Miss Laforet's Classroom
Welcome to Class 5!
Educational Assistant: Tracy
Float Educational Assistant: Dave
About our Program
Our program consists of many opportunities for students to explore math and literacy in whole class, small group and indepedent learning settings. During whole class learning, students engage with their classmates, participate in group discussions and practice turn taking. In our classroom, we use whole group learning circles to read stories and teach or reinforce new skills and concepts. Small group learning is ideal for teaching specific skills to a few students focusing on individualized differentiated instruction. Individual learning gives each child opportunities to work on activities based on their individual learning plans. Technology and play based learning are often used in independent learning as a motivational tool.
Another huge part of our program is core communication. Core language is modelled for the students consistently throughout the day using both a communication board and Vantage. Students are also encouraged to use core communication in their daily interactions through oral language, core communication boards, Minspeak devices and Step by Steps.
Our Schedule
| Timetable | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| 9:00-9:30 | OT Bins | OT Bins | OT Bins | OT Bins | OT Bins |
| 9:30-10:00 | Morning Circle | Morning Circle | Morning Circle | Morning Circle | Morning Circle |
| 10:00-10:30 | Literacy Circle | Literacy Circle | Literacy Circle | Literacy Circle | Literacy Circle |
| 10:30-11:00 | Reading A-Z Books | Journals | Communication Circle | Journals | Reading A-Z Books |
| 11:00-11:25 | Gym/ Physio Goals | Gym/ Physio Goals | Gym/ Physio Goals | Gym/ Physio Goals | Gym/ Physio Goals |
| 11:25-12:25 | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
| 12:25-1:15 | Music with Mrs M | Music with Mrs M | Music with Mrs M | Music with Mrs M | Music with Mrs M |
| 1:15-1:30 | Math Circle | Math Circle | Math Circle | Math Circle | Math Circle |
| 1:30-2:00 | Independent/ Small Group Math Work | Independent/ Small Group Math Work | Independent/ Small Group Math Work | Independent/ Small Group Math Work | Independent/ Small Group Math Work |
| 2:00-2:50 | Technology | Technology | Technology | Technology | Technology |
Communication Circle: Activities based on AAC Language Labs or Circle of Friends lessons
PALS: The first 10 minutes of technology, some students are pulled to do the PALS program
Assessment: During technology time, students are pulled to assess IEP goals
What We Are Learning
We had a great start to the 2017-2018 school year! Our main focus in September was getting to know each other, building an inclusive classroom community and developing a routine. During our morning circles, we have been learning about each others families, pets and personal perferences such as our favourite colour and favourite food. We have really enjoyed getting to know all of the students in the classroom and are eager to continue to get to know them throughout the year.
In October, we learned to read Vantage and Boardmaker modified texts on our Minspeak devices and Step by Steps. This activity has led to a lot of great conversations! After reading the stories, the students answered "wh" questions based on texts that they read. Students have also been learning to write journals using sentence starters such as "I like" on their Minspeak talkers. Some of the students using boardmaker symbols have begun to use core language or to choose between two picture phrases to describe photos of themselves. Our weekly journals have been a source of pride for many of our students. They have really enjoyed sharing their work with the class as well as listening to the journals other classmates have written. In math this month, we worked on identifying numbers 1-5. We learned number poems to help us identify what each number looked like and used manipulatives to show quanity to 5.
In November, we are going to be focusing on measurement. During whole group math lessons, students will be exposed to various types of measurement (ex. time, temperature, length) and student's small group and independent math activities will be based on each child's specific IEP measurement goals. In literacy, we will be starting both the Balanced Literacy program and a modified version of the Kindergarten PALS Reading program. Balanced Literacy is a program that focuses on early literacy instruction for beginning readers. It integrates guided reading, supported writing, word study and phonics activities built around an animal theme. PALS is a highly structured literacy program that focuses on letter-sound correspondence, decoding, phonological awareness and sight words. All students will do both programs in whole group lessons, with some students doing additional work in small group activities or independently.
December is going to be a busy month! Our class is going to be learning about Canadian holidays and traditions as we prepare for Christmas by reading stories and making various holiday crafts. There is also a lot happening around the school this month with the family fun day, the christmas concert, pajama day and the movie day. Please make sure to check your child's newsletter, calendar or the school website to keep track of everything happening this month. In literacy, we are going to be continuing the explore both the Balanced Literacy and the PALS programs. Students responded really well to both of these programs last month and in December we plan to delve deeper into them. The math strand that we will be working on is patterning. Students will copy a variety of patterns on the smartboard, iPad and using manipulatives in both large group and small group sessions as well as one on one.
We hope all of the families in Class 5 have a safe and happy holiday session! We will see you all on January 8th.
In January, students will work on identifying the story elements of a fiction text. Various stories will be read to the students and using picture prompts, they will work on identifying the character and setting. In math, we will be working on geometry. Students will explore 2D figures and learn about their attributes through the use of manipulatives and song. In January, we will also be saying goodbye to Mrs. M who has taught at JMCC for 40 years and welcoming Ms. MacDougall as our new arts teacher.
Our math focus for February will be Number Sense and Numeration. We will be using manipulatives to show 1:1 correspondence to 5, 10, 15, or 20 depending on our IEP goals. Students will compare groups of numbers with different quanities to determine which group has more and which group has less. They will also explore basic addition by combining the groups and counting the images to find the sum. In literacy, we will be reading familar nursery rhymes. After read alouds, we will sequence the stories together as a class using picture cards from the book. Once the students hear the nursery rhymes several times, they will be asked to identify the first image in the story, the first and last image in the story or the first, middle and last image in the story. In February we will also be learning about and celebrating Valentines Day. We are looking for family members to come into our classroom as guest readers. If you interested in doing so, please contact Ms. Laforet.
March is going to fly by - we have a week off of school for March Break, a PD day and Good Friday. Despite how quickly this month will go by however, the students in Class 5 will still be doing a lot of learning. We will carry on our math goals from last month as we continue to expand our understanding on quantity to 20 and the concepts of more and less. In literacy, we are going to explore beginning sounds by reading books and listening to songs from the Balanced Literacy program. The students will be bringing some of these books home with them as well so they can practice hearing words that begin with the same sound. In March, we will also continue learning about Canadian holidays and traditions as we celebrate Easter. we invite all families to join us on March 28th as we decorate Easter eggs, do an Easter craft and go on an Easter egg hunt.
Our language focus in April is going to be using core language to communicate our wants and needs. Students will participate in a variety of motivating activities where they will be encouraged to use core language to express their desire to take a turn, ask for help, state that they want more or coment that they are having fun. In math, the students are going to be focusing on extending patterns. Students will be shown a variety of AB patterns and will practice reading them and then choose between two pictures to identify which image follows the pattern rule.
In May, the students in Class 5 will be learning about a variety of 2D figures and we will practice sorting them based on similar attributes. The students will be participating in a variety of whole group, small group and independent activities as they explore geometric figures. In literacy, we will be reading the books "We're All Wonders" and "The Best Part of Me" and doing a variety of activities surrounding the two stories. Through these activities, the children will develop an understanding that everyone has different abilities and because of this we are all special. In preparation for Mother's Day, we are inviting all of the mothers in Class 5 to join us on Friday, May 11th for "Tea with Mommy and Me."