Welcome Back, Superkids Teachers!

We hope you had a super summer and you are rested and ready for a SUPER school year. In this issue of The Superkids Bulletin, you’ll find classroom tips to help you start the school year strong! You will also find a highly requested freebie that we know you will love.

When starting the school year, it is important to remember how many lessons are included in your grade level of Superkids. Most school calendars include several short weeks. Maybe your school is on a four-day schedule every week. It is helpful to plan for these circumstances to ensure you finish the program.

Look ahead for weeks that are shorter. Are there two lessons that can be condensed into one day? Perhaps the solution is to eliminate small-group meetings for one or two days during a shorter week to guarantee essential Word Work and Writing instruction is completed.

In addition to carefully planning your yearly pace, it is important to monitor your daily pace. The top tip from Superkids coaches when teachers are having trouble completing the daily lessons is to focus on Daily Routine timing. Daily Routines should take 10–15 minutes each day. Set a timer for 15 minutes as you begin the routines. When that timer rings, move on to Word Work.

At our 2023 Superkids Schools Conference, first grade teacher Christa Kelly shared how she introduces activities for independent work time in her Superkids classroom. At the beginning of the school year, she works hard to ensure her students are experts in how independent work time is organized. It is important for her class to understand the following before she asks students to work on their own.

• Where center materials are stored
  Christa establishes a designated classroom space to store the activities and the materials needed to complete the tasks. She models where the materials are, how to use them, and how to properly clean them up when finished.
• How the management system works
  Her class uses the “Must Do, May Do” system when working independently. Whether you use rotation charts, checklists, or packets for seat work, students need to fully understand where to go and what to do before they begin working independently.
• How much time they have to work and when to clean up
  She suggests posting a timer for students to reference so they know how much time they have to complete their independent activities.

Christa also recommends introducing independent activities slowly using the gradual release model. She models for the children, whole group or small group, how to correctly complete a center activity. After modeling, children complete the activity with her guidance and support as they work. After some guided practice, they are ready to try to complete that task on their own. Now she can introduce the next center activity using the same “I Do, We Do, You Do” format.

Tip: In her first grade classroom, she uses the Superkids Character Station Signs to visually remind her students of the focus of each center activity. She creates activities that relate to the character in each center.

We asked our fabulous Superkids Facebook community what advice they would give to teachers new to Superkids. They came through with some super solid guidance! If you know a teacher who will be teaching Superkids for the first time this year, be sure to share these tips. Or better yet, invite them to subscribe to The Superkids Bulletin!

• From Deborah Jackson Owens
  Follow the Daily Routines and keep to the lesson plans. The online phonics games are such a great resource. My students are on the site every week. It reinforces what they learned in class. The blending pages are so important. That is the key! My students are all blending and reading in no time.
• From Kathy Bowman Ross
  Don’t skip the Daily Routines. They target kindergarten standards and make a great warm up. Don’t skip the Super Smart informational text lessons either. They are awesome, and we use them as an end-of-unit celebration. The kids love the songs for each Superkid.
• From Theresa Campisano Czaus
  In second grade, start on day one with the Warm-up Unit. This program is awesome! My class loved learning about all the Superkids. They also became amazing writers. Enjoy!
• From Ana Catasus Perez
  This program works! It’s fun and reaches all learning styles. Use all of the resources—including the online ones.
• From Abrianna Adams
  Don’t skip the Daily Routine! Your kinders (or firsties…or second graders) will see huge improvements in handwriting formation, writing speed/fluency, and spelling ability.
• From Leah Iverson
  There are videos of the Daily Routine on the website. My kindergarten kids love warming up with Miss Emily!
• From Tricia Heimbrock Vondenbrink
  In first grade, don’t skip the writing! It is the best program I have ever used. You will be amazed at the progress your students make next year.
• From Kellie Lucas Scarpino
  For first grade, make all the games in the summer. Lots of laminating and cutting, but then you don’t have to make them again! Have a way to organize materials for small groups, and label the games by unit.
• From Sue Bommarito Ludwig
  Students really love the characters. I taught second grade and am now a literacy coach. If you have reading support, have them use the Ten-Minute Tuck-Ins for remediation.
• From Christine Carrillo
  So many ideas and extensions for learning. Don’t feel pressure to do everything, but stick with the Daily Routine. I always say that Superkids makes my job easier, because the students love the program.
• From Mary Friel Winkler
  Blending pages can be copied and sent home. Sign up for the Superkids Bulletin for ideas and freebies. Have fun with the program. The students really enjoy!

Here are some additional tips for new teachers from Superkids coaches!

• Spend some time reading through the first few units of the year to familiarize yourself with the flow and routines of the lessons.
• Get to know the characters in the program. Reading the Superkids stories can help with this.
• The first few units of kindergarten, the grade 1 Review Unit, and the grade 2 Warm up Unit move at a slower pace. Use this more flexible period to assess your students.
• Log in and become familiar with the resources available in MyZBPortal.com.
• Watch a few of the Video Lessons in MyZBPortal.com to see examples of how the lessons are taught.

In May, we shared several ideas and images from Superkids teachers showing how they store their unit materials. Many of you asked if we could create Superkids-themed labels like the teacher-created labels in the photos. We got right on it!

This freebie includes two label sizes. One is ideal for a flat craft box, and the other would work well if you use larger boxes or baggies for unit material storage. Use the editable fields to create a label per unit for storing unit materials. Or you could make student name plates. Get creative!