Kindergarten

9/29/11

Todays Discussion:
 * Social Studies Ideas to keep in TLC-November/Pilgrim ideas and lessons
 * Beginning of the year Exemplars- when to introduce number writing/number stories
 * Align EDM to common core-use lessons that fit common core standards-Bring established lessons to sort through to make order of EDM lessons
 * Work on learning goals for each month-general check list
 * Science Curriculum:Kandi has listed books to go along with each standard
 * Focus on Math and Science Alignment
 * Next week: Report Card likes/dislikes

10/6/11
 * Discussed likes and dislikes of report cards
 * Likes
 * Social Development, Works Habits, and Motor Development
 * Dislikes
 * **report card should align to common core standards**
 * delete "works conscienctiously" (covered by other work habits requirements)
 * Change
 * math needs a "draw model to solve problem"
 * Needs more specific syllable expectations
 * Add in the grading key a NE (not expected)
 * initial, medial, and final sounds should be broken down into three seperate section
 * Homework Packet
 * goes home Monday, returned Friday
 * Discuss a Peacebuilder's bullet point each day. Send one sentence home each night for families to discuss.
 * For Next Week
 * Curriculum Guide Discussion

10/13 Discussed the SIT process and went over any questions teachers have:
 * Went over difference between SIT and Rounds (academic vs not academic)
 * Went over what do to with an ELL student in Kindergarten? Not put them up for SIT b/c they are ELL and K? Discussion about ELL in Kindergarten that is purely ELL should not be brought up for SIT b/c it is developmental (example ELL students in K teachers found that these students tend to learn letter sounds before letter names -auditory is stronger? but usually they make gains at end of yr)
 * We dissucssed every teacher having a timeline/notebook to take notes about students to provide to 1st grade teachers next year (what works for these students)
 * Teachers liked Case Managers checking in before the initial meeting
 * Communication from Johnson about students - teachers/Virginia should be able to discuss and take informal notes on incoming students
 * Should we have a "Ask 3 Before You Ask Me?" Policy before teachers put up students for SIT as a pre-sit? It may remind teachers to check in with other gradel levels/resources in the building
 * If you feel at the end of a SIT meeting that the recommendations you were given were not going to work (teacher not satisfied) speak up so you don't leave the meeting feel this way
 * Working on getting a resource for SIT meetings that refer to past SITs and the successful interventions that have worked

10/27
 * Quickly went over Flip Cam Video ideas for Kindergarten at School Assembly
 * Began to discuss Nonfiction lessons/strategies
 * Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the purposes, structure, and elements of nonfiction or informational materials and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.
 * Outlined what we are doing currently: exposure, main idea, pulling out information from text, sequencing, graphic organizers

11/3/11
 * Discussed Nonfiction lessons/ strategies
 * Determined which graphic organizers that are appropriate for Kindergarten
 * Incoporating Soar to Success to compare non-fiction vs. fiction
 * Discussed what we need for Tuesday's Professional Development Day
 * RTI: activiites for at-risk and established students
 * For next week
 * Math goals: exemplars and RTI expectations

11/17/11
 * Discussed Math Common Core Standards and went over appropirate goals for the first two quarters of the kindergarten year.
 * Next Week: Writing Rubric for Fall

12/1/11
 * Kindergarten will have three writing rubrics:Fall, Winter, and Spring.
 * Created writing rubrics that would support the first grade's writing rubric.
 * Rubric uses writing vocabulary consistent with Writer's Workshop.

12/8/11 12/15/11
 * Add conventions to spring rubric
 * Discussed where we are with Writer's Workshop
 * labels
 * words from environment
 * pencil drawings
 * how to use writer's portfolioFor next week:
 * bring sample of some writer's
 * Discussed K rubric - now have three rubrics (fall, winter and spring)
 * Discussed upcoming writing prompt - how to present it -- model about ourselves first - discuss what we want to be when we grow up and what kind of further education that job would require
 * Decided to do the Helping vs. Hurting activity for January (tie it into Martin Luther King Jr. day)

1/5/12
 * shared math ideas/center activities from the web site Sue gave us to align with common core standards
 * discussion of i-ready assessment and results
 * discussion of observations for next week's meeting
 * writer's workshop discussion

1/12/12


 * Discussed observations seen in other classrooms: whole class math and writer's workshop
 * Went over ideas/strategies observed to use in our kindergarten classrooms
 * Writer's workshop discussion-focus on Organization for staff meeting next month
 * Nonfiction dicussion-lessons that we can use within the next months

1/19/12
 * Discussed what we would do for the February staff meeting. We will work with the 6+ 1 Traits rubric and come up with ways to incorporate traits into writer's workshop. We will begin with the area of organization.
 * Shared two web sites for RTI center ideas. For Math K-5MathTeachingResources.net. We discussed how this site has the common core strands and activities for various levels for each strand. Also talked about ReadingResources.net for ELA center ideas.
 * Math Exemplars - discussed how new format for January is going and what the next phase of exemplar.
 * Discussed using math flashcards for teaching +0, -0, +1, -1.

2/2/12
 * discussed how graphic organizers are working for non fiction -- students did well - they were able to pull four major categories of information from text and write/draw on graphic organizer
 * Kandi shared a printout on how to teach nonfiction to k students
 * discussed crosswalks for common core=specifically for language arts - what do we need to change or add
 * discussed what we are doing in math groups - using activities from K-5 math resources to supplement and "go deeper" than Everyday Math

2/9/12
 * shared a web site with printable flash cards for center activities (addition cards)
 * non fiction- Kandi shared a book of unique animals used teach students how to pull key details from a text. Students had to draw an animal and one thing they learned about that animal after read
 * we will check with Kathleen after her curriculum meeting on Monday after vacation. If they are not going to do a curriculum map for the rest of year we will complete it
 * What are we all working on for Science and Social Studies - brain pop videos available.

