BUSY WEEK IN ROOM 11
Language Arts
One of my goals in Reader's Workshop is improving the scope, depth and manner we have book discussions in class. Many times the discussions are directed to and from the teacher. We are working on trying to move the discussion to one that is student driven and directed. This of course is facilitated and modeled by the teacher to help add depth to the comments, questions, etc. that come out of our talking about books. We used our class read aloud book, Tuck Everlasting, to practice the "turn and talk" and "stop and jot" methods of being engaged with books. You can ask your learner about them. After discussing what makes a successful book cover, and looking at samples, we created new covers for the books that we have written reviews for during Writer's Workshop. The completed book reviews are now hanging in the classroom. Come in and check them out when you have a moment. We began author's chair, which gives an opportunity for different learners to share and celebrate their writing. We worked on commas in a series and commas in compound sentences in our skills books. After teaching commas in a compound sentence, sometimes commas begin to pop up before every "and" in a sentence. Helping your child edit for the correct use of commas will help straighten out this initial confusion. For example. Bats sleep all day, but they eat mosquitoes and other insects all night. (correct). I like ice cream, and cookies. (not correct)
Magnets
We read a passage about three types of magnets (natural, temporary, and permanent). The learners had to answer questions by finding evidence in the non-fiction text about "How Magnets are Made". We then began an experiment called "Fish and Clips". The students learning more about scientific process skills such as collecting, organizing, reporting, and interpreting data. They also worked on math skills such as displaying data on a graph, inequalities, and whole number operations. We also compared results as a class by learning about averages and how to calculate them. At the end of the week we made predictions about magnetic strength through various objects. The learners were impressed with the strength of the magnets and wrote interesting conclusions about the results. Next week we will continue with magnetic strength and begin learning about magnetic poles.
Explorers
This was a busy week learning about early California Explorers. We learned about why explorers starting their explorations in order to find faster routes to Asia and riches along the way. We learned about Cabrillo, Drake, and Viscaino. We learned who the first explorer to sail along the California coast was. We also learned how California was named, and how the exploration of the "New World" would change California forever. We also started looking at our year long theme "It takes many perspectives to tell the story of California." We created a poster that is now on the wall in the front of the classroom that will remain there all year. When we learn about different individuals that influenced California history, we will add their name and photo to the poster. Stay tuned for an exciting project at the end of the year that will use this information. We concluded the week by starting to create trading cards for the explorers we read about. Next week learners will do a more in depth study of specific explorers and their significance and create journals from the perspective of an explorer.
Math
This was our second week of math menus. The learners did a great job this week, and it seemed like we were really in the swing of things. These menus gave both Jaime and I opportunities to work with small groups of learners on specific skills. Some groups are currently working on efficiency when adding large numbers or several numbers, while others are looking at algebraic equations and solving for variables, estimating, and exploring ratios. Working in small groups allows us the opportunity to provide learners with specific skills to improve their accuracy and challenge their thinking.
It has been a long week, so we will wrap up for now. We hope that you have a fantastic weekend, and as always please contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Elysha and Lale
Language Arts
One of my goals in Reader's Workshop is improving the scope, depth and manner we have book discussions in class. Many times the discussions are directed to and from the teacher. We are working on trying to move the discussion to one that is student driven and directed. This of course is facilitated and modeled by the teacher to help add depth to the comments, questions, etc. that come out of our talking about books. We used our class read aloud book, Tuck Everlasting, to practice the "turn and talk" and "stop and jot" methods of being engaged with books. You can ask your learner about them. After discussing what makes a successful book cover, and looking at samples, we created new covers for the books that we have written reviews for during Writer's Workshop. The completed book reviews are now hanging in the classroom. Come in and check them out when you have a moment. We began author's chair, which gives an opportunity for different learners to share and celebrate their writing. We worked on commas in a series and commas in compound sentences in our skills books. After teaching commas in a compound sentence, sometimes commas begin to pop up before every "and" in a sentence. Helping your child edit for the correct use of commas will help straighten out this initial confusion. For example. Bats sleep all day, but they eat mosquitoes and other insects all night. (correct). I like ice cream, and cookies. (not correct)
Magnets
We read a passage about three types of magnets (natural, temporary, and permanent). The learners had to answer questions by finding evidence in the non-fiction text about "How Magnets are Made". We then began an experiment called "Fish and Clips". The students learning more about scientific process skills such as collecting, organizing, reporting, and interpreting data. They also worked on math skills such as displaying data on a graph, inequalities, and whole number operations. We also compared results as a class by learning about averages and how to calculate them. At the end of the week we made predictions about magnetic strength through various objects. The learners were impressed with the strength of the magnets and wrote interesting conclusions about the results. Next week we will continue with magnetic strength and begin learning about magnetic poles.
Explorers
This was a busy week learning about early California Explorers. We learned about why explorers starting their explorations in order to find faster routes to Asia and riches along the way. We learned about Cabrillo, Drake, and Viscaino. We learned who the first explorer to sail along the California coast was. We also learned how California was named, and how the exploration of the "New World" would change California forever. We also started looking at our year long theme "It takes many perspectives to tell the story of California." We created a poster that is now on the wall in the front of the classroom that will remain there all year. When we learn about different individuals that influenced California history, we will add their name and photo to the poster. Stay tuned for an exciting project at the end of the year that will use this information. We concluded the week by starting to create trading cards for the explorers we read about. Next week learners will do a more in depth study of specific explorers and their significance and create journals from the perspective of an explorer.
Math
This was our second week of math menus. The learners did a great job this week, and it seemed like we were really in the swing of things. These menus gave both Jaime and I opportunities to work with small groups of learners on specific skills. Some groups are currently working on efficiency when adding large numbers or several numbers, while others are looking at algebraic equations and solving for variables, estimating, and exploring ratios. Working in small groups allows us the opportunity to provide learners with specific skills to improve their accuracy and challenge their thinking.
It has been a long week, so we will wrap up for now. We hope that you have a fantastic weekend, and as always please contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Elysha and Lale
