Reading, Writing, and Science: Our unit on the farm continues to get lively. We had a child share her baby ducklings and baby chicks. The children got to see the difference between the feet of the two birds. Next week our classroom will be receiving chicken eggs which we will put in an incubator and watch carefully for 21 days as the chicks develop in their eggs. New Hampshire Agriculture in the Classroom is an organization which helps NH students develop an understanding and appreciation for agriculture and the role that it plays in their daily lives. Betty Alcott helped facilitate this wonderful program in our classroom. The children enjoyed a special visit from Jennifer Elliot and a lamb from Donna Carrlucci. Mrs. Elliot read the children a wonderful story called Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie de Paola. She then shared the process of taking wool from a sheep and turning it into yarn. She brought samples of wool at different stages, carded the wool to straighten it out and had her spinning wheel to show how the wool was spun into yarn. The baby lamb had a “flock” of children showing it their love.
During Writing Workshop the children finished mapping out their “3 Little” stories. They started to use their story maps to write their stories. They are doing a wonderful job getting their individual ideas down on paper. The children made symmetrical pigs and added a wonderful watercolor setting. They added speech bubbles and created conversation between the three pigs. After vacation the children drew a picture of one special event that occurred during their spring break. The children used this picture as a way to begin to organize their thoughts for a recount. They used the picture to complete a story map. They answered the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where and why). After they completed their story map they wrote a recount about their event. The children also wrote thank you notes and cards. We had a special visit from four wonderful authors from sixth grade who shared the stories they wrote about their trip to Washington D.C. All the children were captivated by their wonderful storyline and the illustrations they created with the computer. The children also got to hear Marty Kelley share some of his books and how he gets his ideas, organizes his thoughts and puts a book together to go to the publisher. He shared the writing process and how writing can be hard, take time… but it is worth it when he reads the finished product and feels proud of the book he wrote and illustrated. I want to thank you for all the kindness shown during Teacher Appreciation week. The cards the children made touched my heart.
Math: The children enjoyed comparing the capacities of three containers by measuring about how many cups of rice each container held. They continue to practice symmetry as they created a mirror image of a pattern-block design. Afternoon friends used paper squares as a way to practice equal fractional parts. By folding the paper they were able to discover that the same whole can be different shapes even though they represent the same fractional part of the whole. They also used fractional parts of paper strips to review fraction concepts and to compare pairs of fractions. They were introduced to the terms numerator and denominator. The afternoon friends were introduced to the idea that fractional parts of a whole have many names (equivalent fractions). We have competed Unit 9 and they took the assessment this week. We will begin Unit 10 next week.
Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 12 from 9:00-10:30 a.m. The children will be sharing their “Three Little” stories. At 10:00 a.m. they will be given time to share the snacks that they made and give you a field trip around the classroom sharing their garden and projects related to the farm unit. We hope you can join us. More information will be sent home in the next few weeks.