A very busy week...

What a busy week we had!!!
Some many great pictures of learning... it was hard to chose.

 

Dramatic Play - Our Animal Clinic

 

 

Making Apple Sauce

Using a new tool (an apple peeler)

 

 

 

Science Investigations

 



 

Our Community Walk  

 

 

 

 

Math Explorations

 

 

 

 

Linking Math to LITERACY

 

 

What type of book do you prefer to read?

Fiction vs Non-fiction

Students created a people graph. 

Which line has more people? 

Which line has less people?  

 

 We discussed how some lines are straight and some are curved, just like when you write letters and numbers.  Students created letters and numbers using a variety of numbers.  

 

 

 

 

 

Linking Math and Literacy to THE ARTS

 



 Making the connection - train tracks and roads also have straight and curves lines.

 

 

A letter asking Mr.Freeborn to visit our class to show and play musical instruments.  

 

 

Next week is another busy week with 2 community visitors. 

 

 

My apologizes, currently the Important Dates are not showing up on the side. 

 

Upcoming Dates

October 7^th – Students teachers from the University of Windsor begin their placement until October 25^th

October 8^th – Brack Animal Clinic visits the classroom

October 9^th –Windsor Humane Society visits the class to discuss dog safety

October 11^th - PA Day(No school)

October 14^th – Happy Thanksgiving (No School)

October 16^th – Community Walk to  Ottawa Street Dentist and Book Orders Due

October 30th – Black and Orange Day

 

 

Look what we've made...

High Frequency Words

For the past few weeks, we have been focusing on 'POPCORN Words'.  Popcorn words are words that 'pop up' in your child's everyday reading.  They are high frequency words that are repeated often in books and print.  At school, these words 'pop up' in our morning message, during our "Readers' and Writers' Club", and during centre time. 

We engage students in meaningful encounters with the words during our morning message and literacy centres.  This helps to build connections to other words they are learning.  We do not teach our students to learn by memorizing and reciting the popcorn words. 


Ideas for meaningful POPCORN WORDS at home!!! 

·       FIND THE WORD  Write the popcorn words out and spread them out on the floor.  Provide clues such as: “I’m looking for a word with 3 letters…there is an 'a' in the middle of the word…it starts like cat.” Students enjoy giving the clues also.

·        ERASE THE WORD  I write words on the dry erase board.  I say a word and the student erases it.

·       LIGHT UP THE WORD  Students take turns finding the given word and lighting up the word with a flashlight.

·       CLAP THE WORDS

·        Highlight or cut the popcorn words out of the newspaper and magazines

Readers and Writer's Club

Hopscotch using 'popcorn words'

Example of a morning message.

Rhyming Words - Dr. Seuss

To introduce and focus on WORD FAMILIES, we decided to

use the well known author of Dr. Seuss. Not only does Dr. Seuss’ imaginative stories make reading and learning fun, but his books contain many examples of word families, repetitive sentences and simple 'popcorn words' (high frequency words).

When children begin to learn to read, patterns are important.  Patterns are taught through rhymes, otherwise called word families. For example, if a child easily recognizes the word can it is likely they will quickly learn to read the words man, pan, Dan, etc.  Teaching word families can significantly improve a child's reading vocabulary and their ability to feel successful.


One of the favourite Dr. Seuss books this week was Green Eggs and Ham.

Yes, many of the children did try the Green Eggs!!!



Some of the word families we explored this week -
at - cat, hat, mat,
all - ball, mall, tall, fall
og - log, dog, frog



Ideas to Practise Word Families at Home


1.  An Envelope of Words:   To encourage your child to practice letter patterns, write the words on paper and cut each letter apart.  Place the letters in an envelope, and label it with the word family.  Then ask your child to build words.  Your child could also write the words he/she makes on paper, chalkboard, marker board, etc.


2.  Nursery Rhymes/Dr. Seuss books:  Place small sticky notes over words in the story that contain word chunks.  Let your child play a guessing game and guess what spelling patterns/words belong in the space.  Lift the stick note to check your answer.


3.  Texture Writing:    Ask your child to make words by using a variety of textures:  Play-Doh, shaving cream, sand, markers, chalk, crayons, finger paint, water paint, etc.


Most importantly, READ!  Share books with your child every day.  After reading a story for enjoyment, challenge your child to search in the text for word families he or she is familiar with. 



Language Curriculum Expectations
1.1 explore sounds, rhythms, and language structures, with guidance and on their own
1.2 demonstrates an awareness that words can rhyme, can begin or end with the same sound, and are composed of phonemes that can be manipulated to create new words

Learning about the Letters of the Alphabet in a Play-Based Program 

The students create letters with play dough, paint and many other craft materials. As they work, we engage in conversations about the letters.

The students write letters, their names and words in shaving foam, pudding and salt.  This stimulates their senses as they are learning about the letters.

As students engage in meaningful writing activities, they develop their understanding of letters, how they are formed and the sounds they produce.

The students play matching games where they match objects with the letters that they begin with.

A similar activity, but here the students are digging for hidden items in the sand table and then they are matching them up with an alphabet chart.

The students create signs to post in our ever-changing drama centre.  Here the students have created signs for a McDonald's restaurant.

Students utilize the word wall as they continue to develop their understanding of the letters of the alphabet.  Here, Hassan and Hamoudy are talking with eachother about the fact that both of their names begin with the letter H.