Mrs. Watson's Weekly: Tomorrow is Day 20!

#180daysofawesome

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@ewatsonroom102

Room 102 has been busy!

Here are some updates from our first 19 days!

Read alouds:

We just finished reading Attaboy Sam by Lois Lowry. The class loved it! Sam is hysterical. He and his sister and father are all trying to make home made gifts for his mom's birthday! Ask your child to tell you about it! (Hint, hint) There are many other books in this series.

The FAB FOUR! Students have enjoyed learning about the FAB FOUR. They are:

Madame the Powerful Predictor
Clara the Careful Clarifier
Quincy the Quizzical Questioner
Sammy the Super Summarizer

We used picture books and Scholastic News to introduce each of the 4 characters. They provide ways for students/readers to think about their reading. After the mini lesson students are then asked to try using strategies in their own reading!

This week we played GUESS THE CHARACTER using clues.

I need to reread this part to get a clearer understanding...
I think that this is what is going to happen next...
This chapter was all about how snakes shed their skin...
Why does Sam keep going to see the kittens?

The class was terrific at identifying WHICH character would say which statement I shared.

We also introduced our Reader's Notebooks! Students started recording what they are reading in class and TODAY they wrote their first letter to me about what they are reading!

Here was the first letter I shared with them!

September 24, 2019

Dear Class,

This is my first letter to you in your Reader’s Notebook. We will write letters back and forth this year about reading. Notice how my letter starts with the date at the top and then the greeting. You will do the same thing when you write to me.

When you write your letters you will share your best THINKING about what you are reading. I will model this for you now. I really like the way Lois Lowry wrote about Sam Krupnick. He is funny and very likeable as a character. He has this big plan to make his mom perfume and keeps it a secret from everyone in his family. I love how Sam’s room started to smell really bad and he was worried about. He even snuck out one night to go sleep with his mom and dad because he was having bad dreams and couldn’t ask them to come to his room anymore. I think Sam was lucky that he didn’t get in trouble for taking the kitten. I also really liked how Sam kept coming up with names for the kitten like Dumbo and saying “If he was mine.” My favorite part of the story is when Sam, Anastasia, and their dad are all trying to share their homemade gifts and hoping they might be better than they are. And then the perfume explodes!

You will share your thinking with me about books you are reading. You will use a letter format similar to this. You will end it with a closing. I look forward to sharing letters with you about books!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Watson

Look who got right to work on her letter!

We have continued to write in our Response Journals as well. Thank you all for writing to your student on PIN Night! They were excited to find a note from you the next morning!

MATH... MATH... MATH

Math Journals, Math Workbook, Math Games, Math Partners, MATH-TASTIC!

We have been working on multiplication using strategies of using a number line, arrays, X as = groups of, and word problems.

Array cards... Hip Hip Array!

Solving story problems using X equations!

36 members in a Marching Band!
How many ways can we arrange them in rows?

Groups solve problems!

Under the Sea Multiplication!
5 octopus with 8 legs?
5 X 8 = 40 legs!

Word Study: Using Patterns & Strategies to Spell

This week and last week we have been looking at HOMOPHONES! We started with this image!

Then we brainstormed other homophones that we knew of! We generated quite a list! Students have looked at how each word is spelled.

Steak and stake... steak has "ea" in it and we "ea"t it!

Words are on word cards that students cut out and manipulate into groups or pairs. This week, tables were asked to come up with a picture that would help their peers better understand the meaning!

The blue table sorts their homophones!

We have finished up our unit on the Wampanoag Native Americans.

We read about their way of life in the past. We watched a video that showed about MODERN day Wampanoag people.

Students learned about how their lives followed the seasons. They had a great respect for the land and often thanked the Great Spirit for plentiful harvests or a good crop of strawberries. Celebrations involved dancing and singing.

Students built wetus. Then we later used a graphic organizer and wrote about what we made.