'm Lori McCarty, a literacy specialist, specifically for kindergarten.
Anthony Godfrey:
And we are here for Planet Kindergarten. Tell us about what Planet Kindergarten means.
Michelle Lovell:
Planet Kindergarten is a movement that we've started in Jordan School District, where teachers are working to have their kindergartners know all of their letters and sounds by the 1st of November.
Anthony Godfrey:
And this has made a huge impact. We've seen big increases in literacy among kindergarten students, specifically for years running. We have had our best scores ever, year over year and this is a big part of that. Tell us about some of the success we've seen lately.
Michelle Lovell:
Well, so last year, we had three kindergarten teachers who made that goal, and we were so proud of them. But this year, we're happy to report we have 13 teachers who have made the 100% goal.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's every student in their class, regardless of where they started out--
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
--and every letter and sound by the 1st of November.
Michelle Lovell:
And we have over 25 teachers who are in the 90% range. So huge amount of growth from last year to this year. It's been really exciting to watch the data come in.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's out of how many kindergarten teachers total?
Lori McCarty:
140-ish.
Anthony Godfrey:
So that's a whole lot of kindergarten students that are reading better than ever.
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly. Exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now, there are some students who may come to kindergarten already knowing letters and sounds. Talk to us about what we do to help make sure that we're meeting their needs as well.
Lori McCarty:
So in Jordan School District, we don't have ceilings. So if kids are already reading, if they already know their letter names and sounds, we want to make sure that they're challenged as well. And one of the pieces that we have in place in our structure with Walk to Read is all of the students who need extensions should be getting extensions.
Anthony Godfrey:
And extensions are for those who are advanced beyond--
Lori McCarty:
Exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
--the expectations for that grade and age.
Lori McCarty:
Accelerated reading, accelerated experiences with both reading and writing and so we want to make sure that that differentiation is still happening. I really believe that a good, solid phonics program, having kids know-- have that experience of having a structured phonics program as they go through, even if students are reading, is really beneficial for them. Because they may be able to read, but they may not know how the language works. And so I think that knowing how all the language structures put together, how all of the syllable types work together, will strengthen their reading and their writing abilities.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now, beyond this, there's an additional goal for whole words read by the end of kindergarten. And I think these benchmarks have made a big difference in making sure that our pacing on kindergarten instruction is exactly what it ought to be.
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly. And this isn't the end goal. This is just step one. This is the beginning. Because the goal is that we want to have all of our kids being able to blend words automatically by the end of kindergarten. We want them to really be reading sentences. We want them to be writing fluently and knowing their letter names and sounds early in the school year gives them time and opportunity to practice throughout the school year and to gain that automaticity that they need in actually putting it all together and reading words and writing words. We're hopeful that by the end of the year, if we have all of our kindergartners reading closed syllable words, those consonant, vowel consonant words to automaticity, by the time they hit first grade, they'll be ready to take off running in first grade. So this is a trajectory getting us to that spot.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us the number of words that a kindergartner should be able to read, ideally, by the end of the year.
Michelle Lovell:Michelle Lovell:
Well, as we've been looking through data and we've been analyzing this, not just our district but other districts, what we're finding is if a student can read at least 10 whole words read, that they're more solid in those blending skills, which are the precursors to being able to read fluently. If they have at least 20 whole words read, we find that they don't lose any of those skills over the summer. So somewhere between 12 and 20 words is where we're aiming for. If we could get to 20 whole words read for every student, that would be amazing. It would set them up for success in first and second grade.
Anthony Godfrey:
Then when first grade teachers start with those students, they're able to hit the ground running. Instead of doing so much review, they're able to take off and really start at a place where they normally wouldn't be for a few weeks into the year.
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly. They don't need to go back and review kindergarten skills. They'll have kids that are ready to just jump in to those first grade skills. They'll be able to teach long vowels, vowel teams. They'll be able to jump into more complex sentence structures and hopefully just have the kids in books. That's the most important thing. Any time we learn a new skill, whether it's dance, learning to play an instrument, learning to read, practice is key. So we want the kids reading. We want the kids in books. We want them to practice these skills that they're learning.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, practice didn't help me with dance, but I do take your point. Whatever it is you're learning--
Michelle Lovell:
It didn't help me either.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it does make a big difference when kids are able to learn these skills and then practice them. And this celebration is really exciting because even kindergartners have a very clear understanding of what their goal is and the celebration when they've met it. And really, it gives them a sense of their own learning and their own progress, even as a five or six-year-old.
