Pucker Up! Mrs. Phillips Kisses a Pig!

Mrs. Phillips fooling us by kissing a stuffed pig!

Jasmine resting.

Anyone who ever thought nothing exciting can come from reading, realized they were mistaken, today!  In honor of students meeting their reading goal for the third nine weeks, Mrs. Phillips held a "Kiss a Pig Picnic!"  Students headed to an outdoor lunch where they devoured sweet, delicious popsicles and were witness to a loving smooch between Mrs. Phillips and her pig-friend for the day, Jasmine!  I feel that her squeals, were squeals of joy, for the accomplishments of the readers surrounding her.  We are all very proud of our readers' efforts and hope to see even more friends at the final celebration!

We're ready!

Popsicles are yummy!

"Do you really want me to kiss this pig?!?

Yuck!

The smooch!

The Joy of Gerbils!

 Thanks to a donation from one of our classmates, we have welcomed two new friends into our classroom.  These new friends differ from the norm; they have fur and long tails!  That's right, our new friends are two gerbils!  We are already delighted by their playful antics and sweet little faces.  Who knew watching little creatures run around on a wheel, never really getting anywhere, could be so entertaining!  Each homeroom was able to vote on a name for these new friends, and I am very pleased that both names derive from literary inspirations.  Meet Poppy and Obi!  Poppy, is taken from a recent read aloud of the same name, by Avi. Obi's name originates from the current Battle Book, Obi, Gerbil on the Loose, by Michael Delaney. Both books are beloved by readers, as are our new classroom duo!

Readers' Theater...and ACTION!

We just finished performing our skits to our classmates and the shows were terrific.  We really focused on reading with expression and fluency and our practice really paid off!  There were so many wonderful moments in the performances...it was so exciting to see the books come to life.  Hats off, to a group of truly talented readers and performers!

MOCA Madness!

Today we had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).  We began by heading upstairs for a chance to try our hand at painting.  We were given three cards and instructed to use one color to "create" on each card.  What we created was our choice.  Some of us went the abstract route, while others stuck to a more traditional, literal approach.  Either way, the artwork we produced was A-MAZ-ING!  Who knew we were so talented!  

Then, we moved to an interactive area where we put our talents to use in a variety of ways.  We really let our creative juices flow today!  We have quite a few budding artists in our room and can't wait to see them hone their craft!

Character Reflections

As we complete our latest read aloud, Poppy we have been analyzing the various characters.  We brainstormed each character's traits, comparing them from the beginning of the book to the end, as well as to other characters in the book.  Throughout the text, we used our knowledge of each character's traits to make predictions.  At the end of the day, we read a great book and grew to love all the characters in their own way.  Many of us have already begun reading other books in the Poppy series!  Check out our Wordles about some of our favorite characters.

Gearing Up for Readers' Theater

Roll out the red carpet!  We are about to become actors!  We've selected some favorite picture books and have begun the process of bringing them to life.  Our first step in the process is to break into groups and study each book in depth.  We are collaborating to determine each book's problem, solution, main idea, theme, and interesting vocabulary.  From here we will assign rolls and read through the script several times to build fluency.  And then, it's props, actions, and performance time!  Check out the books we will be performing: