Busy in Room 4

I apologize if you have wondered what has been going on in Room 4.  It has been a busy few weeks and the kids have worked hard.  Here is a quick summary  of  some things we have been working on:

Writing:

• We created an editing checklist together.  Everyone has a writing goal that they work on each day as they are doing independent writing.  Some things on our checklist are: 

           1.  I used neat handwriting.
           2.  My sentences make sense
           3.  I used correct punctuation.
           4.  I started each sentence with a capital letter.
           5.  I can write a paragraph with 5 or more sentences.
           6.  I use the word wall to help me spell words.

Reading:

• We are working hard on retelling a story with lots of details.  We do whole class retelling of some of the big books we read in shared reading. It is a little more difficult to do independently.  As you are reading with your child at home, stop periodically throughout the story and ask some questions.   Who are the characters?  What is the setting of the story?  What is the problem?  How did the problem get solved? 
• If you are reading a nonfiction book, ask these questions:  What is the topic?  What is the main idea?  What are some supporting details?  What are some key vocabulary words?  What are some text features they used?  (maps, bold words, captions, etc.)

Science: 

• We are finishing up a unit on liquids.  We have been reading and working with different liquids to see how they are the same and different.  We have been talking about properties of liquids.  The kids have learned some big vocabulary words.  Ask your child to tell you what these words mean:  translucent, transparent, viscous.   They are real scientists!

Check out our pictures below as the kids did some partner reading and retelling together!