Michelle Lovell:
Absolutely. I think what's been really fun is when I've talked with schools, the whole school is involved. It's the fifth graders, the sixth graders, the fourth graders who are all aware of this goal for kindergarten. And they're all helping the kindergartners. I've talked to schools and they say, during morning announcements, that they've got the sixth graders who are at the end of morning announcements holding up letter cards saying, all right, kindergartners, here we go. We're going to practice. We've got kindergartners who are walking around the fifth grade classrooms with all the fifth graders holding sticky notes on their hands with a letter. And the kindergartners are giving them a high five and saying the letter name and sound. They're all just working together. So I love the sense of community that has come from this goal and just getting everyone involved in the success of these youngest learners.
Anthony Godfrey:
What can parents do to help support these goals?
Michelle Lovell:
Again, I think practice is key. And so if your students are learning letter names and sounds, practice with them at home. It doesn't have to be hours. It can just be a few minutes here and there and practicing in different ways. It could be a chart that you go over that's on the wall. It could be flashcards that you're working with. It could be games that you're playing that have letter names and sounds. Reading to your child is really an important piece. If it's 10 minutes a day, if you can spare that, I think that's fantastic.
Anthony Godfrey:
We all live on Planet Kindergarten.
Michelle Lovell:
We do.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. All right. Well, thank you for everything you're doing. I appreciate the research you've done to just know where those benchmarks are that are going to give our students rocket fuel for everything that they need to learn going forward.
Michelle Lovell:
Thanks. I love it. I'm excited for what's coming these next few months to these next few years.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back. We'll hear from the students at Riverton Elementary School.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of The Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hello. I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Riverton Elementary talking with two of the kindergarten teachers who have taken that journey to Planet Kindergarten. Introduce yourselves and tell us about that journey.
Janae Barron:
My name is Janae Barron. I am so fortunate to work here at Riverton Elementary with Julie George and Tiffany Rappleye. This is my third year here in kindergarten. I came from fifth grade.
Tiffany Rappleye:
So I am Tiffany Rappleye and it's my first year here at Riverton Elementary. I was at Bastian last year and doing other things before that and I'm so excited to be here and get our kiddos to Planet Kindergarten. We've worked really hard and included parents in engagement and worked in small groups. Every chance we get, we're just throwing those letters at them to make sure that they are getting them down.
Anthony Godfrey:
This has been the theme as you've talked with students along the way. We're working to get you to Planet Kindergarten and the way you arrive is by knowing your letters and sounds by the beginning of November. So what are some of the activities that you have done in order to make that possible?
Tiffany Rappleye:
Well, our walk to read has been awesome. We are doing the Planet Kindergarten steps, where we put them in different groups based off of the letters that they know and work on. So we're spending small group time focusing on a certain set of letters and then once they pass those letters off, they can move up to the next ones. We're also including the parents, sending flashcards home, letting them know exactly what letters and sounds their kiddos are working on.
Janae Barron:
Dr. Godfrey, you have the most amazing literacy staff. They made this happen. Lori McCarty and her group--Lori McCarty is the kindergarten specialist for those of you who might not know throughout the District. She cut out thousands of paper bags with her team to make Planet Kindergarten happen all over the District, not just here at Riverton, but all over the District. She did a literacy launch during the summer and then at the very beginning of the year-- I was so fortunate to go at the beginning of the year and jump in. But I know that Tiffany and Julie George, they went during their summer. These dedicated teachers took time off their summer to go and receive more training about how to get our kids to Planet Kindergarten. There were games. There were activities that was data driven and that information allowed and directed our instruction. So we were very effective in being able to do this. As a school, I think we decided we were 92% successful on getting all our kids on Planet Kindergarten.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's amazing and it's a great launch to all the other things that they need to learn throughout their lives, really. The time in kindergarten is so important. I really appreciate all the efforts you're making and the reference you made to paper bags, that's cutting out paper bags so they can be helmets that the students decorate for their trip to Planet Kindergarten once they've learned their letters and sounds.
Tiffany Rappleye:
And they looked so cute.
Anthony Godfrey:
They looked fantastic.
