This week, 2nd and 3rd graders have been immersing themselves in independent reading activity. Books of all genres can be found tucked in bright red reading folders, cradled in hands as children get cozy on pillows, shared between friends, and held up at meeting time as suggestions for others to read. Children have learned how to find a "just right" book using our lettering system as well as some rules of thumb. If a book has five or more words that they cannot read and/or they have difficulty recalling what they just read, a book is likely too difficult for independent reading purposes. The process of picking a book can be truly empowering, as children assert their opinions and interests. Routinely, our class discusses what we are each reading independently--even the teachers! In addition, children have the opportunity to recommend a book that they have read to others.
In Writer's Workshop, children have been learning about the editing process. This week we edited our writing for for capitalization at the beginning of sentences, capitalization of proper nouns, and punctuation at the end of a sentence. Utilizing mentor text, we discussed how "sight" and "sound" words can add interest to our stories. Children reread their writing and added sight and sound words to their sentences. We all agreed it made them much more interesting to read and easier to visualize!
The concept of visualization is one that we are exploring in our reading groups as well. Children are noting how descriptive words and phrases in the text that we are reading can help us to create a mental image and visualize what is happening in the books we are reading. This exercise of "visualization" leads to greater comprehension.
In math we have been continuing to enjoy our cognitive activity "What's my rule?" and students have begun to lead this activity themselves. In addition we have been studying graphs and their usefulness in examining data. Next week we will do some surveys and graph our results.
Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, October 6th: Pizza Day!
Curriculum Overview Night
Wednesday, October 21st: Parent Conferences (after school)
Friday, October 23rd: Parent Conferences (No school for students)
Have a great weekend!
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