Week ending 11/30

Hi families!
December is on our door step and we are busy busy in room 250!
Here is some important information you need to be aware of:

• Next Wednesday is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.
• Don't forget that you can sign up for upcoming an upcoming morning meeting.  If you'd like to join us, please use this sign up: Morning Meeting Sign Up
• As we begin planning field trips (no set dates at this time), please be sure you have a current CORI on file if you'd like to volunteer to be a chaperone.  If you are unsure, please check with Ms. Sheehan in the office. 

Instead of a re-cap of this week, I wanted to share with you something amazing we started this morning!  It's called Art in Reading and students are so excited about it!  We read everyday during reading workshop and we also hear stories read aloud.  From those stories, we choose one that really stuck with us!  It could be we really liked the story theme, we made a connection to a character, or we learned some new information.  On Fridays, we're going to be sharing our thoughts on one story by creating a piece of artwork!  

Today, we focused on a non-fiction book we had read over the week and then created something to go with it to show what we learned and some non-fiction features we noticed in the text.  For example, one student read about lighthouses and created a model of the tallest lighthouse.  Another, read about supersize animals and created a model to show the difference between the biggest dog and the smallest dog.  Also, they were only allowed certain materials and that will change weekly.  Their creativity flourished and their excitement grew as they worked!  After working, we did a museum walk to see what everyone had created.  

I asked them what they felt went really well and their response was: cooperation among each other to help when one was stuck, specific compliments regarding their work they received from others, that each worked hard in their own way, and most importantly, how proud they were of their work!  

Here are some snapshots of what was created today!