Janae Barron:
And our reading buddies, who were paired with upper grade reading buddies, they were the ones who have been working with us throughout the year. Every Friday, they come in and they help us as well. So having a peer mentoring that takes place, they helped us decorate our helmets, our paper bags that we were looking so sharp when we landed on Planet Kindergarten.
Tiffany Rappleye:
We've also had buddies come other times, not just during that time, to work with our kids that were struggling to get to Planet Kindergarten and just work with them playing different games. Like we played “Memory” and we played different things with their peers and small groups to help them get to Planet Kindergarten, too. So it was a whole school effort.
Janae Barron:
Very much so.
Anthony Godfrey:
I know they have a whole solar system of learning that awaits beyond Planet Kindergarten. So thank you for getting them there and doing such an incredible job and doing it with such a joy and excitement. I love the blend of just the research, the fun, and just the intentionality around making sure they reach that goal. So thank you for your hard work.
Tiffany Rappleye:
Of course. Thanks for coming and visiting.
Janae Barron:
Yes, thank you.
Tiffany Rappleye:
It was fun to have you at our party.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I'll come to Planet Kindergarten any day.
Tiffany Rappleye:
Awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hi, tell me your name.
Charlotte:
Charlotte.
Anthony Godfrey:
Charlotte, what is your favorite letter?
Charlotte:
C.
Anthony Godfrey:
C. And why is C your favorite letter?
Charlotte:
Because C starts with my name.
Anthony Godfrey:
What other letters do you like besides C?
Charlotte:
D.
Anthony Godfrey:
D? What do you like about the letter D?
Charlotte:
Because it's fun to write.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's fun to write the letter D.
Charlotte:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Upper case or lower case?
Charlotte:
Both.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, both? Oh, so D is really fun to write no matter which one you're writing. OK, well, thank you, Charlotte. Good job. Congratulations on learning all your letters and sounds. Tell me your name.
Addie:
Addie.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hi, Addie. What is your favorite letter?
Addie:
W.
Anthony Godfrey:
Why is W your favorite letter? Do you like the shape of it?
Addie:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey::
What other letters do you like?
Addie:
K.
Anthony Godfrey:
K. What do you like about the letter K?
Addie:
Because it's pointy.
Anthony Godfrey:
Because it's pointy. Can you tell me all the letters in your name?
Addie:
A, D, D, I, E.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, very nice. And what's your name?
Gracie:
Gracie.
Anthony Godfrey:
Gracie. What's your favorite letter, Gracie?
Gracie:
My favorite letter is G.
Anthony Godfrey:
G? And why is G your favorite letter?
Gracie:
Because it starts with my name.
Anthony Godfrey:
OK. That's a good reason to like the letter G. And what other letters do you like?
Gracie:
I like A.
Anthony Godfrey:
You like A? You also have an A in your name. Why do you like the letter A?
Gracie:
Because it's the first letter in the alphabet.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, it's number one, just like you. Right?
Gracie:
Right.
Anthony Godfrey:
I brought Grayson. Hey, Grayson, how are you?
Grayson:
Good.
Anthony Godfrey:
What letter do you like the most?
Grayson:
G and Z.
Anthony Godfrey:
G and Z?
Grayson:
A and Z.
Anthony Godfrey:
A and Z. Why A and Z? Why do you like those two letters?
Grayson:
Because I like how there's a game called Legend ZA.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, OK. Legend ZA. So those letters remind you of that game, huh? That's awesome. What are your favorite activities? What are the favorite things you've done in class to learn your letters, Gracie?
Gracie:
I have a lot of things, but the most favorite one is singing the alphabet on the alphabet chart.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, really? An alphabet chart. Alphabet chime? Oh, singing the alphabet on the alphabet chart? Can you do that for me?
Gracie:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, I, F, G, O, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Now I know my ABC. Next time won't you sing with me?
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That was perfect. That sounded so good. You're a good singer and a good reader. That's wonderful. Thank you so much. We're out on the playground now talking with Julie George, also a member of the kindergarten team, but there's no rest. We celebrated Planet Kindergarten and now you're out watching students out on the playground.
Julie George:
That is correct. There's no rest in kindergarten, but it's super fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this journey throughout the year to get to Planet Kindergarten.
