Winter is nearly here and so is mid-year! Are you on track?

The Superkids Bulletin. Fun and Creative Inspiration for Teachers of The Superkids Reading Program | Zaner-Bloser

ISSUE 5 | DEC. 2019

Stay on the Right Track!
Some Superkids teachers discover too late that their pacing is slower than anticipated and they aren’t going to complete all lessons by the end of the school year. Depending on when your school year begins, you are likely getting close to the end of your first semester of Superkids instruction.

This is a great time to confirm you are working at a good pace and will be able to complete the program. How many lessons have you completed? How many lessons do you still have to teach? How many days do you have left in the school year? You will be glad you checked!

Do I need to teach the lessons in order? And do I have to teach all steps in the lessons? Yes. Superkids lessons should be taught in order, and all lesson steps should be completed because skills are built sequentially and cumulatively over the course of the lessons.

Do I need to be sure my students have mastered skills before moving on to the next lesson or unit? No. The program is both cumulative and spiraling in that it builds skills sequentially and continually reviews skills deliberately and purposefully.

We don’t have a contiguous reading block. How do I break up a 90-minute Superkids lesson into a way that makes sense? What parts of a lesson can we fit into multiple segments of time in a way that is logical and effective?
The lessons are very linear. We advise teachers to begin with the Daily Routine and then simply follow the lesson steps. The lesson steps provide natural breaks for teachers with a reading block that is broken into chunks. Skill lessons are followed by Ten-Minute Tuck-Ins for additional reinforcement or enrichment. These can be done in a self-contained chunk of time as well.

If I think that a lesson is not rigorous enough, can I skip ahead?
We recommend keeping all students in core instruction and adjusting the time (pacing), intensity, and rigor within the lessons. Remember that this is a complete language arts program; although some students may be strong readers, they will likely need grade-level instruction in other areas of language arts. We don’t suggest skipping lessons because it is unlikely all students will have solid understanding of all skills and concepts within a given lesson. However, if the class does have a fundamental understanding of the content, we encourage you to quicken the pace of a lesson and move quickly to the critical point of instruction.

Online Tool to Help Keep a Lively Pace
Using the Daily Lesson Page in the Teacher Portal can help you keep a good pace. The links provided for each lesson are presented in the order you will need them and save you from hunting for the right audio files and materials to display. Remember to use this valuable tool daily.

Coaches are often asked for ways to display materials for lesson modeling without an interactive whiteboard. One great solution is to position your LCD projector to display student materials on a dry-erase board. This way, you can still provide appropriate modeling during the “I do” and “We do” portions of any Superkids lesson.

Here are two ideas shared by members of our Facebook community that would be perfect for those winter, indoor recess days—followed by a few of our own.

1. Janel Sasser connects her STEM activities to the Superkids. Students use classroom supplies to invent and build items related to the characters. They have created new ovens for Cass, paintbrush holders to keep Oswald organized, dog houses for Golly’s friends, bridges for Alf to safely cross, and tool hangers for Doc’s shop!

2. Rose Watkins O’Connor allows her students to play with the bendable figures on cold and snowy days. She provides additional props like a dollhouse and a toy bus.

3. Provide some extra time to play games on Superkids Online Fun.

4. Let students reread their favorite story or magazine with a friend in a cozy spot.

5. Allow children the opportunity to get SUPER crafty and create their favorite character using on-hand art supplies. This could be completed over the course of several days when indoor recess is expected.

6. Have a big box ready and make your own Superkids bus for the kids to fix up. This is another project that could take a few days to complete. Bonus! The bus makes a fun place to hang out when the kiddos are stuck inside the next time.

Check out these cute, winter-themed printable postcards for you and your students to enjoy!

Color a Superkids winter or holiday scene on the front and write a note on the back of the postcards. Stamp to mail or exchange postcards in class.

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We’d love to share your tips, activities, and inspiration with other Superkids teachers!

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