Diary of a Silkworm 4/28/11

Well, I've been so busy eating and growing, I haven't had much time for an update. We spent our Spring Break in Mrs. Durbin's room who kindly fed us plenty of fresh mulberry leaves. When Miss Cuenca saw us, she jumped back in surprise. We're so big now that when the kids handle us, they comment on how soft our bodies are. Today I felt like stretching and noticed that some of my skin started to come off! That's so weird! I heard Miss Cuenca say something about molting. Maybe that's what we're doing. Miss Cuenca's friend, Miss Barrack, has gotten us fresh leaves every day since we've been back from Room 18. It's great to be back here but some of us have sensed the presence of tadpoles right next door. I hope tadpoles don't eat silkworms...

Launching Rabbits and Elephants!

Today we made helicopters in the shape of a rabbit and elephant. Then we launched them off the play structure to see what would happen when we dropped them. This is our introduction into observing air....

Enjoy the 9 second clip...!

Say Something

We just finished week three of our animal unit. Our strategy this week was to learn how to stop and say something. We began this strategy by emphasizing the importance of monitoring our understanding while we are reading. Thus, while we are reading, it's important to stop and ask ourselves if what we are reading makes sense. We practiced this as a whole group, in partners and in a small group.

We also worked on creating a labeled picture of an animal (to help us prepare for our animal reports), writing narratives using pictures from magazines and creating animal acrostic poems. We are starting our animal reports this week and I believe our class is ready to take on the challenge!

Welcome Willy and Lily Froglet!

Please welcome the newest additions to our class, Willy and Lily Froglet! Our new tadpoles are straight from the Los Gatos Mountains and are excited to be in their new home. They wanted me to tell you that they will start their diary in a few days once they recover from their jet lag and adjust to their new home.

:)

Drawing and Writing Wonderings

While we've practiced wondering before, we took it to the next level and practiced asking questions before reading, during reading and after reading. Of course, we did have discussions about what we already knew about the topic because we are now expert previewers.

This week we read a book about Whales and brainstormed many questions about the whales. We were amazed to learn so many facts about whales. The class especially liked the fact that Humpback Whales sing songs and enjoyed the Humpback Whale music I played during class.

In our small groups, we practiced wondering while reading Gorillas by Seymour Simon. We learned a lot about gorillas and the kids asked really insightful questions while reading such as:

• How do gorillas walk on their knuckles without hurting their hands?
• What are their enemies?
• How do they communicate?
• Why is the Mountain Gorilla endangered?

Also in small groups, students read non-fiction books and made their own animal fact books, made many words from the mystery word, "Killer Whale" and made bookmarks for their upcoming literature circles.

Diary of a Silkworm 4/8/11

It's been a great few days. The nice class that's taking care of us has made sure to feed us plenty of fresh mulberry leaves as we haven't stopped eating! As you can see, we've doubled in size since we first got here! Without a doubt, our favorite time of the day is when the teacher puts us under something called the ELMO and we become so huge, the kids can see us on the big screen. They must think we are pretty cool creatures because all they do is "ooh" and "ahh." Well, back to my tasty mulberry leaf!

Diary of a Silkworm 4/5/11

Today we got put in a box and were covered with freshly picked mulberry leaves. I was so excited to smell that mulberry plant, I went right to it and started chomping (I haven't stopped!). It is so nice to have this new home. That plastic bag we were in was getting a little suffocating. I think the teacher forgot about us. Good thing she finally remembered!! It's nice in our new home. Chomp...Chomp...Chomp....