January 17

So nice and warm outside today.  The kids loved being outside and getting some fresh air.

This morning we had 2 rounds of daily 5.  During this time I met with my guided reading groups.  We are really focussing on re-telling the events of the stories we read.  In the next week or so we will be starting something called CAFE.  CAFE focusses on reading and comprehension strategies that students can use at school and home.  I will post the strategies each time we learn a new one.  CAFE stands for comprehension, accuracy, fluency and expression.

In Writer's Workshop we listened to a story called the Great Blue House. This story is organized based on the seasons and how each season affects the house.  Our job as writers was to then choose a character or an object and write about how they are affected by the seasons.

This morning we re-visited how to use the iPad to take a video and upload it to IRIS.  Starting tomorrow IRIS will be a choice for Daily 5.  Things that can be put on IRIS at school all have to be academic related.    After DEAR we helped our grade 1/2 buddies with their puppet shows.  We videotaped them and then uploaded their video to IRIS.  The grade 3s were amazing helpers.

In Social Studies we have started to learn about rights and responsibilities.  We are working with Ms. Thomas' class on this.  Our first assignment was to create a collage using words and pictures of things we like about the world and things we would change.  We will eventually be talking about the rights and responsibilities of children in Ukraine, Tunisia,Peru and India.  We will compare our country to theirs.  

As I write this blog I am so thankful to have over 20 expert editors.  I often make mistakes typing and my 25 sets of helpful eyes never let a mistake slip by.  Thank you team!

Have a wonderful evening.