Classroom Tour

Here's a short classroom tour that a few students put together this afternoon. I thought grandparents, relatives, and friends might like to see what our classroom looks like. It doesn't show the whole thing, but it gives you a little peek into what our room is all about.

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Independent Reading

During Reading Workshop, we have been asking ourselves, "What should independent reading look like and sound like in our classroom?" The kids came up with lots of great ideas: be focused on your book, sit in a "smart spot," select a book that interests you, spend the majority of your time reading (not going to the water fountain), don't "fake" read, and be comfortable. The kids have done an incredible job with their reading this past week - I am extremely proud. Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying our reading time...

Caitlyn is reading a great book, The SOS Files. During our conference this week, Caitlyn told me she enjoys reading mystery books.

Porter has been reading some graphic novels in the class. He's also spent some time reading some non-fiction books - especially the books about history and war.

Mia has found a quiet place to read in the back of the classroom. Mia is reading The Sisters Grimm, and told me she loves to read fairy tales and adventures (which her book perfectly combines).

Tableaus

As a quick review last week, students got in groups and created tableaus to review key concepts we have learned. Here are a few pictures from the activity...

Bethanie, Cameron, and Andrea are showing "continent."

Savannah, Rebekah, and Richie are showing "ray."

First Week of School - Podcast!

We've had a really fun start to our school year. As you might have read in our classroom newsletter, we did a variety of activities this week: Poison (don't worry...it's a math game), NIM, Me Boxes, Living Together Differently, Classmate Bingo, Magic Triangles, learner surveys, and more. As we reflected on our first week together, we created a class podcast - a chance for our students to share their favorite parts of the week. Click here to listen. We hope you enjoy!