Writers, Authors, Experts... Let's Gather at the Carpet

"Writers, Authors, Experts... Let's Gather at the Carpet."

This is how we gather each day in our Writer's Workshop. This workshop is geared towards making us the best writers we can be while learning about different genres of writing. 

In Room 222, we spent the first part of the year becoming storytellers. We told stories about events that happened to us. These are called personal narratives. 

Now, moving on to becoming experts and teachers by focusing our writing on non-fiction pieces that we are calling informational books.  

We started by learning how to plan and organize our thoughts. (Prewriting, Drafting)

Then we had to start thinking like readers. "What questions would readers ask if they were reading my book right now?" (Drafting, Revising)

Then, we talked about twin sentences. Good support uses multiple sentences to inform our reader. We made sure that each page is focused on one part of our topic. Notice that this page is all about the quarterback. There are two similar sentences (twin sentences) to support this part of the topic.

McDole 1st Graders don't just love to write in Writer's Workshop, they also love our Recess Writing Club. Our most recent Writing Club session was held on Wednesday and we had over 20 students participate from 2 classrooms. It was a huge success! We will hold our next session this Wednesday. 

Finally, each day when the students arrive, they "check-in" on our Today's Meet board. They tell us what they are thinking and share something important to them. Check it out:

https://todaysmeet.com/room222

We tried something new this week. We are hoping to start a new weekly "check-in" and share our Book Selfies. It is a great way for us all to see what we are reading! Check out our Book Selfies:

http://padlet.com/10068/l52877yht3of

We had another great week. 
Thanks for checking in!

Catching Up

Happy 2015 Everyone! This year is absolutely flying by. 
Let's take a moment to get caught up on Room 222 happenings.

Did you know that we document every read aloud experience in our room? We have read well over 150 books! That measures 3 1/2 1st graders.

Our Giving Drive for the Hesed House was a huge success! The students were so proud of the collection that they were able to build. I am so proud of them too. 

The students have enjoy using their problem solving skills with our coding apps. I believe Tynker is their favorite. 

We are adding to our tech tool kit by becoming fluent in the Chromebook. The students are able to navigate this blog and find the links they need to continue their objective. They have enjoyed blogging the most. 

It's Here! It's Here! It's Finally Here! The Room 222 postal system is up and running!

Logo Designed by A. H. 

We learned how to write a friendly letter and address it properly. 

Once we properly placed the stamp, we were able to send our first friendly letters! They will be delivered to our tables on Monday. We can't wait to read them. 

Finally, we didn't let two days off of school keep us down! We kept learning and sharing!

Check out our Kidblog page to view our Maker's Challenge projects.

We look forward to returning to our routine and a 5 day week.