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Curriculum

‘09 - '10 Schedule P.E. - Daily     Ms. Rippey     10:30 - 10:50 Lunch/Recess   11:25 - 12:15 Art    Tues..  1:55 - 2:35  Mrs. Cunningham  2nd Step Social Skills Program  -  Tues.  1:20 - 1:50  *This class is taught by ISU Graduate Students Library Check Out/Story  Mon.  10:00 – 10:20  Mrs. Mroz Library/Technology   Thurs.   9:25 – 10:05   Mrs. Mroz               Music     Mon. .    12:40 - 1:05      Mrs. Ricker       Wed.    12:40 - 1:05       Fri.        1:05 – 1:30 3rd Grade Reading Buddies/Mrs.Kortkamp's Class  -   Wed. 1:20 ***Our morning schedule includes language arts (Big books/shared reading, rhyming and sequencing activities, phonemic awareness, writing journals, show and tell, etc.) and math activities (calendar patterns, weather graph, wiggle worm count, minute math, counting patterns, 'tricky teen' numbers, etc.)      Our afternoon includes free exploration and games in math, science, and social studies.   Since many of our themes and units are integrated with subject area activities, our time frames are very flexible. Language Arts - - Math - - Science - - Social Studies Language Arts Word Families                No Child Left Behind - "Reading First"      Teaching children to look for patterns in words will help them decode new words.   The following list includes 37 word families.   By substituting different letters at the beginning the students can make 500 words!    __ack             __ain           __ake             __ale           __all           __ame __an              __ank          __ap               __ash          __at             __ate __aw             __ay            __eat              __ell            __est           __ice __ick            __ide           __ight             __ill            __in            __ine __ing           __ink           __ip                __ir             __ock          __oke __op            __or             __ore             __uck          __ug            __ump __unk Language Arts State Goal 1:  Students will apply word analysis skills.    Students can use what they know about letters, sounds, and words to help them read new words and phrases. High Frequency Words      We will practice these words throughout the school year using our guided reading books, our poetry notebooks, our writing journals, and our shared reading (big books).   We will refer to the high frequency words as our word wall words.   After we have practiced the words in many ways, we have a 'graduation' ceremony so that our words can graduate to the word wall for future reference.      These words will be reviewed in 1st grade and will be included in the first reader in the fall. red         blue      yellow     green     white      pink       purple brown    white    orange        a            I           me           my is           the         we            see         go        like         little    look        on           one        you         do        have     come       to        no         for      are       what         here State Language Arts Goal  1  -  Students can use what they know about letters, sounds, and words to help them figure out words and phrases. State Language Arts Goal  3  -  Students can use the words that they know to help them write in complete sentences. Poetry Notebooks  -  We are beginning our 1st poetry notebook of the school year!    When we learn a new poem, we sing and practice it by listening first.  Later we associate the text of the poem with the words that we have already learned.   Often we record our voices as we recite our favorite poems.  We enjoy listening to the recording over and over.  Sometimes we even add special sound effects!   During color station time, we practice reading the poems that are written and illustrated on poster board.   We use silly 'wands' or pointers and pretend to be the teacher!         POETRY IS FUN! Gerbils     Gerbils are the nicest things                                               That anyone could own.                                                           I like them even better than                                  Some dogs that I have known.                             Their fur is soft, their faces nice.                            They're small when they are grown.                      And they sit inside your pocket                     When you are all alone.   LA State Goal 1  -  Students can understand many different types of reading materials.                                     Students can apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to help them                                     understand poetry.   (rhyme, word patterns, rhythm, etc.)    LA State Goal 4  -  Students can listen in formal and informal situations.              The Knights' Press     Our school publishing center is up and running for the '07-'08 school year!   The Knights' Press was developed by our school staff, the literacy committee, and parent volunteers.   Mrs. Majors is the parent coordinator for the Knights' Press.    Parent volunteers are welcome to assist in the publishing center throughout the school year.   It is never too late to sign up to be a publishing center  volunteer.      We want to encourage all of our Northpoint School students to become lifelong readers and writers! Students submit stories and poems for publication.  These original, literary works are completed at school.  Classroom teachers help their students with editing.   Then the student signs up to publish their book.   Parent helpers meet with each student and act as their publisher.   