It's hard to believe that Trimester 1 has already come and gone. With that being said, we have learned so much during this time and have grown in friendship and in knowledge. Read below to find out what we have been learning!
Reading
In reading, students have learned several strategies to help them comprehend and decode unknown words. For comprehension, students have really begun to think about why the author wrote a book. Was it to teach us information (non-fiction) or to tell us a story (fiction)? Thinking about the author's purpose helps students begin to understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
Decoding strategies have involved getting their mouths ready to say the first sound, as well as cross-checking by asking this question: Does it look right, sound right, and make sense? If the answer is yes to each part of that question, most likely the word is correct. One thing you can do to reinforce these strategies if your child comes to an unknown word is to remind him/her to get his/her mouth ready to say the first sound (have your child say the first sound). Then have them search through the rest of the word to think of a word that looks right and makes sense. Then ask them, "Does that look right, sound right, and make sense?"
In addition to comprehension and accuracy/decoding strategies, students have learned that fluency involves more than just expression. Students have learned that reading at an appropriate pace is also important. They understand that pace is really important...that reading too slow or too fast can affect all areas of reading. Students recognize how important it is to read at an appropriate pace.
Guided Reading began this week!! Students have worked really hard to develop independence with their reading stations. Mrs. Vinchattle, an instructional coach, has been working with me to group students based on skills and abilities so students receive targeted instruction at their level. I am so excited to see students take off in the area of reading!
Students have also begun to write about reading. Students have been able to choose a book and write about it by drawing a picture and writing an "I like" sentence. I have been blown away by my students' art work! Here are some pictures of their Read & Respond pages.
Reading
In reading, students have learned several strategies to help them comprehend and decode unknown words. For comprehension, students have really begun to think about why the author wrote a book. Was it to teach us information (non-fiction) or to tell us a story (fiction)? Thinking about the author's purpose helps students begin to understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
Decoding strategies have involved getting their mouths ready to say the first sound, as well as cross-checking by asking this question: Does it look right, sound right, and make sense? If the answer is yes to each part of that question, most likely the word is correct. One thing you can do to reinforce these strategies if your child comes to an unknown word is to remind him/her to get his/her mouth ready to say the first sound (have your child say the first sound). Then have them search through the rest of the word to think of a word that looks right and makes sense. Then ask them, "Does that look right, sound right, and make sense?"
In addition to comprehension and accuracy/decoding strategies, students have learned that fluency involves more than just expression. Students have learned that reading at an appropriate pace is also important. They understand that pace is really important...that reading too slow or too fast can affect all areas of reading. Students recognize how important it is to read at an appropriate pace.
Guided Reading began this week!! Students have worked really hard to develop independence with their reading stations. Mrs. Vinchattle, an instructional coach, has been working with me to group students based on skills and abilities so students receive targeted instruction at their level. I am so excited to see students take off in the area of reading!
Students have also begun to write about reading. Students have been able to choose a book and write about it by drawing a picture and writing an "I like" sentence. I have been blown away by my students' art work! Here are some pictures of their Read & Respond pages.
Writing
My students have started to make books during Writers' Workshop. Students are beginning to understand that books are comprised of a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Using sequence words help us tell events in order. Many students have begun to write personal narratives, or true stories from their lives. I have really enjoyed hearing these true stories during conferring and share time.
Another aspect we have focused on has been adding details to our pictures to make them even more interesting to read. Students have really focused on adding backgrounds and labels to their pictures. Students have also worked on adding words to their writing by using the word wall and their letter chart to help them spell words.
In addition, students have learned how important it is to reread writing to see if it makes sense. If it doesn't make sense or if it's difficult to read, my students understand that they need to make changes to their writing to make it easier to read. Rereading also helps writers remember what they need to write next. We call these process "Touching and Telling".
Here are some pictures of my students' writing. Notice the details in the pictures and all of the words! Wow!!
My students have started to make books during Writers' Workshop. Students are beginning to understand that books are comprised of a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Using sequence words help us tell events in order. Many students have begun to write personal narratives, or true stories from their lives. I have really enjoyed hearing these true stories during conferring and share time.
Another aspect we have focused on has been adding details to our pictures to make them even more interesting to read. Students have really focused on adding backgrounds and labels to their pictures. Students have also worked on adding words to their writing by using the word wall and their letter chart to help them spell words.
In addition, students have learned how important it is to reread writing to see if it makes sense. If it doesn't make sense or if it's difficult to read, my students understand that they need to make changes to their writing to make it easier to read. Rereading also helps writers remember what they need to write next. We call these process "Touching and Telling".
