Nonsense Words vs Real Words

Happy Holidays!

As the winter break quickly approaches, I wanted to take a minute and explain the purpose for this skill within our curriculum and your kinder's learning progression to becoming a fluent reader and writer.  

Nonsense words are exactly what they sound like...words that are made up and have no meaning.  Real words are exactly what they sound like...REAL words!  We are practicing both kinds of words to work on the skill of blending sounds into words.  You might be asking, "why would you practice on words that don't make sense?" and that is a great question.  When we practice on nonsense words, we are controlling a sight word vocabulary students build up and focus solely on the identification and blending of sounds into words.  If you would like more information on why we use nonsense words, here is a link for a great article that might address more of your questions!

Simply Kinder: Why Teaching Nonsense Words is Important (article)

There are three different phases your kinder will go through when reading these words.  We talked about this progression at conference time revolving around the standard 

RF.K.3 : Apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills

The three different phases your kinder will work through while blending sounds to make words are:

1.) sound out letters letter-by-letter and then attempt to blend the sounds to make a word

2.) start breaking words into the beginning sound and the ending chunk (onset and rime) and then blend it into a word-this is more of an efficient way to blend words

3.) blend the word in your head and read it as a whole word-fluent readers (like you and I) read new and familiar words this way

We are going to administer our winter FAST (the state assessment we are required to give all students) within the first two weeks of January.  There will be an additional test we administer this time around that includes a 1-minute timing of nonsense words.  We have been working on this skill during our Guided Reading lessons and our workstations, but I wanted to give you all at home the background information and an additional resource to support this skill at home.  Coming home tonight in your kinder's folder there will be a sheet of CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words that are easily broken into onset and rime.  Please use these alongside of your Jolly Phonics flashcards and your sight words.  You can have your kinder read all of the words to you, you can time them (1-minute) to see how many they can read, or you can partner read them...just keep the focus on blending the sounds into words!  No need to chart this work or return the sheet...it is a resource for you to use for your house!

Lastly, it is important to keep the academic skills a focus during the holiday break.  Your kinder has worked so hard these past few months to make huge gains in their learning.  Please enjoy your time with family over break, but enjoy some "lap time" listening to your kinder read to you, have them write stories and share them with family members, and continue to probe math questions with number sense (numbers 0-100)/writing numbers 0-20/beginning addition and subtraction concepts.  I attached an additional reading challenge to the nonsense words sheet to help spice up reading practice with your kinder.  Please feel free to use some of the ideas listed on this challenge! We will hit the ground running right when we get back in January!  Please let me know if there is any way I can support you and your kinder!--Mrs. Fisher

Resources to look for in your kinder's folder!

made by http://fairytalesandfictionby2.blogspot.com/

made by https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Challenge-for-Winter-Break-and-Christmas-Break-Freebie-1608724

  

Goal Setting with #KFkinders

This week your kinder sat down with me to talk about their FAST test results.  You will be getting these results on Thursday, September 22nd!  This test is hard for kinders at the beginning of the year because they aren't the most confident testers yet.  We take that in to consideration when moving forward with these test results and try to prepare them with the skills necessary to keep learning, and also the skills necessary to be confident with taking tests and performing for all types of adults!  If you have any questions or comments about the FAST results when you receive them, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I would love to give you my insight on these and how I use them to plan for your kinder's academic development!

The FAST results that come home will have what your kinder scored on each sub-test, what the benchmark goal was, and what the Winter Benchmark will be when we test again in January.  You will notice that there is a color coded graph, this helped your kinder start to understand what these numbers and goals meant.  We set some goals for our January testing date, and talked about ways we are going to achieve those goals.  It sounds crazy, but it is amazing how much even our youngest learners understand about setting goals.  Keep these goals fresh in your conversations...THEY ARE MOTIVATED!!

After we talked about our FAST results, we also spent some time looking over our priority standards and I Can statements for kindergarten.  Click on the hyperlinked text for a copy for you to use at home (Priority Standards/I Can Statements)!  These are posted in our rooms, we talk about them on a daily when we highlight our schedule for the day, and they will begin to become very familiar for your kinder by the end of the year.   Each #KFkinder picked one literacy priority standard, and one math priority standard (we will eventually mix in PBIS behavior standards, writing, and science standards).  We worked together to fill out a goal sheet that will be coming home in your kinder's folder tonight.  On it you will find what standard they picked, what their current skill status is, what we will do at school to practice this skill, and what are some things at home you can do to practice this skill.  Most of the writing was recording what your kinder was saying.  I want them to make the connections of things they can be doing at school and at home to practice their skills.  The description will only highlight one or two things you can do, please know that if you have your own ideas or resources to practice them, DO IT!!