Parent volunteers help with typing and binding the books.    When the book is completed, Mr. Weldy announces the student author's name and the title of their book! KD Book Titles   The Rainbows We Love My Cat Sam The Pirates and The Gingerbread Man Designs Are Beautiful Best Friends Are Forever  My Brothers and Me The Best Sleepover Ever My Family Went Bowling I Like Rainbows  Flowers Everywhere Pretty Things In Summer  I Love Rainbows Storm Car  Things About Summer Lightning McQueen  Batman and Robin to the Rescue I Wrote a Story  I Can Write! I wrote a story.                                    I can write about kings, and stings, I made a book.                                    And hippopotamuses' wings. I wrote a story.                                    I can write about me, or you, Come and look!                                  I'm a writer - whackydoo! Journal Writing Writing is a process. . .especially for  5 and 6 year olds! Before we begin to write, we talk about a topic and share ideas.   I write and model these ideas on the chalkboard. We review the sight words that are on our word wall.  These sight words are high frequency words that the students will need to spell when they are ready to begin writing.   We practice punctuation in a fun way.  We look at which letters are tall and which letters are small.  Then students combine their ideas on the topic and begin to write in their journals.  All students are successful at their own developmental levels because the students may choose ideas and words from many resources. Brave Words  -  These are words that the students have spelled on their own.   The words are in the students' speaking vocabularies.  They are 'brave' to attempt to write and spell them in their journals.   Typically, these words are more challenging to spell.   The students try to write down all of the sounds that they hear in the 'brave' words.   This helps the students to become more independent with their writing. Roller Coaster Words  -  These are consonant, vowel, consonant words that the students have spelled on their own.   (red, bed, fed, hat, sat, mat, etc.)  The students have learned a hand motion for the roller coaster words.   This action stresses the vowel sound at the top of the roller coaster.  Vowel sounds can be very difficult for young students to hear in words that they would like to write and spell. As we conclude our journal writing, students may choose to illustrate a picture that goes with their writing.   Later, I will have students read their writing to me to assess the recognition of sight words and other reading strategies that the students use. Language Arts State Goal 3:  Students will write words based on how they sound, using beginning and ending sounds.                                  Students will begin to write simple sentences. Language Arts State Goal 4:  Students will use drawings and writing to communicate information.     Colors   We are learning songs that help us spell the color words. When we can spell 'red' we can learn to spell 'bed, fed, led, Ted, and Ned'.  Once we learn to spell 'black' we will know how to spell 'pack, sack, rack, tack'.   Our color songs are fun to sing and I am sure that you will be hearing the tunes at home. Here are some silly Color Monster rhymes that the students wrote for their homework: Blue, blue kicked a canoe.                        White, white stuck in flight.  Yellow, yellow played his cello.                 Yellow, yellow tell your mom 'hello'.  Red, red went to bed.                                  Blue, blue tried to moooooo!   Yellow, yellow stepped in jello.                 Red, red likes to thread. Blue, blue is wearing shoes.                     Green, green lost his scream.  Red, red slept in bed.                                 Black, black has to lay on his back. Blue, blue. . .I love you!                              Blue, blue sick with the flu.  Black, black ate a Big Mac!                        Blue, blue a spider is after you! Green, green likes green beans.                 Red, red a dinosaur is under your bed! Purple, purple bought a gerbil.                   Blue, blue Scary Sue!  Blue, blue lost his shoe.                             Blue, blue stepped in glue. . "Now I have a sticky shoe!" Red, red has a pumpkin head.                    Blue, blue tied her shoe!  Blue, blue you're in a zoo!                          Green, green stepped in beans! White, white fights at night!                       Blue, blue lost his glue.   Gold, gold was very bold.                            Red, red Monster Ed! Blue, blue has a hairdo.                               Red, red fell out of bed. Blue, blue had a clue.                                  Green, green likes his jeans. Red, red is in his bed. . with an ice pack on his head! Blue, blue stuck in goo!                                 Blue, blue said, "Boo Hoo!" Green, green played Halloween!                   Yellow, yellow, he is mellow! Green, green is the monster's tractor machine! Blue, blue "I just got gum on my shoe!"      Pink, pink has to sink! Red, red "Go to bed!"                                     Black, black. . .pizza sack! Pink, pink. . . It makes me think!                 Gray, gray. . .Let's all pray! Black, black. . .That's my backpack!            Brown, brown. . .The thing has a crown! Blue, blue got stuck in glue! LA State Goal 1:  Students will apply word analysis skills. Gingerbread Man We enjoyed the story The Gingerbread Man.  Next week we will bake our own gingerbread man for our snack. . .we hope that he doesn't run away!  