Literacy Centres have begun in our classroom. During this time students have a chance to work in small groups and practise reading, writing,and oral language skills. There are many centres for students to choose from such as: computers, newspaper, buddy reading, non-fiction, spelling, listening, reference, grammar and writing. As well, guided reading groups take place at this time with Mrs. Hackett.
In Writer’s Workshop we are learning about the qualities of a good personal narrative. So far we have learned to zoom in on one small moment. We call this a seed idea. We have also learned to tell true, exact details. Now we are focussing on telling the story step-by-step. In order to do this effectively we need to use transition words to help the reader move through our text.
Today we are thinking about all of the transition words we know. Students/Visitors: Please add words you know to our wall.
Next week we’ll sort these words under the heading of: beginning, middle, end.
Last month Birchview focused on the character trait caring. Our class read a story about a boy and his big brother Mike. In the story the boy tells us about how his brother is mean to him. But things change when something happens at school and Mike helps his little brother. It was an act of kindness that makes the boy think that his big brother Mike likes him after all.
We watched this video to help us think about what an act of kindness is.
Do you think acts of kindness are important?
Each week our class begins our community circle talking about a quote. This gives us a chance to read a different type of text, think about the messages in the text, discuss our thoughts and feelings, and try to connect the text to our own lives.
This week’s quote:
A moment of patience in a moment of anger can help us avoid a thousand moments of sorrow.
Students/Visitors: Tell us about a time when you where angry and what you did about it.
The classroom economy is underway in room 210. We began by brainstorming jobs that needed to be done in our classroom. We gave them names and agreed upon job descriptions. Next we had to decide what the daily wage would be for each job. Students talked about how hard a job was and how desirable it was in order to determine the pay scale.
Students maintain a debits/credits book to keep track of how many credits they earn each day through their jobs and other ways. They also earn debits in various ways. Students must pay rent for their desks and chairs each week! They didn’t like this idea very much but now they understand the connection to real life in that we all must pay for our housing.
At the end of each week students use their math skills to add up the tallies and subtract debits from credits. They then make a trip to the bank (Mrs. Hackett) and receive their classroom cash.
The students are eagerly awaiting the first day the classroom store opens! Stay tuned!!
Visual arts is such a fun and creative learning time in our class! Today we were learning to use a variety of lines and identify warm and cool colours. We talked about how lines and colours are used to express feelings
First, we examined a variety of leaves to observe the variety of lines and colours in nature. Then we learned how to use our discoveries to draw and colour fall leaves using markers and pastels. Finally, we will use disc tempura to paint the background with cool colours and create a contrast.
Check back next week to see the finished pieces!
We are beginning to add many tools into our classroom strategy toolbox. There are 4 sections in our toolbox: Accuracy, Comprehension, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary. Some of you may know this toolbox as the Literacy Cafe! I like to think of the strategies as tools. We pull out the tools that we need for each reading experience.
We read this poem in Reader’s Workshop today. While reading we focussed on Fluency, re-reading and reading with expression. This is an important tool tha helps us as readers to understand the message in the text and convey our understanding of the text. Please read the poem and take a moment to answer the question at the bottom of this post!
A friend is a person who wishes you well,
And keeps all the secrets that you like to tell.
Friends share their toys and their storybooks too,
Friends can be older or younger than you.
Friends can be real or made up in your mind,
But they’re always thoughtful and always kind.
Friends can live nearby or very, very far,
But your friends are your friends, wherever you are!
Students/Visitors: What makes you a good friend?