Thursday, November 20th

On this snowy day, our question of the day was Do you like winter. We learned that there were 39 children in the class that liked winter and only 1 that did not like winter. We learned that more people in our class liked winter and less people didn't like winter. In writing workshop, the green gators learned that good writers strech out their words and write all of the sounds that they hear so that their readers can read their words. The red rhinos worked on focusing our stories on the most important part, and when conferring with our partners, asking questions about information that was missing. We did a great job asking our partners questions about our stories. In the morning we also did our daily five routines. The students are learning to be much more indpendet at completeing these tasks while their teachers work with small groups of children on guided readign and word study lessons.

In the afternoon, we continued reading the book "Oh, What A Thanksgiving." We added to our Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the first Thanksgiving to our Thanksgiving. We learned that the native americans and the pilgrims ate cornbread, dried plums, deer meat, and goose on the First Thanksgiving. We learned that the first Thanksgiving was very different from our Thanksgiving, but that we celebrate for the same reasons...because we are thankful for our friends, family and homes. We are excited to try some of these foods at our tasting party on Tuesday, November 25th. In mathematics, the Red Rhinos looked at some art work. The saw a picture of some ice cream scoops. They had to use an efficient strategy to figure out how many scoops all togther. Ask your child to share the stategy that they learned. We also were faced with a challenege. The students were asked to figure out how many cats and dogs they could have if they had 12 pets in all. The green gators worked on quick images, practicing to count the number of dots that we saw on the cards. We are working on counting a set number of objects quickly.

Wednesday, November 19th 2008

Today was a busy day! In the morning, our question of the day was "Do you like to eat turkey or chicken more? We learned that more of our friends like to eat turkey than chicken, and that the number 34 is bigger than 6. During writing workshop, the green gators worked on stretching out small moments by asking their friends questions about their stories to include those details when they write. The red rhinos practiced telling their stories across their fingers, and using the word wall to help them write words they aren't sure how to spell. During the Daily 5, some of our friends worked with Senorita Wesley and Mrs. Helfer reading stories that are "just right" for them. All of our friends had a chance to rotate through their different daily 5 activities--listening to reading, reading to someone, reading to self, and word study. Our friends are realy becoming more and more independent during this time! After lunch, we did a read aloud, and compared the First Thanksgiving to how we celebrate Thanksgiving today. We learned that the food that we have for Thanksgiving dinner we can buy from the grocery store, but on the First Thanksgiving, they had to hunt and gather the food they ate. We are going to continue to learn more about this, as we prepare for our Thanksgiving Tasting on Tuesday, November 25th. We appreciate all of the donations that parents have volunteered!

Monday, November 17th 2008

Today was a busy day! We started off our day cutting out our words for word study. Our question of the day was, Do you like Winter? We learned the Spanish word for winter is "invierno", and that all of our friends like winter. In the morning we did our daily five routines while our teachers met with word study groups to introduce students to their new words. We also read a new poem. Some students read a poem called Squirrel, Squirrel, Shake Your Bushy Tail, and some friends read Tengo, Tengo, Tengo. Ask your child which poem they read and what the poem was about. We also read our non-fiction book about Peru and learned that they have a Festival of the Sun, that lasts a week. During Math, the green gators practiced counting quickly and had choice time to practice counting dots, playing the game compare dots, or working on their counting books. The red rhinos has a number talk around a story problem and then they practiced counting dots quickly and efficiently by playing quick images. Ask your child to share with you some of the strategies they have learned to work with numbers efficiently. In social studies, students talked about how many family members they had and learned how to name members of their
family in Spanish. In science students were given the challenge to balance their pencil on the edge of a Popsicle stick. This is an experiment that we will continue working on tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 12th

After a day off we got "right back into swing of things." In the morning the green gators and the red rhinos read their new books just as we do every day. The green gators read the story "Spring". They are getting so good at using the pictures and the beginning letters of unknown words to help them with decoding. They were also hunting for the word THE as we read. The red rhinos read the book "How Many." They hunted for the word HOW. The rest of the morning was spent working on our new Reading Workshop routines. This was the first day that the students were able to choose the order in which they completed their Daily 5 jobs. The must complete all of the choices, but they get to choose the order. Their choices are Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listening to Reading, and Word Study. They are getting more and more independent at these tasks as the days go on. Ask your child what their favorite part of the daily 5 is.

