Oh, the Things Your Child Will Learn!

1. Oh, the Things Your Child Will Learn! • Welcome to Our Seusstastial Kindergarten!

2. Welcome to Room 104! Whole Group Instruction Rug Smartboard Easel Calendar Time Teachers Desk Independent Work Area Word Work Table (Centers) Small Group Reading Instruction

3. Our Weekly Schedule

4. Our Language Arts Block • 140 minutes of Language Arts Instruction Daily • Reading Instruction • 30 minute whole group • 80 minute small group instruction. • 20 minute rotations • Guided Reading Instruction (Small Group) • Word Study Practice, Review and Independent Work • Literacy Centers • Writing • Thinking Maps and Letter Formation • 30 minutes daily

5. Hats off to Our Staff! These staff members will or may work with your child: • Mrs. Wilson - Teacher • Ms. Ferguson – Student Teacher • Mrs. Racanelli- Reading Specialists • Miss Norwood- Intervention and Extension Teacher • Mrs. Wells- Special Education Teacher • Mrs. Umstead and Mrs. Mulder – Class Volunteers • PALS Remediation Teacher- TBD

6. Stages of Readers • Please be mindful that your child’s stage will change as they progress through out the year.

7. Literacy Assessments • These assessments determine your child’s reading level and stage. They are used to group children for small group reading instruction to best meet their individual learning needs.

8. Kindergarten Reading Levels • Think of the alphabet. • In the fall, students should be reading at or above a level A (Pre-Readiness Reader). By spring, students should be reading at or above a level D ( Preprimer 2). • I will keep in contact with you throughout the year of your child’s reading levels and progress and it is noted on interims and report cards. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z *Many children will meet or exceed the above standards. This is simply a guide to help you better understand communications about your child's progression through reading.

9. Whole Group Reading Instruction • Occurs before small group reading instruction. • Students are exposed to and work on skills listed in the Virginia Standards of Learning. • Focus on rhyming, concept of word, comprehension, reading strategies, and expanding vocabulary. • Skills are reinforced again during small group reading instruction.

10. Small Group Reading Instruction • Using assessment data, students are put into guided reading groups based on their instructional independent needs. • Students move in and out of group’s pending growth in reading levels. • Each rotation lasts 20 minutes: Guided reading, word study review and practice, and literacy centers. • The next three slides show sample lesson plans for these reading groups based on the groups reading stage: emergent, beginning, or transitional.

11. Emergent Reading Instruction

12. Beginning Reading Instruction

13. Transitional Reading Instruction

14. Word Study Practice and Review • Word Study and high frequency word practice. • Word Study Activities: • Word Manipulation – Start with one word and change • beginning and ending sounds. • Dictated Sentences • Written Sort • Draw Pictures • Circle Maps • To learn more about Word Study Click here (It’s not what spelling used to be)! http://literacyconnections.com/WordStudy.php • http://www.readingrockets.org/article/word-study-new-approach-teaching-spelling • High Frequency Word Activities: • Bingo • POP – Student pulls out card and reads word. If read correctly, keeps it. If not, goes back in the bucket. If pulls out POP, all words go in the bucket. • Read and Write • Differentiated Games • http://www.atozphonics.com/highfrequencywords.html

15. Literacy Centers Students rotate daily to a new station. Station materials are color coded by the different groups based on their independent levels. • Listening – Listen and read along with i Pod shuffles. Draw or write (based individual ability) about the story for comprehension practice and give the story a rating. • Computer Center- ABC Mouse, Star Fall, ABCYA etc. • Writing – Differentiated to meet student independent learning needs with letter formation, writing to become an author and illustrator. • Reading Center- Library, poetry, Big Book, retelling and Non-fiction. • Word Work Center- Play doe, ABC, Pokey pinning, Detective, puzzles. • *Other special centers will rotate to meet student learning needs.

16. Sample Guided Reading Activity This poem would be used with emergent readers to build concept of word. Students would listen and watch modeling of how to read. Then, take turns reading poem to the group and independently. This poem focuses on sound and recognition of the letter T.

17. Sample Word Study Activity Each reading group will work on a word study list for the week. The word lists are determined by your child’s instructional needs. Below is a word sort for a transitional speller.

18. Sample Literacy Center Activity The listening center is where students will listen and read along with a book. Afterwards, students will rate, write, and draw about the story. Various leveled response sheets are provided for different learners. Here are two samples of different leveled sheets and more are provided at the station.

19. Thinking Maps- Writing Instruction • Amherst County Public Schools has adopted Thinking Maps as our foundational expectation for grades K-12. This is an exciting change! This means that your child will learn and use tools to write in all continent areas using the same methods as their understanding and knowledge grows so will their thinking maps. There are 8 different types of maps and they are pictured below. • What are Thinking Maps? • Visualizing our thinking allows us to have a • concrete image of our abstract thoughts. Visual • representations enhance the brain's natural ability • to detect and construct meaningful patterns. • Thinking Maps reduce anxiety by providing familiar • visual patterns for thinking and working with complex • ideas and situations. To learn more click here http://thinkingmaps.com/

20. What can you do to help? “Research demonstrates that when parents and teachers partner together, at-risk student achievement increases” (Darling, 2005). • Read to your child every night. • Have your child read the book that is sent home. • Practice word study through reading and spelling. • Ask your child questions about their school day allowing them to recall their day and details. • Encourage your child to write and illustrate their own stories.

21. Hopes and Dreams

22. References Darling, S. (2005). Strategies for engaging parents in home support of reading acquisitions. The Reading Teacher,58(5), 476-479. doi: 10.1598/RT.58.5.8. Gwaltney-Thacker, S. (2011). Blank Emergent Reader Template[PDF document]. Retrieved from Class Lesson 7 Online Web Site: https://collab.itc.virginia.edu Gwaltney-Thacker, S. (2011). Blank Beginning Reader Template [PDF document]. Retrieved from Class Lesson 7 Online Web Site: https://collab.itc.virginia.edu Gwaltney-Thacker, S. (2011). Blank Transitional Reader Template [PDF document]. Retrieved from Class Lesson 8 Online Web Site: https://collab.itc.virginia.edu