Kindergarten: Kindergartners are starting the year thinking about who they are as readers and engaging with familiar texts such as Max and the Tag-Along Moon and Harry and the Dirty Dog. Students are also engaging with informational books like Fur, Feather Fin -All of Us Are Kin and Pack: Strength in Numbers. In writing, students are telling stories through talking, drawing pictures, and writing. Students are also using their knowledge of letter sounds to help them “write”. In Kindergarten, this usually means lots of random letters, squiggles, and initial sounds. In math, we will be launching Math Workshop and focusing on numbers to 5.
Grade 1: First graders kick off the new school year practicing important rules and routines to create a classroom community of acceptance and belonging. Students will write their own identity books as they begin thinking about what makes them each unique. This will help our writers develop important habits that will be used throughout writing workshop. During reading workshop, children will be learning procedures for participating in their new classroom community, reading independently, and working with partners. During word work, we will review proper letter formation and blending, reading, and spelling words with short vowel sounds. In math, children will work on analyzing information given in word problems. Using both models and equations, students will show their mathematical thinking to solve addition and subtraction problems within 10.
Grade 2: This month second graders are busy building community and establishing routines and procedures. Students and teachers are getting to know each other and connections are being made. Students are also enjoying many read-alouds and getting familiar with characters in books such as Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away and First Day Jitters. Second graders are writing personal narratives. They are learning to recognize that seemingly small moments in their lives really turn out to be the big ones, the ones that are remembered. Drill sounds, review of digraphs and blends, and trick word practice is important work happening during phonics instruction. In math students are adding and subtracting within 20 and working with equal groups.
Grade 3: In third grade, we aim to create a feeling of belonging in the classroom by building connections and reflecting on our identities as learners. As we establish the routines and expectations of our classroom community, students develop their understanding of what it means to be a good citizen, at home, in school, and within the community. Our reading workshop kicks off with cultivating a love for reading and developing a lifelong reading habit. We’ll start the first of several units in Fundations that reinforces previously learned skills. We will build on those skills as we progress into the study of word structure through advanced spelling rules and morphology. In writing, students will craft personal narratives, learning to become storytellers by expanding the heart of their stories. Finally, in math, students will begin exploring multiplication and division of whole numbers, starting with equal group situations and deepening their understanding of the relationship between addition and multiplication.
Grade 4: Fourth graders spend their first few weeks building learning communities, establishing routines, reflecting on their identities, and developing relationships with their classmates. In ELA, they work to interpret characters, while considering how the author describes their feelings, words, and actions through intentional vocabulary. Fourth graders then make inferences and study how the plot plays a role in the character’s overall development. They also review grade-level expectations for writing, including grammar, conventions, and spelling. In math, students work toward generalizing their place-value understanding to help them read, write, compare, and round multi-digit numbers. Finally, students embark on their first social studies journey, which is to learn about the geography and landscape of New York State. Fourth graders have a unique experience because their entire year focuses on the rich history of New York. Studying its geography sets the foundation for understanding its many communities, their settlements, and the natural resources available throughout the years.
Grade 5: September is a time to gather as an academic community and develop norms and routines that will support the success of each student. In addition, as the newly appointed “seniors” of the school, the 5th graders take time to reflect on the ways in which they can support and model the school motto - Kind, Responsible, Safe. While building and sharing who we are as learners, 5th graders also take the time to reflect on their identities as readers and writers and set goals for continued growth. Reading workshop begins the year by exploring story elements such as character traits, character motivation, setting, and plot. This work is done through whole class and small group shared reading experiences. In writing, students work on using a variety of idea generating strategies to share and document meaningful small moment stories, which will grow into more fully developed personal narratives. In math, students review and continue to build their understanding of whole number place value.
