Collier County Public Schools
March 2021
K-5 ELA Instructional Materials
This week, samples of the new K-5 ELA instructional materials that are being considered for District adoption were sent to all elementary schools. Principals were asked to place these materials in an area that is accessible for teacher review throughout the day. Additionally, an email was sent to all elementary teachers that included a Powerpoint (click here) with an overview of the new B.E.S.T. Standards and the CCPS Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool.
Selecting new materials is always an important task, but this year is especially critical as we prepare to implement the new B.E.S.T. ELA Standards which require explicit and systematic foundational skills instruction in the primary grades and core instruction that is centered around high-quality, complex texts that build knowledge and are worthy of students' time and attention. Additionally, CCPS has placed a high priority on ensuring that instructional materials represent a range of cultural and linguistic diversity to provide students with "windows and mirrors" through which they can view and understand the experiences of others, as well as themselves. (Use this link to learn more.)
We hope that all of you will engage in the District ELA instructional materials adoption process by reviewing the Powerpoint information and the sample materials, and by providing your feedback on our brief survey. The deadline for submitting your feedback is March 4th.
Pre-K Programs
English Language Arts
Kindergarten -
In kindergarten, students are still developing and applying phonemic awareness skills. They are working to increase their understanding and application of phonetic skills in reading and writing. They will focus on double S, F, and Z, plurals, verbs and special vowel combinations (e.g., -ill, -oll, -ell, etc.). Students will continue to develop reading comprehension by identifying the author and illustrator of a text and defining the role of each in presenting ideas or information using texts, including If You Could Go to Antarctica. Texts such as Abuela will be used to support students to recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems). They will be comparing and contrasting the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories. Text to support this is Max Takes the Train. Reading Mayday! Mayday! A Coast Guard Rescue will provide students opportunities to identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.
First Grade -
In first grade, students are beginning to learn about diphthongs and exploring the exceptions to murmur diphthongs. They will also be identifying root words, prefixes and suffixes which increases vocabulary and supports spelling. Students will continue to develop reading comprehension by using illustrations and details in a text to describe the key details using text such as, I’m a Caterpillar. Reading Where Are My Animal Friends will provide students the opportunity to describe characters, settings, and major events. Students will also be identifying words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses using text including, Mama’s Birthday Present. Additionally, this month, student will be comparing and contrasting the adventures and experiences of characters. An excellent text to accompany this standard is Cinderella.
Second Grade -
In second grade, students continue phonics work with special vowel sounds and suffixes. Students should be applying these phonetic principles to decode in reading and encode in writing. Students will continue to develop reading comprehension by using information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot. Reading The First Tortilla will provide students an opportunity to continue to develop an understanding of the standard. During the review week, revisiting informational text such as Life Cycle of a Pumpkin will provide an opportunity for students to reread familiar text to facilitate how to explain how specific images contribute to and clarify a text. Students will ask and answer questions to demonstrate an understanding of characters, setting and plot using text such as, Fire Fighter! Additionally this month, students will describe how words and phrases (supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song. An excellent text to accompany this standard is Carl the Complainer.
Gifted Extension Modules -
Modules have been created and shared in Canvas Commons for grades K-5. You can find them by searching Commons Gifted Extension Grade___. They include ELA extension resources for quarters 1-4. Savvas Units 1-6 Resources have been shared in Canvas Commons . You can find them by searching the unit name.
Open Office Hours for teachers grades K–5 Monday, March 1, 2021, 8:30-11:30 and 12:30-3:30. https://colliercountyschools.webex.com/meet/pikeam
Mathematics
Kindergarten -
In kindergarten, students will solve add to and take from problems within 10. These types of addition and subtraction situations have 3 components:
- The start – The initial quantity
- The change - The action upon the initial quantity
- The result - The outcome of the action upon the initial quantity
In add to and take from situations, the start and the result are given. The change is unknown and is what the students are solving for.
- Add To Situation Example: There are three students on the swings. Then some students join them. Now there are seven students on the swings. How many students joined them?
- Take From Situation Example: Maisy has six strawberries in a bowl. She eats some. She now has two strawberries in the bowl. How many strawberries did Maisy eat?
