JA in a Day!

Last Friday was loads of fun!  We participated in JA (Junior Achievement) in a day.  Junior Achievement is an organization that specializes in teaching elementary students about economy, business, and the world around them.  Usually, a Junior Achievement volunteer comes once a week for 6 weeks to teach us a unit.  This year we decided to do it all in one day (hence the title. :))  Our unit was called "Our Community."  In it we learned about community zones, ways to make payments, how businesses are run, and different forms of communication.  Our teacher was Mrs. Jennifer Peck.  We had a great time!

Planetarium

We had a WONDERFUL visit to the planetarium today!  The Columbia Public School's Science Department graciously allows each elementary classroom a chance to come visit the planetarium for a presentation directly tied to our curriculum and also a little fun.  The first video was called Microcosm and was all about the cells in our body.  It was a great connection to what we're working on in health.  Next, for a little fun, we watched a video on how astronauts train and took a look a the nigh sky with the planetarium's "Sky Ball."  The students were encourage to show YOU what they know tonight when the stars come out.  A great time was had by all!

Sharing Our Stories

We had a WONDERFUL time sharing our stories with three Prairie Pups classrooms.  They got a chance to listen to some amazing stories and we got a chance to practice reading our stories to an audience that wasn't always the most attentive. :)  It was a great lesson in engaging and fluent reading!  Enjoy some pictures from our travels!

A Look at Word Study: Part 1 (New Words)

Have you ever wondered how word study is being taught in our classroom?  Well here is your inside sneak peek.

First off, the basics.  Word study words change every two weeks.  On the Monday of the first week each student meets in a specialized word study group.  Students are grouped by ability and what they currently need help with.  At this point their categories are taught.  We look at the categories and discuss patterns.  For instance, if the group's categories are long and short vowels we would discuss that commonly, words with a long vowel sound have an "e" at the end and words with a short vowel sound do not. We also highlight the patterns as they're seen in words (simply the vowel sound in short vowel words and the vowel sound + e in long vowel words) and answer any and all questions.

After this group meeting students work independently on a variety of different task throughout the next two weeks.  These activities are meant to strengthen their understanding of their categories and the word patterns.  These are the things you see done on the weekly Daily 5 menus.  One such task is writing their categories as well as three words from each in their planner.  We do this so that you at home know what patterns we're working on.  Be sure to take a look at this when you get a chance.

Mastering Multiplication

Multiplication practice is now in full swing!  We began by looking at multiplication as repeated addition.  For example, instead of  4 x 5 you can look at it as 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 (adding 4 five times).  This is a great jumping off point because it allows students to connect multiplication to something they already know.  Using think knowledge we made something called measuring strips.  Measuring strips are basically just strips that show repeated addition for different numbers.  We did strips for every number 2-10.  For example, the measuring strip for 3 shows the numbers 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30.  Cubes were used to help make the strips for those that needed a visual reminder.  The measuring strips will be coming home soon.  Be sure to have your child explain to you how to use them.