Candy Corn Bandit

 

Candy Corn Bandit

The Candy Corn Bandit stole Mrs. Wanke's candy!  Mrs. Wanke needed those for our Halloween Party! Look what Mrs. Wanke found when she tried to sit in her chair...

 a letter from the Candy Corn Bandit, Candy Corn Bandit booklets for each of us, and a clue!  On the inside we had to draw what we predicted the Candy Corn Bandit to look like.  Then, we had to predict three places we thought the candy corns might be.

Finally it was time to read the first clue and set off on our candy corn hunt!

We made a prediction based upon what we read in clue one.  We predicted the candy would be in the lunch room! When we got to the lunch room...all we found was another clue. 

 After reading that clue, we predicted that we would find the candy in the gym.

When we got to the gym, all we found was another clue.

  After reading that clue, we predicted we would find the candy on the play ground.  When we got outside, all we found was ANOTHER clue!

  After reading that clue, we predicted we would find the candy in the library.  But, when we got the the library, all we found was ANOTHER clue! Boy oh boy this Candy Corn bandit was causing some trouble! 

After reading the clue, we predicted we would find the candy in the classroom.

When we got to the classroom...what do YOU predict we found?

You got it...the CANDY and another clue!

Clue #6 told us to keep our eyes open and our candy protected.  We also had to finish up the last page of our Candy Corn Bandit book before we could get our candy corn.

This activity was great for making predictions and inferences.  Not only did we predict where the candy would be, we also made predictions about how the bandit was able to pull off this crime, did the bandit have an accomplice, how big was the bandit, and what was the bandits motive. 

When we got back to the class, Mrs. Wanke had a light bulb moment.  She said that we could use predictions and inferences when we read!  WOW...she is right. 

We wrapped up this activity by reflecting on our predictions!  We had lots of fun, but hope the Candy Corn Bandit doesn't come back!

Missing Addend Game

 We played a game for math that helped us find a missing number in an addition sentence. (8+ __ = 12)  To play this game two players sit across from each other with a pile of cards in the middle.  The first player flips over a card and then places a card against their forehead without looking.  The second player tells the first player the total of the two cards.  The first player then has to figure out what number card is against their forehead.  Players switch roles and continue playing.  

A Peek Inside Our Guided Reading Classroom

 

Coming home today is some information about how I approach reading instruction in our classroom. 

Digital copy of what is coming home. 

Students get to choose which station they would like to do each day.  They mark their choice on their weekly task card.  It is their job to complete all the tasks by the end of the week.  

Literacy Stations 

Each week students get to choose between 3 different word work stations.  These stations help to reinforce the phonics/spelling concept that is currently being taught and our ever growing list of sight words. 

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Students get to choose between Raz-Kids, Epic, or our monthly digital bookshelf for the listening to stories station.  This is a great way to foster a love for reading and to allow students to listen to fluent reading. 

Students love to read their baggies of books with their partners.  This is a great way to practice reading.  

Each week students get to choose between two new writing topics to write about.  Students can also choose to finish a previous writing piece. Practice makes perfect when it comes to writing, so the more we write the better we get!  We do not focus on spelling words correctly, but rather writing the sounds that we hear in a word and using the resources in our room to help us spell unknown words. 

While students are working independently this is my time to pull small reading groups to focus on reading instruction.  This is where we work on the books that get sent home.  By the time those books come home we have worked very hard on them during our small group time.  

Unit Test Review

Blow are copies of all the lists. I can't promise that these words will be on the unit test.  Some could be, but others will be sound alike words.  For example if sat was on the list the unit test could have mat, bat, hat or rat.  We have practiced words in class that are not on the lists, but follow the spelling concept that we are working on.  I know the kiddos will do great!