Finding Fiction, Paws, Personal Narratives, Multiplication and More

Our days sure have been filled with learning!

In Reading, we launched Reader's Workshop and searched our classroom library for "just right" books. We are working to build our fluency so that when we read, it sounds as though we are talking. We use post-its to track thinkmarks when we discover an unfamiliar word, have a question about the text, learn new information, recognize a character trait... The list goes on!

During Reader's Workshop we also practice our oral reading with weekly poems, read current event articles on our iPad minis, and enjoy word work practicing our spelling words. 

 

While our first unit focused on fiction, characters, setting, and plot, this week we launched our second unit with a focus on informational texts. 

 

Ask us about this week's read aloud--a literary nonfiction text. 

Students who continue to be role models and show expected behavior that is safe, respectful, and responsible have earned themselves valuable Paws which can be turned in for $100 BBQ bucks! Teachers and staff are always on the lookout for that Paws-itive behavior--both in and out of the classroom. 

In Writer's Workshop students chose a "seed" idea from a larger "watermelon" idea for their first personal narrative. These student accounts range from family vacations to the birth of siblings to adventures in a haunted house! Students focused on choosing an entertaining beginning to hook their reader. Following their detailed main event using dialogue, sound words, and varied sentence starters, writers closed with an extended ending reflecting on the story's main event.

This week, students met with their writing partners to peer edit their pieces before teacher conferences.

In math, we dove right into multiplication and division. We connected multiplication to repeated addition of equal groups. For example 4 x 6 = 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24. We have learned our 2s, 5s, 9s, and 10s table. Below, Andrew is using his nines finger tricks. We worked with building arrays, and this week we explored the Distributive Property which taught us to break apart large arrays into two smaller arrays. 

 

 

Practice with problem solving has continued using Exemplar word problems. It is important that we show all of our thinking and use math terms in our explanation.

A Character Book Parade, Thankful Letters, Factors, Arrays and the Native Wampanoags

Our Character Book Parade last month brought many famous storybook characters to Room 16. From Fancy Nancy to Amber Brown and Harry Potter-- it was great to see the students' creativity shine!

                 

                        

                  

          

               

                

          

               

           

In writing, students are working on friendly thankful letters. From chairs, to band-aids, and sandwiches, we have many simple pleasures to be thankful for. Students were eager to share and showcase their writing using an app called AudioBoom. Visit our Twitter page to listen in!

                

          

Topic 4 has launched our learning of multiplication. Factors, products, and arrays have been our focus. We even transformed into storytellers in math as we created story problems that can be solved using multiplication.

                         

 

 

The students have been enjoying their recent study of the Wampanoags. Illustrations, photographs, captions, and other text features have provided additional information beyond the text. From flipbooks to top down webs, we've been showing our new knowledge about the daily lives of the first people to Massachusetts. Did you know they used an animal's bladder as a bag to carry things?

                  

                 

Informational text is our newest unit--Mrs. Mack's favorite!

New Year's, Frozen Fact Families, Reindeer Writing, Scholastic News, and Caption! app

A new month calls for new Book Nooks around the room!

We kicked off 2014 with Find a Buddy Who: New Year's Eve edition. Many of us stayed up until midnight--Mrs. Mack included!

We brainstormed five New Year's resolutions we have and compiled them into a cell phone as we "ring" in the New Year! Charlie shows hers off below.

A snowy January day was a perfect day for Brr Bump! We roll two die and calculate the product. After we find it, we get to cover it up. Our opponent can solve a problem and "bump" us out. We can "lock" it if we roll that product a second time.

We were introduced to division as sharing equally. Using our multiplication facts and drawing pictures are helpful strategies. Here, Bryan and Sam drew pictures to show division as sharing. 

 

We connected multiplication and division in our Frozen Fact Families. Brr!

Rosie searches for a main idea sentence starter for her informational writing on reindeer.

Ryan C. uses an informational text and diagram as he shares what he knows about reindeer.

In Book Club groups, we read about current events and went on a Text Features Walk to learn about the destructive typhoon that hit the Philippines last fall. We made and revised our predictions about the article's main idea before and after we read the article.

 

Students created colorful and creative graffiti verb posters as they searched in picture books for evidence of actions--sneaking, talking, balancing, running, eating, throwing, building...

Our favorite duck callers helped us sort facts from opinions in Literacy.

Researchers from Mrs. Babcock's second grade class shared with us a new app called Caption! Using this app, students can take photos of books' text features and compose a caption to explain the author's purpose, the text feature, or facts they learned from the text. How fun!

Next up are some Martin Luther King activities and yet another engaging app introduced in Room 16!