Abraham Lincoln Penny Project

Don't forget to send in your pennies. We will be estimating and counting on Monday!!!!!

Thursday Thrills

Our child of the day, Nathan, read The Elves and the Shoemaker. We really enjoyed the retelling of this traditional tale.



Kylie's grandmother was our mystery reader today! She read Wombat Stew, a story that she brought back from Australia. We learned a lot about the different animals that live there. Here we are repeating a chorus from the book:



Kylie was so surprised and we had a lot of fun! Thank you!

We learned about adjectives and nouns today during writing. We learned that we have to "show, not tell" with our words. We need our words to be specific. We will work more on this Friday.

In reading we read The Whales Song. We brainstormed words to describe the three characters in the book. Tomorrow we will go back and determine if we had to infer the character trait or if it is stated in the text.

During math, we all worked on math facts and problem solving.

I will not be at school tomorrow as I will be at a district meeting. The students know, but please remind them that the rules don't change when we have a substitute.

Wednesday Wonders

Grier was our child of the day and read a very, funny book: Moosetache! She did a great job reading with fluency: her voice would change with the characters and she really made it exciting. It was fun to listen!

We read the book Chester and learned that when we are ready to publish, we want it to be a piece that we really hold close to our hearts. It's important to choose a piece that moves us and that we take our time getting to that point.

In reading we worked more on making inferences. We read the book The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg. I modeled how we pull the clues from the words and text and put them together to make an inference. Students wrote in their Thinking Journals who they thought "The Stranger" is. I'm looking forward to reading their ideas. We'll share them tomorrow.

We played a word wall game today: I have (word wall word); Who has (word wall game) to help students with automaticity in reading these words.

In math, first graders worked on problem solving and math facts; 2nd graders worked on problem solving and geometry.

We have music and gym tomorrow.

Tales of Tuesday

As promised, our Monday Child of the Day: Sahiti reading The Lion and the Mouse! Wonderful reading, Sahithi! We did not have a child of the day today as our student was absent. Natalie was a great helper, though!


Thanks again to Mashal's mother for being our mystery reader yesterday! We are enjoying rereading the books you left for us!

Today we read the book The Stranger in the Woods. Then we watched a DVD of the authors talking about the writing process, the revision process, and the editing process. Writing the book took almost 20 years and from the time they began just the editing process, it took another 10 months. Although we want to finish ours just a bit quicker, we learned that writers take the time to make their writing better.

We read the book Something Beautiful today and learned more about making inferences. We also went to the library.

In math, 2nd graders worked on geometry and 1st graders worked on breaking numbers apart and putting them back together: number sense.

Monday Musings

I left work an hour ago and my camera is sitting on my desk...so pictures won't be posted till tomorrow. Sorry about that!

Sahithi was our child of the day and read The Lion and the Mouse. What a great moral to the story. See if your child can remember.

We also had a Mystery Reader: Mashal's mother! She read three fun books: You Read to Me and I'll Read to You; Precious and the Boo Hag; and Don't Bargain with the Tooth Fairy. We loved all three! I'll post the pictures tomorrow.

We are gradually finishing up our revised gingerbread stories. We will publish them as both a class book and as a DVD. Today we learned that writers use describing words to make their story better.

In reading we learned that to infer (clues in the text plus schema) we also have to use the pictures and the words.

We worked on our new word wall words. Be sure and go to Spelling City and practice!

In math 1st graders worked on telling time to the quarter hour and 2nd graders learned about parallel lines.

Tomorrow we have library. Be sure and bring in your books.

January Room With a View

Brr....it's been TOO COLD!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Friday Fun!

Sahithi was our child of the day but our day was so full we didn't have a chance to listen to her read. So Monday she will be child of the day again and we can't wait to listen to her wonderful reading!

We spent time on our Abraham Lincoln cards as we worked on a making words activity. We also watched a video about Lincoln's Presidency.

A few more 1st graders now can enter their reading response on the wiki. PLEASE, let THEM do it! Parents can help them log on and get started, but let them type the response. Don't worry about spelling and don't worry about one finger typing. I pull them up and respond to their writing and I want it to be their response and their responsibility. They CAN do it!

Wednesday Wonders!

Chris was our child of the day and did a GREAT job reading The Manners of a Pig! It was a great book for exploring inference. Keep up the GREAT work, Chris!

In writing we continued to work on revision. We read a book called I'll Fix That and learned that we need to make our stories better using our tools, before we have a peer conference.

