New Friend!!

We welcomed Zulieka (also known as Zuzu) to our classroom after the winter break. Our students have been so welcoming, showing her where materials belong, assisting with morning jobs, learning the schedule of the day, modeling the rules and expectations of our classes, and helping her develop friendships. You should be so very proud of your students – we are!

Book Clubs

This week, we have started three new book clubs and all students are participating. One first grade group is reading “Daniel’s Duck” which is an early chapter book set in the 1700’s. Students are learning history and about life in Tennessee. The students are carving a duck out of basswood as a project in conjunction with this story. The second group are reading Level 1 in a series by High Noon that give students a lot of opportunities to practice decoding skills. They read aloud in a group, complete word searches, build and then write the new vocabulary, all which helps to reinforce these skills. The third group is reading a series of books by Flyleaf Publishing that helps students develop and progress through basic decoding to more fluent, independent reading. The classroom is abuzz with conversation as they discuss their respective books and help each other with comprehension and expressive reading.

Math Groups

We have started our unit on fractions in Math, and students are completing their “Fraction Families” books using the Montessori Fraction Circles. These materials provide students with a concrete introduction of fractions including the concepts of one whole to 1/10. Aspects of fraction work including terminology such as equivalency, and arithmetic functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are also introduced. Fraction Circle lessons explained as Montessori developed.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and we will see you on Tuesday!

Lisa and Jen