Welcome to our official classroom blog. In case you were wondering, the title and tagline of this blog were inspired by one of our very favorite characters, Pete the Cat. His motto is, "No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song because...it's all good." In other words, stay proud, stay true, and never give up trying.
My goal in creating this space is to keep everyone updated on classroom happenings and post pictures of some of the activities taking place in our room. This is an amazing group of kids and we're having so much fun learning and growing. We look forward to sharing our days with you.
Let's start with one of the children's favorite parts of the day - Daily 5. During this time students rotate through five independent literacy stations. They also meet with their guided reading groups. The five stations are as follows:
Read to Self - Students read "Just Right Books" from their personal book boxes.
Read to Someone - Students sit EEK (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee) and take turns reading to and with each other.
Listen to Reading - Students listen and follow along with books using listening stations, portable CD players and computers.
Work on Writing - Students continue working on pieces they started during Writing Workshop. This is also a time when students may choose to expand their writing experiences to work on cards, letters, fiction and non-fiction stories, etc.
Word Work - Students use a variety of manipulatives to practice spelling, writing, and learning words. Right now, students are getting their words from individual picture word walls, our classroom word wall and their corrected writing. Eventually, students will also use this time to practice their spelling words.
Book Club Groups
This is truly one of our most cherished times of the day. Students move effortlessly from one station to another making choices as to what they would like to read, write, spell and practice. Each station is tailored to individual needs and allows the children to work at their own pace. It is no wonder the children cheer each day when we say, "It's time for Daily 5!"
Another very important part of our day is Morning Meeting. This is the first thing we do every day after announcements. There are three parts to Morning Meeting.
- Greeting - We learn a new greeting each week and revisit them throughout the year. This allows each child to be recognized and welcomed to the day with a smile.
- Morning Message - The morning message tells children what to look forward to throughout the school day. The teacher and students read the message together, discuss the day's events and problem solve any questions that may arise .
- Activity - Activity time is all about getting our bodies warmed up and building our community. Activities range from games reviewing previous concepts to brain busters that require everyone to work together as a team.
Here is a photo of the children doing Miss Panella's "spider web" greeting. Students tossed a ball of yarn to one another as they said good morning. Once everyone had been greeted we were able to see that each and every day we are all connected!
We hope you enjoyed your first peek into our classroom! Please check back often and feel free to leave us a comment below. Enjoy your day!
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