New Math Topic, Science Update, and a Glimpse at Reader's Workshop!

Whew!  We've been busy with a lot lately in 1H, so I decided to try to give you a snapshot in one post rather than space it out over a series of posts.

New Math Topic
We just started our next math topic this week!  (Look for information about your child's progress in math in your child's Take Home Folder sometime this week).  We are moving on from measurement using nonstandard units (cubes, paper clips, etc.) to looking at and understanding graphs.  We've learned new words including data, tally mark, and bar graph.  Throughout the course of this unit, we'll be learning how to collect information (or data...the kids feel so grown up using that word!) and organize it in a meaningful and efficient way in order to share it with others.  A big part of this new topic is helping the kiddos in looking for clues in order to help them understand what a graph is trying to inform them or show them.  We talk a lot about a graph's key and do a lot of comparing of visual information in the form of tally graphs, bar graphs, and some pictographs.

Science Update
We ventured outside last week to do some bark rubbings.  Of course, we chose the windiest day of the week, but the kiddos handled it well and took their scientific observations very seriously!  They noticed sap coming from one of our trees at VHE, wondered about the moss on only one side of a tree, noticed some leaves beginning to change (already!  I know!), and pointed out some of our trees have smooth bark while others have rough bark.

Next, we'll be talking about the parts of a tree, including the inside, and moving forward with our class VHE tree guide.  Next week, we'll be making the segue to a mini unit on apples and apple trees, will make apple sauce, and will celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday toward the end of the month.  We'll be sampling and investigating different types of apples.

Reader's Workshop
Last week, we began discussing the differences between Fiction and Nonfiction text.  We learned that books that are fictional are made up or make-believe and have illustrations or drawn pictures.  Nonfiction books are books that contain real information or facts, sometimes contain photographs of real objects, people, or animals, and also have many other features which help the reader learn new information.

We focused a lot on the features specific to Nonfiction text.  We talked about the Table of Contents, headings and captions which accompany pictures, the Index, and the Glossary.  We spent some time during our whole-group discussion browsing Nonfiction books with these features, practicing locating these features and using them to help us gain important information.

That's it for now!  Stay tuned!
Mrs. H :)