Other G-Man activities will include sequencing, patterning, class book, shape review. Our Hunt for the Gingerbread Man Each day we read clues that told us where to search for the G-Man. Ms. Boucher's and Mrs. Schweinberg’s classes joined the search! We think that we saw the G-Man’s shadow! We looked in the office, the art room, the library, 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd grade rooms! On the final day of our search, we decided to act and think like foxes! We wore fox hats and we read facts about foxes.                     Did our 3rd grade buddies know where we should look? We found our real Gingerbread Man in the Computer Annex! Gingerbread Graph: Do you like gingerbread? Yes    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 20 No     * * * * 4 LA State Goals:  1 - Students will comprehend a broad range of reading materials  2 - Students can tell whether a story is real or make-believe.  5 - Students will use information from various sources to answer questions, solve problems, and communicate ideas.   Math State Goals:  8 - Students will identify and describe patterns and relationships, 9 -Students will recognize and identify geometric shapes. We read a variety of gingerbread stories and compared the characters, settings, and endings to the different stories.   Here are some favorite titles: The Gingerbread Man    Heritage Readers   (traditional story) Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett   (surprise ending) The Gingerbread Boy by Richard Egielski   (He's loose in the city!) The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst  (She sings, "I'll run and I'll run with a leap and a twirl!  You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Girl!" The Stinky Cheese Man  by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (No one wants to chase him because the cheese is stinky!) The Gingerbread Man by Robert and Marlene McCracken   (A slow turtle is the last animal to meet the gingerbread man!) The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires  (The GMan Cowboy sings, "Giddy up, Giddy up as fast as you can!   You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man!" Foxes by Adele Richardson   (nonfiction book) Amazing Wolves, Dogs, and Foxes (nonfiction book)  The Runaway Tortilla by Eric Kimmel (The tortilla sings, "Doesn't matter what you do. . . I'll be far away from you!"  The tortilla rolls away from rattlesnakes, donkeys, bucking broncos, until it meets a tricky coyote!) Can't Catch Me by John and Ann Hassett (A boy makes a glass of lemonade, but the ice cube runs away!)                                               Gingerbread Joke What does the Gingerbread Man put on his bed?                              (cookie sheets)  Young children often believe that 'good readers' already know all of the words!   But I remind the students that good readers have tricks (strategies) to help them figure out the words that they don't know. (Look at the letters and try the sounds.  Look for a picture clue.   Read on in the sentence and try a word that makes sense.) LA State Goal 1:  Students will apply reading strategies to improve fluency and understanding. As you help your child at home, please remember that when we enjoy a story together, our main reason for reading is for pleasure. . .not to isolate skills that might be frustrating or fearful for the young child! Math The early weeks in kindergarten include free exploration with many math manipulatives:  unifix cubes, pattern blocks, geoboards, counting cards, patterning toys. This year we have added some new math boxes that have theme toys which will help us with math stories (story problems).   I remind the students that 'numbers tell a story'. It is fun and exciting to discover things on our own especially when it seems like play.  Math State Goals: 6 - Students demonstrate and apply a knowledge and sense of numbers, 8 - Students will identify and describe patterns and relationships, 9 - Students can recognize and identify geometric shapes. Number Sense  -  We learn to show numbers in different ways.  Numbers always tell a story!    We practice using tally marks to count large and small groups.   Tally marks help us practice counting by 5's and 10's.  We add a paper clip for each day that we are in school.  We make chains of 10 in each group.  Math has a vocabulary to learn.  Numbers can also be called 'digits'.  Numbers have 'places'.  The numeral 39 means 3 groups of 10 paper clips and 9 paper clips left over. We are practicing numeral writing.  Remind your child that all numbers begin at the top!   Try these rhymes as your child writes the numbers: 1    Straight line down and now you're done!   That's the way to make a 1. 2.   Around and back on the railroad track, 2, 2, 2! 3    Around a tree, around a tree. . .that's the way to make a 3! 4    Go down and over and down some more. . . that's the way to make a 4! 5    Go down and around, put a flag on the top. . .5 comes alive! 6    Mr. 6, he does tricks. . .he stands on his head! 7    Across the sky and down from heaven. . .  that's the way to make a 7! 8    Make an S. . .now close the gate. . .that's the way to make an 8! 9    Around and down. . .number 9 is fine! 10  A 1 and a 0 make a ten, you know! 11   Straight as two sticks. . .11 is quick! 12    12 is on a clock. . . tick tock. . .tick tock! State Math Goal 6:  Students can read and write numbers. We enjoy counting the days that we have been in school.   Our wiggle worm helps us count by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's. The wiggle worm also helps us look for a counting and color pattern.   