Weekly update 9/16

Reader's Workshop
Since it is the beginning of the year, we are learning many routines that we will continue to use throughout the year. We did our first scrambled sentences, where students arrange a cut up sentence to work on grammar, conventions, and handwriting. At first, we each had one or two words that were part of three class sentences, and we had to put them all in the right order without any help from the teachers. Then, we worked on our own set of sentences. We learned about alphabetizing (and even tried to spell the word!) with our names and with a number of common school words. We read the poem "Lunch", and many of us memorized it very quickly. We did some reading and writing around the room, finding and copying words with 'a' and 'e' in them. We reviewed the magic e that makes other vowels say their names. We also talked about books, and how to choose a 'just right' book.

Writer's Workshop
We started the week by continuing our summer stories. Next, we each developed a list of ideas we could write about. We watched Mr. MacLellan start a story about taking his cat to the vet. We practiced talking to a writing buddy to discuss how a new story would begin. Mostly, however, we wrote! During writer's workshop, we write and write and write some more!

Math
On Monday, we read the Eric Carle book Rooster's Off to See the World, and had a challenge to figure out how many animals there were all together. We learned how to play "Compare" and "Double Compare", two math games we will continue to play all year long. We stared Unit 1, studying place value and working on comparing and ordering three-digit numbers. We did a lot of work on hundreds, tens, and ones. We can read and write three digit numbers (although spelling them without using a guide is pretty tricky!), and are practicing adding 1, 10, and 100 to any number. We also read Sandra Boynton's book Hippos Go Berserk!, which has the same kind of increasing pattern of animals as Rooster, but with a larger total number. Our earlier work on this kind of problem meant that students had good strategies to use. We finished the week by practicing standard form, word form, picture form, and e x p a n d e d form for any three-digit number.

Social Studies
Much of our work in social studies at the beginning of the year focuses on how our class should be, and on social behaviors to make things run well. To this end, we read No, David! and thought about behaviors we want to see and don't want to see in school. We read Should I Share My Ice Cream? and wrote about a time when we had to share. We also thought about what we think the teachers should know about us, and completed the prompt "I wish my teacher knew..." (an idea Mr. MacLellan saw in the New York Times). We continued to work on our highly detailed self portraits and "All About Me" books.

News and Other Information
In morning meeting, we learned how to say hello or good morning in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and German. We learned how to play Captain's Coming, and sang "Down by the bay" and "This land is your land." We answered questions like "What did you eat for breakfast?", "Would you rather be a horse or a dog?" and "What is your favorite number?" We learn a lot about each other, practice answering questions in complete sentences, and supporting our opinions with the word "because."

Back to School Night is on September 28th, at 6:30. I hope to see you then!