September 26-October 7

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Rosh Hashana! We’ve had a busy two weeks, even with having two days off. 

Here are a few things we’ve been up to:

Last week we made our very own Shofars for Rosh Hashana. The students got their fourth grade buddies and had a great time getting to know them and make their Shofars together. 

I’ve implemented a vocabulary curriculum called Vocabulary Workshop. It’s a comprehensive research-based program. Here is a basic outline of a typical lesson:

-Build Background- I briefly explain the genre of the story I am about to read. 

-Read the selection while students are following along with pictures in their student journals. I do this so children can hear and enjoy the natural flow of the story.  After I read the selection once I introduce the vocabulary words. I write them on the board and we discuss what we know about the words and what we think we know about the words. Then I read the story again and students clap when they hear the vocabulary word in the story. 

-Check comprehension- After the reading the story I will ask questions about the selection and see if the children understood what I read. We will discuss the context in which we heard the vocabulary words. Then we complete a couple of workbook pages on the vocabulary words and have a “review quiz” at the end of the practice pages. 

The kids seem to enjoy it and I really love it! I like it because it’s fun to watch the kids use the new words once they learn them. For example, one of our vocabulary words was coward. Once we learned the word I heard two different students use it throughout the day. One child said “I’m being a coward and running away from this bug!” and the other said “I think Donald Trump is a coward”. That last one had me cracking up… These kids talk more about politics than I ever did at this age!  

Ask your child if he/she can tell you what these words mean: coward, bold, flee, gasp, fortune, grin, host, sly, scold, gulp, weary and dart. Those were some words they’ve learned over the past two weeks. 

We had so much fun on our PBL field trip to Latta Plantation! Our tour guide was Mr. David and he was very knowledgeable and kind. 

We also had a special visitor, Thomas’s grandmother! She came to visit and brought the class a calendar with pictures of Israel. We have the calendar up in our room so we can see the beautiful places of Israel whenever we want. 🙂 Thank you to Thomas’s Grandmother!!

 

We have also started First In Math. Again, it’s not mandatory but it’s just for fun and a little math review and reinforcement of skills. I have taped the username and password inside everyone’s folder on the Bring Right Back side. It’s a little red card. If you don’t see it or have it, please let me know and I will get that information to you. 🙂 

Enjoy a few of the pictures from the past two weeks. 🙂