Starting on Monday I will be assigning reading homework. Students are expected to read nightly for 20 minutes. Please sign your child's planner page each evening, Monday - Friday, confirming they have completed this homework.
Flexible Seating & Mix It Up Monday
This year I've set up my room with flexible seating to make it more student-centered. Every Monday (or the first school day of the week) is Mix It Up Monday where students pick a color object out of a bag and sit at the table with that color. This gives students a chance to experience the different sitting options around the room (please see pictures below of the seating options). If they need a break from the alternative seating option, they may request to move to a more traditional seat around the perimeter of the room. I reviewed the expected behaviors for the flexible seating with the students and they are doing a great job using the different seating options appropriately.
Students continued working on their teamwork skills this week. One of the activities they did was a counting game with a partner. First, they had to alternate counting out loud saying 1, 2, 3 with their partner. If they made a mistake they had to celebrate making the mistake. We discussed how making mistakes helps us to learn. After they were able to count to three together, I asked them to clap for number 1, then say 2, and 3 out loud, again alternating and celebrating when they made a mistake. This one was a bit harder, but there was lots of celebrating happening. Finally, I challenged them to clap for 1, stomp on the floor with their foot for 2, and say the number 3 out loud, each taking a turn as they alternated each number. This was the most challenging, but they were great sports and celebrated their mistakes. We followed this activity with a discussion about perseverance.
We continued with our classroom community building this week by doing an activity where each student decorated a large puzzle piece sharing some information about themselves. We put the puzzle pieces together to decorate one of our classroom bulletin boards. I learned many interesting things about each student from family, pets, and hobbies, to favorite colors, adjectives to describe themselves, and much more! Student also learned about things they have in common, as well as their differences.
Language Arts
This week we started our language arts curriculum which includes reading, writing, and vocabulary building. The focus of our first unit is understanding human rights. We are reading the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. This week the focus was learning to be a close reader. Student are also learning some Spanish as we are reading the story.
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