Math
The children have been practicing their counting skills. We reviewed counting by 1's, 5's, and 10's, and then we introduced counting by 2's. We talked about items we might find in pairs such as socks, mittens, and shoes. Then we practiced counting collections of items by 2's. We also created our own "human number line" that highlighted count's by 2. We introduced the concept of fractions by dividing objects or a group of objects in half as well as dividing one whole object in half. We tried dividing a graham cracker in half several different ways and learned that when dividing an object in half, both parts must be equal or the same size. We also watched a short video that illustrated the concept of fractions by showing examples of what the word "half" means.
 |
| Our "human number line" showing counts by 2! |
During reading workshop time the children have been learning many valuable reading skills and strategies. Recently they have been learning the following skills:
- By listening to and reading descriptive language, students are able to create mental images to help them understand the events in a story or the content presented in a nonfiction text.
- Literary nonfiction is a type of genre that looks like a fictional story but includes facts and information on a topic.
- While reading and learning about a topic, readers need to identify the big ideas and determine which information is important and which information is interesting.
 |
| An example of a literary nonfiction text |
Writing Workshop
The children continue to blow me away with their writing. It is amazing to see how far they have come since the beginning of the year. Their confidence with their letter sounds continues to grow, and it is becoming easier for them to record their ideas on paper. We have begun a short writing unit on opinion writing. After doing some research using Pebble Go in the LMC, the students chose which season was the best and added details to support their opinion. They did a fantastic job! Their writing is on display in the hallway.
Science
The children have been busy exploring, investigating, asking questions, and recording their observations during our current science uint--Rainbows, Colors, and Light. We have been learning about primary and secondary colors while experimenting with paint, play-doh, and food coloring. We have used a variety of materials to create rainbows and have explored the following questions: Can you make a rainbow without light? Can you make a rainbow without water? What do you need in order to make a rainbow? We will continue to explore these questions next week!
 |
| What do you get when you mix all the colors together? |
 |
| Finding "hidden colors" in a black marker |
All About Me
The class had a great time learning all about Sofia this week. We learned that Sofia enjoys cooking and reading. She is creative and likes to paint and color. Sofia likes playing with her dolls, and she loves accessories! She also likes to swim and dance, and she loves spending time with her family!
 |
| A big thank you to Sofia's mom for coming in to read a Froggy book! |
The children were very excited to meet author Candace Fleming. They did a great job listening to her presentation about how she comes up with ideas for her writing. She made a great analogy during her presentation and talked about how an idea for a book usually starts out as a "story seed" and then grows from there. The children loved it! Thank you to the PTA for bringing Candace Fleming to our school!
No comments:
Post a Comment