Gingerbread Goodness

I have to admit I had fun with this thematic unit!!  I think the kids did, too.  

Just look at those happy faces!

After reading The Gingerbread Man, we read The Gingerbread Boy to introduce the reading comprehension skill of compare and contrast.  The comparison also lead to talking about vocabulary terms same and different which previews our first math topic of sorting.  Always sneaking in something extra, we found words that had -an in the stories.



The Gingerbread Man arrived to deliver the cookies---long story.  The gingerbread men had escaped from the oven in the cafeteria.  The children took a tour of the school to search for them. Unbeknownst to the children, they were learning  the locations of very important places in our school like the nurse, the principal's office, guidance, and the media center.

Here, the children used gingerbread bears as nonstandard units of measurement with everyday items in our classroom, such as books and bins.

Homework

I am grading assessments and it occurs to me that I would like to try adapting homework to the learner instead of sending home a general, one size fits all packet of worksheets.  This is where being partners in your child's learning will be beneficial.  Each child will have different skills to focus on and I will provide feedback on their progress.  I will use a rubric. Rubrics specify the level of performance expected in an assignment/project.  Along with specific comments provided by me, the use of rubrics will (in time) help your learner judge and revise their own work before handing in an assignment.

4- Perfect score, can’t ask for more.  Look at me, I am a four!

3- Almost perfect, look at me.  Doing great, I am a three.

2- Still much to do, makes me a two.  But I can do it, I’ll show you.

1- I have just begun.  with hard work, I’ll get it done, but for now, I am a one.

Homework will be assigned on a Friday and collected the following Friday. This week, I will send a review of the Math we learned.  Homework will begin in earnest on the week of 9/12.  Let's give this a try.