Julie George:
Each year as we approach the new year in the fall, we want the kids to learn their letters and sounds by November 1st because it's really important that we can build on that and they can get fluency and they can start blending and reading. We have such an amazing leader, Lori McCarty, that gets us inspired and pumped up to do that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's really exciting to see the results today and the kids are obviously excited and proud of their progress. I think that in kindergarten it seems like you get the benefit of seeing this progress more than in any other grade level. As a middle school teacher, I saw progress, but not like you get to see in kindergarten. Talk to me about the beginning of the year as opposed to the end of the year and the progress you see.
Julie George:
Absolutely. That is the amazing perk or benefit, the reward of teaching kindergarten. It is super busy, but it is also super rewarding. You do see them coming in not knowing very many letters and at the end of the year they're walking out the door knowing all their letters and sounds and reading. That's been my goal the last three years in all day kindergarten. 100% of my kids will know their letters and sounds because on my watch, I want them to do a good job.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I love that goal and it's so important for everything that comes after, not just the rest of their schooling but for the rest of their lives. Getting this strong start, getting that confidence early on just means a ton. And it gives them that sense of connection with school when they know they can do things they couldn't do before.
Julie George:
Absolutely. We want them off to a great start because life is hard if you don't know how to read and write.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's absolutely right. Well, thank you so much for all your hard work and congratulations on your success.
Julie George:
Thank you so much for coming today. We really enjoyed it.
[music]
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there.
[music]
View all episodes
By Jordan Supercast
4.7
4141 ratings
It is a unique program that is helping students achieve huge success in reaching their reading goals, and students and teachers alike are having a blast in the process.
On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Riverton Elementary School where kindergarten students and teachers are dressed as astronauts to celebrate their incredible accomplishments in a Districtwide initiative called “Planet Kindergarten.” The space-themed program is helping students reach for the stars in achieving their literacy goals and we’re about to hear from some of the amazing educators behind it all.
Audio Transcription
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Michelle Lovell:
Planet Kindergarten is a movement that we've started in Jordan School District where teachers are working to have their kindergartners know all of their letters and sounds by the 1st of November. I love the sense of community that has come from this school and just getting everyone involved in the success of these youngest learners.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[BELL RINGING]
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to The Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a unique program that is helping students achieve huge success in reaching their reading goals, and students and teachers alike are having a blast in the process. On this episode of The Supercast, we take you to Riverton Elementary School, where kindergarten students and teachers are dressed as astronauts to celebrate their incredible accomplishments in a districtwide initiative called Planet Kindergarten. The space-themed program is helping students reach for the stars in achieving their literacy goals, and we're about to hear from some of the amazing educators behind it all.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with two of our literacy gurus in the District. Introduce yourselves and tell us why we're here today.
Michelle Lovell:
I'm Michelle Lovell. I'm the literacy consultant for Jordan School District for grades K through 6.
Lori McCarty:
And I'm Lori McCarty, a literacy specialist, specifically for kindergarten.
Anthony Godfrey:
And we are here for Planet Kindergarten. Tell us about what Planet Kindergarten means.
Michelle Lovell:
Planet Kindergarten is a movement that we've started in Jordan School District, where teachers are working to have their kindergartners know all of their letters and sounds by the 1st of November.
Anthony Godfrey:
And this has made a huge impact. We've seen big increases in literacy among kindergarten students, specifically for years running. We have had our best scores ever, year over year and this is a big part of that. Tell us about some of the success we've seen lately.
Michelle Lovell:
Well, so last year, we had three kindergarten teachers who made that goal, and we were so proud of them. But this year, we're happy to report we have 13 teachers who have made the 100% goal.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's every student in their class, regardless of where they started out--
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
--and every letter and sound by the 1st of November.
Michelle Lovell:
And we have over 25 teachers who are in the 90% range. So huge amount of growth from last year to this year. It's been really exciting to watch the data come in.
Anthony Godfrey:
And that's out of how many kindergarten teachers total?
Lori McCarty:
140-ish.
Anthony Godfrey:
So that's a whole lot of kindergarten students that are reading better than ever.
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly. Exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now, there are some students who may come to kindergarten already knowing letters and sounds. Talk to us about what we do to help make sure that we're meeting their needs as well.
