Update
It was a big week for Year 2 Gammas as we began our shadow days upstairs in the Delta class. We also had a prospective student shadow one day so there were lots of “firsts” going on in Gamma-land this week. We hosted parent support night on Wednesday and then headed off to a perfect-weather Shipe Park on Thursday.
Memorable Moments
We tried a new morning community game called “Bob or Flop!” The Gammas wrote down a song/artist and we mixed them up in a bag. Next, we drew songs and cued them up on the classroom speaker. If kids liked the tune, they danced! (Bob!) If they were not a fan of the song, they “flopped!”–stood still and watched others dance their hearts out. It turned out to be a game filled with lots of laughs! (And surprise dance moves, too!)
What’s Up In Math Class
In math, we continued on the the path of long division in both groups. Year 1 kids completed an “Long Division Detective” activity and a long-division escape room. We ended the week with a long division check-in and the kids nailed it! Year 2 kids were rotating through the Delta class so we continued practice with long division but didn’t introduce a lot of new content. We talked about “compatible numbers” to help kids get an estimate when solving double-digit divisor problems. Ms. Lorrie will pay Gamma bucks for fact practice at home.
What’s Up in Language Arts
Genre book clubs had a strong start this week and we introduced some new discussion cards to help prompt Gammas to think more critically and deeply about their books. Kiddos are enjoying their new generes! We also started filling out our book brackets where Gammas will list all of the books they’ve read so far this school year and make the hard choice about which was their favorite. They will then compare with with a classmate and read each other’s favorite book to discuss! Most Gammas have their fiction stories fully mapped out and were ready to start writing them this week! We shared our story intros and workshopped ideas using the plot mountain to make sure the stories follow a logical plot arch and are fully developed.
What’s Up in Theme
In theme, we bit off a chunk of new learning about the digestive system! (ba-dum-dum!!) Kids started the week with some small group research that led into a lab where Gammas were able to simulate the mechanical and chemical processes of digestion. Kids had the option to craft parts of the digestive system from yarn so we could get an idea of JUST how long our small intestines really are! (Quote of the week: “Can someone please tie my intestines together?!”) We began exploring the nervous system and will carry on with that topic through the next week. Note: the following week, we will start our unit on the reproductive system. If you’d like to explore the links to the curricula we are using, you’ll find those in our parent support night presentation.
