Pre-Kindergarten - Gateway 3

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for supporting a developmentally appropriate classroom system and physical environment (3.1a).

The materials include three developmentally appropriate schedule examples, 1 full-day and 2 half-day options (Welcome Guide, p. 33), along with pre-created, customizable weekly lesson plans to meet classroom needs. The day is intentionally structured to include welcome time, whole-group and small-group instruction, literacy and math practice centers, STEM, outdoor play, quiet time, and transitions.

The materials provide scheduling guidance through structured yet flexible daily routines. For example, the Welcome Guide includes one full-day and two half-day schedule examples (p. 33). Weekly lesson plans for each theme also include “Getting Started” sections that outline Big Ideas, vocabulary, assessment opportunities, family connections, lesson planners, transitions, and brain breaks (p. 86). Overall, the daily structure balances adult-led and child-centered learning, with movement and engagement built throughout the day. Literacy, Math, and STEM blocks are each scheduled for 60 minutes, but they include small-group lessons and three to five practice centers (p. 35), which help ensure varied, hands-on engagement.

The materials also support developmentally appropriate timeframes and transitions. Activities are sequenced through full-group, small-group, and center rotations that support children’s attention spans while also allowing for movement and breaks. In addition, the Resource Center’s 8 Classroom Strategies to Optimize Pre-K Learning provides guidance for smooth transitions and effective classroom flow. For example, Strategy Card #5 (p. 5) encourages teachers to evaluate and adjust the physical environment to optimize learning.

The materials also include intentional guidance for setting up the physical environment. The Welcome Guide recommends dividing the classroom into active and quiet areas, placing noisy centers away from quieter spaces, organizing materials for independent access, creating semi-private areas, and displaying culturally diverse materials (p. 85). It also encourages placing water areas near sinks and clearly labeling materials to support children’s independence.

Additional support for the learning environment is grounded in research-based guidance. The Welcome Guide (pp. 34–38) summarizes five key findings from brain research and offers ten classroom strategies, including ensuring safety, minimizing clutter, incorporating multisensory learning, keeping lessons appropriately brief, nurturing curiosity, activating prior knowledge, encouraging complex thinking, and promoting movement and hydration.

Environmental print is also embedded throughout the classroom environment and instructional materials. For example, the Center’s Planning & Setup Guide guides teachers in labeling classroom areas such as the Library, Blocks, and Writing Center, organizing word walls, and displaying thematic vocabulary cards. Environmental print is further reinforced through posters, photo activity cards, and vocabulary cards that pair real-world images with print, as well as through dramatic play materials such as menus, signs, and lists. Together, these materials support the creation of a print-rich environment through intentional labeling, theme-related displays, and accessible print in learning centers, helping children build awareness of print in meaningful contexts.

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K provides developmentally appropriate guidance for both scheduling and classroom environment design. The materials support a well-balanced daily structure through flexible schedule options, pre-created and customizable weekly plans, varied instructional groupings, and built-in opportunities for movement, transitions, and hands-on learning. The materials also offer intentional guidance for organizing the physical environment to promote independence, engagement, and comfort, while research-based strategies help teachers create settings that support attention, curiosity, and active learning. In addition, the inclusion of environmental print throughout classroom spaces and materials contributes to a print-rich environment that helps children interact with print in meaningful and authentic ways.

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for including materials that enhance learning (3.1b).

The materials consistently provide clear descriptions, examples, and supports that enhance learning through multiple examples of materials, manipulatives, and resources. A wide variety of manipulatives are included and aligned with activities and learning goals. The Welcome Guide (pp. 16–32) outlines program components and provides clear explanations for the use of specific manipulatives, supported by research on early brain development and instruction (pp. 34–38). The Welcome Guide explains materials used in each content area (pp. 49–67).

The materials include clear descriptions of instructional resources and show alignment to learning goals across domains. For example, the program includes letter cards for literacy lessons (Welcome Guide, p. 53), photo and vocabulary cards to support vocabulary development (p. 57), and numeracy manipulatives such as connecting cubes, pattern blocks, frog counters, and math activity cards (p. 72). Each theme also includes a unit supply list, such as in Theme 8 (Teacher Guide, pp. vi–vii), and clearly identifies weekly and daily materials with accompanying photographs (Theme 8, pp. 6–7).

