Let's Sort This Out

This week was all about sorting things to show how they are alike and different.  It all started last week when we read "Mouse Paint." When we came back to school on Monday, we read "Mouse Paint," by the same author, Ellen Stoll Walsh.  We compared the books and found the ways they were alike and different. We did this again after we read the classic, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and the lesser known, "Chicka Chicka 1,2,3" (both by Bill Martin Jr).  The students drew a piece of paper out of a basket and placed it on the Venn diagram to show whether it was a likeness or a difference between the two stories.    

For the last three weeks, we have been telling alike and different when we see whats in our mailbox each day.  Everything that comes out of the mailbox starts with the new sounds of the week. On Monday, we found an egg and french fries. The students always talk with their teaching partner about all the ways they can think of these items being alike and different. Then we share what they discussed.  One of the differences they came up with was that eggs come from chickens and french fries come from McDonalds! They almost got it, almost.

The next day we had two animals, an elephant and a fox. Another day it was 'elbow' and 'feet', and so on.

The sorting theme and the books mentioned previously were the inspiration for our centers this week. In the letter work center, the students sorted the lowercase letters onto three different coconut trees according to how they are formed: all curves, all straight lines, or a combination of the two.

In the fine motor work center, they made capital letters using rubberbands and geoboards.

In the number work center, the students played Chicka Chicka Bingo.

In the math games center, they played Mouse Count.  They loved filling up the jars with the tiny little mice.

And they got to play with the Legos for the first time in the block center.

All this talk about painting ("Mouse Paint") and climbing trees ("Chicka Chicka..") made me wonder what the students would rather do; play with paint or climb a tree. So I asked them to answer that question in their journals.

That does not say 'climate,'by the way. This is an example of invented spelling and it says, "climb a tree." This is how your child will be writing for a while. It's a great way for me to assess whether they are hearing the correct sounds and that they know which letters to write to represent those sounds. It takes a WHILE to learn conventional spelling, so encourage and praise your child when you see them using invented spelling. It's a good thing, and a developmentally appropriate thing.

 

We tied everything together with our art project on Fun Friday. The students first colored two trees: an apple tree and a coconut tree.

 

Then they cut out apples that had numbers on them (a la Chicka Chicka 1,2,3) and coconuts with letters on them (a la Chicka Chicka Boom Boom)

Finally, they sorted the letters and numbers by gluing them onto the correct trees.

In other news, our Super Star segment of the day is still going strong. Within a few more weeks, every student will have had their chance to sit in the super star chair and tell about themselves as I write it all down on their poster (which we laminate and send home with the student).  This activity is great for teaching print conventions (writing from left to right, top to bottom, starting with a capital, spacing between words, and ending with a period).  It is also great for learning sight words. Here is Sophia's Super Star in action.

 And here are some of the finished products.

 We began MAP testing this week in the computer labs.  We completed the reading test. Next week we will finish up with the math test.

 

Don't forget that your child has a BIG assignment this coming week. Attached to their newsletter is the shape poem we've been working on in class.  Your child is to read or recite it to as many people as possible and collect their signatures (or you can write them) on the signature sheet. Return this on FRIDAY. The student who reads it to the most people will win a trip to the coveted treasure box, then our whole class will visit a big-kid classroom and recite it to them.  I'll have footage of it on next week's blog.

Enjoy your long weekend. Wear GREEN on Tuesday. And I leave you with the best of the rest! 

YELLOW DAY!