A Second Week

What another engaged week we had together learning about each other and building a safe learning environment for us all.  We are still learning about routines of our classroom that will help us to be efficient.  Some of these routines include: classroom jobs, morning routines & bellwork, lining up & washing up for lunch, and signing in every morning.  

Here is a summary of what happened in our classroom:
Getting to Know Each Other…

• Individually, students took a reading survey that asked questions about what books they like to read, how often they read, what genre they enjoy most, and how they learned to read.  It was very powerful to see how everyone reads for different purposes (to be entertained, to learn new things, for homework, etc…) and how books are a very special part in everyone’s life! ​

​In Langauge Arts...

• After reading a picture book called Wolf! by Beeky Bloom, about a wolf who struggled to learn to read but never gave up and eventually became the best reader in his town, students wrote down what they think good readers do.  We later made a circle map with all our ideas.  This map is now decorating our classroom, as there are many wonderful ideas that we never want to forget like...Good Readers...
  • reread the story if it does not make sense
  • focus on their mental movie
  • never give up when the words get hard
  • ask for help
  • sound out words
  • stop and check
  • read everyday! 
  • use picture clues, etc... 
• Students used highlighting strategies to find text evidence in the stories they read from Wonders.  They practiced looking for key details.  As students were asking and answering questions about the text, they learned to use Q.A.E. = Q=Repeat the Question, A= Answer the question, E=Provide Evidence.  Students used this nemonic device to help them answer the questions in a complete sentence and with text evidence.   
• In addition to fables, students also learned about expository or informational text.  We read a text called "Meet the Artist."  Using this text, students answered various comprehension questions and "marked up the text" using highlighting strategies to find textual evidence.  They responded to comprehension questions learning how to restate the question before answering.  
  

In math...

• Using our Stepping Stones curriculum, students learn about place value, this week going up to the hundreds place.  They also practiced writing numerals and number names for three-digit numbers.  Students learned that with three-digit numbers you say the tens and the ones together, but the hundreds is said separately, so a hyphen is needed between the tens and ones, but not for the hundreds.  For example, three hundred fourty-nine.   

REMINDERS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

• Spelling test on Monday (normally it would have been on Friday, but due to the Holiday it was pushed back to the following Monday)
• Field trip is on 8/28 (shoes and home lunch is needed)
• 1st PE is scheduled for 8/29 (shoes needed to participate)
• Don't forget to check and sign your child's planner daily!  Thank you!

• Please help your child log the genre he or she reads daily.  It is important to expose them to the correct genre name when referring to the books they read.  The Genre-at-a-Glance chart is located behind the reading log (laminated to the manilla folder).

• And one last thought… most of my updates won’t be this long- there were just so many different activities that we did this week and the week before that I wanted to share! As a mom to a 1o-year-old boy who always has a hard time sharing what he does in school with me, this is what I hoped for- a way to find out what goes on at school so we can extend his learning at home or simply engage in a productive conversation at home.  It’s what I hope these updates will do for your family. 

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