Read Across America was celebrated this week with a week of fun themes, great reading, and awesome crafts. This week we read The Cat in the Hat, Fox in Socks, as well as Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons, and There's a Wocket in My Pocket. It is so hard to keep up with Seuss’ silly tongue twisters. I've never heard more giggles from the audience!
Also, a huge thank you to Jane and Morghan's Moms for visiting us on Monday to inform us on the harmful effects of smoking. We learned so much and had a great time singing, playing games, and of course meeting your dinosaur friend :)
In Math, we exchanged smaller value coins for larger value coins. To review each coins name as well as their value, I played the "Coin Song." The children love singing and dancing to these catchy songs. Check out the Youtube video below :)
The next day, the children learned how to solve comparison number stories. I told the following story:
- Mary has 5 bears and 3 ducks. Does she have more bears or more ducks? How many more?
In Fundations, we continued to practice tapping out Consonant/Vowel/Consonant (CVC) words. To practice at home, ask your super learner what sounds they hear at the beginning of words, or at the end of a word. You can also practice tapping out sounds: c–a–t, f–o–x, p–i–g. The vowels are the hardest sounds for them to identify.
Also, the children learned their first two trick words: the and a. I explained that the words "the" and "a" are called Trick Words because they can be tricky and we do not tap them out. The students practiced reading these two words in sentences. I also briefly discussed reading with fluency, or reading with speed and expression. The children also learned that the word a is pronounced like /u/.
Finally, the children heard "Baby Echo Finds Echo at Last" again but the second time I performed the story without words and had a couple students tell the class what happened in their own words. We love hearing their versions!
During Guided Reading, the children rotated through five centers:
- Writing Center: Children wrote a true story in their writing folders.
- Tablets: Children read leveled texts and answered comprehension questions.
- Math Center: Children added the value of nickels, dimes, and pennies.
- Word Work: Children sorted real vs. nonsense words.
- ABC Center: Students made CVC words using play dough.
-Parent/Teacher Conferences are this Thursday and Friday (March 5th and 6th). They will be held in the main office. I look forward to meeting with all of you!
Have a wonderful weekend :)
Miss Visicaro