Reader's Theater

One way to practice reading with fluency is Reader's theater. Reader's theater is like a play, minus the costumes. The children were all assigned their own parts to read. That's exactly what the blue reading group did today. They read "Jessica Loves Soccer" to the class. They have been practicing their lines for a few days and today they got to show off their fluent reading by reading to the class. They did a super job!

Inauguration Day!

I explained to the kids on Tuesday, January 20th, that they were experiencing history being made! We celebrated the inauguration of Barack Obama by making hats, reading about his life, and watching the swearing in and speech. (they were a little bored after about 5 minutes...ha-ha) They may not understand the importance of that day but one day hopefully they will appreciate the freedoms we have in America. It was a great day!

Space Presentations

I have had a few questions about the upcoming Space Presentations so I thought I would add somethings to the blog. First of all, you child will choose a planet to research tomorrow (Friday, 1/16). We will start the research in class and they will bring home their findings at the end of the day. At home, you will take those questions and answers and turn it into a presentation. You can use only the facts they researched in class or you an add more from your research at home. They are then going to present their research to the class on their assigned day. They will need to create some sort of visual (i.e, a model, a diorama, a poster, etc). They will teach us about their planet. They can use note cards or a written/typed piece of paper to help them. Since there are only 8 planets, some children will be doing the same planet. This is an independent project however, and every child is responsible for their own presentation. I have attached a copy of the schedule, just to the right. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email or call me.

Outside Math

Today we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather outside during math time. The kids were so excited! They worked with a partner the measure their jumps and arm spans. They used both centimeters and inches. Here are some pictures of the mathematicians at work!

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Holiday this year and a nice and relaxing break. I look forward to starting 2009 with you and your children. We will be starting some fun units as we enter a new year. The children will be learning about our Solar System in Science. This is always a fun unit, especially for the boys. They will be researching and presenting a project on a planet of their choice. I will send home more details shortly. Our Social Studies unit for this quarter is North America. We will learn a lot about Canada and Mexico. Such things as cultures, food, sports, language, etc. The children will continue to read for understanding by practicing such skills as fluency and comprehension. We will start working on organizing our writing by using topic sentences, details, and conclusions. You may hear them come home and talk about the colors green, yellow, and red often since these are the colors we will use to help us organize our writing. Again, I look forward to 2009. I hope everyone has a healthy, happy and safe new year!