Favorite Insects

During reading we have been reading about and learning about a variety of insects through both fiction and non-fiction texts. As a part of our writing program, Write From the Beginning, the students brainstormed their favorite insects on a Circle Map and then chose one to write about. Using a Flow Map, the students wrote three reasons the insect was their favorite and then used the Flow Map to help them write sentences. As a part of the writing process, the students had to use adverbs to transition between sentences. After writing their draft, we edited them together and they rewrote a final draft. While we were editing in small groups, the students created art of their favorite insect to display with their final drafts.

I Have A Little Shadow

This week the students read the poem "My Shadow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. After reading, we used the same brainstorming process that I wrote about in the post "Hey, Bug!" to list things a shadow might do and words that rhyme with those things. After brainstorming, the students again "popcorned" out ideas for the poem and the class voted on which ones they liked the best. They then worked together to write a final draft of the poem and illustrate it. It still amazes me how similar the illustrations are even though they worked in small groups - communicating with one another at its best!

Hey, Bug!

Last week and this week the students have been reading and writing rhyming poems. Poetry is a large part of our daily reading lessons as a way to focus on fluency. We began the lesson by reading the poem "Hey, Bug!". After reading, the students brainstormed things that bugs can do which we listed on the whiteboard. The students then brainstormed words that rhyme with those things that bugs can do. This gave them a starting point for their own rhyming poem about bugs. Starting with the topic word "bug" the students shouted out their ideas for the poem. We call this "popcorning" ideas. As students would call out ideas, I would repeat them and the students would decide which one they liked the best and we would add it to chart paper. We would continue the process until each of the beginnings words that describe what a bug can do were used at least once along with a rhyming word. We then went back and read the poem as a whole to see if it made sense and if it had a rhythm. Once everyone agreed on the completed poem, the students worked in small groups to rewrite the final version on chart paper, in sets of rhyming pairs. After the students wrote their portion of the poem, the students had to agree on what type of bug it was and how to illustrate it. Then each group went back and illustrated their part.

Computer Work Portfolios

Each week our class goes to the computer lab at least once. Because we usually go during our math block, our computer lessons tend to focus on math concepts. Below are a few movies that showcase the work the students have done this year in the computer lab. The students exported the pictures themselves and saved them to our school's shared drive. They are currently working on creating their own movies to showcase their individual work which will be uploaded to their KidBlog sometime next week.

Timimoto

A few weeks back we read the Japanese tale Timimoto. Timimoto is a story about a tiny baby boy, no bigger than your thumb, who was found by an elderly couple and raised as their own. As Timimoto grew older he wanted to go out into the world and explore. Along his way he had many adventures and trying times but ended up saving the day. After reading the story, the students worked in groups to create a foldable with boxes. In each box they retold one part of the story and illustrated it. They then cut the boxes apart and put them in order on a sentence strip. After each group finished their story sequencing, they shared their retell with the class.

Is It a Toad or a Frog?

A few weeks ago when we were studying the life cycle of frogs, the students read Frog and Toad from Reading A-Z. After reading the book several times during guided reading, the students worked in their groups to complete a Thinking Map of their choice - either a Double Bubble Map or a Venn Diagram. Both maps are used to teach the same concept - to compare and contrast two objects. The students used the reading strategy of looking back at the text to find their answers.

Garden Update

The students have been working very hard at taking care of their garden. Their onion and potato plants are growing quickly. Last week we visited the garden with Ms. Goolsbay's class to have a lesson from Mrs. Reed on feeding the plants and watering them properly. The students learned that the best way to water the plants is by watering at the base and not the leaves. They also learned that these types of plants need a large amount of water and they need it on a daily basis. Thank you to Mrs. Reed for helping us learn more about the garden.

Frog Facts

As a part of our study on frogs, we visited Kidzone to learn interesting facts about frogs. After reading, the students created a diagram of the life cycle of the frogs. After creating their diagram, the students shared the life cycle process with a friend. The following day, the students created a frog out of construction paper. In groups, the students brainstormed facts that they learned from the website and we added them to our class Circle Map. The students then chose one fact per group to write on the back of their frog in the form of a "Did you know?" question. The students shared these facts at our weekly Pride Rally along with Ms. Goolsbay's class. At the end of the fact sharing time, the students all sang "Five Green and Speckled Frogs."

Favorite T.V. Show

Each week the students write using The Write From the Beginning Program. The program teaches the students to write using Thinking Maps. Over the last several weeks we have been writing "to tell why." The students have written about their favorite food, their favorite color, their favorite toy, and this week they wrote about their favorite t.v. show. They first brainstormed their favorite shows on a Circle Map. They then chose one show to write about in a Flow Map. On the Flow Map they had to write three reasons why it was their favorite show. They also had to include adverbs in their writing. They then used the Flow Map to help them write sentences. After they were finished, the students came to guided writing with me to edit and revise their work. After revising their work, the students created their own television to illustrate their favorite t.v. show. Sorry there are no pictures - I forgot to take any!

The Little Engine That Could

This week we have been reading The Little Engine That Could. Yesterday the students created story element charts to describe the characters, setting, problem, and solution of the story. (Fellow teachers, you can download the chart here for free.) Then, as a whole group, we retold the story on a Flow Map. Today the students created their own version of the Flow Map in small groups on train paper. After writing their retell, the students colored their train, cut it out, and ordered it on their sentence strip railroad track. Each group then read their retell to their classmates. Following this activity, the students made connections to the story. We brainstormed things that they once thought they could not do that they now can do. They wrote their connections on mini trains and placed them on their tracks.



Are You a Frog?

Are you a frog? No! We discussed how students and frogs are similar and how they are different. They then wrote what they learned about frogs on a Circle Map. Using the Circle Map, the students wrote and illustrated why they are not frogs.

Symmetrical Butterflies

As a part of our study on life cycles, we discussed how most butterflies are symmetrical - their wings look the same on both side. To help the students visualize this, they cut out a pattern of a butterfly and folded it in half. We then put dobs of paint on just one side of the butterfly. The students then folded the other half on top of it to smoosh all of the paint. They then opened the butterfly to see that both sides now looked the same. I related this mini-lesson back to math and patterns. We talked about how the paint formed a pattern on the butterfly. We then added the butterflies to our garden display in the hallway.

Measuring Area with Color Tiles

To assess their understanding of area, I had the students create two seperate squares or rectangles using paper color tiles. The students then had to measure the area of their squares or rectangles. After measuring, they compared the two shapes to see which had the greatest and least area.

Field Day 2011

Last Friday we had our annual Field Day. Thank you to Coach Bentley and the other specialists for organizing such a fun day for the students. The students participated in the ball hug race, the scooter race, the egg and spoon race, freethrows, the bean bag toss, jump roping, tug-of-war, the shoe fling, the softball throw, and the 40 yard dash. Thank you to all of the parents who came out to enjoy the day with us.

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