After lunch and a quick recess, we sat down to hear a story. We have started to learn about a new Spanish speaking country...Peru. Ask your child what they learned about Peru from our reading. The children that worked with had a number talk around a subtraction story problem and then had choice time. The students were able to choose compare dots, counting pattern blocks, and copying cubes. They continue to try to develop efficient strategies when working with numbers. The students that worked with Mrs. Wesley during mathematics had a number talk on a subtraction story problem as well. They then played courting pattern blocks.

Friday, November 7th

Today we had a special visit our in our classroom. Brandon Williams mother came in and read our class a book in Spanish. She read the book My Brother. Ask your child what spanish words they learned from this story. This morning we also got a new book for our bag of books. The red rhinos got a book about words that start with the letter F. They learned that the words fruita and flor start with the letter "F." Ask your child if they can name other spanish words that start with the letter "F." This morning we also practiced our routines for reading workshop. The students are getting ready to do all of these routines indpendently next week.

In the afternoon the red rhinos and green gators practcied our handwriting. The green gators learned how to make the letter "K." Ask your child to show you how to make the letter "K." The red rhinos practiced how to write the letter G. In mathematics, we played compare dots and copy cubes

Thursday, November 6th 2008

In the morning, we reviewed our question of the day, which was: Do you like to dance? We practiced counting by 2 in spanish, and learned that most of our friends like to dance. In fact, we figured out that with 40 people in our class, if only two friends didn't like to dance, then 38 did like to dance.

We practiced the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish, and read our story "Perros Perros", and learned some opposites, like big/little, smooth/curly, dirty/clean, fast/slow, wet/dry, and black/white.

In writer's workshop, the red rhinos practiced using their checklists to help them remember what to do during writer's workshop. The green gators talked about small moments and brainstormed a list of small moments that they could write about. They all did a great job working on developing their writing.

We practiced choosing good spots to read when reading with a partner. We also learned how to use the listening center, and practiced the right way to work at the listening center. We are really working hard on becoming independent in our different literacy activities, and doing a great job too!

Parents: Since we have such a large number of students, and a limited number of listening center headphones, we have sent a letter home, asking that any parents who have an extra walkman at home (that uses casette tapes), or are willing to purchase one for their child's personal use, we would greatly appreciate these in our classroom. While we certainly are not requiring this, it would allow us to have more students use the listening centers more frequently. If you are able, please send them in, and we will put these in your child's cubby, with their name on it, so they can use it during that time.
Thank you so much for your continued support!

Wednesday, November 5th

Our question of the day was "Who won the presidential election last night?" We learned that most of our friends knew that Barack Obama won the election. We practiced looking for odd numbers in our hundreds board,

Today we practiced read to self, and we read for almost 30 minutes. We also learned how we ask a friend to be our reading partner, and what the correct answer is when someone asks us to read with them--yes! We are continuing to practice the different ways that we read to our partners--I read, you read, and check for understanding. In handwriting, the green gators practiced the letter H, while the red rhinos were practicing writing words with the letters d and o. In word study, some of our friends practiced cut and paste, looking for pictures that start with that letter. The red rhinos practiced putting their words in the different groups, and doing their no-peek write. In math, we spent our time talking about word problems and how we can solve them using quick math strategies.

EV visits Spain

Monday, November 3rd

In the morning the green gators practiced our city sounds. Mrs. Helfer cannot believe how many letters and letter sounds the students are able to identify. After reviewing our letters and letter sounds, the green gators read a book called "On." We hiunted for the word of the day "on" in the book. We also practiced using strategies such as using the word patterns in the book and using the pisture to help us identify unkown words. This morning we also learned about the celebration "Dia de los muertos" or "Day of the dead." This is a celebration that takes place on the first day of November in some spanish speaking countries. It is a day to remember loved ones who have dies. We learned that families set up alters and leave "offerings" for their loved ones who have died. They put special pictures and items that those who have died would like. We also learned that many people also dress up in skeleton costumes and dance to celebrate. In our classroom we made skeleton masks to celebrate the "The Day Of The Dead." Ask your child what they put on their masks to make them beautifu! In mathematicas, we learned how to play Compare Dots. The children who work with Mrs. Helfer during math are learning how mathematicians solve problems efficiently. Students used efficitent strategies such as counting by twos and using doubles. Remember, stduents have no school tomorrow!

Kelly's Apple Farm