Friday, November 30, 2007

Today, we talked about Patricia Polacco. She is an outstanding author, illustrator, and storyteller. She is one of Ms. Stern’s most favorite children’s authors. Many of her books are memoirs, just like the ones we are writing. So far, we have read My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother and The Keeping Quilt. We watched some short video clips of Patricia explaining how and why she got so good at telling the stories about her life. Her grandmother, who she called bubbie, was the best storyteller in her family. We even looked on her website (http://www.patriciapolacco.com/) to find out more about her and learn from her to become better authors, ourselves. This afternoon, we got to continue working on our own memoirs.

After independent reading time, Ms. Stern recorded some children during their partnership time. The whole class watched the clips together and discussed what went well and how partnerships can be improved. We noticed that children were sitting hip to hip, asking appropriate questions about the books, and both partners were sharing materials and using good body language. Next week, we are going to concentrate on keeping voices down, asking questions and having both partners speaking, and not always having to look at the Smartboard for questions to ask. Also, we’re going to try to remember not to ask to use the bathroom during independent reading time.

Notes from Ms. Stern

·As you have probably heard, we will be celebrating our first Charlie Caps party of the year on Monday. This is a three-parter: a pizza party for lunch (therefore, you will only need to provide a drink and/or snack if your child plans to eat pizza), a special movie in the afternoon, and an opportunity for the kids to teach the teacher. If your child would like to “teach,” please make sure he or she prepares ahead of time. Please note that this is optional and children do not HAVE to present.

·We have begun a new unit in Writer’s Workshop: memoirs. The children are learning to tell and write stories about parts of their lives, as they remember them. After experiencing a few cases of writer’s block from the get go, we discussed how sometimes writers use photos or objects as inspiration and to help them remember important memories and events. I demonstrated this by sharing some of my own photographs to explain important or significant moments in my life. Please help your child think about some of his or her memorable experiences (that they are able to remember, not stories that are told to them). Remember, memorable events can be happy, silly, sad, frightening, or exciting. Next, collect 5 artifacts (photographs, postcards, dolls, awards, stuffed animals, blankets, etc.) connected to some of your child’s meaningful memories. Your child must be able to easily explain these artifacts. Place them in a shoebox or bag that can be carried to school and return them by Monday (12/3). You may choose to decorate these boxes or send them in plain. Make sure the box is labeled.

·Finally, if you are planning on participating in the Meals on Wheels Covered Cupboard event and are in need of a shoebox, please let me know.

Thanks so much!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

We are working on writing memoirs. A memoir is a piece of writing that is about something that happened in your life. This afternoon some children shared their memoirs that they wrote. Some people wrote about special trips that they’ve taken, some people wrote about important people and memories, and some wrote about objects that meant a lot to them. Today we earned a prize in art. We earned 5 stars by being good and listening carefully in the art room. Our prizes were erasers that we got to keep. We got to choose the ones we wanted. During Reader’s Workshop, Ms. Stern reminded us to chunk words together to help us read smoothly. She reminded us to think of “peanut butter and jelly.” Good readers sound like they are speaking so we really sound like we are saying “peanutbutterandjelly.” At the end of the day we earned 2 more marbles: one for being so good in art and the other for concentrating and using our time wisely during writing. We can’t wait to have our Charlie Caps party! On Monday, we are going to watch a G rated movie and have pizza. We’re also going to have “kids teach the teacher.”

