Happy Friday Purple Room!
Our students have had so much fun with our fairytale unit! On Wednesday we discussed what a story map is and what things/parts make a story. We discussed title, author, main characters, supporting characters, setting, beginning, middle (sometimes known as the problem) and the end or the solution. We then made a very brief story together. The kids loved coming up with their own story as class, so this week we will be starting our very own class chapter book.
My goals for this unit are:
* practice class collaboration
* show the importance of each student in making our story a success
* learn that books and stories are not just for our entertainment, rather they hold meaning and there are lessons to be learned from everything we read
brainstorm about what we want our story to convey; what do we want the audience to learn?
* put meaning into our artwork. In this unit our artwork will need to convey what the text says in order for our audience to follow and understand our story
and most of all HAVE FUN!
On a separate note, after discussing with my co-teachers we have decided to limit shares to one day each week. Our share day will be Wednesdays. I would also like to bring intentionality into our sharing. I ask that each student bring a share that is, in some way or another, educational. We would like to steer away from sharing toys such as Disney themed items, toy cars, stuffed animals etc. These are wonderful items for home, but not for the classroom. I encourage and challenge my students to find a share that can teach our class something. Books, pictures, and drawings make wonderful shares, for example. Any share that can help us learn as a class is a great share to bring. Also, shares that reflect our unit or theme that we are working on at the time make great shares.
Lastly, I wanted to touch upon parent involvement in the classroom. As you all know, we have an open door policy at Creative Minds. This means, if you ever have a free moment to come by our class and help out or just watch, you are always welcome. We love parent volunteers and of course the kids love to have their parents involved in their daily school life. I absolutely love to see parents come into our classroom and dive right in with the kids. It makes for a fun environment!
We are looking forward to next week. I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
Take care,
Shaina