       Here are our kindergarten Literacy, Behavior, Math, and Writing Learning Targets

with I Can statements.

This is an example of the Learning Target goal sheet that will be coming home weekly with your kinder in their folder.

Each week we will have one-on-one check-ins to access their skills.  At this check-in meeting we can continue the skill practice and talk about more ways we can practice it, change our goal, or we will see that your kinder has met their goal.  Please note that it may take a few weeks/months to meet a goal.  All the goals are different levels of complexity and some are not expected to be mastered until the end of kindergarten.  Please be patient with the process and encourage your kinder to keep showing growth in their skill, independence, and problem-solving abilities.  That is what goal setting is all about!  If you are needing resources to practice this skill at home, please do not hesitate to contact me and we can get you hooked up!

When you kinder meets a goal, that means they have MASTERED the standard.  We will celebrate that milestone by earning an "I Can..." crown.  These crowns will have the visual we use in the classroom for our I Can statements that are hooked to our priority standards.  It will also have a spot for your kinder to sign, for me to sign, and then they get a chance to walk down to Mr. Junge's office and celebrate/sign with him!  They are pretty proud when they earn these crowns, so please celebrate their learning at home too!

Here are some of our #KFkinders that met a goal yesterday and earned their first crown.  There will be many more to come for everyone!  Keep practicing!

That is our goal setting in a nutshell.  If any of this was not totally clear, please contact me!  Goal setting will continue all year long.  Please continue to look for these weekly goal sheets in their folders so you can encourage and support their learning at home!

Also, remember to follow our learning...

*Twitter  @Mrs_KFisher

*Hashtags: #KFkinders  #keyrocks  #BCmakers  #bentoncsd

*Instagram  @keystoneelementary

*Blogger  kfkinderland.blogspot.com

--Kim

Welcoming a New Batch of #KFkinders

Hello!  I am so excited to welcome another batch of #KFkinders to you all!  We have had an awesome start to the school year.  I have enjoyed learning their names, personalities, and their families.  All around some great Bobcats to take on the 2016-2017 year.
As you may know, but some of you may not...we have a set of Priority Standards that we will use to assess your kinder's skills throughout the year.  These Priority Standards will be reflected on the report card, and will be communicated with you through activities, emails, conferences, Twitter messages, blog posts, Instagram pictures, etc.  Here is a snapshot of the Priority Standards that we will use in #KFkinders this year.

Along with the Priority Standards, there are Learning Targets.  These are written in a student-friendly version to explain what the Priority Standard is stating.  Your kinder will be learning these Learning Targets and will use this language throughout the year to communicate their learning.  We will begin short-term goal setting after a few weeks of being in school.  To do this, students will meet with me on a weekly basis to discuss what Learning Target they would like to focus their learning around.  We will have time throughout the day to work on these goals, but your kinder and I will also talk about what they can do at home with you to be successful at growing within this Learning Target.  If there are resources that I can help provide to accomplish their goal, I will address that during their goal setting meeting.  You will either get an audio clip of our goal setting meeting or a paper copy of what we discussed so you can help support their learning needs at home as well.  We are all really in this together!  As we roll out this goal setting process in a few weeks, I will write another blog post explaining (in further detail) how it will look!  And I will use email to distribute the link each time that I write a new blog post to make sure it is easy for you all to check into our learning!