Lori McCarty:
So in Jordan School District, we don't have ceilings. So if kids are already reading, if they already know their letter names and sounds, we want to make sure that they're challenged as well. And one of the pieces that we have in place in our structure with Walk to Read is all of the students who need extensions should be getting extensions.
Anthony Godfrey:
And extensions are for those who are advanced beyond--
Lori McCarty:
Exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
--the expectations for that grade and age.
Lori McCarty:
Accelerated reading, accelerated experiences with both reading and writing and so we want to make sure that that differentiation is still happening. I really believe that a good, solid phonics program, having kids know-- have that experience of having a structured phonics program as they go through, even if students are reading, is really beneficial for them. Because they may be able to read, but they may not know how the language works. And so I think that knowing how all the language structures put together, how all of the syllable types work together, will strengthen their reading and their writing abilities.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now, beyond this, there's an additional goal for whole words read by the end of kindergarten. And I think these benchmarks have made a big difference in making sure that our pacing on kindergarten instruction is exactly what it ought to be.
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly. And this isn't the end goal. This is just step one. This is the beginning. Because the goal is that we want to have all of our kids being able to blend words automatically by the end of kindergarten. We want them to really be reading sentences. We want them to be writing fluently and knowing their letter names and sounds early in the school year gives them time and opportunity to practice throughout the school year and to gain that automaticity that they need in actually putting it all together and reading words and writing words. We're hopeful that by the end of the year, if we have all of our kindergartners reading closed syllable words, those consonant, vowel consonant words to automaticity, by the time they hit first grade, they'll be ready to take off running in first grade. So this is a trajectory getting us to that spot.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us the number of words that a kindergartner should be able to read, ideally, by the end of the year.
Michelle Lovell:Michelle Lovell:
Well, as we've been looking through data and we've been analyzing this, not just our district but other districts, what we're finding is if a student can read at least 10 whole words read, that they're more solid in those blending skills, which are the precursors to being able to read fluently. If they have at least 20 whole words read, we find that they don't lose any of those skills over the summer. So somewhere between 12 and 20 words is where we're aiming for. If we could get to 20 whole words read for every student, that would be amazing. It would set them up for success in first and second grade.
Anthony Godfrey:
Then when first grade teachers start with those students, they're able to hit the ground running. Instead of doing so much review, they're able to take off and really start at a place where they normally wouldn't be for a few weeks into the year.
Michelle Lovell:
Exactly. They don't need to go back and review kindergarten skills. They'll have kids that are ready to just jump in to those first grade skills. They'll be able to teach long vowels, vowel teams. They'll be able to jump into more complex sentence structures and hopefully just have the kids in books. That's the most important thing. Any time we learn a new skill, whether it's dance, learning to play an instrument, learning to read, practice is key. So we want the kids reading. We want the kids in books. We want them to practice these skills that they're learning.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, practice didn't help me with dance, but I do take your point. Whatever it is you're learning--
Michelle Lovell:
It didn't help me either.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it does make a big difference when kids are able to learn these skills and then practice them. And this celebration is really exciting because even kindergartners have a very clear understanding of what their goal is and the celebration when they've met it. And really, it gives them a sense of their own learning and their own progress, even as a five or six-year-old.
Michelle Lovell:
Absolutely. I think what's been really fun is when I've talked with schools, the whole school is involved. It's the fifth graders, the sixth graders, the fourth graders who are all aware of this goal for kindergarten. And they're all helping the kindergartners. I've talked to schools and they say, during morning announcements, that they've got the sixth graders who are at the end of morning announcements holding up letter cards saying, all right, kindergartners, here we go. We're going to practice. We've got kindergartners who are walking around the fifth grade classrooms with all the fifth graders holding sticky notes on their hands with a letter. And the kindergartners are giving them a high five and saying the letter name and sound. They're all just working together. So I love the sense of community that has come from this goal and just getting everyone involved in the success of these youngest learners.
Anthony Godfrey:
What can parents do to help support these goals?
Michelle Lovell:
Again, I think practice is key. And so if your students are learning letter names and sounds, practice with them at home. It doesn't have to be hours. It can just be a few minutes here and there and practicing in different ways. It could be a chart that you go over that's on the wall. It could be flashcards that you're working with. It could be games that you're playing that have letter names and sounds. Reading to your child is really an important piece. If it's 10 minutes a day, if you can spare that, I think that's fantastic.
