Word-O

Today we played BINGO with words (Word-O).

This fun game was used to review words with Digraphs. We had to cut out each word, highlight the digraph (sh, th, ch, wh, tch) within the word, then arrange our Word-O boards. As I read aloud students placed a marker on each word.

We had so much fun during this review activity.

Hard at Work

Review: Numbers 1-10

Great for reinforcement at home.

Phonics

Seventh Age readers are doing a wonderful job working with the phonics in their current unit. We are focusing on words with the long "a" sound. We are also working with words that end with nd, nk, and ng. In our short story, we highlighted all of the words that incorporated the above skills.

Below, you can hear us reading a portion of the selection.

Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, and Tactile Linkages

We had so much fun in math today! Pilot mathematicians were certainly hard at work.

In today's activity I said a number aloud. The students needed to listen, and then find that number in their number book. Then, they traced over the formation as they spoke aloud. Next, they needed to use one-to-one correspondence to count out the desired number of manipulatives. Lastly, they were challenged to use their manipulatives to form the numeral.

Below you can hear us practice the formation for the number seven. We also tried to follow the bumpy dots with our eyes closed (taking away the visual input and relying solely on the tactile experience).

Long A Loop Game

Seventh Age Readers review long a words in the above game. In this round we are reading words from the -ake word family.

Bravo!

Happy One Hundredth Day of School!

We celebrated the 100th day by making glasses! We used our fine motor skills to cut-out the number as well as the ear pieces. As we cut, we listened to the story "100 Wacky Wishes" by Liza Charlesworth.

Afterwards, the students were asked what they would wish for if they could have 100 of anything at all?

Answers:

K: 100 unicorns!

J: 100 big ponies!

M: 100 x-boxes!

Graphing Hearts for Valentines Day

Pilot Mathematicians did a wonderful job sorting and graphing candy hearts to celebrate Valentines day. We discussed which color we had the most of and which we had the least. We also examined which colors we had equal amounts of!

Reading Buddies Technology Experience

The Seventh Age readers met with their Ninth Age buddies to explore the story, "Moving Day".

After reading, the groups were charged with the task of creating word clouds that contained descriptive words and key elements from the story. Ninth Age buddies worked on their keyboarding skills, while Seventh Age friends found information within the text.

We used Wordle to create our beautiful word clouds. Once the clouds were created, we were able to change certain elements such as the font, and color. Take a look at our work below.

If you would like to explore Wordle with your reader please follow this link.

Recognizing the letter "b"

It is difficult to correctly identify the letter "b" because it is quite similar to the the letter "d".

Sixth Age readers have been working diligently to try and master this tricky task.

One of the ways to remember the letter "b" is by saying that the long straight line from top to bottom (l) is a bat. That bat is hitting a ball (o). We know that the words bat and ball start with the letter "b". This helps us correctly identify the letter!

Try this tip at home with your reader.

Venn Diagrams Come to Life!

Seventh Age readers did a phenomenal job comparing and contrasting the shells in our current story, "Moving Day". Venn diagrams are wonderful graphic organizers. Using hula hoops we were able to create large Venn diagrams on our tables. Then we worked together to organize our information in the appropriate place.
We organized information about how the shells are different in the outer circles. Then we placed information about how the shells are alike where the circles overlap.

We are now ready for our upcoming folder paper which will contain a Venn diagram.

Number Books

In our number books the numerals have been dotted with small amounts of glue. Once the glue dries it creates a tactile experience as fingers trace across the surface alternating between a smooth then bumpy feeling. While we trace, we also speak aloud about how we are forming each numeral.
We make the activity more difficult by closing our eyes! This action effectively cuts off our visual input and we have to rely solely on the tactile experience to guide us.

Reading Comprehension

Seventh Age readers focused on the sequence of events in the story, "Moving Day". After examining the order in which events occur, they sucessfully completed a folder paper.

Bravo!

Number Writing

Pilot mathematicians are working hard on proper number formation. Before we put pencil-to-paper we are sure to trace the numbers with our pointer finger for a tactile experience. Next, we use the tip of the eraser to trace the number again. The eraser provides a bit of resistance which makes our hands work harder and helps our muscles to remember the number formation. Finally we put our pencil tip to paper to form our numbers.

Fun with Numbers

Pilot mathematicians are working with number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and number writing.

Today, we read a story that helped us become aware of how important numbers are in our world. We worked with our manipulatives to count out objects and represent numbers displayed on cards. Then, we did a pencil-to-paper activity.

We have really been hard at work!

"Moving Day"

Seventh Age readers have done a wonderful job reading "Moving Day" by Robert Kalan.
Bravo!