Marvelous Monday

This morning we held our second class meeting.  As a reminder, I use these meetings to allow the children to have a say in our classroom and build an atmosphere of trust and respect.  After orally completing the prompt, "I wish...", we shared compliments and discussed some challenges.

Next we spent time identifying text features in an online non-fiction text and described how the text features strengthened our comprehension. 

Then we shifted our focus to writing.  First we reviewed the sections of the community action planner that had been completed last week.  Then I modeled how to begin the web (the back side of their planning sheet) by describing their idea and explaining who it would benefit.

Independent work today included using Live Binder to  explain their idea and who it would benefit.  Additionally, they practiced writing the letters r and s in cursive. 

Reading Groups
Yellow Jackets:  We discussed Kyle's dilemma...his team thinks he is a hero for catching a ball that he knows he did not catch.  Tonight the children need to reread chapter 3 and illustrate the beginning, middle and end of the chapter in their RRJ.

In math we decomposed hundreds to help us subtract across zeros.  You can find today's lesson here or under the lesson tab on the blog.  For homework the children need to solve the problem 300-186=. using today's strategy, in their math journal.  There are two examples in their math journal to help!


Following lunch and recess I met with the entire class to clarify the choice of topics for the community action plan.  Then the children continued working independently as I called more reading groups.

Reading Groups
Sharks:  We continued reading and discussing their book.  For homework they need to reread pages 3-13 (working on fluency) and identify the problem in the story, on the sticky note I gave them in group today.

Cheetahs:  We reviewed chapter 1 and found evidence in the text suggesting that Ben's aunt is not mean.  For homework the children need to read chapter 2 and identify the main event on the sticky note I handed out in group today.

Snakes:  I collected their old books and we began some word work preparing for their next book.  Our group was cut short.  We didn't finish the lesson, so there is no reading homework for this group.

We ended the day by reviewing the elementary engineering design process, provided by MCPS where the children identify a problem, generate ideas, develop solutions, test and refine solutions and present their findings.  Then I defined a problem for the class:  How can we test 2 different balls that were rolled the same distance, at different times, to compare their speeds? 

The children worked in their table groups to brainstorm ideas.  We shared these ideas out and decided that we would roll the balls down a ramp that has a set ending point.  Then we would time how long it took each ball to roll the distance.  WE will use materials in our science kit to test this solution later in the week.

Since we do not have school on Wednesday, we will visit the media center TOMORROW afternoon!

Also, students wishing to run for our classroom SGA representative need to bring their speech tomorrow to read to our class.

One more thing--if you are interested in being a room parent or helping the room parent, please email me ASAP!