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Hi Parents! I hope you are having a great weekend! Here is what is going on in our class this week:
Word family:-at -In math we will begin working in small groups and differentiated independent centers. We will be focusing on counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s, writing numbers to 20,and counting objects to answer, “How Many?” Eventually students will be counting to 120 by 10’s and 1’s and writing numbers to 120. We will also be working on sorting, counting, and ordering different groups. Students can sort items by color, shape, or size, count how many items are in each group, and put the groups in order from least to greatest or greatest to least. Here is a great game for this: http://www.abcya.com/counting_sorting_comparing.htm At home, please make sure students are practicing counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s every night and practicing writing their numbers 0-20. (Fun ways of writing numbers can be with chalk outside, in sand or shaving cream, on a whiteboard, etc.) Students who need practice can also practice one to one correspondence using the counting strategies below. When students have mastered this, you can practice skip counting by 2, 3, 4, etc. and discuss odd and even numbers. Here are our math standards for this unit: MGSEK.CC.1. Count to 100 by ones and by tens. Extend the counting sequence. MGSE1.NBT.1 Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral. MGSEK.CC.2. Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1). MGSEK.CC.3. Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects). MGSEK.CC.4 Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality. a. When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object. (one-to-one correspondence) b. Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted (cardinality). The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted. c. Understand that each successive number name refers to a quantity that is one larger. MGSEK.MD.3. Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. -In writer’s workshop we will continue our Lucy Calkins narrative unit of study. We will talk about the importance of not getting discouraged if something is too hard to draw or write and that if we have trouble adding details to our words and pictures we can close our eyes to imagine what it looks like. This week we will review “When you are done, you have just begun.” Students can add to their pictures, add to their writing, look over their writing with a partner, or start a new piece. We will also continue to practice stretching out words like a rubber band if students aren’t sure how to spell a word and add labels to our pictures. What you can do at home: have students practice sounding out words and writing down the sounds they hear on paper and draw pictures with details and label their pictures. You can also remind students that when writing, the first letter in a sentence is uppercase and the rest is lower case, there are finger spaces between words, and periods at the end of sentences. -During reading, I will be assessing students’ reading levels. We will also begin our Lucy Calkins “Reading Units of Study.” Students will begin reading/looking at nonfiction (learn about the world) books from their book bins. We will begin by finding environmental print around the school and discussing that we can read the world. We will continue with starting at the cover of the book and making predictions and asking questions about what we are reading and continue reading independently. We will also learn how to read with a partner. What you can do at home: Read every night and ask your child questions about what she/he is reading about. For phonics we will review letters and sounds of c,o, and a. This week we will focus on the letters and sounds of d and g . You can practice these letters at home too. Here is a letter/sound song that really helps students remember their sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTeUONxZYAs -In social studies, we will begin talking about community helpers and how they are similar/different in other communities including other countries around the world, students’ role as a citizen in their community, and the different roles in a community. Students will compare/contrast different pictures of community helpers in different communities. What you can do at home: Discuss the following: Why is it important to be a good citizen? What is a community? What is a community helper? What role do I play in a community? -We will begin our first IB Unit: (Refer to the August Newsletter for more details). Transdisciplinary theme: Who We Are Central Idea: Roles and responsibilities help us make connections. Lines of Inquiry: Different roles in the community (function) Similarities and differences between communities (connection) My role as a citizen in a community (responsibility) Related Concepts: roles, citizenship, relationships Transdisciplinary skills: communication, social, self-management, research Learner Profile: Communicator, thinker Key Concepts: Function, connection, responsibility Attitudes: appreciation, respect, tolerance What you can do at home: Discuss the learner profile words of communicator and thinker and the attitudes of appreciation, respect, and tolerance and how students can display these in their community. As always, please let me know if you have any questions! Alexis Frank
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Hi Parents!
