Reading Workshop

                        Reading with the 4th graders!

Last week, our class got to read their books to a 4th grade buddy! Earlier in the year, the 4th graders read to our class, but this time the tables turned! Our class wanted to show off all we have learned, by performing our books for them. 

The students performed their books by using:

• gestures
• facial expressions
• character voices
• storyteller voices

Arts Extravaganza

Wow!!! We are so lucky to be at Chets Creek! Our Arts Extravaganza week was one we will never forget. We were able to see a muralist, listen to an author read one of her stories, hear beautiful music, and so much more!! Ask your little one about their favorite Arts Extravaganza memory! 

3 D Shape Review

Objective: Compose solids using flat shapes as a foundation.

This morning, our little ones made a cube and pyramid using marshmallows and toothpicks. I am so proud of our little mathematicians. In our closing, our students were able to tell me how many faces, edges, and corners each shape has. Ask your little one about this fun hands on experience they had today!

What is capacity?

Objective: Compare volume using more than, less than, and the same as by pouring.

 Our little helper

 Pouring the rice into container #1

Pouring the rice into container #2

Making a prediction with a partner

Students were asked to circle the container that had the biggest capacity in each box. 

Our class was shown a tray of different empty containers. Students watched as I filled each container with rice. They were in charge of telling when to stop and had to make sure each container didn't spill over. We learned that a math word to describe how much something holds is capacity. After the containers were full of rice, our class shared which containers had more or less capacity than my cup. 

During our discussion, students answered the following questions:

1. How were we comparing today? 

2. What does the word capacity mean to you?

3. Which of the containers had the biggest capacity?

4. Which had the smallest capacity?

5. Did the shape of the container make a difference in how much it could hold? 

6. Were you surprised by anything you learned today? 

Module 3: Comparison of Length, Weight, Capacity, and Numbers to 10

 Students are discussing why one side of the balance went down and one side went up when different objects were placed on each side. We discovered that some objects were heavier than others.

 When I took out an item from one side, we discovered that the balance was not level. Our goal was to now figure out how many pennies we needed to put in the other side to make the balance level again.

 This student is demonstrating how to use a balance. We learned that before we use the balance, it is very important to make sure it is level. We discussed how this would make our data inaccurate if we did not check the balance first.

 Our little mathematicians are finding out how many pennies it will take to equal the same weight as a pair of scissors.

Objective: Compare the weight of an object to a set of unit weights on a balance scale.

Students were asked to put an object from their table into one side of the scale. Then, they discussed how many pennies they thought it was going to take to make the balance scale level again. Slowly, they added pennies into the other side. Students used a recording sheet to keep track of how many pennies they added to the balance scale each time. 

Questions our mathematicians were able to answer during our debrief:
1. What did you notice as you weighed the objects?
2. When you guessed how many pennies each object would weight, how close were you?
3.  How did you know when to stop adding pennies to the balance scale?
4. What new vocabulary did you learn today?

We had so much fun exploring balance scales today. Tomorrow, we are going to pretend to become live balance scales. You can practice this at home with your little one. Give them two objects and ask them to make the hand with the heavier object go down and the hand with the lighter object go up. Have fun with your mathematician!

Holiday Brunch

Thank you so much for helping to make our holiday brunch a huge success! Our little ones absolutely loved the beautiful brunch and were so appreciative that you took time out of your day to help them.   

Thank you Mrs. Epstein for decorating the outside of our classroom. It was such a beautiful winter wonderland!

Polar Express Field Trip

Thank you so much to Mrs. Garcia, Mr. Lynch, and Mrs. Matthews for volunteering to chaperone on our field trip to see The Polar Express. We loved wearing our pajamas and receiving our bells on the way back to school. We hope your little one had a wonderful time with us!

SUPER READERS

We are Super Readers!

His Super Reading Power is POINTER POWER!

This week in Readers' Workshop, our class celebrated how far they have come in our unit by making super hero masks! 

We have been working on all their newly gained super reading powers:

• Pointer Power
• Reread Power
• Picture Power
• Sound Power
• Persistence Power
• Snap Word Power
• Partner Power

The students had labels on them to tell the world which super reading power helped them the most! 

We then let them read their books and encouraged them to use all their super reading powers they have learned so far! 

ACTIVATE POINTER POWER!

Pow Wow Homework

Kindergarten classes are getting ready for our biggest event of the year. We are fast approaching our Pow Wow. Each Kindergarten class (there are six) is representing a Native American tribe from various regions of the United States. Our tribe is the Lenape which means "Original People." The Lenape are from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. They were a peaceful tribe that helped early settlers learn how to hunt and fish in the new world. Students will learn how the Lenape children lived, what they ate, and what their homes were like. As they learn more about our tribe, they will see that they were not much different than we are today. 

One of the ways we prepare for our Pow Wow is to integrate homework with what we are doing in class. The book, "Knots on a Counting Rope" will be read a few times this week. As the story goes... a Native American boy requests his favorite story from his grandfather --- the story of the special night when the boy came into the world. Though he was born blind, the boy has learned from his grandfather many ways to see without needing his eyes. Each time Grandfather tells the boy's tale, he adds another knot to the counting rope. Once the rope is full, the boy will know the wonderful story by heart, able to tell it himself.

For homework, a piece of twine will be sent home and each time a story is told, another knot will be tied in the rope. Each time the child is told a story, hears a story read to him/her, or reads a story, a knot will be tied. Children will love hearing stories about their childhood and about other family members.

Our Pow Wow is on Friday, November 20th. We can't wait to share our many activities leading up to this wonderful day during the next few weeks!! Please let us know if you have any questions. 

Farm Field Trip

Today went by way too fast but we had a blast on our first field trip. Miss Wenzel and I are very proud of how well our little ones followed the rules on the farm. Thank you so much to our amazing chaperones! Mrs. Gable, Mr. Hall, Mrs. Epstein, Mrs. Kim, Mrs. Bilgili, Mrs. Matthews, Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Fralicker, and Mrs. Beltran we truly appreciate your help.