Monday, November 26, 2007

This afternoon we just earned our 50th marble! That means that we’re going to have our first Charlie Caps party real soon. This morning we continued practicing smooth reading during Reader’s Workshop. We remembered to look at the punctuation and change our voices when we come to a question mark or an exclamation point. We read for 26 minutes. In music, we played freeze dance to one of the songs from Shrek 2. Then we sang Down by the Bay and we made up our own part. This morning we also had a bus assembly. We were reminded of the important rules we have to stay safe: never go behind the bus, wait until the driver gives the signal to cross the street, always wear your seatbelt, stay in your seat, use quiet voices to talk to friends on the bus, and never get off the bus if an adult isn’t waiting for you at your stop. Because it was rainy today, we had indoor recess this morning and again during lunch. At the end of the day, we had talking stick. Not too many people got to participate because lots of children took a long time finishing their journals. Next week, we hope to have more children finish their journals by the end of snack time.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Today we tasted all of the food that we made. We sampled cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, Stone Soup, cornbread, homemade butter, and lots of different types of bread. It wasn’t so easy making the butter. We had to pass a container with heavy cream and salt in it around the table. Each person took 10 turns shaking it until the milk turned into butter. We knew we were done when it looked like there was milk inside of the container. Mikey ended up finding the special stone in his soup while he was eating! We finished making our Most Thankful Things book. Everyone got to take a copy home. Ms. Stern read a few books over the past few days describing life long ago for children. They were: Sarah Morton’s Day, Samuel Eaton’s Day, and On the Mayflower. We learned that children long ago wore different clothing and more layers than we do. Boys had jobs working to harvest and hunt with the men, while the girls took care of chores around the house. They both had lessons that were taught at home. Children didn’t go to school back then. We also learned that children then had much harder chores than we do. We all agree that we’d rather live today than in the 1600s! Today was a great day. We realized that we all have LOTS to be thankful for. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are the recipes from our sampling:

Pumpkin Pie
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

In a medium bowl, combine pudding, pumpkin, milk, and cinnamon. Mix slowly for about 1 minute. Fold whipped topping into the mixture then spoon entire mixture into pie shell. Freeze until firm (about 4 hours). Let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 package cranberries

Before cooking, rinse cranberries in cold water and remove stems or bruised fruit. Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan. Heat to boiling. Stir in cranberries, returning to boiling. Reduce heat; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Cornbread
Follow recipe on box.

Butter
Pour heavy cream in a container with a sealable lid. Shake vigorously until the butter solidifies and liquid is extracted. Drain the liquid. Add salt to taste.

Stone Soup
Beef bones
Stone (washed)
Yellow onion, chopped
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Pot filled with water
Carrots
Barley
Soup vegetable pack (found in the produce department)
1 can of stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
2 red potatoes

Brown the meat in the pot. Add the onions and allow to cook until tender. Add water to the pot. Include the rest of the ingredients. Allow to simmer over medium heat for 3-5 hours. Serve and enjoy!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Some people’s moms and dads came in to help us cook in groups. Madison B.’s dad worked with a group to make pumpkin pie. Aidan’s mom helped make cranberry sauce. Joseph B.’s mom had the whole class write about what they are thankful for. We are very thankful to have such kind, helpful parents! Ms. Eyer also came in to teach us a new kind of code called Braille. We learned that people who are blind can read using Braille. We felt examples of Braille writing and then decoded Ms. Eyer’s secret message. It said, “Keep smiling.” Then, we made our own secret message for her to figure out.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Today, Madison B., Conor, and Kelsey had their pictures taken. We had technology. Everyone brought their library books back today so the entire class had their pictures taken by Mrs. Edler. We wore a hat, bandana, and a black moustache. Mr. Tanenbaum taught us how to use the rest of the programs on Kid Pix. We drew pictures using different tools. This morning we had a substitute. We had independent reading where we focused on reading smoothly and not reading like a robot. We are going to practice reading smoothly at home, too! The class also read a new poem called A Thanksgiving Dinner. Ms. Stern read us a story called On the Mayflower. It was about a girl named Ellen who was a passenger on the voyage as well as Will, who was an apprentice. Many children decided that they would not want to be passengers on the voyage because it was a hard life during those 65 days!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Our friends in Miss Owen’s class came over to watch a video about Veteran’s Day. Before they joined us, we read a book about the holiday and talked about why we celebrate this special day. We learned that veterans are people who served in the armed forces and the holiday is a way for us to show respect and honor to them for protecting others. Today was our spelling test. The bonus word was November. It was on the Smartboard during the test. Many children were observant and took notice. That was a good thing! Our class photos came back. Everyone looked handsome and pretty. This morning, we went to RIF. RIF is when you get to choose one book for free. We were so excited to browse through our new selections.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