State Math Goal 8:  Students can find missing numbers in a sequence, students can explain the rules about patterns. Our clip count helps us learn about place value:  ones, tens, and hundreds.  We are learning about odd and even (fair) numbers.   Our calendar helps us with counting, saying the days of the week, following numbers left to right, finding weekend days, and identifying patterns. Zero the Hero visits our class when our wiggle worm number has a zero:  10 days of school, 20 days of school, 30 days, etc. Patterns   -   We practice identifying and creating patterns throughout the school year.   Teaching young children to look for patterns helps them seek order and meaning in their world of new experiences.  Numbers are based on patterns  =  counting by 5's, 10's, etc.   We use many manipulatives to build and create our own clever patterns.   Students never tire of these open-ended math activities. Looking for patterns will help the students decode new words in reading readiness (CVC words/consonant - vowel-consonant = cat, hat, bat;  hot, pot, dot, etc.)   The patterns in the melody of music helps train their auditory skills.                                         Science  Unit 5 Schools have adopted a new science series that we will be using in our district beginning in the fall of '06.   In kindergarten we will introduce 10 chapters which include the following topics:  Needs of Plants and Animals, Growing and Changing, Plants and Animals All Around, Our Land, Water, and Air, Weather and Seasons, Matter, Heat and Light, How Things Move, Day and Night, How Things Work.  It sounds like a very busy year! September  -  Living/Nonliving Key Concepts:      1.  Living things grow and change.      2.  Living things have needs to survive.      We are studying the life cycle of a painted lady butterfly.   We have learned the scientific names for the different stages. egg   (The egg is very sticky and will not blow off the leaf during rainy or windy days.) larva   (Think L for larva and L for leaf.   The larva eats and eats and eats!) pupa  (chrysalis  -   Think P for pupa. . The butterfly will pop out soon!) adult butterfly   (Think B for butterfly and B for beautiful!) Voting for Butterfly Names ‘09 On Monday, Sept. 28, 4 painted lady butterflies emerged from their chrysalis. We put juicy orange slices in the butterfly house for them to sip. We suggested names for the butterflies and then we voted for our 4 favorite butterfly names. This lesson helped us practice counting tally marks as we counted the votes. Here are the results: Sparkle Glitter * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 19 Northpoint * * * * * * * * * * * 11 Elizabeth * * * * * * * * 8 Butter * * * * * * * * * 9 Liz * 1 Juica * * * * * * * * * 9 Joe * * * 3 Rose * * * * * * 6 Makenzie * * * * 4 Doc * * * * 4 Sparkly * * * 3 Sparkles * * 2 Beth * * * * * 5 On Thurs. Oct. 1 at 2:30 p.m. we set our butterflies free. We waited for a day when the temperature was above 50. Sparkle Glitter flew off first. Northpoint flew over the gym roof. Butter didn’t want to fly at first so we put the butterfly on a flower bush. Juica flew off and landed on the roof. We could still see its wings. Then Butter flew above the sidewalk and off into the distance! We enjoyed learning about living things!  OBSERVING WITH THE MICROSCOPE       We are learning how to use a microscope.   (Magiscope by Brock Optical)        These are some of the things that we have studied: gerbil food      rose petals      stem      leaf      yarn       sequins     cotton ball crayon wrapper     beads       fringe    frayed shoelace   glitter star    cheerio chrysalis       doilie    flower petals     legos      anacharis (snail food)   powdered calcium (gecko's vitamins) coins apple seed caterpillar silk  Learning about Matter. . . solids, liquids, and gases!      We participated in a learning lab at the Children's Discovery Museum.   We enjoyed a big book on Matter.   We conducted several experiments to see how matter changes forms. Science Super Hero   -    Matter Man Matter Man Song Written by Mrs. Connie DeBord Matter Man, Matter Man Changes matter whenever he can! Ice is a solid, it has a shape,                                                 But when it melts, it's all over the place! Matter Man, Matter Man Changes matter whenever he can! He blows up a balloon There’s air inside Air is a gas, But where does it hide? Matter Man, Matter Man Changes matter whenever he can, Popsicles melt, Drip, drip, drip, They become a liquid, Sip, sip, sip! Matter Man, Matter Man Changes matter whenever he can!       Young children are natural scientists!   They wonder, ask why, and study their environment closely! Social Studies Maps and Globes      It has been fun locating different places using our classroom globe.  Sometimes we use a flashlight to shine on specific parts of the world.   Our learning goal is to be able to distinguish between water and land using maps and globes.   Johnny Appleseed       September      Johnny Appleseed is the first hero whom we study from history.  We learned that he was born more than 200 years ago, and his real name was John Chapman.  John grew up on a farm in Massachusetts.  He did many farm chores but his favorite job was taking care of the apple orchards.      Johnny knew about the hardships that the pioneers faced.   He hoped that they would have time to plant apple seeds near their new homes out west.   When Johnny realized that the pioneers were too busy to tend to young apple trees, he decided to leave the family's farm and travel west with the pioneers.   