Terrific Tuesday

I am determined to get through this rainy week by staying positive despite this icky weather!  So, today is TERRIFIC!

The children began their day in art.

When they returned to class we began our math rotations. 

The teacher led small group focused on setting a clock to a determined time (ex. 6:58) and then sharing the strategy used with a partner (math discourse) and then with our small groups.  I was SO impressed with the children's ability to explain that at 6:58 the hour should look like it is on the 7 and why!!!  One group received some extension.  They worked on strategies to calculate elapsed time using small clocks and number lines.

Students continued playing Time Crunchers during guided practice.

Finally, during the technology rotation the children visited the Internet site, Clock Maker, to identify time to the nearest minute.

There is a telling time worksheet for HOMEWORK.

At the beginning of the reading and writing block we reviewed this week's assignments, as well as, reading group independent work.  Additionally, students were given the chance to voice concerns and/or questions about these tasks.


This weeks tasks include viewing an Educreations lesson about writing the third paragraph for the issue Inquiry project. This paragraph is informing about the arguments against their issue. The second assignment is to watch a Discovery Education video about different types of resources and economic choices. The children to have a capture sheet to complete, too. Finally, all students will read the Latin American tale called The Silly Armadillo. They will compete a story map (ungraded) to reflect upon the text. Then they will identify how they use context clues and provide support, from the tale, to explain the theme. These two items will be graded.


While the students worked independently, I met with reading groups.

Sharks :  This group met with Mrs. Benson, since I was attending a meeting in the building.  First the group identified words with double consonants.  They were then led to the understanding that the double consonants makes the vowel use it's short vowel sound.  Examples from their story include, cabbage, cunning, and rabbit.  Then the students retold pages 2-5.  Finally, they read pages 6-9.  For HOMEWORK the children need to reread pages 2-9.

Following lunch and indoor recess the students continued working independently while I met with more groups.

Dolphins:  First we practiced writing words with the -ink and -ank spelling patterns.  Then we revisited the problem in Jack and the Beanstalk and identified the first event in the rising action and the climax of the story.  For HOMEWORK the children need to reread pages 10-19 and label the second and third events between the problem and the climax, using the sticky notes I provided.

Cheetahs:  The children completed vocabulary entries for two words from the Banza, bounded and astonished.  We began group by writing words with the ou vowel pattern.  Then I introduced and explained a basic plot diagram.  This is a graphic organizer that shows the problem, the rising actions, the climax, the falling action and the solution.  After explaining the pictorial representation of a story's plot, I gave the students time to fill in the setting, characters and title of the book.  For HOMEWORK the students will use sticky notes to mark the problem, the solution and the climax.

Pandas:  The children completed vocabulary entries for two words from the Banza, bounded and astonished. In group I introduced and explained a basic plot diagram. This is a graphic organizer that shows the problem, the rising actions, the climax, the falling action and the solution. After explaining the pictorial representation of a story's plot, I gave the students time to fill in the setting, characters and title of the book. For HOMEWORK the students will use sticky notes to mark the problem, the solution and the climax.

At the end of the day we had a science lesson.  As a group we discussed the resources needed to produce a sheet of blue construction paper.  As we did this, I named and defined the three types of resources, natural, human, and capital, and charted each resource the students named under the appropriate heading.