What We've Been Up To...

Reader's Workshop: In reader's workshop, we have been working with our nonfiction book clubs. Everyone has enjoyed reading and researching a new topic of interest. I am so impressed to hear group members asking meaningful questions and engaging in thoughtful conversations. Yesterday, each book club started creating their posters to show what they have learned. The posters are getting filled with diagrams, interesting facts, food webs, and so much more! We will continue working on these for the rest of the week and each group will present and share what they have learned to the class next week.

Writer's Workshop: In writer's workshop, we have been working on opinion and persuasive writing. I can't even begin to tell you how much we are loving this unit! The students have completely knocked my socks off with some fantastic writing! We learned about how we can turn our opinions into letters and try to persuade or convince someone to either do something, see our point of view, or give us something. At first, most students were writing about something they wanted or needed, like asking for their own room or a tree house in the backyard. This week, we talked about how sometimes our words can make bigger changes too. Many students have realized they can also think about what changes could help a community, the school, or even the world. As our unit comes to an end, I hope to take some pictures or record some students reading their pieces to share with you all the wonderful writing that's been going on. :)

Math Workshop: In math workshop, we have moved on from counting coins, although we will still practice this skill throughout the year. This week, we started our new unit on measurement. We talked about nonstandard units of measurement, like paper clips, cubes, or straws, and discussed how we can use these units to measure different objects. The students have been doing a great job using these units to measure classroom objects with "no gaps or overlaps" during their Hands On center. Next week, we will focus more on using a ruler to measure objects with standard units like inches and feet.