A Window Into Learning
Take a peek into our thinking, creating and innovating!
The More We Get Together!
The students returned from the holiday break taller, missing several teeth and new haircuts. There was a lot of growing and changing during those two weeks. Breaks are lovely but as the children laughed, hugged and talked excessively to one another, Mrs. McDevitt knew it was good to be back. There was so much to learn about holiday adventures that writing and sharing was the most effective way to get all that information out.
Welcome Back
The Importance of High Frequency Words
Be sure to work on the high frequency/word wall/sight words. Your child needs to be able to accurately and instantly read those words upon sight and without hesitation. One student last week used the magnetic letters to read and make words off the word wall. The more you practice the better you get.
Number Words Coming to the Red Take Home Folder
In Monday's take home folder, check out the list of number words. We are working on reading and writing the words for different numbers up to 120. Let your child use the list to write the words for different numbers that you call out. Another evening, you write out the word and let your child write the numeral that matches.
Good Readers Visualize As They Read
Mrs. McDevitt is helping the students to visualize the text they are reading. We read the poem Ding A Ling and had to illustrate the movie we saw in our heads as we read the words. We know the reason why the images look different is because each person has a different schema (prior knowledge) to work with. Enjoy the images of the man with the blue, blue nose and red, red hair.
Visualizing
More Visualizing Practice
We know the more you practice the better you get. Later in the week, Mrs. McDevitt read a story to the class without showing the cover or any of the illustrations. She would stop every once in a while and ask us to draw the movie we saw in our heads when she was reading. At the end of the story, we walked around and looked at the illustrations drawn by our classmates. Lots of compliments were given to each other. By the time the activity was over the students wanted to see the illustrations in the book so Mrs. McDevitt read it again. When it was over, one of the students commented that we had better illustrations than the actual book! This book is excellent to use with girls because the main character is a strong, problem solving girl. It is also great to use with boys to demonstrate the appropriate way to treat girls. Enjoy the slideshow below.
Paper Bag Princess
A Familiar Song Used to Teach the "Ing and Ong" Family
Many families must use this song to wake up sleepyheads in the morning. Many of the children knew this and sang it enthusiastically. We even tried to sing it as a round but we need a few more practices to get real good at that. A couple of sight words and plenty of opportunities to practice reading words with "ing and ong" makes reading practice engaging and fun. Songs written down in book form or poems make excellent practice for beginning readers.
Information for this upcoming week
Remember that sight words are high frequency words in literature. These words need to be read accurately and instantly upon sight. Sight word schedule for the next nine weeks:
1.11: came, take
We continue to focus on identifying proper nouns, pronouns that show ownership (his and her), and the difference between asking and declarative sentences. We will also begin to address past tense verbs.
1.11: came, take
We continue to focus on identifying proper nouns, pronouns that show ownership (his and her), and the difference between asking and declarative sentences. We will also begin to address past tense verbs.
In math, we are strengthening our understanding of the addition facts. February will be solidifying our subtraction facts. Keep using those flashcards at home.
We are about to finish up our "How To Writing." Next up is a unit on writing biographies. We will start out this week reading a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As we being to research individual ocean animal books, we are also learning about the different zones of the oceans.
Our Mystery Reader Had Excellent Taste In Books
Wow! Our Mystery Reader knocked on our door and walked in with one of our favorite books. It turns out that her daughter's favorite book is one of Mrs. McDevitt's top five favorite books of all time. It is pretty safe to say that King Bidgood's In the Bathtub is a favorite of members of Room 116. The Mystery Reader brought another family favorite. Once she left, one of our classmates went to the classroom library and found the same title that the Mystery Reader read. It makes Mrs. McDevitt so happy to see our class enjoying, loving and making connections with books.
Upcoming Events
1.18: No school in observance of MLK
1.28: Group picture day
A Benefit to Riding A Late Bus
The late bus riders were fortunate to help Mrs. McDevitt unpack and begin to explore the final shipments from our Donor's Choose project. Some pretty cool things were sent to our classroom and these sweet girls will be excited to show our other classmates more tools to use on the light table. LIfe is still good in Room 116 even while waiting for the late buses to return.
Requests from Coach Klinger and Coach Hines
Please refer to the above photo for items needed for the PRS Health and Wellness Program. The coaches are requesting for your child's safety to wear tennis shoes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as those are the days that we attend PE with the coaches.
Important Information
lunch time 11:35-12:00
Email: amy.mcdevitt@pikeroadschools.org
Website: http://www.pikeroadschools.org/
Location: 500 Avenue of Learning, Pike Road, AL, United States
Phone: 334.420.5310
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pikeroadschools?fref=ts