Anthony Godfrey:
We all live on Planet Kindergarten.
Michelle Lovell:
We do.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. All right. Well, thank you for everything you're doing. I appreciate the research you've done to just know where those benchmarks are that are going to give our students rocket fuel for everything that they need to learn going forward.
Michelle Lovell:
Thanks. I love it. I'm excited for what's coming these next few months to these next few years.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back. We'll hear from the students at Riverton Elementary School.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Male Voice:
Never miss an episode of The Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hello. I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Riverton Elementary talking with two of the kindergarten teachers who have taken that journey to Planet Kindergarten. Introduce yourselves and tell us about that journey.
Janae Barron:
My name is Janae Barron. I am so fortunate to work here at Riverton Elementary with Julie George and Tiffany Rappleye. This is my third year here in kindergarten. I came from fifth grade.
Tiffany Rappleye:
So I am Tiffany Rappleye and it's my first year here at Riverton Elementary. I was at Bastian last year and doing other things before that and I'm so excited to be here and get our kiddos to Planet Kindergarten. We've worked really hard and included parents in engagement and worked in small groups. Every chance we get, we're just throwing those letters at them to make sure that they are getting them down.
Anthony Godfrey:
This has been the theme as you've talked with students along the way. We're working to get you to Planet Kindergarten and the way you arrive is by knowing your letters and sounds by the beginning of November. So what are some of the activities that you have done in order to make that possible?
Tiffany Rappleye:
Well, our walk to read has been awesome. We are doing the Planet Kindergarten steps, where we put them in different groups based off of the letters that they know and work on. So we're spending small group time focusing on a certain set of letters and then once they pass those letters off, they can move up to the next ones. We're also including the parents, sending flashcards home, letting them know exactly what letters and sounds their kiddos are working on.
Janae Barron:
Dr. Godfrey, you have the most amazing literacy staff. They made this happen. Lori McCarty and her group--Lori McCarty is the kindergarten specialist for those of you who might not know throughout the District. She cut out thousands of paper bags with her team to make Planet Kindergarten happen all over the District, not just here at Riverton, but all over the District. She did a literacy launch during the summer and then at the very beginning of the year-- I was so fortunate to go at the beginning of the year and jump in. But I know that Tiffany and Julie George, they went during their summer. These dedicated teachers took time off their summer to go and receive more training about how to get our kids to Planet Kindergarten. There were games. There were activities that was data driven and that information allowed and directed our instruction. So we were very effective in being able to do this. As a school, I think we decided we were 92% successful on getting all our kids on Planet Kindergarten.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's amazing and it's a great launch to all the other things that they need to learn throughout their lives, really. The time in kindergarten is so important. I really appreciate all the efforts you're making and the reference you made to paper bags, that's cutting out paper bags so they can be helmets that the students decorate for their trip to Planet Kindergarten once they've learned their letters and sounds.
Tiffany Rappleye:
And they looked so cute.
Anthony Godfrey:
They looked fantastic.
Janae Barron:
And our reading buddies, who were paired with upper grade reading buddies, they were the ones who have been working with us throughout the year. Every Friday, they come in and they help us as well. So having a peer mentoring that takes place, they helped us decorate our helmets, our paper bags that we were looking so sharp when we landed on Planet Kindergarten.
Tiffany Rappleye:
We've also had buddies come other times, not just during that time, to work with our kids that were struggling to get to Planet Kindergarten and just work with them playing different games. Like we played “Memory” and we played different things with their peers and small groups to help them get to Planet Kindergarten, too. So it was a whole school effort.
Janae Barron:
Very much so.
Anthony Godfrey:
I know they have a whole solar system of learning that awaits beyond Planet Kindergarten. So thank you for getting them there and doing such an incredible job and doing it with such a joy and excitement. I love the blend of just the research, the fun, and just the intentionality around making sure they reach that goal. So thank you for your hard work.
Tiffany Rappleye:
Of course. Thanks for coming and visiting.
Janae Barron:
Yes, thank you.
Tiffany Rappleye:
It was fun to have you at our party.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I'll come to Planet Kindergarten any day.
Tiffany Rappleye:
Awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hi, tell me your name.
Charlotte:
Charlotte.
Anthony Godfrey:
Charlotte, what is your favorite letter?
Charlotte:
C.
