"castle algorithm" explained!

*Full disclosure…I only use algorithms at the very end of a unit. I am huge on building number sense, and I believe it is vital to have a firm understanding of the concept before introducing an algorithm. Otherwise, math is just rote memorization and procedure with no connection to number.

Snow!

I just thought I would share these fun pictures of our snowy soccer field. I hope everyone has a fun and safe snow day!

Dividing Syllables

Our class has been working with multisyllabic words, and using strategies to decode these words. The first part of tackling multisyllabic words is to segment them into manageable chunks, so we are learning how to segment words into syllables. I ask the class to look for syllables that are by themselves (not vowel teams or diphthongs at this point) and count them. That is the number of syllables in the word. We then have three rules for segmenting words.

When words have a cvccvc format they are easy to segment because the word is segmented between the two consonants. in this case "public" segment between the b and the c. then tap and say each syllable- p-u-b, pub; l-i-c, lic- "public." (remember that the ck option is only used after short vowels in 1-syllable words). 

With cvcvc words like relish, the word is segmented between the l and the i to "close in" the vowel so that it will make the short sound. r-e-l; del, i-s-h, ish, "relish." 

Finally, with cvcccvc words, we first look for digraphs, in this case the th. Digraphs always stay together so we segment the word between the h and the t. b-a-th, bath; t-u-b, tub- "bathtub." 

These steps may seem trivial, but it is amazing and empowering it is for early readers when decoding! We also use similar techniques for spelling, and I will add more about that later. 

As promised, this is our 100 year bulletin board. I was so impressed by their thoughtful responses! 

Marking Sentences

I thought it would be useful to post this video of how sentences should be marked during dictation. This

Example of how to mark up sentences. 

is a practice that we do almost every day and has become second nature to the class, but is new for some of our families. The important thing to remember is that only controlled sentences should be marked up.  Under the video I have listed several 3.1 controlled sentences that you can use with your children at home. The purpose of marking up sentences is that it arms the student with concrete strategies to check their own writing. I like to call this their built in spell-checker. Remember that we are only working with closed syllables at this time, and in a closed syllable all of the vowels make the short sound. The only time a vowel is long is when there is a closed syllable exception i.e "old" "olt" "ost" etc.

Some sample sentences to use are:

• Sid did not miss the sunset.
• Bob got a sunfish with his rod. 
• Dad will dust the cobweb in the den. 
• Did Bret get the shellfish for Mom? 
• The dog in the bathtub is a mess. 
• The kids went to rent the Batman flick. 
• Frank thinks that he will finish last. 
• The wild bobcat hid in the shed.
• Beth did not get upset when she lost. 
• Jill had fun with the magnet.
• Do not drop the album in the slush.
• Fill the basket with shells.*
• Did Kim admit that she felt a chill?
• Stan put the napkin on his lap.*
• Kevin did not get upset with Jill.*
• Kim went to the shop to finish the job.*
• Ed went to the cabin by the pond. 
• Bill fell but did not get upset. 
• The big blast upset the pup. 

*These words have a spelling option (k/c). It is okay to tell them to use the a "k." 

Also, full disclaimer that I did not make up these sentences, they are part of the Wilson Reading System. (Besides, who would want to admit making up a sentence like "Jill had fun with a magnet." anyway!)

100th Day of School!

It's hard to believe that we are already at the 100th day of school. We had a fun 100-packed day of

activities.  In an effort to build number sense and use concrete examples of abstract thoughts we made necklaces out of cereal. I encouraged the class to develop a pattern using colors in groups of 10. This was a fun activity, but difficult to keep the kids from eating the "beads" of the necklace!

Our class also made these cute little 100 day hats; again, we used groups of 10 to develop the concept of 100. We discussed what we would buy if we had $100, which was very interesting, but also an opportunity to discuss the average cost of things. Unfortunately $100 won't buy a swimming pool for the school! 

We wrapped up our festivities with a trip to the Dollar Store. Both our class, Mrs. Blodgett's class and

Mrs. McMurphy's class joined us. I was so impressed with everyone's polite manners in the store. The fun thing about the Dollar Store is being able to "you can have anything in this store!"

We wrote stories about what we will do and look like when we are 100, and I found a really cool app

that ages people in pictures. I'm going to make a bulletin board with the stories and pictures we took-They turned out really great (but a bit disturbing)! Check out Davis at 100! I will soon upload pictures of the bulletin board once I have it completed. 

One more picture of the "crazy boys!" 

Marking Closed Syllables

This is a new app called "Show me." I have been working with it so that I can record the strategies we are using in class and upload them to the blog. This first video is a trial, but hopefully many more will follow. My goal is to have the kids work on their iPads, explain what they are doing, and upload it so that they can "remind themselves" of the process when they are doing homework. Please let me know if this works and if you are able to see it; I'm still not quite sure how it will work!

The Busiest Time of the Year!

It always seems like the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the busiest time of the year, and the time between New Year's and the last day of school is always a whirlwind! It's hard to believe that the school year is half-way over, but we have a lot of fun things planned for the remainder of the year.  Sense it has been so long since my last post, I thought I would add a few pics from the last few months to catch up.

Our class visited Spring Arbor Retirement home. We made placemats for the residents Christmas dinner.  

We all enjoyed our trip to Disney on ice, which fit in nicely with the fairy tale unit we finished in language arts.  

Our trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art was a blast, and the weather was perfect! A big thank you to Mrs. Romero for planning this trip.  

Charlie made the cutest chocolate mice to share! His family is so creative!