Track Out Here We Come...

Just a few more days and the end of the first quarter will be here!

Introducing the Daily 5

For the past few weeks, I have been slowly introducing our Daily 5 reading structure to the kiddos. Not familiar with the Daily 5? The Daily 5 is a structure that allows students to work on 5 components that will contribute mastering the end of year goal of reading on a level D. They include:

-Word Work

Students work in various ways with our sight words to help them improve their sight word mastery. Sight words (high frequency words) are common words that are found in the majority of texts. In order to master the end of the year goal of reading on a level D, students should be able to identify around 30-35 sight words by the end of the year.

-Writing

Students use their understanding of letters/sounds to create pieces of writing and convey their ideas. Generally, the writing prompts in this center are reflective of the writing genre we are currently learning about. For example, if we are working on opinion writing, then the activities in the writing center will ask them to share their opinion about a topic (Would you rather have a pet horse or a pet pig?) Again, the more a student uses their understanding of letters/sounds to create a pice of writing, the more likely they will be to master the end of the year reading goal of reading on a level D. 

-Listen to Reading

Did you know that when a child listens to fluent reading, that it actually helps with their own reading? Well, that's where listen to reading comes in. In this center, students listen to a story on CD or tape (remember them, lol?) fluently and with expression. So, hearing a person read fluently/with expression will help the kiddos understand how their reading should sound when they are reading. Again, this supports the end of the year goal of students reading on a level D. 

-Read to self/Read to someone

You know the saying, practice makes perfect. The more you read, the better they will get. At this center, the kids will have the opportunity to use their strategies such as using the picture/first letter of a word to determine unknown words, sounding out unknown words, opportunities to see (and master) sight words, etc...

-Reading with the Teacher

In this group, students will be pulled to work with me in small groups based on their reading needs for more strategic intervention.

As you can see, all of these centers are geared towards making the most of your child's time during our literacy block. The goal being having all the kiddos reading on a level D by the end of the year. 

So far, I have only I introduced the kiddos to word work, writing, and listen to reading. We will add read to self/read to someone when we come back from track out. 

Want to help support these goals during track out or just keep your little one busy for a bit? Read to your child. Have your child read to you, or a sibling, or a grandparent. Go to www.storybookonline.com and have them listen to a story. Have them play 'HORSE' (the basketball game) using sight words. Have them use their clothes (or stuffed animals) and spell out sight words (or other words that are easily sounded out cat, rat, mat, etc...). Ask them to look over a cookie recipe and if they can find 4 or more sight words, they get to make the cookies (learning and yummy goodness all in one!). Have your child help make some cookies and write/draw about their favorite part. The possibilities are endless:-) 

Math

In math, we are continuing to work on solidifying our understanding of using a 5 fame to represent numbers 6-10. For example,  XXXXX.     XXX

Instead of counting starting from 1, 2, 3...they would count on from 5 saying "5, 6, 7, 8. there are 8 x's". 

In addition, we have been using the 5 frame to look at the partners of the numbers 6-10. Using the example above, we would say 5 and 3 are partners that make 8. 

Gift Card Basket/Fall Festival

Thank to everyone who has so kindly donated gift cards for our gift card basket. This basket will be auctioned off on Friday during the Fall Festival with ALL of the proceeds going to our grade level. It means a lot that you, as parents have gone out of your way to help our kindergarten team get the most money we can for our grade level. 

Conferences

Thank you to everyone who have signed up for quarter 1 conferences. I look forward to meeting with you and sharing your child's progress this quarter. Please email me if the dates provided do not work for you. I'm sure we will be able to determine a date/time that works for everyone. 

Homework 

There will be no homework over track out (which means a break for you, too. YAY!) See above for fun ways to work on school objectives at home.

I do have a quick request though. Please return the clear plastic bag and book to school each Friday (the large yellow envelope is not needed). The kids will add the small books from their homework to their good fit bags. 

