Goals for the New Year

Second graders, in Mrs. Rowley's class, created this cool display for our lobby bulletin board.  Following a discussion about New Year's resolutions, they each wrote a goal for the upcoming year.  If you happen to stop by in January, take a moment to view their hopes for 2013.  Below are a few examples of their resolutions.

January Bulletin Board

                  

              

In 2013, I will try to...

"help one of my friends get more friends."

"ete more veges."

"do my best work and... best writeting."

"be nicer to my brother and sister."

"read more."

"do the dishes for my mom and dad."

"do beder in school bye working harder."

"eat wey heltther and get more exersize."

"go to bed on time"

"be a better listener at home and class."
"play less vidio games."

Several students wrote about getting more sleep 

and following a consistent bedtime routine. 

Making a goal to get enough sleep is great advice for all of us.  Research indicates sleep is a key factor influencing work and school performance.  For both children and adults, lack of sleep can impair thinking, memory and attention.  Even one night without adequate rest can also negatively impact a person's mood and energy level.  Although individual sleep needs may vary, 11-12 hours each night is recommended for elementary students.  If your child has difficulty waking up or is easily irritated, it may be a sign they need an earlier bedtime.  Pediatricians and school counselors are a good resource for families whose children are struggling with sleep issues.

Writers' Workshop

Teachers at the Sweetsir School participated in professional development with a coach, Kate Donelin, from the Teaching & Learning Alliance. These coaching and training sessions, which took place over a span of two years, focused on developing writing skills using the "Writers' Workshop Model."

At the kindergarten level, Writers' Workshop begins with oral story telling, and then drawing.  Horn & Giacobbe's book, Talking, Drawing, Writing  Lessons for Our Youngest Writers, served as a good resource for teachers. Throughout the year, teachers provide mini-lessons and model elements of writing.  Focusing on oral story telling first, helps young writers learn the skills to provide information in an organized manner, in order (beginning, middle, end), with enough details for an audience to understand.  Talking about their stories develops 'thinking strategies' which are an essential precursor for putting ideas on paper.  Kindergartners then begin to draw stories in their own special drawing pad. The mini-lessons expand to include adding words and sentences to tell the story.  

 As you can see from these photos, students are fully engaged during the writing block. Many describe 'Writers Workshop' as their favorite part of the day because they love the creative process.  Teachers' have found the lessons are easily differentiated, enabling students to move at their own individual pace.  As you can see from these pages, taken from three students' drawing pads, there can be quite a range of skills among kindergartners.

Vertical Articulation

Sweetsir teachers spent the April 11th Early Release Day working together to review our writing curriculum.  Each grade level listed on chart paper the major teaching points and lessons they cover throughout the year (such as poetry, personal narrative, nonfiction and writing about small moments). They then presented the overview to the whole group so we could examined the flow across grade levels. This type of "vertical articulation" helps ensure all areas of the core curriculum are being covered adequately without unnecessary overlap.

Teachers left the meeting with a solid k-2 trajectory for our writing curriculum.  This time was also an effective way to acknowledge and celebrate the work teachers have accomplished this year with Kate Donelin, a consultant from Teaching and Learning Alliance. Our focus for the past four years has been on implementing a balanced literacy program that includes Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop.

Some of the teaching resources we utilize include:  Units of Study for Primary Writing by Calkins & Colleagues; Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers by Horn & Giacobbe; and the Wilson's Fundations Program.