Weekly Update 3/7/14

Hello families!
This week has been going so well!  I've been very impressed with how well students have worked together in science and how they are taking their time in publishing their writing!
A few reminders!
*Conferences are next week.  You should receive a reminder email a day or 2 before.  I will be sending home a reminder note as well.  Don't forget…your child has wonderful things to share and talk with you about!
*Thursday, the 13th is an early release day for conferences.  Dismissal is at 12:30.
**Switch schedules: On Tuesday, March 18th, we will have a long day with dismissal at 3:00 (art special).  On Wednesday, March 19th, we will have a short day with dismissal at 12:30 (physical education special).  This is due to MCAS and is the only switch all year.
*If you have not sent back your field trip forms, please do so tomorrow.  We will be picking names out of a hat on Monday for chaperones.

What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been focusing on trickster tales.  How are they different from folktales and pourquois?  We have talked about the elements of trickster tales, such as the main character usually outsmarts the stronger character, it sometimes has a lesson, and the trickster usually survives by being clever, getting into mischief, or using wisdom.  We've also used this time to work on comparing stories and thinking about what's the same and different between the texts.  In Fundations, we've been finishing up unit 10 on -ay and -ai words and homophones.  In writing workshop, we've been working finishing up and publishing our opinion writing on a book we've read.  They grown so much as writers in this unit and I'm very impressed!  Ask your child which book they've been writing about.
In math, we've been working on "Hit the Target".  We work with numbers and solve which number we started at, which number we finished at (the target), and how many jumps in between.  This helps them work on both addition and subtraction skills.  It's important for students to see that some problems can be solved with either addition or subtraction as long as they know which number is their answer.  Explaining what they're doing, helps them determine the correct answer.  We also measured our arm spans and jumps and focused on noticing information in our data.  We will be starting fractions as well and talking about equal parts.
In science, we've been working on our ramp unit.  We've talked about what slides and rolls, what makes something go faster or slower, and made predictions about which object would go down the ramp the fastest and then tested it.  This unit is not only great for the science curriculum, but it focuses a lot on working as a group and explaining what they observed.  Ask your child which object went down the ramp the fastest.
Look forward to seeing all of you at conferences!
Have  a great week!