We have completed the first bend of our We Are Readers unit and will begin the second bend this week, transitioning from reading all-about-the-world nonfiction books to reading fiction storybooks. The teaching points in this second bend are:
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Our first few weeks of Writers' Workshop have been exciting for my kindergarten writers! We have been working hard to write teaching books about things we know a lot about. The students are so excited to write ~ during our mini-lesson we think of ideas to write about together and then stretch out the words we want to write, saying the letter sounds we hear. I write the letters they hear down as they say them, modeling how to use two finger spaces, capital letters and other conventions. We then stretch the words back out, saying the sounds the letters we wrote down say to read the words we wrote together. Last week, we turned our single page pieces into books and scrolls, writing even more. The students are learning to be writers who solve problems on their own so they can carry on as independent writers, using voices that work for all writers as we write together.
This week, we will be focusing on the strategy ~ Writers make their writing the best it can be! Students will be publishing a teaching book, which will involve sharing it with the class using our document camera and microphone. We have done some of this sharing at the end of our workshop sessions and the students love it. Last Thursday, students brought home some of the early writing in their writing folders. Please take time to celebrate this work with your child!
The goal with Kindergarten writers is to help them get their stories and ideas out of their heads and on paper the best they can using words and pictures! At this point in the year, quantity will lead to quality. If a child is hesitant to write the words, they may still need to work on their letter sounds, which is something you can help with at home.
I will be giving each student a letter chart this week, but if you want one at home feel free to print our ZooPhonics letter chart above as a resource! If they are ready to write and want help at home, help them by stretching out the words they want to write, exaggerating the sound each letter makes. They may not hear all of the sounds, and most likely will not spell the words they write like they are spelled in a book. Don’t worry! That will come later. For now, we want kids to be able to record enough sounds that they are able to look back at the letters they wrote and read their words.
The goal with Kindergarten writers is to help them get their stories and ideas out of their heads and on paper the best they can using words and pictures! At this point in the year, quantity will lead to quality. If a child is hesitant to write the words, they may still need to work on their letter sounds, which is something you can help with at home.
I will be giving each student a letter chart this week, but if you want one at home feel free to print our ZooPhonics letter chart above as a resource! If they are ready to write and want help at home, help them by stretching out the words they want to write, exaggerating the sound each letter makes. They may not hear all of the sounds, and most likely will not spell the words they write like they are spelled in a book. Don’t worry! That will come later. For now, we want kids to be able to record enough sounds that they are able to look back at the letters they wrote and read their words.
This week, I will begin teaching phonetic decoding strategies this week using a curriculum called Reading Horizons Discovery. This program is an explicit, systematic, research-based phonics program. In the classroom, I will use multi-sensory techniques to present lessons, which will involve students doing guided practice on lap-sized white boards on the carpet with me and then going off to practice the letter sound concepts with paper and pencil independently at their tables. Their paper practice will come home with them in their orange folders, so you can celebrate their progress with support them with any struggles they express. There is also an on-line interactive computer software component to this instruction, which is available to your child at home. The classroom instruction and the computer software are correlated to support each other, but each can be used independently of the other for instructional purposes. We will not be spending a lot of time on this program in class, an I highly recommend that you provide your student with regular time at home to engage in this online learning at home. Providing this time will allow them to take the computer-based assessments on the software to determine their current literacy understanding and will reinforce the new skills they are learning in class.
To set your student up for this work, you need to go to https://www.rhdiscovery.com or download the Reading Horizons Discovery Clubhouse App. The Site ID is queenanne. Your student’s User ID is their first name and last initial, with no spaces. For example, my user name would be katiec. If you need help, feel free to send me an e-mail with questions. Thanks for providing your student with this important home learning time!
To set your student up for this work, you need to go to https://www.rhdiscovery.com or download the Reading Horizons Discovery Clubhouse App. The Site ID is queenanne. Your student’s User ID is their first name and last initial, with no spaces. For example, my user name would be katiec. If you need help, feel free to send me an e-mail with questions. Thanks for providing your student with this important home learning time!
Learning Stations and the Power of PlayFor the first three weeks of school, we have used Learning Stations to teach the students the routines of our classroom in small groups before moving to whole-class instruction. Stations provide them with opportunities to work and play together. We believe the collaborative, social and emotional opportunities that these stations provide our kids are so important in laying the foundation for the important learning we have ahead of us. We also use stations because we believe that play is super important for our little learners. Stations give students time to build (using Magna Tiles, Legos, Keva planks, wooden blocks, marble runs, gears ...), time to create art, time to play games involving strategy ... all important and non-electronic ways of playing that we want our students to learn to enjoy. As we transition this week into a more structured schedule, we will be replacing our learning stations time wth Reading Horizons lessons and Math Workshop sessions. However we will continue to have Learning Stations on Mondays and Fridays. We will also continue to play during our Choice Time each day, allowing us to continue to incorporate these important play-based learning opportunities into our learning. Kindergarten Friendship Clubs!On Fridays, we take our choice time play on the road, mixing up our classes into Kindergarten Friendship Clubs. Students in all three kindergarten classes have been assigned to the Red, Blue or Yellow friendship club, and each week will rotate through our three K classrooms to play. | Adding the finishing touches |
Volunteering in Room 203!
It is finally time to welcome family members into our classroom to help with our learning! Here are the blocks of time that I would love help! Information about our online volunteer calendar will be e-mailed to you soon. If you can commit to helping every week at the same time, great.
If not, any help is helpful, so sign up for any block of time that is not already filled. Before volunteering, you need to fill out the QAE volunteer paperwork and have a background check. Jen Connelly in the main office can help you with these tasks if you have not yet completed them.
If not, any help is helpful, so sign up for any block of time that is not already filled. Before volunteering, you need to fill out the QAE volunteer paperwork and have a background check. Jen Connelly in the main office can help you with these tasks if you have not yet completed them.