Reader's Workshop: Fables Genre Study

Over the past few months we have been studying the genre of folktales, and more specifically, fables. Students have learned a lot about this genre and added so much more information to our always/often t-chart after we finished the unit!

To celebrate our learning of fables, students practiced reader's theater in small groups and performed for their classmates. They even created their own costumes for the performance. Enjoy!

City Mouse and Town Mouse by Lukas, Landan, and Hannah


Dog and His Shadow by Dustin and Emma


Fox and the Crow by Juliet, Noemia, and Brynn


Fox and the Stork by Timmy, Hayes, and Drew


Crow and the Pitcher by Christopher and Jack


Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Cyra and Owen


Peacock and Juno by Annie, Annika, and Maeva

Writer's Workshop: Fable Awards

It’s award season! Over the past few weeks we have been working on a project in Writer’s Workshop based on favorite Aesop fables we have read in Reader's Workshop. Using these stories as a model, the students choose their own favorite fable character and began filling in their OREO graphic organizer with reasons and examples why their character should be nominated for a special award.

The students were very inspired by connecting their reading and writing knowledge, and their creative voice was evident in this persuasive piece. We celebrated our learning with a classroom transformation on Tuesday! We walked the red carpet and presented our award to our fable character!

Check out this fun movie of our award show:

February is for Friendship

During mindfulness time two weeks ago we discussed this month's theme: awareness. We talked about being aware of our words and actions to be a good friend. We decided that in the month of February, our class would celebrate friendship.

We have started a new incentive plan in our classroom where any teacher working in our classroom will provide positive reinforcement with a 'pink ticket' each time we see a child being kind, helpful, and respectful to a friend or friends. 

If a child receives a ticket, they write their name on it and put the ticket in a bucket for a daily drawing. At the end of each day, I will pick one ticket and reward the student's good behavior with either a phone call, email, or positive note home. 

When we come together for class meeting again in a few weeks, we will reflect on our goal. Your students are doing a great job with this plan and we already see so much kindness in just a few days!