Ask Me About Monday, November 5, 2019, and Tuesday, November 6, 2019

We have had a busy two days!  In reading, we continued reading fables.  We read The Little Helper, which is the story of the lion and the mouse.  In this story, the mouse crawls up onto the lion accidentally and wakes him.  The lion is angry.  Ask me to tell you what happens next and how the story ends.  We talked about making inferences.  We used clues in the text and the illustration, along with what we know, to make a good guess about something in the story.  We used used clues in the text and what we know about lions and mice to make inferences throughout the story to know how the characters were feeling.  This was a really great opportunity for us to talk more about feelings, and how we have more than happy, sad and mad feelings.  
We also talked about shades of meaning.  We listened for words that told how the character was speaking.  We found the words roared and cried that told us how the lion spoke.  We found the words crawled and raced to tell how the mouse moved in the story.
In math, we practiced telling one less than a number to find a pattern of counting backwards.  We also learned some new math games to use during math station time.  We are working toward having this time each day to reinforce and enrich students in small groups and through games.  
We started our day with a very interesting photograph.  We studied the photograph and analyzed it to focus in on different parts of the photograph.  We noticed the man on the horse and were able to infer that he loved his horse from the way he had his arms around his neck, and from the man's expression.  And we aren't sure, but we think that horse just might be smiling!  We talked about the setting as well, and used clues to infer where this photograph might have been taken.  What do you think?

We took some time today to really study illustrations in books to tell the story because these books have no words!   We read some of Mercer Mayer's wordless picture books about a boy and a frog.  Some of these books have a couple more characters than just the boy and his frog, but most are animals.  We could see how the characters were feeling through their expression and their body language.  I modeled how to "read" a wordless picture book.  We first read the title, then just took time to go through the pages studying the illustrations to get an idea of the story.  Then, I told the story, pointing out how I knew what to say.  I tried to use book talk so it sounded like someone telling the story.  Then the children took another book with the same characters, and worked with a partner to study the illustrations then tell the story.  We are putting additional wordless picture books in a new literacy station called the retelling station for children to have practice and to enjoy reading more wordless picture books.  This is a great way for children to practice their comprehension of stories.  They must pay attention to details and stay focused on the most important parts of those illustrations as they tell the story.

Enjoy this beautiful fall evening!
​Miss Wolfe