We had a great half day on Friday. Students who took part in Jump Rope for Heart were very excited to share their experiences with the class. The other students did a great job organizing our book areas in the classroom as well as their book boxes. It was great meeting with some of you for conferences and I look forward to meeting with the rest of you this Friday.
The students had a busy week at school. We started a Geometry Unit in math. Students will be exploring shapes to learn about their attributes through a variety of hands-on-activities and new Math Workplace Stations. The students had a great time using mirrors and pattern blocks to see what reflections are made when looking at shapes in a two way mirror. I am excited to see what discoveries the students will continue to make throughout the unit. Also, we will be starting to do Mad Minutes daily in our classroom. These are exercises to build fact fluency with addition and subtraction. The students will be challenging themselves to move quickly and carefully when solving these equations.
We completed our study of Non-Fiction books in Readers' Workshop. The students were able to share their favorite aspect of reading Non-Fiction. They shared facts they learned, text features that they enjoyed, and certain topics they enjoyed learning more about. It was great to see the culmination of such an intensive unit of study. In Writers' Workshop the students finished up their writing on Small Moments. We spent last week revising our writing. Students were learning about the importance of looking back at writing and making sure they are ready to share. On Tuesday, the children will be sharing their favorite Small Moment Piece with in a small group.
In Fundations, the class is starting a unit on the suffix /s/. We have discussed the idea of a base word and then adding a suffix. The students discovered that adding the suffix /s/ changes the word to mean that there is now more than one. The students also are practicing that the suffix /s/ can make both a /s/ and a /z/ sound at the end of a word. We will continue this study for three weeks. I will be sending home the newsletter from Fundations in the Friday Folders this week.
Hope you all had a terrific weekend.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Dissecting Owl Pellets
We had quite an exciting week in our classroom! We were able to go to WCS and watch the Sterling House put on the play Pinocchio. The students did an excellent job being a supportive audience. St. Patrick's Day was quite exciting in the classroom. A leprechaun came to visit us. He changed things around in our classroom and made a mess. The students then worked in small groups to build Leprechaun traps. We left them up over night. Although we did not catch any sneaky leprechauns he did leave us some gold nuggets from his pot of gold!
Thanks to all the Four Winds volunteers. The students had a blast learning about Owls. They were able to dissect owl pellets and find the different bones of the animals that the owl had eaten. It was so interesting to be able to pull out skulls and rib bones and put them together. The students had a great time! Also, the students were able to listen to owl sounds and get some general information about owls and how they fly silently. At our afternoon Kiva, the students enjoyed sharing what they had learn.
We have had lots of hard work going on in the classroom as well. In Readers' Workshop the students are continuing to learn about how to read non-fiction books. This week we learned about pictures and captions and how to use them when reading non-fiction books. We will be wrapping this unit up next week. The students are really growing as independent readers. They really seem to look forward to their independent reading time.
In Math we worked on solving Penguin Word Problems. The students worked on the concepts such as addition and subtraction, counting by two's, and finding twice as many. The students are now putting their knowledge into practice and creating their own penguin problems. Also, this week we did some comparative measurement. Students used their life-sized penguins to measure what part of their body the penguin came up to. The students really have a interesting understanding of measurement and are able to put these skills into action!
In Writers' Workshop, we continue to work on our small moments pieces. This week we tried adding details to our stories, using descriptive language, and creating captivating beginnings! Our small moments stories are stories that focus on one part of an event. The students have enjoyed writing these kinds of narratives.
That wraps up our week! If you still need to sign up for a conference, please contact me by school phone or email. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks to all the Four Winds volunteers. The students had a blast learning about Owls. They were able to dissect owl pellets and find the different bones of the animals that the owl had eaten. It was so interesting to be able to pull out skulls and rib bones and put them together. The students had a great time! Also, the students were able to listen to owl sounds and get some general information about owls and how they fly silently. At our afternoon Kiva, the students enjoyed sharing what they had learn.
We have had lots of hard work going on in the classroom as well. In Readers' Workshop the students are continuing to learn about how to read non-fiction books. This week we learned about pictures and captions and how to use them when reading non-fiction books. We will be wrapping this unit up next week. The students are really growing as independent readers. They really seem to look forward to their independent reading time.
In Math we worked on solving Penguin Word Problems. The students worked on the concepts such as addition and subtraction, counting by two's, and finding twice as many. The students are now putting their knowledge into practice and creating their own penguin problems. Also, this week we did some comparative measurement. Students used their life-sized penguins to measure what part of their body the penguin came up to. The students really have a interesting understanding of measurement and are able to put these skills into action!
In Writers' Workshop, we continue to work on our small moments pieces. This week we tried adding details to our stories, using descriptive language, and creating captivating beginnings! Our small moments stories are stories that focus on one part of an event. The students have enjoyed writing these kinds of narratives.
That wraps up our week! If you still need to sign up for a conference, please contact me by school phone or email. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Life-Size Penguins
WOW...what a quick week. The students had a busy 3 days at school! The big excitement was the creation of their life-size penguins. We have learned about six different types of penguins over the last month! We have spent time thinking about what they weight, measuring their height, and comparing them. Last week, the students made a choice of which penguin they would like to create. This week they used measuring tape to measure the height of their penguins. The students then set out to draw their penguins. The students had to think about spacial relationships and proportions to get their drawings to look realistic. The students then spent time painting them. The penguins came out FANTASTIC! I will find a place to display them up for conferences!
In Readers' Workshop this week we continued to look at non-fiction text features. This week we talked about how to use headings and pictures in non-fiction books. The students are expected to be able to find these features and then use the strategies we come up with as a class on how to use these text features. The students are really building reading stamina. This week our Readers' Workshop has been so focused because the students are loving their independent reading time!
