These 'Littles' are getting bigger!

I love how this little took me very seriously.  I had told the class

that we would be acting like detectives so she brought a magnifying glass

to school 'because that's what detectives use.'

I have a stash of small magnifying glasses so everyone else in the

room got one too!

What were these littles searching for?

It goes back to what we were learning.

The students have practised 'stretching' out CVC words,

such as 'kit'

Now, using their 'eagle eyes' they are finding out

that when a word has an 'e' at the end, the

vowel sound 'flips like a dolphin', to the

long sound.  The word still has three sounds, because the

'e' is silent as shown in the example....kIte.

(Long I sound)

The students used their magnifying glasses to search for

words with the 'magic e', also known as the 'silent e', super 'e'

or bossy 'e'.

The names have their uppercase beginning letter underlined, 

and all of the 'e' at the end are circled.  Those three words

at the bottom have been put 'into jail' because they don't

follow the rule.

Earlier this week I sent out a message to ask for parents'

assistance in helping their little 'hear' the rhyming words

with the long vowels.  Most students were challenged to hear

that consonant sound at the end, so words such as 'like' and 'ripe'

were suggested as rhyming.  The students heard the 'I' but ignored

the 'k' and 'p'.

The students can only get better at this skill when they practice,

so thank you mamas and papas for just saying words and having

your kiddos provide rhyming words throughout the day.

Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright tells of a snowman

who is cold, wants to be warm, but does not understand that

when snow is warm, it melts.

The importance of this activity is that the students were not

provided with tracers or pre-created shapes in order to make Sneezy

holding up the sign.

The students used the paper provided but had to draw, cut and

assemble on their own.  This is a BIG step for them.

It involves planning, spatial awareness, and shape recognition.

Some Sneezy Snowmen were tiny.

Some papers were vertical instead of horizontal.

Some added detail and others did not.

Activities like this demonstrate the students' learning over time,

and their ability to apply that learning to another situation.

That really is the end goal of all learning.

You can add....now how much will the 3 items in your grocery cart cost?

You can subtract....now do you have enough money to pay for those groceries?

You can read....what did that sign just say?

You can write....will you be able to fill in the required paperwork?

These may be Littles....but they are on their way to BIG accomplishments!