This weeks lesson was more about showing empathy. We did some role playing in various situations where one student feels left out and we talked about what we could do to make someone feel better. I read Rulers of the Playground this week, which was about a boy and girl who ruled the playground and no one wanted to play with them, so they realized they needed to make a change so they had friends again.
This week, we reviewed size vocabulary such as large, medium and small as well as continued our counting skills. We also started learning about ten frames. Ten frames are a manipulative that help students develop number sense through composition and decomposition of numbers 0-20.
In reading this week, we learned more about reading challenging books. We are realizing how important it is to use the patterns on each page to help us and use picture power to help us solve tricky words. We also learned to ask ourselves, "Does that sound right?" and "Does that make sense?" after we read. If the answer is no, then we train ourselves to go back and self-correct our mistakes. I am really enjoying watching the students become stronger readers and apply the strategies they are learning to their reading.
On Friday, we practiced reading alphabet books and used the pictures and our letter sound knowledge to figure out what the words on the page were. "A is for alligator. B is for Bear..."
On Thursdays, we taught to our stuffed animals all day. The students loved having their furry friend with them all day that they earned from their SOAR tickets.
In writing this week, we worked on pattern books. We wrote books with the same sentence pattern on each page similar to the books we are reading. For example: I like my school. I like my classroom. I like my teacher. I like my friends.
On Friday, we met our 4th grade buddies. Each student was paired with a 4th grader in Mrs. Harrison's class. The kindergarteners shared their writing and the 4th graders gave them compliments on what they did really well to build confidence. Then, the 4th graders shared something in their classroom and worked on getting to know their kindergartener by asking them questions and making them feel comfortable with them. The 4th graders were so good with the kids and they are so excited to meet again!
In science, we looked at basic needs of animals and plants. We discovered all plants and animals need food, water, air, sunlight and space. We also examined animals and talked about what we observe each animal has to help them survive. We watched a video to learn about animal classification, then made predictions about which group animals may be in (mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibian.)
Free choice time was spent outside to enjoy these beautiful sunny, yet cooler days.
Reminders:
- Thank you families for sending in extra snacks! We greatly appreciate having them in case we forget.
- Please be sure to send in coats, gloves and hats since students go outside for recess and PE.
- Walk in the Park is this Wednesday at 9:30 at Stacy Park
