This week has been all about CHICKS and DUCKLINGS! It was a perfect wrap-up to our life cycles studies for the first quarter. Here are a few pictures from the excitement:
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| This guy just had a cracker. He's so cute I don't mind the mess! |
Our math lessons, the past few days, have been all about strategies for adding and subtracting. I love teaching math, and by using number talks and story problems, I believe my students are building their repertoire of skills. I recently gave my students a story problem.
Below is one example that I thought was a great product. There was an error in the student's final answer; however, I see plenty of evidence to show the student's ability to write and illustrate the solution to the problem. A quick chat about checking final answers is all I needed to do with this child as the child is usually very thorough. I was especially impressed with some of my lower functioning students' responses. They weren't as sophisticated, but they demonstrated they were correct. Do you give your students these performance task type challenges?
October is one of my favorite months of school! We are beginning to have cooler weather down here in Tennessee. The leaves are changing, and pumpkins and gourds are popping up everywhere. Next week is going to be a thematic week. Our second grade team is planning a 'What is Fall?' theme. We're doing pumpkin math using 'How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?'.
We're also going to make button catchers to use during our science block. These nifty button catcher toys are going to be a hit with my kiddos! We are going to wrap up the week with some spiced apple cider and a reading of sensory leaf poems.
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| Photo Credit -- ThinkStretch |
I love, love, LOVE children's literature. I cannot pass up a great book. In my last Scholastic Book Club order, I bought a couple of books that I think I am going to really like for mentor texts in writing and reading. The first is The Monsters' Monster by Patrick McDonnell. It's a fun read, and it has a straightforward narrative structure. I plan to use it as a read aloud and 'dig into' book during writer's workshop. We'll follow up with my Monster in a Jar writing activities. The students always love creating their own monster story, and I think this book will be a great example and inspiration for them.
Another great children's literature find is Hoot Owl: Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor and illustrated by Jean Jullien. I am really excited to use this book as one of my read-alouds next week. It has great language with some suspenseful build-up that has no blood or guts in it. (We recently wrote scary stories and there were a few that were too "blood and gutsy" for me.)
I am introducing different books to show how the writer uses metaphors and similes to build suspense and give the reader great visualizing opportunities. This is a book I am really eager to share with my students! Do you have suggestions for other great children's literature for use in language arts lessons? Math lessons?
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