Owls & Oceans

Last week we began learning about owls.  This week we have been using all the research we did to create non-fiction reports.  On Monday, students worked with a partner to brainstorm things owls can do, things owls have, and what owls are.  Over the last few days we have practicing the writing process by creating rough and final drafts of our owl reports.

On Monday we also began a new unit all about the ocean.  We learned about the different zones in the ocean and students had a chance to design their own fish. 

Yesterday we learned about coral reefs.  Students created their own piece of coral by sponge painting.

Here's an updated class picture!  It's the first time everyone's been here in a quite a while!

Silly faces!! 

A Recap of Last Week

Last week we learned all about rainforests.  We began on Monday by doing a mapping activity to find out where rainforests are in the world.

On Tuesday we started our big rainforest projects.  First we learned about the layers of the rainforest including: forest floor, understory, canopy, and emergent.  Students then created and labeled their own rainforest trees.

On Wednesday we learned about the animals that live in the rainforest.  Students could choose to use markers, crayons, or colored pencils to design their rainforest animals.

On Thursday, students cut out all of their animals and added them to their rainforest trees.  The final products turned out great!

Last week we also learned about problem and solution.  Early in the week we practiced identifying the problem and solution in a story while reading.   Then later in the week students had a chance to write their own problems and solutions.  You can check out a few of the projects below:

All week during guided reading last week students worked hard preparing partner plays.  These plays were a great way for students to practice using sight words, fluency, and reading with expression.  On Friday each group had a chance to present their play to the rest of the class.  They all did an awesome job!

Noun/Verb Sentences, More Jan Brett, & Gingerbread Houses

This week we have been learning all about verbs.  We now know that verbs are actions words.  We also know that nouns and verbs can work together to make a sentence.  Yesterday students worked hard writing and illustrating their very own noun/verb sentences.

 

On Wednesday, we continued our author's study on Jan Brett.  We read The Hat.  After reading we compared and contrasted The Hat to The Mitten.

Next students followed step by step directions from Jan Brett's website to draw their own Hedgie the Hedgehog and then designed hats for him to wear.  If you are interested in checking out Jan Brett's website at home the link is below:

Jan Brett's Website

Yesterday we read the story, Gingerbread Baby, by Jan Brett.  

After we finished finished students had a chance to use the yummy treats below to make their very own gingerbread houses just like the main character in the book.   We had a lot of fun!

Also just wanted to say thank you to everyone for sending in your family tradition pages!  We had so much fun reading about all the special things everyone does with their families!