Hooray for an excellent first week of kindergarten at STEM! We had a great time in literacy, with the majority of our lessons focused on establishing rules and routines for the year. This week, students learned about independent reading and the three ways to read a book. Students learned that they can: (1) Read the words; (2) Read the pictures; or (3) Retell a familiar story. These ways to read a book help even emergent readers begin to explore books independently, which is one of the foundations of our balanced literacy program at STEM. During independent reading, students will practice the mechanics of reading as well as begin to utilize comprehension strategies that they are learning in class. Students did a great job of reading on their own and will be learning about other independent work that they can do over the next few weeks.
Kindergarten students were also introduced to their response journals this week. At STEM, we use response journals across subject areas and grade levels to keep a record of student work. Throughout the year, students will use these notebooks to record various activities that they have completed and to demonstrate their learning. Here, a student shows how they sorted picture cards into "Fruit" and "Not Fruit" categories (a sort from Words their Way). Throughout the year, students will continue to complete sort activities, sorting for attributes like rhyming words, initial sounds, and vowel sounds.
We are so proud of the week our kindergartners had!
Kindergarten students were also introduced to their response journals this week. At STEM, we use response journals across subject areas and grade levels to keep a record of student work. Throughout the year, students will use these notebooks to record various activities that they have completed and to demonstrate their learning. Here, a student shows how they sorted picture cards into "Fruit" and "Not Fruit" categories (a sort from Words their Way). Throughout the year, students will continue to complete sort activities, sorting for attributes like rhyming words, initial sounds, and vowel sounds.
We are so proud of the week our kindergartners had!