I think something is in the water. This week we were able to rise to a whole new level of complexity in the areas of reading, writing, and math. The students are amazing me with the connections they are making across subjects and their ability to comprehend new material and apply it in their work! Here's what we've been up to: READING We are lucky enough to have 3 certified teachers in our classroom (yes, Mrs. Ivey and Mrs. Curl are currently paraprofessionals, but they are both former teachers too, and they know how to teach guided reading!), which means many, many opportunities for each student to read on his/her developmental level with a teacher each week! We are seeing huge improvements this week in how students read in groups (pointing to each word as they read, listening respectfully to others read and pointing along at the same time, answering questions about stories after reading, etc.). (Please read at the bottom for details about homework reading bags that will come home Monday!) WRITING This week we started writing stories that have beginning, middle, and end. This was a big jump for us, but everyone is making a smooth transition to writing MORE than just a sentence or 2 to tell a story. In addition, we are making sure to follow everything on the checklist below each time we write. Now when students complete stories they are asked to get a checklist (with all the things from below) and check that they did everything. Believe it or not, they are able to use the checklists independently to see what they need to work on. It's pretty awesome. MATH We are learning that place value is important. In whole group, we've been creating quantities to match 2 digit numbers to show that the first digit tells how many tens and the second tells how many ones. Then we ask silly questions like "Would you rather have 81 cookies or 18?" "Would you rather have to clean 15 toilets or 51 toilets?" It matters! Show your child the picture below and ask him or her to explain the difference to you. :) Independently in math we scaled this concept back to just focus on place value in the teens for now. Students have been using a variety of materials to "prove" that teen numbers are all made with one set of ten and some extra ones. HOMEWORK READING BAGS
Next Monday every child will bring home a canvas bag with 4 books inside that he/she is to read for homework that week. These books should be one step down from the books that he/she is reading with me in guided reading (for example, children reading with me on a B will have A books to take home. However if a child is reading A with me, he/she is also bringing home A because that is the starting level). Please make sure that your child reads all of the books at least once during the week. This means if you commit to having him/her read one book a day Monday through Thursday, you are free for the weekend unless you found one to be difficult and ask him/her to try again with that book. Books need to be returned the following Monday so that I can send a new bag of books. Inside each bag is a list of suggested things to do to help your child before, during, and after reading. Please use some of these strategies (not all at the same time) so your child has consistency between how we are reading at school and how you read together at home. Let me know if you have questions. CLASSROOM VOLUNTEERS During conferences I tried to ask everyone I met with whether or not they'd be available to help on a regular basis in the classroom. The two time slots I'm looking to fill are: 8:30-9:15 (Reader's Workshop) and 1:00-1:45 (Writer's Workshop). If I forgot to ask you if you're interested, and you can commit to a time slot (for the remainder of the school year), please email me with which time and day is good for you. I am still working on putting together the schedule, and if you wrote your name down, details will be coming soon. However, if I told you I would start having you come in next week, I was getting ahead of myself. I won't be ready to start this for one more week. Conferences have consumed my planning time and I need time to prepare your activities. Thanks for understanding, and sorry for any inconvenience. Have a great weekend! Allison
1 Comment
Shannon
10/2/2015 04:03:07 pm
I'd love to know how my child has this much to do each week, and yet still finds the time to get an eraser stuck up his nose. ;) Maybe he's just trying to demonstrate an ability to multi-task.
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April 2016
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