The materials are generally accessible and available to teachers, with most items included in the program and additional “gather” lists identifying common classroom supplies. Some lessons do call for less common items, such as bikes, ping-pong balls, or metal washers (Theme 7, p. 77), which may require additional purchasing. At the same time, the curriculum encourages the use of found and everyday objects, such as natural materials, toilet paper rolls, recyclables, and cardboard boxes (Theme 3, p. 7). Weekly Family Connection Letters also suggest using common household items to extend learning at home.

Manipulatives are consistently embedded across content areas to support hands-on learning. Math and science small groups use materials such as connecting cubes, pattern blocks, chain links, dot cubes, ten frames, sorting trays, magnifying glasses, and tweezers. Literacy small groups incorporate tactile letter cards, sand trays, sound boxes, and magnetic letters. Art and Writing Practice Centers also include materials such as crayons, markers, paintbrushes, scissors, clipboards, and stencils to support active engagement.

The materials also include some culturally and linguistically responsive resources. Family newsletters are available in English, Spanish, and 19 additional languages through the Lilypad Resources Center. Literature selections reflect diverse cultures and experiences, including texts such as Abuela and Yuna’s Paper Cranes, and some selections are bilingual. Photo cards depict diverse families and children and include Spanish-English labels. In addition, family newsletters connect classroom vocabulary and themes to home activities, such as in Theme 5 (p. 56).

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K consistently describes the use of manipulatives, provides multiple examples across themes, aligns resources with learning goals, and embeds materials into daily instruction. Materials are largely accessible, culturally and linguistically responsive, and connected to family engagement.

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for leveraging direct instruction, open-ended, experiential, and play-based learning (3.2a).

The materials are designed to support a range of instructional settings and developmental needs. Structured, teacher-led lessons are a cornerstone of the curriculum. Each day follows a consistent format across themes, with scripted guidance for whole-group, small-group, and practice center-based instruction. For example, Theme 7, Week 1 includes detailed scripting for the Brain Smart Start routine, morning messages, and literacy lessons that target specific skills such as onset and rime, concept of print, and alphabet knowledge. These lessons are explicitly tied to standards, ensuring intentional skill development and alignment with the curriculum. Modeling and guided practice are embedded throughout the curriculum. In math, small groups in Theme 7 (pgs. 22–23) instruction progresses from acting out number stories to modeling with manipulatives and creating new problems. Within this example, each day builds upon the previous one, reinforcing concepts and encouraging problem-solving. Teachers are provided with clear instructions for direct modeling and prompting student reflection, such as using number lines or retelling insect stories. 

Open-ended learning is supported through various questioning strategies, providing teachers with guidance on prompting meaningful discussions and effectively engaging children in questioning. Practice centers include reflective prompts such as, “Which of Betty’s guests do you find most interesting and why?” and “How did you know which path to follow and why?” (Theme 7, pp. 8–11). These questions foster critical thinking and personal expression. Read-alouds and STEAM activities also incorporate open-ended questions to guide exploration and deepen understanding (Theme 7, pp. 77).

Children have daily opportunities to choose from 6 practice centers, which rotate weekly and offer a variety of materials and activities. While most of these centers are teacher-guided, they offer diverse experiences such as outdoor learning and STEAM challenges (Theme 7, pp. 34–37). STEAM activities encourage design and experimentation, such as creating hybrid insects, coding with Frog-e, and building flying models (Theme 7, pp. 24–25, 50–51, 76–77, 102–103).

Play-based learning is primarily teacher-guided, with structured prompts and materials, and offers many easily accessible items for teachers to use in their classrooms. Examples include building city skylines with paper shapes and excavating sand with construction vehicles (Theme 5, pp. 9–11). Children also engage in other play-based Practice Centers. While free-play opportunities and guidance are limited, several guided-play opportunities are available. 

Materials offer a range of activities that promote problem-solving to understand the world, primarily in Conscious Discipline, STEAM, practice centers, and math activities. STEAM activities are present in each theme on a weekly basis, where a problem is posed, and children work throughout the week to solve it. Frog-e allows children to practice coding to solve problems (Theme 7, pp. 50-51). Conscious Discipline provides multiple opportunities for children to develop problem-solving skills, which are integrated throughout every unit and daily activities.

STEAM materials encourage experiential learning by offering guided opportunities to experiment, design, and create. STEAM is found in every theme, with activities present for each week (Theme 7, pp 24-25), demonstrating where children will apply their knowledge of insects to create a model of a make-believe insect that’s a combination of two insects. In Theme 7 (pp. 50–51), children use coding to program Frog-e to locate food while avoiding predators. In Week 3 (pp. 76–77), children design a flying insect using a paper airplane model as a base to explore how different designs affect flight distance. In Week 4 (pp. 102–103), children design a spider and construct a web capable of holding up to 10 insects.

