Dear Warrior Families,

Recently, I have been reading books about the science of reading, the science of learning, and the importance of knowledge. Something that resonated with me in Nathaniel Swain’s book Harnessing the Science of Learning is the idea of biologically primary and biologically secondary knowledge. Biologically primary knowledge is easily learned early in life with minimal effort. This includes learning your first language and recognizing faces. Biologically secondary knowledge is learned through explicit educational experiences and includes learning to read, write, and mastering mathematics. Because of the difference between biologically primary and secondary knowledge some things are easier to learn than others.

This school year we, as teachers, are focusing on how Cognitive Science, also known as the science of learning, informs and influences our teaching practice. We are being intentional with explicit instruction, modeling for students, having students practice, and giving clear feedback so that students know what they are doing well and what improvement is still needed. The focus on our teaching practice allows us to help students grow in knowledge so that they may grow in wisdom. 

Literacy at ICS

Foundational literacy skills are crucial to building knowledge in elementary. At ICS we teach and practice phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. Explicit instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency helps us build a solid foundation of literacy knowledge and skills that our children will use in grade 6 and beyond. 

Phonological awareness and phonics are often misunderstood as being the same thing. Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds. This is done without attaching any print or symbols to the sounds. Students in P1 and grade 1 learn and practice phonological awareness skills orally as a whole class. Phonics, however, is the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent. This is critical for decoding words when reading. There is a strong connection to the encoding skills, writing letters for the sounds they represent. This year we will emphasize the letter/sound connection as we write and spell more than in previous years.

Vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency are more commonly known areas of focus in literacy instruction. Vocabulary work includes knowing the meaning of a wide range of words. Learning the meaning of more words helps a child to improve his or her comprehension of spoken and written language. Comprehension is the ability to understand what is read or heard. This includes understanding the grammar and structure of sentences, as well as the content of a text. Rich discussions around texts we read aloud to students and texts students read help students expand their vocabulary and strengthen their comprehension. Fluency, in literacy, is reading at an appropriate pace. This includes reading words accurately and with appropriate expression. Reading out loud is one way to improve reading fluency.

DIBELS Assessment

This year we implemented the DIBELS assessment. DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. This assessment helps the teacher gather information about student performance on critical reading skills including: phonemic awareness (P1-G1), phonics (P1-G3), fluency (P1-G5), and comprehension (G2-5). The reason for using the DIBELS assessment this year is so we can gather data to inform literacy teaching. These results help us understand the students’ strengths and needs in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension. Even though this assessment may sound simple, DIBELS lays the groundwork for students to pursue knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

September & October Calendar

September 15 - September 19

(Elementary "B" Week)

Elementary School Google Calendar:

Whenever we make a change to the calendar it will appear on the Elementary School Google Calendar.  Parents can view the Elementary Google Calendar from the school's website.  On the ICS Community Info page, simply scroll down to the calendars, find the Elementary School calendar, and click the Google Calendar icon on the bottom right of the calendar.