Week of March 9th to March 13th

3-12-09 Today 4 students had a "STAR" lunch with Mrs. Milow. These students have been using star behavior in the classroom. They have been good listeners. They have been following directions. They also are kind and helpful to others. They are Logan, Tyler, Ellie and Grace.
We are going to have another "STAR" lunch on Friday, March 27. Mrs. Anderson and I are on the look out for star students to have a special lunch that day!

Other things going on in the classroom:

Reading: This week we have started Reader's Workshop. The different components of Reader's workshop are: 1. Read to Self 2. Read to Teacher 3. Read to Partner 4. Listen to Story 5. Word Work . We have practiced all of these parts as a whole group. Now we are doing them in small, independent groups. Everyday we do read to self as a whole group. I want them to practice reading uninterrupted in school everyday. Then we rotate the other parts. So far we have made two rotations. I have split up the class into 4 groups with 5 or 6 in each group. Each group has done two areas so far.
Read Alouds: This week we have been focusing on making connections as our reading skill. As I read a story, we stop and talk to our "elbow" partner about the connection we are making with the story. We also share our connections as a whole group. During read to self, I am encouraging the students to try and make connections with the books they are reading. We are making connections during our chapter book "Elliot's Park Saving Mr. Nibbles".

Math: This week we did workjobs. We worked on counting pennies and nickels together. We played together as a whole group and then we played individually. I was amazed at how well the students were able to switch from counting by 5's (nickels) to counting by 1's (pennies). We also spent some time practicing telling time. We told time to the hour and to the half hour. We also practiced writing the time( 8:00 or 9:30) .

Writers Workshop-We have been talking about choosing different topics. Some of the students have been writing about favorite topics over and over. I am encouraging them to write about something new. We also talked about writing more than one word or sentence. Their writing continues to impress me! We are going to clean out writing folders soon so you will be able to see their work.