December 14 - 18

This week we reviewed looking for chunks (groups of letters we knew the sound of, like "sh" and "ing" or small words, like "an" and "it") in our guided reading books. We also reviewed making a text-to-self connection (finding something in a book that reminds you of something in your own life). We are defining "text" as any kinds of words you read, not just in a book but on a sign, in a letter, on a computer, etc. We then learned how to make text-to-text connections (finding something in a book that reminds you of a part in another book). Students caught on to both of these concepts very quickly and enjoyed sharing their examples with the class. Here are some videos of students' text-to-text connections:

In writing we practiced adding details to both our words and our pictures. Some students are still struggling to keep their pencil moving on their paper for the entire 15-20 minutes of independent writing time. Many students are finding great resources to look up words they need to spell like their guided reading books, their word rings, and signs around the room. We wrote about what we like to do in different seasons (especially in the snow!), we wrote about pets after the tragic loss of two of our fish, and we wrote lists about a variety of topics from games we like to play, to candy we like to eat, to how to walk in line in the hall, to gymnastics moves we know. Some students were confused about the difference between a story that needs complete sentences and a list that can have individual ideas or phrases, so we will review those formats more next month. We will also look at how to write directions or instructions, which requires writers to think about their audience and to be very clear and specific in their vocabulary and illustrations.

In math we are reviewing numbers that add up to ten and doubles (2+2, 3+3...) to help us solve other addition problems. If you know 5+5=10 then it will be easier to solve 5+4 and 5+6. We are also reviewing story problems, including important words that tell you if you need to add or subtract like "all together" and "leftover." We are using many different problem solving strategies and practicing explaining our thinking so other people can understand what we did in our brain. Some examples of strategies students are using include drawing a picture, counting up or back, using tally marks, and using fingers. Look for pictures of story problems we have solved together on the Smartboard in this slideshow from the past two weeks:

NO SCHOOL DECEMBER 20-23! Have a safe and relaxing winter break!