That's all for now!  Please let me know if there is ever ANYTHING you would like clarification on, have questions on, or would like to just talk about.  I'm here WITH you!  Keep rocking the home front because you all have obviously done a great job with raising such fun kiddos!  I'm excited to see all the growth ahead of us!  Here's one more picture for you all showing our letter today...LETTER A!  They are too cute not to show another picture!--Kim

BC 50 Years-Madison Weekly

This year Benton Community is celebrating 50 years.  Curriculum Director, Jo Prusha, has really taken the reins with the celebration by writing several blog posts about some influential Bobcats. You can read her posts by clicking this link! It wasn't long after one of Jo's first blog posts came out that 1st grade teacher, Anna Upah, decided that her class was going to continue learning BC history and conduct some interviews of their own.  Anna shared with the Keystone Elementary staff her ideas, and invited the rest of us to join in on the fun!  Thank you, Jo and Anna, for getting the ball rolling with this...#KFkinders had a great time learning about BC history and hearing from some memorable Bobcats!
One Bobcat that #KFkinders invited needs no introduction to any Bobcat sports fan.  She was a pivotal part of the 2011, 2012, and 2013 State Qualifying Lady Bobcat Basketball teams.  These were the first girls basketball teams to qualify for the state tournament in Benton history, and Madison Weekly was the point guard that lead us there.  Madison currently holds the records for most points in a single game (34 points), points in a season (433 points) and career points (1,146) at Benton Community.  She was a great basketball player, but she continues to be an even better Bobcat by inspiring Bobcats through her studies, actions, and time on the court.  Madison now wears the purple and gold of the University of Northern Iowa while she plays these days, but she will forever be a Benton Bobcat!  Please enjoy the video that the #KFkinders helped create below.

Thank you, Madison!

BC 50 Years-Madison Weekly Video Link

Madison Weekly's poster inside the McLeod Center

Madison and her BC cheering crowd of future Bobcats

Madison does a great job of using her platform to continue to inspire other Bobcat hopefuls to pursue their dreams.  Here she is at the Lady Bobcat Summer Basketball Camp

Madison never has forgotten her roots and continues to cast Benton Community in a very positive light.  Here she is at an alumni basketball scrimmage with some of her State qualifying teammates; Becca Bridgewater, Sara Petrzelka, Kelsey Brecht, and Kelsey Ettleman

The 2011 team made BC history as the first Lady Bobcats Basketball team to qualify for the state tournament!

2011 Qualifiers

2012 Qualifiers

2013 Qualifiers

Earth Day

If you live on Instagram or Twitter you couldn't help but notice that #keyrocks (Keystone Elementary's hashtag) celebrated Earth Day on Friday.  I know your #KFkinders probably came home telling you everything we did, but I wanted to make sure you had all the facts (that may have been hidden in their excitement!!).

Mrs. Happel (1st grade teacher) and Mrs. Bishop (guidance counselor) got together and got us a bunch of trees to plant for our campus.  They are part of the outdoor learning team, which is a team of teachers that are looking into activities, maintenance, and overall organization of the outdoor learning area we have at Keystone Elementary. This is a new space that was implemented this past fall and we are continuing to find new additions and uses for the space.  Here are a few pictures of their recent work day!

The new raised beds are ready for planting! 

Always thankful for great volunteers to provide more learning opportunities for our students.

This is an old picture of our upper deck garden area!

Teachers are encouraged to chase their own passions and interests to help create more authentic opportunities for students.

We even had one of our own #KFkinders lending a helping hand!  Thanks, Kaiser!

On Earth Day our students were given areas to help pick up trash.  These areas had to branch off of campus because Keystone is a VERY clean town!  Our students had to really search for trash (kudos Keystone residents!!).  Here are some pictures of students showing how to be"Earth-friendly"!  We also talked a lot about how this project practices caring and respectful Bobcat Behaviors! 

#KFkinders ready to clean!  They look pretty cute in their Earth Day headbands too!

Don't worry, we gave them gloves so their hand wouldn't get too dirty!

Adisyn provided a helping hand!

Mrs. Townsley and Haddie are showing the true definition of teamwork!

After cleaning up the town and campus, we headed to our planting spot.  If you go look behind Keystone Elementary, you will find our 3 lilac bushes between the windows of Mrs. Kimm (3rd grade) and Mrs. Bonewitz (3rd grade).  I don't know about them, but I would be so excited to have these beautiful bushes bloom right outside my window.  It will take a couple years to bloom, but they smell and look so beautiful...it is definitely worth the wait!  Here are some pictures of #KFkinders planting their lilac bushes!

#KFkinders taking a well deserved break prior to planting!

Kaiser, Kira, and Kenna are showing how our lilac bushes looked prior to planting.  They were shocked they were so little.

