Mo Willems

Poem: Come and Listen
Sight Words: me, to

Reading: This week we worked on the strategy of matching the pictures to the words. We used alphabet books to practice this skill. When reading it's important that we use the picture to help us decode words, but we need to be watchful to make sure that what we are saying matches the word. We had the example of a parade, but it was a picture of a big balloon. We talked about how it can't say balloon because the word starts with a "p".

A accuracy strategy that we worked on this week was recognizing beginning sounds in words. We practiced this a variety of ways. One day we rolled a dice with pictures and had to produce the beginning sound of the picture the dice landed on. (Pictures included a dog /d/, sun /s/, pot /p/, etc.)

We also used an app, ABC Magic 4 to work on beginning sounds in words. There are variety of ways we practiced within the app including matching the beginning sound to the picture, clicking the thumbs up if it was correct, and much more! Students will work on this app next week during Daily 5 Reading.

We also used picture cards to help us with beginning sounds. Students were encouraged to say the picture and the sound the word started with. They did great!

Writing: This week we continued writing letters. We learned how to write the letters Hh, Vv, Yy, and Ww. Look at the cool things we did with our letters!

Math: This week in math we introduced the 2D shapes. In kindergarten we focus on rectangle, square, circle, hexagon, and triangle. We showed a 2D shape video and then went on a shape hunt around the room. We also practiced making shapes with math tools, playdoh, and geoboards!

We also started using calendar journals to keep us engaged during calendar. They did great this week learning the procedures along with this and are doing great at recognizing/writing days of the week and the month!

Content: This week we did our first author study. We learned about Mo Willems who is the author and illustrator of many books of which include the Elephant and Piggie books and the Pigeon books. On Monday we started by watching a video of Mo Willems to learn about him. Then we completed a chart using the app Popplet. On Tuesday we read, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" and completed a predictable chart for something we don't want the pigeon to drive. On Wednesday we completed our predictable chart by recording our answers in an app called Chatterpix. This showed the pigeon's mouth moving as the student was talking. They thought it was so funny!

iPads:
This week had a lot of new apps that we were introduced and added into our independent rounds. One that we practiced to do independently to do next week was Recap. Recap is an app that students watch a video from the teacher to know a question, then they record their answer. This week we practiced by answering the question, "What was your favorite Mo Willems book?" Here were some responses!
https://app.letsrecap.com/public/r/a20bfeeeda4a38789a9d8e57b6263955
https://app.letsrecap.com/public/r/28cb74102b28c9c4e4077df0c6865657
https://app.letsrecap.com/public/r/cb15e20e49b9f3579b389735c8f64d68

We also used the app, Chatterpix to show the pigeon talking and tell our version of what the pigeon would want to drive. This was inspired by the book, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" Here were some of those creations!

The other apps that we included in this week's learning included RAZ-Kids, ABC magic 3 Phonics where students are working on beginning sounds, Writing Wizard where students are working on writing letters of the alphabet, and 123 Ninja where students are working at recognizing numbers 1-9. We also learned how to scan QR codes to listen to Mo Willems' stories!

We also went on our very first field trip! We went to Exploration Acres to explore the pumpkin patch. This will prepare kiddos as they now have background knowledge of pumpkins when we begin our pumpkin unit. Students were able to ride back to the patch and pick a pumpkin, explore fall inspired play areas, and use their knowledge of a map to make their way through a corn maze. We got lost, but talked about how we used teamwork to find our way out!

NEXT WEEK:

Reading: Students will...
-identify beginning sounds in words.
-learn the difference between reality and fantasy.
-listen and determine if words rhyme.

Writing: Students will...
-finish up writing letters of the alphabet!

Math: Students will...
-continue to learn and explore with 2D shapes.

Content: Students will be learning all about apples! Hopefully we'll be able to end our week with some yummy apple treats! Please be sure to send an apple with your child on Monday for an activity! The apple should be in a zip-loc bag with their name on the bag. If you would like to send 2 to help with any kiddo who cannot bring one- it would be appreciated!