Hello families!
It is so hard to believe that it is almost December! It is true what they say, “Time flies when you are having fun!” It has been a great few weeks in our class. In literacy we have continued to work on our word families “op” and “ug,” have been working on writing two full sentences with conventions, learned about the “Chunky Monkey” reading strategy and have finished up learning about the short vowel sounds. We have continued with guided reading groups where we are working on targeted and specific concepts. This week we also learned about making “connections” when we read or when we listen to reading. Making connections is something that strong readers do, along with making predictions and using their reading strategies. Readers can make connections (be reminded of something) to something in their own lives, to another book they have read or heard about, or to something they have learned about in the world. For example, we read the book, “Don’t Laugh at Me,” which is about being accepting and kind to people who look and act differently from ourselves. One student made a “connection to the world” when she recalled a commercial she saw. In the commercial, a young boy in a wheelchair is unable to play basketball with his friends, and is left out as a result. Later, his friends return in kid-sized motorized cars, wagons, etc. so that they could all play basketball while experiencing what this boy goes through on a daily basis. It was a great discussion, and we did many activities to reinforce making connections when reading this week. We are also working hard to learn our Popcorn Words, and so I taught the students a new game to play! It is called “Pass the Plate.” Each child starts with a plate with a popcorn word on it and when I say “go” they flip over the plate and read it. When I say “pass the plate” they pass their plate to the person beside them while they receive a new plate from the person on the other side. I temporarily stop the children and ask a few students to read their words, and then we continue. It was very fun and I can see that the children have been practicing a lot at home!
In numeracy we are wrapping up our measurement unit. One of the concepts we learned about this week was surface area. We came up with ways in which we could measure the surface of objects to compare them (find out which object has a greater or lesser surface area) and we came up with the idea of using playing cards to do so! Students covered a variety of surfaces and we discussed which objects had a larger/greater surface area and those that had a smaller/lesser surface area. We will be measuring capacity this week by measuring how much water different-sized containers can hold! Some containers are wide but short while others are narrow but tall. Students will have to make predictions (another concept we learned about over the past two weeks!) and we will see if our predictions are correct!
In health we learned about rights and the rights that people and children have. We came to the conclusion that rights are things that EVERYONE deserves. The students brainstormed some rights: the right to peace, to learn, to feel safe, to good food, to a family, to not be bullied, to a clean world, etc. We then came up with a list of rights that we have in our classroom: the right have to nice friends, to learn, to not be bullied, and to be treated with kindness, love, and respect. These rights go hand-in-hand with being “bucket-fillers.”
In inquiry we had our Family Tree presentations! It was wonderful to see the final products and hear what they have learned about their families! When asked about their favourite part of the assignment, many said that they enjoyed spending time with their parents talking about family members they knew but maybe didn’t know much about, or learning about people in their family they have never met! This week our class and Ms. Perkins’ class will be launching our mini-unit on holidays and traditions. We will be learning about holidays celebrated around this time of year all over the world as well as the food, clothing, and customs that accompany these holidays. We are very excited!
I hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend and this beautiful weather while it is still here!
Ms. Holmes