This week, we’ve been reading books about life long ago. Yesterday we read a story about two children who were aboard the Mayflower. One was a boy and one was a girl. The girl was a passenger. The boy was an apprentice. The Mayflower set sail from England because the Pilgrims couldn’t practice their religion. The king wouldn’t let them. We learned that the voyage took two months. It wasn’t easy being on the ship. There was a bad storm and people got very seasick. People had to stay below the deck, where it smelled bad and people ate cold food. We also learned that people long ago used chamber pots. Today we read Sarah Morton’s Day. We learned that kids long ago had to do a lot more work than kids do today!
Yesterday, Darren, Kevin, Rebecca, Sophia, and Michael made cranberry sauce with Kevin’s mom. Everyone washed their hands and then the cranberries. The cranberry sauce was made by mixing sugar and water. Then we added the cranberries and let it cook for a little while. The cranberries were popping and the liquid was starting to bubble. The liquid turned red. As it cooked, it started to get mushy.
Today, Zoe, Sammy, Gianluca, Kaitlyn, and Bartosz made pumpkin pie with Kaitlyn’s mom. The pie was made by mixing sugar, pumpkin, milk, pudding, and Cool Whip together. Then the filling was put into the graham cracker crust. Zoe thought it didn’t look that interesting in the beginning but at the end it looked delicious!
Yesterday morning, Ms. Stern, Sophia, and Nolan went to the computer lab to talk to parents at the Coffee Chat. They went to talk about the Smartboard and how we use it in the classroom. Nolan and Sophia did the talking. They did a fantastic job! Ms. Stern answered some questions that the parents had and explained how it helps the learning in our class. She was so proud of her star speakers! Later that morning, a few more children joined them in the library to be interviewed by students from TZE about what types of technology we use. They were filmed by the students while they spoke.
Lots of turkeys have arrived back in school, safe and sound. Here are our turkey disguises:
Isabella-owl
Mia-ballerina/cheerleader/superhero
Gianluca-spy
Axl-Jets player
Kevin-scuba diver
Joshua-Superman
Rebecca-gingerbread man
Sophia-artist
Darren-Mets player
Kaitlyn-Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz)
Daniel-ninja
Anthony-snowman
Zoe-hula girl
Sammy-Indiana Jones
Michael-Santa Claus
It’s not too late to send them in, if you haven’t done so already!
Remember, we are going on our trip to Philipsburg Manor on Monday. Please make sure that your child has a labeled bagged lunch and is dressed appropriately. We will be outside for the trip. Thanks and have a great weekend!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
During Reader’s Workshop, Ms. Stern noticed that partnerships are getting stronger. People are sitting close to their partners, talking more about what they read and what they were thinking, and everyone was having discussions about their books. 
We want to improve the level of our voices both during private and partner time to help everyone concentrate. We’re also going to work on not looking at the script on the Smartboard. Instead, we’re trying to think about what good readers talk about and listen carefully to what our partners are saying. We’re even trying to come up with new questions and thoughts based on what is being discussed. Here is what our script looks like:
What did you read?
I read ______.
What was it about?
It was about ______.
What did you mark in your book today?
I _______ (got stuck on this word/was reminded of ____/thought this part was ____).
Did you use any strategies?
I ______
Which was the most useful?
_______ was most useful for me today (because..).
What did you learn from reading?
Ms. Stern recorded some people during their partnerships. We watched the videos and discussed what was good and how we might be able to help them make their time even more valuable.
We used hundred boards during math today. We worked with a partner to pick out the tiles numbered 1-20.
After we found all of the tiles, we turned them over and played High Tile. In High Tile, each person selects one tile that is face down. The person with the higher tile is the winner. 
When everyone had a chance to play for a while, we cleaned up and discussed our thinking and observations. This is what we came up with:
If you picked 20 you were automatically the winner. –Sean
If you chose 1, you lost! (Even if your partner chose the number 2). –Sammy
Sometimes the numbers were in order, which made it easier to know where the high tiles were. –Isabella
It’s like a guessing game, except with numbers. –Sophia and Mia
20, 19, 18, 17, 16 were numbers that would probably win. –Carly
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 meant I’d probably lose! -Rebecca
In P.E., we had centers to practice aiming at a target. Some were throwing, shooting, and rolling. Some people didn’t get to all of the stations.
We didn’t get to do Writer’s Workshop today because we had Library instead. Ms. Eyer showed us books written by Patricia Polacco (one of Ms. Stern’s favorite authors). We read My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother. She writes stories that are true and based on her life.
We want to improve the level of our voices both during private and partner time to help everyone concentrate. We’re also going to work on not looking at the script on the Smartboard. Instead, we’re trying to think about what good readers talk about and listen carefully to what our partners are saying. We’re even trying to come up with new questions and thoughts based on what is being discussed. Here is what our script looks like:What did you read?
I read ______.
What was it about?
It was about ______.
What did you mark in your book today?
I _______ (got stuck on this word/was reminded of ____/thought this part was ____).
Did you use any strategies?
