This Week in Class

Today we had our first Passport Club. Although students did not have a lot of time to study, most of them made it to level 2 or higher. They were so excited to take their map quiz that they interrupted a great math lesson to let me know we were late getting to the multipurpose room. I'm so glad they keep me on track.

During Explorers' Club:
This week we are brainstorming all the different topics we can write about, in our reading journal, after we read a book. This is important because writing about characters, settings, events, genres, and story plots (just to name a few things)makes us think about the story in more detail. While we're writing we may wonder why the author chose a particular setting or how the dialogue moved the story along. These thoughts may help us understand the story better. In addition, we may be able to use our understandings to write our own fiction narrative.

We will also discuss the attributes of poetry, fiction and nonfiction writing. How are they similar or different? What types of genres are there for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We can apply what we know to choosing books that are just right for us to read.


Literacy:
This week we are reviewing nonfiction reading strategies. We are discussing the 3R's and 1A.
1. Read the text features of a selection and make a prediction about what we will find
in the article.
2. Read any questions we might have to answer later.
3. Read the selection. "CHUNK and CHEW"
4. Answer the questions.

These strategies are important because they include pre-reading and reading activities that will help us understand what we are reading. Looking at text features such as photos, titles, heading, caption, and maps (there are even more) helps get out brains focused on the article. When we "Chunk and Chew" we read a little and then write some of our thinking in the margins. This may include connections to other books, connections to self, or connections to the world.



Math:
In math, we have been completing several mental math activities that are a lot of fun! There's color it on the hundred's chart, weight logic, and mental math on the 100's chart. During Number Corner, we have been been following the patterns of ancient Egyptian numerals and learning about their place values. We are also collecting decimeters. We have learned 10 cm = 1 dm = 1 m 1 dm is 1/10th of a meter. Soon, we will start working with area models to represent multiplication facts.