Highlights from this week included an impromptu gardening session on the roof (in the rain) where the the children harvested more turnips and lettuce, watching the cranes live in their pen on the Crane Cam, starting a new read aloud called The Giants and the Joneses, working on an Autumn crossword puzzle and having a visit from Mr. Gunty who taught us all about the moon landing and brought moon rocks for us to see up-close!
MATH
In math, we introduced place value and how to write numbers in expanded form. While they are practicing reading and writing numbers in the 1000s, children must also have a conceptual understanding of place value and know what each digit is worth in any given number. We are working with the children to represent numbers in 4 ways: standard form, with base ten blocks (model form), expanded form, and written form:
MATH
In math, we introduced place value and how to write numbers in expanded form. While they are practicing reading and writing numbers in the 1000s, children must also have a conceptual understanding of place value and know what each digit is worth in any given number. We are working with the children to represent numbers in 4 ways: standard form, with base ten blocks (model form), expanded form, and written form:
To practice place value concepts, children build numbers with base-ten blocks. This provides a hands-on, visual representation of numbers and the values of each digit. We also played a game called Roll-a-Dice. Children used dice to create 3-digit numbers and then wrote the standard and expanded forms.
A great game for practicing place value skills at home is called Base 10 Fun. This is a free web-based game and uses virtual base-ten blocks. You can also get the app, Base 10 Bingo, which includes the same practicing games as the online version plus a fun bingo game.
TUMBLE BOOKS/STORYLINE
The children have learned to use the iPad to "Listen to Reading." Tumblebooks are a collection of online, animated books and your child can follow the text as a narrator reads each story. Listening to these ebooks (or other audio books) helps to develop fluency and vocabulary. Lab School has a subscription to Tumblebooks and you can access it from home (go to the Lim Family Library page with your LabNet ID) on your desktop computer or mobile device. The login and password is included on the FOR PARENTS section on this site. The Lab School Libraries also have subscriptions to TrueFlix and BookFlix which offer non-fiction ebooks. We also introduced Storyline, a site created by the Screen Actor's Guild where your child can listen to picture books read by well-known actors. Happy reading!
WHOOPING CRANES
Be sure to stop by the classroom to see the life-sized drawing of Wally the Whooper in the hallway. How does your child compare to this 5 foot bird with its 7-8 foot wingspan? We've even caught a few adults comparing themselves to Wally! See the Gallery for photos.
Migration has been underway for 9 days but the cranes have only flown 19 miles. Rain and winds have kept the cranes and the planes grounded since then. All seven crane-kids are now in Marquette County, Wisconsin. The ultralight aircraft are more sensitive to the weather conditions than the birds and can't always fly even though the whooping cranes are eager.
During Friday's down day, our class tuned into the crane cam and got to see the cranes live in their pen. We learned about the decoy crane that helps makes the cranes feel safe. We also learned about Robo-Crane and why the Operation Migration team needs to remain silent and stay in costume while they are near the cranes. The puppets and costume handlers are the first things the chicks see when they hatch. The scientists want the cranes to imprint properly so they recognize their own species and do not get accustomed to human contact. The hope is that these cranes, who were hatched in captivity, will become wild birds that can migrate on their own in the spring.
SANDHILL CRANE VIEWING
We wanted to let all of you know of a wonderful opportunity to see thousands of sandhill cranes in nearby Indiana. During our migration study, we will compare the sandhill crane to the whooping crane. As of October 14th, over 3100 sandhills were counted at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area and this number will continue to grow over the next few weeks. Around sunset and sunrise, these birds take to the air to socialize before flying out to feed in nearby marshes or roosting for the night. Their numbers will peak in late November/early December before they continue to warmer climates during their fall migration. You can find out more at http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3109.htm.
GOOD FIT BOOKS
Does your child need some help choosing books that are just right? Whether browsing for books at home, in the library or at a book store, children need strategies (with parent or teacher guidance) to help them find books that fit their reading abilities. Below are some strategies we use in the classroom and we hope you find them helpful at home. Download pdf here.
A great game for practicing place value skills at home is called Base 10 Fun. This is a free web-based game and uses virtual base-ten blocks. You can also get the app, Base 10 Bingo, which includes the same practicing games as the online version plus a fun bingo game.
TUMBLE BOOKS/STORYLINE
The children have learned to use the iPad to "Listen to Reading." Tumblebooks are a collection of online, animated books and your child can follow the text as a narrator reads each story. Listening to these ebooks (or other audio books) helps to develop fluency and vocabulary. Lab School has a subscription to Tumblebooks and you can access it from home (go to the Lim Family Library page with your LabNet ID) on your desktop computer or mobile device. The login and password is included on the FOR PARENTS section on this site. The Lab School Libraries also have subscriptions to TrueFlix and BookFlix which offer non-fiction ebooks. We also introduced Storyline, a site created by the Screen Actor's Guild where your child can listen to picture books read by well-known actors. Happy reading!
WHOOPING CRANES
Be sure to stop by the classroom to see the life-sized drawing of Wally the Whooper in the hallway. How does your child compare to this 5 foot bird with its 7-8 foot wingspan? We've even caught a few adults comparing themselves to Wally! See the Gallery for photos.
Migration has been underway for 9 days but the cranes have only flown 19 miles. Rain and winds have kept the cranes and the planes grounded since then. All seven crane-kids are now in Marquette County, Wisconsin. The ultralight aircraft are more sensitive to the weather conditions than the birds and can't always fly even though the whooping cranes are eager.
During Friday's down day, our class tuned into the crane cam and got to see the cranes live in their pen. We learned about the decoy crane that helps makes the cranes feel safe. We also learned about Robo-Crane and why the Operation Migration team needs to remain silent and stay in costume while they are near the cranes. The puppets and costume handlers are the first things the chicks see when they hatch. The scientists want the cranes to imprint properly so they recognize their own species and do not get accustomed to human contact. The hope is that these cranes, who were hatched in captivity, will become wild birds that can migrate on their own in the spring.
SANDHILL CRANE VIEWING
We wanted to let all of you know of a wonderful opportunity to see thousands of sandhill cranes in nearby Indiana. During our migration study, we will compare the sandhill crane to the whooping crane. As of October 14th, over 3100 sandhills were counted at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area and this number will continue to grow over the next few weeks. Around sunset and sunrise, these birds take to the air to socialize before flying out to feed in nearby marshes or roosting for the night. Their numbers will peak in late November/early December before they continue to warmer climates during their fall migration. You can find out more at http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3109.htm.
GOOD FIT BOOKS
Does your child need some help choosing books that are just right? Whether browsing for books at home, in the library or at a book store, children need strategies (with parent or teacher guidance) to help them find books that fit their reading abilities. Below are some strategies we use in the classroom and we hope you find them helpful at home. Download pdf here.
DAILY 3
Soon your child will be talking about “The Daily 3” at home. The Daily 3 is a literacy structure that teaches independence and gives children the skills needed to create a lifetime love of reading and writing and it is the new name for our literacy block in the afternoon. It consists of three tasks that have been introduced individually. After an introduction, the children discussed what it looked like, sounded like, and felt like to engage in the task independently. Then, the children worked on building their stamina until they were successful at being independent while doing that task.
The Daily 3 Activities include:
Read to Self
Work on Writing
Word Work
Now that all three tasks have been introduced, the children are fully engaged in reading and writing activities and the teachers are able to work with small groups and confer with children one on one. This structure is effective, the results are amazing, and the children really look forward to Daily Three.
Ask your child about the Daily 3 and see what he/she has to say. I anticipate your child will tell you about the stamina, how we are working towards independence, and maybe you will even hear about some of the fantastic things your child has written or read during our structured reading time.
This is a new structure for us and it's a work in progress. In addition to these 3 activities, your child will also have opportunities to "Listen to Reading" on the iPads as described earlier. Next week, we will introduce "Read to Someone." According to Gail Boushey and Gail Moser in their book, The Daily 5, Reading with someone helps readers, especially developing readers, become more self-sufficient and less reliant on the teacher for assistance. Research shows that taking turns while reading increases reading involvement, attention, and collaboration." Children will not only read to a friend or classmate, but they will discuss their understanding of the story, make observations or connections, and have fun reading to each other! "Listen to Reading" and "Read to Someone" will take place at other times during outside of the literacy block.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES REMINDER
We look forward to meeting with many of you on next week.. Please wait outside of the classroom until we come to the door. Our time is limited and we have a full day on Friday. Please be on-time. Thank you.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21st
7:30 Bernie
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24th
7:30 Sebastian 12:45 Matias
8:10 Marcus 1:25 Helena
8:50 Alice 2:05 Olivia
10:00 Caden 2:45 Brianna
10:40 Katie (Jeff)
11:20 Chani
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29h
3:45 Jasper
Have a great weekend!