Our unit, "Express Yourself" is coming to a close and with that comes presentations from the children on something they love. I was blown away by the awesome presentations today! Six children presented and I enjoyed every minute of their enthusiasm and creativity!

(Side note - better quality pictures coming soon!)

Express Yourself, Day 2

We had another rousing round of presentations on Wednesday for Express Yourself. I love getting to see the children share their passions!

Work on Writing, Day 1

On Thursday, we introduced the fourth component of the Daily 5 - Work on Writing. In this phase, students learn how writing can also help you become a better reader - plus its lots of fun! We learned about the many things you could write about and what to do when you don't know how to spell a word. We practiced two rounds of 5 minute stamina sessions and the kids did great. They've been begging for more ever since. I love to see a love of writing in my students!

Student Council Elections

Today, the 2nd graders at Ben Davis got a chance to give a speech and run for a student council office! We had 8 children from Room 19 in the election.
Secretary - Izzy Kate and Chet
Treasurer - Judd, Judson, and Austin
Vice President - Gracie
President - Penny and Caleb

And the Ben Davis winners are...

President - Maddie Jones
Vice President - JoJo Williamson
Secretary - Izzy Kate Priest
Treasurer - Judd Bailey

Congratulations! I'm so proud of you all for your courage!

IPICK

As a part of the Daily 5 - we learned that readers get to pick their own books when reading so that it is more enjoyable and interesting. We learned the song "IPICK" and have been practicing for a few days. Today, the students asked if I would record them doing the song with a few dance moves - too funny! Watch the video to find out what IPICK stands for!

Daily 5 - Read to Someone

Today we started the second component of the Daily 5 - Read to Someone. We learned that by reading to someone else helps us understand words we may not have known and also helps us become more fluent readers. Students were matched up with a partner and were allowed to choose a big book to read. We learned how to sit - EEKK! (elbow elbow, knee to knee) and we learned how to use our whisper voices, and finally we learned how to check for understanding after our partner read. Day 1 was a success - we built up to 5 minutes of reading stamina!

 

Daily 5 - Read to Self Day 1

Today was our first day of the Daily 5! The Daily 5 consists of 5 skills that we practice to become better readers - Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing, and Word Work. Today we learned all about "Read to Self." We discussed what it should look like and what behaviors all students are expected to be doing while we read to self. We then went to our book nook and began building our independent reading stamina!