Highlights from Writing Workshop:
We’ve launched a new unit…. Pattern Books! “Pattern books” can be described as beginning reader books; they follow a pattern in that the sentences of the book are nearly the same from page to page with only one or two words changing. Here are a couple examples of patterns that you can find in such books:
· A book about fruit: An apple is red. A strawberry is red. A cherry is red. A raspberry is red.
· A book about school: I can see scissors. I can see crayons. I can see books.
· A book about animals: This bird can fly. This ladybug can fly. This butterfly can fly.
As we work through the Pattern Book unit, children are trying to mimic the writing in the books that they’ve been reading. First, we began the unit by studying some of the pattern books we have in our classroom and discussed characteristics of these books (e.g. the picture shows the word that doesn’t follow the pattern, examples of patterned sentences, topics that authors wrote about, etc.) Then, the students learned many things about how to write patterned books such as:
· Writers think about and choose a topic to write about.
· Writers think about what they want to say about their topic.
· Writers decide how their pattern will go.
· Writers work to communicate meaning through the title.
· Writers make sure all of the pages go together and make sense.
· Writers use pictures to provide meaning that supports the reader.
· Writers plant picture clues to tell even more than the words.
Highlights from Reading Workshop:
The students have been continuing to learn about strategies to use while reading that will strengthen their ability to read the words correctly, sound fluent as they read, and comprehend what they read. Please take note that there are far more (and better, in my opinion) strategies to encourage your child to use other than “sound it out.” Here are some of the strategies the children have learned recently:
· Readers think about what is happening in the book to help them point to and read the words.
· Readers make a movie in their mind to help them read the words on the page.
· Readers point to each word on the page once they read.
· Readers read words they know in a snap by saying the word quickly (sight words).
· Readers match their mouth to the sound of the first letter and make that sound.
· Readers reread a lot to help themselves keep reading.
· Readers think about the book, look at the pictures and look at the words.
· Readers reread and use the picture to make another guess.
· Readers notice words they know and repeated words throughout the book (the book’s pattern) and read these words quickly.
Sight Words: Sight words are words that a child can recognize automatically, without thought or hesitation. We begin by teaching children high frequency words, which are words that occur often in texts, with the hopes that these words will become sight words for each child. Having an adequate knowledge of sight words is important because it makes reading simple books accessible to children. When children can read many words by sight, they have to figure out (or decode) fewer words and can devote more thinking to comprehending and understanding the book.
We’ve added many new sight words to our repertoire. Please take note of these words and continue to work on them with your child at home: see, for, you, at, not, said, me, he, she
I will be sending home another “sight word snapshot” that includes these words and flashcards you can use in a couple of weeks.
Highlights from Math Workshop:
The students have been continuing to learn and practice addition. We looked at a number chart of numbers 1-20 that also paired each number with the correct amount of dots. I asked students to look carefully at the pattern that exists, and they made many important discoveries. First, they realized that the amount of dots is one more than the previous amount. This led us to learn about the +1 property of addition, and the students played a game called "One More." In this game, students used a bingo-like game board and a dice. They added one to the number they rolled and placed a chip over that number on the game board and tried to get 4 in a row.
The students also realized that the numbers 10-20 had a group of 10 dots, and the numbers 0-9 did not. This is a very important concept for students to realize, as it helps solidify their knowledge of base-ten in our number system. We'll get into this more in depth throughout the year, and the students will have many experiences with composing numbers 10-20 with manipulatives. In the meantime, I shared this song with them: Numbers in the Teens (Have a Group of Ten)
(If that link doesn't work, search "Numbers in the Teens" on You Tube, and you should see two different songs by Harry Kindergarten Music; both are good songs, but I prefer the one that emphasizes place value because it builds in the concept of place value.)
Of course, we've been working on number writing with all numbers 0-10. Children have made great progress in how they form and write each number. The directionality of each number can be difficult at times, so continue to practice writing numbers at home (especially 2s, 3s, 7s, and 9s).
Lastly, the students revisited 2D shapes. They practiced identifying shapes in pictures, drawing shapes, and composing shapes (e.g. using triangles and/or diamonds to make a hexagon). Here's two different songs about 2D shapes that we sing from time to time: The Shapes Song and Shapes Song 2.
(If the link doesn't work, search "2D Shape Song" on You Tube and you should find two different songs, both of which the kids know, by KidsTV123, called The Shapes Song and Shapes Song 2.)