Welcome 2016
Lego success, addition bowling, and Jan Brett
Congrats to Tristan and Madison for joining the 100 Book Club
Ureka!!!
Bowling addition
Exciting news
Shared journal
For shared journal this week, I introduced "word books" to our learners. It is simply a homemade book, with pages A-Z, so that learners can record words spelled conventionally. I will facilitate which words are included in the book. This will work on standards such as reading sight words correctly and ABC order.
Peer editing
As our lead learners met together, there was a consistent concern with writing in the upper grades...Students are not going back to edit their work. To scaffold editing 1st grade, we have implemented peer editing this week. It actually went very well. When a learner completes their journal, they pair with another learner. They read their journal to each other. They are looking for beginning, middle, end of stories, capital letters at the beginning of sentences, and ending punctuation. This is forcing them to reread their own work. Many times, students will realize their mistakes and correct. This also gives them an authentic audience for their writing, so that hopefully, they will begin to edit individually before taking to a friend. And because they love to share their experiences, this gives them another opportunity to share with someone other than me. And it addresses writing standards "With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed." It's a WIN/WIN/WIN!
December journals came home on Friday. Please allow your chid to read them to you. Celebrate their growth in writing! Celebrate their hard work! Celebrate their success! Please return journals on Monday.
Shared Reading
Mystery Reader
Reminders and Announcements
Monday, Jan 18-No school in observance of MLK Day
- Please send in one piece of poster board (Since our theme has taken a turn, we are making our Community fact books into a flip book with Ocean on the opposite side.)
- Also, we will begin earning money (coins) by the end of January. This will help us count by ones, fives, tens, addition, and subtraction. The learners will be earning money to spend at our Ocean Market (more info to come). This will be our culminating activity at the end of the year. Each learner needs to bring in 50 pennies, 10 dimes, 10 nickels, and 4 quarters. At the end of the semester the students will decide on a cause in which to donate their coins.
- Also, we have run out of bandaids. If you can supply, that will save us a couple of trips to the school nurse.
- Over the holidays, I uploaded several pieces of evidence to Freshgrade. It has been reported that some parents are having trouble with videos and/or parents not receiving notification of additional entries. If you are having any trouble with Freshgrade, please let me know, so that I might get some help. Remember this is new to all of us. I appreciate you patience and encouragement as I learn my way through.