Here's what we were working on in the classroom last week:
Reading : We spent time discussing the differences between 'real reading' and 'fake reading.' Fake reading is when you can read a text and make it sound fluent, but you have no understanding of what you've read. Real reading is when you read the words in the text and understand it. In the classroom, we've been saying that in order to do 'real reading,' you must combine your thinking with the text. Therefore, when you're reading a book, you should always be paying attention to that little voice in your head that is thinking about the book. In the coming months, we'll be learning about lots of different ways to think about texts in order to aid in deeper understandings.
Writing : Before break, we look a little break from our standard 'how to' writing unit in order to write about how to make gingerbread houses. After break, however, we got right back to writing our other 'how to' pieces. The students have been learning about the importance of breaking the steps down and using sequencing words to help teach the reader how to do something. Ask your child about what 'how to' pieces he/she is writing about!
Math : Last week was all about place value. We started by learning about base-ten blocks and then transferred our understanding of tens and ones to counting dimes and pennies.
Science : We kicked off our new science unit, which is all about weather, in the discovery lab last week. We talked a lot about wind and the students got to see a couple of different anemometers (wind meters). Unfortunately, it was too cold for us to go outside and measure the wind.
Social Studies : We continued our geography unit last week by learning about how maps show different things like rivers, lakes, and boundaries. Then, we started to learn a little bit about the continents and oceans.
Technology : The students created their first google doc last week! At Cherry Hill, all of the students have google accounts and use google apps. Last week, the students created a doc about a goal they had for the new year.
Here are a few pictures from last week: