Fairy Tale Fun!

We are fully immersed in fairy tales this week!  We have been reading adaptations of Cinderella and talking about ways that authors adapt stories.  We observed, as we read these adaptations, that authors change the characters, the events/details, and the motivation.  After reading, we then acted out adaptations using our bodies and voices to demonstrate the changes.  The children then came up with their own adaptations and created storyboards, making a plan for their adaptations.  Ask your child how he or she has adapted Cinderella!  Next week we will be reading versions of Little Red Riding Hood and making adaptations.

In Reader's Workshop, we continued to read Because of Winn Dixie and discuss our theories about the character Opal.  Just like strong readers, we used the information we know about Opal to make predictions about what actions Opal might take further along in the book.  We learned that Opal is the kind of child opens her heart to everyone and is kind and friendly.  This has helped us to predict that she will continue to make more friends in her new town of Naomi, Florida and that she will not be lonely anymore.  After practicing this strategy as a class, the children tried to make predictions about their characters in their independent reading books.

In math, we have continued to work with polygons and their attributes.  This week we used geoboards to build and create polygons with different attributes (ex. parallel lines, obtuse angles, acute angles).  Then we played a game called Guess My Quadrilateral.  The children were given clues and they had to sort through sets of shapes to find the quadrilaterals that match each clue.  Next week we will be making our own shape riddles based on attribute clues!

Both classes had Nearby Nature this week! This month's focus was on owls. We learned that owls have different characteristics from other birds.  They have adaptations that have allowed them to survive and thrive in their environment.  The most exciting part for the children was when they had the opportunity to dissect an owl pellet.  An owl eats small prey whole, and after digesting, what it can, the owl coughs up a pellet containing indigestible bones, fur, and feathers of its dinner.  By looking closely at these pellets, we are able to learn what an owl has eaten.  The children were amazed to find rib bones and even tiny skulls!  What did your child find?

In theme, we are still studying weather and are moving into studying climates.  We learned the difference between weather and climate and next week we will learn the characteristics of different kinds of climates.  We are also charting the daily high temperature of locations in different climates. Ask your child about our temperature collection!

Have a great weekend!