It has been said that "the secret to your future is your daily routine." I feel this quote sums up this week's work. The students have taken what they have learned about our classroom routines and have put them into action in a very impressive way.
Thursday marked the first day where we implemented all five rotations in our language arts block. This happens from 9:55-11:10. I moved it up 5 minutes (from the original schedule) to allow us 5 minutes to clean up and get to recess on time. This is the 1st year I am having 5 rotations but it will allow me to have very small, student focused reading groups. It also allows for very specific differentiation that will be catered to each student's specific needs. This year the 5 rotations will include reading groups with me, Lexia/Core 5, Word Work, Writing Time, and Read to Self. We have this time everyday with the exception of Wednesdays and each station lasts for 15 minutes. Here is a brief description of each station.
Reading Groups: This time will have kids getting small, flexible, and targeted instruction based on students' specific needs in foundational reading skills. The instruction is rooted in the "Science of Reading," which emphasizes five core components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.Lexia/Core 5: This is an online, computer-based reading program that provides personalized, adaptive learning in key literacy skills like phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Grounded in the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy principles, the program uses interactive activities and games to target specific skill gaps and accelerate reading growth.
Word Work: This is a literacy station where students engage in hands-on activities to develop their understanding of spelling sight words. Each student spends three weeks working on their individualized list. You will hear your kids talk about using smelly markers, Magna-Doodles, and a variety of other tools to proactive these words.
Read to Self: This is a structured time where students practice independent reading for extended periods, focusing on building reading stamina and confidence. During this component, students independently select "good-fit" books from their book bags, find a spot in the classroom, and read quietly by themselves, applying strategies like reading the words and retelling the story. This activity aims to develop lifelong readers by providing consistent, focused time for engaging with texts at their own reading level.
Writing Time: This is a station that allows kids to continue their writing work from our writing lessons. Students will also use this time to fill out their Weekly News Journals. Those journals will come home on Fridays (starting next week). By adding this rotation to the schedule, it gives kids an extra 60 minutes of writing a week and helps off set the writing time we lose during the Winter Sports Program. On Wednesday I read the story, The Most Magnificent Team by Ashley Spires. This book is about a girl and her dog who discover their neighbor and her cat are using their usual workspace, leading them to decide to work together to build something. Their differing approaches to creativity and teamwork cause conflict and frustration. The story highlights the challenges of collaboration, emphasizing the importance of patience, compromise, and learning to appreciate different working styles to achieve a common goal.
After reading the book, the students spent some time creating their own name card using paint sticks. This was the 1st time many of them have used this tool and they really seemed to enjoy them. While they were at PE, on Thursday, I took the pieces and created our "class sculpture." I explained to them that individually we have 20 pieces of well decorated name tags. However, when we put them all together we create a beautiful sculpture. I will refer to this "team dynamic" euphemism throughout the year and talk about how our team can be "beautiful" when we use each of our talents to work together.
This week's writing prompt had kids writing about their favorite desert and a writing prompt about the previous weekend. The goal continues to be to get kids to draw a picture and then write about it. The students also focused on doing their best with spelling and pushing their efforts to add more detail and elaboration.
1st Grade Math: This week the students spent a significant amount of time playing a game called 10 and Some More. This is a math game from the Bridges' curriculum that helps students understand and build teen numbers (11–19) by recognizing they consist of a group of ten and some additional ones. The game can be played individually and is designed to build number sense and place value understanding. The students also used number racks to build number combinations and build representations of 10 frame dot cards that were quickly flashed at them.
2nd Grade Math: Mr. Hubbard's 2nd graders continued their work with Venn Diagrams and attribute blocks. The students use Venn diagrams to visually compare and contrast, fostering critical thinking, while attribute blocks provide a hands-on way to sort and classify objects based on properties like color, shape, and size, laying the groundwork for mathematical and logical skills. Together, these tools help children organize information, recognize patterns, and develop reasoning abilities by classifying concrete examples before moving to more abstract concepts.THIS WEEK'S READ-A-LOUDS:
Here are the titles to this week's read-a-louds and the links if you want to hear them read. The books continue to have a fall theme as we celebrate a season that is celebrated so well in our state. Sometimes it is fun to do this with your child and get their feedback about the book.
Monday: Mouse's First Fall
Tuesday: We're Going on a Leaf Hunt
Wednesday: The Leaf Thief
Thursday: Wonderfall
Friday: Apples A-Z
This week's Student of the Week is pictured below. She is a wonderful 2nd grader who loves strawberry pie. Her favorite activity is to bake cakes. Her favorite place to go is the ocean and she wants to go back to Bonaire with her family. She has three pets and her favorite color is turquoise. When she grows up, she wants to be a dress designer. Her favorite thing to do in school is to read!
This week's Student of the Week is pictured below. She is a wonderful 2nd grader who loves strawberry pie. Her favorite activity is to bake cakes. Her favorite place to go is the ocean and she wants to go back to Bonaire with her family. She has three pets and her favorite color is turquoise. When she grows up, she wants to be a dress designer. Her favorite thing to do in school is to read!
NOTES:*The book orders are due today (Friday). I will submit them this evening.
*Please help your child develop a daily routine on taking care of their homework bag. Overall, I have been very impressed with how well the class is doing with this.
*The All School Hike is scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, September 24th, We will leave the school around 8:00 and will return around noon time. I will sign up each kid for a school lunch that day. If they decide to bring their own home lunch, it will not be a big deal at all. I do ask that the students wear sneakers and dress for the weather. I also ask that they come to school with very little in their backpacks. That way they are nice and light. Please, please have your child bring a water bottle with their name on it.
*This year's Open House Night will be on Tuesday, September 30th at 5:30 pm.
*The homework bags will not be sent home this weekend.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Mr. Young
