Fairytale Fun

The children have been hard at work on our fairy tale unit.  During Writing time I read a fairy tale aloud to the class and they fill out a story map.  Then they are reading fairy tales on their own and filling out a story map.  

We have started to read many different multicultural versions of Cinderella.  So far we have read...

                              

                            

Ask your child how they are all the same and how they are all different!

First Week of January 2015

Before the winter break we worked hard writing story problems in math.  This week children shopped for problems.....

then they got to work solving them.

The student who solved this problem used an open number line to find the missing addend.  Notice that the student jumped past the target number, but then jumped back 1 to come up with the correct answer.  

Another student used simple symbols to stand for tens and ones.  To find the missing addend they first "drew" the amount they had to start with and then counted on by drawing tens and ones to get to the total.  Notice that placing the box in the number sentence for what we are solving for helps kids remember that the answer to the problem is not necessarily always after the equal sign!  This is an imporant strategy they have been using since first grade-you will see it in all three examples.

This student added 2 two digit numbers by first adding together the tens, then the ones, then putting the tens and ones together.  This method is the precursor to the "carry over" algorithm that will be taught next year.

To start our biography unit, the students first looked at all the books available to them.  Then they chose a book and made a reader's response journal to keep track of important information as they read.  The journals all have one page to work on while reading and two to complete when finished reading.  

During Word Study we are learning about open syllables.  All words are made up of a combination of different syllable types.  This week's sort was a challenge!  Their job was to sort them according the type of syllable in the first syllable of each of these words.  Can you figure out how they are sorted?

The first column all have open syllables as the first syllable, the second column has v-e syllables as the first syllable (magic or silent e) and the last has closed syllables as the first syllable.  Learning to hone in on syllables builds both better reading and spelling skills.

This year we will learn 8 syllables.  Click here for a poster reference.  It shows the syllables as well as how we mark them.  I will also link this on the main blog page.

Before we started to read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, we drew schema sketches about what we already know about China.  In computer lab we learned about ancient China using Brainpop Jr.  Coincidentally Time for Kids also had an edition all about Chinese New Year!

Super Chill-each day we began our afternoon with super chill and 1 minute guided meditation exercises.  Here is a link to the 8 we used at school.  As you can see the kids are really chilling!

What better way to learn about the lunar phases than to each become the earth! Children closed their eyes and the moon revolved around them.  As they looked at the moon each time, they first saw a little more and more of the sunlight being reflected off the moon (waxing phase)  until it became a full moon and then saw less and less (waning phase) as it became the new moon.

 

 
 
 












We also added some moon vocabulary words to our journals and enjoyed reading moon and space books.

Math-strategies to add double digit numbers while solving story problems.  Children first add the "tens" from the two numbers, then the "ones" and then put them together,  While this may seem to take longer than the traditional algorithm of "carry over", this is developmentally how children should be solving these.  It builds a deeper understanding of place value and mental computation.

Here is one strategy for subtraction.  You can see they are using this same idea of subtracting first the tens and then the ones.  This works well when they do not need to "borrow" from the tens place. 

Finishing our fabric wreaths.

Classroom fun-decorating snowman sugar cookies.  Less is not best apparently for kids when it comes to icing and toppings!

Thanks to our class parents, volunteers and to all who donated toppings.

Welcome to our newest classmate:)

What better way to wrap up our rotation of You Skills with Mrs. Nelson than with a Super Chill with guided meditation.  Ask you children about the candy store, the bubble gum bubble and the toy store....

Have a fabulous winter break!