Last week, we launched many of the learning activities that we will be engaging in this year. Here are some words and photos that will help you understand what this learning will look like.
Readers' Workshop
During our first Readers' Workshop unit, We Are Readers!, I will use all-about-the-world books to help my kindergarteners believe that we really are all readers! Readers’ Workshop always starts with a mini-lesson. We sing our gathering song together as we gather in our classroom library for a mini-lesson. During the short (5 to 7 minute) mini-lesson, it is my turn as the teacher to teach and show a strategy that readers use. While I do this, the students sit on the carpet and listen. After I have modeled using the strategy as a reader, I give the students a turn to practice using the strategy with their reading partner while they are still on the carpet. After the students have had this guided practice, they are ready to go off and try using the strategy on their own. We call this independent reading "back to back" reading. Last week, students learned how to sit back to back and engage in independent reading. At the beginning of kindergarten, students are only expected to "read" independently for 5 - 7 minutes, but this time will increase by the end of the year to 20 minutes. While they read, I conference with readers to assess their reading progress/understanding and coach them on specific goals they are working on as readers. After "back to back" reading, students sit "hip to hip" for partner reading with their reading partner. This is a time to read together and talk about what they are learning as readers. To end our Readers' Workshop, we gather on the carpet for a quick (less than 5 minute) share. During this time, I will restate the learning target and ask students to share specific learnings that I noticed during my conferences. Right now, reading partners may have different levels of reading experience. That is okay, as the reading we are doing is not conventional. I will be spending the next few weeks assessing students' understanding of letter names and sounds as well as their concepts of print (understanding of how books go). Later this fall, I will assess student reading levels and give each student a book bag filled with books at their "just right levels" to read during this time. At that time, they will be assigned a partner who is at a similar reading level. | My teaching points for the first bend in this unit are: ~ Readers read the world ~ Readers read books to learn about the world ~ Readers read by themselves and with others ~ Readers read a book cover to cover ~ Readers reread a book by putting the pages all together ~ Readers reread ~ Readers reread to rethink ~ Rereading helps readers learn from words in books, too ~ Readers sound like teachers when they read learn- about-the-world books |
In addition to Readers Workshop, we read at other times during our day
Shared Reading
| Interactive Read Aloud I will also do at least one (if not two or three!) "interactive read aloud with accountable talk" every day. In addition to teaching the reading strategies during the mini-lessons, I will model using our reading strategies as I read books to the students and ask them to "turn and talk" to their reading partners when we run across opportunities to practice our strategies. You can keep track of the read alouds we do each week by going to the Awesome Books ~ Classroom Read Alouds tab on our classroom website. Dessert BooksSometimes we will have "dessert books". Once students are reading at their "just right level", they often want to read books that are not at their level. During dessert book time, students can read any book they want. They read with an adult or friends in comfortable spots around the room and love to use pointers to point to words and pictures! |
Getting To Know Our Alphabet!
At this time of year, we spend a lot time learning about the letters of the alphabet. This year, we will be using the Reading Horizons Discovery curriculum to guide this important decoding and phonological awareness instruction. I will blog more about this soon.
