Leap Into Learning: Reading Challenge and What We've Been Learning

Reading Challenge!!

Reading each night is so important to help foster a love of reading and learning in your children. It is also vital in helping them grow as readers! So here is your challenge...take pictures of your child reading in many different settings, times of day and with a variety of people! You can email the pictures or send them in. I am hoping that I can use some of these pictures and add them to our blog. We want everyone to know how important reading is to the Learning Lambs and their families! Happy reading :)

What We've Been Learning...

Phonics: I can make words by replacing and substituting letters.

This week we have used the Smartboard to show how we can build different words with the same letters. We have learned how to change the beginning, middle and ending sounds in words to make new words.

Using letters to build words

Adding letters to build new words

Sight Words: I can learn new sight words.

We have so much fun learning our new sight words. The best way to learn new words is to read! When we see words in text, in meaningful contexts, it is easier to pick them up. We also play a lot of games to learn them. Some of the games include playing Body Spell on GoNoodle, read-say-cover-write, hangman, word search and fly swatter.

Spelling words with our bodies

Body Spell (GoNoodle)

Reading: I can create the picture in my head while I read.

Reading is all about making meaning. We have been working on listening to stories and trying to create a picture in our heads. We have also spent time in independent reading to see if what we pictured in our heads after reading matched what the illustrator drew.

Drawing pictures to match words (what they pictured in their heads)

Choosing books to read that are "just right"

Independent reading

Choosing books that interest us

Writing: I can write a story about my opinion.

This week we started to write our own opinions. We wrote about if we liked school or not and what we like best-cookies or ice cream. Ask your child what their opinion was.

Writing Workshop

Using the room to help us write words

Hard at work

Math: I can use math symbols to make a number sentence.

This week we really dove into subtraction. We are learning how to use symbols (minus sign and equals sign) to represent our subtraction story. Since we celebrated the 100th day of school this week we also spent time reading our clues to have other students guess what 100 things were in our bag. The kids did a great job with this and they loved it!!

Clues for our 100 bag

Guided Reading: I can use what strategies I have learned to help me become a better reader.

Guided reading is a time for Mrs. Miller and I to call groups of students to our table, based on their reading needs, to read books with us. The books are a little above their independent reading level and require some help to read. We read these books at school each day and then send them home so they can continue to practice out their strategies.

Whisper phones help us hear ourselves read

Pointing to the words to make sure what we say matches the text

Literacy Centers: I can work with people in my center to grow as a reader, a writer and as a mathematician.

Literacy centers occur during guided reading time. While students are working together in literacy centers Mrs. Miller and I pull kids to our table to read. Literacy centers are used to reinforce and practice what we have been working on and learning.