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Kindergarten team showcases 'Then and Now' module, student writing and hands-on centers
Summary
Kindergarten teachers presented Module 3, 'Then and Now', showing student informational writing, phonetic spelling progress, historical visits to the Quaker schoolhouse and play-based learning tied to local history and transportation themes.
Kindergarten teachers presented Module 3 — titled "When I Was Young in the Mountains/Then and Now" — to the Henniker School District School Board on May 7, showing how the unit combines read‑alouds, informational writing, phonics and dramatic play.
The teachers described a sequence of classroom activities: a focus wall for vocabulary, a "topic sandwich" scaffold (introduction, details, conclusion) used to teach informational writing, and a series of evidence organizers that helped students compare "long ago" and "now" for topics such as transportation and communication. Presenters showed student work with phonetic spellings (for example, "city" rendered as S I D E Y) and short compositions in which students identified changes such as more cars and buildings where a house once stood.
Teachers also recounted a class visit to the Quaker schoolhouse and a local historic slide show that connected classroom texts to the community’s history. As part of the module students engaged in dramatic play re-creations (a washboard and tub, an old telephone) and observed and journaled chick eggs that hatched in class. The module ended with an "evidence organizer" task where students chose one of four topics — school, home, communication or transportation — and wrote paired "long ago / now" observations supported by illustrations and sentence introductions.
Board members praised the unit for its hands-on elements and for supporting writing development; one board member said the module has generated noticeably more enthusiasm among students. Teachers said they used differentiated scaffolds and color-coded pages to support students who were still developing independence in organizing ideas, while allowing accelerated students to work ahead.
Who spoke - Karen (kindergarten teacher) and Maggie (teacher/guide on schoolhouse visit) presented samples of student work and classroom materials. - Board members (including Matt, Deb and Courtney) asked questions about timelines, parent involvement and potential extensions for future years.
Why it matters The presentation illustrated classroom-level curriculum, assessment and differentiation for early writing and social studies. The board asked staff to consider adding a timeline activity and small local-food sampling tied to historical meals in a future run of the module.
What’s next Teachers will keep refining timelines and personal-history activities and consider adding Morse-code name-tapping and other cross-curricular extensions when the module is repeated.
