Dear Families,
Here is our week in review:
It was great seeing you at our conferences last Friday and this week. Thank you for taking the time to meet up and chat about your child’s learning and life at school.
Social-Emotional Learning:
This week, the students continued to apply the listening skills we have learned in the last few weeks. They practiced whole body listening and eyes on the speaker in all classes when adults and peers were sharing. They are making such amazing progress and learning so much from each other when they are “brain in”, have eyes on the speaker and showing calm, quiet bodies.
This week, the students learned about using their assertive voice. They learned that it is okay for them to stand up for themselves and say no when unexpected behaviors occur or when they are distracted by others. We practiced using a polite assertive voice in different situations. The students also practiced that they are standing up for themselves and asserting their needs when they ignore unexpected behaviors, give each other friendly reminders to follow the group plan or move to a better, quieter learning spot. They are making incredible progress in this area too and work together beautifully. This week, the students also practiced “reading the room”. A polite way to remind a peer to follow the group plan is to ask the peer to “read the room” to observe the behavior and actions of the rest of the class. You might want to try this at home too?
The students filled the classroom buzzy jar again for being safe, kind and responsible. This time our celebration was to bring a stuffed animal to school. We had so much fun together!
You Can:
Your child has another HomeLink from our SEL Curriculum Second Step in the Home Folder today. As always, it is optional to do this at home but we encourage families to engage in these conversations at home too. Not only can you connect with our learning goals and social language, you can also implement strategies for home too! This week’s HomeLink reflects our work around focusing attention, something that the students have worked on for quite some time now. They are experts and I am sure they will teach you all about these strategies at home!
Reading:
This week, the students had the opportunity to rotate through different stations during our reading block. Sometimes the students will meet with the teacher/adult and receive targeted, differentiated reading instruction to meet the reading needs of the members of the group. Sometimes, the students will engage in independent reading; a time when they are encouraged to read “just right” books (books assigned by the teacher/adults to reinforce phonological skills taught). The students will also engage in choice books during these times. Other times, the students will choose from a variety of options in a menu, ranging from handwriting, phonological awareness-building games and reading activities. We started our new reading routines this week and the students did an outstanding job. They were so engaged in our new hands-on games and rotating between groups.
You can:
You can support your child’s emerging reading skills at home too by encouraging your child to read every day. If you read together with your child this week, think about how you can encourage your child to pay close attention to the sounds the letters make. How about playing an alphabet scavenger hunt? Ask your child to find a particular letter on the page. Make it more challenging by asking your child to say the sound a particular letter says.
Thank you for accessing Lexia at home. Lexia is a fabulous online reading program that promotes student learning in phonics, phonological awareness, fluency and comprehension. We hope to send home decodable texts/books next week. Stay tuned for more on this next week.
Writing:
This week, the students on Harmony House rotated through their different spelling groups in our Fundations classes. They practiced finger-spacing between words, proper lower (and upper) case letter writing and tapping out the sounds they hear in CVC words. CVC words are short vowel words, with a beginning consonant, followed by a vowel and another consonant. Some of the words we practiced this week were: nap, bin, fin, cat, dog, nut, tub, red and bat.
You Can:
You can support your child’s emerging phonological awareness and skills at home too. Ask your child to explain how we tap out the sounds at school. Ask your child to isolate the sounds too. For example, if you say the word nap, what is the middle/vowel sound? What is the beginning sound? Ending sound? Notice how you ask for the sound, not the letter. What happens if you replace the /n/ sound in nap with the /m/ sound? What is the new word? The students love these games!
Math:
This week, first grade mathematicians continued to rotate through our math learning stations. They are truly amazing mathematicians and so focused and engaged. We continued to build automaticity and fluency in partners to 10 (and 20) using 10-frames (and 20-frames). The students learned two new games which encourage cognitive flexibility with addition and numbers. They used dominoes and addition bingo cards to learn math strategies together.
You can:
You can support your child’s flexibility with numbers by emphasizing the strategies used to solve a particular math problem. For example, if your child is solving 9+6 at home, rather than asking for “the answer” (which we call the sum), ask your child to explain how the problem was solved. If your child shares that he/she used his/her fingers to count, encourage your child to find another way to solve the same problem. We have discovered multiple pathways together as a class already in our daily Number Talks. The students have discovered many different addition strategies already. “Counting on” is a favorite. Counting on promotes number efficiency as the students are encouraged to start with the greater number and “count on” from that number to find the sum. Another favorite strategy in class is finding “double facts” first and then adding (or subtracting) the remainder. Some students also anchor to 10 first as a strategy. I tell the students that the number 10 is my BFF so I try to find 10 anywhere I can!
Technology:
This week, the students used SeeSaw, our online classroom digital community. Ms. Scott, our fantastic ABS Digital Learning Coach, helped us access SeeSaw and use some of the tools available. The students learned how to draw and write on SeeSaw. They also learned about the importance of finding a balance between using online activities/tools and Offline activities and tools. I will send information about how you can access SeeSaw from home soon. I know some families used it last year in Kindergarten. We all have new classroom accounts so please wait for new access codes and links. Thank you.
You Can:
You can support your child’s emerging understanding of technology usage by creating a schedule that works for you and your family. Finding a balance is key. Every family has different rules and expectations on how often, and how long, their children access technology. Let me know if I can help.
Have a great weekend,
Maria
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