We had a fabulous first day at Pool School. Today they went over the rules of the pool in the classroom session and then they got tested in the pool to see what group they belong in.
This week, thanks to Ella F., we have two new super heroes in our classroom. They truly are super! Thank you, Ella!
Malachi was our classroom super hero the week before break! His poster was amazing. The picture he drew of himself looks just like him! Thanks for being safe, responsible and respectful, Malachi!
Students have been learning to use sticky notes to leave tracks of their thinking as they travel through their books. Sticky notes are crucial to the readers workshop format because we aren't all reading the same book, so they provide another way for me to gauge student's understanding of their book and their reading strategies. Sticky notes also give the students opportunities to slow down, reflect and think about what they are reading. Lastly, they give us a springboard on things to talk about during our partner book talks. We have really been focusing on what the characters are saying and doing because that teaches us a lot about what kind of person they are. Up until now, the sticky notes could be predictions, wonders, sketches, quotes, or thoughts. Now that it is January we are stepping it up and taking our thinking even deeper. We can do this by often just adding the word because and then an explanation. Students gathered at the group spot to study and discuss this anchor chart, which defines the different sticky note levels and gives examples of each. I then read some sticky notes that have previously turned in and had the kids hold up fingers to show what level they thought the sticky note was. What good discussions we had! Next, I wanted to see if students could hit the target themselves by providing their own examples of sticky notes for each level. Students could either get examples from ones they had already written or they could create new ones. This was a quick, fun check to see if they got it, and most kids did!
The snow was finally here this week. The kids had so much fun sledding, playing snow football and soccer, and sliding down the slippery slides. My hands got too cold taking pictures, but I will take some more later.
We've had some amazing super heroes these last couple of weeks! They brought in beautiful posters and a couple heroes shared books with us.
All the super hero posters are now hanging in our hallway for a bit. We've enjoyed looking at them and look forward to hearing from the future super heroes! |
Mrs. Ellis's Class
Learning & laughing our way through third grade. Archives
June 2020
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