Kindergarten
September 15th
Math
We are continuing our math unit, Numbers to 10. We slowly have integrated higher numbers by building on their understanding of the numbers we have already taught. We have introduced five frames that allow students to understand how numbers like 6 and 7 build from 5. This will help students to be able to add from 5 instead of needed to recount every number. We have also spent time practicing numeral writing and recognition. Students are developing these skills in small group stations. They are learning how to collaborate, take turns, and show sportsmanship through the games in these stations.
Reading
This week in reading we focused on The Recess Queen. In this story, there is a character named Mean Jean that is the recess queen. She is mean to the kids at recess, until one day Katie Sue came and changed everything. Katie Sue was not afraid of Mean Jean and invited her to play. In the end, Mean Jean was no longer mean and recess became fun for everyone. We started by making predictions about what would happen on Katie Sue’s first day of recess. We assumed that she would get hurt and made fun of by Mean Jean but we were surprised that Katie Sue stood up to Mean Jean! Then, we retold the story piece by piece, focusing on the sequence of events in the story. We also looked deeply at Mean Jean and made inferences about why she was being so mean at the beginning of the story. We noticed that at the beginning of the story she did not have any friends and she was being incredibly mean to her peers. At the end of the story, she had friends and was nice. We inferred that she was mean because she had no friends, but once she made friends she was much nicer. Today, we talked about our favorite part of the story. First, we talked with our teams and then we wrote about. Please ask your kids about the story that we focus on each week. Ask them to explain their drawing and writing when they bring it home. They are always so excited to bring it home and share it with you.
Writing
This week as we continued to build our writing stamina, our mini lesson taught how to focus ideas when writing. We looked at our previous writing and 'zoomed in' to find a specific detail we could highlight in our writing. Instead of just writing, "I have a dog." we asked students to describe a characteristic or tell about an activity they do with their dog. This has allowed us to build our stamina in writing by giving a more detailed description to draw and write about.
Phonics and Sight Words
In the afternoon, we have phonics stations that allow students to attain mastery of letter names and sounds. So far we have taught s, a, t, i, and p. We have also introduced the following sight words: I, can, you, are, am, we, red, blue, & yellow. Please continue practicing these words and letters at home!
Reminders
Friday, September 22nd there is no school due to a district-wide School Improvement Day.
Please remember to send a healthy snack every day!