Safety First

  

Officer Buckle's next safety assembly needs your help! Use our Wallwisher on the right side of the blog to add your own safety tips to his bulletin board.  Keep in mind all the accidents that could have (or already have) happened throughout our school day.  Give your sticky safety tip a fake number and place it on our Wallwisher.  And while you are typing the safety tip imagine how Gloria the Wonder Dog would perform this tip on stage.  Anyone who adds a sticky to our wall will get to have Mr. Cavileer read the tip while they pretend they are Gloria and act it out!  

A Harbor Seal Pup Grows Up Poem

We will be reading A Harbor Seal Grows Up on Wednesday and continuing with the skills from this story next week.  Attached is a poem and seal patterns to create your own poster to go with the story.  There are also two pictures shown displaying what a finished project may look like.  All papers will be available in class to students who may not be viewing the blog.  If you decide to do our Seal Poem and Art Project, please have it returned to school by Wednesday, November 16th so that we have time to share them.  

Click here for the mom and baby seal pattern to create your artwork.

Pumpkin Book Reports

We saw some amazing Pumpkin Book Reports completed in this last week at school. Thank you for the effort and creativity put into the Pumpkin characters for the take home portion of the project.

The students have been presenting the story element candy pieces to the class as book reports. The slideshow below shows the 15 students who have presented so far. We will see the remaining pumpkins later this week.

Students have enthusiastically shared about their books and many have convinced others to read their selections.

This free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

By using Cammy, our document camera, to project our reports in front of the room, the whole class can see each candy story element as it is read out loud. The audience was filled with great questions for each book reporter when they were finished.

Great job everyone!

Pumpkin Characters

It’s October and that means pumpkins are everywhere!  Let’s take this 

harvest theme and bring it into our class for some reading fun! 

This week we are asking you to complete this  

really different book report together! 

The children will be selecting a book in school to read and use for a study of story elements.   

But there's fun for you at home as well. 

Pick one character from their story and create them on a pumpkin. 

Decorate it, paint it, glue things to it, and just get creative!  

(Please don’t carve it though.) 

Use a small pie size pumpkin; any bigger is hard to carry to school. 

Pumpkins should be brought in to school by Monday, October 31.  They will be shared in class and returned home by Friday, Novermber 4.

Have fun with your child while completing this project.

Here are samples of great book reports from other classrooms:

Some FIT Readers

Here's a quick look at some of the FIT readers during class today.  One of our group's just finished Chapter 4 in Junie B. Jones, Boo... And I Mean It!

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Fall Reading Photo Contest

R.A.H. Reading Photo Contest

(Fall Edition)

Where Do You READ?

It’s easy to participate!

1.   Use your RAH book, a different favorite book, or even a Kindle.

2.    Snap a photograph of yourself reading in an interesting, maybe even silly, place.  Do not hurt yourself or your book!

3.   Ask permission to email the photo to Mr. Cavileer at ccavileer@abseconschools.org or just print the picture and hand it in at school.

4.   Prizes will be given to the best photo in each category.

5.   All pictures must be in by Tuesday, November 22.

Silly Reading               Adventure Reading      Creative Reading         Far Away Reading

Examples…
    
***This project was modeled after one found at Mrs. Lynch's Classroom Blog and Mrs. Hembree's Bulldog Reading Blog.
Thanks to them for this creative reading idea! 

                  

1st Grade Buddy Readers

This afternoon, the Cavileers were introduced to their 1st grade buddy reader.  The students spent the first half of our period getting to know their eager reading partners and then quickly jumped into one of their RAH stories from earlier this week.  The partners will remain the same all year to form strong reading bonds across grade levels that encourage all readers to improve their abilities.  Every 4 weeks, the readers will switch classrooms so they get a chance to be hosts some weeks and visit Mrs. Phillips' classroom the others.



Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
I'm experimenting with animoto as opposed to Youtube.  This video was limited to 30 seconds.  My next one will be longer as I plan to sign up for a membership.

Partners are...

Room 1

Domenick – John

Maggie – Journi

Akash – Cole

Cassie – Sara

Kenzie – Kylie – Reagan

Neillie – Sameera

Jordyn - Ella – Jack

Calvin – Shanen - Yash

Room 2

Lambros – Nicholas

Dev – Xavier

Eileen – Paige

Fred – Ryan U.

Leah – Savannah – Madison

Christion – James

John B. – Danny – Ryan M.

Angela – Brianna

Emmie - Kariana

RAH! RAH! Read at Home!

Our FIT (focused instruction time) program has begun! Students are always reading precisely on their independent reading level during this time unless it is their turn with the Guided Reading Instructor. At that time, the students are learning with books at their instructional reading level.

RAH folders are sent home Monday through Thursday night with an independent book for students to reach their weekly reading goals. Students will normally be given enough time to take an A.R. test on each story later that week in class. In addition, Book-It pizza coupons will be given out October through March to students who meet their reading requirement. Please sign the RAH folder daily when your child reads at home and provide encouragement along their reading journey.

Accelerated Reader

The students will be given instructions on how to log into the Accelerated Reader program on Friday, September 9th. Each 2nd grader will be told their independent level for reading on the A.R. scale which correlates to the D.R.A. test they took at the end of 1st grade. As students take a new D.R.A. in October or as further progress is determined through running records, their A.R. level will climb. Students will generally earn .5 - 1.0 point per book for most 2nd grade titles. They may eventually earn more points as they begin to enjoy chapter books.

The computers will be open to students who are prepared for an A.R. test during Mariner period, Guided Reading sessions, and indoor recess. Books that are read at home for the Book It program may also be tested on. students are actually being doubly rewarded for the independent reading they are doing each night.

Battle of the Books

The students have been placed into their new teams for the 3rd monthly Battle of the Books challenge. Each team accumulates points for the month of March only by reading selected chapter books that have expanded their comfort zones as far as book selection. Students are told their appropriate A.R. range and seek out books that may even offer more than 1 point at a time. Already in our third month, this challenge has pushed the students to read books they may not have attempted otherwise and they are quickly realizing how many wonderful stories there are out there. Readers are motivating themselves and each other, and making some wonderful discoveries along the way.