Math
This week we introduced the concept of a number story. We used our interactive whiteboard to create our own number stories such as, "Ryan saw 2 green leaves on the tree and Maggie saw 2 orange leaves on the tree. How many leaves did they see in all?" Then we wrote a number sentence (or a number model) to match our story, 2 + 3 = 5.
The children also learned about symmetry this week by looking at many different examples of symmetrical shapes. We learned that objects can have up and down (vertical) symmetry, side to side (horizontal) symmetry, or multiple lines of symmetry like the examples. We took a closer look at our leaf collection and found several leaves that were symmetrical too!
Jolly Phonics
This week we began learning the Jolly Phonics sounds from Book #4. The children learned their first long vowel sound, long a, and they did a great job finding examples of these sounds. 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"
Literacy
The children learned the sight word "like" this week, and we used the word "like" in our writing during Writer's Workshop time. The children also spent some time hunting for our sight words in books. This is a great activity to do at home too! We read several fall books this week including: Colorful Leaves, Count Down to Fall, and Leaf Jumpers. We used the Count Down to Fall book to do a second "close reading" of the text. During a close reading, the children are encouraged to go back and think more deeply about the words and pictures in the book in order to gain a deeper understanding of the story and the author's message. In the picture below, the children had to close their eyes and listen to the words on one page of the story--"Six linden leaves in Valentine shapes" and think about what shape linden leaves might be. Using the author's words from the text and their own knowledge of what a "Valentine shape" might look like, the children drew leaf shapes on sticky notes and posted them on our chart paper, which prompted a great discussion among the students. We will be doing many close readings of text throughout the year to help students develop deeper comprehension skills that are reflected in the Common Core Standards.
Science
We worked as scientists this week as we explored many of the leaves that the students brought in. The students spent time using magnifying glasses to explore our leaf collection and worked to draw and label parts of a leaf. Later in the week, the students each chose one leaf to study. Using their leaf, they drew a picture of the leaf in their science journal and labeled the color of the leaf. They covered the leaf with pennies and recorded the number of pennies it took to cover the surface of the leaf. They placed their leaf in a pan of water and counted the number of pennies it took to sink the leaf. They also compared the different sizes of all the leaves and recorded the size of their leaf--small, medium, or large. Take a peek at our scientists in action below!
This week we enjoyed learning all about Jolie. She did a great job presenting all of the items in her "Me Box." We learned so much about her family, her hobbies, and her favorite things from the pictures she shared. We learned that Jolie loves to play with My Little Ponies, and she loves collecting shells on the beach during her trips to Florida! The class also enjoyed listening to Jolie's grandmother read Green Eggs and Ham--a class favorite! Thank you so much for coming in Omi!
The children did a great job working in centers this week as I worked with students in small groups for guided reading. Take a peek at this week's centers below!
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| Sight Word "Roll and Record" |
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| Upper and Lowercase Letter Matching |
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| Apples, Apples, Apples in the Listening Center |
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| Creating Leaf Field Guides |
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| Pattern Block Puzzles Thanks for reading! |
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