Anthony Godfrey:
C. And why is C your favorite letter?
Charlotte:
Because C starts with my name.
Anthony Godfrey:
What other letters do you like besides C?
Charlotte:
D.
Anthony Godfrey:
D? What do you like about the letter D?
Charlotte:
Because it's fun to write.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's fun to write the letter D.
Charlotte:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Upper case or lower case?
Charlotte:
Both.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, both? Oh, so D is really fun to write no matter which one you're writing. OK, well, thank you, Charlotte. Good job. Congratulations on learning all your letters and sounds. Tell me your name.
Addie:
Addie.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hi, Addie. What is your favorite letter?
Addie:
W.
Anthony Godfrey:
Why is W your favorite letter? Do you like the shape of it?
Addie:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey::
What other letters do you like?
Addie:
K.
Anthony Godfrey:
K. What do you like about the letter K?
Addie:
Because it's pointy.
Anthony Godfrey:
Because it's pointy. Can you tell me all the letters in your name?
Addie:
A, D, D, I, E.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, very nice. And what's your name?
Gracie:
Gracie.
Anthony Godfrey:
Gracie. What's your favorite letter, Gracie?
Gracie:
My favorite letter is G.
Anthony Godfrey:
G? And why is G your favorite letter?
Gracie:
Because it starts with my name.
Anthony Godfrey:
OK. That's a good reason to like the letter G. And what other letters do you like?
Gracie:
I like A.
Anthony Godfrey:
You like A? You also have an A in your name. Why do you like the letter A?
Gracie:
Because it's the first letter in the alphabet.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, it's number one, just like you. Right?
Gracie:
Right.
Anthony Godfrey:
I brought Grayson. Hey, Grayson, how are you?
Grayson:
Good.
Anthony Godfrey:
What letter do you like the most?
Grayson:
G and Z.
Anthony Godfrey:
G and Z?
Grayson:
A and Z.
Anthony Godfrey:
A and Z. Why A and Z? Why do you like those two letters?
Grayson:
Because I like how there's a game called Legend ZA.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, OK. Legend ZA. So those letters remind you of that game, huh? That's awesome. What are your favorite activities? What are the favorite things you've done in class to learn your letters, Gracie?
Gracie:
I have a lot of things, but the most favorite one is singing the alphabet on the alphabet chart.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, really? An alphabet chart. Alphabet chime? Oh, singing the alphabet on the alphabet chart? Can you do that for me?
Gracie:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, I, F, G, O, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Now I know my ABC. Next time won't you sing with me?
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That was perfect. That sounded so good. You're a good singer and a good reader. That's wonderful. Thank you so much. We're out on the playground now talking with Julie George, also a member of the kindergarten team, but there's no rest. We celebrated Planet Kindergarten and now you're out watching students out on the playground.
Julie George:
That is correct. There's no rest in kindergarten, but it's super fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about this journey throughout the year to get to Planet Kindergarten.
Julie George:
Each year as we approach the new year in the fall, we want the kids to learn their letters and sounds by November 1st because it's really important that we can build on that and they can get fluency and they can start blending and reading. We have such an amazing leader, Lori McCarty, that gets us inspired and pumped up to do that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's really exciting to see the results today and the kids are obviously excited and proud of their progress. I think that in kindergarten it seems like you get the benefit of seeing this progress more than in any other grade level. As a middle school teacher, I saw progress, but not like you get to see in kindergarten. Talk to me about the beginning of the year as opposed to the end of the year and the progress you see.
Julie George:
Absolutely. That is the amazing perk or benefit, the reward of teaching kindergarten. It is super busy, but it is also super rewarding. You do see them coming in not knowing very many letters and at the end of the year they're walking out the door knowing all their letters and sounds and reading. That's been my goal the last three years in all day kindergarten. 100% of my kids will know their letters and sounds because on my watch, I want them to do a good job.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I love that goal and it's so important for everything that comes after, not just the rest of their schooling but for the rest of their lives. Getting this strong start, getting that confidence early on just means a ton. And it gives them that sense of connection with school when they know they can do things they couldn't do before.
Julie George:
Absolutely. We want them off to a great start because life is hard if you don't know how to read and write.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's absolutely right. Well, thank you so much for all your hard work and congratulations on your success.
Julie George:
Thank you so much for coming today. We really enjoyed it.
[music]
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there.
[music]
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