In Writers' Workshop, the students worked on their small moment writing. We worked on adding description to our pictures and our words so that the reader feels like they are in the story. We are reading The Dragon and the Prince during snack; the author and illustrator uses a lot of description throughout the book. It is a great example of what they are expected to try on their own.
In Fundations, the students are still focused on glued sounds (all, am, an). The students spent time creating words using glued sounds. Also, the class was able to take time and write some trick words using their best writing! These papers will go home in their Friday Folders!
On another note, the students filled the marble jar again this week. We celebrated on Thursday by making birthday cards for Mrs. Eaton. We were able to enjoy a Toot and Puddle book and then spend some time making cards. The students earn the Success Jar from having expected behaviors throughout the day.
Just a reminder, I sent the sign up sheet out for conferences. If you are having trouble signing up let me know what time you would like and I will sign up for you! Conferences with be March 25th and April 1st! I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy this snow!
In Readers' Workshop this week we continued to look at non-fiction text features. This week we talked about how to use headings and pictures in non-fiction books. The students are expected to be able to find these features and then use the strategies we come up with as a class on how to use these text features. The students are really building reading stamina. This week our Readers' Workshop has been so focused because the students are loving their independent reading time!
In Writers' Workshop, the students worked on their small moment writing. We worked on adding description to our pictures and our words so that the reader feels like they are in the story. We are reading The Dragon and the Prince during snack; the author and illustrator uses a lot of description throughout the book. It is a great example of what they are expected to try on their own.
In Fundations, the students are still focused on glued sounds (all, am, an). The students spent time creating words using glued sounds. Also, the class was able to take time and write some trick words using their best writing! These papers will go home in their Friday Folders!
On another note, the students filled the marble jar again this week. We celebrated on Thursday by making birthday cards for Mrs. Eaton. We were able to enjoy a Toot and Puddle book and then spend some time making cards. The students earn the Success Jar from having expected behaviors throughout the day.
Just a reminder, I sent the sign up sheet out for conferences. If you are having trouble signing up let me know what time you would like and I will sign up for you! Conferences with be March 25th and April 1st! I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy this snow!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
PJ's and Green Eggs and Ham!
Wow, this week has gone fast. The students settled right back into the routine this week after the vacation. It was great to see how easily they jumped right back into the schedule!
This week we celebrated the Birthday of Dr. Seuss on Wednesday. We started the morning off with Green Eggs and Ham in our Kiva. Later in the day we were able to enjoy stories about Dr. Seuss as well as how he got his fabulous pen name! The student had fun engaging in making door holders to take home. To top it all off, we did this in our pajamas!
In Number Corner, we have started new calendar for the month of March. The students are looking and learning the names of 3-dimensional shapes. As the pattern grows, it is great to listen to the discoveries being made. We are continuing with creating number sentences for our number of days in school. We are now at 109! The students number sense is building and they are creating some really advanced addition and subtraction equations.
In Fundations, we started a new unit. This unit will be working on glued sounds like an and am. I have sent a letter home in the Friday Folders about this unit. It should last about two weeks. The letter is supplied by Fundations. It goes into good detail of explaining so that you have an understanding of what they are working on! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Readers' Workshop has gone off to a great start this week. We are starting to look at Non-fiction books. The children are learning about how to read non-fiction texts. We spent some time this week exploring non-fiction books with partners. We also learned about the Table of Contents and the Index and were able to come up with an explanation of how to use them!
This week in Math the students took time to show what they have learned about penguins and Antarctica through writing a letter home. The students really took their time and were able to share some of the interesting facts they have learned through these letters. I sent them home in your child's Friday Folder. I hope you enjoy reading them. Our other focus for Math has been skip counting by 2's. The students created two of their own penguins this week. We made this into a big chart and were able to look at strategies for counting by 2's. The students had some really interesting discoveries!
For Writers' Workshop, the children continue to write Small Moment Stories. The students learned about ordered language (first, next, then, finally) this week and how to use it in their writing. I'm learning so much about the students through their writing!
Hope you have a fantastic Weekend!
This week we celebrated the Birthday of Dr. Seuss on Wednesday. We started the morning off with Green Eggs and Ham in our Kiva. Later in the day we were able to enjoy stories about Dr. Seuss as well as how he got his fabulous pen name! The student had fun engaging in making door holders to take home. To top it all off, we did this in our pajamas!
In Number Corner, we have started new calendar for the month of March. The students are looking and learning the names of 3-dimensional shapes. As the pattern grows, it is great to listen to the discoveries being made. We are continuing with creating number sentences for our number of days in school. We are now at 109! The students number sense is building and they are creating some really advanced addition and subtraction equations.
In Fundations, we started a new unit. This unit will be working on glued sounds like an and am. I have sent a letter home in the Friday Folders about this unit. It should last about two weeks. The letter is supplied by Fundations. It goes into good detail of explaining so that you have an understanding of what they are working on! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Readers' Workshop has gone off to a great start this week. We are starting to look at Non-fiction books. The children are learning about how to read non-fiction texts. We spent some time this week exploring non-fiction books with partners. We also learned about the Table of Contents and the Index and were able to come up with an explanation of how to use them!
This week in Math the students took time to show what they have learned about penguins and Antarctica through writing a letter home. The students really took their time and were able to share some of the interesting facts they have learned through these letters. I sent them home in your child's Friday Folder. I hope you enjoy reading them. Our other focus for Math has been skip counting by 2's. The students created two of their own penguins this week. We made this into a big chart and were able to look at strategies for counting by 2's. The students had some really interesting discoveries!
For Writers' Workshop, the children continue to write Small Moment Stories. The students learned about ordered language (first, next, then, finally) this week and how to use it in their writing. I'm learning so much about the students through their writing!
Hope you have a fantastic Weekend!
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