It is Saturday but I am posting as if it were Friday because I began to post yesterday when life got in the way...
1. It is a big weekend for us with lots of family in town! We hosted about 25 guests last night and it was wonderful to see everyone. My brother from Florida prepared 15 lobsters he caught in the Keys...yumm! The best part was catching up with everyone. I did get in a little teacher talking with my aunt who also teaches first grade in South Carolina... we had many a hairy eyeball from some family who think we're a little crazy but we just had too share stories!!
2. Worst teaching moment this week: trying to teach a ten frame strategy using a worksheet that was too overwhelming for 6 year olds. Best Moment: Establishing trust with a student that is still trying to figure out school. Conversations and patience are paying off after all.
3. I read what I like to think of as "first grade series books" aloud to help hook a few more readers. Dog and Bear books were a favorite this week. The kids loved how each book has three short stories. Many wondered if the stories were connected. We speculated why the author hadn't connected the stories like chapters. Lots of smiles and laughs with these. Dear Laura Seeger, we need more in this series!!
4. Parent teacher conferences went well and are over. It was helpful and exciting to meet with all my parents but AAHHHHHHHH ( a big sigh of relief) that they are over. I of course had my assessments to share but also kept pad handy to write down any concerns and needs parents had. Many needs are easy to take care of...like bathroom reminding ( I am horrible because kids go on their own ) and getting a buddy to help make sure kids finish a lunch.
4 comments:
I like reading these week reflections. Very neat idea.
Do you think the first graders would like James Marshall's George and Martha books? Each one is also divided into several stories. I may try some with the first graders I read with. They respond so well when I bring in something fun. I'll let you know how it goes.
Good stuff this week, katie!
Lots of lobster and family under 1 roof -- sounds like the perfect evening!!!
Susan-
I love George and Martha books. I find that (depending on the readers I have ) that I have to do some comprehension work with them because not all the kids "get" these books early on. There is a ton of inference in this series. I would love to hear how it goes!!
Well, I tried a couple of George & Martha stories with two first-grade girls today. One, close to 7 and a little more knowledgeable, was ready for the stories, but the other wasn't. The almost-7 knew immediately that the stories were about hippos. Neither knew what loafers were until we talked about them. "Oh, the kind of shoes my dad wears to weddings and funerals!" It was way beyond their reading level, but I'd thought that a read-aloud (by me) might work. Maybe later in the year I'll take the book again to read to the child who was more interested.
Later we did lots of reading (of their levelled books) and playing around by making up sentences, and had a good time. Both girls have books at home, and we talked about which ones they like.
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