Reminders for the Week

 

Just a friendly reminder...

 

 

Tuesday, Sept. 30th: "Star of the Week" posters are due!

 

Thursday, Oct. 2nd: Blue day! Wear something blue!

 

Friday, Oct. 3rd: Field Trip t-shirt payments are due.

Please pay online through Payment Plus

 

 

Thank you!

Living and Non-living

Science this week was all about living  and non-living things.

 

Here is our t-chart sort:

Reading Goodies

What does buddy reading look like in our classroom?

Our reading stamina goals

The kiddos can't wait to get to 10 minutes!

We are so close...only 2 more minutes to go!

Comparing Numbers-More/Less

We continued to compare numbers in math.

We played Roll and Build with our math partners.

You roll a dice, build the number with cubes,

and then compare your "skyscraper" to your partners.

We are working on our "math talk" by using more and less.

 

Adding a Setting

Writing this week was all about settings.

We discussed different places, times, and seasons

that we could add to our stories when we write.

We are learning that adding details to our stories

make our stories better!

 

Also, my writers are learning that a good

story needs 3 important pieces:

 

-characters

-a setting

-events

 

Check out our different anchor charts for settings:

 

Locations where our stories might take place

Inside/Outside settings with details

Good writers include all 3!!!

Olweus Assembly

We enjoyed and had a BLAST at the Olweus Assembly.

We learned that character counts!

It's important to be a good leader and help others!

I can't wait to meet with my little stars tomorrow

at our first classroom Olweus meeting.

 

The more you read...

 

Check out our bulletin board!!!

 

"The more that you READ, the more things you will KNOW."

"The more that you LEARN, the more places you'll GO!"

-Dr. Seuss

Book Shopping

 

On Friday, we went book shopping.

YAY!!!

We shopped for "just-right" books

based on our interest.

 

My readers did WONDERFUL!

 

"Just-right" Books

 

We are picking JUST-RIGHT books!

It is important as a good reader

to find books that are just right for you.

Reading a "just-right" book helps us

to become a better reader in so many ways!

 

To help us understand,we discussed

 how books are a lot like our shoes...

Shoes need to have a good fit!  

 

 

I brought some shoes from home to illustrate the importance 

of a "good-fit." 

We picked just-right books and shared them with our friends.

Angelo is picking a just-right book to read.

We picked books that we are interested in reading.

Those books are just-right for us too!

We played a game to help us understand what "just-right" means.

We read little stories about different people that

need specific shoes to help them do a job or activity.

Then, we matched up the story to the correct footwear.

 

Our Five Senses

We wrapped up our unit on our five senses by

creating ourselves and labeling our

 senses.

 

I just absolutely LOVE these! :)

 

 

Rekenreks are so much FUN!

What is a Rekenrek? 

There is perhaps no more important task for primary teachers than to help young children develop powerful understandings of numbers -- their meanings, their relationships to one another, and how we operate with them.  


The Rekenrek has recently emerged on the U.S. mathematics education scene as perhaps the most powerful of all manipulative models for young learners.  Developed by mathematics education researchers in the Netherlands (although similar models were used in ancient cultures) the Rekenrek combines various strengths of other manipulatives (e.g., number lines, base-10 blocks, counters, etc.) in one accessible tool. 

The Rekenrek is comprised of two strings of ten beads each, strategically broken into two groups: five red beads, and five white beads.  Readily apparent in this model is an implicit invitation for children to think in groups of five and ten.  As illustrated below, the strings of red and white beads (in groups of 5) provide a visual model that encourages young learners to subitize, i.e., to build numbers based on groups of five and ten.