Information Packet Valley Crossing Community School Grades K-1 2014-2015 Neighborhood B K-1 Team Contact information Dani Billmeyer (651) 702-5790 [email protected]Michelle Caldwell (651) 702 5743 [email protected]Shannon Casey (651) 703-5739 [email protected]
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Information
Packet
Valley Crossing
Community School
Grades K-1
2014-2015 Neighborhood B K-1 Team Contact information
•Guided Reading books will go home. Please read them at least two
times over the weekend.
•Return Guided Reading books and bags on Mondays.
•Practice reading and writing sight words from the recommended
list.
•Each child has an IXL log-in. This is an excellent resource to
practice math skills on the computer at home.
The goal is to reinforce learned skills and develop
organizational and regular habits.
Homework Policy K-1: 0-15 minutes per night
Homework Guidelines:
Writing Components
Writing Mini-Lesson – A writing mini-lesson is a time when specific
writing/spelling strategies are addressed. A mini-lesson will focus on a
particular aspect of the writing process, a writing genre, or the writer’s
voice.
Status of the Class – After the writing mini-lesson the teacher will do
a quick check on what each child is writing about.
Writer’s Workshop – During independent writing time students will
make writing choices that include but are not limited to: sketching or
drawing, telling stories about their lives, continuing writing work
already in progress, publishing a piece or conferencing with a teacher.
Writing Conferences – A writing conference is a time when a student
meets with a teacher to share his/her writing. During a writing
conference, the teacher can give individualized instruction to students
and provide added guidance. A teacher also edits with students on a
piece that is ready to be published.
Daily Sharing – Sharing occurs on a daily basis during Writer’s
Workshop. Students may choose to share finished pieces of writing or
works that are in progress to get input, comments and suggestions.
***Editing and conferencing look differently depending on a child’s
developmental level.
Resources include: Units of Study for Primary Writing: A Yearlong
Curriculum by Lucy Calkins.
We use EnvisionMath. EnVisionMath is a researched based curriculum based
on the National Council Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. With
enVisionMath, students have daily opportunities for Problem-Based learning
to help deepen their mathematical thinking and conceptual understanding.
Resources: enVisionMath Investigations Website: http://investigations.terc.edu/ Connected Mathematics Website: http://connectedmath.msu.edu/ Everyday Counts Calendar Math NCTM materials Mathland Math Their Way Marilyn Burns Materials CGI Curriculum
Units of Study
Number and Operations
Algebra
Geometry
Measurement
Data Analysis and Probability
Problem Solving
Assessment and Student Placement
We are assessing students and placing them into groups based on their
understandings and performance on the assessment, and prior teacher knowledge.
Calendar Math Your child receives between 45-55 minutes of math per day, depending upon the age group. Calendar math teaches number sense and number operation through an extra 10-15 minute session every day of the week. The students are actively learning critical math concepts, including:
place value
measurement
time
money
mental math
geometry
estimation
patterns and functions
graphing, statistics, and probability
algebra
What’s new? Some new elements that we will be incorporating into our math program include: problem
solving, reasoning, and communicating the information that is learned. The State of Minnesota has determined that students need to have algebra by eighth grade
therefore we need to start teaching algebra starting in kindergarten. Manipulatives – We are very fortunate to have a great variety of math manipulatives here at Valley Crossing.
The team has a set of tubs that allow the students hands-on opportunities. Some examples of the manipulatives
include: linker cubes, pattern blocks, rainbow tiles, geoblocks, and base 10 blocks.
Math Strategies- Students use a variety of strategies to solve math problems, but most follow a gradual
progression. Some of the strategies you might notice your child using include:
Direct modeling- Students use fingers, cubes, or counters to directly model the quantities in a problem
and then count them one at a time to find the solution. For 4+7 they might lay out 4 cubes, then lay out 7
cubes, then push them together and count by ones to get 11.
Counting up or down- Students can hold one number in their mind and count up or down from it to find
the answer. Often students will use their fingers to keep track of their count. For 4+7 they might say “7.
8, 9, 10, 11. The answer is 11.”
Derived Facts- Students use their knowledge of other math facts to solve an unknown fact. For example
a child faced with the problem 4+7, might say “ 7+3=10 so one more is 11.”
Technology
Opportunities in the classroom: Classrooms are equipped with SMART boards to facilitate
student learning.
2 computer labs
Educational websites such as www.starfall.com (see Media
page for more websites)
Class sets of iPads for each neighborhood
Team set of about 15 Think Pads
Website subscriptions (some can be accessed from the
Valley Crossing Website—“Teacher Pages,” “Media,” “K-1
Websites”):
o IXL (math)—can be worked on from home
o OneMoreStory
o Bookflix
o BrainPop Jr.
o PebbleGo
o TypeToLearn4
Opportunities for your home computer: Schoology:
Make sure you are signed up in Schoology to receive
notifications of what is happening on the team! IF YOU NEED