Friday Fun!

Chris was our child of the day on this very special Friday. He read Lilly Lolly Lollipop! He was so funny! Great Job, Chris!

What a busy day! After art and enrichment with our ELL friends, we went to an assembly with the Bartlett Fire Department.



Then we came back and read the book Basket by George Ella Lyon. We created a story wheel to help us visualize and remember the story. The rest of the morning and day: Thanksgiving Readers' Theater!





I'll post videos this weekend (hopefully!!!) They did a GREAT job!

Thursday Thrills

Our child of the day, Francis, read a very, very, funny book to the class: Sleepy Tiger Bedtime. He told me yesterday he wanted to read this because it is funny. We really enjoyed it...thank you, Francis!

We read the book The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear and learned how authors share their feelings to stretch out their stories.

I've added a few more stories to our collection of digital stories on our wiki. Be sure and click on the link to the right (student writing) and it will take you directly to the page on the wiki where you can listen. So far, Klara, Alisha, Branden, and Gavin have a story. After you listen, click on the word comment at the bottom of this post. Tell them what you thought about their story and I will share it with the class. They ABSOLUTELY love knowing people are looking at their work.

I'll add more stories tomorrow.

Be sure and click on the link at the top and watch the readers' theatre video of Natalie, Alisha, Simi, and Grier performing in Fact Family Triangle. They did a GREAT job sharing their learning. Another 2nd grade classroom watched the video today and the girls were so excited to know that they were helping other students in the building learn. Click on comments here too: they would love to hear from you!!!!

In reading, we read Traveling Cat and created a Story Wheel to help us visualize and remember.

We went to the library today as well. We spent quite a bit of time practicing our Thanksgiving Readers' Theatre. The students are all excited about performing tomorrow. I videotaped them today, so if you can't come, I'll have them on the wiki this weekend for you to view. But if you can...they LOVE a live audience!

We have art tomorrow as well as an assembly where we will hear from the Bartlett Fire Department.

Don't forget Homefun is due tomorrow.

Wednesday Wonders!

Josh was our child of the day and he read Butterfly. Thanks, Josh! You did a GREAT job!

We read the book, Sheep in a Jeep, and learned how writers "savor the moment" when they write. As an example, I don't like peas. So if I have to eat them, I eat them very quickly and wash them down with water. But when I eat a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, I like to take my time...I savor it. Then I wrote of story for them showing how I savor the moment in my writing by adding details that really help paint a picture.

Be sure and click on the link to the right, student writing. Klara and Gavin how a story on our wiki that you can listen to. The link will take you right there. Alisha and Branden illustrated today, and I hope they will have their stories up tomorrow night. Aayush will type a story tomorrow and Bela will be illustrating. Everyone else is still writing their slice of life stories.

In reading, I read the book Farfallina and Marcel. We created a story wheel of pictures of what was important in the book. We learned that when we visualize it helps us to remember the story.

We practiced our readers' theater plays this morning, also.

In math, first graders worked on math facts and second graders finished up their unit 3 checking progress.

Tomorrow we have p.e. and music. Be sure and wear the appropriate shoes!

Tuesday Tales

We really enjoyed listening to Mashal read one of our favorites: If You Give a Pig a Pancake! Thanks for sharing one of your favorite books with us, Mashal!

In writing we read Good Night, Gorilla and looked at how the author (Peggy Rathman) stretched a small moment out over several pages. We then worked on our slice of life or personal narratives. Branden finished his story and we looked at how he had taken one part of a story, cut out the beginning, then taped it to the beginning of a new story. He will be illustrating his story about his hero, his dad, tomorrow! Be sure and click on the link to the right for student writing. Branden, Alisha and Klara will each have one there this week!

Alisha not only wrote her story, revised her story, edited her story, but typed it into the computer herself! GREAT JOB, Alisha! I think you will really enjoy her story once we publish it. She will be illustrating tomorrow.

In reading, we finished up the story of the Journey of the Pilgrims by using the reading strategy of visualizing to create a gallery of images:


Tomorrow we will use a senses wheel to help us visualize. More on that later!

