Once Upon A Time

 

We are loving reading and learning about fairy tales.  Every day at read aloud we have been discovering a new tale and having lively discussions about the literary elements.  First,  though the children have to discover the day's fairy tale.  We have a mystery box with an artifact from a particular tale.  The students have to ask questions about the object in the box to solve the riddle.  For instance, of the tale Cinderella, there was a glass slipper in the box.  The students asked questions like, "Can you wear it?" and "Is it breakable?"  In the mystery box we have found The Three Bear's bowl, Jack's magic beans, Rumpelstiltskin's golden thread, Cinderella's shoe, the Emperor's invisible suit, and Rapunzel's long hair.  Besides read aloud, students have been reading fairy tales independently, with a partner, and even in plays.

In our fairy tale study, we have learned about the elements of a fairy tale.  For instance, in fairy tales there is usually magic and the numbers 3 or 7 are important.  We have also learned about the protagonist and and the antagonist.  After we read the story, we chart the different elements in the fairy tale.  The discussions have been so interesting.  We had a lengthy debate about Jack and the Beanstalk and whether or not Jack was really a "good" character.  Some students thought he shouldn't be the hero because he stole from the giant and became greedy.

 Through the discussions, the children are learning to share their opinions, justify their thoughts using text evidence, and respectfully agree and disagree with their classmates different points of view.  We  also, by making an fairy tale elements chart, have been able to compare and contrast the different fairy tales.  The children are enjoying the fairy tales so much, they have no idea how many language arts objectives they are learning. 

 

 

After reading several of the classic fairy tales, we began reading fractured fairy tales.  In the fractured fairy tales, the author takes a familiar tale and switches it up a bit.  For example, we read a books called Sleeping Ugly and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig.  So fun!  They have been having so much fun in fact, they have been making up their own fairy tales during centers.  You can really see their great imaginations shining through.

 

 

It's About Time

  

Clock Shop

On Time

Stop the Clock 1

Stop the Clock 2

Clock Shoot

Tell Time

Time Match

First graders need to be able to tell time to the hour and half hour on both analog and digital clocks. Second graders need to tell time to the five minutes and understand the quarters on an analog clock. Those analog clocks are tricky, especially that hour hand! These are some great online games to practice at home. Telling time takes time! The students are doing great but, as always, extra practice can only help.

Spring Break

 Our last day before spring break was full....full of birthdays, bunnies, and biographies!  The half day flew by!  First, we had a cute pet bunny visit in the morning!

The students did some reading and then created a cute bunny directed draw and painting.  They all turned out adorable. 



We also headed down to the gym to see the 3rd and 4th grade hero fair.  The students did an amazing job presenting their research.  Our combo students visited the presentations.  They had a 3-2-1 recording sheet as they visited the projects.  They had to write three facts, name two people they were interested in learning more about, and write one question they still have.  Thank you third and fourth grade for all your hard work!



Plus, today we had two birthdays to celebrate!  It was a fantastically full, half day of school.  Enjoy your spring break with your family!  We will see you again Tuesday, April 18th!

We Are the Champions!

We did it!  The children worked so incredibly hard and we are soooooooo proud of winning the trophy!  The Read-A-Thon results are in! The students were honored at an assembly. Every child reaching the 300 minute goal received a free dinner from Outback. Our class had ALL 15 students that accomplished the 300 minute goal. Also, the top three readers from each grade level got a medal. The top three fundraisers from kindergarten-second also won a medal. We had two medal winners in our room!

 
The Connected Combo read over 8000 minutes outside of class during our 10 day Read-A-Thon!  How amazing! Even better, the students have shown impressive level gains that you saw on our third quarter report cards.  Way to go! Our primary students earned enough money for RazKids and Reading Rainbow subscriptions kindergarten through third grade!  We will also be purchasing new nonfiction books for the library.  Thank you for your incredible support of our young readers.  

Student Led Conferences

Student Led conferences were a huge success. The children were so proud of themselves. They loved sharing their learning with you. I thought they made excellent presenters. Thanks for your wonderful support. The feedback on the reflection sheets was very helpful. Thank you for being so incredibly positive. Most parents favored the math station. Many of you were impressed not only with the mastery of our current math objectives, but also the students' ability to effectively use our interactive projector. Yes, they are super stars!  One of my favorite stations to listen in on was the self evaluations.  The students were so honest with what they are doing well and the areas that they can use some more practice.  These powerful conferences were a great way to end third quarter and begin this last important quarter of the 2016-2017 school year.