We had a fantastic first week of school and I am looking forward to week number 2! I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. Here is what is going on in our class this week:
- In math, I will be pre-assessing students on the GKIDS baseline assessment and our first math unit of counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s, writing numbers, etc. This information will help me plan for instruction. I will also show students how to work in independent centers during math (students will get a chance to do centers daily) and rotate to my table and Mrs. Gillon’s table. What you can do at home: Have students begin practicing to count to 100 by 1’s and 10’s every night and practice writing their numbers 1-20. In the upcoming math units, students will be working on the first grade standard of counting to 120 by 1’s and 10’s and writing numbers to 120. -In writer’s workshop we will begin our Lucy Calkins narrative unit of study. This is a series of lessons that introduces our writing center, the tools, and how to write about topics we know about. Students will begin working on adding details to words and pictures and labeling the items in their pictures. The Lucy Calkins series also works on having students write across pages like a book so that it is easier for students to organize their ideas. We will create a chart of what to do when students think they are done. “When you are done, you have just begun.” Students can add to their pictures, add to their writing, look over their writing with a partner, or start a new piece. What you can do at home: have students practice sounding out words and writing down the sounds they hear on paper, draw pictures with details, and label the objects in their pictures. -During reading I will be pre-assessing students on letters/letter sounds and sight words. Students will be reading independently and with a partner as well as working in independent centers. I will also be observing student reading behaviors which will also help me plan for instruction. We will also begin practicing our reading routine. - Last week in phonics, we practiced the sound of letter c (as in cat) and writing the upper case and lower case letter c. This week we will be working on the letters o( as in octopus) and a (as in alphabet). What you can do at home: Practice writing uppercase and lowercase letters c, o, and a and review what sounds they make. - In social studies, we will continue to review why rules are made and why they should be followed. Students will also be working on a surprise that you will see at Curriculum Night. As always, please let me know if you have any questions! Alexis Frank Hi Parents!
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! Every week (usually on Sunday) I will send a weekly update via email which includes things such as class sight words and word families for the week, topics we are studying/standards, and important things going on in our classroom/school such as the library, any testing we might be doing, etc. We also have another mode of communication/providing information. Each teacher has a “Weebly” which includes our schedule, class list, homework, and many other resources. This will be updated throughout the year. The weekly update that I send via email every Sunday will also be available on Weebly. You can access our classroom’s Weebly page at the following link: http://frankkindergarten.weebly.com/ This week we will be going over classroom and school rules and procedures. We will also be doing a lot of getting to know you activities. We will be reading stories such as “Chrysanthemum”, “First Day Jitters”, “Wemberly Worried,” and others. I will also be introducing classroom centers- reading center and library, computers, and many more. The kindergarten August newsletter will be coming home in Thursday folders this week and will also be available on the Weebly. Our specials schedule is as follows: Monday-P.E. Tuesday- P.E. Wednesday- No specials(We will be going to the library every other Wednesday during this time. I and will let you know when this begins.) Thursday- Music Friday- Art Please make sure students wear tennis shoes on PE days. Please remember to send a healthy snack each day for your child. You can also send water bottles for your children to keep in their cubbies if you would like, but we do have a water fountain in the classroom. Once we get room parents and our volunteer website up, I will ask for a volunteer each month to send in a snack of some sort for students who forget to bring a snack or don’t have one. Parents have gone to Sam’s or Costco and gotten a box of individually wrapped goldfish, variety granola bars, cheez-its, etc. We will have plenty of volunteer opportunities this year as well. A frequently asked question I get is about birthdays. You are welcome to bring in store bought snacks that don’t contain peanuts to lunch. We ask that you serve the treats towards the end of lunch so students can eat their meal first. Our lunch time every day is from 10:35-11:05. (We eat snack in the afternoon.) This will begin after the first 2 weeks of school. A few important reminders: -Please make sure students only have one book bag tag on their bag that correlates with their mode of transportation home that day. -If a student’s afternoon transportation changes, including after school activities, please be sure to send in a change of dismissal form in students’ folders. I attached a copy for you. -Please make sure to return all paper clipped items in the manila folder to me by this Friday, the 16th. -Please complete the volunteer training at https://www.fultonschools.org/volunteer. This needs to be completed before coming in as mystery reader and volunteering in the school/classroom. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email me! Alexis Frank |
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May 2021
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