Science and Social Studies
Please Note: Science (Sci) and Social Studies (SS) will be taught by alternating units.
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Math
Math is taught in centers with small groups. These groups are fluid and constantly changing based on each students' progress and degree of understanding. I determine the groups based on classwork, homework, and small & whole group participation.
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Daily 5 & CAFE
Our literacy instruction blocks are centered on the Daily 5 structure and the CAFE reading strategies. The D5 model will (eventually) allow students to rotate through 5 stations each day: Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing, and Word Work. By using the CAFE strategies, students will become proficient readers by growing their kills in Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary. I will also conduct one-on-one conferences and small focus groups several times throughout the week to set personal goals, assess progress, and work more closely in struggle spots.
Reading levels will be assessed frequently throughout the year using the Fountas and Pinnelle text level gradient.
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Spelling
The students will be given a small amount of sight words to practice at home and during the Word Work station of Daily 5. These sight words are taken from the Fry Words First 100, which are the 100 most frequently used words in the English language. Additionally, they will have number, color, and calendar words incorporated into this list.
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Writing
To teach writing, we will be following Lucy Calkins' Writers Workshop model. Students will learn a specific writing strategy during a focus lesson and, through independent, small, and whole group work, progress through the stages of writing.
As per the Common Core Standards of Writing, we will cover the genres of:
For Writers Workshop, we will have parent volunteers come into the classroom to help us confer with our little authors. This will likely begin in November. Before parent volunteers come in, there will be a small training session to complete. More information will come your way as we get a better idea of when we will be ready for conferring.
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Religion
Religion will be taught this year by Mrs. O'Keefe. We are starting our year discussing the expectations of Mass, as well as memorizing our prayers, and discussing what they mean/how they apply to our lives as Christians. We are using the We Believe books to guide our discussions, and will cover units including:
Please Note: Science (Sci) and Social Studies (SS) will be taught by alternating units.
- We Have Families (SS)
- Characteristics of Living Things (Sci)
- Where We Live (SS)
- Exploring With the Senses (Sci)
- People Long Ago (SS)
- Looking at the Earth and Sky (Sci)
- Why We Work (SS)
- Pushes and Pulls (Sci)
- Getting Along Together (SS)
- Body Parts (Sci)
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Math
Math is taught in centers with small groups. These groups are fluid and constantly changing based on each students' progress and degree of understanding. I determine the groups based on classwork, homework, and small & whole group participation.
- Counting and Cardinality (Numbers 0-5; Numbers to 10; Numbers Beyond 10)
- Operations and Algebraic Thinking (Compose and Decompose Numbers to 10; Addition; Subtraction)
- Number and Operations in Base Ten (Measurement; Classify Objects)
- Geometry (Position; Two-Dimensional Shapes; Three-Dimensional Shapes)
________________________________________________________________________
Daily 5 & CAFE
Our literacy instruction blocks are centered on the Daily 5 structure and the CAFE reading strategies. The D5 model will (eventually) allow students to rotate through 5 stations each day: Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing, and Word Work. By using the CAFE strategies, students will become proficient readers by growing their kills in Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary. I will also conduct one-on-one conferences and small focus groups several times throughout the week to set personal goals, assess progress, and work more closely in struggle spots.
Reading levels will be assessed frequently throughout the year using the Fountas and Pinnelle text level gradient.
________________________________________________________________________
Spelling
The students will be given a small amount of sight words to practice at home and during the Word Work station of Daily 5. These sight words are taken from the Fry Words First 100, which are the 100 most frequently used words in the English language. Additionally, they will have number, color, and calendar words incorporated into this list.
________________________________________________________________________
Writing
To teach writing, we will be following Lucy Calkins' Writers Workshop model. Students will learn a specific writing strategy during a focus lesson and, through independent, small, and whole group work, progress through the stages of writing.
As per the Common Core Standards of Writing, we will cover the genres of:
- Opinion
- Informational
- Personal Narrative
For Writers Workshop, we will have parent volunteers come into the classroom to help us confer with our little authors. This will likely begin in November. Before parent volunteers come in, there will be a small training session to complete. More information will come your way as we get a better idea of when we will be ready for conferring.
________________________________________________________________________
Religion
Religion will be taught this year by Mrs. O'Keefe. We are starting our year discussing the expectations of Mass, as well as memorizing our prayers, and discussing what they mean/how they apply to our lives as Christians. We are using the We Believe books to guide our discussions, and will cover units including:
- God Gives Us Many Gifts
- God Is Our Creator
- Jesus Shows God's Love
- Jesus Wants Us to Share God's Love