We will be working on addition and subtraction all year, developing strategies as the year progresses. What is more fun than learning while you play? Today we learned how to play addition bump. Students had lots of fun learning to add numbers while playing with a partner. Check out this site for lots of free math games you can print and play at home!
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Today we met our Roots of Empathy baby! We were so excited to meet her, look how sweet she is. Roots of Empathy is an evidence-based classroom program that has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression and bullying among school children while raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy (rootsofempathy.org). For more information about ROE, check out their website. Every morning we meet on the carpet to practice our word work. We start by working on a vowel. Right now we are working on short vowels. We review the sounds, practice writing words with that vowel and sort words by the correct vowel pattern. Look at how we sorted -op and -ot words today.
We had an amazing week full of bat research! We started off by sharing with the class we we already knew about bats; our schema. We researched more information about bats the rest of the week through; the internet, books and videos. Did you know bats are the only mammal that can fly! We recorded our new information in flip books so our readers can easily find new information. On Friday we wrapped up our exciting week by turning our class into a bat cave. We had a blast with our flash lights and glow sticks. Have you ever tried working in the dark before? We also worked on a bat STEM project. STEM projects use, science, technology, engineering and math to solve problems. Our goal was to make a bat that flies only using the designated supplies. Check out our designs we came up with. During Daily 5 we have been practicing a new comprehension strategy, cross checking.
CAFE Strategy: Cross Checking When reading a book for pleasure or for information, chances are you will come to a word or two you are unsure of. You probably will use the accuracy strategy of cross checking without even thinking about it, because it is second nature to you as a reader to read accurately. Accuracy is not second nature to children learning to read. It is something that needs to be taught using a variety of strategies.Your child has been introduced to the accuracy strategy of cross checking. It is important to slow readers down when they come to a word they don’t know and teach them to apply the strategy of cross checking so they are able to fix the meaning and not just skip the word. Cross checking requires a person to constantly think and monitor meaning. It is a strategy for ensuring the words and pictures read make sense and match the letters on a page. How can you help your child with this strategy at home? 1. Listen to your child read. When he comes to a word he is unsure of, remind him to cross check. Ask: • Does the word you are reading match the picture or letters written? (they cross their right arm over their body) • Does it sound right? (their left arm crosses over their body making an X) • Does it make sense? (both arms come down with hands pointing to the ground) *Doing physical movements with each question helps children to remember the questions. 2. If your child is having difficulty with this strategy at home, break down the process: • Have her stop reading when meaning breaks down. • Tell her to look at the letters and say the sounds or look for word chunks in words. • Remind her to use the pictures to help. 3. To make your child aware of using this strategy, give him a piece of paper and tell him to make a tally mark each time he uses the cross checking strategy. Thank you for your continued support at home! Written by: Allison Behne ©2009 www.thedailycafe.com Ideas and strategies are taken from : The CAFE Book, written by Gail Boushey & Joan Moser What is Words Their Way?Words Their Way is a developmental spelling, phonics, and vocabulary program. Words Their Way is intended to be a part of a balanced literacy plan that includes fluency, comprehension and writing. Words Their Way is an open-ended individual process. An assessment is given to determine where to begin instruction. Based on assessment results students are given words to study in order to discover the common attributes. In this manner students are actively constructing their own knowledge of spelling patterns. Students learn features by completing activities such as word sorting, word hunts, games and drawing and labeling. Students work individually, with partners, and in small groups to encourage cooperative learning and individual responsibility. (Copied from : Beth Dearnley, Janet Freeman, Tanyalee Gulick & Laura Neri Randolph Elementary School Arlington County (VA) Public Schools) This week we began our Words Their Way program. Each week students are given new words to study. Students are in a variety of groups depending on where they are. Groups include; consonants, short vowels, digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh), blends (br, sw, sl), and long vowels. As the year progresses students move up through the levels. We work with the same words all week (sorting and playing games) and then at the end of the week, glue down our word sorts to take home. This week we are researching pumpkins. We started by recording all the information we already knew about pumpkins; our schema. We then read some books and watched some videos on pumpkins. After our research, we were able to add to our pumpkin knowledge. Now we are going to write what we learned about pumpkins!
Our library days are always on Day 3: October 24th November 1st November 8th November 17th November 25th December 5th December 12th December 19th January 9th January 17th January 24th February 1st February 8th February 16th March 2nd March 9th March 17th March 24th April 10th April 19th April 26th May 4th May 11th May 19th May 30th June 6th June 14th June 21st One of our Science objectives is to learn what happens when we mix primary colours together. To add an element of fun to our lesson, we mixed yellow lemonade and blue ice cubes together to see what would happen! Have you ever tried green lemonade??
This month our dramatic play center has changed to a flower shop. Students will be taking on the role of; customers, florist, cashier and phone orders.
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