In Writing Workshop...
We concluded our "personal narrative" unit in writing, and the children learned about how to make their stories complete by adding to the words and to the pictures. They also learned how to add a title to their story and how to make a "fancy" cover, just like the published authors in our classroom! All of the students shared their personal narratives with the class!
Our new unit, non-fiction writing, required some important studying before we began. I have been reading non-fiction books to the students and we talked about the differences between fiction and non-fiction, specifically, author's purpose. Additionally, we talked about being scientists who observe many things, including the world around them. We went on a listening walk, in which we listened very carefully to the sounds all around, and we went on a scientific walk and collected leaves to observe.
The students began learning how to write like scientists and non-fiction authors. They learned that writers are like scientists writing down many observations. They also learned that writers work hard to capture what they see exactly the way they see it. Then, the students learned that writers brainstorm their observations and plan their writing across the pages of their booklets. I'm excited to see students progress as non-fiction writers throughout this unit! There's so much to learn!
Highlights from Reading Workshop:
Students also learned that they can look at the pictures of an unfamiliar book to connect what's happening in the book and use story-like language (e.g. "But then... After that... All of a sudden..."). Good readers also re-read if they forgot what happens in a story. This is a great comprehension strategy that readers use at any age! The students also learned about how they can continue to talk about books with their partners. They learned that readers share their strong feelings and reactions to a book or part of a book, and they can share what they learned from a book.
Highlights from Math Workshop:
The students have continued working on numeracy with numbers 1-5. This involves more than simply recognizing the number or counting a set of objects. Children with strong numeracy skills recognize a set of 2, 3, 4, or 5 without having to count the objects in the set. They also decompose a number into two groups (such as 4 is 3 and 1, 2 and 2, etc.).
We began work with comparing numbers to 10 by using a comparing mat. The students place foam, square tiles in columns to compare a number and use the math vocabulary: more than, less than, greater than, fewer than. The students also played a game in which they made two different sets on their comparing mat and determined which set is more and which set is less. I taught them a song, "Which is less? Take a guess! Which is less?" to sing while they play.
You also may have noticed that the students began learning how to write numerals. This can prove to be a tricky skill, so extra practice may be needed! Please remember that the importance is in the process (how the child forms a numeral) and not the product (what the numeral looks like at the end). Also remember that reversals are common at this age, and extra practice may be the best remedy!
In Science, we are learning about animals and living things. I showed them a short video clip on living things vs. non-living things, and the students learned that all living things have a few main characteristics in common: they move on their own, grow, reproduce, and need certain things (e.g. food, air). The students have observed guppies and water snails. We added food to their tank and observed them eat the food and noted their behaviors. I also added a small tunnel to the tank and the students made predictions and observed how the fish reacted to the tunnel. We were surprised that, at first, the fish didn't react to the tunnel, but within a few minutes all of the guppies were swimming through or around the tunnel. (This was also a great time to practice prepositional words, such as: through, around, beside, and above.) Lastly, I added water plants to their tank as a food source, and the children have been enjoying observing them at the science table.