Building Early PreK Literacy
Project Ready! Our preschool curriculum is designed for children ages 3–5 and spans a two-year learning cycle. It includes 12 thematic units plus five targeted small group routines.
5 small-group routines include:
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Three small group routines relate to the theme: Wordless Books, 123 Storybook Rereads, and Math.
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Two small group routines are unrelated to the theme: Alphabetics and Telling Terrific Tales. Two units are still in development.
Each year, children complete 9 units (7 units are repeated across both preschool years; 4 are implementation years).
Original artwork was created by Madison Taylor.
Adam Caar
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Unit 1:Welcome Unit
Unit 1 welcomes children to school and lets them know how happy we are to have them in our school! In this unit we explore all of the things we will learn at school this year.
Unit 2:
Kindness
This Unit teaches the importance of kindness. It is a foundational unit, where the theme of kindness is discussed and reinforced across all units in the curriculum. We explore kindness to our family and friends; kindness to animals; and kindness to our planet. Content covered in this unit includes ways to show kindness to our friends, family, animals, and planet; caring careers (Veterinarian, zoo keeper, animal shelter worker); life cycle of cats and dogs; recycling; conservation; and Earth Day.
Unit 3:
North America
This Unit explores the countries, people, & animals of North America. It begins with an exploration of maps & globes and then discusses the continent. We explore 3 of North America’s countries, animal habitats found in N. America, learn about scientists who study nature, and explore common amphibians.
Unit 4:
Astronomy
This Unit introduces children to the wonders of the universe. It includes exposure to concepts like the phases of the moon, constellations, and the names of the eight planets in our solar system. Students will learn about the work of astronauts, including the famous astronaut Mae Jemison.
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*All materials are still available for free download below.
If you would like professional development/training and coaching, please fill out the
PD and Coaching Request from.
If you have any questions about the use of the materials or the Project Ready! research project please contact Laci Fisher, Project Ready! Director at laci.fisher@msj.edu.
All Project Ready! Instructional materials are copyright protected. Copyright © Dr. Amy Murdoch, 2019.
You are welcome to use these free materials in your educational practice and to share them with other educators or parents. The materials are not permitted to be sold commercially or used in any commercial endeavor.
Unit 5A:
South America
This Unit explores the countries, people, & animals of South America. It begins with a review of maps & globes and then discusses the continent of South America. We explore the country of Brazil and then explore three different animal habitats and learn about the animals that live there: Rain forest, Plateau (Altiplano) Region, and the Ocean.
Unit 5B:
Asia
This Unit explores the countries, people, and animals of Asia. It begins with a review of maps and globes and an introduction to the largest continent in the world- Asia. We explore 5 Asian countries (Japan, India, China, Korea, and Nepal), animal habitats, and special animals found in Asia. We also discuss Mount Everest and mountaineering.
Unit 6:
My Amazing Body
This unit is all about the amazing human body. We learn the parts of the body including learning about our skeleton and what happens when a bone breaks. We also discover the wonderful diversity of human bodies and how skin color and other human features come in lots of different lovely varieties. We learn ways to take care of our body through eating healthy foods, exercising, and taking care of our teeth. This unit ends with a discussion of emotions and how we also have to understand and take care of our feelings.
Unit 7A:
Africa
This unit begins with a review of maps and globes and then continues our continent study with the second largest continent, Africa. We explore several countries in Africa and learn about the people who live there. We learn about African animals and their habitats, with a focus on the African savannah, elephants, lions, and hippos.
Unit 7B:
Australia
This unit concludes our continent study with the smallest continent, Australia. We begin with a study of Australia as a continent and country then explore different habitats within Australia with a focus on the Great Barrier Reef and the Outback. We learn about Australian animals, including the fascinating marsupials koalas, kangaroos, and wombats.
Updated!
Unit 8:
Seasons
and Weather
This short unit introduces students to foundational concepts that are helpful in the next unit, Botany. We learn about the months of the year and how the seasons change as the months progress. We learn about weather. The unit concludes with a deep dive into each of the four seasons and the type of weather that we experience in each season.
Unit 10:
The Arts
This unit introduces three types of art- music, visual art, and dance. We explore the basics of these artforms and learn that everyone is an artist! Students apply their background knowledge and new vocabulary around the arts in the recital hall themed dramatic play center. Here they can pretend to visit an art museum, watch or perform at a concert, or present a dance for an audience.
Updated!
Small Group Materials
Telling Terrific Tales
This routine uses a highly motivating story-based play activity with charming puppets. Listening comprehension and oral language development are the primary focus of this instructional routine.
Spanish Support
Video Links
SAMMY
This small group Language Comprehension routine utilizes highly engaging wordless books and focuses on listening comprehension and oral language development.
Only needed if you're doing Year 2
Basic Concepts
The Basic Concepts lessons are designed to support children's development of key preschool skills. Basic Concepts focuses on colors, shapes, opposites, and relative size. These lessons are implemented in response to student needs.
Alphabetics
Phonological Awareness, Letter Recognition, and Letter-Sound Knowledge are taught using structured routines with fun and engaging activities!
Teacher Materials
Instructional Materials
Lesson Books (print 2-sided)
Additional Materials (print 1-sided)
Alphabetics
Playful Interventions
Playful Interventions can be implemented with small groups of 1-2 students when students demonstrate a need for letter instruction beyond Alphabetics lessons. These are fun, inviting, self-correcting activities led by a teacher.
Math
Math books that were first read in the 123 Shared Story routine return in homogeneous small groups where all math skills are taught and practice in a series of engaging activities.
Teacher Materials
Instructional Materials
Lesson Books (print 2-sided)
Math
Playful Interventions
Playful Interventions can be implemented with small groups of 1-2 students when students demonstrate a need for counting and number recognition beyond the instruction in math lessons. These are fun, inviting, self-correcting activities led by a teacher.
Assessment
Our curriculum utilizes three types of assessment. A universal screener, a curriculum based screening assessment, and mastery monitoring give educators valuable information that guides instructional decisions. All assessments are appropriate and essential components of the MTSS model in preschool. All information can be gathered into the student portfolio for ease in sharing and storing essential data for each student.
Family Take Home Packs
The key objective of the family literacy packs is to create positive language and learning interactions between child and parent. The family literacy packs go home at the end of each preschool thematic unit in the Project Ready curriculum (once a month). They consist of fun language, literacy, and math activities for children to do with their families. All of the activities are things the children have done in the classroom (or a slight variation) and this is an opportunity for the child to show their parent what they have learned. It is designed for the child to “teach” their parent about the new knowledge they have learned. The family literacy packs are wonderful for all families and were designed so that any adult, regardless of the adult’s literacy level or English language fluency, can use with their child.