This week's Spelling words focused on the short o sound. We practiced this sound with a poem and word work in class.
In Reader's Workshop we looked at ways readers get ready to read. Using the book Clifford's Birthday Party, students learnt how to preview a book by looking at front and back cover looking at the title, pictures and blurb on the back. Using these skills helps children start to think about the words they may read in the story. We did a word generating activity and wrote down all the words we may see in the text. The teacher then read the story Froggy Eats Out as the children checked off all the words they actually heard.
In Writing we introduced the Writing Traits we will be using throughout the year on various writing tasks. These traits include:
Ideas - Start with great ideas.
Organization - Make your words and sentences easy to follow.
Voice - Sound as if you are really interested in your topic.
Word Choice - Choose the best words.
Sentence Fluency - Use sentences that are fun to read.
Conventions - Follow the rules for writing.
In Math we reviewed what we have been learning about number bonds and finished the chapter with a unit test. We started on Chapter three which looks at Addition Facts to 10. We did a role play and poem to demonstrate adding one or two more. Next week we will be looking at ways to add starting with counting on.
In Science we worked through two simple experiments to demonstrate the Inquiry Skills we have been talking about over the last few weeks. Working through the experiments step by step teaches the students that experiments follow a process from beginning to end.
We continued to talk about our rights, responsibilities and ways to cooperate to solve conflict. The week ended on a wonderful note where we all came together to share our cultures. Friday morning started with an assembly which included a fashion show to show off all the great costumes and representations from many countries of the world. We then a special troll story from Norway read by Ayame's (G2B) dad. Miss Erin lead a singing piece where the children sang beautifully about children from all around the world. After snack parent and child presentations started in our classrooms. Bennie and her father Ruli sang some traditional Indonesian folk songs. Everyone was keen to join in with these catchy songs and received print outs of the words. Taito and his mum Mayumi then did a Kamishibai (Japanese street theatre). Taito acted out the parts as his mother read the story and at the end he presented each child with their own copy of the story. After these two wonderful presentations we went across to G1A classroom to join the parent presentations there. Children sang and danced to London Bridge, listened to a Kamishibai and to some Chinese wisdom. We then went for a walk around campus to show off all the wonderful costumes and work up an appetite for the delicious buffet lunch. Children ate well and were keen to sample most of the food. Thank you very much for your generous support of this event with all the preparation and food that was brought in. A very special thank you to Bennie, Ruli, Taito and Mayumi too for their performances today. It was a great event to kick off the new school year.
Larissa