1. Thank you to all who were able to attend our Writer's Workshop Celebration last Thursday! For all who weren't able to make it, I hope that your child's project made it home and you were able to enjoy their guest book together :) The kids did an incredible job meeting our project goals:
- Paraphrasing their author's words and reporting the information to the rest of us using their own voice
-Creating a handwritten rough draft, then typing, publishing, and laying out with graphic design
-Using 3 different text features to help aid comprehension
-Selecting a topic, and three subtopics
-Peer Editing
2. We are nearing the end of our fraction unit in math! I am amazed at how well the kids are demonstrating understanding. Fractions, as we all know, are conceptually very tough! We will continue to work on fractions throughout the year, and are currently working on them as we measure our Wisconsin Fast Plants to the nearest quarter inch! Checkpoints are being used as assessment and reports will go home in the near future.
3. We have just begun a new reading unit! We are reading Poppy, by Avi, and each student has their very own copy to track as I read aloud. We are following the CIA Reader's Workshop approach for this unit. I will blog more extensively as we dive in, but here are the basics:
- A vocabulary routine begins the lesson focusing on one word, or 2 words to compare. We talk about prefixes, suffixes, roots, write definitions in our own words, and draw sketches to truly internalize the word. We then encounter that vocabulary word in that day's reading and talk about the context.
-We read aloud section of text each day as a group and stop and turn and talk with partners frequently. We keep charts, notes, and diagrams in our Writer's Notebooks together as we read.
-Students are exposed to a ton of the Common Core reading goals throughout this unit, and we highlight and discuss how we use all the reading strategies we have been learning about this year as we go. This is a fabulous, and authentic preparation for the upcoming MSP state test in May.
-We divide the book in to quarters and talk about how we approach reading each section of the text. For example, the first quarter we read slowly, reread often, and collect information about our characters, setting, and plot. I will be posting pictures of our anchor charts as we move through this unit.
-At the end of each quadrant, students have a writing assignment. They will summarize, write about theme, work on persuasive writing, and even formal friendly letter writing. I especially appreciate how closely this unit intertwines reading and writing.
-The genre of this book is epic fantasy. Epic fantasy takes the fiction genre to a bit more challenging level as characters, plots, and themes become a more complex. It is a great unit to help students understand how to approach more complex text and read with high interest and deep understanding.
-Students will still be reading for 25 minutes a day at their independent level and with books of their choice.
-As you kid about how Poppy is going! I anticipate a very high interest unit :)
4. Writing , as mentioned above, is closely intertwined with writing in this unit. We will be focusing on handwriting, conventions, sharing our work, and raising the quality of our writing in general. We will also be working hard in words study improving our spelling and vocabulary knowledge.
5. We are in the midst of an awesome plant growth and development unit! Our seeds have germinated and are now in the seedling stage. We are graphing measurements daily and writing about the changes we observe. Next week, we will teach 2nd graders how we take accurate measurements and observational data. We are looking forward to learning about pollination, bees, and photosynthesis!
6. Our second big project-based learning unit will begin in March. We and planning on taking 1-2 field trips to learn from companies about their toy design, buying, and marketing processes. We will learn about how companies work together (and continue to hone in on our own group work skills). Kids will then become inventors and will have to use what they have learned to invent a toy and design packaging and a marketing plan. All of our efforts will be on display at our end of the year "Toy Expo." You will be invited to come meet with our toy inventors and learn about their product and marketing plans! This unit will encompass reading, writing, social studies, group work, art, and many more skills! The best aspect of this project is the extreme engagement students have in their work. They learn and grow right before our eyes!
7. Please check out Kristin Teske's email for important housekeeping information and events to calendar! Thank you again, Kristin, for helping with this part of our classroom news!!
8. Wednesday is a 2 hour release day-students go home at 1:35!
- Paraphrasing their author's words and reporting the information to the rest of us using their own voice
-Creating a handwritten rough draft, then typing, publishing, and laying out with graphic design
-Using 3 different text features to help aid comprehension
-Selecting a topic, and three subtopics
-Peer Editing
2. We are nearing the end of our fraction unit in math! I am amazed at how well the kids are demonstrating understanding. Fractions, as we all know, are conceptually very tough! We will continue to work on fractions throughout the year, and are currently working on them as we measure our Wisconsin Fast Plants to the nearest quarter inch! Checkpoints are being used as assessment and reports will go home in the near future.
3. We have just begun a new reading unit! We are reading Poppy, by Avi, and each student has their very own copy to track as I read aloud. We are following the CIA Reader's Workshop approach for this unit. I will blog more extensively as we dive in, but here are the basics:
- A vocabulary routine begins the lesson focusing on one word, or 2 words to compare. We talk about prefixes, suffixes, roots, write definitions in our own words, and draw sketches to truly internalize the word. We then encounter that vocabulary word in that day's reading and talk about the context.
-We read aloud section of text each day as a group and stop and turn and talk with partners frequently. We keep charts, notes, and diagrams in our Writer's Notebooks together as we read.
-Students are exposed to a ton of the Common Core reading goals throughout this unit, and we highlight and discuss how we use all the reading strategies we have been learning about this year as we go. This is a fabulous, and authentic preparation for the upcoming MSP state test in May.
-We divide the book in to quarters and talk about how we approach reading each section of the text. For example, the first quarter we read slowly, reread often, and collect information about our characters, setting, and plot. I will be posting pictures of our anchor charts as we move through this unit.
-At the end of each quadrant, students have a writing assignment. They will summarize, write about theme, work on persuasive writing, and even formal friendly letter writing. I especially appreciate how closely this unit intertwines reading and writing.
-The genre of this book is epic fantasy. Epic fantasy takes the fiction genre to a bit more challenging level as characters, plots, and themes become a more complex. It is a great unit to help students understand how to approach more complex text and read with high interest and deep understanding.
-Students will still be reading for 25 minutes a day at their independent level and with books of their choice.
-As you kid about how Poppy is going! I anticipate a very high interest unit :)
4. Writing , as mentioned above, is closely intertwined with writing in this unit. We will be focusing on handwriting, conventions, sharing our work, and raising the quality of our writing in general. We will also be working hard in words study improving our spelling and vocabulary knowledge.
5. We are in the midst of an awesome plant growth and development unit! Our seeds have germinated and are now in the seedling stage. We are graphing measurements daily and writing about the changes we observe. Next week, we will teach 2nd graders how we take accurate measurements and observational data. We are looking forward to learning about pollination, bees, and photosynthesis!
6. Our second big project-based learning unit will begin in March. We and planning on taking 1-2 field trips to learn from companies about their toy design, buying, and marketing processes. We will learn about how companies work together (and continue to hone in on our own group work skills). Kids will then become inventors and will have to use what they have learned to invent a toy and design packaging and a marketing plan. All of our efforts will be on display at our end of the year "Toy Expo." You will be invited to come meet with our toy inventors and learn about their product and marketing plans! This unit will encompass reading, writing, social studies, group work, art, and many more skills! The best aspect of this project is the extreme engagement students have in their work. They learn and grow right before our eyes!
7. Please check out Kristin Teske's email for important housekeeping information and events to calendar! Thank you again, Kristin, for helping with this part of our classroom news!!
8. Wednesday is a 2 hour release day-students go home at 1:35!
I am loving all of your kids. Thank you for trusting me with them! The growth I am seeing is amazing. We have scholars and socially and emotionally aware students