Kindergarten Week 11

by | Nov 14, 2015 | In The Loop

Language Arts 

We read a great realistic fiction story: El principe solitario. This is a story about a prince who has everything he could possibly want, except a friend.  In the end he learns how to be a friend in order to have a friend. Other things we focused on this week were:

  • 20151113_091852oral blending of compound words and syllable pictures
  • capital letters, high-frequency words, exclamation marks, word length, question marks, print directionality
  • Comprehension strategies of monitoring and clarifying, predicting, making connections, and drawing conclusions.
  • Classification of vocabulary (This helps us to really look at each word before deciding which category to place it in.)
  • Writing notes and messages to friends and loved ones (This was a great way for us to begin preparing for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday!)
  • Words that describe how many
  • We had a lovely story time from our 4th/5th grade class.

Our specific syllable studies this week were: fa, ha, ja, ka.

Our sight word studies this week included: cuatro, cinco, seis, siete. Being able to read number words is important. This will be useful when we start story problems in math.

Math

20151113_112348 We began using our number line more this week. We use the number line to practice counting on and counting backwards. (At the beginning of November we added a countdown until Thanksgiving vacation to our daily calendar routine.)

We used these cute baggies so the students could move the zipper along when they counted on.  This is a great way for them to see they can start at any given number and then count on to add. (No need to start back at the beginning each time.) Students also practice subitizing as one of our line-up routines.  This is instant recognition of a set of dice or tallies.

Social Studies & Science

Well, Columbus’ perseverance paid off.  After trying to get support from a king and queen for seven years, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand finally decided to financially support his voyage by supplying the ships, crew and supplies.  This week we learned about Columbus’  two month voyage across the Atlantic.  We know that he pushed onward even with the doubts and fears of his crew.  We learned that they finally found land but unbeknownst to Columbus, he did not find the land he thought they did.  The kids had great fun reenacting the crews’ sentiments aboard the ships.  See if they can explain this activity that we did.
On Tuesday, we did a Veteran’s Day lesson and craft.  We will be sending notes to recovering veterans thanking them for their service.
Next Friday, November 20th, we will have an informal, Thanksgiving performance for parents.  Parents are invited to come early (2:40) to the classroom to hear some of the Fall songs and poems they have been learning in class.  See you soon!