Independent Reading

In our classroom, we have been learning how to read new books all by ourselves! These are books that we have not seen before and that we need to use our detective skills on.

When trying a new book, we always follow these steps:

1) Look for star words
2) Look at the pictures to give us a clue
3) Look at the first letter of the new word
4) Point under each word when reading

 

Students are at many different points in their reading journey. Here is a sample of some of the books we have been reading together in class.

In this level of text, students are able to recognize the star words “Dad” and “is”. They use the picture as a clue to help them finish the sentence. Many students also recognize that the new word starts with “C”, therefore “cooking” makes sense.

Some students will read this page as “Dad is baking”. The student read the star words, it sounds correct and it matches the picture. These students are still learning how to look at the first letter and make a connection.

Students who can read this type of text independently will receive a “2” for reading on their report card!

 

This level of text contains more star words in random order. This really challenges the students to read each word slowly so that they can read each word correctly.

Students who can read this type of text independently will receive a “3” for reading on their report card!

The level of text allows the students to try reading unfamiliar words by using a variety of strategies. Students look for chunks in words (ing, ch, etc.), think about what makes sense and sound out simple words.  

Students who can read this type of text independently will receive a “4” for reading on their report card!

If you would like to try some books at home, you can visit http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/sight_words.html#ABCorder. This website provides printable booklets that are similar to the leveled texts we read at school and have read over the weekend in our poem books. I can also send some leveled texts home with your child as well.

The most important thing is that your child is having fun reading! If the text is too challenging, that is okay – they will get there! Starting with easy, predictable text will help your child build self-confidence and an enjoyment of reading. Students feel really successful when they can read books all by themselves! I often remind them that when they came to Kindergarten, some of them didn’t know any letters or letter sounds and now they know them all and are reading independently!

We also discuss why it is important to practice reading SO much. We know that it is so we can become better readers! We talk about how reading is SO important. We read street and store signs, magazines, fliers, books, and instructions among many other things. It is important to establish a purpose for reading!

I am so proud of the students reading abilities and all of their hard work!

Keeping Our Teeth Healthy

Lately, we have been learning how and why it is important to take care of our teeth! After reading many books and watching some short videos, we came up with ways to keep our teeth healthy.

We need to:

- Brush our teeth two times a day

- Floss our teeth once a day

- Visit the dentist

- Eat lots of healthy foods

- Do not eat too many treats

- Drink milk or water

- Wear a mouth guard when playing sports

- Replace our toothbrush often

- Do not chew on hard items such as markers, toys, etc.

Last week, we did another fun experiment together! Ms. Petersen had four hard-boiled eggs. These hard-boiled eggs represented our teeth! We put each egg in a different kind of liquid.

Here were some of our predictions:

Water	- The egg might break - Might turn brown
Milk	- Might break into two pieces - Egg might disappear
Vinegar	- The bubbles will explode - There will be no more bubbles
Pop	- Egg might turn different shades of brown and black

After we waited two sleeps, we took the eggs out of the liquids. We are getting so good at observing and noticing all kinds of different things during our experiments!

Here were some of our observations:

Water	- There was a little bit of brown on the egg but mostly white - Pretty strong - It was shiny
Milk	- Very strong - White in colour - Did not break - It was shiny
Vinegar	- The bubbles stayed on the egg - The shell disappeared and the egg was soft - White in colour
Pop	- Turned brown - We couldn’t brush off the brown with a toothbrush

 

Then we had to choose 2 of the experiments to draw on our recording sheet. Notice how we used our best listening ears to hear the sound of the words! Then we had to describe to Ms. Petersen what would happen to our own teeth if we drank that particular kind of liquid. Since we have started doing experiments in our classroom, we are starting to apply our new-found knowledge to our world around us.

Ask me what will happen to my teeth if I drink one of the above liquids!

Needs and Wants

Over the last two  weeks, we have been learning about things that we NEED to survive. At first, we thought we needed many things to live. These things included:

• A car
• Bones
• Blood
• A computer
• Food
• A house
• TV
• Clothes
• Brain
• Water
• Milk
• Among other things

Then we watched a video that explained that there are 5 (basic) things that we NEED in order to survive. We need:

1. Air
2. Healthy food
3. Shelter (a place to live)
4. Water
5. Clothes

     

     We had many discussions about other things that students thought we needed. The biggest thing was a car. Many students thought that we NEEDED a car to live. We brainstormed some ways we could get to school if we didn`t have a car. We thought that we could walk, take a bus, take a taxi, ask a friend to drive us, take a plane or train. It was very hard for some of us to imagine our life without a car!

 

We also thought a lot about the things that we want. This book explained that both adults and kids have to make tough decisions sometimes to buy only things that they need. In the book, Dad really wanted to buy root beer, but decided to leave it at the store and get healthy food instead. Sometimes we are lucky and we are able to get the things that we want, but only after all of our needs have been met. We watched this video to help us understand that we shouldn`t ask for so many things that we WANT but don`t need.

