Although I was competing with the thought of candy overload, we did settle enough to have a very productive week! There was lots to do in reading, writing, math and everything in between. We continued to discover and use craft moves during writer's workshop. We learned a new routine in math called "Today's Number". We reviewed the short sounds of a, i, o, and u and practiced reading and writing words using several short u word patterns. We brainstormed what we know about the non-fiction genre and looked for nonfiction text features during read alouds and reading group. And finally, with engines running so high we took some time to learn and practice some new calming down strategies!
Here is our week at a glance...
3 writers share their use of craft moves including pop out words and ... (ellipses).
Other children who used craft moves in their writing shared by giving me a great big thumbs up!
Phonics
We practiced short u patterns by reading and sorting words that end the same. Each week as children learn new word patterns we brainstorm new words, practice open and closed sorts to identify similar word endings, and use manipulatives, such as magnet letters, wikki sticks, and whiteboards to build and record the words and patterns to learn.
Nonfiction text talk
We took some time at the beginning of the week to discuss what children already knew about nonfiction texts. As we read more nonfiction books throughout the week we continued to add to and revise our brainstorm list. It's important for children to recognize the different genres so that they can begin to expect patterns in the books they choose to read. This kind of text knowledge reinforces that we read for meaning and with purpose!
During reading group children used sticky notes to mark nonfiction text features they found while reading including diagrams and photographs.
After reading a nonfiction text about how to care for alligators at the zoo these children created a web to organize the important information they learned. They shared their cooperative product with the rest of the class.
As the seconds tick towards Halloween I wish you all happy trick or treating from my kiddos to yours!
