Kacsko's Kiddos: An Egg-cellent, Egg-citing, Egg-ceptional, Egg-stravaganza of a Week

     Since spring has sprung and Easter is right around the corner, this was the perfect week to talk about animals that lay eggs. We read both storybooks and informational texts about egg-laying animals. One book we even watched on the Smartboard. Its from Reading Rainbow (there's a blast from the past). The book is called "Chickens Aren't the Only Ones" and it lists dozens of animals who begin life in an egg and it is followed by a cute video of a chick breaking out of its shell. Here's the link if you're curious.
      We used this new content to build up our working memory, as well. I recently went to a conference where part of the training was on sharpening the working memory because it is proven to be the biggest indicator of academic success. So, I've been including some of the activities I learned in the classroom ever since. One of those activities is called 'word baskets' and we used our new knowledge of oviviparous animals to make one.  Students got into teams of two or three. The first person began by saying, "Out of the egg popped a ____" and then they listed one animal. The next friend repeated what the first said and added on one more animal, and so on, and so on. With this age group, we get to about 5 or 6 items and then start a new basket. We've also used word baskets with numbers, parts of a clock, and spring things.
      Two of the centers this week were inspired by our egg theme. In the Math Games center, students took turns opening Easter eggs to find varied amounts of ones cubes. They snapped them together and placed them on their hundred grid mat. This game reinforced both addition and the concept that numbers are composed of tens and ones.

In the word work center, students opened eggs that had the letters needed to form the two words printed on them. The students had to match these words to the Easter basket with the matching rime (again, I promise that's how it should be spelled in this context) family.

Our art project was super fun this week. The students colored and cut out an egg. Then they chose an egg at random and opened it to find a picture of an animal that hatches from an egg. They colored it and glued inside their Easter-y looking egg. (I explained that animals don't hatch from brightly colored Easter eggs but that our art project was serving a dual purpose as it was going to be displayed in our hallway).

This week and next week, we are learning the r-controlled vowel sounds. We used this video this week to learn the er, ir, ur sound.

They also heard the story of how they are all three very bad, horrible, no good drivers who have to always hit the brakes. This little picture by a program called 'Secret Stories" helped with that.

We did some role play and the students took the wheel and went cruising and BRAKING over and over again all around the room making the "errrrrrrr!" sound.

Now that its April, we have a new set of calendar math pages. First, as always, the students reveal the new pattern piece for the day. This month, its all about life cycles so there is no set pattern.

Next: word problems. I draw a student's name, they choose their spring item, and then I write a word problem. The students have to decide whether we need to use addition or subtraction to solve it, then we work it out together.

The next page reinforces addition and how numbers are composed of tens and ones (just like the game they played in the Math Games center this week). A student touches an egg. It disappears and reveals a number up to 5. The student adds that many to the grid. We are trying to get to 100 by the end of the month!

Lastly, just like every month, we track the days in school.

I'll leave you with pics from some other fun activities this week, The Wulfe Brothers entertained the afternoon class (and all the rest of the school), we had a classroom egg hunt, we recited our Spring poem to lots of classes throughout the school, a student's Marine brother (in the PM class) came for a visit, and we spent some recess time on the BIG playground.