Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had reading. Today we read a fun book called Tracks and then learned about the difference between fiction and non-fiction. After we read, the kids did a bit of planing and then went off to write their own fictional stories. Some of them were very creative - be sure to ask them all about it.

After writing, we headed up to the music room for our time there with Mr. Hofmann. When we got back down to our classroom, we worked on numbers that add to ten, using ten frames once again. After that, it was time to pack up and head home!

After Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we opened another Flat Stanley letter - this time, Zarah got one from Sheboygan Fall, WI. There were some pretty funny pictures, including Stanley working on a farm in a tractor! After that, we had math class - today we played a game with a deck of cards that had the kids adding two numbers and comparing with a partner whose sum was larger. After math, we had a short Choice Time, and then Maddie's mom came to do our Bravo lesson. The kids heard and learned about the song Viennese Musical Clock by Zoltan Kodaly, which has a glockenspiel in it. The kids also put some of their favorite people or characters on a glockenspiel of their own.

After Bravo, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there. When we got back down, it was time for us to pack up and go home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had a bit of a mixed-up day. We read a short book and watched a short video about how paper is made, and then the kids all took turns going to a center in the room where Kieran's mom volunteered to help (re)make paper. It was super fun, and the paper that we (re)made is beautiful.

During all of this, the rest of the kids were doing Writer's Workshop. Today they learned again about "Reader's Questions" - after writing, putting themselves in their reader's shoes and anticipating (and then answering in the writing) the questions that their readers might have. They all added some nice details that way.

After Writer's WS, we finished reading Invisible Stanley. Then we had math, in which the kids finished up the activity that we began yesterday (adding past ten on ten frames). When we finished with math, we headed outside for a short recess on the playground, and then it was back in for Catalyst class with Ms. Bechtel.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home.

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we played a vocabulary/letter sounds game to reinforce the letter sounds that we have covered already this year. Then, we had reading time. Today, we learned about a new reading strategy that the kids can use as they are reading - making predictions. After I taught a mini-lesson about that skill. the kids got their bookbags with their "just-right" books in them to practice that strategy and the others that we have discussed. After their read with their books, we gathered again and each child shared the strategies that they used during the reading time.

After reading, we headed up to the Media Center for our time there with Mrs. Hennen. When we got back down to our room, we had math time. We continued to work on addition. Today we practiced adding "past ten" (sums that add up to more than ten, where kids need to use the skill of making a ten). We used a tool called a ten frame to get the kids thinking about how to use combinations of numbers that add to ten to help with these problems.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home.

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had Reader's Workshop. Today we did buddy reading, in which the kids read with a partner and practice their "just right" books. The advantage is that the kids get help with "tricky words" and have a friend to suggest reading strategies that they could use. After reading, the kids shared the reading strategies that they used, as well as rated their performance as a buddy reader (as either an "uh-oh day," a "so-so day," or a "Superstar 5" day - be sure to ask them how they get to say "Superstar 5!).

After Reader's Workshop, we had a short Choice Time. After Choice, we had math - we are beginning to talk about number combinations - how to decompose numbers into pairs of numbers that add to another (being able to see that 5 can be made up of 5+0, 4+1, 2+3, etc.). This knowledge will be the base of all of the artihmetic that they will do in school!

After math, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there. When we got back down to our class, we read a couple of chapters from Invisible Stanley. Then it was time to pack up and go!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we celebrated Alex's birthday with loud instruments and fun singing. Then, we got to open another Flat Stanley envelope - Julia got a package from Indiana with some fun pictures and information.

Then we played a word game, in which the kids heard a word, and then had to say each sound in the word. When we finished with that, we had Writer's Workshop. Today the kids looked at all of the writing that they had in their folders, and sorted it into two piles - one of work that is "done" and one of work that they still have more to add to. After the sorting, they got busy writing!

When we finished writing, we read a couple of chapters from Invisible Stanley while we ate the yummy cookies that Alex brought for his birthday snack.

The day finished up with our weekly Catalyst lesson in our room with Ms. Bechtel. Today the kids used their very creative minds to make animals that were made up of half of one animal and half of another.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we read Anthony's Star of the Week poster (nice work, Anthony!). Then we had reading and writing. We read a book by Cynthia Rylant called When I Was Young in the Mountains, paying particular attention to the details and to the author's message and how she conveyed it. Then, the kids wrote a short page in the same style as the book.
After writing, we headed up to the Media Center for our time there with Mrs. Hennen. When we got back down to the classroom, we had math. The kids measured themselves using unifix cubes and recording their measurements on a data page. We will use the pages again tomorrow to look at data. After math, it was time for us to pack up and go home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we practiced all of the phonics sounds that we have learned this year - both letter names and letter sounds. Then we opened some more Flat Stanley mail - Kieran got an envelope with some cool postcards from his grandmother in Chicago. After "mail call," we dorked on a math game called Racing Bears, in which the kids practiced combining and taking numbers apart (the beginnings of addition and subtraction).

