Yum (????)
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Order in the Court
On Friday, Judge Burleson came for a question/answer session with the class. For 45 minutes, she entertained the kids with stories from her career, legal vocabulary, and connections to The Trial of Cardigan Jones. Thanks so much for volunteering to come in--the kids learned so very much!
Since the kids were so excited about everything they had learned, we wrapped up our crime scene from Monday with a trial. The kids looked at the evidence and drew conclusions based on what they observed. Four people were accused: a random stranger, Emily (my daughter), Mr. Mastain, and me.
The class was divided into lawyer teams based on who they were accusing and used the evidence based statements to support these accusations. The jury decided which team gave the most convincing argument. And I pulled out my college graduation robe to be the "judge."
Key pieces of evidence: books knocked over, scribbles on the whiteboard, footprints, and a piece of hair
Winning argument: The only lawyer team that didn't focus on the footprints in the rug.
Since the kids were so excited about everything they had learned, we wrapped up our crime scene from Monday with a trial. The kids looked at the evidence and drew conclusions based on what they observed. Four people were accused: a random stranger, Emily (my daughter), Mr. Mastain, and me.
The class was divided into lawyer teams based on who they were accusing and used the evidence based statements to support these accusations. The jury decided which team gave the most convincing argument. And I pulled out my college graduation robe to be the "judge."
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| The jury |
Key pieces of evidence: books knocked over, scribbles on the whiteboard, footprints, and a piece of hair
Winning argument: The only lawyer team that didn't focus on the footprints in the rug.
 |
| Winning team |
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Daily Schedule
Now that we're getting through assessments, we're doing better staying on schedule! It's a jam packed day, that's for sure!
8:15 Arrival and Morning Work
8:35 Phonics/Grammar
9:00 Guided Reading
9:30 Literacy Work Stations
10:00 Story and Snack
10:05 Writing
10:50 Interventions (literacy 3 days and math 2 days)
11:25 IB (science and social studies)
12:15 Lunch
12:45 Recess
1:10 Math
2:20 Specials
3:15 Dismissal Procedures
3:20 Car Riders Dismissed
3:25 Bus Riders Dismissed
Specials Schedule:
Library
Music
Gym
Spanish
Art
New Report Card
This year Washington Township has developed a standards based report card. This means that not only will your child receive a letter grade in each subject, he/she will also receive a 1, 2, or 3 in specific standards. This gives more detailed information about how your child is doing in the specific subject areas. For example, Reading includes phonics, fluency, literature, informational texts, and responding to reading.
Other changes:
*There's no specific Spelling grade. This is integrated into the Language grade.
*Social Studies and Science standards won't be marked each quarter. We don't cover each standard each quarter, and I'll only mark those standards that are covered.
Report Card
Other changes:
*There's no specific Spelling grade. This is integrated into the Language grade.
*Social Studies and Science standards won't be marked each quarter. We don't cover each standard each quarter, and I'll only mark those standards that are covered.
Report Card
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
CSI
Monday morning, this is what the kids found in our classroom...
Begin crime scene investigation...
This week our reading strategies are Inferring and Drawing Conclusions. On Monday, the kids wrote observations about the crime scene. No inferring what happened or why. Just observations! Then Tuesday, we used those observations to draw conclusions about what happened and who created the mess in our room. Friday's lesson will focus on using these observations as evidence to write sentences. A huge part of reading this year is using the text to support your responses, so we created a list of sentence starters to do so. Since we didn't have text for this activity, we used our observations!
This activity provided the students a real life reason to observe. Then those observations were used as evidence to support their conclusions. This is also an easy activity to recreate at home to have your child practice these thinking strategies! We'll do more detective work as the year goes on, so students get used to looking for evidence within the text.
Evidence Sentence Starters
*On page _______, it said...
*The author wrote...
*For instance...
*According to the text...
*From the reading, I know that...
*For example...
*Based on what I read...
*The graphic showed...
*Based on the illustration...
Begin crime scene investigation...
This week our reading strategies are Inferring and Drawing Conclusions. On Monday, the kids wrote observations about the crime scene. No inferring what happened or why. Just observations! Then Tuesday, we used those observations to draw conclusions about what happened and who created the mess in our room. Friday's lesson will focus on using these observations as evidence to write sentences. A huge part of reading this year is using the text to support your responses, so we created a list of sentence starters to do so. Since we didn't have text for this activity, we used our observations!
This activity provided the students a real life reason to observe. Then those observations were used as evidence to support their conclusions. This is also an easy activity to recreate at home to have your child practice these thinking strategies! We'll do more detective work as the year goes on, so students get used to looking for evidence within the text.
Evidence Sentence Starters
*On page _______, it said...
*The author wrote...
*For instance...
*According to the text...
*From the reading, I know that...
*For example...
*Based on what I read...
*The graphic showed...
*Based on the illustration...
Monday, August 19, 2013
Essential Agreements
Last week we created the Essential Agreements for this year...
*Work hard and be nice.
*Follow directions the first time.
*Listen during teaching times.
*Be honest.
*Take care of the people and things in our school.
Remind your child that these are the way we'll have a respectful and caring classroom family!
*Work hard and be nice.
*Follow directions the first time.
*Listen during teaching times.
*Be honest.
*Take care of the people and things in our school.
Remind your child that these are the way we'll have a respectful and caring classroom family!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Retelling
This week, we're reading the story A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech. It's a humorous fiction story about an enthusiastic principal who keeps adding more school...weekends, holidays, and the summer!
We'll be studying story elements and retelling this week. Attached are two graphic organizers to help students identify story elements (character, setting, problem, and solution) and retell the story. Keep in mind, the these responses should be in complete sentences. I also tell the students that each section of the retelling should have two or more sentences in it.
Retelling Graphic Organizers
from CFClassroom.com and Journeys Reading Series
 |
| from Amazon |
We'll be studying story elements and retelling this week. Attached are two graphic organizers to help students identify story elements (character, setting, problem, and solution) and retell the story. Keep in mind, the these responses should be in complete sentences. I also tell the students that each section of the retelling should have two or more sentences in it.
Retelling Graphic Organizers
from CFClassroom.com and Journeys Reading Series
Friday, August 9, 2013
Welcome to 2013-14
1 week down...
It's hard to believe that another school year has already begun, but we're off to a great start! Learning new names, connecting our interests, reading chapter books, and investigating gummy bears.
I'm so glad your child is in my class! Already this has been a great year, and I can't wait to see what adventures we go on in the next 177 days. For the next few weeks, I'll be doing reading and math assessments to see what your child's strengths and needs are. After that, we'll be able to jump right into small groups.
Just a reminder that Back to School Night for all of Spring Mill will be Thursday, August 22nd. Until then, here's a quick tour of our classroom...
It's hard to believe that another school year has already begun, but we're off to a great start! Learning new names, connecting our interests, reading chapter books, and investigating gummy bears.
I'm so glad your child is in my class! Already this has been a great year, and I can't wait to see what adventures we go on in the next 177 days. For the next few weeks, I'll be doing reading and math assessments to see what your child's strengths and needs are. After that, we'll be able to jump right into small groups.
Just a reminder that Back to School Night for all of Spring Mill will be Thursday, August 22nd. Until then, here's a quick tour of our classroom...
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| Welcome to Our Room |
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| Our Classroom Library |
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| Classroom Library (my favorite part of the room!) |
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| Computer Area and Standards Board |
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| Small Group Area |
Here's to a great start to the year!
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