This week we introduced the concept of weight using a pan balance. We used the words lighter and heavier to help us understand the meaning of the word weight. We talked about what it means when the pans are equal or balanced, and we experimented weighing several different objects. The students were able to experiment with the pan balance on their own during center time this week as well.
We also learned about dominoes this week, which are a great tool in math and can be used in a variety of ways to help students develop skills such as: counting, sorting, number recognition, adding, and subtracting. We practiced counting the number of dots on each domino and then sorted them by total number of dots. It was a great activity for reinforcing the concept of addition as well as helping students create a visual representation for numbers that can sometimes seem abstract for students.
The children also began a new number book this week that focuses on the teen numbers. The children have not only been learning how to write each teen number, they have also been learning that each teen number follows the concept of ten plus "some more." Working with the teen numbers is a great way to help students begin to understand the concept of place value. The children also loved learning how to play one of our Everyday Math games called "Monster Squeeze. They brought home a paper copy of the game to play at home.
Jolly Phonics
This week we began learning the Jolly Phonics sounds from Book #4. The children learned their first long vowel sounds, long a and long o, and they did a great job finding examples of these sounds for their notebooks. We talked about how sometimes two letters work together as buddies to make one sound. Below are all the sounds we learned this week.
ai as "train"
Jj as in "jiggle"
oa as in "boat"
Literacy
This week we introduced the sight word "a," and the students brought home a new sight word book. Please have your child add this book to their growing collection. These sight word books are a great way for the children to learn their sight words, which are an important part of learning how to read. Most of our sight words do not follow common spelling patterns, and therefore cannot be sounded out. Children need to be able to recognize these words "on sight," so practice reading their sight word books and going through their sight word cards will help them master these words. There is a great website that shows several different ways to practice sight words at home in a fun and engaging way. I included the link below. Two of our family favorites include: Sight Word Spotlight and Sight Word Island Jumping. Enjoy!
The children also learned all about pumpkins this week through several of our nonfiction read aloud books, which included: The Pumpkin Book; It's a Fruit, It's a Vegetable, It's a Pumpkin; Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie; and Perfect Pumpkin. The children will be completing an activity next week to demonstrate what they have learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin. We had two guest readers this week as well. Mrs. Mertes read Big Pumpkin to the morning class, and Mr. Keating read several fairy tales from Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man to the afternoon class. The children LOVED these stories!! Thank you Mrs. Mertes and Mr. Keating!
All week the children worked hard to create a book called Where is Pumpkin?, which focused on helping the children learn positional words such as: under, behind, on, above, and in. They did a great job making and reading these books. Please encourage your child to read it over and over again. It's a fun one to read!
I began meeting with the students in small guided reading groups this week. It is a great opportunity for me to provide instruction that matches students' individual needs. All students should have brought home a blue and red book bag. Please be sure to have your child read the book(s) in the book bag over and over again throughout the week. The repeated practice reading a familiar book really boosts the children's confidence in themselves and reinforces those sight words too. Please continue to read aloud each night to your child as well. Reading aloud to your child is one of the most important things you can do to help your child develop literacy skills. I saw a good quote from Jim Trelease, a well-known educator and author in the field of literacy, that reiterates this point using a great analogy.
"No player in the NBA was born wanting to play basketball. The desire to play ball or to read must be planted. The last 25 years of research show that reading aloud to a child is the oldest, cheapest and most successful method of instilling that desire. Shooting baskets with a child creates a basketball player; reading to a child creates a reader."
--Jim Trelease
The children also learned how to write the letters Ll and Kk this week, and they practiced their writing skills during Writer's Workshop. We have really been working on stretching out and saying each word slowly when thinking about what sounds to write down during Writer's Workshop.
Science/Computer Lab
In the computer lab this week, the children practiced sorting leaves by color and by the number of points on each leaf. Then they used Pixie, a drawing program, to create their own fall trees. They turned out beautiful!
Centers
The children are doing a nice job working independently in centers while I am working with students in small guided reading groups. The activities children do during center time are selected to reinforce and review a variety of skills and concepts. Take a peek below to see what the children have been working on during centers. The afternoon class is featured this week!
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| Listening to The Runaway Pumpkin provided students with a good model for fluent reading and helped build their vocabulary. |
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| Rereading familiar books helps boost their confidence. |
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| Exploring the concept of weight using a pan balance. |
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| Building sight word mastery in a game format and working on cooperative game play. |
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| Reinforcing eye hand coordination and developing fine motor skills using our geoboards. |
Looking forward to another great week!
Thanks for reading!
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