Chase worked diligently on creating a draft for his non-fiction book on the care of dogs. We focused on: the parts of a paragraph, how to develop and extend ideas in sentences and paragraphs, word choice, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and penmanship. Next, Chase played a few rounds on his sum-dog account and I assessed his areas of strength and his needs in a variety of mathematics concepts. Finally, Chase read a non-fiction level M book aloud to me and I assessed his errors and self-corrections. We also discussed the book and I asked him comprehension questions related to the text.
Chase and I reviewed a number of mathematics concepts including: place value, ways to make numbers using the base ten system (1,895 can be made in numerous ways using ones, tens, hundreds, & thousands), and addition and subtraction with regrouping to the thousands place.
Chase read two different leveled books (K & L) aloud so that I could assess his fluency and comprehension. I made note as he read of his omissions, self-corrections, and pronunciation. For the remainder of the session we worked collaboratively on his new non-fiction book on puppies. He practiced typing, researching on a MAC and finding information based on his self-selected topics. We pulled pictures to use for his book and expanded on the information in the chapters.
Chase reviewed several aspects of non-fiction writing today including: organizing thoughts and brainstorming topics he knows about, and ones he is interested in learning about, organizing thoughts and brainstorming ideas for chapters and sub-topics in his new project book on puppies; the parts of a nonfiction book including the title page, about the author, table of contents, glossary, and index. Chase also practiced using a Mac computer to begin research ideas supporting his main topics. He practiced using a keyboard effectively, using descriptors, using the search engine, choosing a reliable source of information online (ASPCA), and ways to print an article. He practiced skimming and scanning and highlighting important information in a passage. When he began writing, we started listing the important topics to create a draft. In doing so we reviewed capitalization, punctuation, penmanship, and other writing conventions. Finally, he selected three non-fiction books to read from a series of leveled readers in levels K, L, and M.
Chase worked diligently today on a variety of problems in addition and subtraction including: word problems (one and two step), adding two, three, and four digit numbers to other numbers, regrouping including carrying and borrowing, borrowing with multiple zeros, adding three numbers by carrying, and finding missing numbers for addition problems using a bank of numbers to calculate a set amount (for example: ?+?=98.
Chase and I collaborated on finishing the final three chapters of his book on DC Marvel Superheroes. Through this process we talked about/practiced the following: capitalization, punctuation, penmanship, letter formation, parts of speech, adding details, adding transitions, use of dialog, etc.
Chase learned about multiplication patterns and strategies today. He worked on identifying patterns in numbers, and he created equal groups to show multiplication. He learned about the easiest patterns first: 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10. We also worked on subtraction with an without regrouping and solving expressions (34+?=99, ?-27=29).
Chase and I continued work on his book on Batman. Through this activity we worked on the following: penmanship, synonyms, word choice, expanding on ideas, tenses, parts of speech, using conjunctions, capitalization, adding details, and punctuation.
Chase and I worked through his V-Math online program for school. Through this system we reviewed and he practiced the following: double and triple digit subtraction with and without regrouping, regrouping in subtraction to two places, estimation, estimating differences using mental math, and solving word problems by identifying key terms to determine which operation to use.
Chase and I began the creation of a new fiction book. We selected photos of lego heroes online, and planned out the story, chapter by chapter in a story board format. He dictated the content of the story to me, and we practiced extending ideas to create a richer, more action packed story. We discussed elements of a story including character, setting, plot, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. We discussed the concept of a cliffhanger as well. We began talking about word choice and the use of different parts of speech.
