Reading Strategies

For much of the month of October we did a reading strategy inquiry.  We talked about how reading is a lot like building a house, because when we read we build a story in our minds.  Just like builders, readers need tools when they get to tricky parts in their books.

For the last few weeks we have been on the lookout for things we do when we get to tricky parts.  At the end of each workshop we shared what things helped us when we got stuck and added it to a chart. The following chart is a compilation of what we noticed about ourselves as readers and the things we do when we get stuck.

What is your favorite strategy to try?

Reflective Thinkers

These past two weeks have gone by in a flash!  I think I am finally getting over the cold/cough that has kept me down more than I would like.

Room 408 watched the Jane Goodall video that was previously posted on the blog and did a lot of deep thinking and writing about what they saw.  They found a space to work and had some quiet time with their thoughts and Think Books to record what "stuck with them."

Then they shared their thinking with their Talking Partners.

Enjoy this video which shows their Jane Goodall Think Book entries:

What stuck with you about the Jane Goodall video?

Beloved, Jane Goodall

Over the past few days we have been learning about the life of researcher, Jane Goodall.
We started learning about Jane a few days ago by reading a book about when she was little:

We also learned that she had a stuffed chimpanzee that she loved, named Jubilee.

Today we read the book The Watcher, which told us more about how Jane accomplished her dream to work with and study chimpanzees.  She traveled to Gombe, Africa.

She was also a writer, and made piles and piles of notes and research in the years she spent researching.  We realized that this is just like how we keep research in our Think Books!

We learned that one of her favorite chimps was named David Greybeard.

However, after many years Jane realized that the chimps were in danger of becoming extinct.  She realized that the best way of helping the chimpanzees was to go across the world to share their story.

Jane Goodall is an excellent example of the 3 A's:  Activism, Awareness, and Aid.  When we work on our inquiries this year, Room 408 will be trying to keep these 3 A's in mind.

What inspires you about Jane Goodall?

Revising Our Writing

Today we worked on adding parts to our writing to make it even better.  Sometimes, we found that we wanted to add parts and we didn't have enough room!  Enter: flaps.  Here are some pictures of Dane sharing his story about going to the waterpark.  He decided to use a flap to add in a part to his story about how his heart was beating fast when he was standing at the top of the slide with his dad, getting ready to go down.  This flap he added to his story made it even more powerful!

We found out that flaps are a great way to add parts to your story, even when there is not a lot of room.

Authors in Room 408 get feedback on their current piece of writing.

Aaron used flaps in his writing today, too.

Way to go, Room 408!

Making Ten on Number Racks

We have been using rekenreks, or number racks, to represent numbers and combinations of numbers.

On Tuesday Room 408 was given the challenge to find all the possible combinations for ten on the rekenreks and record them.  There are eleven possible combinations and many of the mathematicians in Room 408 persevered until they figured out all eleven possibilities.

What is your favorite way to make ten?

Tech-Savvy First Graders

This afternoon Room 408 was introduced to the exciting world of email.  They had so much fun emailing each other back and forth, practicing our reading and writing skills in action.

When we discussed their thoughts and reflections on the possibilities of email, they were bubbling with so many ideas.

"We can send stuff to people are far away!"

"When can we get our parent's email addresses?!?"

"I like getting email."

"What is the difference between texting and email?"

"We should make sure we send emails to lots of different people so no one is left out."

"We will be stronger readers and writers if we email."

And my favorite:  "We can write a sentence to someone instead of walking across the room and talking to them!"  :P

On tomorrow's docket?  Emailing attachments such as screen shots and photos to show evidence of our learning.

What do you think is cool about email?

Discovery

On Friday we started learning about Jane Goodall.  We read this book and learned about how she was curious and patient as a little girl, and she loved to go outside to discover and explore.

We also talked about the book One Small Square: Backyard:

Armed with our Think Books, our pencils, a magnifying glass, and a black square, we headed to the woods behind Hillcrest to "be like Jane" and discover.

We explored and found lots of cool stuff.

Then we found a spot for our "small square study."

We wrote and drew about our observations and discoveries.

We even had a Philippe Petit-inspired moment:

What a beautiful afternoon!

What was your favorite part of our woods exploration?