Well, the weeks are really flying by now! Here’s an update on what
we’ve been up to!
Literacy: I am
continuing to assess students to gain knowledge on their strengths and weakness
in reading. Hopefully I will have this all wrapped up by the end of the month.
During our literacy block in the morning we are working on making
connections and being able to answer questions about a story. For many, this is
still challenging. I am doing a lot of modeling how to do this. When reading at
home with your child, it would be helpful if you too would model the
connections you make while reading. For example, when reading a story about a
pumpkin patch you might say, “Oh! I remember when I was young, I went to a
pumpkin patch too. It was a lot of fun and I ran around in the corn maze just
like the character in the book!”
We are beginning to learn the 25 sight words that are required for
kindergarteners to know. This week’s word is: is
Math: Our learning
target for math has been “I can identify and read numbers 1-10”. This week we
have been learning about number stories (story problems). The kids have
practiced orally with a partner telling and solving number stories with the use
of manipulatives.
Handwriting: We are
almost finished with the uppercase letters. I see improvement in many student’s
neatness and their ability to write the letters in the correct direction.
Writing: We continue
our writer’s workshop lessons on writing about topics they know a lot about.
Students are encouraged to sound out and write at least the first letter of a
word. For those that know all of their letters in the alphabet, I encourage
them to write all the sounds they hear. For those kids who know how to spell
words phonetically easily, I encourage them to write at least two sentences
about their topic. Students are also prompted to label the items in their
pictures.
Harvest Party: On Thursday
October 31st, we will be having our Harvest Party here in the
classroom. Please, no costumes or partial costumes that day. I encourage kids
to wear black and orange or holiday themed clothing, but no costumes (or crazy
hair, or funny teeth, or make up, etc.)
Report Cards: As we continue on in our school year, our attention
turns away from “adjusting” to the school environment toward “thriving” in the
school environment. In the next month or so, I will begin assessing students on
their progress during this first trimester of kindergarten. Please take a
moment to look over the kindergarten assessment scoring guide http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/documents/curriculum/fieldtest/Kscoring13new.pdf
I find that sometimes, parents have an idea of how their child is
doing in school based on what their child tells them and also on their prior
experience in preschool. Kindergarten is
quite different than preschool and the expectations for academics and behavior
are higher. Being informed about what your child is being assessed on will help
us partner together to bring out the best in your child!
Have a wonderful rest of the week!
~Mrs. Perry
