Classroom Update: September 12, 2014

In English Language Arts, we continued to build stamina in independent reading. We introduced literary genres by categorizing some of the books in our classroom library. In groups, students identified the genre of picture books using a list of characteristics (below).

We also began reading partnerships to support oral reading fluency. Each day, students paired up with another student in the class to practice reading aloud. Finally, we worked on written responses to literature beginning with writing summaries. We used the following graphic organizer to help craft summaries in response to texts that we had read:

In social studies, we used Google Maps to orient where New England, Massachusetts, and Arlington fall within relation to their surroundings. We labeled maps of New England and Massachusetts. We also read about some of the popular attractions within the state of Massachusetts.

In math, we played a new game called “Coin Combinations.” In the game, students found combinations of coins that make a dollar. We also introduced some new addition strategies. These strategies reinforce knowledge of place value and the properties of addition. In groups, students made posters using the strategies. (I will be uploading resources on these strategies soon!)

In writing, we brainstormed about important places in preparation for our upcoming personal narrative unit. We also practiced the writing strategy of “showing not telling.” This entails being descriptive in our writing with word choice, sensory details, and dialogue. We compared the showing not telling strategy to replaying a movie in our minds. Today, we set goals for our narrative writing unit. Students set goals such as using juicier words, using the five senses, and writing more sentences each period. Next week, we will begin drafting these stories!