K-1 classrooms are spacious with areas for large and small group work. In most classrooms, area rugs, overstuffed chairs and pillows create a home-like atmosphere that welcomes both sprawling on the floor to play a game or curling up with a good book. All K-1 students eat lunch in their classrooms, usually seated at tables of no more than four, and often with a teacher or assistant seated with or adjacent to them to promote social development and to facilitate a calm, relaxed eating environment. Preschool and K-1 classrooms are adjacent to each other but separate from the 2-3 and 4-5 classrooms, which are located in a separate wing of the building.
Schedules Accommodate Children’s Needs
Schedules accommodate the needs that young children have for quiet time, individual and group learning and movement and play. Students on K-1 teams go outside to play twice a day, weather permitting, and often play indoors in the multi-purpose room otherwise. Breakfast is available to all Campbell students before the school day begins.
Learning by Doing
Classroom instruction is organized around hands-on experiences using concrete materials rather than worksheets and workbooks. Materials are arranged in learning centers that children can use individually or in small groups. Written activities are planned to help the students record and describe their observations, in addition to providing practice to develop written language skills. Math concepts are introduced through the use of manipulatives such as blocks, geo boards, tangrams, pattern and attribute blocks, dice, and counters and cubes which can be counted, measured and subtracted or compared.
Balanced Literacy Strategies
Balanced literacy strategies that include listening to stories, talking about stories and experiences, guided and independent reading, response writing and phonics skills instruction are the major components of the language arts program. Language and communication skills are incorporated across the curriculum. Big books, little books, books on tape and CD-ROM, writing and publishing materials are available for students to use independently, with peers, or with an adult.
Technology in the Classroom
Technology plays an increasingly important role as the children use various computer programs to practice skills, learn new concepts, develop reading fluency, solve problems and communicate with their friends and neighbors in the next classroom, a nearby school or around the world. We also have new ipads for use in the classrooms!
