Students enjoyed the Book Parade last week!
During Trimester 3, we have been looking at handwriting readiness and letter formation. These skills are always being taught in class and reinforced during Writing Workshop and Literacy Stations by reminding students of the steps to form each lowercase letter. Some students may need extra practice at home and for that reason we will send a workbook for them to practice writing certain letters.
- Each page of this workbook has the steps to form the letter and spaces for students to practice. Your role at home is to support your child by reminding them of the following:
- Make sure your body is ready to write. Posture is very important when writing, as well as paper placement (see the picture for reference)
- Start your letters at the top
- Say the steps as you form each letter
- If you make a mistake, try again!
In class we teach for transfer by having students practice letters in isolation and then using that letter in their writing. For example, if a student needs to practice how to form letter b, they work on forming the letter many times and then they are asked to write words that begin with that letter. Once they have a list of 4 or 5 words they write sentences using those words.
This home practice should last 8 to 10 minutes including the workbook page and the writing activity. As this is a differentiated activity, your child will be working on letters we have noticed they need to practice more. We will add the date to the page we’re asking them to work on each day.
If you have any questions or comments about this home practice, please send us an email!
Egypt Culture!
Egypt Festival is this Thursday, April 19th. Please click here to see a letter with all the information for that day. These suggestions are for kindergarten families:
- If your child chooses to wear a special outfit on this day, please make sure they also have a change of clothes. In our experience, students may feel uncomfortable wearing clothes other than their usual active clothes. (KGS has PE on that day, so don’t forget to send PE uniforms as well, please!)
- The food offered at lunch is always delicious! However, we may have picky eaters. You know your child best! Consider sending a packed lunch from home just in case they refuse to eat most of the food offered.
- We have signed up to visit the vendors at 10:40 (KGB and KGC) and 11:40 (KGS). Parents are welcome to join the classes if they want to buy items with their children. If you are unable to do so, you can look at the other available times on the schedule shared.
- Dismissal will be from our classrooms. If you choose to attend the closing ceremony, we ask that you walk back to the classrooms with us to help us ensure the safety of all students.
A message from the Library
Used Book Sale, May 8 to 10
We are getting ready for our annual used book sale, this year from May 8 to 10. We welcome donations of used books for all ages in saleable condition. This is a good time for departing families to dispose of books before packing. We will soon have a donation box at the front gate.
Learning This Week
Reading Workshop
This week is the last week of our fantastic reading unit called Readers Read, Think, and Talk About Books! Our young readers are becoming skilled at making connections, retelling, sharing ideas with partners, and more. This week, students will push their thinking further by giving partnerships agency in what they read, how they read it, and what to do after reading. We will also return to snap words and discuss how to read inflected endings to build automaticity. Last, we’ll have a low-key celebration to complete this fun unit of study.
Writing Workshop
Writers are working hard as they revise their stories in this second bend. This week, they will elaborate by adding fancy words that refer to setting, feelings, actions and sounds. They will do this by practicing storytelling with their partners and noticing the words that make their partners go “wow!”, these fancy words also make for powerful endings. Writers will learn how to create a great ending with words and pictures.
As students write their stories, we continue to meet with them one-on-one to support their growth and set goals. In this unit we are raising the expectations in terms of writing conventions and punctuation. Many of our mid-workshop teaching points are about how to end a sentence with punctuation, writing lowercase letters unless capitals are needed and adding spaces between words.
Math
This week mathematicians will start working on Topic C by building a Rekenrek to 20, which they use to count and model numbers for the balance of the year. They will deepen their understanding of the composition and decomposition of teen numbers as 10 ones and some more ones by showing, counting, and writing the numbers 11 to 20 using a variety of configurations: vertical towers, linear, array, and circular configurations. In each configuration, students count to answer “how many?” questions and realize that whatever the configuration, a teen number can be decomposed into 10 ones and some ones.
Science
This week in science, we will read more about solid materials and explore their properties by adding words like “flexible,” “absorbent,” “transparent,” and “rigid” to our vocabulary.
Students will get their hands on these amazing materials and create posters with the material itself, properties of the material, pictures of the material, and what the material could be used for. These kids are becoming materials experts!
Please continue to send materials to school. We have lots of paper/cardboard and could use more glass, wood, plastic, metal and rubber. Thank you!
Circles
This week, students will building community during circles by discussing and investigating the CAC core value of courage. They will be exploring what courage means to them and what implications this core value has on their learning and their relationships. For example will be completing stem sentences such as “I am courageous when…”
I try to do something that I’ve never tried before
I feel afraid but I know what to do to feel better
I speak in front of others even if I feel shy
We appreciate the time you take to read our newsletters and stay informed of what’s happening in our grade!
Ms. Ana, Mr. Balazs and Ms. Paola
No comments:
Post a Comment