Elementary Essentials

October 13th is our next opportunity for elementary teachers to gather for learning. We will meet from 8:00–11:30 AM by grade level at the same schools as on August 8th, except for kindergarten who will meet at Brougham. During this time, we will focus on teaching comprehension using text structure, implementing Writing Units of Study, and using research to guide teaching high-frequency words in K-2 OR learning about the MTSS fluency intervention for grades 3-5.

There is not a Literacy Brief for this week. It will return in the next Elementary Essentials.

Writing Units of Study

The ELA department has provided paper templates for writing in the primary grades to the District Store Front (DSF) for printing. The documents are uploaded to the storefront, and they are available to order. These templates can also be found on the English Language Arts website if you want to print them yourself. The pathway is: ELA Website - Elementary – Curriculum Resources by Topic – Writing Resources.

Assessment - Writing on Demand

All grades K-5 are required to provide students an opportunity to complete the writing on demand at the beginning of each unit of study. We realized that the assessment calendar was not correct. We are in the process of updating the online assessment calendar.

As schools focus more on Tier II vocabulary, see this sample list of words and guidance for how to integrate Tier II words. Additionally, check out this week’s ELL Spotlight regarding strategies for using Tier II vocabulary in your classroom.

Students in grades 2-5 will take Quarterly Benchmark Assessments (QBAs) upon the completion of each quarter. Students in 2nd grade will take the assessment beginning with 2nd quarter’s QBA. These assessments will be placed into classroom trackers at the end of each quarter and show up as dark gray. Scores for the QBAs cannot be edited in Mastery Connect.

QBAs have been designed to efficiently and effectively determine if a student has a full depth of understanding of the rigor of 2-3 key standards (see table below for the standards that will be included on each grade level’s QBAs). The standards were selected based on critical topics for each quarter of instruction. These assessments contain 10-12 items.

QBAs can be given during math MTSS time. Teachers can use the data to measure students’ understanding of grade level standards. The tests are currently available and the window will run through November 3rd.

Please reach out to Spencer Brown or your building’s MTSS Math Support Specialist, instructional coach, or administrator with any questions or concerns.

An Update: the Guidelines for Animals in the Classroom were recently updated/revised September, 2023, which are linked and on the District Science site.

Lots of information in the Science newsletter from KSDE! You’ll discover Audience with an Astronaut (free virtual educational series), Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, collaborations, etc. KSDE Science Newsletter

Check out the Social Studies Newsletter for important social studies related items.

Social Studies Contest #1 winners are: Sara Byrd (CW-3) AND Lea Finfera (RR-5)! Congrats Sara and Lea!!! Your prizes are on the way to you! We had so many entries that we decided to take the first two correct submissions. Be watching for the Social Studies Contest #2 in the next newsletter toward the end of October.

Snack & Chat about Social Studies: October 23rd. Sign up today!

Fourth Grade Teachers: Please be sure to sign up for your Kansas Day field trip by sending me your top two dates. Choices are: 1/19, 1/25 or 1/26. Dates are quickly filling up, so don't delay.

I hope each of you has had an amazing week. Please reach out if I can assist or support you. Thanks for all you do! ~Julie