First Grade -
In first grade, students will understand addition and subtraction with tens and ones. They will represent adding and subtracting tens and multiples of ten from decade numbers, add a two-digit number and a one-digit number by making a ten, and use mental math to find ten less and ten more. Students will use a one hundred chart, number lines, and equations to add and subtract.
Second Grade -
In second grade, students will subtract three-digit numbers. By this time, students should have a solid understanding of place value. This understanding is the basis from which students determine whether regrouping is needed when subtracting. They regroup either 1 hundred as 10 tens or 1 ten as 10 ones, or both. After regrouping, including in regrouping numbers with one or two digits that are zeros, students subtract to find the difference, showing the process in a written algorithm.
Teacher Resources -
The Professional Learning Videos located in HMH Ed are included with and aligned to content presented in every module. Each features a teacher or HMH author working with students engaging with actual content from the program. The videos include modeling and discussion of effective teaching practices and feature the Language Routines and Talk Moves strategies. These strategies provide opportunities for student reasoning and discourse to occur during math instruction.
Science
Kindergarten -
In kindergarten, students will be able to understand that things move in different ways and students will be able to understand that a push or a pull can change the way an object is moving. Students will begin their space unit and be able to understand the Law of Gravity, be able to recognize the repeating pattern of day and night by observing that the Sun can only be seen in the daytime and the moon can sometimes be seen at night and sometimes during the day, and be able to understand that some objects, as seen from Earth, appear far away, nearby, small and big.
- Check out CPALMS student tutorial Gravity: Ouch! My Head! to help support the understanding of the Law of Gravity.
- Looking for additional resources to support your unit on Space. Check out Space Place at NASA Science! Select Universe and scroll to the bottom and you will find information on gravity, stars, etc. Please be sure to review content to ensure its alignment to your kindergarten benchmarks.
First Grade -
In first grade, students will be able to understand that water, rocks, soil and living organisms are found on Earth’s surface. Students will also be able to understand that some things in the world around us happen fast and some happen slowly. Finally, students will begin to make observations and differentiate between living and nonliving things using their five senses and recognize that all plants and animals, including humans, need basic necessities of air, water, food and space.
The following are literacy connection resources that can be used for Science integration into other areas of instruction:
- Comprehension Passage - Readworks.org - Too Much Rain
- Suggested Formative Assessment Strategy: Annotated Student Drawings - Annotated Student Drawings are student- made, labeled illustrations that visually represent and describe students’ thinking about scientific concepts. Younger students may verbally describe and name parts of their drawings while the teacher annotates them. This strategy may be used as a tool to observe progress toward mastery of standard (s) taught in the month of March.
Second Grade -
In second grade, students will be able to understand and describe major stages in the life cycle of plants and animals. Students will begin the weather unit and be able to measure and compare temperatures taken every day at the same time and compare and describe changing patterns in nature that repeat themselves.
- As a reminder, this is the first year that life cycles are formally taught to students. Previous grade levels may have spent some time observing the growth and development of plants and animals, but not the entire life cycle.
- Suggested Writing Activity for Life Cycles: Create a tree map or graphic organizer classifying the parts of a particular life cycle. Students should use their map to write an explanatory piece educating their reader on a chosen life cycle.
2nd Grade Giraffe ZooCon is March 26, 2021 @9am. Please see the Grade 2 Channel in the Elementary Science O365 Team for all information regarding ZooCon, including links for submitting questions and how to view the LIVE broadcast!
