EEKK

We have been working really hard on learning all the parts of our Daily 5 reading schedule.  Lately we have been working on EEKK buddy reading. EEKK stands for elbow to elbow, knee to knee, I read to you, you read to me. It takes a lot of practice to learn the proper way of working with a partner on reading so that both partners and getting something out of the experience.  I have to say, the kids are doing a great job working together.  So far, I have chosen the groups of students working together but starting this week I am going to let them choose their partners. Hopefully everything still runs smoothly. :)

Staley the Bear Came to Visit Timber Trails!

We had an amazing assembly today with Staley the Bear, the official mascot of the Chicago Bears. He talked to us about the different types of bullies we could encounter and what we can do if we are being bullied or see someone else being bullied.  The kids LOVED the assembly and had a great time. After the assembly, we decided to write letters to Staley thanking him for his visit and telling him what we learned.  We brainstormed some ideas of what we could say to Staley and I modeled what a friendly letter should look like.  So far, we have made it through our rough drafts and have begun work on our final copies. as soon as everyone is finished, I will send them to Staley.  Hopefully we will get a letter back.  Here are some pictures from the assembly and some picture of us working on our letters. 

Staley the Bear is coming!!!

Staley the Bear from the Chicago Bears is coming to our school tommorrow!!!!  Wear your Chicago Bears clothes (or anything orange or blue) to show your support. He will be talking to us about bullying. Pictures will be posted :)

I want to be writing activity

Last week we were talking about what we want to be when we grow up.  The kids had great ideas of what they wanted to be but I wanted them to go farther. So we started talking about why we wanted the jobs we talked about.  Next, we worked on putting our ideas into writing. We discussed what a topic sentence was and came up with the sentence starter "I want to be ..." Next, we talked about supporting sentences. These are sentences that describe or add to our topic sentence. All these sentences have to stay on topic and add to the readers knowledge of our topic sentence.  Last, we discussed closing sentences.  Then I asked the students to put their new found knowledge to use and write a five sentence paragraph. :)  Everyone did a great job on this task.  Here are a couple of our works in progress. 

We can't wait to share our final copies with you at conferences!!!!

Tom's Pumpkin Farm

We had a great time on our field trip to Tom's Pumpkin Farm in Huntley.  We had a chance to ride in a wagon out to the pumpkin patch.  During the ride we learned about the different types of pumpkins and gourds. Once at the pumpkin patch, we had the opportunity to pick our very own pie pumpkin and three gourds.  We found out really fast just how prickly the vines are on pumpkins.  After our wagon ride, we learned about the different types of grains that are grown in Illinois and what they are used for.  It was very interesting to hear about all the grains that are in a lot of our favorite foods from the grocery store. After the grains presentation, we headed out to see all the animals. We had a opportunity to see: pigs, a donkey, goats, sheep, llamas (watch out they spit when scared!), cows, turkeys, ducks, chickens and chicks and bunnies. Last, we learned about how the produce is washed and stored before it goes to the market.  We even got to go in one of the huge freezers and see how cold it is. brrrrrr!  It was a wonderful field trip and I am so happy we were able to go. 

Thank you

Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us on our field trip to Tom's Pumpkin Farm. We had a great time!!!! Pictures will be posted soon :)