We talked about the importance of worms to plants and soil...these were returned after we were done digging!

The ground was a little hard for the kids to dig, so the teachers had to help out a bit!

So curious, and so helpful!

It was such a great day to be a Bobcat!  I love how passionate our teachers are to provide authentic opportunities for our students.  Our students banded together to make a difference in our community and a lasting improvement on our campus.  I can't wait to enjoy these plants for years to come and recall all the fond memories I have of this class.  I am truly thankful that you let me spend my daylight hours with your awesome kinder each day.  This has definitely been a class for the books!  So many memories made, and more time to make a ton more!!  Let's make the final weeks of the 2015-2016 #KFkinder year fantacular (a word my brother in-law uses all the time, but somehow sums up my feeling perfectly!).

2015-2016 #KFkinders

An Email Coming Your Way!!

Hello all!
I am so excited to show you another trick up my sleeve!!  I will be emailing you soon.  I have recently sat down with your kinder to have them read into an app that I like to use.  The app is called LevelBook.  It is amazing on so many levels...(I know that's corny, but hang with me...I hang out with 5-6 year old humans all day, I get excited easily!!).  This app records a student reading with an audio clip.  It will also allow me to monitor any miscues (mistakes) and self-corrections the student has in their reading.  Since you can't see the text, you will get an email of stats on each reading.  You will notice that there is an accuracy level, a self-correction level, and words per minute (WPM).  For the accuracy level, we want books to be between 100%-95% to be considered INDEPENDENT.  This would be books that are under their independent control.  When books are between 94%-90% is considered INSTRUCTIONAL.  This would be books that students are able to read, but they are doing so much word attack (decoding) that it could be affecting their comprehension of the text.  If your student's accuracy level is between 90%-0%, this would be considered FRUSTRATION.  Obviously, just as the name would reflect, we do not want students to be reading at this level.  The book might be too hard and/or they might not be monitoring their own reading.  In the end, the student's comprehension will most likely be affected at this level.  So when you get this email, pay attention to the accuracy level to give you a picture of what your student's reading ability looks and sounds like on a grade-level text.

Next look at the self-correction and error ratio.  If students are making miscues, we ideally want them also self-correcting.  If students are not self-correcting, then that tells us that they are not monitoring their reading as closely as they could.  We don't want a ton of self-corrections, because that still serves as an interruption in their reading.  But, if they are making errors, we want to continue to encourage them to self-correct with their reading strategies.

Lastly, you will see a WPM stat.  IGNORE THIS STAT!  I do not measure words per minute in Kindergarten.  Research will say to start measuring student fluency with WPM after January of 1st grade.  So instead of using this stat, I have left the timer going after the student is done reading.  This allows me to continue to record our after reading conversation!  I will highlight positives from their reading, reading strategies I either saw them use or ones that I think would have been beneficial for them, or ask comprehension questions.  Make sure and listen to this segment because it will allow you to reflect on how your end of the story conversations flow at home.

So...with all of that, please enjoy listening to the audio clip of your kinder read.  Listen to it with them, ask them about their book and reading strategies.  JUST ENJOY IT, because I know I enjoy listening to them read and reflect on how far them have come this year!  If you have any questions or did not receive an email with an audio clip, email me back.  I may not have all the correct email addresses and I would gladly change my contacts to make sure you receive one too!!  Thanks--Kim

Leprechaun Trap Videos!!

We had such good response to the leprechaun trap challenge.  Thanks to everyone that participated, it was fun to bring our creations from home into the classroom with the videos!  I would like to do more of these in the future, so if you wanted to submit a video and didn't know exactly how, please contact me and I could help with that!  Also, if spring break wasn't a good time for you to do this challenge, hopefully we will have more to participate with in the near future!  So, without further rambling, here are our videos from the leprechaun trap challenge!!

Click here to watch Bristol's video on YouTube!

Click here to watch Jakob's video on YouTube!

Click here to watch Tucker's video on YouTube!

Click here to watch Kira's video on YouTube!

Click here to watch Reilly's video on YouTube!

Click here to watch Kaiser's video on YouTube!

And here are a couple of pictures of students!

Violet had a leprechaun picture by her trap to attract the real leprechaun into coming to her trap!  Here is her leprechaun picture.

