We've Got Spirit
Yes We Do!
Spirit Week
- Monday-Patriot Day (wear Patriot gear)
- Tuesday-Camo Day
- Wednesday-Crazy Hair Day
- Thursday-Favorite Team Day
- Friday-Tacky Day
*We will be taking data and analyzing our data on Spirit Week!!!
Rainforest continued...
***EVERY LEARNER NEEDS ONE PIECE OF WHITE POSTER BOARD. PLEASE SEND IN ASAP. Also, if you could donate an extra piece, that would be great to get us started quickly.
Read to Self
Math Glyphs
We sorted the glyphs
- # of freckles
- green/purple hats
- shape of nose
- shape of mouth
- color of eyes
- color of hair
We use deductive reasoning to guess the glyph
We analyzed the data.
Shared Journal
- DeLaina went to the beach.
- Brayden went to
- Smore
- Bobo
- Free choice
**September journals will come home this week. Get ready to celebrate!!!
Changes coming in Shared Journal for next week!!! Read closely...
Next week for shared journal, we are changing things up a bit. We are beginning to share up to 3 stories each day.
Steps in the process
- Prior to journal time, children preview their story with me (to check for details, content, and practice).
- They title their story on the board.
- At journal time, they share their story.
- Friends have opportunity to ask clarifying questions.
- Storyteller answers questions.
- After the storytellers are finished, the class discusses, negotiates, and decides which story to write about (often times, this is done by voting).
- We graph the stories shared and the stories written about.
Major focus: I have really stressed the importance in sharing your story and what we learn when we share. We learn about our classmates (developing community). We practice speaking in front of a group, organizing details (main idea, details, first, next, last). We practice asking and answering questions. I have tried to take the focus off of whose story is written about. Getting written about is not a competition or a popularity contest. We want to celebrate all of our friends and we want to write about all of our friends. We want to celebrate with our friends when we write about their story. The joy is in the sharing and the listening! We graph stories shared and stories written about so that students can learn equitability over time.
Ways to help at home: Ask questions to your child. (i.e. Who shared today? Tell me something about your friends’ stories. Which one did you vote for? Why?) Help your child prepare for sharing a story. When you have a special event, allow your child to practice telling their story to the family. Help them order the steps. This should be conversational, rather than formal. Sharing and listening helps them have insight into the world of others. They can find similarities and differences (making connections) with their own events. I hope you enjoy hearing their stories as much as I do!!!
ps. We cover a whole lot of language standards, reading standards, and writing standards in the shared journal process!!! :)
Shared Reading
We also played Sight Word UNO. Each UNO deck is differentiated with dolch word lists. This was also very insightful for me. I realized we need to play more group games. I encourage you to play board games and card games at home. Also, I had many parents say that they would love to volunteer. I really could use a parent to come and play games with learners. Please let me know if you are interested.
I hope that you have tried some of the sight words games and suggestions that were sent in your learner's take-home folder. If you would like to borrow UNO, I am happy to share.
Topping off the week
"What made the day GREAT?" and What would make it BETTER?"
They could draw or write their response.
GREAT
I heard responses like:
- shared journal (they really like to write)
- recess
- my friends
- centers
BETTER
- more recess
- more centers
Attention spans...
Upcoming Dates
September 23-Poetry journals came home for reading practice (please send back on Monday)
September 30-September journals go home (please send back on Monday, Oct. 3)
October 10: No school for students....Fall Parent conferencesOctober 11-13-Book Fair
November 11: Veteran's Day (no school)
November 21- 25 Thanksgiving Break