Change of Clothes Going Back Home

I will be sending your child's change of clothes (that you sent to school in August) home on Friday. Upon tracking in, please send in a change of that are reflective of the cooler whether that we will have in the fall. 

Since it is the end of the quarter, I have been completing quite a bit of assessments to determine the growth that the kiddos have made from that very first day (half-day) in August. And I must say, it is so amazing to see the growth the kids can make in just 9 weeks. From oral counting, identifying letters/sounds, reading behaviors, identifying the first sound in a word, and identifying parts of a book....WOW! WOW! WOW! 

I hope you too, have been able to see evidence of how much they have grown acedmically/socially. 

Okay, now on to the nitty gritty. 

Language Arts

This week in reading, our focus is marking part of a story, so we can go back and talk about it after reading. This also links to our speaking and listening goals, as being able to share our ideas orally (and listen to others share their ideas) is very important. At home, you can share with your child their favorite part of a book (while they listen) and then have them share their favorite part. Make sure to have the kiddos explain WHY it is their favorite part. 

In writing, we continue to work on using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to convey our ideas and thoughts. We have also continued to write words we do not know how to spell by stretching them out to hear their  beginning, middle, and end sounds. Ask your child for some 'help' in spelling words like, cat, hat, or mat! 

We continue to use Letterland to address our foundational skills (letter formation, letter identification, and letter sounds). This week, we met 'Mr. A' (long vowel A, who appears I words like acorn). We also delved into Dippy Duck (the letter D). The kiddos were even able to generate 52 (a class record) 'D words' today. They were so proud of themselves:-)

Math

In math this week, we have introduced counting on from 5. That is, instead of using one to one correspondance to count each object starting at one, the students use a 5-group and count on to six, seven, eight, etc... For example,    X X X X X.       X X      

Instead of counting each object individually, we would circle the group of 5 and say, "Five, six, seven. 

There are 7 x's". 

It is very important that students have a solid understanding of this concept, as we will build on it when we begin to add numbers. 

Apple Day

Part 1 of Apple Day went well. Today, we taste tested red, yellow, and green apples. The red apples came in first as our favorite, followed closely by green apples, then with only 1 vote, yellow apples. Together, we also made apple sauce. We then invited our book buddies from Mrs.Vaughn's class to share our applesauce and read our books together. A fun afternoon was had by all:-)

Report Cards

As you may or may not know, there have been technical difficulties with our new report cards. Due to this, report cards have been pushed back to October 25th. However, you will not have to wait until then to hear about your child's progress, as I will be holding teacher/parent conferences during my work days in October. Please see below for more information. 

Fall Festival Auction Baskets

Don't forget our Fall Festival Auction baskets. Our theme for the basket is 'gift cards'. We are looking for contributions of gift cards in any amount $2, $5, $10, or more. Our basket will be auctioned off to the highest bidder with the proceeds going to our grade level. 

Conferences

I will be holding conferences October 17th and 18th. To sign up, please go to www.signupgenius.com . Click on "Find a Sign Up". Put in my email address smcgarry@wcpss.net and whallah! you will be connected to my quarter 1 conference page. Please email me should you have any questions or concerns. 

Book Picnic With Our Book Buddies

It was a perfect day for a 'book picnic' with our 2nd grade Book Buddies. The kiddos had a BLAST! 

*If I have accidentally added your child's photo to our website and you do not wish your child's photo to be published, please email me and I will delete it immediately*

Don't Forget Spirit Week this upcoming week

-Monday: Hat Day

-Tuesday: Dress to Impress

-Wednesday: Patriot Day

-Thursday: Wacky Tacky Day

-Friday: Spirit Day

*Our Coin Drive will be going on all week. Send in any spare change you have. ALL the proceeds will go to our grade level:-) 

Such a short week....

I loved having Monday off, but Wednesday snuck up on me so quickly! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend. We began our weekend enjoying a family movie night complete with a 'carpet picnic' with popcorn and other goodies. We ended the weekend with a trip to the water park which was a perfect way to say goodbye to the summer. Bring on the cool weather and pumpkin everything! Now onto our class 'business'.....

