Another great day in Room 240!

Today, after Independent Literacy Time and Morning Meeting, we had Reader’s Workshop.  We continued with our Author Study of Mem Fox.  We listened to her tell about how she got her name, as well as listen to her read Koala Lou.  It’s always interesting to hear the author read the book, as opposed to just some old first grade teacher.  Plus, I think that the kids enjoyed her Australian accent…  After that, we had both independent and buddy reading time.

After reading, we began Writer’s Workshop.  We talked again about how writers need to write with their readers in mind, and try to anticipate the questions that their story might raise for their reader(s), and try to answer them.  We call them “Reader Questions,” and talk about the fact that all writers do it.  They then went out to write, and many of them tried to use Reader Questions to help shape their writing.

Then it was off to lunch and (outdoor) recess, and back up to the room for another chapter of Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  Next, the kids all got their gym shoes on and went down to the gym for class with Mr. Hill and Mr. Peterson.

When we got back up to our room, we had Math Workshop.  We talked about subtraction in a little different way (yesterday we talked about drawing pictures, making tally marks, and using ten frames to conceptualize subtraction).  Today the kids learned that subtraction is not only the inverse of addition (5 + 4 = 9 is directly related to 9 – 4 = 5), but also that subtraction (and addition) problems can be thought of as “missing number problems” – that they can think of 8 – 5 = ____ as being the same as _____ + 5 = 8.

We then moved in Science Lab – we watched a video about sharks that are found in the oceans around the United States.  Ask your child to name some of the species of sharks that they saw today (such as hammerheads, great whites, bonneted, tiger, sand, etc.).

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home!