Teaching Reading in Kindergarten- Harcourt TROPHIES

So we are using this "new-to-our-school" reading program this year. Our District has required us to teach it every day, and we aren't supposed to deviate much from the program. In fact they gave us a "pacing" calendar which gives us specific lessons to teach on specific days. I think the basal presumes a higher level of literacy for kindergarten then we are seeing at our low-income, Title 1, federal program school. Yesterday, I was trying to have a dialogue with the class (according to the lesson plans, and I wasn't getting much response from most of my kids. Sure, the top 15% of my class could answer and discuss the questions, but I was getting a lot of blank looks from the rest of the class. Finally this one little girl raised her hand and asked, "Can we just go to our tables and do some worksheets?" Normally they aren't too thrilled about the worksheets, which said alot for the lesson.................