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ISSUE 40 | MAY 2023
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It is hard to believe this is our last issue of The Superkids Bulletin for the school year. We are so grateful for you, your hard work, and your dedication to your students. You are the heartbeat that makes Superkids successful. Thank you!
While summer break is a time to rest and recharge, many teachers also take that time to reflect on the past year. What worked well? What are some procedures or routines that need to be modified? Are there changes that need to be made to the classroom space? In this issue, we explore tips for organizing Superkids materials, inspiration for potential summer projects, information about a summer learning opportunity for Superkids teachers, and more!
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Daily Routines are an important part of daily instruction and contribute to student success. If you are looking to refresh your Daily Routine instruction, here are a few tips from Superkids coaches and teachers.
- Set a timer to ensure your Daily Routines stay within the suggested 10–15-minute time frame.
- Have students complete the handwriting portion of the routine as an independent activity if you are struggling to keep the routines under 15 minutes.
- Use the video lessons during the Daily Routines. Projecting a Daily Routines video allows you the flexibility to move around the classroom, monitor student work, take notes as you informally assess, and assist students who need additional support.
- The Daily Routine Recording Sheets are great for keeping student work organized. Print the cover and internal pages that are suitable for your grade and assemble them to create a booklet for each student.
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Are you looking for a different system to guide students while they are working independently? Managing independent work time effectively can have a big impact on the success of your small-group time. Here are a few examples of how Superkids teachers manage groups and independent tasks while they work with small reading groups.
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Student Groups
Use student photos to show the members in each small group. This provides you, classroom volunteers, substitute teachers, and students a place to quickly view the members of each group. An advantage of using this method is students can easily be moved to a new group as needed, so flexible grouping is a snap!
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Pocket Chart
Many teachers use a pocket chart to list the daily activities for each group. A quick activity card swap will update the tasks for a new day!
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Station Wheel
A Station Wheel is another popular management system. Each part of the wheel is assigned a group (using a special group name, the group’s color, a picture clue, etc.). The outer part of each wheel’s section includes a task to be completed. When it is time to move to a new task, the wheel spins in a clockwise movement one time.
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Checklists
If you are a teacher who prefers less structured independent work time, checklists may be for you! Students complete the tasks in any order they choose. Younger students can be given a short checklist of tasks to be completed each day. Older students can receive a longer list of tasks that can be completed over the week.
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Must Do-May Do
Another management system that is less structured is the Must Do-May Do system. Children complete the activities that they must do in any order they choose. When completed, they move to the free-choice tasks they may do on their own.
If you experience students submitting assigned work that doesn’t meet your set classroom expectations, adding a “Redo” step before the free-choice step may be the solution. Students are expected to redo any work that was not done well the first time.
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Superkids teachers have the best ideas for organizing and storing their program resources. Here are just a few organizational tips teachers have shared over the years.
1. If students do not have desks with a storage space, create a space in the classroom that holds materials students will need for each day’s lesson. Individual student boxes or hanging files can include the Student Book or Word Work Book, the Practice Page for the day, the Reader, and any other materials individual students will need. When it is time for your Superkids lesson, the children just grab their box or folder, and they are ready to go!
2. Another smart idea for organizing student resources is to tape a baggie inside the front cover of each Word Work Book. In the baggie, place game pieces, the Super Secret Reader, Memory Word Cards, Practice Pages, Resource Pages, and any other items children may need during the reading block.
3. Several teachers have suggested taking some time as you begin the year to organize materials by unit. Place Teacher’s Guides, Practice Page masters, Ten-Minute Tuck-Ins, Alphabet or Sound Spelling Cards, independent activities, etc. that will be needed to teach the unit in a labeled box or bin. When the unit is beginning, you have everything you need to teach in one place!
4. Before the school year begins, make one hard copy of each Practice Page, Backpack Page, Resource Page, Ten-Minute Tuck-In Card, Activity Page, and Assessment page that you will need for each unit. Put all hard copies for one unit into a single labeled page protector. When a new unit comes around, simply pull that page protector and you are ready to make the student copies for the entire unit.
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Teachers are moving away from the use of traditional word walls and are using sound walls instead. Are you looking to make this change?
When asked about how they use sound walls with The Superkids Reading Program, teachers share they will add the Sound-Spelling Cards to their sound wall after a new phoneme is introduced. Then, as they teach the unit, words with the new spelling pattern will be added as well.
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Superkids Sounds
Michelle Mull incorporates sound reminder clues into her Superkids bulletin board. This board includes mini versions of the Sound-Spelling Cards for the sounds they have learned and the standard-sized version of the cards for the current phoneme they are learning. In addition to the current unit’s Words to Know and spelling words, she includes the Superkids Six Syllable Types printable cards we recently offered as a freebie.
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It is common to see focus walls or focus boards in classrooms. Superkids teachers will commonly use resources included in the program to easily establish a visual reminder of the literacy focus for each week. Depending on your grade, here are Superkids resources you can use to create and update your own focus wall:
- Alphabet Cards
- Sound-Spelling Cards
- Memory Word Cards
- Words to Know Cards
- Printable Spelling List
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Feeling creative as you head into summer? Check out these awesome Superkids-inspired projects spotted in Superkids schools!
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Cutest Cubbies
This teacher painted her cubbies to resemble ice cream lines. What an adorable visual reminder of this important part of Superkids letter-formation instruction!
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Activity Table
Here is another SUPER summer project. Lindsay Campbell created these amazing activity tables for her classroom by adding a clear acrylic sheet to a table with a slightly raised ledge. Activities, Practice Pages, ice cream paper, etc. can be placed under the sheet. Students use dry-erase markers or crayons for the activities, and Lindsay changes the tasks under the acrylic sheet when ready.
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Superkids DIY
What do you do when you find a worn-out table that is headed for the school’s dumpster? You take it home and paint it like Hayley Lugassy did! We bet her students loved this SUPER cute addition to the classroom library area.
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Most Magnificent Mural
Many schools have shared amazing Superkids wall murals painted by teachers and volunteers. This Superkids bus mural is in Somerset Academy Lone Mountain-A College Prep School. How fabulous! Summer break is a great time to get a big project like this up and running.
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This Bus Can Move!
Not sure you want to commit to painting a wall? You can create a temporary mural like Hayley Lugassy and team! These crafty teachers painted the Superkids bus on a large tarp to create a fun mural that can be used year after year. They even put student-created portraits in the windows of the bus.
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Send your kids off with these summer learning packets which include Superkids practice pages, games, and reading activities! Each grade-level packet is appropriate for students exiting the grade indicated.
Grade K
Grade 1
Grade 2
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Don’t forget to register for the third-annual Superkids Schools Conference! This special online learning event for K–2 teachers and leaders will be held June 27, 2023. Superkids specialists and expert classroom teachers will lead sessions that focus on the most-requested topics—and we have two exciting keynote speakers! This one-day conference provides a unique opportunity for Superkids educators to gather, connect, and learn about instructional practices specifically tailored to positively impact literacy instruction.
Can’t attend the live event? No problem! You will receive extended access to all recorded sessions with a ticket purchase.
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