Week of March 22, 2010

The students were busy bees again this week. We learned a lot of new things!

In math, we practiced measuring with a ruler. The students were allowed to measure anything in our classroom. After we had time to practice our measuring skills, we shared all of the things that were measured. We also learned how to add and subtract using our calculators. This was a challenge for the students because it required a multiple step process along with pushing the correct buttons. Also we played a game called, "The Attribute Spinner Game." This game reinforced finding a specified object according to a certain characteristic.

In reading, we had a two-part focus lesson for Reader's Workshop. We talked about finding a "just right" spot for our independent reading time. In order for a spot to be "just right" it has to be quiet and comfortable. The students had an opportunity to try two different spots in our classroom to decide which spot would be best for them. In addition to Reader's Workshop, we practiced reading skills during guided reading, which include making sure the words we say match the text on the page, sounding out unknown words, and using the picture clues to help us solve unknown words. We also practiced our sight words during Phonics and Word Study by building the words with magnetic letters, checking the word, and writing it. Also, we wrote in our journals and practiced writing the letters J and c in handwriting.

In Science, we started learning about the Scientific Method. The Scientific Method has five components, which include 1) identifying the problem, 2) making a hypothesis, 3) conducting an experiment, 4) observing the experiment, and 5) analyzing the results from our observations. To practice the Scientific Method, we are going to grow green bean plants in our classroom. The students and I worked together to determine what the problem is. The students and I decided our problem would be, "what do plants need to grow?" We hypothesized they need a seed, water, air, sun, and soil. To conduct our experiment we planted the green bean seeds. Now we will observe the seeds as they sprout and conclude by analyzing our observations.

Workstations:

ABC/Word Study: Sight Word Bingo

Writing: "Things I Taste" writing prompt

Math: Practice writing the numeral 5

Art Creation: Making a chick

Week of March 15, 2010

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weekend! Hopefully, the Spring weather will remain.

First, I wanted to update you on the book order. It has been shipped, and the expected arrival date was yesterday (March 20). I am hoping that the books will be at school tomorrow morning. I apologize for the delay. It usually doesn't take Scholastic this long to send the orders. Second, we do have library tomorrow. If your child forgets his/her book, he/she can bring it on Tuesday.

The students seemed to truly enjoy their first book fair. It was so cute to watch them browse through the books and narrow their decisions down to the final selection. It was definitely an exciting experience for them.

As always, we worked very hard again this week. We learned several new concepts. In math, we played a game called, "The Raft Game." This game taught the students about making exchanges or trading. To play the game, you need a large handful of beans, a die, and popsicle sticks. The first player rolls the die and takes the specified number of beans. When a player has five beans, he/she may exchange or trade those five beans for one popsicle stick. Once a player has five popsicle sticks, he/she may exchange or trade them for a raft. Play continues for a specified time period or someone has the most rafts. Also, we made a graph that describes our pets. We talked about the characteristics of the graph, which include the pet that people have the most, the pet that people have the least, etc. Finally, we learned about the purpose of the standard foot. We measured things with a paper strip that was the length of a child's shoe and my shoe. Then we talked about how the measurements were different. Then we measured the same object with a ruler and talked about how that measurement will always be the same. I must say that this is a tricky concept for the students to grasp. Despite this, they tried very hard to understand why a standard foot is necessary.

In reading, we had two focus lessons for Reader's Workshop. We talked about finding a "just right" book for our independent reading time. In order for a book to be "just right" it can't be too hard or too easy. For now we are focusing on finding books that are not too hard. If the child gets stuck on three words then the book is too hard. The child then needs to find another book. Starting on Monday the students will get to go book shopping in our classroom during our workstation time for five "just right" books. The students will book shop on their share day. We also reviewed the proper way to treat our class books. In addition to Reader's Workshop, we practiced reading skills during guided reading. We also practiced our sight words during Phonics and Word Study by playing High Frequency Word Lotto, which is the same as Bingo. Also, we wrote in our journals and practiced writing the letters I, T, and A in handwriting.

We finished learning about the five senses this week. We read several books about the five senses and played a game. During the game, the students had to feel an object that was hidden in a sock and guess what the object was. I placed a pencil, a crayon, a toy car, and a teddy bear counter in each sock. The students had a great time with this game. They are very good at figuring out what the objects were.

Workstations:

Week of March 8, 2010

I hope everyone is staying warm and dry today! The weather leaves a lot to be desired. I am hopeful that Spring is just around the corner.

I wanted to send a quick reminder about our book fair at school. We will be visiting during our library time, which is Monday morning from 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m and Monday afternoon from 12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. You are more than welcome to come visit the book fair with your child.

Also, I submitted our class book order on March 2, so I am anticipating that the books you purchased will be arriving any day. I know the students are anxiously awaiting their arrival.

We continued to work hard this week. We learned a lot of new things in Math, Reading, and Science.

In reading, we continue to work on our sight words during our class meeting, guided reading groups, and workstations. We also practiced reading color words in text. The students read the following phrase:

I like green.

Green, green, green.

I like green frogs (I had a picture of a frog at the end of the sentence).

Then I changed the color words and the item, so the students could continue practicing the skill of reading color words in text. The other colors and items are as follows:

red and strawberries

purple and plums

yellow and bananas

pink and pigs

brown and bag

orange and pumpkin

black and tire

blue and jeans

After we read each phrase we talked about other items that could be that color. For example, the students said that cherries and a stop sign could also be red. In addition, we talked about the sequence of a story. I read, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. The student had pictures that corresponded to the story. As a class, we put the pictures in order to retell the story. We also learned how to write the following letters: O, Q, and S.

In Science, we learned about the sense of hearing. We read, "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" by Eric Carle and "The Listening Walk" by Paul Showers. Also, we played a game during our class meeting that required the children to guess the objects I had hidden in plastic eggs while I shook the eggs. Finally, the children made maracas.

In math, the children practiced measuring items in our class by using a cutout the size of their foot. We talked about this practice and how it created the current day measurements. For example, before rulers or yard sticks were used, people used their arm span, their foot, or the thickness of their finger. Also, we learned how to count by 5's and use tally marks.

Workstations:

Week of March 1, 2010

We finished our first week back from February vacation and worked very hard.

In reading, we talked about the setting of a story. The students had to identify the setting of a story during a read aloud, and did quite well with this activity. Also, we continued to practice our sight words during our class meeting, guided reading, and phonics/word study. During our meeting, the students have to identify sight words that I've used in the daily message. Also, we practiced our sight words during guided reading. I wrote several sight words on a small white board, and the students had to read the written word. For phonics/word study, the students completed an activity called build, check, write. We did this in a whole group setting on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday the students had to try it on their own. They truly did a great job.

The photo of the whiteboard shows a completed "Build, Check, Write" lesson that the class completed together.

The other photos show students completing a "Build, Check, Write" lesson individually.

In math, we worked on sequencing events, making patterns with craft sticks, identifying attributes of shapes, and guessing numbers based on attributes. To practice sequencing events, we talked about the order of events we participate in when we wake up and before we go to bed. The students then drew the sequence of events they do in the correct order. When making patterns with craft sticks, the students received and used their math workbook for the first time. They had to draw and extend the given pattern. To identify the attributes of numbers and shapes, I would give the students clues to help them identify the number or shape. For example, an attribute for the number 24 would be, "it has a two and a four for its digits."

We also started talking about our five senses this week. We read, "Five Senses" by Aliki and played a game of blindfolded beanbag toss. This helped the students realize how much our eyes help us, and how they make it easier to complete certain tasks.

Photographs of workstations: