MATTER

We continue to learn about MATTER and its properties.  They read with a partner about SOLIDS which included some very cool photographs (extreme close ups) and interesting subject matters (natural sponges).  As they were reading, Avery got up from his desk to get one of his new acquired natural sponges wet to show his partner.  Yup.  The kid brought two natural sponges to school on the exact same day we were reading about them.  I love my job. 

Biography Museum

Museums are fun to visit.  Why not create one in our classroom?  I put out a wide selection of Who Was… books (I may need a 12 step program) for kids to look over.  They had 15 minutes to travel around the room checking out at least ten books.  They were asked to read the back of the book, look inside of the book, or read a sentence or two.  I also asked them to check out books about people they didn’t know, along with people who they were familiar with.  After 15 minutes, everyone sat down and I selected kids with my deck o’ cards (a class “deck” with everyone’s name on it) to choose the book they’d like to read.  There were 36 people to choose from (sets of six books each), so every kid was able to get their first choice.  The conversations they were having were fantastic.  “I’ve never heard of this guy.  I wonder what he did.”, “Who’s this?  Her outfit makes her look really important.”, “I read this book…” (rattles off a ton o’ cool facts), and “I can’t wait to learn about her!”   

Stay tuned!  Up next:  Biography Reports!

Our Passion for Poetry Continues!

As we learn about the various types of poetry out there, we are also taking the time to find our inner poet.  The energy in our room is fantastic when they are working on their poems.  They chat, laugh, exchange ideas and work together.  It’s a wonderful scene.  Our subject for Friday was Valentine’s Day.  I am continuing to encourage them to SHARE their work in front of their peers…sharing can be scary, but our classroom is a safe place to start!  They get SO much from sharing their poems with others.  YahoOOoO!  Our goal:  EVERYONE SHARING!   J  Our Autobiographical poems will be finished when we get back from break.  I’m learning new things about your fab kids reading their work!