And here is Logan with his leprechaun trap!  He tried to get him to fall in the hole without knowing it was really there!

Thanks for a fun challenge!  The kinders had a lot of questions and comments for each other about their creations!  Keep making at home, this helps practice problem solving skills in real situations!!--Kim

Let's Make Leprechaun Traps!

Hello all!  We read a book today that talked about making leprechaun traps and the kids were really excited about them!  So...we got on YouTube and found some great videos of kids that made their traps at home and recorded them for their teachers.  We decided as a group that it would be really fun to make these and watch the videos at school.  So here is the plan, if you are interested!!

We are going to draw our plans for our trap here at school tomorrow.  We will start collecting some decorations that you can add to your trap.  I will send the plans and decorations home with your kinder on Tuesday.

We need you, as a family, to build the trap.  Find any supplies you have lying around at home.  If you need some inspiration, here are some different videos we watched that gave us motivation to start this project.

Leprechaun Trap Video 1

Leprechaun Trap Video 2

Leprechaun Trap Video 3

Leprechaun Trap Video 4

When you get done building your trap, please try and record them explaining how the trap will catch the leprechaun, what you used to make it, and how excited your kinder was to do the project.  You can record this with an iPad or Smartphone.  Then email the video clip to me and we will watch it when we return to school on Monday, March 21st!  Here is a great example of another trap and how the student introduced it on the video.

Great Example of Recording Your Kinder's Trap!

Please don't worry about buying anything elaborate for this project, you can accomplish building a trap with different supplies you have at home (most that you usually throw away).  These type of projects get kids thinking and creating, problem solving and collaborating.  There are all skills they need to be successful in life, and we need to create opportunities for them to use and practice these important skills.  These are the types of projects we like to create when we visit the MakerSpace, or have the MakerSpace supplies brought to our room.  If you have any priceless treasures such as toilet paper or paper towel rolls, boxes, foil, ribbon, scrapbook paper, art supplies, etc that you think would be good for our MakerSpace and you are looking to donate somewhere...PLEASE SEND THEM TO SCHOOL WITH YOUR KINDER!  We are always looking for supplies to add to our bins to get our brains pumping!! Enjoy the challenge, and try to capture a video to email me at kfisher@benton.k12.ia.us --Mrs. Fisher

Sight Words

I love the part of the school year when we can really start expecting our kinders to be able to read all 88 of our sight words.  When you think of it, 88 seems like a lot.  AND IT IS!!  But, when you are thinking of your kinder being able to read a level C and D text at the end of the year, they will need a hefty bank of sight words under their belt.  If you and your kinder are unfamiliar with all 88, here is a complete list of our sight words:

Kindergarten Sight Word List

We do a lot of work throughout the day with these words.  We want them to be automatic when kids read them in text, because many of them can't be sounded out phonetically.  As they are reading, they need to be able to read them without pausing to help them comprehend the message the author is sharing.  Therefore, when I test these words for mastery, I give your kinder 3 seconds to tell me the word.  If they are unable to provide the word in 3 seconds, I cannot consider the word known.  I would encourage you to use the same protocol when you are working on sight words at home.

During goal setting, a lot of kinders are starting to pick their learning target: 

K.RF.03c  I can read my Kindergarten sight words.

This will be a goal that will take some time to master.  I encourage nightly practice at home with your sight words.  To do this, you will need a toolbox of activities and resources to use so your kinder does not beccome bored or frustrated with their practice.  Here are some great resources that we use at school that you can use at home as well.  If you would like copies of any of these resources, please just email, call, or send a note with your kinder and I will GLADLY provide some assistance to make that possible!

One resource I really want to highlight is from our own Mrs. Townsley!  She came in and made my vision a reality using the iPad app, Stop Motion, to create a video of the kinders writing, building, and saying each sight word.  The kinders love the videos because they get to see both themselves and their friends.  We love the video as adults because it is another engaging way to get the words in front of our kinders!  Please use these videos at home, riding in the car, share with your family, however your kinder is motivated to keep learning!  And if you see Mrs. Townsley (@townsleyaj is her Twitter name to follow her), please thank her for all her hard and creative work to make these videos possible!!

