Welcome to Our Classroom Webpage!

Welcome to Our Classroom Webpage!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Update

I apologize I haven't posted in a while! I have been trying to get photos to post and I am not having any luck! I am hoping I can get them through tonight as I am on my third attempt! I will update you via writing and hopefully post pictures later!

Literacy

Students have been reading for 15 minutes everyday! We have been working hard at building stamina with our word work. On Friday students reached 12 minutes!!! They are doing awesome! Tomorrow I will be introducing our word work bins. Each bin has an activity in it around letters, sounds, words, rhyming, beginning sounds and/or other skills we are learning. Students will choose one bin per person and work on the given activity during our word work time. We have been practicing rhyming- listening to stories, playing games and matching rhyming pairs. We will continue working with rhyming this week! 

We also learned about our cafe menu. Our cafe menu is similar to a menu at a restaurant, but rather than food choices, students have a menu of reading strategies that we practice all year. In the Friday folder, you may have noticed a letter about Listening for Understanding. This is one of many strategies that goes on our cafe menu. 

In writing, students have been working in the writing workshop to produce pieces of writing. Students are at different places  but we practice making our picture match our words, adding details, and using sight words/stretching words out to produce writing. A few students a day also get the opportunity to share their writing at the end of each workshop. 

So far, we have learned the letters m, a and d. We have practiced hearing these sounds in the beginning and end of words. This week we will be working with the letters s and t. Students have also been practicing handwriting with these letters using D'Nealian font. 

Math

Students have been working with numbers 0-5. We have been counting sets, matching sets, sorting objects, counting to 100, counting forwards and backwards. Students also worked with partners to find hidden partners of 5 (eg. 2 and 3 or 4 and 1). We have also been working on fluently representing numbers with their fingers and identifying numerals 0-5. Students also practiced and demonstrated ways to track counting. 

Science/Social Studies

We began our social skills program called Second Step. The unit we are working in now helps students with being a good listener and focusing their attention. We also continue to build our classroom community and work through difficult social situations around friendship, sharing and kind words. In science, we continue to learn about pumpkins, which we will wrap up this week with our fall festival! 

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Classroom Information

.::Academic Structures::.

First and foremost, I believe that students learn best through play. My kindergarteners get at least 45 minutes/day of free play in the classroom. This does not include recess or U-Arts. In addition, I try my best to make learning fun, engaging and interactive. I also believe that students need to talk and share and communicate their ideas and thinking. Their voices matter!

Literacy
In kindergarten, your students will be participating in a literacy structure called the Daily 5. In this structure students gain access to many important skills such as:
* Independence
* Routines
* Choice over learning
* Stamina
* Engagement in hands on learning
* Reading, writing and working with words
Students will also participate in daily phonics lessons that support students learning around letters, sounds and making words. As the year progresses and foundational skills and routines have been established, students will participate in guided reading groups.

Math
In math, students will participate in hands on learning through the support of the Engage NY/Eureka curriculum. Students will begin with numbers 0-5 to build a foundation of structures and routines that will support their work with larger numbers and more complex concepts.


Writing
Students will take part in writing each and every day through the structure of the writing workshop. Writing is critical in early development. It allows students to express themselves, communicate ideas and thinking, and make connections with their learning throughout the other practices.

Science/Social Studies
Students will also learn about and explore several hands on engaging concepts in science and social studies based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards. These activities will include expansion of vocabulary and understanding, projects, field-trips and a lot of fun! Some topics include:
* Apples and Pumpkins
* Classroom Community
* Friendship and Kindness
* Community Helpers
* Maps
* Animals in Winter
* Seasons/Weather
* Force and Motion
* Earth Day
* Plants

.:: Classroom Management::.

Responsive Classroom
The St. Johnsbury School is working under a consistent structure called Responsive Classroom. Responsive Classroom supports natural/logical consequences (ie. something spills, you clean it up). We work to build trust and relationships with one another. We do not all need to be friends, but we do all need to be friendly and respectful. Responsive Classroom supports a proactive approach of understanding children and their development, making learning fun, taking body/mind breaks, movement, singing, dancing and putting children first. It believes in explicitly teaching skills and expectations so students understand what is expected of them and there are no surprises. This model can be described as a "go slow, to go fast". I have been using this structure for 4 years now and I believe that it supports the needs of students.

"Safe Space"
This year, I will be implementing a "safe space" in the classroom. This safe space will be a designated place in the classroom students can use for several purposes. Students may use it to calm down if they are having a strong emotion, or if they are having a hard time focusing. It is a proactive, sensory based space that supports students needs. It is not a punishment and will be accessible to all students. Stay tuned for more information later on this year!