Happy Birthday, Johnny Appleseed!

Today in the REACH room we celebrated Johnny Appleseed's birthday. Check out how each grade level group explored the life of Johnny Chapman.

3rd Graders

                 

These 3rd graders came dressed and ready to celebrate Johnny Appleseed. One student even won an apple pie for her Johnny Appleseed outfit!

We began by looking at vocabulary words associated with Johnny Appleseed. We created kid-friendly meanings and an icon to represent the words.

We then read the story, Johnny Appleseed: An American Who Made a Difference. 

The students used their check for understanding checkmarks and post-it pads to be sure they were understanding and comprehending the story. 

They collected facts about Johnny Appleseed and shared their most interesting facts with their classmates. They celebrated their learning with a delicious candy caramel apple sucker. 

4th  Graders

The 4th graders explored Johnny Appleseed through a graphic text. Their exploration began by examining important vocabulary a bit closer. 

These 4th graders love to leave their thinking tracks as they read. They used their check for understanding checkmarks and post-it pads to be sure they were understanding and comprehending the text. Their focus was to also collect important information about Johnny Appleseed.  

They took their information and created a character map for Johnny Appleseed. Check these out...

                   

                             

                  These 4th graders celebrated their learning with a yummy, caramel apple sucker!

2nd  Graders

These 2nd graders couldn't wait to learn all about Johnny Appleseed!

They started by watching a BrainPop Jr. movie on Johnny Appleseed.

They then read two mini books all about him...

Johnny Appleseed's Gift and Thank you! Johnny Appleseed

They brainstormed together words or phrases that described Johnny Appleseed. They worked so carefully to add this important information to their Johnny Appleseed Character Map. 

All their hard work as rewarded by all the great things they learned about Johnny Appleseed...and a sweet caramel apple sucker, too! 

Aarrrr you talking like a pirate?

The REACH students walked the plank today as they took on the role of pirates. In celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day the REACH room was transformed into Pirate Central! The REACH learners started their experience by using the Pirate Name Roster to learn their pirate name. My name was Scallywag Cackle Bart! We also had Captain Sea Sparrow, Squidlips Creeper Bart, and Flushbucket Creeper from the West! It was important for them to learn proper Pirate Vocabulary so they used context clues to decipher the pirate jargon! These buccaneers then took time to learn about the famous pirate- Blackbeard! Before walking the plank, these scallywags enjoyed some sweet, tasty grubcakes! Check out the snapshots of all the fun, pirate learning!

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REACHing for a tissue?

There is a definite change in the weather and the REACH students and I are enjoying the refreshing cooler temperatures. With the cooler weather comes...the common cold! To determine what we need to do to stay healthy and well throughout the coming fall and winter weather, we read a book called Sneezes and Sniffles: Your Questions Answered.  This was a non-fiction text that had some great text features-like the glossary for important vocabulary on the topic and the table of contents to help us organize the main headings. While  it was filled with many diagrams and captions...many were just a bit too gross for some of us!

We then did an experiment to get a better idea of just how germs spread and multiply. 

Our Cast and Crew were lotion, glitter, a pencil, and water bottle. 

Check out the photos of all the germs and how they stick to everything!! I have a feeling we will be seeing these germs here and there in our REACH room for a long while.....

    

REACHing to Read for International Literacy Day!

REACH class is ready for International Reading Day! In support of the International Reading Association's reading initiative-Lift Off to Literacy: International Literacy Day-my REACH students and I are committing to add an extra 60 seconds of reading and writing to our sessions for 60 days. I needed a plan in place to help us stay on track and committed to this celebration of reading. Below are some photos of how I have organized our next 60 days.

Be sure to check back often as I will post follow-up posts to share our learning and to keep us accountable to our 60 day commitment!

Monday - Friday Schedule

Monday:  60 second read aloud of Kenny and the Dragon

Tuesday: 60 Seconds of Reading Poetry

Wednesday: 60 Seconds of Writing 

(Students add more to their story every Wednesday for 60 seconds)

Thursday: Would You Rather...

(Students will be asked a question, they will share their thoughts and support their opinion and then post their name beside which choice they would rather do)

Friday: 3, 2, 1, Lift Off!

(Students reflect on their week of learning...on a post it note they write

3 things they learned, 2 things interesting, and 1 lingering question)