This trimester, our 1st grade Bobcats have spent a lot of time learning about animal adaptations in science. Using this knowledge, students created new animals based on actual animals and their type of covering, feet, and mouth. Take a look at their creativity by viewing their digital projects through the link below! |
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Last week our kinder stars began letter stations in the learning commons focusing on A, B, C, and D. Today, our youngest Bobcats completed letter stations for E. F. G. and H. At each of our four rotations, kinders begin by watching a short letter/sound song to see and hear different items that start with that letter/sound. After watching their video, students have the option to read, write, or draw. Each letter station has an assortment of books with titles and pictures to highlight a particular letter/sound for students to read or look through. Students also have the option, however, of writing or drawing their own words and/or pictures to match the letter/sound. Eight down, eighteen to go! Some student creations for write and draw.
This week, 3rd grade students were introduced to the comparison matrix, an organization tool used for research to compare two or more components within a given topic. Although 3rd graders are wrapping up their life cycle unit in the classroom, we're building upon their new knowledge by introducing this research tool. By starting with a topic they now have some background knowledge in, students will hopefully be able to use a comparison matrix for future library projects in third and fourth grade regarding topics that they are less familiar with. This week began with researching facts related to animal life cycles for snakes, rats, dogs, and frogs by answering the specific questions on the matrix. Students worked with an iPad in small teams to gather this information from some of our nonfiction ebooks. Next week, teams will continue this same process with new matrix questions to learn more about specific plant life cycles. During our third and final week of this activity, students will learn how to use the comparison matrix in order to identify similarities and differences between the specific animals and plants they researched through this process. Below are the animal matrix and ebooks that students used to complete this first phase of our "mini-unit".
This week, all of our grade levels participated in events to celebrate International Dot Day based on the book The Dot by Peter Reynolds. Our youngest Bobcats (K-1), watched a video rendition of the story, danced to "the Dot Day song", and colored their own dot circles to their their own mark here at Langston Hughes. Their dot project murals can be found on our interior library windows. Our 2nd-5th grade students also watched the video version of the story and used it as a jumping off point to discuss growth mindset. Students discussed how the following growth mindset statements applied to The Dot:
2nd and 3rd grade students completed a building challenge in teams of two attempting to create the longest paper chain using limited materials. Our longest chain was just over 100 inches! The only grade level to complete an individual challenge was 4th grade. They were required to use three predetermined dots on a piece of paper to create an animal (and possibly its habitat or items it might use - this was optional). Each class selected the three illustrations they believed integrated the dots into their pictures the best. Watching their creativity at work was lots of fun! 5th grade students completed a building challenge in teams of two or three, attempting to create the tallest dot sticker tower. We saw a wide variety of strategies, some of which are shown below.
This week, our 3rd-5th grade students learned about our 2018-2019 William Allen White book nominees and theme. More information is located in the William Allen White tab towards the top of the page. Please remember that participation is not a requirement. Students who would like to be able to vote come mid-April, need to have the minimum amount of books read by that time.
Our kinder-stars also started by learning about how books are like babies. We will practice and review more about taking care of our books next week too!
5th graders got to learn about LHTV jobs and responsibilities. Don't forget - applications are due Monday morning!! This year, Kinders completed an author study of Mo Willems to learn about his various series of books - Elephant and Piggie, Pigeon, and Knuffle Bunny. Our first week, students made a Piggie or Elephant paper bag puppet. We then practiced with dialog as students brought their puppets to life during the speaking parts of the story. Our second lesson focused on Pigeon books. During this week, we learned how to draw Pigeon and then used watercolors to paint. Our last two lessons focused on Knuffle Bunny. After discussing the book's illustrations (how the settings are black and white photographs, but the characters are cartoons in color), we set out to create our own Knuffle Bunny pictures to show where students love to be at Langston Hughes. During these weeks, Kinders also practiced reading aloud to Mo Willems stuffed characters.
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CategoriesJenny WilliamsAfter 8 years in the classroom, I'm very eager and excited to be in my 5th year as Library Media Specialist in the Learning Commons of Langston Hughes! Archives
April 2019
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