Health
General Health Education Reminders:
- 4 (50 minute) lessons per quarter provided
- ”Chunked” knowledge and skills detailed in Academic Performance Scales
- District provided full modules/lessons/content/scales and activities each quarter in Canvas Commons
- Lesson Guides to match Modules available for Q3 in SharePoint
- Updated LGs in FOCUS
- Shared through Reading Coaches, Newsletters, and Commons
Social Studies
March Character Education Trait - Honesty
Kindergarten -
In kindergarten, students will focus on the economics benchmarks for the first half of March to learn about earning money and basic needs and wants. Students will then shift to learning about Medal of Honor Day as they focus on stories of the past. This is a great fit for the March character trait of honesty. (SS.K.E.1.3, SS.K.E.1.4, SS.K.A.2.4)
Students will be able to:
Recognize that people work to earn money to buy things they need or want
Identify the difference between basic needs and wants
Listen and retell stories about people in the past and identify the character traits that the stories show
First Grade -
In first grade, students will focus on comparing life now with life in the past using terms related to sequential order. Students will use primary sources to learn about Medal of Honor Day on March 25th. Finally, students will focus on geography benchmarks and learn about the key elements of maps and globes. (SS.1.A.1.1, SS.1.A.2.2, SS.1.A.3.1, SS.1.G.1.2)
Students will be able to:
Develop an understanding of a primary source while learning about Medal of Honor Day
Compare life now with life in the past
Use terms related to time and sequentially order events that have occurred in school, home, and community
Identify the key elements of maps and globes
Second Grade -
In second grade, students will focus on the cultural influences and contributions of immigrants today and then use time sequence terms and primary sources to demonstrate how change happens over time. (SS.2.A.1.1, SS.2.A.2.7, SS.2.A.2.8, SS.2.A.3.1)
Students will be able to:
Describe why immigration continues and explain the cultural influence and contributions of immigrants today
Use time sequence terms and primary sources to demonstrate how change happens over time
Reminders:
March – Women's History Month
March 25 – Medal of Honor Day
Resources available in:
Grade-level curriculum guides
Canvas Modules
District website (Women's History Resource Packet)
Visual Art
Teachers are reminded to frequent our district curriculum map resources in the CCPS District Visual Art team in O365 for up-to-date guides and resources connected to Davis Digital, our online instructional material for art grades K-5
A link to the Moving Forward document for CCPS visual and performing arts teachers is linked HERE for guidance regarding health and safety with respect to equipment and other class resources
Music & Art Supplements — a reminder to all staff to use the current version of the art and music supplement form found HERE. Please disregard all paper versions of this form and use only the one linked above from this point forward. Thank you!
There are numerous resources available in Teams for guidance on the VAM portfolio process for fine arts teachers. Please contact Skip Pardee and/or Toni McGlynn for assistance navigating those resources or the portfolio portal in Data Warehouse at any time.
Reminder: Your school’s submission to the Spring 2021 Superintendent’s Art Gallery is due Friday, March 12th, 2021 to Skip Pardee at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Administrative Center. Please check district email and TEAMS for submission guidelines and virtual display information. Thank you!
Our Fine Arts district webpage is currently undergoing a make-over. We invite you to explore www.collierschools.com/finearts in the coming days/weeks to learn more about our talented students and teachers and the robust arts programs we offer in CCPS!
Music
Teachers are reminded to frequent our district curriculum map resources in the CCPS District Music team in O365 for up-to-date guides and resources connected to Quaver Music, our online instructional material for music grades K-5
A link to the Moving Forward document for CCPS visual and performing arts teachers is linked HERE for guidance regarding health and safety with respect to equipment and other class resources
Music & Art Supplements — a reminder to all staff to use the current version of the art and music supplement form found HERE. Please disregard all paper versions of this form and use only the one linked above from this point forward. Thank you!
There are numerous resources available in Teams for guidance on the VAM portfolio process for fine arts teachers. Please contact Skip Pardee and/or Toni McGlynn for assistance navigating those resources or the portfolio portal in Data Warehouse at any time
Our Fine Arts district webpage is currently undergoing a make-over. We invite you to explore www.collierschools.com/finearts in the coming days/weeks to learn more about our talented students and teachers and the robust arts programs we offer in CCPS!
Physical Education
Use provided resources to “check in” on learning and comprehension. This poster provided can be used with a question for the day to continue the learning process and new ways to apply the learning. Great use for a Start Up or Close Up Question!
Examples:
- Which skill-related fitness helps us when we are dribbling?
- During the cool down portion of our lesson where we are focused on breathing and stretching, which components of health and fitness are highlighted?
- When we complete our fitness warm ups, which components of fitness are we utilizing?
