I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break! It is so hard to believe we are less than 10 weeks from the end of the school year.
Here is a look at some things we were up to before & after spring break :)
On Monday, March 18 we had a little surprise visitor leave us a 'magical' treat. Larry the Leprechaun gave us instructions that if we stirred this treat something magical would happen.
We observed this treat and tasted a small bite before stirring.
Then we used the special spoons that Larry left and stirred the treat. We quickly saw that
IT TURNED GREEN! We also began to notice the scent of mint coming from the cups.
Of course then we had to taste it....it sure was yummy! We decided that the 'magic' was green food coloring and mint extract ;)
Reader's Workshop
We began book clubs before spring break! This was a really exciting unit for us! In order for us to learn how to be a part of a book club, we all read a classic first grade book called Frog & Toad Are Friends.
We discussed the expectations for book clubs. After each book club meeting, each group decided which expectation they did the best job with and put a check mark next to it. We were really proud of ourselves for being able to check off each expectation.
We met with our book club each day. After we read a chapter, we came together to discuss the story. Many children recorded questions, connections, or predictions they made on sticky notes. This led to some great in depth conversations!
While students were discussing books, I made note of some book 'buzzings' I heard and recorded them on a chart. It was fun to see what other kids were discussing in their book clubs.
After we finished Frog & Toad we made a cute craft to go along with the book. The kids described Frog and Toad by using examples from the story. Look for these in our hallway :)
We wrapped up book clubs after spring break and reviewed how to choose Just Right books. Next week will explore inferring and then begin a longer unit on Nonfiction later in the week :)
Writer's Workshop
We are just about to finish up our realistic fiction unit! We are choosing one story to publish. We will be typing these stories next week during our computer lab time.
I AM LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH THIS on Wednesday, April 10 from 2:30-3:30. Please let me know if you can come help us type our stories! I would love to have at least 3 adults!
One of our favorite parts of Writer's Workshop is sharing our writing with our friends. It has been really nice to use our document camera to place student writing under so children can see each other's writing.
We have been working on word choice. It is important for readers to understand how your characters are feeling. We looked at an example from our last read aloud- Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
This short passage is full of word choices that let us know exactly how the characters are feeling. We are working to show our stories, rather than tell them!
Word Work
We have been taking a break from Words Their Way due to short weeks. Next week we will be getting back into our normal routine.
We have been focusing on contractions during our morning message. We know contractions are two words that are 'squished' together to make a new word, and an apostrophe replaces some letters. We completed a lily pad contraction match. Before I gave the students the lily pads, I challenged them to write the contractions:
Next, I had the students color the lily pads green if they wrote the contraction correctly and brown if they still needed to practice.
Finally, we cut these out and matched them.
It was a fun way for students to assess their own understanding of contractions!
This week we focused on poetry. We are practicing reading our poems to build our fluency!
Math
The last two weeks have been all about fractions!!! We learned that a fraction is an equal part of a whole or set. We began this unit by folding a square piece of paper into different equal parts.
We learned some 'fancy' names for each part of the fraction- the numerator and denominator! The numerator tells us how many of the equal parts are shaded, and the denominator tells us how many equal parts the whole is divided in to.
Next, we began exploring equal fractions. For example, 2/4 = 1/2. We used our fraction strips to help with this concept.
Our math centers also focused on fractions! T
After break, we made a fun fraction project- A Fraction Man! We chose two different colored squares to make a fraction man, and recorded the fractional part of each color. This was a fun way to review fractions!
Students took their fraction assessment at the end of the week. These should be coming home by the middle of the week :)
Our next unit will be on money.
Science
We explored separating colors this week. We placed a black dot and a green dot on two different coffee filters.
Then we placed the filters one at a time over a cup and added one drop of water at a time. We were amazed at what we saw!
When we added water to the black marker, we began noticing MANY different colors! We saw almost all the colors of the rainbow.
When we added water to the green mark, we began to notice two colors- yellow and blue.
We talked about how each color is actually made up of many colors, and we can use water to separate those colors!
Frog and Toad Fun!
On Friday we got together with Miss Gumm's class to make a fun treat- Frog Floats! (it was also a kick off to our next writing unit- nonfiction 'how to' writing) Miss Gumm and I modeled how to make these tasty treats. Then we went the kids to make them!
First, you gather all the supplies
Sherbet, clear pop, ice cream scooper, spoon, cup, and chocolate chips.
Next, you put one scoop of sherbet in your cup.
Then, you pour clear pop in your cup.
After that, you add two chocolate chips for eyes.
Finally, you eat it!!
After we enjoyed these treats we modeled how to write the process of making Frog Floats. We were sure to include transitional words!
What a fun day :)
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