Chaminade assures you that in August, we will implement a plan to meet the needs of all students impacted by the sudden closure of public and private schools in our area. We are confident your child will have the foundational reading and math skills that support academic success within a college preparatory middle school curriculum. In the first quarter, we will assess students’ reading and math skills, review foundational skills, and integrate instruction to address any gaps in order to bridge this year to the next. We will provide interventions for students who need additional support as well as enrichment opportunities for students who show particular aptitude and motivation for a challenge.
We recognize each school has implemented its own plan for providing at-home instruction. Chaminade has provided students with a weekly instructional plan that combines self-directed independent work, with once-a-week live instructional sessions and office hours. Regardless of your school’s approach to learning, while sheltered in place at home, we recommend that if you are concerned about your child’s academic preparedness, you consider the following:
Create a schedule with your child
Integrate academics (reading, writing, and math) with downtime, playtime, and family time. We recommend two sessions of academics, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each 1 -1.5 hours. Incorporate a short break, or two, within that 1-1.5 hour session.
Ensure opportunities for creative expression
Engage in art, music, cooking/baking, and physical fitness, outdoors if possible.
Offline time
Provide opportunities to engage in offline activities to offset some of that screen time. We are a 1:1 school that has a balanced perspective on screen time.
Read
Twenty-minutes of choice independent reading of material your child finds interesting will help build stamina for reading and background knowledge that helps with comprehension and vocabulary. Reading can include listening to books and podcasts. You may order books online, or access digital books through your local library.
Time for Kids and
Audible are currently free, due to Covid-19.
Smithsonian TweenTribune and
National Geographic are also free, and offer highly engaging articles. Short stories, poetry, and informational readings can be found on
CommonLit.
Write
Daily journal writing helps students process what is happening around them and can become a memento of this historical time. Resources include children’s author
Madelyn Rosenberg, who offers a variety of prompts, including ones that help students write about how they are experiencing their circumstances, due to Covid-19. Try
LearnZillion for short writing instruction videos.
Math
Continue accessing your school’s math books or programs for daily practice, such as
LearnZillion, which offers Illustrative Math, or Khan Academy, or youcubed’s
Week of Inspirational Math. By the end of fifth grade, students should have an understanding of place value and be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.
-Carolina Gunter, V.P. of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology
