A Bit Behind on Blogging...

I was a little shocked to see that my last BLOG post was from October!  Conferences and other things sneak up on me and I completely forget to blog.  Hopefully you have been following us on Twitter.  


So, what's going on in Room 102?  So much!  

I had my first round of conferences and I enjoyed meeting you to discuss your children.  I will finish up on Thursday this week, but remember that communication is ongoing.  If you have an issue arise that you would like to discuss, send me an email.  

Reading!  

I had been doing the Daily 5 for the month of October.  Recently we have just completed some book groups using Molly's Pilgrim.   I visit with the groups as they review their discussion questions, and they also have to respond to me in their Reader's Notebook.  

Book groups in action! 

This week, we will watch the video of Molly's Pilgrim.  It is one of the FEW instances when I like a video BETTER than the book. The video is short (only 30 minutes), but is was an Academy Award winner for short films.  To prove that I like books better, I have NEVER seen one Harry Potter movie.  I don't think the movies could compete with what played out in my head as I read them.  Anyway, after we watch the video we will compare and contrast the book and movie using a Venn diagram.  

We will get back to Daily 5 next week.  I know the kids will be excited because they like the CHOICE that Daily 5 provides. 

Read Aloud

We finished The School Story by Andrew Clements.  I haven't read it aloud in a few years and it is a treat!  The class loved the story, and we really made it an interactive read aloud by stopping often for predictions, word review, and character analysis.  We liked how Zoe is described as a "bulldog" and Letha is a "fire breathing dragon".  

Zoe, Natalie and Ms. Clayton join together
to publish Natalie's story. 

Today we read aloud a non-fiction book.  It is a National Geographic Kids book called Ugly Animals.  I told the class that reading non-fiction is fun to do.  We read it in a different way than we do fiction.  I shared that I chose the book from the book order because I found myself asking about "What makes something considered ugly?  What is the criteria?"  So I ordered the book and read it when it arrived.  I loved the vivid pictures of the animals in the book and couldn't wait to share them.  Some of them were indeed UGLY. But others were so UGLY they were actually cute. See what you think! 

...the blobfish
(I love him!)

... the rosy-lipped batfish
(What color is that lipstick?) 

... the naked mole rat

...star-nosed mole
Yup, kind of gross! 

... the tarsier
(It's just the eyes!  Look at the cute little fingers!)

My particular favorite... the proboscis monkey!
He looks like he should be on the Muppet Show! 

Math

Multiplication and division are in full swing!  We have worked on arrays, skip counting, patterns and fact families.  Students are using a variety of strategies for problem solving.  I have been sharing what a math lesson entails when I meet with parents at conferences. Typically, it involves a short Solve and Share.  Students work to solve a problem using any strategy that works for them.  We discuss these together as a whole group.  Then we continue on and watch a video or do some problem solving using manipulatives. 

Today we did some independent practice and then played a game with a partner involving fact families.  

Here is an example of a Solve and Share problem.

One of the other things that I shared with you at conferences is that many of our test questions are different than what we are used to seeing.  Many questions ask students to explain their thinking or tell what operation they would use.  See the example below.  

Students must choose ALL the correct
answers to score one point.

Here is my Public Service Announcement...

Remember that this program is NEW to all of us this year.  All Medfield teachers K to 5 are using it.  I like that we are all on the same page and using one consistent program.  The language and vocabulary will continue as students move from grade to grade. The problems will also get more familiar as students continue with the program.  

Personally, I like that my students are learning their facts so early in the year.  I do find the program to be a little "pencil and paper" heavy, but we are finding ways to make it more interactive for the students. Please continue to let me know how math is going for your child at home. Also, if there are problems that are particularly challenging, you or you child can write me note right on the homework page. 

Writing   

We are working on Narrative Writing based on the Unit of Study by Lucy Calkins.  Our recent mini lessons have involved going BACK into our writing to improve upon it.  One recent mini lesson taught students how to go back to their story and add dialogue.  We looked at examples of how that can make your story more engaging.  Check it out. 

  

Here is an example we shared in class.

And now Amy uses it in her own writing.  

Cursive

Students love it!  It is SO QUIET in here when they are writing in cursive.  We are working on a few letters each week.  I have had a few questions over the years about cursive.  I discussed it with one set of parents this year who are in favor of cursive.  What are your thoughts?

Ponder this: The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are important historical documents that are written in cursive.  

Want to read more about this topic?  Click on this link! 

 New York Times on cursive writing

This one sentence (silly as it is) uses every letter in the alphabet! 

What else?

Daily Oral Language... what is that?  I do DOL (as we call it) once a week for Morning Work.  I like that it reviews many grammatical concepts we might not cover until later on in the year.  Using commas in a series, analogies, synonyms and antonyms, and finding the meaning of words using context clues... are just a few of the topics we cover.  It is a quick and easy way to review these important skills each week.  

It has 2 days on it but we are such good thinkers
we do both for Morning Work.