Responsive Classroom is a proactive and positive approach that seeks to build a community of learners that respect and value one another, and allow students to feel comfortable taking risks. Some important parts of Responsive Classroom that we will incorporate are Morning meeting and "take a break". I have had wonderful success with the Responsive Classroom model in my previous experience. I love the value that it places on the social- emotional and academic growth of the child, as well as the strong and caring community it helps to build within the classroom.
Fundations is a systematic (goes from simple to complex) and explicit (teacher directly teaches skill) phonics program that teaches children important sounds, words and reading strategies that they need to move forward in reading higher level text. For more resources for each Unit, writing paper you can print from home for additional practice and more, see the "Fundations" tab. Click below for an introduction to the program.
What Will Reading Instruction Look Like in the Classroom?
Teaching your child to read is a task that I cherish and also do not take lightly! I am a firm believer that children need to learn to think deeply about their reading AND learn to decode unknown words at the same time. This is what makes the process of learning to read so complex, and also why we call it BALANCED literacy! Here's what you will find us doing during our reading time:
We will be exposed DAILY to higher level, rich and engaging texts through daily read aloud.
We will be engaged in a number of shared reading and writing experiences at the whole class level.
We will learn to read by spending time during independent reading engaged in effective practice.
We will follow the Fundations program, which explicitly provides phonics instruction.
We will learn that "sounding it out" will not always work when we come across a tricky word. We will learn to use effective strategies to determine what the word is. When we try to figure out a word we will ask if our guess: looks right?, sounds right? and Does it make sense?
We will learn that fluency is when you're reading sounds like talking! We will learn that strong readers read with expression and phrasing- no matter what level reader we are!
Reader's and Writer's Workshop
Students will be participating in rigorous and engaging academics every day through Reader's and Writer's Workshop. Children will be exposed to rich children's literature, work on comprehension strategies, create writing pieces and sharpen phonics skills! It is my favorite time of the day, and as your child develops as a reader and writer, I know you will see why! Below please find the link to the Grade 1 Units of Study, as well as my expectations that I will be teaching children in Week 1 for our Reader's Workshop time. For more links on Reading, please go to the "Parent Resources" page!
EnVision Math is our core math program aligned to the Common Core State Standards. In our classroom, this program is the bulk of what I teach, however I also use other hands on materials and math games to build strong foundational understanding. Topics throughout the year include: Topic 1: Understanding Addition Topic 2: Understanding Subtraction Topic 3: Five and Ten Relationships Topic 4: Addition and Subtraction Facts to 12 Topic 5: Addition Facts to 20 Topic 6: Subtraction Facts to 20 Topic 7: Counting and Number Patterns to 120 Topic 8: Tens and Ones Topic 9: Comparing and Ordering Numbers to 100 Topic 10: Adding With Tens and Ones Topic 11: Subtracting With Tens and Ones Topic 12: Length Topic 13: Time Topic 14: Using Data to Answer Questions Topic 15: Geometry Topic 16: Fractions of Shapes
To help your child with math throughout the year, practice flash cards and check out these ideas on the Parent Common Core Toolkit!