We discussed upcoming activities during the month of November. We found out that we are going to be making food and we are going to sample the dishes before our Thanksgiving break. Most of us finished fancying up our writing and are now published! We added a new poem to our poetry journal. First, we practiced reading all of the old poems together. We noticed that it’s getting easier to read them because we keep doing it over and over. Today was P.E. We were practicing our aim by playing a game called “Chicken in the Basket.” We had to try to get the chickens in the baskets. We also had to try and get the hockey pucks in the clown’s frown. Mrs. McCahill finally had her baby. She had a baby boy named John. We wrote about it during interactive writing. After a little break, we got back to independent reading. Cassie and Conor acted as our fish during a “fishbowl.” That meant that all of the students sit around the rug and listen and watch carefully to the people talking. Cassie and Conor showed us what a good partnership looks and sounds like. Joseph V. is famous. We saw his family’s pictures on the Journal News website. He spent the last few days in New York City doing lots of special activities with Mark Messier and the New York Giants.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween! We had a party and a parade this morning. Moms and dads came to help out. The party was kicked off with a mummy wrap. Children worked in groups of 4 or 5. Some children had to wrap and some had to be wrapped (using toilet paper). After, we made our own snack by decorating cupcakes using frosting, sprinkles, and candy corn. We also made witches’ hands using popcorn for the hands and candy corn for the nails. There was a “Guess How Many Candy Corns?” contest. All of the children and parents got to make one guess. Madison B.’s dad came the closest. He guessed 262 and the actual number was 297. Then, we had a parade outside in front of the school. Everyone walked around two times. Lots of parents and family members were watching, waving, and taking pictures. Some people even took videos! Zee, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger were here to celebrate. At the end of the day, Miss Owen’s friends came in to watch a Halloween video. Today was a fun, fantastic, hectic day!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Today we carved our pumpkin. Yesterday, we voted to decide what our jack-o-lantern would look like and then we wrote directions explaining how to carve it. Everyone got a chance to remove the flesh and seeds. Children also took turns taking photographs to show the different steps. This morning we watched a Halloween performance put on by Mrs. Schaefer’s and Mrs. Caverzasi’s classes. After the performance, we wrote thank you notes telling the students how much we enjoyed the show. Ms. Stern read the second chapter in Junie B. Jones: Boo…and I MEAN IT! During Writer’s Workshop, many children created a title page for their piece of published writing. Everyone had to read through all of their writing and choose the best piece of work they had. In music, we watched a Charlie Brown movie.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

This morning, we finished our Halloween costume clues. We had to write 4 sentences telling about our costumes. We are going to hang them up in the classroom. Today we read everything in our Writer’s Workshop folders. We had to choose the piece that we liked the most AND that showed our best writing. Tomorrow, we will start “fancying up” our work. We were the only class in the gym today. The other class was on a trip. We did hula-hoop tricks, played hula hoop tag, and Coach Steingasser taught us how to do “Sparky.” That is when we spin the hoop and it comes back to us. Madison S. hula hooped with her arms crossed for 210 seconds. Mikey and Cassie jumped rope inside the hula-hoop. Conor jumped through the hula-hoop when it was spinning. Joseph V. tried to make the hula-hoop roll all around the gym.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Our goal during Reader’s Workshop today was to read for 24 minutes straight. We were successful in accomplishing our goal. We need to concentrate on partnerships and focus on asking meaningful questions and also on listening to what our partners say. We noticed that there are patterns around the classroom. There are patterns on the 100 board, the American flag, the apple number line, the first grade goals, and the word wall bulletin board. During P.E., we went on the Nature Trail. We found 2 birds’ nests. There was also a huge bee’s nest (about the size of Madison’s head). We also heard a bird singing. Ms. Stern read two stories about Mzee and Owen. They are a tortoise and a hippo that became unlikely best friends. The books are true stories about their friendship.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Today we had our spelling test. The bonus word was “monster.” We made monsters this week and it’s almost Halloween. We went to PE for specials. Everyone got to pick their own partners for the last day of centers. Today we wrote a thank you letter to the firefighters for teaching us how to stay safe and prevent fires. We had a fire drill. Everyone stood quietly while we waited outside. Afterwards, we came in and Ms. Stern opened the window. She found a bug on the screen that she put into a container. Julia said it was a stinkbug. Ms. Stern looked on a website to check. Julia was correct! Everyone was wearing red today because it was school spirit day. We earned free choice time today because Ms. Stern received so many compliments about this class. Some children watched Jimmy take a bath during that time. We had a great week but now we’re ready for the weekend!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

