Asking and Answering Questions

Before reading The Kissing Hand, the students asked questions they had based on a picture walk. We typically take a picture walk before reading a book to get the students thinking about what may happen in the book and to allow them to make predictions. Taking a picture walk and asking questions helps greatly in their comprehension of the story. As the students asked questions, I charted them on the Promethean Board. After we read, we went back through the story to answer the questions using text evidence. The students then wrote down one question and its answer. Note taking is another high yield way for students to remember what they read and aids in comprehension.

The Kissing Hand Connections

We read The Kissing Hand a while back to practice making connections. We talked about how Chester felt in the story. After reading, the students shared with a partner one thing the story reminded them of from their personal life. They then wrote a sentence about it and illustrated it.

College Week: Career Parade

The students were invited to dress up in attire for their favorite career. The students who dressed up paraded through the school while the other students cheered them on.

College Week Festivities

As a part of college week, the students made t-shirts to show when they are expected to graduate high school and begin college. I printed "College 2025" on cardstock and the students traced the letters onto their shirts with permanent markers. They then colored them in however they wanted. For the piggy banks, they cut strips of construction paper and glued them in various patterns. We are trying to instill in the students at an early age that college is important and they need to start saving for their future now. The students also added their handprint to a grade level banner that we will keep hanging in our common area all year as a reminder of our belief that they will attend college one day.

College Week: Guest Speakers

During College Week, the students had two guest speakers come talk to them about the importance of going to college. The first is a scientist from The University of Texas at Arlington. She talked to the students about what she studied in college and what she does now. The second works in finance for Honda. He talked to the students about the importance of earning good grades. He equated earning good grades and getting scholarships to college to having a good credit score. The students were very engaged and full of questions.

Cardinal Directions and Maps

In Social Studies we learned about cardinal directions and maps. The students play "Simon Says" using cardinal directions, drew a map of the classroom according to items' location in the room, and went on a walk through the school using a blueprint map.

Daily 5: Work on Words

We use the Daily 5 process in our class to help the students learn to read in fun, engaging ways. While I work with small groups on reading, the rest of the students rotate through five student chosen lessons. One of those is Work on Words. The students practice reading, spelling, and writing a word wall and phonics words. They also work on alphabetizing and matching rhyming words. Fellow teachers, you can download my Word Family Buildings and Word Family Train Sort from my store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Name Alliterations

During our study of alliterations, the students wrote their own name alliterations. As a class they brainstormed words that start with every letter of the alphabet. We charted these on the Promethean Board. Then, in their journals, they used the chart to help them write their own silly sentence. Once  they were finished, they peer checked them and then  I checked them. After making any needed corrections, they rewrote their sentences on construction paper and illustrated it.

Weather Safety

In science we learned about various types of weather. As a part of our lessons, we discussed the proper clothing and tools needed to stay safe in various weather conditions. The students then illustrated a picture for each type of weather to show their understanding of these tools and proper clothing.

Library Orientation

Our class visits the library each Friday morning. The students may select up to three books to take home. Before being allowed to take books home, they had a presentation on how to select books and how to take care of them.

Rhyming and Alliteration Poems

Several weeks ago the students worked in small groups to write rhyming and alliteration poems. They wrote them together on scratch paper first or the Promethean Board and then transferred them to  chart paper. They then illustrated their work as a team.