Along his way, Johnny planted apple seeds and cared for the young trees.   Johnny Appleseed hoped that the pioneers would enjoy the juicy apples as much as he did.      Class Activities:      1.   We talked about truth and legends.   (Did Johnny really sleep inside a log with a bear?. . . or was this a legend?)      2.   We made applesauce for our snack.   It was fun to use the apple peeler and slicer.  (Pampered Chef)    The slicer cut the fruit so that it looked like an apple 'slinky'. Applesauce Graph    Do you like applesauce? Yes * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 20 No  * * * 3      3.   We discovered the 'star' inside the apple as we enjoyed the story, The Little Red House. 4.  We made apple prints.      5.  We compared the taste of red, yellow, and green apples. Apple Graph What kind of apple do you like best? red      * * * * * * 6 yellow * * * * * * * * * 9 green  * * * * * * * * * 9      6.  We colored a map from the pioneer days.   We found the directions North, South, East, and West.   We also found the ocean and land areas on the map.      7.  We learned how to spell 'apple' using sign language.   We learned sign language for 'tree' and 'smile'.   We used sign language as we recited the poem,  Apple            Tree. 8.  We will visit the Apple Blossom Farm in Peoria for our field trip.  A hayride into the orchard has been planned.  Each student will select an apple to bring home.           www.appleblossomfarm.com  Making Applesauce Columbus Simulation      October      Our social studies curriculum is people centered which means that each grade level will study important people from history.    This fall our students have studied Johnny Appleseed and Christopher Columbus. Social Science State Goal 16:  Students will understand events and individuals from history that helped to shape their country.      As we read books and learned about Christopher Columbus, we prepared to take our own journey to America.  Each student brought an item from home that was discovered in the New World.   Parents helped us make paper ships, hats, and  spyglasses, We enjoyed coloring and discussing several maps.      We divided our class into 3 groups for the ships, Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.   We pretended that we were the sailors traveling with Columbus.   The picnic area was Spain and we traveled west across the Atlantic Ocean (grass) to the Canary Islands.   Columbus stopped at the islands for additional supplies.   We also tasted similar foods that might have been onboard the ships:  saltines for the hard bread, beef sticks for the salty beef, and dried fruit.      When we arrived at our school playground, we searched for the treasures that were discovered in the New World.   When we found our treasure we also received gold coins.   When we returned to the classroom, we presented our treasures to the King and Queen of Spain.    WE ARE EXPLORERS! We're ready to board the                    ships! We're heading west! We need more supplies from the Canary Islands. . Time for a sailor's snack:   dried fruit, saltines, salty beef! A sailor from the Pinta sees land! We visit the islands and search for treasures!  We found gold!           The sailors are very tired after their long voyage west! Our sailors brought their treasures to Queen Isabella of Spain!  Math Graph Question                                            Do you like sailor food?   (dried fruit, salty beef, and saltines) YES  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 16  NO   * * * * * * * 7 Social Science Goal 17:  Students can locate and explain places and features of the Earth.  November     -     Native Americans      We read many books about the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.  We compared our lives today to their lives long ago.      1.  We learned that Native Americans lived in different types of homes depending on where they lived.  We studied a model of a pueblo.   We read the book, Arrow to the Sun.      2.  We played a game that the Indian children might have played.   The game was called The Beaver Tooth Game.   Indians used real beaver teeth as dice.  They used small animal bones for counters.   To play the game, one person tosses 4 beaver teeth into a basket.  Each tooth has a design on it.   Points are awarded according to how the beaver teeth land in the basket.  Each player counted and saved bones to show how many points they had.      3.  We practiced Indian symbols and sign language.      4.  We acted out 2 different legends about how the Native Americans discovered maple syrup. We made pancakes for our snack. . .maple syrup. .yum! .      5.  We learned about the difficult voyage of the Mayflower ship.  We sang  "The Big Ship Sailing Song."  A baby was born on the voyage.   The parents named her Oceanus since she was born when the Pilgrims were sailing across the ocean.  There were more than 100 passengers on the ship.  (That is about the same number of students in 4 kindergarten classes!)      6.  The Pilgrims only had time to build 7 houses before winter.  The rest of the families slept on the Mayflower ship.  The Pilgrims ran out of food and water.  Many Pilgrims got sick and died.      7.  In the spring, the Native Americans found ways to help and teach the Pilgrims about America.      8.  We invited our families to attend our performance of "The First Thanksgiving." We are also learning about being good citizens in kindergarten.   We say the Pledge of Allegiance each day and often march to "You're A Grand Ole Flag." Social Science Goal 14:  Students will understand the responsibilities of being citizens.