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| Johnny Appleseed Poetry |
It's the time of year for crisp apples, apple picking, and apple pie. This week we read about the man from MA who planted apple seeds and orchards across PA, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois back in the late 1700s and early 1800s - Johnny Appleseed! We looked at our map, learned about his outdoor life and his generosity with new settlers, and generated a list of character traits that described him. Of course we needed some real apples in the room, so during writing time we used our senses of sight, touch, and smell to write about the various apples on the desks.
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| Little Red House with a Star Inside |
We also listened to the oral story of a little red house with a star inside, and cut one in half ourselves to see if there really was a star. Reading several books about his life (born John Chapman) helped us understand his passion for planting apple orchards and giving to the settlers.
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| Lots of good reads for this Folk Hero |
We have concluded Unit 1 in math and had the chance to use a story problem procedure called Three Reads to go through the steps of thinking about what the story is about, what the question is asking, what information is provided, and finally showing our strategies for solving with cubes, ten frames, or number bonds. We have some terrific math students!
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| Our 3 Read template to write with |
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| Using cubes to show our strategy |
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| Spin, add, and color the sum |
Math stations this week was very interactive and helped reinforce the math skills and strategies we have been working with. They also provided an opportunity to focus on handwriting of numbers.
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| Using ten frames and writing numbers |
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| Using our best number writing! |
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| Number lines and addition |
We began our Social Studies lessons this week on Rights and Responsibilities of citizens. We made a class rules list (Be honest and fair, be kind, be a good listener...) and learned about the Golden Rule of treating others the way we want to be treated. Everyone took home their first Studies Weekly social studies magazine as well. Next week we will learn about good sportsmanship and ways we cooperate as a community.
Our class loves small group collaboration, so our daily language arts centers are really enjoyed.
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| If You Give a Dog A Donut listening center |
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| Everyone loved Go Fish for rhymes! |
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| Pocket chart sorting |
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| Highlighting sight words in Poetry |
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| Reading a Starfall story |
Reading in a reading group, reading independently, and reading with buddies are three ways we enjoy books. Here are a few partner readers:
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| Elephant and Piggy stories |
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| Grab a good book |
I didn't realize we had puzzlemania kids in here until I took out some of our floor puzzles! Wow, they worked so well together in completing the puzzles and were very excited about the finished puzzles. Our rain forest puzzle is most challenging so will be a multi day project.
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| Dinosaurs |
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| Pet animals |
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| Castles |
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| The Bald Eagle |
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| Wild animals |
We welcomed a parent to our classroom this week to read a story about a boy with Down Syndrome and learned about all the things we have in common with children who have Down Syndrome, and also about the differences we might see. Thanks for stopping by!
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| Music specialist with giant xylophones! |
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| A good read! |
Music class was so exciting as we had the chance to use xylophones. The kids shared the instruments nicely and made some awesome music!
Our class has a subscription to Mystery Doug online. He is a scientist who answers questions that kids around the county ask from their classrooms. His videos are informative and very engaging. Lots of interesting nuggets and facts!
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| A Mystery Doug Episode |
We are stressing expression in reading, and what better way to practice than with a little play? Everyone has the same play this first time called Jump In, which features three animals (cat, horse, fox). The kids are in groups of three to do play practice so they can read their parts in front of the class next week. Lots of excitement about this!
Cori, Evan, and Matt lost a tooth this week, and Sofia has one 'hanging by a thread' so I know she will be next!
Fall has officially arrived - have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Dagley
