What's happening in class

We are happily working on some new things in class!

This week's theme is Penguins - We will learn about the life cycle of a penguin, do some penguin art, literacy, and math related activities.  Additionally, we will do some partner and small group activities around using non-fiction books to find information about penguins.

I am also introducing Syllables as part of the Speaking and Listening curriculum.  I will update more on how you can support them at home once we get into it and I have an idea of what they need.

It is that time of year (January/February) when Kindergarten teachers work on the District mandated Numeracy Assessment.  Each student will be assessed (by me) on their ability to count, recognize and order numbers, create and name patterns, sort 3D shapes, the concept of more/less, part-whole (the idea that two parts combine to make a whole/addition), and directionality (which one is facing the wrong way in a series of identical images).  These typically go really well - if a student scores below a certain threshold, we continue to work on those skills and retest at a later date.  I will be in touch if there is anything you need to know about your child's results - feel free to email me or pop in with any questions.

We are starting to work with our buddy class (Mrs. Lonneberg/Mrs. Voth) doing buddy reading on Mondays and Tuesdays!  This will be a chance for your child to get some one-on-one attention  with reading.  Remember that reading at our age often means things like inferring meaning, using picture clues to help with comprehension, and retelling but if your child is reading by decoding, this will be great additional practice for them as well.

There is another District Assessment coming up this month called the TOPA (Test of Phonological Awareness).  This assesses a child's ability to distinguish sounds.  So, what does it look like?  The TOPA consists of group of pictures - all begin with the same sound except for one.  As the teacher identifies the images in the group, the student puts a mark through the one that doesn't sound the same.  In another section, an image is identified by the teacher and the student is asked to mark the image that has the same beginning sound as that one.  They are not asked to identify the letter that corresponds to that sound.   If a child scores below a certain threshold on this assessment, they typically attend some small group sessions outside of the class, as well as work with the teacher to improve these skills, before being retested at a later date.  I will keep you in the loop!  Let me know if you have any questions.