Did you know Willard South has a Facebook page? Willard South Elementary
Like our site to keep up with the most current events and news! Sign-Up Genius is the link to use for securing a time slot for Parent-Teacher Conferences: Last week we read I Went Walking to practice reading color words. We made predictions based on the picture clues and repetition of words. We focused on story comprehension, locating sight/color words in text. Students were sorted into reading groups and revisited expectations for Daily 5 activities: Work on Writing, Read to Self, Word Work, and Ipad use of Starfall. Students have built fifteen minutes of stamina, therefore are expected to stay on task while teachers are with students for assessments in preparation of reading groups. In Phonics and Handwriting kids learned the path of motion for letters: Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, and Rr. They learned the letter name and the sounds they say. Using handwriting lines can be difficult. Please help your child practice correct formation and always begin letters at the top and move downward. In writing kids worked on making a book from their pages focusing on a true story they want to share. Making sure the story has a beginning, middle, and end is quite a chore. We discussed stretching words like stretching a slinky to hear all of the sounds throughout the word to spell them. We are moving into using complete sentences and using using sight words in our writing. In math, kids were assessed over topic 2 comparing with groups or numbers up to five. They did an amazing job! We will move forward next week on Topic 3, Identifying and Writing numbers 6-10. Important Dates to Remember
This week kids learned to spell color words using color songs by Frog Street. These can be found on Youtube (click to view): Color Yellow . We discussed the number of letters in color words and the beginning sound for each so we can narrow down which color we are reading. We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? many times to practice sequencing a book then practiced sequencing the animals in order as we saw them - but without using the book. We found the sight word “see” in students books and highlighted each of the color words with the correct color. We used these books for tracking print as we read. Kids wrote "I see a ____ ____" and filled in the blanks with their favorite animal from the book and the correct color word using the color posters on our wall. The word "see" is on our word wall, yet many kids wrote a letter "c" for the word. We will be practicing how to use the word wall more often! These sentences and pictures will be hanging in the hallway for Open House. We will continue to wear a specific color every day next week as we continue to learn more color songs.
Monday, September 18th - Orange Tuesday, September 19th - Purple Wednesday, September 20th - Brown Thursday, September 21st - Black Friday, September 22nd - White (School Shirts) Next week we will begin reading groups. All 100 Kindergarten students have been placed with a Kindergarten teacher according to their readiness for reading. This will help us gear whole group reading lessons to all of the children we are with between 9:00 and 10:00. Your child may go to another classroom for Reading. All kindergarten teachers have the same behavior expectations for our Daily 5 time. Teachers will be teaching a small group twice during this time so kids have been taught to be independent. Every class has worked hard at building stamina in Read-To-Self and Work-On-Writing and proven they are more than capable of being independent during this time. If your child is off task, talking, or interrupting during Daily 5, they will be moved to yellow for the day with no chance to move back to green. If your child earns yellow for being off-task during daily 5, you can help them practice reading or writing at home for 15 minutes without talking or playing. In word work and handwriting kids practiced letters Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, and Mm. We practiced naming the letters and their sound(s) and the path of motion to write them correctly. Letters Kk and Mm are terribly difficult for most kids. Please help one-on-one at home if your child had trouble on the letter work for each. Their little hands just don't want to take their pencils the direction they tell them to. This is developmental and nothing to worry about. But it is frustrating to the child. We will work with Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr next week. The math test went smoothly Tuesday. Seventeen kids aced it! One child missed one question - one that was written using the word "not" which kids tend to ignore. It was a tricky question. Topic 2 in math is comparing numbers to 5. We determined if groups were equal or not equal and finding the group that is greater than the other. Next week we will compare groups to find the group that has less and we will compare numbers. This is a short unit so we will test over it Friday the 22nd. In writing kids learned that the piece they have been working on can be made into a book! We discussed making a plan for what we wanted on each page and using the plan to determine if we have a beginning, middle, and end for our narrative (true story). At this time we have worked on labeling pictures. Next week we will work on saying words slowly and writing down the sounds we hear so others can read our stories. We will also begin to use sight words to help us create sentences. A parent asked about checking lunch account balances. SIS (student information system) has a lot of information specific to your child that you can access at any time. The username is the primary parent email (that you listed on forms when enrolling your child). You set up your own password. If you have trouble, ask Carrie in the office. My kids didn't have this available when they attended Willard so I haven't used it as a parent. The behavior calendar has dates marked that my class goes to PE and Library. Please be sure to have your child wear tennis shoes on Wednesday and Thursday every week so they can participate safely in PE. Library books need to be returned each Monday. Some kids have chosen to leave their books in their book bags for Read to Self, so don't fret if you haven't seen a library book yet. If you are curious, ask your child if they left it at school. Please remember that you can always come to me with questions or concerns. I am here for you, even if you have a question about classroom routine, rules, or methods used. I won't be offended! I can usually help clarify anything you ask. Our little messengers are only 5 and 6 years old. There may be details not reported, or extras added that weren't there originally. I'll help fill in blanks. Together, we are your child's coaches, trainers, teammates and cheerleaders. Upcoming Events
At home you can support learning by helping your child practice:
Volunteer Link for those who still want to help in various ways at South.
