I am having so much fun getting to know this great group of kids. They are doing an amazing job of learning the routines of kindergarten so far! Last week, we spent a lot of time talking about what kind, safe and fair students look like, and how we can move quickly, quietly and safely from one activity to the other. We also talked a lot about what it means to be a good friend, and how to solve problems that come up between friends. Here are two specific examples of how this looks:
In addition to the social and emotional learning we started last week, this week we dove into our academic learning.
Each day, we spend the morning learning in math and literacy stations. Students rotate through 5 activites that are planned to be engaging for kids and relevant to the concepts we want our students to explore and ultimately master. I teach at one of the stations, Mindy Katz teaches at a second stations, two stations are independent activities that allow students to practice something they have previously learned and one station is a computer station (this week exploring letters on Starfall). Soon, an iPad station will be incorporated a few days a week as well.
We spent a lot of time exploring letters ~ making them out of wikis, smelly dough, giant pipe cleaners, pattern blocks and our bodies! We started our letter of the day study, a time each day to really wrap our heads (and bodies) around how the featured letter looks and sounds and feels and starts words that we love! Ask your student to teach you how to play our bibbity-bobbity-boo game!
Each day, we spend the morning learning in math and literacy stations. Students rotate through 5 activites that are planned to be engaging for kids and relevant to the concepts we want our students to explore and ultimately master. I teach at one of the stations, Mindy Katz teaches at a second stations, two stations are independent activities that allow students to practice something they have previously learned and one station is a computer station (this week exploring letters on Starfall). Soon, an iPad station will be incorporated a few days a week as well.
We spent a lot of time exploring letters ~ making them out of wikis, smelly dough, giant pipe cleaners, pattern blocks and our bodies! We started our letter of the day study, a time each day to really wrap our heads (and bodies) around how the featured letter looks and sounds and feels and starts words that we love! Ask your student to teach you how to play our bibbity-bobbity-boo game!
We continued to practice our workshop routines as we launched our first Readers' and Writers' workshop units (see below for an extensive description of what Readers' and Writers' workshop will look like in our classroom).
Introducing...Yertel & Jellybean Violet! | For those of you curious to know what happened to the three much larger turtles (Bubba, Jellybean and Hazel) that lived in our classroom prior to June, they were adopted by the Monroe Reptile Zoo. The zoo was going to pass them on to a farmer who was looking for some red-eared slider turtle friends for the turtles living in his enclosed greenhouse pond. We were assured that our turtle friends would be happy there, able stay together as a family and grow for many years, potentially becoming the size of dinner plates! |
And last but not least, on Friday, we met our new Reading Buddies in Ms. Colando's 2nd grade class. We were so excited that they greeted us with special bookmarks they had made for their new Kindergarten buddy.
Reader' Workshop
Our first Readers' Workshop unit is called We Are Readers! Readers’ Workshop always starts with 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. (We practiced this last week.) 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 the 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. This week, students will learn how to sit back to back and engage in independent reading for 5 - 8 minutes, but this time will increase by the end of the year to 20 minutes. After "back to back" reading, students sit "hip to hip" for partner reading with their reading partner. Partner reading is a time to read together and talk about what they are learning as readers.
In December, 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. While they read, I conference with readers and assess their reading progress/understanding. In January, students will be assigned a reading partner who is reading at the same reading level.
Last week, we focused on the teaching points readers take care of books and readers use the pictures to read. We read the pictures and retold the familiar stories in our star books and read our shared reading goodbyes together. Star books are books that we have already read together in class and will continue to read together. Our five star books are:
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. This week, students will learn how to sit back to back and engage in independent reading for 5 - 8 minutes, but this time will increase by the end of the year to 20 minutes. After "back to back" reading, students sit "hip to hip" for partner reading with their reading partner. Partner reading is a time to read together and talk about what they are learning as readers.
In December, 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. While they read, I conference with readers and assess their reading progress/understanding. In January, students will be assigned a reading partner who is reading at the same reading level.
Last week, we focused on the teaching points readers take care of books and readers use the pictures to read. We read the pictures and retold the familiar stories in our star books and read our shared reading goodbyes together. Star books are books that we have already read together in class and will continue to read together. Our five star books are:
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.
In addition to Readers Workshop, we read at other times during our day. Right after lunch, we come back and have "dessert books". Once students are reading at their "just right level", they often want to read other books that are not at their level. During dessert book time, students can read any book they want. They read with a teacher and/or friends in comfortable spots around the room and love to use pointers to point to words and pictures in their books
In addition to Readers Workshop, we read at other times during our day. Right after lunch, we come back and have "dessert books". Once students are reading at their "just right level", they often want to read other books that are not at their level. During dessert book time, students can read any book they want. They read with a teacher and/or friends in comfortable spots around the room and love to use pointers to point to words and pictures in their books
We do "shared reading" together at the end of each day. During this time, we all have our eyes on the same text, and we read the words out loud together. The students love "reading" these texts! We wrapped up our goodbyes last week and, starting this week, will be reading a poem together each week. Students will bring their own copy home on Fridays and copies will also be kept in notebooks here at school for students to continue reading. I also do an "interactive read aloud with accountable talk" every day. In addition to teaching the reading strategies during the mini-lessons, I will model using 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. |
Writers' Workshop
Our first Writers' Workshop unit is called We Are Writers! 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. Students keep their writing at school in their writing folder.
Last week, we focused on the strategy writers use pictures to tell stories. We "read" some great picture only mentors texts together, telling each other the stories we saw.
Last week, we focused on the strategy writers use pictures to tell stories. We "read" some great picture only mentors texts together, telling each other the stories we saw.
We then used our writing tools (paper, pencils, writing folders and a date stamp) to complete our first writing pieces. Students drew pictures to tell their readers what they love the most about Kindergarten. I will scan these masterpieces and post them early next week!
Next week, we will focus on what good writers do. One key point early on is that writing is a process. We teach the kids to say "When I am done, I have just begun" and make a choice from the done list. | For some parents, it is a challenge to support their student's writing as they learn to spell independently. As workshop teachers, we want student writers who own their writing and view writing as a way to add their voice to the world around them. Helping emergent writers spell independently is an important part of nurturing this independence. To spell words, early writers will learn to stretch words out and write the letter sounds they hear. This early spelling strategy may not result in words that are spelled like they would be in a book. In fact, in the early stages the words may only include one or two letters. But with time, these words will look more and more like the conventionally spelled words we use in our daily lives. As student learn to read more words, they will be able to more accurately write words. Sharing writing with each other in class is a regular part of our writing workshop. Students will learn to self-select pieces of writing that they are proud of and share these pieces. They will share with peers using the document camera in the classroom. They will share with the audience members of their e-folios by having pieces scanned and posted to their writing page. And, as the year progresses, they will learn to publish their writing to share with family members during Writing Celebrations. When we publish, we "dress up" our writing, kind of like we dress up for special occasions, and get it ready for other people to read. |
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! I promise most of my future weekly posts will not be so lengthy!