We also worked on our new word wall words. Be sure and go to Spelling City and practice your words! Click on the link to the right.

In reading we read more about Abraham Lincoln and learned more about his character traits. We also reviewed what a biography was.

In math we worked on problem solving and math facts.

I will be out of the building on Thursday and a district meeting. The students know this, but remind them to follow the 4C's and work hard.

Homefun is due Friday!!!!

Historical Tuesday!

Francis did a GREAT job reading Owl at Home. This is a long book, so he only read one chapter. We look forward to finding out what happens!

We had a visit from the Health Dept. today. We learned all about dental health. There is a packet in their mail. This does not have to be returned.

We also went to the library where we read a book about the Inauguration.

We watched President Elect Obama being sworn in as our 44th President. We also took time out to listen to his speech. What an exciting day for our country!

We read about Abraham Lincoln today and began our birthday cards that we will be sending to Springfield for the bicentennial. Keep sending in those pennies!

Condition 1 Weather: It Can Always Be Worse!

Condition 1 Weather

Posted using ShareThis

Think it's cold today? Check out this video from Antartica. It can always be colder!!! (Click where it says Condition 1 Weather)

Stay warm! Hope to see you Friday when we have a HIGH of 8 degress F. Maybe.

Wednesday Wonders

Josh was our child of the day and read the book I Am A Bookworm. We have a LOT of bookworms in our classroom! Great reading, Josh!


Natalie and Gavin read their completed "Fractured Gingerbread Stories" today. Natalie's was about the runaway snowman and Gavin changed the characters. Check out the "new" Natalie. I LOVE her new PURPLE glasses!

We created an editing checklist so that we don't forget to check our writing for errors. In reading we learned about how schema-visualizing-inferring are cousins and work together.

During Math, 1st graders worked on measurement and 2nd graders worked on geometry.

Please make sure your child is wearing a hat and gloves/mittens to school. Just to get to the bus or child care van they are outside in this bitterly cold weather. My daughter's bus broke down today and I would hate to see anyone out in this cold without warm clothes.

Also, I please ask that if your child is wearing boots to school that they have a pair of shoes here to change into. Not only do the boots drag in outside slush into our classroom, but when the student walks in the classroom it creates a very, very, loud sound that is disruptive. And..the boots are hot! Shoes can be left in their cubbies. It would be good practice to have extra shoes here in any event.

Tuesday Tales!

Mashal was our child of the day on this chilly Tuesday. She read a book from one of her favorite authors, Laura Numeroff. We really enjoyed If You Take a Mouse to the Movies. Several commented that they just read it over holiday break....hmmm....I wonder how that happened?

1st Graders took reading MAP this morning first thing. I will be able to look at the results tomorrow (upload overnight). It was very quiet in the room with just the 2nd graders! They worked on revision of their gingerbread stories.

After we went to the library, we worked some more on the reading strategy of inferring, by going back and reviewing visualizing. Visualizing is a "cousin" of inferring and we will learn more about how they relate tomorrow.

Of course, we had indoor recess, but the PTO purchased all the classrooms some new indoor recess games. THANK YOU!!!! We enjoyed playing Connect Four, checkers, Trouble, Legos, and more.

In math, first graders worked on non standard measurement and 2nd graders learned a little bit about multiplication.

Stay WARM!!!!

Monday Marvels

I missed listening to Branden read last Friday as our child of the day, but everyone said how much they enjoyed his reading! He read the book, What Would You Like, because he thought everyone would like it and they did!

Matthew was our child of the day today and he read a great book, How Lizard Loses His Tail. He also thought we would enjoy it and we really did! Great reading, boys!

We also had a Mystery Reader today: Chris' grandfather! He was very, very, surprised!


Not only did his grandfather come, but his mother and sisters! What fun!

In writing we learned more about revision. We learned that we have signs in our writing (punctuation) and we have to make sure it's correct! We read the book Mr. Pine's Mixed Up Signs and learned that if we have the wrong signs (or no signs!)the reader doesn't know what to do: when to stop, when to add expressions, etc.

Gavin and Natalie finished up their gingerbread stories today and did a great job revising (fixing up) their orginal stories. We will begin publishing those tomorrow. More to come!!!!

In reading, we continued learning about the reading comprehension strategy of inferring. We read the poem Things that we began last week and looked for clues to add to our schema to infer meaning of the poem.

