We had the best week ever!

The kindergarteners loved learning about nonfiction text features by reading about polar bears.  We used our new knowledge to do some neat activities, and I heard, "This is the best day ever!" several times.  We learned how big a polar bear paw is.  We learned that a polar bear has black skin and clear fur that reflects light and looks white.  Next week we will be writing about what we learned.

In math, we finished up our subtraction unit.  Next, we will be solving addition and subtraction word problems.  We will have to decide which operation to use for each situation.  You can help your child by telling addition and subtraction stories and have them tell you if you need to add or subtract.  For example:  There are 3 cows on the left side of the road and 2 on the right.  How many cows are there in all?.  For a subtraction story, you could say, "There are 6 blue jays in the tree.  2 fly away.  How many are left?"

In Fundations, we have practiced forming every uppercase and lowercase letter.  We will continue to practice to create muscle memory for forming the letters.  We are also working on tapping out the sounds and blending them to read a cvc word.

In Readers Workshop, we continue to talk about nonfiction books.  We are currently comparing and contrasting Polar Bear books and the information we learned from each.  In Writers Workshop, we are adding text features like diagrams, labels, warnings, and suggestions to our How To books.

We have taken the iReady diagnostic assessment on the computer.  Now we will schedule time for students to have personalized lessons based on the assessment.

I have also finished the Benchmark Assessment Systems.  I have learned a lot about what your child can do in reading and what they will work on next.  As always, the best way for you to help is to read with your child every night-both listening to and reading to your child.  Talk about the books and what happened, connections made, and thinking about why the author wrote the text. 

In the next week, I will send home a list of kindergarteners so that your child can make Valentines for the class.  This is a great way to practice letter formation, capital and lowercase letters.

Happy New Year!

This week has been great for getting us back in the swing of things-a full five days!  Our student teacher, Miss Jackson, started on Monday.  It is so great to have another adult in the class who can help our kindergarteners learn.

We have started diving into nonfiction both in Readers and Writers Workshops.  In Readers Workshop, we have been looking at how nonfiction authors add features to help make the books exciting and educational.  We have found tables of contents, diagrams, drawings, cut-a-ways, and more!  In Writers Workshop, we are writing how to books.  In addition to writing the how to steps, we are adding features like diagrams and drawings.  It is so exciting to see the work the kindergarteners are able to do now.

In math, we have begun learning about subtraction.  One thing we are stressing in all our math topics is showing how we know.  We have made a list that includes using counters, drawing a picture, and writing a equation.  It is important for all mathematicians to talk about math and their solutions.

We have been reading nonfiction books about penguins to learn about nonfiction authors and illustrators.  We have also been reading how to books.