I ______
Which was the most useful?
_______ was most useful for me today (because..).
What did you learn from reading?
Ms. Stern recorded some people during their partnerships. We watched the videos and discussed what was good and how we might be able to help them make their time even more valuable.
We used hundred boards during math today. We worked with a partner to pick out the tiles numbered 1-20.
After we found all of the tiles, we turned them over and played High Tile. In High Tile, each person selects one tile that is face down. The person with the higher tile is the winner. When everyone had a chance to play for a while, we cleaned up and discussed our thinking and observations. This is what we came up with:If you picked 20 you were automatically the winner. –Sean
If you chose 1, you lost! (Even if your partner chose the number 2). –Sammy
Sometimes the numbers were in order, which made it easier to know where the high tiles were. –Isabella
It’s like a guessing game, except with numbers. –Sophia and Mia
20, 19, 18, 17, 16 were numbers that would probably win. –Carly
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 meant I’d probably lose! -Rebecca
In P.E., we had centers to practice aiming at a target. Some were throwing, shooting, and rolling. Some people didn’t get to all of the stations.
We didn’t get to do Writer’s Workshop today because we had Library instead. Ms. Eyer showed us books written by Patricia Polacco (one of Ms. Stern’s favorite authors). We read My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother. She writes stories that are true and based on her life.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Today we had two special visitors: Miss Amy and Miss Robin. They were from United Water. First, discussed how water comes into our homes and school through pipes. Then we read a story called The Water Hole, by Graeme Base. 
It was about a water hole that was visited by lots of wild animals until there was no more water left. We learned that it’s called a drought. The only way to get more water is by having rain. After reading and discussing the story, we all wrote about “When I think of water, I think of…” People had lots of different ideas. 
Everyone got to share their ideas with the class. 
Some children had a sun in their pictures. Michael drew snow falling. We learned that these parts work together to form the water cycle. We learned a few big weather words that tell about the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
Finally, before our United Water friends left, we acted out a thunderstorm using our hands, legs, and feet. 
It was so cool making the sounds of a storm! Miss Amy and Miss Robin gave us all gifts before they left. It was a very fun morning!
It was about a water hole that was visited by lots of wild animals until there was no more water left. We learned that it’s called a drought. The only way to get more water is by having rain. After reading and discussing the story, we all wrote about “When I think of water, I think of…” People had lots of different ideas. Everyone got to share their ideas with the class. Some children had a sun in their pictures. Michael drew snow falling. We learned that these parts work together to form the water cycle. We learned a few big weather words that tell about the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Finally, before our United Water friends left, we acted out a thunderstorm using our hands, legs, and feet. It was so cool making the sounds of a storm! Miss Amy and Miss Robin gave us all gifts before they left. It was a very fun morning!Friday, November 7, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
This week we focused on using strategies while we are reading. The new strategies that we learned were: skip the word and keep reading, “Does it make sense?” and “Do I understand?” and reading across a word. Today we reviewed how we use partnerships. Before partnerships, we mark pages with post its, make sure we understand what we read (and reread the book if we didn’t). During partner time we are discussing the books and talking about the pages that we marked. Partners are using whispering voices as they sit hip to hip. If children don’t know what to talk about, they look on the script. Next week we will be getting new partners!
During Writer’s Workshop, we have been continuing to work on our memoirs. We started by looking at pictures and talking about them with a partner. Next, we chose one memory to write about and used a graphic organizer to plan the “who, when, where, and what” of our stories. We learned that a good beginning includes who, when, and where to help the reader get their mind ready and understanding what it will be about. The rest of the week was spent adding the events and details.
On Monday, we voted for the presidential election. The final count in our class was 11-8 (in favor of Obama). The children at W.O.S. also chose to elect Obama as the president, 243-200. The next day, Barack Obama was elected to be the president. We read My Teacher for President and then wrote about what we would do if we were the president of the United States of America.
We went to RIF on Wednesday. Everyone got to choose one book from different tables, sorted by book category or type to keep. Some people had a really hard time making a decision on which one they most wanted. Others quickly made a decision and then quietly sat and browsed through their books while others continued searching.
Have a fantastic weekend!
During Writer’s Workshop, we have been continuing to work on our memoirs. We started by looking at pictures and talking about them with a partner. Next, we chose one memory to write about and used a graphic organizer to plan the “who, when, where, and what” of our stories. We learned that a good beginning includes who, when, and where to help the reader get their mind ready and understanding what it will be about. The rest of the week was spent adding the events and details.
On Monday, we voted for the presidential election. The final count in our class was 11-8 (in favor of Obama). The children at W.O.S. also chose to elect Obama as the president, 243-200. The next day, Barack Obama was elected to be the president. We read My Teacher for President and then wrote about what we would do if we were the president of the United States of America.
We went to RIF on Wednesday. Everyone got to choose one book from different tables, sorted by book category or type to keep. Some people had a really hard time making a decision on which one they most wanted. Others quickly made a decision and then quietly sat and browsed through their books while others continued searching.
Have a fantastic weekend!
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