Puppets, Poetry, and Place Value

We have had a wonderful education major, Miss Lindley, helping us out in our room this semester.  As one of her projects, she worked with a group of students as they read fairy tale and folk tale stories.  The boys and girls picked their favorite story to perform and created a stick puppet show. After making the puppets, much practice went on for several days in order to get the voice and fluency just right.  This past week we had fun watching them "perform" their stories using a little puppet theater borrowed from another teacher in our building.

We also worked on using our voices to create different moods while reading the poem "The Storm."  Using an iPad to video record our practices, the kiddos were able to hear themselves and then discussed areas they needed to improve upon.  They really enjoy watching themselves on the Smartboard:

Here is the YouTube of our poem:

In math we have been practicing with base ten blocks, connecting cubes, and various math games to get a better understanding of place value.

Another activity that has become a favorite is "Roll and Write," a game to practice our spelling words.   

Also, after reading the story "The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash" by Trinka Hakes Noble, students discussed "cause and effect" and worked together to match a "cause" to an "effect" creating a complete sentence.

In writing we are practicing "persuasive" letter writing.  First, the boys and girls made a list of things they would like to have, places they would like to go, and things they would like to do.  After choosing an item from their lists, everyone completed an organizer containing the topic, a list of people to ask, and a list of things they would do if they were given their request.  The kiddos came up with some very interesting ideas!

We also began learning all about the weather with a thermometer activity, by making a little booklet on weather measuring instruments, and by learning about different types of clouds.  We will post pictures of some weather activities next time.

Thanks for taking time to read to the end of this long blog!  Until next time!