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Sunday, January 31, 2016
Happy Snowmen
The class was so excited to start art with Miss Potter this last Thursday! I also love doing art in the classroom and early last week we made happy snowmen. This project fits this class so well... happy snowmen to represent happy students.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Piggie and Elephant Day!
Today we invited in the first grade class to share our Piggie and Elephant books. Each 2nd grade partnership read the Mo Willems' Piggie and Elephant books they've been practicing with the focus of reading with expression. We also shared the books we wrote ourselves. Our goal in writing our own books was to capture the personality of these two lovable characters. We've so enjoyed this character study and writing unit! We celebrated our day with some Piggie and Elephant cake as well! I love to see how proud the students are of their work, and how excited they are to share it.
My son, Mason, who is now in 4th grade also stopped by to share the Piggie and Elephant book he wrote in my class as a 1st grader. Piggie and Elephant Day came to be when he sat down at our kitchen table one day and started writing his own Piggie and Elephant book. This sparked the idea that the whole class could do this, and then we could celebrate our hard work. I also think it's a great example for the class to show how progress in our writing and spelling and handwriting takes time and effort. We were able to look at Mason's first grade work and say, "Hey, look at these great ideas! There may be words that are spelled wrong or letters going the wrong way, and that is part of the process for us as we grow into better writers through practice!" The class had many thoughtful questions for Mason about his writing process. What a fun afternoon!
My son, Mason, who is now in 4th grade also stopped by to share the Piggie and Elephant book he wrote in my class as a 1st grader. Piggie and Elephant Day came to be when he sat down at our kitchen table one day and started writing his own Piggie and Elephant book. This sparked the idea that the whole class could do this, and then we could celebrate our hard work. I also think it's a great example for the class to show how progress in our writing and spelling and handwriting takes time and effort. We were able to look at Mason's first grade work and say, "Hey, look at these great ideas! There may be words that are spelled wrong or letters going the wrong way, and that is part of the process for us as we grow into better writers through practice!" The class had many thoughtful questions for Mason about his writing process. What a fun afternoon!
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Writing our Piggie and Elephant Books
In 2nd grade we are huge fans of Piggie and Elephant books! We use them in our reading to work on reading with expression and understanding character traits. It's so fun to really pay attention to the similarities and differences between these 2 great friends: Piggie and Gerald. We have noticed that Gerald is dramatic and at times grumpy, but still very kind. We've learned that Piggie is optimistic, lighted hearted, and silly.
The students are currently working on writing their own Piggie and Gerald stories. I love how the students take ownership of this project. They are free to work at their desks or spread out on the carpet. Students will make a different choice each day depending on what they're working on at the moment. Projects like these give the students freedom to play around with their creativity while implementing the basics of constructing a story line that makes sense, and of course, using correct conventions so their message is clear to the reader.
When we are finished with our stories, we will invite the 1st graders in and enjoy a Piggie and Elephant celebration where we share our stories.
The students are currently working on writing their own Piggie and Gerald stories. I love how the students take ownership of this project. They are free to work at their desks or spread out on the carpet. Students will make a different choice each day depending on what they're working on at the moment. Projects like these give the students freedom to play around with their creativity while implementing the basics of constructing a story line that makes sense, and of course, using correct conventions so their message is clear to the reader.
When we are finished with our stories, we will invite the 1st graders in and enjoy a Piggie and Elephant celebration where we share our stories.
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