Newsletter: September 4th

Dear Families,

We've hit double digits! Today is Day 10 and there's lots going on in the classroom. After taking some time to get reacquainted and reestablish our stamina for a day's worth of learning, we're now in the midst of a number of inquiries. My plan for our newsletter this year will be to focus on one curricular area each week (providing a more detailed look at what we're doing) and then share captioned pics to more briefly fill you in on some other studies and/or happenings. This week's focus is reading workshop.

In reading we are preparing for some exciting work we'll be doing this year as Third Grade Reading Buddies to Mrs. Palmatier's class. The kids will soon be paired up with a "first grade buddy" with whom they'll be working all year to support their growth as readers. Today I asked the kids to name ways they felt we could support young readers. They're responses were:

*  We can help them learn strategies for solving hard words
* We can help them build confidence in themselves
* We can help them choose "just right" books
* We can teach them to LOVE reading

What a great list! To prepare for our work as reading coaches/mentors/teachers, today we listened to an audio recording of me reading with a child from a K/1 classroom (actually, technology broke down on me and I had to recreate the reading by pretending I was the young reader). As they listened to the reading of the book they made a list of everything this reader was already doing or already knew. Next they made a list of things they felt they could help this particular reader with - based on what they heard during the reading. Here are a few photos to show how this looked...

Here's the book the K/1 reader was reading.

Our kids were able to read along with the text while listening to the reading.

Their reading notes (much like the notes I collect about them when listening to them read)
detailed all the strengths of the reader as well as the areas they felt needed to a little
more support.

The kids felt this reader:

* Already knew to begin reading at the beginning of the text
* Selected books based on his personal interests
* Anticipated what words might come next
* Read with a bit of feeling

*  Needed help using specific strategies to solve unknown words
*  Could learn to read more smoothly

The identity of the Mystery Reader is always concealed and we are so thankful for their willingness to help us out by reading on tape for us. The benefit of doing this work together is two-fold. One, through repeated experiences such as this the kids will slowly learn to identify ways they can support their first grade reading buddies and begin teaching into those. And two, by naming strong qualities and strategies readers use to be successful they are bolstering their own knowledge and capabilities as readers. They're supporting their own growth as well as their first grade buddies.

And now here are some other things going on in the classroom...

In science we are learning about environments and habitats. The kids have
been working in small groups to conduct online research about the needs of
various animals in an attempt to describe the type of environment/habitat they
need to survive.

For example, this group was researching the needs of a mouse. Categories included: shelter,
food, and water source(s) as well as descriptions of the range of weather conditions and
land conditions/types.

As third graders, we now have our very own Chromebooks in the classroom for work
such as this. This easy access to technology makes certain aspects of our work so much more
 convenient. That said, I'm extremely careful to limit how often we access screens for our
learning. What I don't want is to fill our days by sitting and staring at the computer for hours
on end. Rather, we tend to use the Chromebooks every few days as needed.

After online research was complete the kids began creating murals to show us what
their animal's environment/habitat would look like. They needed to include every
aspect of their research in these visual representations.

Speaking of science, we now have Snap Circuits for our morning Explorations!

Snap circuits are kits full of all you need to build various types of circuits that light up bulbs,
sound buzzers, spin motors, and even receive radio signals. The kit comes with a manual that
shows how to make hundreds of different things.

The kids love exploring these kits. That said, there are many small parts
and rechargeable batteries. We've spoken a great deal about the importance
of carefully cleaning up to ensure nothing is lost. So, it's a great lesson
in responsibility as well.

I can't wait to see all they build. Later in the year we'll launch a formal inquiry into
electricity and building circuits. From their exploratory play with these kits, I predict they'll
already know a great deal before we even begin!