After our Newscaster of the Day, the children meet in reading groups and complete independent reinforcement activities. Reading groups are progressing well, focusing on specific reading strategies, and are discussing their stories to make connections. Today the reinforcement activities included reading a Dinosaur poem, grammar review, and writing practice.
Speaking of writing, your child is creating a nonfiction book about dinosaurs based on what they are learning from classroom discussions, research, the flipped videos, and books read in class. Today we wrote important facts about three dinosaurs that help in differentiating them from the others. Below is some "language of the discipline" you can ask your child about:
- Stegosaurus - Where did it live?
- T-Rex - nickname? why? carnivore or herbivore? How do you know? (sharp teeth = carnivore to rip meat while flat teeth are for plant eaters to chew their food)
- Triceratops - How many horns? How can you remember?
Throughout our discussion, links were made to what the children have/are learning through researching and the videos. They love it! The background knowledge is solid, provides a level playing field, and provides a solid foundation on which to have our discussions (at a higher level thanks to you! :) ).
Today we began a huge dinosaur Tree Map that also incorporates the following icons of depth and complexity (all - their words):
Big Idea ("Fossils show us that dinosaurs lived on Earth long ago even though they are extinct today.")
Details - some sea dinosaurs were larger than the T-Rex; deeper = older; brain was small compared to their size (an inference since they all mentioned the video that says their brains were the size of a pea while our book said a walnut :) )
Prove with Evidence - very fun to see the children name the video as evidence! ;)
Language of the Discipline - herbivores, carnivores, paleontologist, fossils,
Rules - 1) brush carefully 2) be patient
Change Over Time (past-present-future) - incredible thinking came out of discussion - bones (past) turn
to fossils (present) and will turn into gas/oil (future) - in third video :) - They thought of it! Wow!
Unanswered Questions (none yet)
We will add to our giant dinosaur as more children share their discoveries. One friend is excited to share about the Albertosaurus tomorrow. Even I get to learn something new! :) Every day, more children are joining in on conversations, sharing ideas, and participating. They are realizing the importance of sharing ideas (collaboration :) ).
Did you hear about the Dinosaur Dig? Your child put what has been learned into hands-on practice as he/she tried to dig for dinosaur bones. What did he/she find? They applied the "be patient" and "brush carefully" rules they created from the video as well.
As you can see, your efforts in finding the time to help your child research and watch the flipped sites have already paid off. The participation level has increased, background knowledge is similar and provides a foundation for discussions, and many more connections from books to their "experiences" were possible (and happened!). Thank you for building such a strong home-school connection. Hopefully, you are having as much fun exploring with your child as he/she is in explaining ideas and building on ideas of others. The extra bonus has been the bonding opportunities as they bounce off each other's ideas when talking about the videos.
For those of you who have not tried the inquiry or flipped videos - don't worry. Your child is listening to the ideas of others and learning from them. Our discussions will continue every day, so every child will have multiple chances to join in the conversations.
In math, your child is reviewing and solidifying prior math concepts via the BAM (Balanced Areas of Math) Wall. These are differentiated among various customized activities and times of the day. The children are still trying to believe that they are not expected to know everything they see in the classroom. If you could please remind them that they are doing so very well in everything they are doing and trying their best, then it would be fantastic. Every child is doing so well and having fun, but some seem to be comparing themselves to others and forgetting it is not a competition or a race in our room - only an effort to try our individual best. Some positive questions to help your child internalize this concept:
??? What are YOU doing well in school?
??? How are YOU trying your best?
??? What made you smile or laugh today?
??? Which friend did you play, dance, or work with today?
??? Why are you smart?
??? How are you smart?
