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!