Digging Deeper in our Books :)

Inferring: Good readers think about, search the text, and sometimes use personal knowledge to construct meaning beyond what is stated in the text.

In other words, we use clues to figure out what it means!

Sometimes, there is meaning hidden in our stories that we have to really take the time to stop and think about! We used a parody of the cartoon"Blues Clues" to solve reading mysteries as a class to help with Inferring. With our schema and the clues in the text..no book stands a chance for our reading detectives! Ask your reading detective how they "Stop and Think" about what they are reading. When doing your nightly reading or chapter with your student, have them stop and tell you what is happening in the story so far. They should include details that you would have to use the clues of the story to understand or "infer". This kind of detective work is just what good readers like to do!

Inferring: Book Clues from Rachel Bridges on Vimeo.

Ah the Theater!

What fun to go to the theater! Today, we had a literary adventure at the Alhambra right down the street from Chets! It is amazing what a treasure we have right around the corner.
The Alhambra's performance of Snow White was interactive and exciting. It was a great connection to the work that we have been doing in Reader's Workshop with our Reader's Theater! Our students marveled at the way the actors and actresses moved and spoke on the stage. They even invited some of our First Grade students to join the cast as the Seven Dwarfs :D. Please enjoy some snapshots of our experience at the Alhambra.

Welcome Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole!

Our school was honored to be visited by renown author and illustrator, Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole! Their presence was absolutely magical and our students watched in awe as they retold their stories and illustrated our ideas during a grade-level assembly yesterday. What fun it is to meet published authors!

Our growing authors marveled at the creativity and wordplay demonstrated by these two in our latest Book of the Month. We are working on replicating the types of wordplay found in "Princess Pigtoria and the Pea" by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole. Please enjoy this read-aloud by the author and illustrator themselves!

Untitled from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Bravo Sunshine Band Bravo!

Well, to summarize the Sunshine Band's presentation of Kevin Henkes Reader's Theater....AMAZING! Our students read with intonation, many of them knew all of their lines, and their costumes were priceless! Each play was applauded as the cast took a bow at the curtain call. Our presentations of "Lilly's Big Day", "A Weekend with Wendell", "Wemberly Worried" and "Shelia Rae the Brave" was enjoyed not only by parents, but also our 3rd grade FCAT friends, a First Grade, and Kindergarten Class. The Sunshine Band shone as they presented their Reader's Theater and hopefully have been an inspiration to each other and our audiences :D. Here is a sneak preview of our theatric presentation.."Lilly's Big Day"!

Lilly's Big Day from Rachel Bridges on Vimeo.

Magic Pyramid Game

As our students journey closer to Second Grade.. Combinations of Ten are apart of our schema! Students played a game during Choice Time over the last few weeks that was plain magic! Our students were given a deck of number cards to use with a partner. They were to create a pyramid with 4 rows with the cards and keep a "Mystery Card" on the side. Each time they removed a combination of ten (e.g. 6+4 or 8+2) they were to replace it with cards from their deck. When they only had one card remaining in their pyramid, our First Graders would predict what the "Mystery Card" might be... Game after game..it will always be your missing number for a combination of ten! For example, if your last card is "1" the "Mystery Card" will be..."9"!

Ask your student about the Magic Pyramid Game and about Combinations of Ten!

Retelling with Kevin Henkes

Our students have journeyed through their Kevin Henkes Author Study with retelling style! We have been "WOWed" by our students' retelling of Owen. We hope you enjoyed the puppet presentation your student performed for you at home :o)!

The Sunshine Band's in-class presentations knocked our socks off! Our students were absolutely perfect in their retellings of our Henkes tales. Students showed off in front of their classmates individually as they presented their retelling with puppets! Thank you for working so hard on creating these masterpieces. Many of them are displayed on our bulletin board.

This week, we would love to entertain you with four delightful Kevin Henkes tales in our very own classroom. This Friday at 9:15 am, we are proud to present, "A Weekend With Wendell", "Wemberly Worried", "Lilly's Big Day", and "Shelia Rae the Brave"! Our students have worked in groups over the last two weeks during their Literacy Station time to present their Reader's Theater for all of their families :). Please join us for cheesy treats and mouse tales :D!

See you there and enjoy some of our Kevin Henkes Memories :D!!!!