Maple Room
Children at Work 1.4.16 - 1.8.16
Welcome Back!
This Week in the Maple Classroom
Reading Workshop
In reading, children practiced using post-its to mark important information in the nonfiction books that they wanted to remember about their topic and share with others. They met with partners and shared the information that they learned. The kids also practiced reading nonfiction books with the correct expression, and discussed how nonfiction readers read like they're sharing information and use punctuation and word meanings to inform their expression.
We also discussed student and teacher jobs during independent reading this week and tried out new reading spots. The kids are doing a wonderful job focusing on their books from their new spots.
At home this week, have your child read some of their nonfiction books aloud to you to practice reading with expression. You can compliment your child on their reading expression and then ask your child, "What made you read the sentence that way?"
You can also ask your child to share important information that they've learned about the topic of their nonfiction book and show you where they learned it.
Exploration
Other stations this week included drawing, writing, reading, MagnaTiles, Unifix cubes, and building with unit blocks. The kids constructed many new creations and delighted in seeing their ideas come to life.
The children voted to reopen the hollow blocks and dramatic play next week. We will be discussing how to be kind to materials, work together, and share the space so that our materials last for a long time and everything is cared for.
Math Time
Children extended their work later in the week by picking a number of total passengers on the bus and making a tool for the bus driver that would help him know how many passengers were on the top deck from looking at the passengers on the bottom. The kids used blank bus cards, collections of drawings, and T-charts to find all of the possible combinations of a specific number of passengers.
At the end of the week, children solved bus stop problems in which they used addition to count the number of passengers already on the bus and the number of passengers picked up at the stop.
At home, you can ask children to describe methods for figuring out the number of passengers on the bus and make up bus stories together. Here are some examples of what bus stories could talk about:
- There are ten people sitting on the bus. If 4 people are sitting on the bottom deck, how many people are sitting on the top deck?
- There are 9 people riding the bus. At the next stop, 5 more people got on. How many people are riding the bus now?
Project Time
Later in the week, groups of kids explored different collections of parts, including a jar of rocks, a worm bin, a terrarium, a human body model, and a tray of pinecones and ribbon. The groups discussed whether the collections were systems or were not systems. If they were systems, the children talked about whether the system was living or nonliving. Next week, we will sort the collections into systems and nonsystems and evaluate the systems more deeply.
Provoking Wonder
What do we know about systems? What are we wondering about systems?
What do you notice about our class terrarium?
Fall and Winter Birthday Celebration!
Next Week's Events
Thursday, January 14th: Field Trip to PetSmart
As part of our living systems unit, the children have been interested in animals as examples of a living system. Next Thursday, we will be going to PetSmart on 238 Atlantic Avenue to check out the animals and purchase a class pet to observe and take care of.
We will be leaving school around 9:20 and taking the G train to Bergen St. We should be back around noon.
If you would like to accompany us to the pet store, please let us know! We would be happy to have a few parent helpers.