Reading Sneezy the Snowman

During a read aloud time , we read the book Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright.  

We used the book to talk about whether the book was fiction or non-fiction and what evidence we could use to support our decision.  We talked a little about how Maureen Wright, as the author, got to decide who the characters would be and what would happen to them.  But we really discussed retelling the book.  When retelling, we talked about the characters, where they were, and who had a problem.  When we discovered the problem, we discussed what the characters did to solve the problem.  Ask your child what Sneezy's problem was and how he tried to solve it.  (Hint:  Sneezy made three poor choices, but his friends helped him make better choices--what were they?)

We were able to retell part of the story by writing about what mistakes Sneezy made:

"Sneezy the Snowman melted when [he] stood by the fire."

"Sneezy the Snowman melted when he stood by the fire and drank hot chocolate."

"Sneezy the Snowman melted when he go in the hot tub."

Based on what we learned from the book, we extended our understanding of the book by talking and writing about what a snowman should not do.  

Here are some of the results:

 "A snowman should not drink hot chocolate because it melts."

"A snowman should not go to Hawaii because there is volcanoes."

"A snowman should not stand close to the fire because he will melt."

What other books can you retell?

Olympics Resources for Kids

Are you as excited as I am for the Olympics to start?  Here are two links that you may enjoy with your child if you are interested in the Olympics:

Carmel Clay Public Library

Activity Village

Go U.S.A.!

Learning About 3-D Shapes

Our math class is getting really good at identifying 2-D shapes.  Now we're turning our attention to 3-D shapes.  

We have been playing a version of the game Memory:

Our goal was to match up the shape (both 2-D and 3-D) to a real-life object.


Where can you find examples of shapes in your every day life?

Working on Personal Responses

One of our standards is to share an opinion on a topic like a recently read book.  Today we decided to discuss a book we read last week:  Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep! by Maureen Wright.  

The first thing we did was talk with a partner about what we thought of the book:  

We were talking about whether we liked the book and why we thought the way we did.  We're also practicing using the word because in our discussions.  

Next we took to our journals to write what we discussed with our turn-and-talk buddy:

When our independent writing time was over, some of us could share what we wrote:

Next up:  we'll draft more opinion pieces about some of our memorable books!  

What Can You Do with Pattern Blocks?

We can . . . 

build

make pictures

make patterns

and sort.

What can you do with pattern blocks?

Three Ways to Read a Book--Retelling

It's going to be a busy year in our classroom library!

Students will use this spot to practice reading independently. We learned that there are three ways to read a book:  read the words, read the pictures, and retell a story. We're focusing on retelling a story first. Since school has begun, we have heard many stories.  In the past, I have retold a book, and the students and I retold some stories together.  Today we tried out retelling a story with a few of our classmates.  See?

When we retell, we use the book to help us remember what happened in the story.  We check each page and use clues from the pictures if we have forgotten to help us retell the story. Sometimes we get the words exactly right!  It's fun to read favorite stories over again!

I was only able to catch a few readers this time.  I'll catch others the next time!

Routines and Expectations

We made it through the first week of school!  The students have adjusted well to our schedule, and we're picking up the routines quickly.  Woohoo!

This week we focused a lot on behavior expectations. We learned how to get along with others in the kindergarten classroom. Our big idea:  I can get along with others. 

We broke down some of the components of our big idea, especially listening, sharing, and taking turns.

We discussed the three rules for centers and Daily 5. I hope to take pictures of the students demonstrating these behaviors next week.

We read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. 

It's such a fun, interactive book.  We learned that when we hear the word "no," it means "no." We learned that when Pigeon pleaded and bargained, it didn't work.  It didn't work when Pigeon got angry and threw a fit, and it won't work for kindergarten students either!  We'll read other Pigeon books throughout the year. He is a favorite character.

We talked about how sometimes people or things can bother us, and we discussed words we can use and actions we can take when we find ourselves in that situation.

Finally, we heard a story about a monster who goes to school and breaks all of the rules. We decided which behaviors would cause us to get clip ups or clip downs on our clip chart.

We're ready for a successful year in kindergarten!