Overall, the materials support a range of instructional settings and developmental needs through structured teacher-led instruction, guided practice, open-ended questioning, and hands-on exploration. Daily lessons are clearly organized and aligned with standards, with consistent routines and explicit teacher support that promote intentional skill development across whole-group, small-group, and practice center settings. The materials also provides regular opportunities for children to engage in questioning, problem-solving, guided play, and experiential STEAM learning, allowing them to apply skills in meaningful ways. Across themes, these varied instructional experiences help support both direct teaching and active exploration, giving children multiple ways to build understanding and engage with content.

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for supporting experiences that build on and advance student learning. (3.2b) 

The Welcome Guide (p. 37) discusses how to tap into prior knowledge. There are opportunities to activate and connect with prior knowledge throughout the program. There are also opportunities for students to connect their existing knowledge with new content. For example, students compare their lunches, morning routines, playground equipment, and interactions with school workers to their own experiences (Theme 1, pp. 16-19). Additional examples include invitations to describe lived experiences, such as “discuss something that happened yesterday, last night, or today” in (Theme 3, p. 94) and “think of familiar items students can “push or pull” (Theme 4, Week 4), and identify environmental shapes (Theme 4, p. 22). 

Materials integrate a range of multiple modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic tactile) into learning activities, including photo/vocabulary cards, storytelling, posters, music and movement, tactile materials, manipulatives, practice centers, art, dramatic play, cooking, construction, sensory exploration, and weekly outdoor activities (Theme 3, pp. 4–5, 7, 9, 11, 37, 63, 89). 

Materials offer a meaningful balance of instructional settings, including daily whole-group, small-group, and practice-center structures, as well as differentiation supports for Dual Language Learners (DLLs), students with disabilities, and students with varied readiness levels. Examples are found throughout the Teachers’ Guides, color-coded on the sides (pink and purple callouts; blue up/down arrows). Students have opportunities to regularly engage socially and collaboratively through practice centers, STEAM tasks, and Conscious Discipline routines. Practice centers offer opportunities for differentiation; however, guidance for how teachers should individualize instruction is not clearly defined. 

There are also some opportunities for agentic learning that allow children to initiate, extend, and support their own learning. For example, in Theme 1 (pg. 87), during Makerspace, children are encouraged to create, invent, tinker, and design in a child-led, open-ended space.  Within Conscious Discipline, the connect-and-commit routines encourage daily goal-setting (Theme 8, p. 13). Practice Centers offer students opportunities to choose which ones to visit, where they can explore, experiment, and represent ideas in different ways. However, most activities throughout the materials remain largely teacher-directed, use set materials, follow scripts, and are prepared by the teacher. 

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K offers a range of engaging and developmentally appropriate experiences that effectively support student learning through connections to prior knowledge, varied modalities, and multiple instructional settings. The materials provide consistent opportunities for collaboration and include structures that support diverse learners. Strengthening opportunities for sustained, student-driven learning would further enhance the materials.

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for including opportunities for diverse instructional settings and structures (3.2c). 

Materials provide engaging, developmentally appropriate, and multimodal experiences across various instructional settings. The materials include varied instructional structures such as whole-group, small-group, and individualized learning through Practice Centers, predictable routines, and smooth transitions.

The materials include a variety of instructional settings and structures that support children’s learning throughout the day. Whole-group instruction is a consistent part of daily routines and includes components such as Greeting Circle (Theme 5, pp. 12–13), Morning Message (p. 14), Music and Movement (p. 15), Read-Alouds (Theme 5, pp. 16–19), STEAM (pp. 24–25), and Closing Circle (p. 26). These activities align with weekly themes and standards and include differentiation notes for children with special needs and Dual Language Learners. Together, these whole-group structures promote interaction, inclusivity, and shared learning experiences.

Small-group instruction is also embedded throughout the materials and follows a structured progression. Literacy small groups in Theme 5 ( pp. 20–21) include weekly instruction in vocabulary, phonological awareness, shared writing, guided writing, and alphabet knowledge. Math small groups (pp. 22–23) are organized around weekly standards and include peer interaction and mathematical discussion. STEAM small-group experiences (p. 25) also offer hands-on learning opportunities. These lessons are scripted to support teacher facilitation and encourage collaboration among children.