Here are some pictures of my students' writing. Notice the details in the pictures and all of the words! Wow!!
Math
In math, my students have really grown in their problem solving strategies as well as in their understanding of how number sentences work. They have been introduced to new symbols (plus sign +, minus sign - , and equals sign = ). They have learned to count on from the biggest number to be more efficient in their counting strategies (i.e. if they have a group of ten items and three more, they have been taught to say 10, 11, 12, 13). They have also learned a few more games that reinforce the things we are learning regarding addition, subtraction, and number sequencing.
Our math groups have really focused on problem solving. Students have a math toolbox that we have used during this time. Every time we meet, we learn a new strategy to help us solve problems, and we add that strategy and tool to our toolbox. It's a concrete way for students to see that there are many ways to solve problems. Eventually, we will talk about choosing the most efficient strategy. Here is a picture of a math tool box and the strategies we have learned so far.
In math, my students have really grown in their problem solving strategies as well as in their understanding of how number sentences work. They have been introduced to new symbols (plus sign +, minus sign - , and equals sign = ). They have learned to count on from the biggest number to be more efficient in their counting strategies (i.e. if they have a group of ten items and three more, they have been taught to say 10, 11, 12, 13). They have also learned a few more games that reinforce the things we are learning regarding addition, subtraction, and number sequencing.
Our math groups have really focused on problem solving. Students have a math toolbox that we have used during this time. Every time we meet, we learn a new strategy to help us solve problems, and we add that strategy and tool to our toolbox. It's a concrete way for students to see that there are many ways to solve problems. Eventually, we will talk about choosing the most efficient strategy. Here is a picture of a math tool box and the strategies we have learned so far.
Students have begun to record their thinking when counting their collections. Many of my students have begun to count collections of objects that have more than 10 or 20 objects. Students have learned the importance of making groups of 10. Here are a few pictures of a couple students' counting collections and their white boards where they recorded their thinking.
In addition to numbers and problem solving, my students have begun learning about shapes. We have really focused our attention on describing shapes and noticing how shapes are alike and different. Students have learned that shapes are all around us. They have gone on several shape hunts to look for various shapes in books and around our classroom. Here is a video of our latest shape hunt from around the room and some pictures of their shape hunts in books.
Students also learned a new game called Which One. This game is similar to Guess Who, as students are required to guess which shape their partner chose by asking yes/no questions about the shapes. For example, does it have three sides, is it round, is it a square? By process of elimination, students are able to guess which shape their partner chose. Here are some pictures and a video of Math With Someone involving this game Which One.
Science
My students have LOVED science this year. They have learned that scientists ask questions, study the things around them, and think. Last trimester, we learned about forces and motion through the use of experiments. It was so much fun to discover how we can use pushes and pulls to help solve real-world problems. One of the experiments involved bowling, and the students had to use cardboard pieces to act as a the bumpers. Students had to push the ball with the bumpers to knock the pins down. Another experiment involving trying to knock a wall down with the use of a pretend wrecking ball. The goal was to knock the wall down without knocking houses down. Students realized pretty quickly that too much force would knock the houses down, but by using just the right amount of force, the houses remained safe. Another experiment involved students trying to keep a bolder from knocking houses down. They had to use push pins to push the bolder to go in another direction. Take a look at the pictures and videos below to see these experiments in action. Sorry, in advance, for the noise. Science can be a bit noisy!
My students have LOVED science this year. They have learned that scientists ask questions, study the things around them, and think. Last trimester, we learned about forces and motion through the use of experiments. It was so much fun to discover how we can use pushes and pulls to help solve real-world problems. One of the experiments involved bowling, and the students had to use cardboard pieces to act as a the bumpers. Students had to push the ball with the bumpers to knock the pins down. Another experiment involving trying to knock a wall down with the use of a pretend wrecking ball. The goal was to knock the wall down without knocking houses down. Students realized pretty quickly that too much force would knock the houses down, but by using just the right amount of force, the houses remained safe. Another experiment involved students trying to keep a bolder from knocking houses down. They had to use push pins to push the bolder to go in another direction. Take a look at the pictures and videos below to see these experiments in action. Sorry, in advance, for the noise. Science can be a bit noisy!
As always, play is a big part of our day. So much of our learning and problem solving is reinforced during this time. Here are some pictures of our play time.
With one trimester down and two more to go, I cannot wait to see how much more learning occurs. My students are really starting to take off in all areas. Their joy and love of learning is infectious. and the journey of watching their growth continues to be a blessing in my life! I am so grateful for the opportunity to guide and lead them for the remainder of the year.