This week kids practiced reading nursery rhymes using one-to-one correspondence which means pointing to each word as they say it. We discussed looking at the first letter of the word to check that it matches what is being read. We ordered sentence strips using picture clues them matched them to poems, marked sight words "and" "the" "to" as we read, sequenced poems, and discussed rhyming words. We had fun acting out Hey Diddle Diddle and Jack and Jill. All the kids wanted to participate so we did it many times! We also read: Mary Had A Little Lamb, Little Bo Peep, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and Itsy Bitsy Spider. As part of our Colors theme next week we will focus on reading and spelling one color each day. Please try to dress your child in that color on that day. Monday- Red Tuesday- Blue Wednesday- Green Thursday – Yellow Friday – School Shirt In reading we are practicing building stamina for 15 minutes in Read to Self and Work on Writing. All tools needed for these two time periods are in each child's book bag. We review the expectations of each before kids choose where to sit to begin. We talk about how to choose a bubble space and that sitting too close to a buddy may lead to talking and playing. Making good choices and realizing that they are in charge of themselves will be lessons they hear about daily. Reaching the 15 minute expectation will allow reading groups to begin in three weeks. Most of the kids are focused and involved in both tasks. I'm very proud of how they have adapted to expectations. We continued to work on counting and writing numbers 0-5 this week for math. Kids realized there are more ways to make 5 using red and yellow counters (3 yellow and 2 red). Their first math assessment will be Tuesday. I am sending several homework pages home for review. These don't have to be returned, but are terrific for individual review to check for misunderstandings. If your child loves to return homework, I'll be happy to take it. Kids are really working during Writing Workshop. They are telling true stories by drawing pictures. We have discussed labeling pictures to help others read their pictures. We have discussed what can be added into pictures once the story is told. "When we are done, we have just begun" is our saying for when kids decide they are finished and stop working. They know they always have something to do. Kids reread their stories to see what they may have forgotten, where color can be added, check characters for hair and clothing, adding scenery, and words. If all those items are complete, they begin a new piece. During writing workshop I am able to roam the room to help kids with structure within stories and thinking through spelling words. Students are very excited to share their writing. Next week we will begin putting pages together to make books. This is when kids will learn to work toward including a beginning, middle, and end. We discussed path of motion and sounds for letters E-H during Word Work/Phonics. We always start our letters at the top and move downward. Kids reviewed path of motion for Aa-Hh using whiteboards and dry erase markers. Our erasers are my grandchildren's baby socks! The kids thought that was crazy. Hey, they work perfectly. I've been asked specific questions about the color system for behavior. If your child is on green everyday, celebrate! Green is for kids who listen, follow directions, do their best, are good friends, show respect for others, and so on. A "green day" means your child followed school expectations all day or had one or two reminders they responded to immediately. Colors above green are for those who are singled out for going above and beyond. I use these sparingly because kids who are always on green begin to feel that they aren't good kids, that green isn't good enough. Green is awesome! It is definitely a day to be proud of. Things To Work On At Home Naming the letters and their sounds Practice naming the letters of the alphabet in random order, both capital and lowercase. Writing first name (capital at the beginning, followed by lowercase) Create sight word flashcards and read through them each night. Count by 1s to 100 Count by 10s to 100 Count sets up to 5 Recognize numbers 0 – 5 Write numbers 0-5 Compare groups using terms: Equal, Greater Than, Less Than Think of an idea for writing and get it down on paper Retell a familiar story Make text-to-self connections Upcoming Events September 11-15 - Send a celebration picture for your child's Leadership Binder September 13- yellow Highlights and PuzzleBuzz forms are due September 15 - Book orders are due. The code at the top of the parent letter is the correct class code to use online. You can also search by school and teacher. https://clubs.scholastic.com/home September 19- All Pro Dads meeting in library at 7:15 am September 22- Fundraiser Kickoff October 2- Fundraiser Due October 3- Service Day (Bring nonperishable food item to wear a hat for the day) October 17- All Pro Dads meeting in library at 7:15 am October 20- Early Dismissal 12:30 There are several things in kids' folders today that need attention. Ii thought a list would help you sift through them:
*Math Homework - numbers 1-10 need to be traced with crayon then written correctly with pencil so errors can be corrected. Formation of 2, 3, 5, and 8 is difficult. Please take a few minutes each day to work on three numbers. Return the completed packet Friday or Monday. *Reading Homework - Pizza Hut Book-It program information and book list sheet, this should take at least two weeks to complete. Hang is on the fridge as a reminder. Return the completed book list before September 30th. *Scholastic book orders - due by September 15th. You can order online with a charge card or send a paper order to me with payment to Scholastic Books. It takes a little over a week to get the orders back after I submit the class order on the 15th. There is no obligation to purchase. Scholastic has great books at a great price and makes shopping easy. *Highlights/PuzzleBuzz- two yellow half-sheets stapled to a full-sheet with explanation. There is no obligation! Please return the forms signed whether you choose to purchase or not. I can choose cool items for student rewards when at least 15 kids return their forms. *This is NOT in the folder today, but a reminder is needed. Please be sure to send a picture of your child doing something or holding something they are proud of for the leadership binder. If you don't have access to printing pictures, your child can draw a picture and you can write what their picture is about. Ideas: learning to ride a bike, swim, write name, tie shoes, an award or trophy or medal from sports or gymnastics, an award from daycare or preschool, helping with a chore at home, taking care of siblings, making dinner etc. The binder tab is "Celebrations" so the ideas are endless. Thank you for your help, Mrs. Bailey |
AuthorMrs. Christine Bailey Willard South Homepage
Archives
May 2019
|