During Reader’s Workshop, we read for 23 minutes. While we were reading, we were concentrating on marking pages for talking points during partnerships. Our goal was to stay on task for the entire time. Today we
created a monster. Different children made suggestions as to what it would look like. If we weren’t sure about how it should look, the class voted. After we finished designing our monster, we wrote descriptive clues explaining what Mrs. Crazypants (that’s her name) looks like. Next, we’re going to give the clues to teachers (and parents) to see if they can draw our monster correctly. In art, we sat on our projects to keep our work from getting crinkly while we played with play doh. We earned our second star because we listened carefully and were quiet. Justin lost his third tooth today! He pulled it out just after snack, when we were going outside. During Writer’s Workshop, we used markers to write and sketch. We’re using them so we can concentrate on getting our ideas on paper instead of erasing and thinking about spelling or handwriting. We set a goal of trying to write across a few pages and include more details. There is some terrific writing going on in here!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Today we did interactive writing. Cassie came up with today’s sentence. We counted the number of days until Halloween. Our sentence was: Halloween is sixteen days away. Children took turns writing the words on the chart paper. Everyone copied the sentence on his or her own. Every Monday we have a spelling pre-test. This week’s words have a short e sound. Now we have learned all of the short vowel sounds. During Reader’s Workshop, we learned a new strategy: look for chunks! Now we have another tool in our reading toolboxes to help us when we get to a tricky word. In P.E., we had centers such as: medicine ball, chicken’s coop, therapy ball, scarves, playground balls, football, fluffy balls, gator balls, and soccer balls. We had a great day at school.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Today was picture day! We had individual photos taken first and then we went to the library to have our class picture taken. Someone stuck out their tongue so we had to take another one. When we got school, Ms. Stern had decorated the classroom for Halloween and Fall. We wrote about important facts that we learned from Fire Safety Day yesterday. The class went to music. We watched two videos: Arthur and Where the Wild Things Are. The class wrote our own version of a book called Picture Perfect that shows and tells about the many things that could go wrong on picture day. We practiced making patterns by playing a game on the Smartboard.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Today we went to Technology. We played a game called Buggles on the computer. Mr. Tanenbaum taught us 3 kinds of games. One was called “The Clothes Shop.” Another was called “The Upside Down Teacup.” We also went to art. We are making tissue paper collages. A collage is when you get stuff to overlap to make something neat. Some got watery because the glue was mixed with water to stick the tissue paper and make it smooth. Ms. Stern was at a meeting this morning so we had a substitute teacher for part of the day. During math, we made patterns using our names.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The temperature this afternoon was a little bit chilly. It was cooler during lunchtime than it was when we arrived. We had a discussion about Christopher Columbus. He was one of the first people to discover this part of the world. Ms. Stern read a biography about him in school on Friday. Today, we watched a short video about him. We went to PE and played Pin Guard. During independent reading, we practiced using strategies like using picture clues, getting your mouth ready, and asking, “Does it make sense?”.

Wednesday, October 3rd

Today we went to music. We did the Cha Cha Slide and also played freeze dance to one of the songs from High School Musical 2. During Reader’s Workshop, we learned to use pictures to help us figure out tricky words and then shared the words we had trouble with during partnerships. We used our bodies and our clothes to make patterns during math. Ms. Stern made patterns such as: pants/shorts; brown hair/blonde hair; blue shirts/not blue shirts; and skirts/dresses. It started to rain a little bit during lunch recess.

Friday, September 28th

Today we learned about a new type of graph called a tally chart. We tallied how many teeth we’ve lost and also tallied about our siblings. Speaking of teeth, Joseph B. lost his fifth tooth right after we left the library! Mrs. Gunther, the librarian at the Palisades Library (and also Mr. Gunther’s mom), came to read Time to Sleep to the class. Then, she gave out library card applications (though we still need more for Tappan and Orangeburg) so that the children can sign out books from the library on their very own!