IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

This week we are responsible for taking care of our school chickens.  Today, we went out as a class for the first time.  We give them water, food, and checked for eggs!  We collected 4 eggs.  Check out the pictures below to see some of our friends taking care of the chickens.

In Reader’s Workshop, we are continuing to use different strategies to help us when we are stuck on a word.  Today we learned how to “back up and reread” when we figure out a read.  Isabella shared how backing up and rereading helped her figure out the word “important.”

During Word Study we started learning about Word Families.  We read a story called The Fat Cat Sat on a Mat and we listed all the -at family words.  Then students worked in buddies to come up with words in the -ot and -ut families.

We also started discussing homework today.  Next week, the students will have additional homework with the reading log.  This week we are practicing the homework together so that your child will be independent at home! Each homework will have two math problems, a word study activity, and a writing section.

Friends practice the first part of the homework!

This week, we began talking about bones! This morning, friends were invited to create watercolor pictures that illustrated the insides of dinosaur’s bodies. We also had a discussion about theories on why bones are important to people and dinosaurs. Friends were invited to look at some chicken bones and a raccoon skull on the light table. We also created representations of dinosaurs with pipe cleaners, and added the different bones we knew about to our model. We hope to discover more about bones and their functions this week!

Tags: design, dinosaurs, project

Today was a big day for books in room 107, for many different reasons!

First off, as many of you might have heard from your children, we are beginning the early stages of a project. Right now, it seems that we will be diving into a project about sharks, however, one of the most exciting things about projects is that they can change course at a moments notice, so stay tuned!

This morning, when the kids arrived at school, our classroom library was filled with brand new books about sharks. One of our books baskets is dedicated to shark books, as well as our book display shelf. Many students chose to spend their Morning Choice time exploring text and pictures about sharks.

Students look at shark books during Morning Choice time.

Later, after Readers Workshop, we took our first trip to the school library. Students learned how to take care of books. They also got to check out their very own book for the week. Last year, school library books stayed at school. However, this year, students are allowed to take their library books home to read with their families. All library books must be returned by the following Monday so that students can check out a new book. If a child doesn’t bring their library book back to school, they will have to wait to get a new library book until their previous book is returned.

I did not send our library books home today. I plan on having a classroom discussion tomorrow and sending them home at the end of the day on Tuesday. If students bring their library book back to school before the following Monday, they will have opportunities to go to the library on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for an additional library check out time. On these days, I will be sending small groups of students down to return their books (if they have read them and brought them back to school) and check out a new book. This will be optional, and there might be some days when we don’t make it to the “open library” time. However, it will always be our goal!

Lastly, we have started using books as a new material in our Story Workshop. At the beginning of the year, students were expected to create a story with materials. Now, students create a story with materials and then are expected to put their story in a book. The books provide a way for us to keep stories so that we can share them for longer. They create more accountability for the students and their story telling. They also give us an opportunity to work on letter work and writing of words. Students are excited about this latest addition to Story Workshop!

Madeline works on the illustrations of her book about her family.

After finishing his story using materials, Spencer transfers his story to a book.

We have been incorporating a new time during our day called word workshop. This is typically a thirty minute period following reading workshop time that focuses on the study of words, word parts, letters, and letter sounds. Some days, students will work in groups on a specific activity that targets what they need in terms of words. This week, we have been working as a whole class to learn the procedures for this time of day.

We have engaged in two activities during word workshop this week. Some students have been using spoons to match upper and lower case letters together. This is to help students understand the many different looks of the same letter! Other students have been using stacking cups to practice sight word fluency and accuracy. Both of these activities have fostered friendly competition between students and have helped us grow!

Next week, we will be focusing on beginning sounds. Some students will work with consonant blends such as th, ch, sh, while others will be looking at individual letter sounds.

I am currently creating supplemental at home activities for families who have requested these. These include sight word and alphabet work. Please let me know if you would like something to work on at home!