First-Grade Q&A

Classroom Management

1. How do I start the school year?

Begin the year with Welcome Back, Superkids. This three-week review covers the most important phonics and spelling skills taught in Levels 1 and 2 of the program, Meet the Superkids and Superkids’ Club. It will refresh children’s skills and give you time to get to know your students and assess their abilities. After completing the review, children should be ready to move on to the next level of the program, Adventures of the Superkids. If the majority of your first graders completed only Meet the Superkids in kindergarten, begin the school year with the review materials in Superkids’ Summer and then continue on to Superkids’ Club.

2. How do I set up instruction to meet varying needs?

Keep the class together as much as possible as they work on Welcome Back, Superkids or Superkids’ Summer. Use children’s work in these books to gain a sense of their individual needs and abilities. You will likely find that students fall into three general groups:

• Those who are ready to move on. Children who successfully completed Welcome Back, Superkids should move on to Adventures of the Superkids. Children who successfully completed Superkids’ Summer should move on to
  Superkids’ Club.
• Those who need some review or reteaching of material in the Review Level. Address students’ specific needs by reviewing the appropriate pages in Welcome Back, Superkids or Superkids’ Summer before beginning the next level of the program. See the Ten-Minute Tuck-Ins for reteaching skills at the end of skill lessons. Suggestions for other activities appear in Teacher’s Resource Book for Differentiating Instruction.
• Those who need substantial help or intervention, such as English Language Learners. These children may require some reteaching from a previously taught level, Meet the Superkids and/or Superkids’ Club, before moving on to the next level of the program.

Group children according to their needs, keeping in mind that these groupings may change as children progress. Each level of the program includes daily routines that allow you to informally assess children’s skill development and then you can adjust groupings as needed.

3. What do other children do while I'm working with a group?

While you are working with one group, other students can complete the following activities independently or with the assistance of an aide.

• Student Book Pages. After introducing each page and modeling a sample item, have students complete the pages on their own, if they are able. Check their work, either by going over the pages with children during their group time or by collecting the Student Books at the end of each day.
• Handwriting. Write the Handwriting sentences from the Daily Routines on the board and read them aloud with children. Have children copy the sentences when they are working independently. Collect their work each day to assess it.
• Blackline Masters. Ten-Minute Tuck-Ins often use reproducible pages to reinforce skills. Students can work on many of the pages independently. Collect and review the pages with each child or group to assess children's skills.
• Listening Center. Have a CD player and CDs available in a Listening Center. Individuals or small groups can listen to CDs to review Memory Words and practice fluency as they read along with stories and poems from the Reader.
• Word Center. Use Letter Cards or word cards to set up the word-building and sorting activities for independent work.
• Superkids Library Books. After children have completed each Student Book, introduce the two corresponding books from the Adventures of the Superkids Library. Allow children to read the books and complete the comprehension pages independently.
• Dramatic Play. Encourage children to use the Bendable Figures to act out stories and plays they have read in the Reader and Library Books.