And by summer, I mean spring! It's been a while since my last post - assessments, report cards, spring break. Here's an update on all things Kindergarten.
In reading, students have been working on different reading strategies. We have been discussing setting of stories, sequencing stories (with beginning, middle, end), problem and solution, characters, non fiction and fiction. Our story of the week is called Abuela, which is about a little girl and her grandma and the real and imaginary adventures that they go on together. There are a lot of Spanish words in the story, which ties into our unit on Family and intro to World Languages. We have been working on segmenting sounds in words, blending sounds to make words, and reading words by sight. Most students are working on blending sounds and going back and rereading fluently. They are also beginning to encounter many blended initial sounds such as th-, sh-, ch-, etc. It's pretty amazing to see how far they have come since the beginning of the year with their reading.
Another strategy that students have been working on is cross checking. Readers use cross checking when they come to a word that they are unsure of. Some of my students get to a word they don't know and mumble something or skip it all together. I have been trying to get them to slow down and think about the word and think while they read. I want students to make sure that the words and pictures read make sense and match the letters on the page.
In writing, students have been working on personal narratives, focusing on the inside (how they felt) and outside story (what happened). We have learned about pronouns (my friend and I) and singular versus plural. I have been encouraging students to make a goal and focus on it while they write. Although most students know that there should be capital letters and the beginning of sentences and punctuation at the end, they still sometimes forget to apply it in their writing during writer's workshop. I also really want students to be writing phonetically by the end of the year. So I have been encouraging them to really stretch out their words and write down EVERY sound that they hear.
In math, students are working on addition and subtraction, doubles addition, estimation, measuring, money and coin value to 20 cents, math story problems, and counting (number recognition by sight).
In social studies, we will be learning and talking our families. Thanks for sending in the sheets about your family. I learned so much! We have discussed what makes a family and talked about different sizes of families. We looked for pictures of families in magazines and then identified how many people are in our family. We'll be discussing what makes our family special.
Important dates to note:
Friday, May 6 - Mother's Day Tea 1-1:40
Friday, May 27 – Zoo Field Trip (all day)
Friday, June 3 – Donuts with Dads 8-9:30
Thursday, June 9 – Kindergarten Promotion 9 a.m.
Mrs. Bussey, one of the kindergarten teachers has organized a battery recycling drive for next week in celebration of Earth Day. Forms went home today, please email her if you have questions.
Thank you so much for your support of Run Llewellyn last week. What a fun day! Please send in your forms and money as soon as possible. I was so proud of my kiddos. They really ran the whole 30 minutes!
As we near closer to the end of the year, yes we will be counting down, most of you know that I will be teaching first grade next year. I am very excited for this move! Unfortunately, I will not be staying in my very large and very spacious classroom and I am considering not having a traditional set up next year. What this means: I don't want 30+ desks taking up all of my classroom, so I plan to have a more flexible seating arrangement and various seating options. If you are planning on getting rid of tables/seats from your homes this summer, would you consider donating them to my classroom? Search flexible seating arrangements if I have completely confused you. Tables low to the floor (or tall tables for standing), coffee tables, comfy chairs, etc.
Ok, I think that is all for now. Report cards went home on Friday. You can keep the envelopes as the end of the year report cards are mailed home. Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather today. Late opening for students tomorrow.
In reading, students have been working on different reading strategies. We have been discussing setting of stories, sequencing stories (with beginning, middle, end), problem and solution, characters, non fiction and fiction. Our story of the week is called Abuela, which is about a little girl and her grandma and the real and imaginary adventures that they go on together. There are a lot of Spanish words in the story, which ties into our unit on Family and intro to World Languages. We have been working on segmenting sounds in words, blending sounds to make words, and reading words by sight. Most students are working on blending sounds and going back and rereading fluently. They are also beginning to encounter many blended initial sounds such as th-, sh-, ch-, etc. It's pretty amazing to see how far they have come since the beginning of the year with their reading.
Another strategy that students have been working on is cross checking. Readers use cross checking when they come to a word that they are unsure of. Some of my students get to a word they don't know and mumble something or skip it all together. I have been trying to get them to slow down and think about the word and think while they read. I want students to make sure that the words and pictures read make sense and match the letters on the page.
In writing, students have been working on personal narratives, focusing on the inside (how they felt) and outside story (what happened). We have learned about pronouns (my friend and I) and singular versus plural. I have been encouraging students to make a goal and focus on it while they write. Although most students know that there should be capital letters and the beginning of sentences and punctuation at the end, they still sometimes forget to apply it in their writing during writer's workshop. I also really want students to be writing phonetically by the end of the year. So I have been encouraging them to really stretch out their words and write down EVERY sound that they hear.
In math, students are working on addition and subtraction, doubles addition, estimation, measuring, money and coin value to 20 cents, math story problems, and counting (number recognition by sight).
In social studies, we will be learning and talking our families. Thanks for sending in the sheets about your family. I learned so much! We have discussed what makes a family and talked about different sizes of families. We looked for pictures of families in magazines and then identified how many people are in our family. We'll be discussing what makes our family special.
Important dates to note:
Friday, May 6 - Mother's Day Tea 1-1:40
Friday, May 27 – Zoo Field Trip (all day)
Friday, June 3 – Donuts with Dads 8-9:30
Thursday, June 9 – Kindergarten Promotion 9 a.m.
Mrs. Bussey, one of the kindergarten teachers has organized a battery recycling drive for next week in celebration of Earth Day. Forms went home today, please email her if you have questions.
Thank you so much for your support of Run Llewellyn last week. What a fun day! Please send in your forms and money as soon as possible. I was so proud of my kiddos. They really ran the whole 30 minutes!
As we near closer to the end of the year, yes we will be counting down, most of you know that I will be teaching first grade next year. I am very excited for this move! Unfortunately, I will not be staying in my very large and very spacious classroom and I am considering not having a traditional set up next year. What this means: I don't want 30+ desks taking up all of my classroom, so I plan to have a more flexible seating arrangement and various seating options. If you are planning on getting rid of tables/seats from your homes this summer, would you consider donating them to my classroom? Search flexible seating arrangements if I have completely confused you. Tables low to the floor (or tall tables for standing), coffee tables, comfy chairs, etc.
Ok, I think that is all for now. Report cards went home on Friday. You can keep the envelopes as the end of the year report cards are mailed home. Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather today. Late opening for students tomorrow.