Elementary Essentials

This year we created a Scope and Sequence document that mapped out the content for the school year in an effort to provide you with suggestions on how to integrate ELA with Science and Social Studies. We also created a detailed quarterly pacing guide. Would you mind taking a minute to share your feedback with us regarding these materials? Feedback Regarding the ELA Scope and Sequence and Quarterly Pacing Guide. The Scope and Sequence committee will gather again on November 7, to draft Pacing Guides for Quarters 3 & 4. Your feedback will be helpful to guide the work of this team.

Teachers selected Wit & Wisdom to support the teaching of the upper half of Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which is titled Language Comprehension. These materials help to build knowledge and thinking about a variety of topics. Students are required to read complex text and then use language and writing to grow their knowledge along with literacy skills. The bottom half of Scarborough’s Reading Rope is focused around Word Recognition and we use our 95 Percent Core instructional materials to teach these concepts.

The missing part of instruction is small group reading instruction where students apply what they know using both word recognition and language comprehension as they read text on their own. We are currently working on reimagining what this instruction should look like and will begin sharing it during the January Professional Learning with primary teachers. So, if you feel like something is missing, you are right. We need a space where students are applying what they are learning, but we have limited time during the day.

I would suggest exploring the use of paired reading, an efficient way of providing time for reading practice. Learn more from the Reading Rockets website on the topic of Paired Reading.

You will recall that the district recommendation is that you teach three Wit & Wisdom lessons spread across a five-day week and then adjust for shorter weeks. Based on this recommendation, we calculated the number of days that it would take to make it through all the lessons in module one.

The ELA pacing guide for quarter two has a variety of ending dates to module one.

• Kindergarten: Module 1 should end on November 8.
• 1st Grade: Module 1 should end on November 15.
• 2nd Grade: Module 1 should end on November 15.
• 3rd Grade: Module 1 should end on November 8.
• 4th Grade: Module 1 should end on November 15.
• 5th Grade: Module 1 should end on November 22.

Now is the time for grade levels to take stock of where they are in the module and plan an exit strategy. All grade levels will start Module 2 no later than December 2. Students and teachers will be ready to move to a new topic and we should begin prior to the second semester. This timeline will require you to look at the End-of-Module Task and plan backwards.

Think about the following:

1. How many days do you need to allow to complete the End-of-Module Task?
2. What lessons are critical to support students to complete the End-of-Module Task
3. Identify how many lessons will need to be taught to prepare students for the End-of-Module Task.
4. Map out the lessons for the remaining number of days on the Quarter 2 Pacing Guide and/or the required ending date of November 22.

If you find that the paper teacher’s edition has errors, there are correction sheets, which detail the errors, uploaded to ELA Sharepoint.

There was one new FAQ regarding Wit & Wisdom. The information below answers the question asked.

4TH GRADE TEACHERS

I know that many of you are looking ahead to Module 2: Extreme Settings and have some questions. Here is a recap of what we are planning.

• The novel used in the 4th grade, second module, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, is used extensively by 6th grade teachers in the district. Wit & Wisdom had an alternative novel titled, Alone in the Woods, so we are planning to use that text in place of Hatchet.
• The lessons connected to Hatchet do not begin until Lesson 17.
• Module 2 is scheduled to begin during the sixth week of Quarter 2. Quarter 2 will end with lesson 14, so lesson 17 will occur sometime mid-to-late January.

I am in the process of updating the teacher’s edition (TE) for Module 2 to match Alone in the Woods. After I have completed the update, I will print the TE as a separate booklet that you will use for the remaining lessons for the module. My goal is to have the booklet printed and sent to you sometime in December. I will also be updating the corresponding slides and the workbook pages. The student workbook for Quarter 2 will come to you as a loose-leaf, three-hole punched collated set to allow for adding in extra workbook pages if needed. We will continue to keep you apprised of the changes.

Thanks for all your enthusiasm and effort into making Wit & Wisdom instruction great!

Thank you all for your engagement with the Quarter 1 QBAs!

In the coming days, you will receive a digital copy of the assessment to preview. Please take the time to review the questions, answer choices, and rigor of each item. This step is essential and will enhance the relevance and impact of the data you receive.

A quick reminder: The questions are organized by difficulty—two lower-level, one medium-level, and two higher-level questions per standard. The QBA data provides valuable insights into how well students have mastered grade-level standards that were taught, helping your PLC differentiate between foundational understanding and proficiency. Beyond identifying students who reached the highest levels of mastery, the data also offers insight into the effectiveness of our core resources for priority standards.

We've gained important insights from this week and will continue to build on these experiences moving forward.

A special thank you to Nicole Atencio, our District Assessment Manager, for her unwavering support in troubleshooting KITE issues. If you don't have her direct line, be sure to save it: 5006.6021 😊

Lastly, if you notice any formatting issues or errors within questions on KITE, please report them to Spencer Brown so we can make the necessary adjustments.

Thank you again for your dedication!

The KSDE Science October newsletter (click here) includes information on opportunities for collaboration with monthly science teacher Zoom meetups, Balanced Assessments, Standards Alignment, links to science specific resources, KSDE's Four Fundamentals & Science, etc. There also is information on science mini tests for grades 3 to 12 and interim tests for grades 5 and 8. The science mini tests are available at middle school and forthcoming for grades 3-5. The fall interim testing window is currently open: 10/14/24 to 11/1/24.

I hope each of you has had a great week so far. Please check out the 2024-25 social studies newsletter for important social studies related items.

Special Note for 4th Grade teachers:

The Kansas Day field trip at Mahaffie for this year has almost filled for every date. There is limited space open for the 1/23 field trip. If you have not scheduled, yet, please reach out to me as soon as possible. First come, first serve. If you have signed up already, schedules are currently being made for each date and will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.

Thank you for all you do! - Julie