After math, we did our April self-portraits to hang in the gallery on the wall of our room, and them worked to finish up the "What I did over spring break" writing from ealier in the week.

After writing, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there, and then went back down to go outside for a little recess (who can resist this weather??). It was then time to pack up and go home.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had reading class. We reviewed all of the reading strategies that we have talked about thus far, and then the kids got their book bags and practiced using the strategies on 'tricky' words. At the end of Reader's Workshop, all of the kids shared the strategies that they used during their independent reading time.

After reading, we started to play a math game, which we will continue tomorrow.

After math, we headed up to the music room for our time there with Mr. Hofmann. When we got back down to our room, we finished looking at the Flat Stanley goodies that we have received in the mail, and then Ms. Barb (Ryan E.'s mom) came in to read to us - she read a cool book about fire horses (the horses that pulled fire engines in the old days) called Magnus and the Fire. By the time we finished with all of that, it was time to pack up and go home.

Today after Morning work time and Morning Meeting we caught up on our Flat Stanley mail. We had a pretty decent pile, and we all got to see the fun things that have come in from all over the country. After we spent some good time reading our mail, we read an Amelia Bedelia book, and then worked on reading. The kids got to swap the 'just-right' books that are in their bookbags, and had the chance to preview them as well.

After that, Maddie's mom came in to do our Bravo lesson for the day. The kids learned about a Minneapolis composer (Libby Larson) - they listened to two songs (Collage Boogie and Mr. Bell's Boogie) and then made a paper and fabric collage. When we finished with Bravo, we went up to the computer lab for our time there. When we got back down to our room, we read a book that came in the mail today in a "mystery package" full of toothpaste from Tom's of Maine. Leah solved the mystery for us when she said that her grandmother had arranged for a friend to send the little samples to us. The book came with it, and is called I Lost a Tooth in Africa.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we read Julia's Star of the Week poster (great job, Julia!). Then we had a reading lesson - the kids learned two more reading strategies in the mini-lesson that I taught. they learned how to look for hidden words in tricky words (like finding car and pen in carpenter), and they also learned to take off a "magic ending" (like -ed, -er, -ing), read the word, and then put the ending back on. Both are variations of the "chunk and chew" strategy that they already know.

After reading, we wrote again. The kids finished up the writing that they worked on yesterday, and we will start to use them to make a book later in the week.

After writing, we had a short Choice Time. When we cleaned up, Ms. Bechtel came for our weekly Catalyst lesson - and then, it was time to head home!!

Hello - and welcome back from Spring Break. I hope that it was a good one for all of you - the kids all had fun stories to tell abut their weeks.

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had a nice sharing time, in which all of the kids got to share a favorite memory from Spring Break. Then, we did some fun writing, in which the kids got a page with panels like a comic strip, and they illustrated and wrote about up to 6 episodes from their week. I hope to turn these into a mini-book in the coming days, with each little 'vignette' that they wrote today turning into a 'chapter' in a larger piece of writing.

We then went up to the Media Center for out time there with Mrs. Hennen. When we got back down to our classroom, we wrapped up the writing for today, and then learned all about the new Choice Time Centers. The sand table is now out, and full of fun toys. The area that was a Post Office is now the "Room 145 Veterinary Clinic" - complete with stethoscopes, gloves, masks, scrubs, and a doctor coat, not to mention a cute stuffed puppy, a purple stuffed monkey, and a little lizard. After that, we had Choice Time - the kids had fun diagnosing various maladies in the animals!

Whew. Welcome back. :-)

Today, after Morning work time and Morning Meeting, we all had a chance to share our Spring Break plans, and talk about what we were looking forward to.

After that, we headed up to the music room for class with Mr. Hofmann. When we got back down to our room, we finished up our our discussion of 3-D shapes in math with a lesson about drawing cubes and rectangular prisms on dot paper. It was challenging for many of them, but they started to get it. After math, we just couldn't resist going outside for a little bit - the playground was calling us!

When we got back in, it was time to pack up and head home.


Remember that there is no school for students tomorrow (Friday).

Enjoy your Spring Break -- if you are traveling, safe travels. See you in a week!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had reading class. We talked abotu another reading strategy for the kids to use as they read books from their leveled book bags. Today they learned about looking for a pattern in a book, to see words that are repeated - that way if they are sounded out once, they won't need to be sounded out again. After I taught them the strategy, the got their book bags and read their books to practice the strategy. After that, we came back together and discussed the strategies that they used as readers today.

After reading, we had Writer's Workshop - the kids are still producing some amazing writing!

When we finished writing, Maddie's mom came to do our Bravo (music appreciation) lesson. The kids learned about Duke Ellington. After that, we headed up to the computer lab, and then back down in time for the much-awaited root beer float party. After the party, we wrote a class thank you letter to the PTA for providing such a fun party today.

Then it was time to hastily pack up and go home!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of post yesterday - I was in meetings in the afternoon, and then setting up for the Latino Family night meeting last night here at Burroughs.