Welcome, Program 6 reviewers, to Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten!

Your review samples

Print samples

You will receive three boxes of physical samples as part of your review. Box 1 will contain your Reviewer Binder. This binder contains logistical information and printed copies of the Evaluation Criteria Map and Foundations Alignment Map. Boxes 2 and 3 will contain physical samples. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder.

Digital samples

In order to access your digital samples, you’ll need to log in to our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Access Flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

• Click the orange button below to access the platform.
• Click “Log in with Amplify.”
• Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.

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[Reviewer navigation video] Amplify CKLA California TK

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) content/alignment with Foundations

Alignment documents

The links below provide the alignment documents for Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten.

• Program 6.1: Basic ELA (TK) Evaluation Criteria Map
• ELA Foundations Map for Program 6.1 Learning Foundations alignment

Category 2: Program Organization

Program structure

Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten is a comprehensive English language arts curriculum designed to prepare young children for later reading success by building foundational language and literacy skills. Amplify CKLA California TK materials and instruction provide explicit, systematic support for developing young children’s language, literacy, and content knowledge within the context of developmentally-appropriate early childhood settings, incorporating and reflecting the key themes and practices of the CA PTKLF and Framework.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization

The flexible pacing recommendations of the program provide teachers with options to decide how best to keep students engaged while completing Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten instruction (e.g., wiggle breaks, hands-on participation, singing songs, brain breaks, etc.).

[Reviewer highlight video] Lesson organization

The literacy skills, vocabulary, and content knowledge developed in Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten are explicitly designed to provide a foundation for the skills and content taught in TK classrooms. The teacher-directed and student-led activities in Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten reflect all strands of the CA PTKLF foundational language sub-domains:

• Listening and speaking
• Foundational literacy skills
• Reading and writing

Amplify CKLA California TK domains of instruction are carefully chosen and sequenced to build prerequisite knowledge so that students can use that knowledge as they assimilate new, more complex information. The seven domains in Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten are:

• Important People in American History
• All About Me
• Families and Communities
• Classic Tales
• Plants
• Animals
• Habitats

Amplify CKLA California TK empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction and keeps students engaged with with the following resources:

• Teacher Guides
• Flip Books
• Image Cards
• Center Cards
• Activity Pages and Take-Home Pages
• Nursery Rhymes and Songs Posters
• Big Book: Classic Tales
• Trade Books

Activities are play-based, engaging, challenging, and adaptive for the full range of TK learners. Teacher materials also support teachers and aides in facilitating activities, establishing routines, and identifying effective procedures.

Scope and sequence

Click here to view the scope and sequence for Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten. 

Category 3: Assessments

Amplify CKLA California TK assessments are designed to provide a snapshot of whether or not each student is mastering specific Core Content and Language Arts Objectives. The program incorporates multiple methods of assessing what students know and are able to do in each domain. Methods of assessments include:

• Observational/anecdotal assessments.
• Reteaching moments with aligned progress monitoring.
• Portfolio Collections (student work samples).
• Task assessments.
• Developmental progression monitoring.

Amplify CKLA California TK provides tools to facilitate collecting, analyzing, and sharing data on student progress and development. These include:

• Ready-made data collection forms with scoring guidelines (Not Yet, Progressing, Ready).
• Caregiver communication letters.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program alignment to Category 3

Category 4: Universal Access

Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten materials provide students with a range of skills and abilities, with opportunities for participation across all contexts of differentiated instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.

Examples include the following:

• Teacher Guides feature sidebar differentiation tips.
• Classroom routines, such as taking attendance, rely on both visual and verbal prompts that can be individually tailored to students’ needs.
• Small-group activities often include suggested rounds of play that increase with difficulty and give teachers the choice to move forward to increase the level of challenge or repeat levels of play that prove challenging.
• Extension activities involve materials that can be adapted to scaffold students in a variety of ways; teachers can provide more or less structure and input depending on the needs of the students.
• Differentiation supports grounded in UDL include visuals, realia, multimodal instruction, and other materials relevant to all students.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Amplify CKLA California TK empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction with various resources. The program provides comprehensive planning and support materials designed to help teachers prepare for and execute lessons effectively and fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Teacher materials

Planning and preparation resources

Each Teacher Guide contains all the information needed for each day of instruction. The following sections are included in each Teacher Guide:

• Assessments
• Introduction
• Learning Centers
• Transitions
• Starting the Day
• Skills Instruction
• Listening & Learning Instruction
• Pausing Points

The Domain Calendar shows the titles of activities and read-alouds taught on each day of instruction throughout the entire domain during the three main contexts for instruction:

• Starting the Day
• Skills
• Listening & Learning

Caregiver supports

The home-school connection letter template provides an easy way to share important information and set expectations with caregivers at the beginning of the school year.

Caregiver letters suggest ways parents and caregivers can support and reinforce learning at home through everyday activities. They also include high-quality texts and nursery rhymes and songs that parents can use to support students’ learning.