We spent the morning listening to the rain and were very much distracted by the strange liquid that fell from the sky. For only the second time this year, we had indoor recess. We took out legos, animals, blocks, k-nex, and art supplies and played really nicely together. I am thrilled with the developing friendships and sense of family in Room 3.
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No matter how well we treat our books, sometimes books need a trip to the "book hospital". Here you can see Dr. Zilembo working hard with some tape making sure all her "patients" can safely return to our classroom library. There are great lessons to be learned in helping each other and taking care of our things. I am thankful for all the helpers in Room 3.
Today we had a blast during math! We did an activity counting unifix cubes in different bags. I was impressed with the varied strategies for counting I observed in the classroom. Some students created towers of tens or twos, some connected the cubes then counted, while others counted one by one. Observing students strategies helps me know how best to further instruction and stretch thinking. As a challenge, I asked students to combine two bags and find the grand total. The challenge needed to be expressed with an equation and work needed to be shown. Today we talked about the change in season. The general consensus in Room 3 is that we are happy it is fall. We talked about autumn and all the changes we are looking forward to, Apples, colorful leaves, all things pumpkin and Halloween topped our list of excitement. We read the book, The Lonely Scarecrow by Tim Preston and made the most beautiful (I mean scary) scarecrow projects. Happy Fall! In Open Circle, we talked about what it feels like to be calm and learned two breathing techniques to help us get calm. One is called the balloon technique:
-breathe in slowly and deeply- filling your belly like a balloon -breathe out slowly We also learned the flower technique: -breathe in through your nose- imagining the fragrance of a flower -breathe out with an "ahhhhhh" sound Each person has his/her own way of calming down. When strong feelings and signals in our body tell us we are losing control, the first thing to do is to stop and take some calm breathes. Ask your child to teach you the two calm breathing techniques. Practice them together and talk about times he/she may need to use the strategy. Independent Reading is the heart of the Reading Workshop. This is the time when students practice strategies modeled in the mini-lesson or practice reading. Students can read alone, in pairs, or in small response groups. During this time I am able to confer with students or teach guided reading lessons targeting specific skills. We have reader's workshop everyday after lunch. We turn off the lights and relax with books. Our focus for math in September is counting and graphing. We have spent time playing monster squeeze through the number 100, looked at quick images with 10 frames and dots, and played a variety of games practicing counting. We have also been collecting data about each other and graphing our results. We are practicing sorting information and representing it in a way that is easy to compare and interpret our findings. Room 3 really enjoys collecting data and comparing results. Each time we graph someone asks "when will we do math?!" First grade math is fun and engaging and does not always seem like work. :) We spend a lot of time writing in first grade. Part of our literacy block is devoted to writer's workshop. During writer's workshop we focus on a theme in the writing process. I model the concept and students have an opportunity to write in journals. We keep most of our writing in journals so that students can always go back and add details or continue a story. My favorite part of writer's workshop is when students share.
Today we started word sorts as part of our literacy instruction and practice. The process of sorting requires students to pay attention to words and make logical decisions about sound, pattern, and/or meaning as they place each one in a column. Consider the ancient proverb:
"I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand". Word sorts help students learn by doing. We have made the smoothest transition into a new school year I can remember. This class is very special and the sense of community in Room 3 is heartwarming. I am eager to start each day and watch this group of students learn and grow. They deeply care for each other and work really hard.
We recently worked on a self portrait and introductory project. Students used mirrors to draw themselves and completed sentences telling us about their favorite things. What impressed me most with this project was the careful and serious way each student approached drawing themselves. |
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