Newsletter 10/26

We activated more super powers in Reading Workshop this week.  "Snap Word (sight word) Power" helps us to anchor our pointer fingers.  Snap words help us make sure that our pointer finger is touching the word that our mouths are saying.  When a reader says a snap word, his/her finger should be pointing to it while tracking.  We also learned "Picture Power"!  If I don't know a word, looking at the picture is one of the most powerful ways to help.  Encourage your child to look at the picture when s/he is stuck on a tough word.  We also read the poem "Five Little Pumpkins", highlighting snap words and making sure to read it with 1:1 word correspondence.

We started writing Show and Tell books about places we've been this week.  We learned that we can pick a place to write about, and each page in our book can describe a different part of that place.  Then, we can draw and write about each part, adding sight words, and even adjectives to our writing.

We finished studying number nine this week and we're focusing on "more than" and "less than".   What number is one more than 3?  What number is one less than 6?  What number comes before 5?  What two numbers come after 7?  We're using number lines to help us with these skills.  We're also working on establishing 1:1 correspondence while comparing amounts.

We continued our study of severe weather in our science lessons this week.  We went down the the library and researched our weather and recorded our findings.  We enjoyed using the library website, PebbleGo!, to help us with our research.

Last, we played a fun Halloween teamwork game with our 5th Grade Buddies.  We had a skeleton building relay race!

Thank you to our wonderful pumpkin carvers and to Mrs. McAnany for roasting the seeds!  What a treat!

News and Notes:

• Halloween Parade 10/31 at 9:45 am.   Feel free to send in costumes in advance.  We'll keep them safe here and send them home that day.

Multi-sensory practice writing number nine

Scientists notice and wonder

The Traveling Lantern Company does a Sherlock Holmes show

Researching in the Library

Hurricanes!

Tornadoes!

Thunderstorms!

Blizzards!

THANK YOU pumpkin carvers!

Yummy pumpkin seeds!

Reading with 1:1 correspondence

1:1 correspondence in our math lessons

Skeleton Relays!

Newsletter 10/19

We are READERS!  We celebrated joining the Ox Ridge reading community with our Storybook Parade this week.  We picked our favorite storybook, and ALL the new kindergarten readers paraded around the school, to the applause of all the Ox Ridge citizens!  It was so exciting.  Then we began our new reading unit: Super Readers!  We are learning to become super readers and activate our many reading powers.  This week, we learned about Pointer Power and Reread Power.  Ask your child to tell you about them.

In Writing Workshop, we learned how to be brave spellers while writing about our special objects.  We are adding sight words to our writing, too!

In our math lessons, we counted up to eight objects and drew them.  We also learned how to write a number 8.  We began comparing numbers using the terms "greater than" and "less than". 

We reviewed some vowel sounds this week, especially letter Oo.  We made Ox Ridge Owls for our hallway bulletin board! 

In social studies, we read a book called Personal Space Camp, and we learned the importance of respecting one another's personal space (or body bubble). 

In science, we finished our cloud observations and learned about what meteorologists do.  We are all going to get the chance to be meteorologists!

Thank you to our amazing Game Time volunteers this week!  We learned new games, practiced academic and social skills, and had a fun time! 

News and Notes:

• Pumpkin Carvers next Thursday
• Kindergarten Halloween Parade (see note sent home): 10/31 at 9:45 am

Building a matching set of eight objects

Beginning our Storybook Parade!

Everyone is so proud of us!

Our 5th Grade Buddies cheer us on, too!

WE ARE READERS!

Fun at Games Time

Activate Pointer Power!!!

Newsletter 10/12

We are wrapping up our unit on emergent reading this week.  We have learned so much!  See our anchor chart of lessons in the photos below.  We are also reading sight word books that will be coming home soon.  We know how to read these books with accuracy!  We are careful to read them with a pointer finger so our voice doesn't get ahead of the text.

We began a new unit in Writing Workshop this week!  We are working at planning our drawing on the page and hearing many sounds within words.

In our math lessons this week, we made connections between numbers of objects within a set and number names up to seven.  We learned that numbers can be represented in various ways, for example, seven can be a picture of four trucks on the top and three trucks on the bottom, or seven can be five dots on the top and two dots on the bottom.  We played a matching game where we paired up sets of objects by the amount.

We also did our first problem solving Exemplar task.  We learned that visualizing a problem first can help us solve it.  Then we made a manipulative model (see photo below).

We began a new unit in science this week, observing clouds.  We looked at their shape and color, and how fast they moved, if at all.  Then we recorded and labeled our findings in our science notebooks.

We reviewed fire safety this week and enjoyed a surprise visit from some firefighters!  We told them everything we know, including our family's safe meeting place.  Then we wrote them a thank you note!

 News and Notes:

• Darien Fire Station Open House:
• Save the Date:   Kindergarten Halloween Parade: 10/31 at 9:45 am.  All are invited to attend.  Look for a note coming home soon with more information.

A manipulative model of the Exemplar problem solving task below

A visual model of the Exemplar

Interactive writing with sight words

Planning a drawing in Writing Workshop

Inventive Spelling

Matching quantities up to seven

Seven presented in various ways

Our Emergent Storybook Anchor Chart

Firefighter Dan and Firefighter Cole

Buddies!

We met our 5th Grade buddies today!  We will do special activities with them throughout the year.

Newsletter 10/5/18

We are such amazing readers!  In Reading Workshop this week, we learned that storybook readers can look at the picture to know what's happening, can speak in the character's voice, can use connecting words when pages are turned and can use the exact words that the characters use.  We practiced reading our books alone and with a partner, and now we're reading them to you!  I hope you've enjoyed hearing your young reader exercise his/her new pre-reading skills.

We are such amazing writers!  In Writing Workshop, we picked one piece to "fix and fancy" (edit).  Then, we learned how to edit our work, adding more details to the drawings, adding more words and  adding more sounds to the words.  Lastly, we colored it in and had a fun celebration!  We toasted our success with a glass of "bubbly" (sparkling cider) and proclaimed, "WE ARE GREAT AUTHORS!".   Look for your child's published piece coming home today.  Remember that it needs to be sent back to school after you look at it.  All published work will go home at the end of the year.  We keep it to reflect on all that we've learned come June.

In our phonics lessons, we learned new letter sounds and sight words.  We now know: the, a, an, I and see.  Search for these words in books while reading with your child.  It's great to play "I spy a sight word that you know on this page".  Your child can play and so can you; let him/her spy the words, too!

In math, we extended our lessons on same and different and worked on counting to, recognizing, writing and building with 6 objects.  We also used our chrome books for the first time!  We got to go onto our Dreambox accounts!

In our social studies lessons, we discussed what character traits make a good citizen and a good friend.  We also met our 5th Grade Buddies this week!  We had a blast meeting our buddy and interviewing one another.

News and Notes:

• Fire safe meeting place homework due next Wednesday
• Please read the green note coming home today regarding bringing an item in on Monday.
• Send your child's published writing piece back by Wednesday.
• Send your child's rough draft folder back in to school ASAP.
• Our class is visiting the Book Fair next Tuesday.  Please look for your child's wish list in his/her backpack that day.

Learning letters and sounds on our magnet boards

"You monkeys you!  You give me back my caps!"

Chrome book fun!

Counting six

Checking our counting by measuring

Sight word searching

Our published pieces!

"WE ARE GREAT AUTHORS!"

Words we can say or write when we turn the page...