Week in Review--APPLES

This week, our poem was called "We Can". We had so much fun guessing the mystery words (one that we haven't even had as a sight word yet) and doing the motions along with the poem! We really got to get up and MOVE this week!

Writing:

-We started writing in our writing groups this week. I meet with a specific group each day and we discuss each other’s writing and find areas of need and praise. After the meeting, each student has set a purpose to focus on when he/she goes to write independently during writer’s workshop until our next meeting.

-We have started to write sentences to go with our pictures and have been focusing on using the sight words we have learned in reading and beginning sounds for unknown words. Some students are moving on to using beginning and ending sounds, as well as stretching out the entire word!

-One other area of writing we have been focusing on is our illustrations. We focused this week on using shapes to create a picture and to add detail to our picture by imagining what else would be in the picture if we were looking at an actual photograph.

Reading:

-Our sight word this week was the word “we”!

-The CAFÉ strategy we worked on this week was the strategy.

 

“Name the Characters”

When we read, we often recognize common elements of a story that include plot, character, setting, and theme. We use these elements to help us infer what will happen next. As readers, when we identify and understand these elements, we store this information to help us remember and comprehend what the story is about. This week we focused on the characters in particular. We discussed how the characters can be people, animals or anything that moves/talks and has a special part in the story.

 

How can you help your child with this strategy at home?

• When reading a story with your child, discuss the character. Begin by asking your child who or what the story is about.
• Have your child describe the character in detail. Describing what the character(s) does and how important the character is in the story.
• Ask your child to come up with another character that would fit well into the story. Have him/her describe.

Math:

-This week we continued to focus on numbers 1-20, practiced positional terms and sorted objects by color.

-We also introduced a new choice to “Math by Myself”. Students take a bag of mixed shapes and colors and sort the shapes by color. After they sort by color, they count each pile to see which they have the most of and which they have the least of.

Other:

--We started morning message this week! During the morning message, there are sight words, beginning and ending sounds, numbers and much more missing that the students have to help me fill in. Sometimes, I also have the students circle specific parts of the letter. For example, if we are working on ending punctuation, I would call on a student to find a specific punctuation mark. Or this week, we were focusing on the difference between a letter-word-sentence. I had students come up and circle just a letter, a word and a sentence. The message also acts as a discussion about what is to come in our day or a review of things we have learned. The options are endless with a morning message!

--We celebrated our September "Homework Club" winners this week. The students who turned in all three pieces of homework for the entire month of September ate lunch back in the room with ME on Friday! All students were put back into the club for a chance to stay in all October long!



















Content:

Apple week was a success! We investigated our apples, learned about the life cycle of an apple, the different apple parts, Johnny Appleseed and had fun taste testing apple juice, apple pie, apple muffins, applesauce and of course apples! When taste testing our apple snacks, we recorded whether we liked each piece or not! Be sure to check your child’s paper to see what he/she enjoyed!

Next week:

 

--In writing, we will discuss how to continue to add more detail to our pictures and writing.

--In math, we will introduce a third math choice called “Math with Someone”.

--In reading, we will focus on all sounds; learn new vocabulary words and a new CAFÉ strategy!

--Our theme this next week is all about FIRE SAFETY!  Don’t forget to fill out your family fire safety plan!

PRACTICE AT HOME:

Have your child draw a picture for you. Encourage him/her to add detail to the drawing, to focus on drawing by using shapes and to color each piece of the picture with the correct color from the real world. If possible, have them either label their picture and/or write a sentence to go with it!

Week in Review--PUMPKINS!

This week's poem was called "Down By the Station". We enjoyed reading, doing the motions and finding the missing words!

Reading:

-Our sight word this week was the word “see”!

-The CAFÉ strategy we worked on this week was the strategy.