KF Kinders Sight Word Video: Sets 1-5

KF Kinders Sight Word Video: Sets 6-10

Here are some more resources for you to use at home.  Again, if you need me to provide any of these in paper copies, please don't hesitate to contact me!  And thank you for your continued efforts at home supporting your kinder's learning targets and development this year.  We can do this, TOGETHER!  Make sure to call Candi to schedule a conference.  Conferences are Monday, March 14th and Tuesday, March 15th!--Kim

Sight Word Resources:

• Kindergarten Flashcards-here is a copy of the flashcards we gave out on colored construction paper this year.  If you need any copies, please let me know!
• Sight Words Spelling-Tic Tac Toe-you will need to make an account on this website to download the free resource.
•   Here is an idea from a blog post, School Time Snippets (blog address) to write the sight words using pipe cleaners.
•  Here is an idea from the blog, Relief Teaching Ideas.  You have your kinder create a giant scribble.  Within each opening, you have them write their sight word as many times as possible.  They can write in pencil, marker, gel pen, or highlighters!
• Sight Word Bingo-this is a free resource that you can print off bingo cards.  Not all of the words will be on our sight word list, but the majority of the words are and this would be a fun way to study their words!
• Write the Room-again, you will need to create an account to download this free resource.  Then take the flashcards that were given throughout the year and hang them around your house.  Send your kinder on a scavenger hunt to write each sight word.
• Voice Reading-this is a fun way to read your sight words in different voice.  Scroll down to pages 22-24 to find different voices to read in.  Examples are to read like Batman, read like a cowboy, read like you are really cold!  This will surely spice up your flashcard practice!
• Ways to Practice Your Sight Words-this teacher (blog post) created a list of different ideas on how to practice your sight words.
• Rainbow Writing-again, you will need to create an account to download this free resource.  Use the poster to create fun ways to write your sight words.
• Our Favorite Sight Word Station-download this resource provided by (this blogger).  You will only need to print off the first page and then use our flashcards.
• Roll A Sight Word-I am not sure where this file originated from to give credit, but Mrs. Townsley personalized the file to our sight words.  Please give your kinder a dice and let them go wild!  This will really work on reading the words quickly.
• Sort the Sticks-write on 2 popsicle sticks the sight words and have your kinder put them together like a puzzle.  This makes them really look at the word letter by letter which helps commit them to memory.

This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it is a list that will get you started on your way to new and engaging ideas to help practice sight words at home!  Enjoy this time with your kinder...if it is not enjoyable, try another option on the list!  Your kinder works hard at school every day...make sure to find fun ways to enjoy working on skills at home to make extended learning enjoyable and motivating.  Good luck!

Goal Setting with Kindergarten Learning Targets

Today your kinder sat down to review their FAST test scores and to engage in some personal goal setting.    Today you will see a gold Learning Target Goal sheet in your kinder’s folder.  

Learning Target Goal Sheet (look in your kinder's folder today!)

This goal(s) was hand-selected by your kinder from all of our Kindergarten learning targets.  We talked about:

*their individual level of performance on that skill
*ways to work on the skill at school
*and also ways to work on that skill at home.

Learning Target Goal Sheets...each student has one in their conference folder!

Ask to see it at conferences!!

Please make it a point to talk with your kinder tonight about the goal(s) they picked.  Our hopes of picking just one or two goals is that we will focus our extra learning time to practice that particular skill.  On a weekly basis I will try to test each student on their individual goal to share progress or to plan how to meet their needs better if they aren’t making progress.

Once they meet their goal, your kinder will put up a Bobcat paw on our Learning Targets graph.  There are no names marking the paws, so each student will feel comfort to learn at their own pace; but will still see when others are mastering a goal and will feel a gentle nudge to work on that particular skill as well.

Our Learning Target Graph bulletin board...can't wait to put some paws up!  First testing day is Friday!

In addition to putting the Bobcat paw on the Learning Target graph, your kinder will be bringing a goal certificate home.  I will sign it, your kinder will sign it, and they will also take a trip down to the office to do a little bragging in front of Mr. Junge.  They are VERY motivated to tell him when they master a goal, so this will be fun!  Try to save the goal certificates when they come home and display them in a place so your kinder can reflect on their progress.

Our goal certificate!  Make sure you think about a place to put these when they come home!

Thank you all so much for all of your support.  We are all in this together!  As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!--Kim