Week of November 8, 2010

I really enjoyed speaking with all of the parents at Parent-Teacher conferences. I hope the students are enjoying their long weekend.

Despite have a short school week, we still learned several new things. We learned the following:

• Math: On Monday, the students learned how to use a pan balance. We compared different amounts of teddy bear counters and counting chips to determine the items that weighed more and less. The students also had an opportunity to use the ban balance at math workstation. On Wednesday, we played Domino Concentration. This game allows the students to practice counting with one-to-one correspondence. Additionally, this game allows students to learn that numbers can be represented many ways. For example, there are two dominoes that represent the number 3. One domino has three dots on one half and the other half is blank. Another domino to represent the number 3 has one dot on one half and two dots on the other half.
• Phonics/Word Study: We learned that words have syllables and you can count how many syllables it has. We sorted pictures on a pocket chart by clapping the syllables in the words. We sorted words with one, two, and three syllable words. We also counted the syllables in our names.
• Reader's Workshop: We learned that good readers notice the spaces between words. We read, "Humpty Dumpty." We counted the number of spaces in this nursery rhyme.
• Writer's Workshop: We continue to draw pictures based on a given topic, and we are labeling the items in the picture. When we label the pictures we focus on hearing initial and final sounds in the word. Our topic to write about this week was things that make us happy.
• Handwriting: We learned how to write the letter U and the number 5.
• Social Studies: We read a story about Thanksgiving and talked about the things we are thankful for. We also drew a picture of something we are thankful for and glued it to the belly of our adorable turkeys that we made.

Overhead workstation - the students had to complete an activity that required them to fill-in missing numbers in a number sequence. Once they finished this task, they can build with pattern blocks on the overhead.

Pocket Chart workstation - the students had to sort pictures using the initial sound of the word

ABC/Word Study workstation - the students had to sort pictures using initial sounds in the words.

Writing workstation - the students had to color the pages of a book about the fall.