“Listen with Understanding & Ending Sounds”

Often when learning new words, children apply the strategy of using the beginning sound to help them identify the word. When they do this, they often guess a word that may not fit in the sentence, it starts with the same letter so they guess and move on without looking at the rest of the word. They may not even know there is an end to the word. To gain accuracy it is important that children also learn to look at the end of the word when reading. Applying the accuracy strategy of using beginning and ending sounds helps with both accuracy and comprehension since reading the correct words will enhance the meaning of what is being read.

How can you help your child with this strategy at home?

1. When listening to your child read, encourage him/her to slow down enough to pay attention to the end of the word. Have your child point to the end of the word and tell you the sound it makes. This reinforces that there is an end to the word.

2. Have your child cross check the word he/she just read. Remind your child to ask, “Does it look right, does it sound right, does it make sense?” to help them identify the word.

3. If necessary, revisit letter sounds and the concept words of beginning and end. Then, when stumbling on a word, have your child stretch out the word, saying the beginning, middle, and end sounds. After having him/her focus on the beginning and ending sounds, help your child read the word correctly and ask, “Did that make sense?”






-During a comprehension lesson on our new strategy we reviewed a previously learned strategy that is also one of our 3 Ways to Read a Book--"Retell a Familiar Story". We practiced this strategy by retelling the story we read on Monday by using retelling picture cards!


-We used our Print Concepts CAFE strategies and went through a book focusing on each strategy. Each student had a book in his/her hand and we focused on every part!



-We began a new review game today! This game is called WHAMMY! The class is broken up into two groups and given a cup with Popsicle sticks in it. Written on the sticks are the letters of the alphabet and our sight words. The students take turns picking a stick out of the cup and say the sound of the letter or the sight word, depending on what they took. If they get it correct, they get to keep the stick in front of them and if they get it incorrectly they put the stick back in the cup. If you pull the stick that says WHAMMY on it, you have to put all of your sticks back into the cup. The object of the game is to have the most sticks at the end of the game!

Writing:

-We continued with writing workshop this week and it is becoming a classroom favorite! We introduced our new journals for writing and talked about writing an “I like ___.” sentence. We discussed how it’s important to continue to add detail to pictures without scribble scrabbling. We also learned what the time of writing workshop should look like and sound like!

Math:

-This week we focused on recognizing numbers 0-20. We played several games, watched videos and talked about each number individually and how and why it is named what it is.

-We also introduced two new choices at Daily 3 math. We put play-doh numbers and play-doh shapes into Math by Myself and Number Work! Now the students have two choices at both options.

Content:
We had a fantastic week learning all about pumpkins! We started the week off by focusing on various items that represent fall and read a story about a square pumpkin named Spookley and how he saved the round pumpkins! We then made our own pumpkins that were different shapes and colors. We finished the week by exploring the outside and inside of a pumpkin, describing the way it looks and feels and learned how a pumpkin grows from a seed to a full grown orange pumpkin!

Other:
We went on our first field trip this week to Exploration Acres. We enjoyed playing outside on the tube slide, the pile of hay, sand box, the grain bin of corn and so much more. We rode a hayride to the pumpkin patch where we picked our very own pumpkins to take home and found our way through a corn maze! What a fun day!

-We started our first Surfer of the Week this week! He did an excellent job sharing every day about the class! We are excited to learn more about each of the students in our class every week!  

PRACTICE AT HOME:

Be sure to be reading the sight words on the yellow cards every night! Reviewing all of them every day, will help your child master these words in both reading and writing. Have your child quiz you, write the sight words in shaving cream, find the words in books at home, menus at a restaurant or even spell them out with a chant or a cheer!

Next week:

--In writing, we will continue to practice writing sentences to go with detailed pictures!

--In math, we will continue with numbers 1-20, positional terms and sorting objects by color.

--In reading, we will focus on beginning and ending sounds, learn new vocabulary words and a new CAFÉ strategy!

--Our theme this next week is all about APPLES!  Don’t forget to send in an apple with your child by Monday! Place it in a Ziploc baggie with his/her name on it.