What is Compass Odyssey?

CompassLearning Odyssey® is another online resource available to all DCPS students. I use this software in the classroom as a tool to help reinforce or build skills and concepts in language, reading, math and science. This software is available to your child on any computer that has Internet access.

To access Compass Odyssey, your child’s needs his/her assigned username and password.

Has your child checked what in his/her Compass backpack lately?

What is Destination?

Destination Learning Management™ DLM4 gives educators the tools and training they need to provide effective, individualized, standards-based reading and math instruction and assessment. This is another online resource available to all DCPS students. I use this software as a tool to assess or help build foundational skills and concepts in math and reading. This software is available to your child on any computer that has Internet access. To access Destination Learning, your child’s needs his/her assigned username and password.

Has your child had a chance to access Destination lately?

End of Day Read Aloud

After cleaning up and packing up, we relaxed for our end of day read aloud of Second Grade Rules, Amber Brown, by Paula Danziger.

The book is placed under the document camera and projected onto the board for all to follow along as text is read and illustrations are displayed.

What is your favorite way to end your school day?

Book Club

Today, we read Lilly's Big Day, by Kevin Henkes. Lilly wants to be a flower girl.

Then we had group discussions...

Can you give an example of a time when you were really dissappointed?

Retelling with Puppets

Today, we worked with a partner and puppets on retelling Owen.

Here a couple of first graders retelling an event...

How would you retell the story?

Batter Up!

The Past...


The book Apple Batter by Deborah Turney Zagwyn was a Book of the Month eleven years ago.



The Present...
Today, we had a guest reader. Our principal, Mrs. Phillips, visited our class and read to us this former Book of the Month.

The Future...
"Persevere to meet your goals. Today's practice helps you become better tomorrow." ~ Susan Phillips

Being Thankful

Today, our Principal charged us with seizing the opportunity to be thankful at least 20 times today. So, we found the moment to do just that!

A lovely and thoughtful paraprofessional at our school made a Henkes Mouse Finger for each student in our class. We love it! After using them for the very first time today, we each wrote a personal thank you note to her and then presented our thankful hearts to her while she was on lunch duty in the dining room.

What are you thankful for today? Did you take the time to tell someone thank you?

Class Book Logs

Logging one leveled book read in class today during Independent Reading.

What have you read today?

Barnyard Book Bingo! Yee-Haw!!

What a blast! As our reward for meeting our reading goal for the second grading period, Principal Phillips invited first graders to a Barnyard Book BINGO!

For the third grading period, Principal Phillips is going to kiss a pig!?!

Will you be there to see this wacky wonder?

Non-Fiction Reading

Reading our weekly magazines and learning some fun facts about some African American Artists.

Making Predictions

Good readers make predictions even before reading. Today, book club members were asked to make a prediction based on the cover of a book. Predictions can be maded based on the title, cover, and illustrations/pictures.Then, each group was assigned the same question: "What do you think will happen in this book?" Then each group presented to the class their predictions.

What do you think will happen in this story?

Reading in the Morning

I love to watch my first graders read. The first opportunity to read at school in the morning is in the hallway. Patrols help monitor STudents Are Reading Silently (STARS).

Today, during the mini-lesson, we explored "What Good Readers Do To Figure Out New Words." The students then helped me list some strategies:

• s-t-r-e-t-c-h the word
• look at the picture for clues
• skip it and come back
• re-read
• ask "Does it make sense?"
• think about the story
• ask a friend or an adult - we agreed this should not be our first option

Then, I re-read aloud the story Possum Magic, by Mem Fox. We discussed interesting language in the story such the use of the word bush. The term bush as we know it (hedges, small leafy tree) didn’t seem to match the picture. As we continued to read, we noticed the term bush was used again but this time there were more animals on the page.

Then, John raised his hand and shared that he thought it might be a tree that has many animals. What a great example of a child truly thinking about the story and being actively involved in the group discussion. A bush is a place where animals live in the wilderness of Australia. We finished the story discussing along the way vocabulary words and new words that seem to refer to some Australian cuisine.

During the work period, students were asked to monitor themselves during their independent reading time and see what strategies they used when they came across a word they needed to figure out. They went straight to it. Check them out:

For our closing, students were invited to bring to the circle on the floor with one book in which they had a word they needed to figure out. Matthew said he had to stretch the word to know that it said perch but he still wasn't sure what it meant. So he re-read the sentence, "When I talk to my bird on his perch, I say peep, peep to him." He said he still wasn't sure if he knew exactly what the word meant. So he then looked at the picture. He saw a boy and a bird standing on something. "I wondered what that was. I think that's his perch because it says the bird was sitting on his perch and when I looked at the picture, I see a bird sitting on that thing. So, that must be his perch." Yee Haw! Matthew was truly thinking about the text he was reading.

What do you do to figure out a new word?