Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

We had a lot of fun at our parade & party today!

 Thank you to our PTO Room Representatives, Amy Stark and Tiffany Williams, who coordinated and helped with our Halloween Party!  Also, thanks to Laini Krakovitz, Barb Horrigan, Melissa Skilken, Erin Zelin, and the many other parents who joined us on Thursday for their help!

Thank you to the Moran family for the paper products!

Thank you to the Curry family for the cookies!

Thank you to the LoPresti family for the apples and carrots!

Thank you to the Williams family for the juice boxes!

Boulevard Centennial Activities - Daffodil Planting & Treasure Hunt

On Friday, our class participated in two activities as part of Boulevard's year-long centennial celebration - daffodil planting and a "treasure hunt" for a buried time capsule on Boulevard's grounds.

Daffodil Planting
In small groups, our class planted 100 daffodil bulbs along the sidewalk by the parking lot.  In the spring, 1500 daffodils (100 from each class k-4) will bloom in a beautiful celebration of Boulevard's 100th year of teaching and learning.

Treasure Hunt

As a class, we went searching for a time capsule buried on Boulevard's grounds.  Using clues provided by the office staff and a variety of tools including compasses, a metal detector, a variety of measurement tools, etc., we hunted for this "treasure".  We submitted our guess (x marks the spot) and will find out which class came closest to the actual location next week.

Field Trip - The Nature Center At Shaker Lakes

On Thurday, our class took a field trip to The Nature Center At Shaker Lakes.

Thank you to Leslie Brooks Barksdale, Abirami Santhanam, and Erin Zelin for chaperoning!

While we were there, we explored two habitats - the marsh and the forest.  We learned about the different plants and animals that inhabit each place.  We will return to these habitats again in January and May to see how they change with the seasons.

The Daily 5 - Work On Writing

Last week, we launched the third component of The Daily 5 - Work on Writing.

We talked about the specifics of Work on Writing.  Together, we created an "I Chart" describing what the students and I will do during this time.

The students practiced using the different activities that will be available to them in the Work on Writing center.  

Write Around The Room (Halloween)

Write Around The Room (Regular)

Mini Books

Sticker Story

Create Your Own Word Search

Once Reading Teams are "officially" up and running, the students will be able to select which Work on Writing activities they would like to use.  I will continue to add new activities to this center as the school year progresses.

The Daily 5 - Word Work

Last week, we launched the second component of The Daily 5 - Word Work.

We talked about the specifics of Word Work.  Together, we created an "I Chart" describing what the students and I will do during this time.

Throughout the past two weeks, the students practiced using the different activities that will be available to them in the Word Work center.  

Rainbow Spelling

Pyramid Spelling

Word Bricks - 1 Player

Word Bricks - 2 Players

Bead Spelling

Stamp Spelling

Magnet Spelling

Secret Code Spelling

Spelling Word Practice

Once Reading Teams are "officially" up and running, the students will be able to select which Word Work activities they would like to use to practice their spelling words.  I will continue to add new activities to this center as the school year progresses.

The Daily 5 - Read To Self

This week, we launched the first component of The Daily 5 - Read To Self.

Did you know that there are three ways to read a book?

Using the book David Goes To School by David Shannon, I modeled each of these for the students.  

On Monday, we talked about the specifics of Read To Self.  Together, we created an "I Chart" describing what the students and I will do during this time.

 

The students modeled the correct and incorrect ways to do Read To Self.  Then, we gave it a try!

 On Tuesday,we reviewed the expectations of Read To Self and practiced again!  I gave each student a bag of "book worms" to eat as they read.

On Wednesday, we talked about building stamina.  

Stamina is doing something for a long time without giving up or getting tired.

I read the book Dex, Heart of a Hero by Caralyn Buehner.  

 

Dexter the dog is so little that Cleevis the tomcat bullies him.  But, little Dex has dreams—big dreams.  He wants to be a superhero.  So, he reads all the comic books he can, builds his muscles, and even orders a hero suit.  Suddenly, even Cleevis needs his help!  Dexter has determination, spirit, and heart as he proves, above all, that no matter how little you are, you can still do very big things.

(amazon.com)

With the help of Dex, the students practiced building their reading stamina.

As of today, we are up to 4 minutes.

On Thursday, we talked about picking "good fit" books.  

I compared finding the right book to finding the right pair of shoes. 

 

You wouldn't wear shoes that were too big or too small.  You wouldn't wear ballet shoes to play football or high heeled shoes to walk on the beach.  So, why would you read a book that doesn't fit?  

We learned the acronym I PICK as a way to help find a good fit book.

In addition to the books that we have at school, students may also bring favorite books from home to include in their book boxes.  Please encourage your child to bring books into school for Read To Self and to write his/her name on the book (or on a post it).  This way if the book gets left in the room somewhere we all know whose box to return it to.