Robot Day and Preschool Reading Buddies
/It was great to be reunited after winter break! Students came to school this week eager to share stories of their adventures and excited to see their friends. On Monday morning two students happened to bring in robots to share with the group. Several students eagerly shared that they too had robots at home. This sparked a student idea- why not have a robot day where students could teach others to use their robots? Together we looked at our classroom calendar and decided that Wednesday would be a good day for “robot day”. On Wednesday morning during project time student engineers were able to share their robots with others. They showed each other how to use coding programs to give their robots commands. Several robots could move and speak. We even had a flying robot!
This week during numeracy we’ve been finding interesting ways to show different numbers. For example, we can represent numbers using pictures, base ten blocks, tally marks, equations, and story problems. In small groups our mathematicians got together to explore the number 72. They created posters to share their thinking with the whole class. This week we also learned how to play a new game called Qwirkle. This game requires strategic thinking and logical reasoning. Students used tally marks to keep score. We also learned how to solve Japanese number puzzles called KenKens. KenKens require students to use logical reasoning and provide students with practice solving basic math facts. Plus they are tons of fun! This website contains printable KenKens that you can use with your whole family- adults included!
Today we started a new buddy reading partnership. This time Otter students have a chance to be the “big buddies” instead of the “little buddies”. Each first/second grader was partnered with a preschooler from the Dolphin class. Prior to meeting with our buddies Otters spent time thinking about what types of books might be captivating for preschoolers. Then we talked about how to read with expression and good fluency. We discussed how punctuation, pictures, and contextual clues help us know how to read a page with good expression. We talked about not reading too fast or too slow. Then we practiced reading the books we chose. We were so proud to be able to read to the preschoolers. Every Friday we will spend 15-20 minutes reading stories with preschoolers. We will alternate between reading with the Dolphin and Shark preschool classes. These buddy partnerships will provide an authentic opportunity for Otters to practice reading with expression and fluency. They will also provide us with practice at being good leaders and role models for our school community.
At our small worlds table students collaborated to create stories about arctic animals in winter. Other students worked together to complete a winter puzzle. Engineers used Widgits to create interesting three-dimensional structures and patterns. We took our weekly trip to the library to find new books for our book bags and to find picture books to read to our buddies. Students brought in books from home to share with the class.
