getting to know the children. They are a unique group of students who have grown so much already. We are excited to share some of the happenings that have taken place during the last few weeks.
Communities
We've been hard at work learning about the different kinds of communities. We read and wrote about where you can live and how the different communities can affect so much in your life. We truly immersed ourselves in this learning. To wrap it up, students were allowed to pick a project of their choice to demonstrate their learning. Some students wrote poems incorporating the senses for each community. Others sketched from one line on the computer and turned that line to visually show what each community looks like and the things we can see there. Students then wrote an informative paragraph to make their sketch. Finally, others created a tri-fold to list important facts about each community and designed a cover to match. Everyone loved having a choice in their project and really took ownership of their final projects.
Multiplication/Division Fun
In math, we have begun a new topic- multiplication and division! The students have really grasped the concept of equal groups, repeated addition, repeated subtraction, and sharing equally. The kids have really loved learning about this new topic and we know they will continue to develop this important skill. Try to take the opportunity to work with your child and notice real world examples of multiplication and division. For example. We have 5 friends and each friend will get 3 cookies. How many cookies will we need for our friends? 5 groups of 3 equal 15 or 5 x 3=15.
Also, practicing skip counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's will be very useful in the upcoming unit!
Wondering
An important aspect of Reading Workshop is the idea of retaining the reading skills previously taught, while working on the current reading skill as well. We have just shifted our focus from inferencing to wondering. This is a very important part of reading. Active readers have questions and things they want to know more about before they read, while they read, and after they have finished reading a text. Children should not only ask questions, but notice when a wondering they had, has been answered. We encourage everyone to practice the skill, but also the skills previously taught, to truly develop critical thinking while reading.
Heroes
After finishing our fabulous poetry unit, we got started right away on our new round of writing-HEROES. We started off by reading biographies about famous people and what makes them a hero. We learned about Ruby Bridges, Harriet Tubman, Derek Jeter, Carrie Underwood, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Edison. After reading books about each person, we wrote about what makes him/her a hero. We focused on obstacles, challenges, and what accomplishments/achievements each person made which helps his/her stand out. Finally, students were asked to form an opinion and support that opinion with evidence. Next, we asked students to think of a person in their life and why he/she is a hero to them. We know that this letter writing/opinion piece on a personal hero will sure be a hit! We can't wait to watch students learn, reflect, and form an opinion on someone important in their life.
Text Savvy
As students become even more immersed in the shared reading experience, we continue to dig deep into the same text for five consecutive days. This has allowed our students to continually practice important reading skills that create good reading habits. The Shared Reading experience is also a time to focus on things going on in the world. This month, we read Meltdown and The Best Present. Please ask your child what happened to Sammy the Snowman from Meltdown or what is really the best present of all to them. During the holiday season, we have talked about the importance of giving to others, as well as celebrating the things we are so fortunate to have in our lives. Friends, family, a wonderful school, and so much more are all things we feel are gifts-better than a present that comes in a box!
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
We wish you all a wonderful vacation and a happy and healthy New Year. We hope that all our students and families enjoy their time together. Whether you sleep late, read a good book, see a movie, spend quality time with loved ones, or just relax.... We hope it is amazing!
See you all in 2015!
