Raney's Rock Stars: Week of October 19

This week the weather proved to be on our side once again. We spent much of our day, every day, outside. We completed our second round of STAR testing. This computerized test evaluates students in the area of Math and Reading. We hope to complete these assessments once a month to track student progress.

In reading this week, students continued their reading groups. We are focusing on reading strategies to help us when we come to an unknown word, what the author's message is within a story and how a character's perspective can change over time, using clues from the text to support our answers.

In math, we have been focusing on using addition and subtraction strategies when solving word problems. It is important for students to identify what the problem is asking of them before they begin. Once the problem is solved, students are required to show their work and label their answers.

During exploration time, students have been bringing their imagination to a whole new level. Students have been busy building forts and fairy houses. They are come up with elaborate games as well. It has been wonderful to see the collaboration, communication, and inclusion taking place within all of these activities. Their adaptability and creativity have really moved me. Every day I am grateful to be working with this group of kiddos!

Here are some questions to spark conversation:

1. What book are you reading in your reading group? Who is the main character? What was the character's motivation? How did the character change over time?

2. Do you prefer to add or subtract when working with word problems? Why?

3. What do you do during exploration time?

Pictures from the week: