Please Write In This Book

This week we finished our first Read Aloud chapter book, Please Write In This Book by Mary Amato.

In the story, the  teacher leaves a blank book in the Writer's Corner for her students to find and an epic battle ensues as they follow her instructions to "write in this book."  The children in the story resolve their differences and create a set of rules they plan to follow.

We also read Martin's Big Words, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have A Dream" speech.

After reading these books we decided to  write our own classroom rules. Students who are empowered in this way begin to self-regulate and develop a sense of pride in the environment they are helping to shape. They are "citizens" in their "classroom society" and are building the foundation for learning how to live in a diverse and democratic society.

Each child "dreamed or imagined" an ideal classroom and wrote the rules they felt we needed to achieve this goal. 

Our classroom rules. We imagine a class where....

-everyone tries their best.

-we are kind.

-we raise our hand during group time to speak.

-we respond to the quiet signal.

-we work quietly.

-we keep our hands and bodies to ourselves.

-we listen to and follow the teachers directions. 

-we walk in the classroom.

-we are happy. 

Math/Place Value

Miss Rodriguez and I have noticed that some children are struggling with the concept of place value during our math lessons. Although our homework assignments have revolved around place value, many children could use additional practice. An easy way to have your child  work on and "see" the patterns of place value is to work with dimes and pennies. Children need to be able to count by tens from ANY number. Start with a dime and say three pennies and have them write down the value--13. Then add a dime and  underneath the 13 have them write this new value--23. Continue adding dimes until your child can easily count by tens 33,43,53 etc. .This can also easily be practiced in the car. Ask you child to count by tens from any given number, but do NOT start with a  decade like 10, 20 or 30, children can often recite decades by rote but still do not have an understanding of place value.  When your child can easily count by tens, practice counting by hundreds from any number---123, 223, 323 until they truly understand place and value.

Homework Folders due Monday

All homework, both math and reading, should be turned in on Monday. Each Monday your child will receive a new math packet and should move on to the next weeks reading log.  I have given the children a high frequency sight word assessment and their  first week spelling list will include the words your child needs to practice.

High frequency words (sight words) are words that students encounter frequently in reading and writing. "It is critical that readers and writers develop automatic recognition, a skill that leads to fluency. Students need to be able to read and write these words without a moment's hesitation, because these words make up 65% of all written material" (Frye). Comprehension begins to break down when students are focused on trying to decode or sound out and spell these words.

 

Family Weekend Experience/Honeycrisp U-Pick Season!!! 

• Today, Friday 9/6, Lynd's fruit farm began their Honeycrisp apple picking season.  Lynd's Orchard is W-A-Y out here on my side of town but  certainly worth the drive. Honeycrisps are explosively crunchy and have an amazing sweet/tart taste.

Check it out at:

http://www.lyndfruitfarm.com/