We were supposed to go to the library, but we got so busy...I FORGOT!!!! So, we will be going on Thursday to check out books. Whoops!!!

We practiced our readers theater performances also. If your child brought home words last Friday, please help him/her with their lines.

In math, 2nd graders completed unit 3 and 1st graders worked on more frames and arrows.

I sent home a letter in their mail telling you about an easier way to watch the homefun video. Click on the link to the right and it will take you directly to the student sign in. Much easier!

Monday Marvels!

Our child of the day, Matthew, read The Skier to us. We may be able to go skiing soon here!

We looked at our Room With a View pictures to talk about the weather around the world. We are hooked up with a school in the Russian Federation! How different...they sent pictures with lots of snow! We also looked at a school in New Zealand where they are heading into summer.

We read the story Come On, Rain as an example of a small moment stretched out by use of details. Gavin finished a story and if you click on the link to the right, student writing, it will take you to our wiki and you can listen as he reads. We'll get everyone up on the wiki as they finish and as time permits!

In reading, we are finishing up our gallery of images from the Pilgrim story. We ran out of time on Friday for our pictures, so we finished up today, drawing our images of the first, long, hard, winter. Tomorrow we will draw our images of the first harvest celebration.


We also had a mystery reader: Simi's mom and baby brother! She read us a fairy tale from China. Simi's dad is in China right now and so is Bradley's, so it was very timely!


We worked on our word wall words and our readers' theater performances. I sent some home on Friday for those students needing a little more practice. Please work with them on their parts.

While 2nd graders were in the gym for their musical dress rehearsal, 1st graders learned about frames and arrows in math.

I quickly went over the homefun with the kids, but we ran out of time. I will go over the Discover/United Streaming Video with them again in the morning.

I hope to see everyone at the 2nd grade musical tonight! It should be a buggy event!

Friday Fun!

Branden was our child of the day and he read Wake Up, Dad! He did a fantastic job! He said he chose this book because it reminds him of when he has to wake up his dad.

During our enrichment time with Mrs. Fishkin's ELL students, 1st graders worked on patterns and 2nd graders worked on making change by playing the shopping game.

After our enrichment time we went to the computer lab for our first webquest. Here's the address if you would like to take a look: http://192.107.108.56/portfolios/m/madine_m/Webquest/introduction.html
When we came back to the classroom, we read some more about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. We reviewed our gallery of images that we have created (here's a look at it so far!) Today they drew pictures of the 1st winter. We'll add those on Monday.


We also went outside for our November Room With a View Picture:


I'll be updating the Wiki this weekend so Monday we can look at our partner classrooms around the world.

In math, we worked on problem solving and data analysis. First graders also worked on telling time to the 1/2 hour and 2nd graders worked some more on making change.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Thursday Thrils

Klara was our child of the day and did a FANTASTIC job reading Pickles Gets Lost. Such wonderful expression! We loved listening to the story.

After P.E. and Music, we learned about zooming in on a small moment and using our words to spread the story out over several pages. I read Salt Hands that described in detail a tiny moment of a young girl coming up quietly to a deer to feed it.

We continued to work on the reading strategy of comprehension as we create a gallery of pictures (images) of the Pilgrims journey to America.

We also practiced our Readers Theater plays.

During math, first graders worked on adding and subtracting on the number line and 2nd graders worked on making change.

Tomorrow we have art and we will go to the computer lab for a webquest.

Tales of Wednesday!

Bela did a WONDERFUL job reading The Little Snowman today to our class! Great fluency! I hope we aren't building snowman soon!

I writing we continued to work on Slice of Life stories. I read the book Puddles by Jonathon London. I showed them a story I wrote that was really just of list of things that I did for a day. Then, standing on the shoulders of Jonathon London, I wrote another story where I focused on one small tiny moment and added details to make it big. We will work more on that tomorrow.

In reading, we began our work on the comprehension strategy of visualizing. We've already a few books about the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving and even watched a short video last Friday. Today I read another book about the first Thankgsiving, and we each drew pictures of what we saw. We will be creating a gallery of pictures that will eventually show why the Pilgrims came to America, the voyage, the first winter, and the first harvest celebration.

