Reading is Thinking

Last week during Reading Workshop, our focus was on comprehension.  Now that students have learned many strategies for reading words, we spent more time talking about how to think as readers.  We've been using the phrase "reading is thinking" to remind us to think about the stories/nonfiction texts we're reading.  We learned to talk about a book after we've finished reading it, and to check-for-understanding while we are reading.  We have practiced doing this during read-to-self and buddy reading times.  I taught the children to make a check symbol with their fingers as a way to remind themselves to check-for-understanding, telling who and what the story is about (In the near future, we will spend time learning how to think of the big idea and details in a nonfiction text).  You can support your little reader by reminding him/her to check-for-understanding while reading at home.

Last week during Writing Workshop we continued writing small moment stories.  We learned to:

• use words we know to help us spell new words.  For example, if I know how to spell the word "and," I can use that to help me spell "sand."
• write an ending that ends in the moment.
• write a title.
  
• keep on working, even if we are waiting for help from a teacher.  We brainstormed ideas of what we can do while we are waiting for help.
  

Last week during Math we:

• started making number scrolls to help us practice writing numbers.  Students will continue working on their scrolls throughout the year. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• played Roll and Record with a partner to help us practice adding.
• learned about length and found items in the classroom that were taller, shorter, and about the same height as us.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Ms. Honan announced that this Friday, February 3, will be Spirit Day...children can wear their favorite team shirt or red, white, and blue.  

Have a great week!

Katie

Wish Trees

On Wednesday, we had a school community meeting to learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Mrs. Olson then read aloud the book The Wish Tree, and students wrote a wish they have for Rowe School.  Their wishes are hanging on artificial trees in our atrium, showcasing Rowe School's very own wish trees!

This week during Reading Workshop we:

• learned the names of the vowels and the long and short sounds of each.
• learned Flippy Dolphin, a strategy that reminds us to "flip the vowel sound" if one sound doesn't sound right in a word.
• learned that when readers get stuck on a word and they think they've figured out the word, they go back and reread the sentence or page to make sure it sounds right and makes sense.
• learned that readers think as they read.  When they finish reading a book, readers should think about and tell what the book was about.

This week during Writing Workshop we learned that:

• writers make a plan for writing, telling their story before writing the words.
• writers point and tell the words they are going to write on a page, then as they are writing the words, they can go back and reread what they've already written to help them remember what to write next.
• writers can use blends and digraphs when writing words.
• illustrators can show how people in their story were feeling by drawing facial expressions.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

This week during Math we:

• learned more about the equal and addition symbols and practiced solving number stories.
  
  
  
  
  
• learned about tally marks.  
  
• played a game called "The Growing Train Game" to help us practice adding.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

The children have been excited to read books at home each night.  Please help your child remember to return his/her books every day so new books can be brought home.  Thank you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Katie

On Friday, our instructional technology leader, Mrs. Wolinsky, taught the children a new iPad app, Reading Train.  Children will be able to use this differentiated app to practice reading during our literacy stations.

Last week during Reading Workshop we:

• learned to ask ourselves "Does it sound right?" when we are reading.  For example, "The cat is play" does not sound right.  "The cat is playing" does sound right.
• worked on sorting pictures by the beginning sound of the object in each picture.
• learned that readers can get ready to read by doing a picture walk and paying attention to what is changing in each picture and what is staying the same.  This can help us understand what the book will be about and can help us figure out the pattern in our book.
• learned that readers think about what the book is mostly about and use the illustrations to help them figure out the last page in a pattern book, which often is different than the pattern on the rest of the pages.
• learned that readers make sure their reading makes sense.  What we read should make sense with what is happening in the story/nonfiction text.   If it doesn't, we need to go back and think about what would make sense.  

Last week during Writing Workshop we:

• did a "Snowman, snowman, what do you see?" writing activity to connect with the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See.
• learned that writers can add "inside details" to a small moment story.  Inside details tell what a person was feeling or thinking in a moment.
• reviewed that writers include a beginning, middle, and end when writing a story.
• worked on our mid-year writing prompt.  I will share these with you at conferences next month (more information to come soon).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Last week during Math we:

• reviewed shapes and went on a shape hunt.
• reviewed that teen numbers are "one ten plus some extra ones."
• practiced solving and proving number stories.
• played a game to help us practice representing teen numbers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

I hope you are enjoying this weekend with your children.  I will see them again on Tuesday.

Best,

Katie

Happy New Year!

The children returned to school last week excited to see their friends and ready to learn!

During Reading Workshop we:

• reviewed what it should look like during read-to-self and buddy reading times.
• learned that readers become better readers by reading every day.
• learned that readers get their minds "warmed-up" by doing a picture walk prior to reading a book.

During Writing Workshop we started a mini narrative writing unit.  We learned that:

• writers think of something they've done and tell their story across the pages in a book.
• writers can use sequencing words to tell the order of their story.
• when writers want to spell a word, they say the word slowly then write a letter for each sound they hear.
• writers leave spaces between words.

During Math we:

• played Ten Bears on a Bus to help us learn combinations of ten.
  
  
  
  
• learned about a number grid and discussed different patterns we noticed on the number grid.
• played a game called Roll and Record to help us practice adding and recording data on a graph.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Have a wonderful week.

Best,

Katie