the expression "time flies when you're having fun!" couldn't be more true. it's amazing that we're at the end of march and moving into spring and warmer weather again. some of the highlights of winter were that the koalas really built their independence. many became more independent with putting on boots and coats, some learned how to zip up their coats all by themselves, and those who already were independent helped others that needed some assistance. it was amazing to watch the transformation. They should be very proud!
we also worked hard as learners these last couple of months. In math, our focus was making combinations of numbers. first, we looked for "friends of five" and "friends of ten." for those who were up for an extra challenge, we looked for ways to combine three or more numbers in combinations of ten. from there, we moved into adding and subtracting different combinations of numbers. our goal is to be fluent to five, but many are confident in this, so we are working to be fluent to ten. word problems was our next focus. we looked at ways to combine or remove numbers from real life situations. representing and explaining the thinking that goes with these types of problems was the real work! we worked as mathematicians representing the story problem with models rather than drawings. we also explained how we came to the solution for the problem. lots of amazing thinking and strategies being used! in literacy, we have soared to new heights as readers and writers. our independence and stamina have grown in leaps and bounds. we have been working on retelling stories from the beginning to the end, using knowledge of character, setting, and plot. we focus on words that help our ideas flow such as, in the beginning, next, after that, and in the end. we have also been exploring patricia cunningham's work with making words. it is such a great way to use what we know about letter sounds and word meaning and manipulate them to make new words. writing has been an amazing celebration this year as well! the koalas have been engaging in "noisy writing" as they stretch and chunk sounds to express their ideas in writing. we wrapped up our narrative writing unit and have moved on to the more analytical types of writing in informative-explanatory and opinion writing. they are working hard and doing amazing work! There is so much learning still be done and we are excited for what spring has in store for us as we blossom into independent readers, writers, mathematicians, and thinkers! and as always, we grow together in a respectful and kind environment!
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It is So hard to believe that we are already through January and moving toward the second part of the year. We've been working hard in the koala class as we continue to build our skills as responsible students.
in literacy, we have been focusing on fiction stories where we are using ideas from the story to compare and contrast character's adventures and experiences. retelling stories in the order they happen using sequence words like first, next, after, and in the end, has also been a focus. consider having your kids retell a story you've read together using sequence words. we're also working on narrative writing in literacy using our imaginations and writing stories about characters that are make believe. We use real world situations to inspire our ideas. This is a great connection with our retell because we use sequence words in our stories as well. WE've done lots of work with our sight words during word work. continue to work on them at home- they are very similar to math facts in that we are looking for automaticity. This frees us up as readers to focus on what's happening in the story and gain deeper understanding of characters and events. remember they are linked on our koala information page. in math, we're working on making friends of five and ten. We played a fun game called "Go Fish Making ten." (click on this link for directions) next time you have a game night, consider playing. it's a fun way to build your child's understanding of making combinations of ten, which builds the foundation for number sense and combinations of other numbers. Games are also a fun way to reinforce concepts while building social skills. we also played the game of tenzi. (link to amazon) this is a great way for kids to subitize. This is important because it gives kids the opportunity to look at patterns in numbers. rather than counting each quantity, kids can subitize and "hold onto" that number in their head. This is especially important when combining quantities. We are also exploring measurement concepts. We are investigating length, height, weight, and capacity. We're working to look at measurement through the lens of words like longer/shorter, taller/shorter, heavier/lighter rather than bigger/smaller. When discussing concepts of measurement make sure to use these words with your kids. beyond the day to day standards and targets we strive to explore and gain understanding of. we work daily on becoming responsible, respectful and kind friends to all. We're earning marbles each time we follow directions as a class or even get a compliment from another teacher for making good choices. we are hoping to have another pajama day or dance party to celebrate our good work. seeing that the groundhog did see his shadow, i hope you enjoy the remainder of winter and know that you are probably like me, and look forward to spring! November was filled with lots of learning!
In math, we explored accurate counting of larger numbers, as well as more efficient ways to count. we also talked about ways to make combinations of numbers- starting with combinations of 5, such as 2 and 3 or 4 and 1. our goal, of course, is to make combinations of numbers through 10 and even talk about fact families. In literacy, we tightened up our daily 5 structure as we worked to use our time to write, work with words, listen to reading (in order to build fluency), and read with others. at the guided reading table, we are focusing on sounds of vowels in order to decode words that have a middle vowel. some of the books we've read are the baby panda, tap, rap, bam, at school, and dolly's drama queen day. our goal during guided reading is to work on foundational skills such as buiLDing the sight word vocabulary, and for those who are ready, deepen comprEhension skills. it's also a time to look at more complex text and use strategies readers use to help make meaning such as using text features, determining the meaning of unknown words, asking and answering questions about the text and identifying elements of a fictional story. Another important part of our day is the time we spend discussing vocabulary. we are following Robert Marzano's structure of effective vocabulary, and it includes visual interpretations of words, student friendly descriptions, discussion and of course games to deepen the meaning. whenever possible discuss words with your kids, it is so powerful! THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF BUILDING READERS TALKS ABOUT VOCABULARY TOO. through all of this we are working to grow stronger as responsible citizens. We work every day at listening to each other's ideas, taking turns, using kind words, and being actively engaged in learning. we are becoming a much more cohesive community and this is when the real learning begins! OCTOBER WAS A GREAT MONTH! WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME GETTING MORE COMFORTABLE AND INDEPENDENT WITH OUR ROUTINE AND STRUCTURES. WE INCORPORATED THE DAILY 5 INTO THE LITERACY BLOCK. WE SPENT TIME READING INDEPENDENTLY, READING TO A FRIEND, LISTENING TO READING (USING RAZ KIDS), WORKING ON WRITING AND WORD WORK. OUR WORDS THEIR WAY PILOT IS UNDER WAY AND WE ARE MOVING INTO RHYMES. WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING SOME OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SORTS SUCH AS WRITING SORT AND SPEED SORTS. Continue to practice sight words at home- the words are on our Koala information page.
IN MATH, WE WORKED ON WRITING NUMBERS 0-10 WITHIN A TEN FRAME- AND WE EVEN MOVED ONTO OUR TEEN NUMBERS. WE PLAYED MANY FUN GAMES- BEAT YOU TO 5, 10, AND 20, WHICH BUG WILL WIN, AND ONE MORE OR LESS. GAMES ALLOW US TIME TO WORK WITH OTHERS, TAKE TURNS, AND PRACTICE OUR MATH SKILLS IN A FUN WAY. Keep playing them at home when you have time! THE MAJORITY OF THE MONTH OF OCTOBER WAS SPENT WORKING ON BEING RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE AND KIND KOALAS. WE ARE WORKING ON FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS AND WHOLE BODY LISTENING. OUR THEME FOR THE MONTH WAS KINDNESS AND WE WORKED AS A CLASS TO EARN MARBLES. FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOWED EXTRA KINDNESS OR RESPECT, WARM FUZZIES WERE GIVEN. the highlights from our month were the orange ruler run and our halloween parade and party. thanks for everyone's efforts to raise funds for our awesome school. We, as a class, made our 100% goal, and so we will have a fun extra recess to celebrate. |
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