Language Arts

Reading

This week in reading, our comprehension focus is understanding how the illustrations in books relate to the words that are written. We have been practicing sharing out which part of the story is illustrated on the page we have just read. For example when we were reading "Mrs. Smith's Incredible Storybook" we shared out that one of the illustrations showed the part of the story when Mrs. Smith closed the book and all of the characters whooshed back into the book. Of course, we continue to work on print concepts (title, front cover, back cover, title page), identifying rhyming words, and understanding why we read fiction (for fun) and non-fiction texts (to learn). 

Letterland/Foundational Skills

We are continuing to address our phonics objectives (identifying letters/sounds and understanding how they work together) with our Letterland program. We are finishing up our introduction to our Letterland friends this week (we met Yellow Yo-yo Man and Zig Zig Zebra yesterday) and will begin a more indepth exploration of our friends and their sounds later on in the week. 

Writing

In writing, we are continuing to focus communicating our ideas/thoughts with a combination of pictures, labeling, and sentences. 

Sight Words

Our new sight words is week are: This, is, my

Ask your child what the gestures are for these words and challenge them to identify these words in books and other real world examples.

Math

In math this week, we have been talking about how two groups of numbers can be equal even if they arranged in different ways. For example, a group of 8 can be arranged in a line or scattered, yet both groups are equal. We used our knowledge of one-to-one correspondence (touch counting) to count each group, ensuring that indeed they were groups of 8. Lastly, we talked about how to keep track of items that we are counting (especially if it is scattered). We decided that making a mark (we used a pencil) on the item that we counted helps us to keep track of what item we counted (and not accidentally double-count). 

Homework

Homework will be going home for the first time on Friday. You will find a large yellow envelope with a parent letter on the front that explains how our class homework will work for the remainder of the year. Inside the envelope, you will find the weekly homework assignments/materials. Please know that your child's reading homework is a direct reflection of their specific assessment data, and is intended to support your child in mastering quarterly goals. The homework envelope is should be returned the following Friday with the completed work inside. Please email me should you have any questions

What Does This Paper With Assessment Information Mean?
On Friday, you will find a form sharing some of your child's assessment data from "mClass" in your child's Friday folder. "mClass" is one of the resources we use to collect data during 'Staggered Entry' at the beginning of August.
Some of this data includes:
-Letter Naming Fluency (how many letters can a student correctly identify in a minute)
-First Letter Sound Fluency (identify the first sound in a word such as moon)
-Reading Behaviors (using one to one correspondance while reading, identify the title, maintain the language pattern when reading, use the picture support to help with unknown words)
I have previously sent home the results of other data taken during this time, which should be reflected in the form going home on Friday. Please call or email me should you have any questions or concerns. 

Good Fit Bags
Now that we have started homework, your child will need a 'Good Fit Bag'. What is a 'Good Fit Bag', you ask? It is a sturdy bag that students will use to store books that are on their reading level for the duration of the year. I find that the medium sized reusable shopping bags work well, and can stand up to the wear and tear of the year. To get the kids excited, you may want to have them decorate their bags (it is totally up to you). Please turn in the bags by next Friday, September 13th. 

Thank You

Thank you to Mrs.Riggs and Ms. Kozlowski for sending in goodies for our custodians for 'Custodian Appreciation Week'. You still have time to send in a snack if you want, as we are giving our goodie basket to them on Friday.

A BIG thank you to Ms.Tribble (ripping out our math pages), Mrs. Clem (putting together our homework), and Mrs. Melton (putting together our class directory) for helping out our class. I literally could not do it without you:-) 

Don't Forget

-This Friday: Spirit Day and our Coin Drive begins
-This Saturday: 'Beautification Day' from 9am-12pm. Come out and help make Banks Road look it's best! Any student/family who helps out will earn a 'Compass Coin' for their class

-Next Week: Spirit Week (see the previous post for each day's special activity)