January 26-30

Literacy

Common Core Standards
Reading

RFK.4 -- Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
SLK.1b -- Participation in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.

Writing

LK.2d -- Spell simple words phonetically drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
WK.2 -- Use combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
WK.8 -- With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Activities

Writing in our journals about "where the polar bear is" using positional words.
Using Pebble Go to learn more about polar mammals and arctic animals.
Using Alphabet dice to "roll" words. Each student used 6 letter die and made as many words as time allows. Students used sounding out strategies to create words and recorded the words on paper.
Using Osmo on the iPad to build words with letter tiles

Positional Words and Shapes

Common Core Standards

K.G.1 -- Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.
K.G.2 -- Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.

Activities

Creating shapes with toothpicks, gumdrops and marshmallows. Each student used toothpicks (for the sides) and choose gumdrops or marshmallows (for vertices) to create a square, a triangle, a rectangle and another shape of their choice.
Using pattern blocks to solve pattern block puzzle boards.
Creating models of spheres and cubes out of Play Doh.
Rolling Play Doh into thin "snakes" and outlining shapes (circle, hexagon, triangle, rectangle, square, diamond, trapezoid, octagon, rhombus)
Using geobands to build shapes on Geoboards
Writing in our journals about where the polar bear is (above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to)

Vocabulary