We were busy this week researching about the ocean. We read books and have been gathering many facts about the ocean and various animals that live in the ocean. We have also been writing about our our new knowledge that we have learned about the ocean and then shared that knowledge with our preschool reading buddies. We have been having indoor recess, continuing to practice reading in literacy lab, and enjoying working with some new I Wonder Stations and workstations.
I found this book, "What Lives In The Ocean?" which discusses different animals that live in the ocean. We focused on the difference between the sight words 'A' and 'An' and we paid attention while we were reading to make sure we read the correct word, as both were used throughout the book. After we practiced reading the book several times, the students colored the pages and we shared it with our preschool reading buddies.
We have also been focusing on retelling the main events of a story. In order to practice we used the story, "The Gingerbread Boy". First, we read the story and discussed what happened throughout the story in order. Then the students had to complete the paper by cutting out the 6 pictures representing the events from the story and glue them in order on the paper. After we completed this paper, we also shared it with our preschool reading buddies by practicing retelling the events from the story in order with them.
The students enjoy sharing with their preschool reading buddies so much. They chose their favorite piece of writing about the ocean (see details below) to share with their reading buddy, read the 'What Lives In The Ocean' book, and retold the gingerbread boy story.
We finished reading the "Look Closer Ocean" book as a class. The students really enjoyed reading this book. The pictures were amazing and it had so many interesting facts on every page! Here are just a few of the great pages below.
We learned about the ocean floor and some of the animals that live there. The students were amazed to find out that it is so dark there!
They were also very interested in the jellyfish page. Many of the students said this reminded them of finding Nemo when they were bouncing on the jellyfish. As soon as I turned to this page and showed them the pictures, they instantly began asking so many questions!
We also learned about kelp and some of the animals that rely on it for food, shelter, or other uses.
The students were amazed to learn that there are many different types of coral reefs and they thought they were all so beautiful!
I think the students favorite animals to read about by far were the shark and dolphin! They were amazed to learn that when sharks loose a tooth, another one replaces it, and that it happens very often.
We have now begun reading the First Big Book of the Ocean. It also as some great pictures and I can't wait to share with you some of the amazing facts we will learn from this book as well. We also looked at a book about how to draw sharks which will be helpful for the students if they choose to write about sharks.
In writing, the students are writing about facts that we have been learning about the ocean and its animals. They get to choose what topic they write about as well as what facts they illustrate. I have modeled a few choices for them as well as provided the students with books that they can use as resources while working. The pictures allow the students to draw illustrations that are more accurate as well as recall facts by looking through the book.
Since it has been so cold outside, we have been using GoNoodle to help us get our exercise. You can sign up to use GoNoodle at home if you haven't already done so. The students really enjoy following directions during dancing videos, free movement, and even 'indoor recess' clips. With GoNoodle, we have been able to stay active inside even though it has been too cold to go outside. Hopefully this week we will be able to get some outside time though!
During Literacy Lab, we have continued to practice reading with fluency, retelling stories in order, and comprehension on what we read by answering questions such as: What was your favorite part and why? What did this story make you think of? Tell me what happened in the story?. These are all things that you can be practicing at home in order to help improve your child's reading and comprehension skills. In the pictures below we were rainbow writing the sight word 'look'. As we were reading the story, the students were having trouble remembering this sight word so we were practicing writing it in order to help us become more proficient in reading it.
The students have continued to enjoy working with the ipads during our I Wonder Stations. They have been reading stories, listening to stories, practicing writing letters and numbers, letter sounds, addition, and so much more!
A new workstation that had been added is the storybook game. The students work together to tell a story using cards. They take turns revealing a card from the deck and incorporating whatever is on that card into their story. It is fun to hear what kind of stories they come up with!
Thanks for checking in this week! We are looking forward to see what fun next week brings to our classroom. Don't forget to stop by next week to see what we are up to. Have a great week!
Mrs. Brittany Garrabrant
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