Spring Has Sprung!

It was so nice to return to the class this week and see that just like the daffodils and crocuses outside, my first graders are blossoming into second graders right before my eyes!

We are hard at work exploring the genre of poetry in Readers Workshop. The class has been learning about different kinds of poems and are reciting poems to the class in their most fluent reading. They know that this means that they are paying attention to punctuation, reading at a good pace with clear volume and using expression in their voices. Some students have been practicing poems to read solo while others have been teaming up and practicing in groups of two and three. I can't wait for you to see them preform some of their poems at the poetry jam later on this month.

In Writers Workshop we are also exploring poetry. Last week we learned about how strong poets get ideas for their poems by using their five senses to write about an object. We practiced this skill by describing a mystery object from nature. Poets also use their five senses to come up with "juicy" words instead of "tired" words. We had fun practicing this skill while describing a chocolate chip. Of course, the sense of taste was the most fun!

In math we have wrapped up our unit on geometry. The class has learned about congruent and similar shapes during number corner. In our work places we've looked at the attributes of three dimensional shapes using polygons and played several games looking at the attributes of two dimensional shapes. Next week we will jump into the last unit for the year, an integrated study of Farms. Students will work in teams to create their own little farm where they will have to make decisions around spending money and land use planning as they purchase animals and farm equipment. We will also be reading many great books about life on a farm and writing about farms. It promises to be a fun and interactive way to end the year in math.

I am so glad to be back and can't believe that it is already May! Be sure to check the important dates widget as we have many things happening at this time of year.

Happy Spring!