We worked on new vocabulary words (see wiki!) by reading the story Miss Viola and Uncle Ed Lee.

In math, first graders worked on math facts using pennies and second graders worked on addition algorithms.

Tomorrow, 1st graders will take MAP for reading. We have started showing first grade students how to do their reading response on the wiki. Instructions come home the day we show them, so look for them in their Libery Folder. All second graders now can record their reading on the wiki. It's been interesting to see what they are reading. The wiki allows me to write back to the students about what they read.

Stay warm!

Thursday Chills and Thrills

Brr....it's cold!

Klara read The Elves and The Shoemaker to us today and we really enjoyed it! She chose the book because she thought we would like it and she was right!

After the students warmed up in gym and music, we worked on revision. We read The Fix-Its and learned that sometimes when we write, it doesn't make sense. Our brain works faster than our hands, and we miss important information.

In reading we worked some more on inferring. We read a poem called Things by Eloise Greenfield and worked on finding the clues and matching them to our schema.

In math we worked on problem solving, number sense, and math facts.

I will not be here tomorrow so there will not be an entry till Monday.

Stay warm!

Wednesday Wonders!

Bela was our child of the day and she read with GREAT fluency, Ben's Treasure Hunt. She chose this book, she said, because it's a just right book! Good choice!

This was the absolute BEST day! Writers' Workshop flowed so smoothly with students revising their Gingerbread stories that Natalie and I were able to model for the kids how a peer conference is run. (She did a wonderful job, by the way!) Then, for those that were ready to conference with a friend, did it on their own and they were amazing! It was wonderful...lots of writing...lots of conferencing...and I'm free to work one on one with students.

Readers' Workshop was just as GREAT! I began by pulling some "tools" out of a bag for the students to use their schema and the clues as to who this bag belonged to. This was a concrete lesson to model what inferring is: clues plus schema equals an inference. Everyone was engaged as we shared our thinking. There were some great inferences, even when the answers as to who the bag belonged to weren't the same. Everyone was able to support their reasons and they all made sense...which is what makes the difference between a prediction and an inference. During the workshop time it was quiet as students were reading, reading, reading....lots of GREAT thinking that was shared at the close. I was able to conference with some students and led several guided reading lessons. WONDERFUL work today, students!

During math workshop we worked on problem solving and math facts again today. But, it was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop! And the results....GREAT thinking that was right on! And I was able to work one on one with several students!

The students shared at the end of the day how wonderful it was. Students shared what they learned as we went into the a smooth end of the day dismissal!

Thank your child for a job well done today!

Tales of Tuesday

Gavin read a just right book for him: Tiger, Tiger. He chose this book, he said, because it's just right and he really enjoys it. Great job reading, Gavin!

This morning we participated in a review of 3 Cool Tool Rotations for PBIS: Arrival/Dismissal procedures, Cafeteria, and Bathroom procedures. We also practiced walking in the halls quietly. The whole school participated in this review as we begin the new year.

In writing, we learned that when we reread what we have written, we sometimes find things that we missed. We learned that we can make our writing better. We'll continue working on revising our Gingerbread Stories throughout the week as we learn about revision.

In reading, we reviewed what readers workshop sounds like and what it looks like. We also began our science logs. Ms. Bridget started working with 2nd graders on how to access the wiki to post their reading response logs. She'll continue this until ALL students know how. I will send home directions when we are done so that they can make entries from home.

In math we worked on problem solving and math facts.

We also went to the libary!

Many students still come to school without hats or mittens/gloves. They need these at recess so please make sure they have them.

Monday Marvels

Alisha was our child of the day and she read one of my daughters favorite books when whe was in 2nd grade: Misty Morgan! She did a WONDERFUL job. You can not only hear fluency when she reads, you can see it in her expression. Great Reading, Alisha!!!

We also got to listen to a musical performance of a Magic Tree House book on a CD that Bradley shared with us. He saw the play in December and we were going to listen to it on our snow day...but..we weren't here. Thanks for sharing with us Bradley.

Chris was so excited about learning about countries he did some investigation on his own during the holiday break. He shared with us some pages from a book he is working on that tells him about our states. Keep learning, Chris!

We listened to a few more holiday cards that came in over break and talked about how we could reply to them. We also worked on our Science Logs during readers workshop. Tomorrow we will be back in the routine.

We will reschedule the holiday party. I'll let you know when as soon as I can.

Tomorrow is library day, so be sure and return your books.

Stay warm!