I'm linking up today with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!
Here are some highlights from our week!
ONE: Football Games
My kiddos loved playing "football games" each day this week to review the OA and OW vowel team patterns. On days 1 and 2 each team spelled words using these two patterns. If every team member spelled each word correctly, the quarterback would earn a "first down" and would be able to advance ten yards on the playing field. Everyone was engaged and participating for every minute of these games.
On days 3 and 4 I had my kiddos use words in sentences to make the tasks a bit harder. All conventions of writing counted in terms of teams earning a first down of not!
TWO: Amazing Words
For the past several years I have used a vocabulary tree, decorated with bananas that have the vocabulary words we're learning. Typically these words are part of a book or story we are reading throughout the week and we spend a good amount of time talking about the words and coming up with a class definition of the word.
After we create a definition we often act it out, so the kids can make connections to the words and begin to understand their meaning. I often have my kiddos "teach" one another what the words mean as well as use the words in a sentence.
This week we've been learning about US symbols and my kiddos came up with these definitions on their own and I was so proud of their work all week as we taught each other and then used the words in several sentences.
Giving them the responsibility of creating a definition and then using the words has ensured that they don't forget the words once the week is over. Very often while reading and discussing other topics a past amazing word will come up and many kiddos remember not only the word but the definition as well. Mission accomplished!!
THREE: Plants
Our plants have really taken off and the kids can't get over how exciting it is to see them grow and change from day to day. These plants are part of a field trip we will be taking in May and I love that this part of it gives them ownership and responsibility in terms of taking care of something each day. It's also lent itself nicely to some nonfiction writing that we have been doing throughout the year!
FOUR: US Symbols
My kiddos were hard at work this week learning about the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Bell. Here are some of the highlights of what we've done and studied all week!
FIVE: Adding and Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers
I know I posted about this last week as well but this is the time of the year when everything starts clicking and the kids are using so many strategies they have learned to help them in math. This week was no exception as we added and subtracted tens and found the missing part in these number sentences as well!
Don't forget to check out more Five for Friday posts at Doodle Bugs Teaching!!
After we create a definition we often act it out, so the kids can make connections to the words and begin to understand their meaning. I often have my kiddos "teach" one another what the words mean as well as use the words in a sentence.
This week we've been learning about US symbols and my kiddos came up with these definitions on their own and I was so proud of their work all week as we taught each other and then used the words in several sentences.
Giving them the responsibility of creating a definition and then using the words has ensured that they don't forget the words once the week is over. Very often while reading and discussing other topics a past amazing word will come up and many kiddos remember not only the word but the definition as well. Mission accomplished!!
THREE: Plants
Our plants have really taken off and the kids can't get over how exciting it is to see them grow and change from day to day. These plants are part of a field trip we will be taking in May and I love that this part of it gives them ownership and responsibility in terms of taking care of something each day. It's also lent itself nicely to some nonfiction writing that we have been doing throughout the year!
FOUR: US Symbols
My kiddos were hard at work this week learning about the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Bell. Here are some of the highlights of what we've done and studied all week!
FIVE: Adding and Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers
I know I posted about this last week as well but this is the time of the year when everything starts clicking and the kids are using so many strategies they have learned to help them in math. This week was no exception as we added and subtracted tens and found the missing part in these number sentences as well!
Don't forget to check out more Five for Friday posts at Doodle Bugs Teaching!!