2/16/12


 * Discussed writing program from Boston observation

3/8/12


 * Discussed PD from Tuesday:
 * Tuesday afternoon presentation at high school - we need to be doing more with non-fiction (reading, comprehending, and writing)
 * Bloom's Taxonomy - we would like to sit down and see exactly what we are doing in each of the areas and see where our strengths and weaknesses are
 * Discussed ideas for guided reading for students that have a good handle on phonemic awareness and phonicc - Kerry shared that Debbie Millar's work provides a good framework to follow - focus on one area per month (predictions, connections, inferencing...)

3/15/12
 * Kathleen shared focus math intervention materials to be used to RTI groups
 * discussed journals - how we are using them
 * wish we had more grade level nonfiction texts to use to teach nonfiction - wish we still had A-Z access for nonfiction
 * discussed what to do with students having difficulty blending

4/4/12
 * talked about aligning common core standards to revised Bloom's - we will see what we do on Tuesday and then follow up after
 * talked about i-ready results
 * discussed what we are all doing for nonfiction

4/11/12
 * Discussed common core meeting and discussed the assessment found on pintereset - we will complete that assesment for students to see where we may need to adjust curriculum to meet common core for next year
 * Discussed creating a packet for writer's workshop as Debbie requested.

5/3/12
 * Discussed Fluency Webinar and applied to K level
 * Work on Sight Words for next year to become more consistent
 * Discussed Nonfiction Writing Ideas
 * Revise Scope and Sequence next time for next year

5/24/12
 * ELL article - importance of providing many opportunities for children to use language and on our level being aware that students behavior may be directly related to not being fluent in language

- 10/05/12
 * Common Core math curriculum map - looked at the topics - they seem great we wll wait to see the program because they may have a map

__PLC Topics__ __September 17-21__  Factor & Leiter IEP Meeting overview for classroom teachers (Made PowerPoint saved in My Documents) __September 24-28__  Liz Murray and Nancy Dutton __Kindergarten & Grade 1__: Reading Street Writing Program __Grade 2-4__: Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI Lexile Levels) and Reading Street Writing Program __October 1-5__ Liz Murray and Nancy Dutton Discuss PLC roles and responsibilities, assign roles (grade 2 pilot new model for reflection) October 9 (Grade levels back to own agendas and notes using roles to focus on new curriculum discussions)

October 11 Discussion about K Weebly, what to include on website, getting organized and started. Discussion about starting small groups on Monday.

October 18 Continued to work on Weebly.

October 25 Brainstorming on Questions to ask/discuss during our Data Implementation Meeting Work on Weebly.

November 1 Soldified dates for Progress Monitoring until Februrary Made a plan for Professional Development Day Discussed groupings and how to group different levels of students during MTSS

November 8 Review Reading Street Assessment - went well - students performed well on hfw and not so well on rhyming. Discussed what to put in update for Erin's parent communication Amanda discussed what she does with ELL students to compliment our Reading Street Questions for Pearson

December 6 Discussed Common Core Conventions for K Went over Pearson Rep Discussion Discussed Writing Went over higher kindergarten readers to form possible grouping

December 13 Pajama day on Thursday at 9:45 - We will watch Polar Express and have hot chocolate Reading Street weekly assessment feedback (Shira requested we do this and discuss) Helpful in determining who is doing well with decoding / who is doing well with high frequency words - or who needs to work on both. Real vs. Fantasy assessment went well - k students are not having a problem w/this concept DIBELS with Liz

January 3 Discussed homework - going to use Kindergarten Cove Homework (it aligns with Reading Street) Amanda is going to DIBEL her students before benchmark day Discussed working on Nonsense Words and Phoneme Segmentation in preparation for benchmark DIBELS progress monitoring scores in by Tuesday Staff Meeting

January 9th Went over DIBELS scores and benchmarks. Discussed possible groupings Reviewed Reading Street Assessment

January 17th DIBELS benchmark scores - creating new groups discussed possibilities for managing progress monitoring (when we begin to progress monitor) ideas to teach phoneme segmenting

January 24th Discussed report cards NWF and PSF strategies Discussed next weeks theme for Reading Street Beginning Middle and End Ideas for this week's book

January 31,th Discussed creating a group of our lowest students that are still working on letters and sounds. Talked about whether or not we want to switch to 6day cycle on Reading Street. We decided we would keep with the 5 day. Discussed EnVisions Benchmark (5-8) test - we will take 2 days to administer Discussed Topics for EnVisions Math- do we want to change the order of topics for next year? 1) Topics 106 Counting Cardinality, 2) Topics 14-16 Geometry, 3) Topics 10-11 Comparing #s, 4) Topics 7-9 Addition/Subtraction, 5) Topics 12-13 Measurement/Data

February 7th Discussed Math exemplars and chose 2 to start with. We will see how students do with those and discuss again next week. Discussed DIBELS benchmark scores and ways to improve

March 7th Discussed intervention materials with Liz and possible grade level groupings

March 14th Went over SI groupings for meeting on Hill meeting on Monday. Discussed weekly assessments.

May 2nd Went over math exemplar order through the rest of the year. Double checked math common core standards to make sure envisions is covering all objectives. Discussed topics for the rest of the year within envisions.