The first week we did a lot of learning about the routines and procedures in our classroom, but spent even more time getting to know each other. One of my favorite activities that we did is called "Who's in Your Circles?" It was designed to help kids learn about who in our class they have similarities with that they might not have realized.
We also completed some inventories to help me get to know your children, and did some pretest type work to get to know them as learners. I read a lot of picture books to the students to help us start some conversations about teamwork, making mistakes, manners, and loving to read! One of the books I read was called The Conversation Club. It is a great lead-in to a discussion about how to appropriately have a conversation. Students practiced the turn-and-talk routine in class that we will use throughout the year.
Students were also introduced to the Depth and Complexity Icons, which are "visual prompts designed to help students go beyond surface level understanding of a concept and enhance their ability to think critically." You will see these on various assignments, and I will use them during class discussion as well.
This week, we started a few of our "routines", learning activities that the students can count on to take place daily/weekly.
Assignment Book: Students each have an assignment book and we take time each morning to write out homework in it. PLEASE check this nightly and talk to your child about the work s/he needs to do. There is usually some sort of language arts homework and some math homework.
Mentor Sentence: Each week, I will read a picture book to the class. This book will act as our "mentor text" throughout the week. For the mentor sentence routine, a sentence is taken from the book that will be studied in different ways throughout the week. Grammar, vocabulary, and revision are skills that are taught and practiced through this activity. Students are exposed to quality literature that inspires great conversation and thought. Mentor sentence is one of the highlights of our day.
Mystery Word: Each day, a different clue is shared with the students that will ultimately lead to the mystery word on Friday. Parts of speech, synonyms, and antonyms are skills that are practiced through this activity. Students are encouraged to go home and share the clues with their families to help try to figure out the word! The use of an online thesaurus is also part of this routine.
In Social Studies we are learning about map skills. Students reviewed using a compass rose and cardinal and intermediate directions, and learned how to use a map scale to tell distance on a map. The Field Trip Project packet was sent home...I hope you've seen this! If not, ask your child to show it to you. There is a slip for you to sign to let me know you are aware of this fun project. Let me know if you have any questions!
You might have noticed that I was greatly inspired by "The Greatest Showman". One of the activities we've been working on was inspired by the song "A Million Dreams". After we listened to the song a few times and discussed it, students wrote about a dream they have, either for this year or for their life.
If you haven't already, please follow our class on Instagram: fun_in_4k. I am able to post more pictures on there and do so more often than I post to this blog. It's a great way to keep up with our class! I am not following families who follow our class, if you're wondering about that. I just wanted a quick and easy way to show you what we're up to in our room!
