TGIF

First, I want to thank everyone who donated composition books!!  I really appreciate your support!!!  We now have enough.  THANKS!

After reading quietly, exchanging books in the media center, or practicing keyboarding skills, the students took a math quiz.  These have been graded and will be in your child's home folder this evening.  The class did extremely well!!  :-)

The students had time after the quiz to finish any of the work from this week's math rotations or revisit any fractions math web sites.

Next we had a Benco Brain Break and then reviewed today's independent work assignments.

Today the students will begin with an independent guided reading activity.  After that they will watch the Brain Pop Jr.: Eating Right lesson and create a meal plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Then they will practice writing the letters x, y, and z in cursive.    When they have completed the above, they will watch , and take notes on, 5 author interviews where authors discuss where they get their ideas and their personal writing process.  This is part of the pre-writing for the marking period 3 inquiry project.  Finally, the students will view the book, Stuck, by Oliver Jeffers, and rate it on the BES capture sheet.

Panthers:  I called this group first today.  We began by setting up our new word work journals.  This is quite time consuming but will only need to be done once!  :-)

Following lunch and outdoor recess, I continued meeting with guided reading groups, while the students worked independently.

Panthers (cont'd):  After recess the students participated in their first word sort.

Leopards:  Independently the students reread chapter 2.  In their RRJ, the explained the title of the chapter, "The Story", using details from the text.  Once in group, we began by setting up our word word journals and preparing for our first word sort lesson.  We will do the actual lesson on Monday.

Lions:  Independently the students read chapter 2 and answered the following questions in their RRJ:  What is the snake?  What were Peter's uncle and father disagreeing about?  In group we set up their word work journals.  We will do our first word sort, in group, on Monday.

Tigers:  I did not get a chance to meet with this group but they watched two short video clips about Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express.  Then, in their RRJ, they wrote about a time they were brave.

After our literacy block we shared homework writing journal entries.

Then we ended our day with a class meeting.  First, during our group share, students explained what annoys them...a majority identified the constant giggling/laughing during the school day as being an irritant.  After that we exchanged thank yous and compliments.  Finally, we revisited the challenge of classmates feeling left out.  Some shared that they still felt lonely.  I reminded the class that we have to take care of each other.  We need to include one another during lunch and recess.  Then, we brainstormed ideas of how to manage visiting the media center.  Currently, the first one that ask to go in the morning get to go.  However, this is not the fairest way.  The most common suggestion was to create a checklist where students will place a check buy their name when they visit the media center.  Students will be allowed to go twice each week.  So, once a student has two check marks they will have to wait to visit the media center until the following week.  Of course, exceptions might be made for special circumstances.