Q3 should include instruction and assessment based on the following Learning Goals and Targets addressed in Performance Scales:
PS 27 – (K-2) Successfully strike an object using both body parts and long-handled implements.
PS 28 – (K-2) Recognize/Identify/Explain a proper warm up and cool down for several specific activities.
PS 29 – (1) Dribble an object with hands or feet demonstrating control in personal and general space
PS 30 – (K-2) Discuss the importance of hydration, sun protection, water safety and pedestrian responsibility
PS 32 – (K-2) Identify opportunities for involvement in physical activities before, during or after the school day.
PS 34 – (K) Identify a benefit of trying new movement and motor skills even when not successful on the first try.
PS 35 – (2) Describe the personal feelings resulting from challenges, successes, and failures in physical activity.
Instructional Resource
March Curriculum Highlights
Monthly Digital Citizenship focus (incorporate into daily instruction) News and Media Literacy - move forward with the concept of Creative Credit talking about general News and Media Literacy and talk to our younger students about giving credit to the original sources as you guide them through basic research. Here are a variety of great lesson resources from Common Sense Media for primary grades to help support this important digital citizenship focus - Link
March Units
Research – Modules for grades K-2 are located in Commons. Utilize the final weeks of this unit in March to help students complete guided research using our District subscription resources in preparation for their upcoming multi-media project. Be sure to provide guided opportunities for students to organize their research utilizing known tools such as MS Word templates. Note that you have up to two upcoming unplanned sessions to complete unit work or extend learning for Q2.
Digital Innovation Best Practices
Canvas - External Tools Assignment
Did you know that you can create an assignment in Canvas with a pre-made format for your students using O365 applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.? It is easy to do. Simply create the document in the application of your choice, save it to YOUR One Drive and then create an assignment in Canvas with the Submission Type as: External Tool>O365 Cloud Assignment. This will put an individual copy of the document in each students OneDrive with easy access and submission through Canvas. Click on the Link for step-by-step directions.
Microsoft Forms
- Microsoft FORMS is part of the Office 365 suite of programs and is available to all CCPS (Collier County Public Schools) staff and students. Go to the Office 365 icon on the desktop, log in using CCPS credentials and select Forms from the left side navigation bar.
- Microsoft FORMS offers “quizzes” with automatic grading features and “forms” for non-graded surveys that graphically display data in real-time. Graphed responses are provided to the form owner(s) in real-time and to the respondent in either real time or when the owner posts the scores. That option is found in the settings in the top right corner of the interface.
- Additionally, FORMS, like most office 365 programs, contains the Immersive Reader feature that provides visual and auditory support options. These features include the ability to read the question aloud and in multiple language options. A full self-paced training is available in the Microsoft Education Center - Link
- Click on the Link for a detailed document highlighting the different question types and graphical data representations created in Forms.
School Counseling/Social Emotional Learning
District SEL Theme for March: Responsible Decision-Making
Responsible Decision-Making is the ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacity to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.
Examples of responsible decision-making include:
Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness
Identifying solutions for personal and social problems
Learning to make a reasoned judgement after analyzing information, data, and facts
Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one’s actions
Recognizing how critical thinking skills are useful both inside and outside of school
Reflecting on one’s role to promote personal, family, and community well-being
Evaluating personal, interpersonal, community, and institutional impacts
You can help your students learn to make responsible decisions by teaching them to:
- Identify the problem
- Analyze the situation
- Brainstorm solutions and solve the problem
- Consider ethical responsibility
- Evaluate and reflect
March Events:
Gender Equality Month
Middle Level Education Month
1 Self-Injury Awareness Day
21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
31 Transgender Day of Visibility
Resources:
Mental Health Supports for Teachers: https://teach.com/resources/mental-health-resources-teachers-school-staff/
CCPS Emotional Wellness Program (Free Benefits): https://www.collierschools.com/Page/12571
"Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what's left of you." - Katie Reed
Teaching and Learning
Email: TeachingandLearning@collierschools.com
Website: https://www.collierschools.com/Page/169
Location: 5775 Osceola Trail, Naples, FL, USA
Phone: 239-377-0001
Twitter: @CCPS_Curriculum