The materials also support individualized learning through Practice Centers. In Theme 5 (Teacher Guide, pp. 8–10), weekly Practice Centers include the Technology Center, Writer’s Corner, Construction Zone, Sensory Station, Creativity Station, Math Center, and Language/Literacy Center. Children can select center activities, which support choice and independence. Differentiation notes embedded within lessons also guide scaffolding. Although the materials do not provide clear guidance for individualized instruction, teachers are encouraged to differentiate instruction during small-group and practice center activities.

Predictable routines are another clear feature of the materials. Daily schedules follow a consistent format (Welcome Guide, p. 33), and Conscious Discipline strategies are embedded throughout arrival, transitions, meals, naptime, and departure. Rituals such as the Kindness Tree, celebration rituals, and Safekeeper routines (Welcome Guide, pp. 39–48) further promote stability, independence, and social responsibility. Reinforcement of routines is also evident in side notes throughout the Teacher Guides, such as in Theme 8 (pp. 13, 39, 65, 69, 103).

The materials also include structured and supportive transitions. Weekly Music and Movement songs align with themes and help maintain engagement during transitions. In addition, the Implementation Support Guide (Strategy 3) outlines strategies such as fingerplays, rhymes, and clear expectations to support smooth transitions. Together, these transition practices promote responsibility, teamwork, and efficient classroom flow.

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K materials provide comprehensive support for diverse instructional settings. The integration of whole-group, small-group, and some individualized learning structures, along with predictable routines and structured transitions, supports engagement, accessibility, and developmentally appropriate practice.

Frog Street Pre-K materials meet expectations for supporting teacher understanding and implementation (3.4a). 

The materials provide a range of tools and resources to help teachers understand, implement, and monitor the program. The Welcome Guide (pp. 2 and 8) describes the curriculum as a dual-language, research-based program built on neuroscience, math, literacy, and language acquisition. It includes 36 weeks of instruction organized into nine thematic guides in English and Spanish, emphasizing developmentally appropriate, hands-on learning.

The materials provide a comprehensive set of supports grounded in a strong program design and research base. The Welcome Guide clearly articulates the theoretical foundation and alignment across key developmental domains. For example, literacy guidance (p. 49) emphasizes oral language, phonological awareness, and comprehension, with developmental progressions detailed in the appendix (p. 112). Mathematics instruction (p. 69) aligns with five research-based recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse and is integrated throughout the daily schedule. Science instruction (pp. 74–79) promotes inquiry-based learning through hands-on exploration in life, earth, and physical sciences. 

Instructional guidance and implementation supports are robust and highly structured, offering clear direction on what to teach, how to teach, and why it matters. Structured lesson plans and schedules provide a strong instructional backbone, while Teacher Guides embed strategies, scaffolding, and differentiation throughout, often highlighted in blue boxes (e.g., Welcome Guide, p. 59). Strategy cards and scripted lessons promote clarity and consistency in delivery. The integration of Conscious Discipline (pp. 39–48) supports social-emotional development through routines such as Greeting Circle and Closing Circle. In addition, resources such as 7 Essential Skills for School Readiness and 8 Classroom Strategies to Optimize Pre-K Learning provide actionable guidance on transitions, behavior management, and authentic assessment practices.

The program also demonstrates flexibility in classroom structures, enabling educators to adapt implementation to their specific contexts. Practice Centers (Welcome Guide, pp. 18–19, 81–86) include weekly activity suggestions, midweek adaptations, and opportunities for informal assessment. Both full- and half-day schedule options are provided, and multiple anchor texts for read-alouds (Welcome Guide, pp. 62–63) support thematic integration. Color-coded supports for English learners, students with disabilities, social-emotional learning, and differentiation ensure accessibility for diverse learners. Lesson plans are intentionally designed to be adaptable, allowing teachers to adjust the pacing and instruction to meet students' needs. Professional development and ongoing support include curriculum implementation videos located in Lilypad. 

Overall, Frog Street Pre-K materials provide a structured, research-based curriculum that supports teacher understanding and implementation. The program includes a theoretical foundation, along with instructional tools such as lesson plans, embedded scaffolding and differentiation, and social-emotional supports such as Conscious Discipline. Implementation videos available through Lilypad offer additional support for teachers. Together, the materials provide a system that supports educators in delivering developmentally appropriate instruction across domains.