Writing Workshop

Music Class

Telling A Story

In Writing Workshop today we worked on telling a story in our writing instead of naming the parts. We began with a mentor text, "Good Dog Carl". It is a wordless book that I used to model telling a story. I read a few pages and named the parts of the picture and asked the kids how that sounded, good story or not? The answer was NO! Then I read it and used the pictures to tell a story. We decided that was a much better story than the first one. After that it was the kids turn, I gave them each a partner and a wordless book and they tried telling a story with the pictures. Tomorrow we will be ready to write our own stories! :)

The Best Place To Read

We read the book "The Best Place To Read" by Debbie Bertram and then created a list of our favorite places to read. A lot of us said our favorite place to read at home is cuddled up in bed right before we go to sleep. After that we looked around our classroom to find our "best spots" in the classroom and then went there to enjoy some books. 

This reading workshop lesson supports a common core language standard, SL.K.4

Speaking & Listening

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

4. Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Reading Letters

In these pictures we are practicing reading letters around the classroom. During this lesson we read the book "The Letters Are Lost" by L. Ernst and then went on a hunt for letters around the classroom with magnifying glasses following these steps:

1) First we pick up a type of reading material (books, charts, posters,etc)

2) Then we look for a letter

3) Last we point to the letter and say what it is 

This was so empowering for students when we did it in early September. They really began to see themselves as readers!

This learning experience supports common core standard RF.K.1

Reading: Foundational Skills

Print Concepts

1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

1. Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
2. Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
3. Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
4. Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Pick For Your Neighbor

Last week we walked to Hackett's Orchard with the seventh and eighth graders to participate in our very first community service project. We picked apples and donated them rough the "pick for your neighbor" program. It was so much fun and we learned a lot about giving. 

Cooperative Spider Web

Dramatic Play Center Is Open!

Learning About Our Invisible Buckets

We read this fantastic book today . . . .here is the description from Amazon . . . 

Through the story of a little boy named Felix, this charming book explains to children how being kind not only helps others, it helps them, too. As he goes about his day, Felix interacts with different people — his sister Anna, his grandfather, other family and friends. Some people are happy, but others are grumpy or sad. Using the metaphor of a bucket and dipper, Felix’ grandfather explains why the happy people make Felix feel good, while the others leave him feeling bad — and how Felix himself is affecting others, whether he means to or not. This beautifully illustrated adaptation takes the original book’s powerful message — that the way we relate to others has a profound effect on every aspect of our lives — and tailors it to a child’s unique needs and level of understanding.

Ask your child to tell you all about it!

Kinetic Sand

Geoboard Shapes

We opened a new math workplace today, it is called "Geoboard Shapes." To play this game students follow the following steps:

1. Choose a shape card

2. Think about what you notice about the shape

3. Make the shape with rubber bands on your Geoboard

4. Check to see if they match

5. Copy the shape on Geoboard paper

This activity helps us learn and apply the following mathematical skills:

1. Recognizing and naming shapes

2. Understanding how some of the common shapes are formed

Spelling The Best We Can & Moving On!

Over the last few days our writing workshop mini lessons have focused on stretching words out (saying them slowly) and hearing/recording the sounds. Today, we stretched words out and practiced spelling words with this strategy without worrying if we had every single sound. Our motto was: "Spelling the best we can & moving on!" In other words, don't get stuck . . . . keep writing! 

Each Writing Workshop Minilesson consists of six components: connection, teaching, active engagement, link, write and confer, and after the workshop share. The following are descriptors of our lesson today.

Connection - I reminded the kids that they've previously learned to draw the best they can and keep going. This applies to spelling as well. I modeled a time I was stuck but I said "I'll try" and did the best I could.  "Today I want to remind you that when we write words, we need to say: That may not be perfect yet, but I'll just spell the best I can and keep going."

Teaching - I demonstrated hesitating, trying to spell a hard word, and then continuing on to write more. I dictated to myself (while the kids watched and listened), moved quickly, stopped and thought on a hard word and then said out loud: "oh well, I'll leave it like that for now and keep going."

Active Engagement - I invited the kids to try it with me. We used markers and white boards right at circle. We admired our work and then kept moving.

Link - I encouraged the kids to use what they just learned in their own writing: "Do the best you can and keep going!"

After The Workshop Share - there are so many ways to share and celebrate our hard work. Today we went on a "museum walk" Everybody left their writing at their spot and we all walked around and admired it! When we saw evidence of stretching words out, spelling the best we can and moving on,  we stopped and gave it a thumbs up.

This approach to writing with students comes from the Writing Workshop model, adopted by our district this year. 

This lesson focuses on the following Common Core Standards:

K.W.3 Writing - use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

K.L.2  Language, Conventions of Standard English

Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

3. Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes)

4. Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships

Cider Making Challenge

Our topic of discussion today - the many uses of an apple! We explored an "Apple Grab Bag" and quickly discovered that people consume apples in many ways, some of which we never even thought of! Then, it was on to our "cider making challenge." This activity is a hands-on simulation of making cider complete with chopping, pressing, and finally tasting. :)