We also began working on our readers' theater: The ABC's of Thankgsiving.

In math we had a readers' theater performance about Fact Families!


Grier, Simi, Natalie and Alisha explained how numbers come together and are pulled apart in the Fact Family Triangle Play. I video taped it, and I hope to post it soon for you to see. My battery ran out just as they were finishing, so we MAY have a repeat performance tomorrow!

Tomorrow we have P.E. and Music. Be sure and wear appropriate shoes.

Fabulous Friday!

Thank you, Alisha, for reading Thank You Amelia Bedelia! It was so funny and you did a fantastic job with voice inflection! What fluency! I videotaped Alisha reading and I'll try and get that up this weekend.

We began the day with Art and our enrichment times with our 1st and 2nd grade ELL students. We then read An Ordinary School Day that became extraordinary and how we could write a book like this. We worked on our slice of life stories before we began our Pilgrim Social Studies Unit.

We first opened our mental filing cabinents about what we knew about the pilgrims already. Then we watched a video about the Pilgrims, how they came to America, and what it was like the first winter. Then we wrote down our new learning. We'll continue working on the Pilgrims until Thanksgiving Break.

Reserve Nov. 21 at 1:00 on your calendars. We will be having a Readers' Theater production of the ABC's of Thanksgiving and you are all invited to attend.

During math, we created a bar graph of our blog question from last week. Be sure, as part of their homefun, that they answer the blog survey question!

Then, 2nd graders worked on telling time to the 5 minute interval and 1st graders worked on patterns on the number grid.

I will not be here Monday as I have a meeting to attend at district office. Remind your child that they will have a guest teacher and the rules haven't changed!

Tales from Thursday

Kaitlyn was our child of the day and she read The Little Snowman to us. She did a great job reading with fluency!

The BIG event was our trip to see Charlotte's Web. The students really had a great time. Here are a few pictures:





Tomorrow is art day!

Wonderful Wednesday

Isabella was our child of the day and she did a GREAT job reading The Lazy Pig! We all laughed it was such a funny book! Thanks, Isabella!

We continued with our slice of life stories. We read Shortcut by Donald Crews and saw how he took one small moment and stretched it out over several pages.

In reading we wrote down all we knew about Traditional Tales (Folktales, Fairy Tales, and Legends) and then read a traditional tale to add to our schema about this text type: magic, trickery, royalty, talking animals, things happen in three's, and more.

In math, we all worked on problem solving. First graders also worked on odd and even and second graders working on counting money.

Tomorrow we will go to South Elgin High School to see the play Charlotte's Web. We will eat lunch before we leave, so we will be eating about 10:30. We should be back at school by 1.

Tomorrow we also have P.E. and music. Please have appropriate shoes.

Tuesday Tales

Kylie was our child of the day and read The Three Little Pigs. What a wonderful job she did! It was a great introduction as tomorrow we will begin to look at text type schema and what we know about traditional tales.

We went to the book fair this morning and made our purchases. If you would still like to buy books from the book, send the money in with your child in a sealed, labeled, envelope and I'll send them down to the library. Mrs. Weiss and parent volunteers will be there to help them.

Be sure and check out the comments under our postings. We even got an email from Jim Aylesworth today!

Today we learned that when reading, that good readers make T-S and T-T connections simultaneously.

In math, 1st graders worked on patterns and 2nd graders worked on place value.

Take a look at the October Mystery Readers video. Click on the link to the left.

Marvelous Monday!

And what a marvelous Monday it was!!!!

We began with Natalie reading Tara and Tiree, Fearless Friends! It was so exciting!

Then we went to the book fair to look at books. Tomorrow, they can purchase books. Send money in a sealed envelope with their name. We will be in the library at 8:50 if you wish to join us. OR...you can purchase books tonight.



We read lots of Jim Aylesworth books today, but BEST of all, he came to see us!



Grier and Branden both got to go and ask a question. I'll post more pictures of our assembly later. Be sure and come tonight at 7:00 to see Mr. Aylesworth! You will be entertained! He is one of my FAVORITE authors and one of our classrooms, too! Our favorite book is his first book: HushUp!!! That's what we are saying in our picture!

See you tonight!