Welcome to our classroom!

 

I believe in making every minute of your child’s day count! To help all of us adjust to our school day, I like to create a schedule that provides as much structure as possible to that the students know what to expect in our day. Though our schedule does include short term specials such as Guidance and Technology, the majority of our schedule will not change during the year.

 

8:15-8:30 Morning Task

Each morning the students come into the classroom to a morning message that asks them to sign in or answer a question. They then check the chalkboard to see what their morning jobs might be. These jobs might include finishing a project from the previous day, cleaning their desks, silent reading or (on Fridays) playing quiet board games with a partner.

 

8:30 – 9:00 Morning Meeting

This is an opportunity to work on respectful and caring communication with peers. We begin by greeting one another, then reading and sharing our responses to our morning message. The next step in our meeting is sharing. Two students share each day, on a rotating basis. We end the meeting with a short, fast paced game that involves everyone.

 

9:00 – 9:20 Word Study

Together with the students from Ms. Collaro’s classroom, we break into our spelling groups for word study. Our multisensory activities include guided discovery of featured spelling rules, word sorts, vocabulary work, dictionary work, sentence writing, and tactile exploration of our words. We are lucky enough to have enough support from our Title I and Special Education teachers to have five fully guided spelling groups!

 

9:20 – 9:45 Writing

We write during many other times of the day, but this time allows for direct instruction of writing features and processes. We will work to build hamburger paragraphs, painted essays, responses to literature, narratives, reports, etc. during this time. This time will also be used to work on the conventions of writing, such as punctuation.

 

9:45 – 10:00 Snack

Everyone seems to need snack! I have noticed that most of the students are bringing snack every day, and I appreciate the number of healthy snacks that I am seeing on a regular basis. This provides the students with an opportunity to fuel up for the remainder of the morning!

 

10:00 – 10:50 Reading

Throughout the year, the students will be reading independently, in small groups, or with the whole class. We will be using literature circles to help students explore books in a thoughtful and productive manner. They will be assigned “jobs” each day, and share their work with their group members to help everyone in their group work toward a deeper comprehension of their book. They will also be writing in their journals and developing book projects during this time.

 

10:50 – 11:20 Number Corner

Number Corner is a part of our math program at BFA, called Bridges. Number Corner is comprised of 15-30 minute daily workouts that focus on math skills such as multiplication and division, computing with multi-digit numbers, problem solving strategies, predicting, reading charts and graphs and more. The central components to Number Corner are our Calendar Grid, Calendar Collector, and number line. The students collect and interpret data, make predictions about patterns, and explore the relationships between numbers using these components.

 

11:20 – 12:15 Lunch and Recess

 

12:15 – 12:30 Quiet Time

Though we are not able to have Quiet Time every day, we have it whenever possible. This gives the students a few minutes between recess and Math to collect themselves and calm down for the rest of the afternoon.

 

12:30 – 1:30 Math

The Bridges program focus on conceptual understanding and development of efficient strategies for problem solving. Distinguishing features of Bridges include:

 

2:00 – 2:45 Specials

Art, Music, P.E.

On Mondays, we have P.E. at 10:00, and literacy during the afternoon block.

 

 

We have Library alternating with Technology every Wednesday afternoon, so we have each special every other week.

 

We have Guidance every week on Thursday afternoons for the first 12 weeks of the school year.