No...I didn't pay him!

Guess my mom is sharing my blog with friends and family! I do enjoy the feedback...but, no, I didn't pay my brother for his sweet comment!

Okay, on to today and YOUR children...(it isn't all about me, right!?!?!)

In math today, we talked about using rounding to make estimates. We also spent a lot of time discussing the word "about" and that if the students were asked "about how many" or asked for an estimate, they had to give an estimate...NOT the exact answer. This is a concept that tends to make children uncomfortable. They are always told to give the "right" answer and then we throw them a curve ball and ask them to estimate... Their homework paper tonight is VERY similar to their classwork. Please encourage your child to refer to the classwork if they get stuck!

In between math and reading, we had a fire drill...our first unannounced, I think!

During reading, students participated in different activities based on their reading assessment data...let's call these reading groups, although I do not name them and they become fluid...the groups are not always the same children. I often switch children around based on the activity or their recent performance on independent work, assessments, etc. or my own goals for the lesson.

The Junior Great Books group met with me first. They listened and followed along as I read The Master Cat out loud. Then they independently reread the story, marking with post-it notes, selections which they found surprising or funny. This is referred to as reading with directed notes.

Another group reread Bread and Jam for Frances, then identified one character trait for Frances and supported their trait with 2 pieces of evidence from the story. They did this in their reading response journal.

Finally, another group worked on sight words and began reading King Beast's Birthday with me. Then they reread the selection at their seats and they are supposed to reread it again, at home, tonight. We also added new flashcards to their envelopes.

All students worked on a punctuation and capitalization activity and practiced writing "h" and "k" in cursive.

Following lunch and recess, students will get some time to complete any unfinished work from this morning. I will then model writing a personal narrative, emphasizing the beginning, middle and end. Finally, I am hoping to get to a science experiment using Chromatography.

Mrs. Howard is sending home information for the Homeless Walk today. She stopped by to talk to the kids for a few minutes before lunch. The children are also getting a new book order form. Orders are due on or before Monday, October 8. Remember that checks must be made payable to Scholastic Books. And, of course, the Octoberfest is THIS Sunday from 11:30-3:30.