We also sorted the following pictures into two categories: Wants and Needs.

Ask your child to tell you the 5 things we NEED to survive and a few things that they want!

GoNoodle Website

Today, we would like to show you our new favourite website! Back in December, our classroom along with the rest of the classrooms in our school, received projectors that connect to our teachers' computer. Ms. Petersen shows us a variety of things on our projector screen, such as instructions for an activity, pictures and new songs. We LOVE to visit the website www.gonoodle.com.

When Ms. Petersen first showed us the website, we had to choose a “guy” to be our mascot. The AM students picked Chris Shabob and the PM students picked Tiny O’Flexem. Every time we complete an activity, we watch our guy grow! When we complete 10 activities, our guy transforms! This is our favourite part!

 Chris Shabob

 Tiny O'Flexem

 Tiny O'Flexem after he transformed!

The main purpose of www.gonoodle.com is to provide the students with a short period of exercise to increase their ability to focus on a new task. We usually complete a dance video after our meeting time on the carpet is finished because we have been sitting for so long. Sometimes, if we are doing many activities that require a long time to focus, we break up these periods by doing an activity as well. And sometimes we earn an extra activity by working really hard in class!

The dance videos also help students with coordination and copying skills. They must watch the performers on the video and try their very best to complete the same move. We noticed that some moves take a lot more coordination than others! Sometimes we get the hand movements right, but have to work on making our legs move at the same time! Some videos are tricky but the more we practice, the better we become!

We also use www.gonoodle.com as a way to incorporate math in our classroom. Each time we complete an activity, the “thermometer” changes. We know that if we complete one activity, the number goes up by one. We also like to use our subtraction skills to figure out how many more videos we need to complete before our guy transforms! When he does transform, we use our detective eyes to see what characteristics have changed since the last time.

Enjoy our videos of us working on a dance video!

AM Class

 

PM Class

The Art Center

A few weeks back, we learned about a new choice that we would have during choice time. It was called the art center! However, we did not have a lot of materials to build and construct things from. We got an idea to ask our families to help us find beautiful things around the house!

We co-wrote a letter to our families together with Ms. Petersen. We knew we had to ask really, really nicely for our families help. We thought at first that we would just ask moms and dads to help us but then we realized that we could ask our brothers and sisters and grandparents, too! We also came up with a list of things that we were looking for. We thought about all of the beautiful stuff we have at home and how we could use it at school.

 

We took our bags and notes home and were really excited to fill them up! When we returned to school after the weekend, we each chose our favourite thing in the bag to share with the class. We noticed that we had a lot of different stuff!

 

Since the art center would be shared with everyone, we decided that we would all dump our bags into the middle of our circle on the carpet. We had so much stuff but it was hard to find what we were looking for! After much debate, we decided to sort our items. At first, we didn’t know what to sort by. Should we choose colour, size or material?

 

We decided on material so that if we were looking for a specific item, we would know where to find it! We had done lots of sorting activities beforehand, but this one had a real purpose. We got right to work and began sorting our big pile. Some items belonged in two groups and some items were unique and didn’t have a spot. We had to use our problem-solving skills to figure out where these items might go. We discussed these items as a class and came up with conclusions together.

(Where does this button go?)

 

Lastly, we labelled the bins so that anyone who uses the art center can find what they are looking for. We listened REALLY closely to the sounds that we heard and used our best ‘kid spelling’.  Look at all of those sounds that we know!

 

 

(Note: At this early stage, I do not correct student spelling. It is more important for the children to become comfortable and confident with their writing abilities. If I critique and correct the letters, students can become self-conscious and unwilling to take risks when writing. I also use writing time to inform my instruction. If, for instance, I notice that many students are struggling with a particular sound, I make sure to emphasize that particular letter in the future.)

We are really proud of the art center that we created. We have already started to build beautiful things and can wait to construct more! A special thanks goes out to all of the families who helped us find buried treasures at home that we are reuse and repurpose!

Winter Concert

The Winter Concert will be held on Thursday, December 4th. There are two performances at 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm. All students are invited to perform in the evening concert and should be in the classroom just after 6:00 pm to get ready. Students should wear their holiday best! 

Please remember that there is NO KINDERGARTEN CLASSES IN THE MORNING ON DECEMBER 4th. All students are to come in the afternoon (12:35 - 3:30 pm). Students can be signed out from the classroom after the performance, or they are invited to stay until dismissal time.

Our school is also dedicated to completing 3 Christmas Hampers for Winnipeg Harvest. Please check out the decoration tags that will be posted outside our door for donations that we are looking for. If you are able to donate the item, please remove the decoration tag and return it along with the requested item. We thank you so much for your support!