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Saturday, November 19, 2016

November 19


Last week during Reader's Workshop the children practiced sequencing stories.  We read the story, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything multiple times.   Then I taught the students a song and dance which we sang to practice sequencing the story.  One day we used instruments to represent the sounds that repeat throughout the book.  Finally after many exposures to the text students created bracelets to guide them as they retold the story in order.

This week we have been reading and writing pattern books!   To start the unit writers collaborated to create a class pattern book about dragons.  The children decided on the pattern "Dragons have...."   In pairs they completed the sentence and worked together to draw illustrations.  This book has been added to our classroom library.






Then writers began writing their own pattern books!  First they sketch their pictures and then they write the words.  Fridays have become Fancy Fridays and they get to use crayons and markers to add color to their books.  This unit will continue through December.

During Math Workshop, mathematicians have been learning how to show different combinations to make numbers.  We have been using cuisenaire rods to build number sandwiches which show all the different facts of a number.  Students have practiced writing the number sentences for each fact family.  We have practiced the sums up to five.

The children loved learning the game Monster Squeeze.  This is a game in which children try to guess the mystery number on a number line using greater than/less than clues.  We started using the numbers 0-10 but will continue to play throughout the year with different numbers.

Thank you for your collaboration on the "Turkey in Disguise" project.  I love walking down the hallway and seeing the different turkeys all dressed up.   If you are in the building be sure to walk down the hall and see all the creativity.