Holiday and Cultural Traditions

The class has been working hard learning about the different holiday and cultural traditions of the foreign exchange students from the Pulaski High School.   The students learned about the traditions of Germany, Thailand, and China.  This was a great experience for the students to learn about other cultures and how other parts of the world are similar but very different than ours.  We started by learning about the holiday traditions in the three different countries.  Then we followed that by taking a Google Earth tour of the different countries to learn about their landscape and some of the important landmarks.  After that, our class generated questions for the foreign exchange students and we Skyped with them to ask them the questions to learn more about the traditions and culture of their country.  They were even able to hear the students speak in their home language which was pretty neat!  Today, we were finally able to meet them in person to get to know them even better.  This was a great way for the children to learn about countries first hand from people who actually live there.  It was such a wonderful learning experience for the kids and for myself too!

Spike the Elf

Over the past few weeks an elf came to watch the kids to make sure they were being nice and on their best behavior so they would stay on Santa's Nice List! :)  The kids decided to name our elf Spike.  Even though we loved having Spike in the room, he was a bit mischievous as you can tell by the pictures! Spike loved to deliver special notes to those boy and girls who went above and beyond.  Spike was very impressed with how respectful and generous the boys and girls were in our classroom.  Even though it was Spike's last day today, he will continue to stay in contact with me throughout the year to make sure the kids continue to be nice.

Sneaky Turkeys

This week the students listened to the book 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving with their Reading Buddies.  This is a cute story about students who take a field trip to Farmer Mack Nuggett's farm.  When they realize that his turkeys were going to be killed for Thanksgiving, they smuggle the turkeys home and decided to have vegetarian Thanksgiving dinners for the year! :) After listening to the book, the students and their reading buddies had to figure out how they would disguise their turkey so it wouldn't be eaten for Thanksgiving.  I was impressed with how cute and original some of their ideas were.  The disguises ranged from a school bus to a nerd.  Check out these sneaky turkeys!!

Pic Collages of Non-Fiction Text Features

The students worked collaboratively in groups on the iPad this week using an app called Pic Collage to show their knowledge of non-fiction text features.  Knowing non-fiction text features allows a reader to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction text and it helps them find the information that they need in non-fiction text.  If you are reading a non-fiction book with your child at home, have them point out some of the non-fiction text features for you and have them explain why it is an important feature.  Great job on your collages!!

Perfect Attendance Awards!

Congratulations to the four students in our class who had perfect attendance for the first quarter of school!  WAY TO GO!

Geologist Visit

This past week we had John Link, a local geologist, come in to speak to our students about being a geologist and the local soils of our area.  He explained to the students the importance of knowing which type(s) of soils, rocks, or minerals are in an area and how these elements impact what is built and grown in an area.  He even brought in a drill to show the students how they collect soil, rock, and mineral samples.  The students loved watching the drill in action and were amazed with how far down a drill can go to collect samples.  This visit tied in wonderfully with what we learned in our Soils Unit from earlier in the year.  A huge THANK YOU to John Link for taking the time to teach us all about being a geologist!!

Non-Fiction Text Features

Last week our class started to talk about the text features of non-fiction texts and the importance of each text feature.   Good readers use these features to help them better understand what they are reading.  So far we have looked at captions, photographs, illustrations, headings, subheadings, diagrams, and labels.  The students are working in small groups using the iPad to take pictures of these text features in non-fiction books. They will use these pictures with an app on the iPad called Pic Collage to create a collage of non-fiction text features.  This is another great opportunity to work collaboratively in small groups while developing a product that shows their learning! :)

Writer's Chair

During free writing time students were once again very excited to write about whatever they wanted.  Each student chose to write something that was interesting to them.  Their writing included letters, comics, lists, fictional narratives, personal narratives, and informational writing. Many students were  anxious to share their writing with the class so we spent some time having Writer's Chair, which is a special time for the students to share their writing.  There are some very creative writers in our class!

Halloween Party!

Our class had a great time dressing up and spending time celebrating Halloween together last Friday!  I loved seeing the kids' costumes and buzzing around all day as a bee! :)  We started the morning by making a witch hand with our reading buddy and reading some Halloween books.  We ended the day with the Halloween party along with some fun Halloween centers.  Thank you to Kaitlyn's mom and Zach's dad for coming in to help out with the Halloween centers!!

Drum Roll!!! Presenting.......our final Powtoon presentations!

The students have been working hard over the last few weeks on their Powtoon presentation for the soils unit that we just wrapped up last week for science.  Their Powtoon shows you how they figured out what was in the soil that was found on their planet and what their planet could use the soil for. The students did an awesome job collaborating and working together to present you their Powtoon!

Planet Soils and Squirrels Powtoon Presentation

Planet Gold Powtoon Presentation

Planet Squid Powtoon Presentation

Planet Awesome Kids P.O.M. Powtoon Presentation

Planet Cat Powtoon Presentation

Planet Super Starfish Powtoon Presentation

Planet Mansion Powtoon Presentation

Powtoon Presentation Pictures

Today the students started to add transitions, music, and backgrounds to their Powtoon presentation.  Some groups were even able to start searching for images to add to their presentations.  They were working very hard today in the computer lab as a group.  We will finish up the presentation on Friday by finishing up with our pictures and making any final changes.  I am so proud of their hard work and collaboration on this project! 

Retelling Rope Fun!

This week the students have been practicing their retelling of fictional stories.  We started the week off by revisiting how to properly retell a fictional story and then the students made their own retelling rope.  This rope should help the students internalize how to properly retell a fictional story.  They should always start with the setting and characters that are in the story.  Then, they should state the problem(s) along with what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  To wrap it up, they should tell how the problem(s) was resolved in the story.  The students LOVED practicing using their retelling rope by watching the videos below in class throughout the week.  We also practiced with fictional story books too! :)  They had the opportunity to practice with partners and we practiced as an entire class.  We will also be using these retelling ropes in reading groups.  You will soon see the students retelling rope in their reading pouch so you can use this resource with them at home when they read fiction books to you.  Being able to retell a fictional story shows that a student is understanding the main elements of the story.  I told them I would post the links to the videos that we used in class for retelling on the blog since they enjoyed them so much!  ENJOY!!

The Bear and The Snowman

For the Birds

Pigeons

Below are some pictures of the students using their retelling rope for one of the videos.

Word Work

Last week the students learned how to practice their word sort rules in a new way.  They learned how to do a blind sort with a partner.  A blind word sort is when a child reads a word without showing it to the other student.  The other student then has to tell them the header that it belongs under or the rule that is in the word.  This helps the students to think about the specific pattern or rule that is being used in the word.  There isn't always an easy way to know which rule is used in a word.  Such as knowing that seed uses an "ee" instead of an "ea".  I told the students the more that they read and write, the better they will become at knowing which rule to use for certain words.  As long as they are using a rule or pattern that matches the sound(s) that they hear in the word is the most important element when spelling unfamiliar words.  They did a great job working in a group to practice the blind sorting of their sort words!

Green Bay Gamblers Visit

Last week the Green Bay Gamblers came in to share with the students how important it is to learn how to read well as a child.  No matter what type of career a child may have when they grow up, being able to read is essential to each of these careers.  They read a hockey book to the students and then answered questions from the kids.  The kids really enjoyed being able to hear them read and get their questions answered!  Thank you for stopping in Green Bay Gamblers!!