IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

In Math Workshop, we have been asking the kids to challenge themselves with larger numbers.  Today we talked about breaking apart numbers into smaller groups.  This is called friendly numbers.  For example, if you are adding 50 plus 15  you can break apart the larger number to make it easier (or more friendly) to solve.  50 could turn into five groups of 10!  All of the sudden the problem seems much more approachable.  Townes used friendly numbers to solve his math problem today.  He shared it with the class.  Check out the picture below of him sharing his mathematical knowledge!

This morning, during Reader’s Workshop, we had a great conversation about non-fiction.  I asked the kids: “Why do we read non-fiction?”  Instantly hands went up and here are some of the answers they shared:

“We read non-fiction to learn new things.”

“We read non-fiction to explore ideas that we don’t know about!”

“To grow as readers.”

“To gather new ideas!”

We read a book about clouds.  Together we learned that clouds that are thin and wispy show the weather will be good.  At the end as we shared more things we learned Raki said, “Mrs. Clark, I learned that you can’t walk on clouds!  They are made of gas and you would fall through them!”

Last week and this week we have been talking about Informational Text (nonfiction) in Reader’s Workshop.  To begin we studied the different components of nonfiction; glossary, table of contents, bold words, index, subtitles, and captions.  Today, as we came to captions, the kids worked together in partners to create captions of pictures we took in our classroom.  They were so excited to create their own from pictures of their friends.

Last night, at our Family Night, the kids were able to paint fruits and vegetables to create pieces of art for our cafeteria.  Today, we brought that same activity into our classroom.  The kids were painting cucumbers, oranges, pomegranates, lemons, and more!

To add to that, the kids were really curious about the pomegranate.  Some had ate one before and others had never seen it.  So after lunch today we opened it up and tasted the pomegranate seeds.  There were many friends that requested seconds and thirds!  I wish I would have taken a picture because their faces and expressions were priceless!  Be sure to ask about it tonight!

Tonight’s Family Art Night was a great success!  Here are a few pictures from the watercolor section of the night.