Writers' Workshop
Our first Writers' Workshop unit is called We Are Writers! The first bend of this unit focuses on these teaching points: ~ We are all writers: putting ideas on paper with pictures and words ~ Writers know that when we are done we have just begun! Writers revise. * ~ Writers carrying on independently and solve their own problems ~ Writers call to mind what they want to say, then put that onto a page ~ Writers write even hard to write ideas Writers' workshop follows the same format as Readers' Workshop. Sessions start with a short mini lesson during which I will teach and model a strategy that effective writers use. Right after the mini lesson, students have a chance to talk to their writing partner about how they plan to implement the strategy in their writing before going off to write independently. During independent writing time, I will conference with writers, coaching them on the specific writing goals they are working on. | During our first writers' workshop sessions last week, we used our writing tools (paper, pencils and writing folders) to complete our first writing pieces. Students drew pictures to tell their readers things that they had done or that had happened to them, or things that they knew a lot about and wanted to tell others. Students will keep their writing at school in their writing folder and will bring the writing home at the end of each unit. To end our Writers' Workshop, we gather on the carpet for a quick (less than 5 minute) share. During this time, I will restate the learning target and ask students to share writing pieces that show specific learnings that I noticed during my conferences. All kindergarten writers who were ready to share had a turn using the document camera and microphone to read their writing to us. * One key point that is established early on in Writers' Workshop is that writing is a process that includes ongoing revision. We teach the kids to say, "When I am done, I have just begun" and then choose to add to their picture, add to their words or start a new piece. |
Learning Stations
In September, we use Learning Stations to ease our students through the transition from preschool
to kindergarten. From October on, we will continue to use Learning Stations on Mondays and Fridays. During stations, the students rotate through 3 or 4 learning stations that are planned to be engaging and relevant to the concepts we want our students to explore and ultimately master. We work to incorporate building, creating and game playing into our station activities each week, as we feel that these activities provide important cognitive and SEL opportunities that our kindergarteners' brains need. I teach at one of the stations, Mindy Katz teaches at a second station, and one or two stations are independent activities that allow students to practice something they have previously learned. Often, one station will involve iPad learning (focused math and reading practice and PBL project work).
to kindergarten. From October on, we will continue to use Learning Stations on Mondays and Fridays. During stations, the students rotate through 3 or 4 learning stations that are planned to be engaging and relevant to the concepts we want our students to explore and ultimately master. We work to incorporate building, creating and game playing into our station activities each week, as we feel that these activities provide important cognitive and SEL opportunities that our kindergarteners' brains need. I teach at one of the stations, Mindy Katz teaches at a second station, and one or two stations are independent activities that allow students to practice something they have previously learned. Often, one station will involve iPad learning (focused math and reading practice and PBL project work).
Using iPads To Share Our LearningLast week, we talked about how we will use iPads to show our learning and how we will make sure that we do so in a way that meets our school-wide expectations of "I am aware", "I am safe", and "We are connected". We then talked about what we expect from each other when we use our iPads in our classroom, and came up with these iPad agreements: On Friday, we started using our iPads to learn! Students were introduced to their Spacial-Temporal (ST) Math account. This introduction included a password training, requiring each student to learn his or her individual 8 picture password. The students did an amazing job and seemed to LOVE the learning this exciting math program presented them with. We will continue this introduction and password training this week, ensuring that each child can log in and engage in the math concepts being taught. After successfully "playing" on the program for a few weeks, ST Math will add 5 additional pictures to your student's password. Once they have this 13 picture password, they can use ST Math at home. See the link below for more information about how your child can access his or her ST Math account at home. You can also check out the Mind Research Institute's website at http://www.mindresearch.org/stmath.
| Using Voices That Work For All LearnersLast week, we got serious about using our Noise-O-Meter. We talked about what noise levels helped our learning at different times of the day, and then made a rubric helping us know what each voice sounded like and when we would use them. We will continue to add to this chart throughout the year. |
Our Classroom Job Description Book!
At school we all have jobs to do! After doing our first jobs for two weeks, students wrote a job description to teach their classmates how to do the job. They drew the picture and then I transcribed the words they wanted to include. We now have a class job book with a job description for each one of our classroom jobs. We will put this all-about-the-world book with our other non-fiction books so readers can read it and learn. | |
"I Am Yoga" Movements!Remember that Wednesday is a | 7th Annual QAE Jog-A-Thon! The Jog-A-Thon is this Friday, Sept. 30th! Jog-A-Thon Schedule Students run in waves by grade level. The schedule for Friday is:
At the celebration and after school ends, the 4th grade will have a bake sale to support their trip to IslandWood. Families are welcome to come cheer on all our kids! Collecting Donations There's still time to collection donations. It's easy to set up an account. Every donation helps support our school and our students! Visit the PledgeStar site to get started. |
Thank You!!!
If you are still reading, pat yourself on the back! This was a LONG post ~ but packed with some important foundational information that will
help you understand what is happening in class and thus more effectively support your student. Thank you for taking the time to read it all!
~ Katie
help you understand what is happening in class and thus more effectively support your student. Thank you for taking the time to read it all!
~ Katie