We've had a great week this week! I wanted to focus on a mini-unit we've been doing instead of each subject this week. Enjoy!
This week we've been working on biographies and looking at different times in history. I've been taking a history of gender course and I had to create a few lessons for it. I decided to use the lessons in our class. We have spent time this week viewing pictures of people in different jobs, for example men as nurses, women as coal miners, women astronauts, etc. This is why we asked you what your jobs are. The list we created was great! They loved looking at the different jobs and noticing what most meant do and what most women do. We also talked about jobs that surprised us in each category. They've chosen biographies to read and have been listing important information and qualities of their person. We will continue looking at biographies next week as well. We've ended this mini unit focusing on student's thinking about what they want to be when they grow up. I loved their choices!
I want to be an artist because I draw a lot and practice. - Graham
I want to be a policeman because I can help someone when they fall down. - Ryan
I want to be an artist because some of the paintings colors are bright. - Hayne
I want to be a game creator because I day dream. - Lucas
I want to be a seamstress because I like to sew. - Lisa
I want to be a hockey player because I like to play hockey. - Keith
I want to be a soldier because I get to save the world. - Allen
I want to be a scientist because I am smart, for example, when I thought for myself. - Eliza
I want to be a soccer player because I practice a lot and I'm good at kicking the ball. - June
I want to be a soccer player because I am good at it. - Corey
I want to be a soccer player because I practice almost 2 times a day and score lots of goals. - Henry
I want to be an inventor because I'm smart. - Gabriel
I want to be an architect because I'm very good at drawing. - Naomi
I want to be a doggy daycare person because I like playing with dogs and writing reports about dogs. - Yalli.
I want to be an author because I like to write books. - Hazel
I want to be writer because my mom wrote a book. - Rachel
I want to be a veterinarian because I like to take care of animals. - Jazmin
Friday, March 28, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Weekly Update 3/21/14
It's Spring! Are you as excited as I am? Running outside…biking…playing in the yard…all activities I love about Spring weather! I hope it changes really quickly and starts to warm up!
A few reminders:
* The reading response is due at the end of the week. I know it is not much to write but it is another way for students to connect what they're doing in class with what they're reading at home. It's also a way for you to see what we are working on in class. I know families get busy and believe me I understand and feel the same way at my house sometimes, but please plan your week so it can be done by Friday morning.
* Although the snow is mostly going away, there is still a lot of mud on the playground area so you may still want to send in boots with your child for recess days.
* Don't forget to check out "What did we learn this week?"
* Also, please help me in welcoming David Gershon to our classroom beginning next Monday. He will be an assistant with our class from now on. Ms. Torchetti will be around but will also be working with 5th grade.
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been focusing on paraphrasing information from non-fiction texts we read. We have also been working on summarizing our information using post it notes to keep track of what we've read before we put it in a summary paragraph. In writing workshop, we're still working on book recommendations by adding our opinion, the details from the story, and we've started working on adding paragraphs to separate our ideas. We also received our pen pal letters and we'll write them back next Monday!
In math, we've focused on a unit called Ages and Timelines. We have been working on adding and subtracting on timelines using all the years you all were born! The students are so excited as they determine everyone's ages. We'll finish this unit next week and then move on to our measuring unit.
In social studies, we flew to China! The students loved "taking off", watching the inflight movie, and "landing in Beijing". We started our unit on Thursday focusing on what we think about China and what we wonder about. This helps us keep thinking through the unit about questions we are interested in.
A few reminders:
* The reading response is due at the end of the week. I know it is not much to write but it is another way for students to connect what they're doing in class with what they're reading at home. It's also a way for you to see what we are working on in class. I know families get busy and believe me I understand and feel the same way at my house sometimes, but please plan your week so it can be done by Friday morning.
* Although the snow is mostly going away, there is still a lot of mud on the playground area so you may still want to send in boots with your child for recess days.
* Don't forget to check out "What did we learn this week?"
* Also, please help me in welcoming David Gershon to our classroom beginning next Monday. He will be an assistant with our class from now on. Ms. Torchetti will be around but will also be working with 5th grade.
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been focusing on paraphrasing information from non-fiction texts we read. We have also been working on summarizing our information using post it notes to keep track of what we've read before we put it in a summary paragraph. In writing workshop, we're still working on book recommendations by adding our opinion, the details from the story, and we've started working on adding paragraphs to separate our ideas. We also received our pen pal letters and we'll write them back next Monday!
In math, we've focused on a unit called Ages and Timelines. We have been working on adding and subtracting on timelines using all the years you all were born! The students are so excited as they determine everyone's ages. We'll finish this unit next week and then move on to our measuring unit.
In social studies, we flew to China! The students loved "taking off", watching the inflight movie, and "landing in Beijing". We started our unit on Thursday focusing on what we think about China and what we wonder about. This helps us keep thinking through the unit about questions we are interested in.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Weekly Update 3/14/14
I hope everyone has had a nice week. I can't believe it snowed again this week! Hopefully that will be the end of it for the season and Spring will arrive soon!
A few reminders:
* Next Tuesday, March 18, is a dismissal at 3:00 with a Wednesday schedule so we will have art.
* Next Wednesday, March 19, is a 12:30 dismissal with a Tuesday schedule and we will have physical education.
* Please remember that we are a nut free classroom due to many allergies. Please keep this in mind when sending in snacks. Thank you for your help!
* Thank you for coming in for conferences…it's so good for us to touch base and the students love to share their work!
What's happening in room 235?
* In literacy, we are working on non-fiction again. We focused on reading non-fiction, focusing on what's important to learn versus what's interesting to learn. We also worked on paraphrasing what we read to put it in our own words. Next week, we will work on summarizing. In Fundations, we've been working on -ee and -ea words. Writing this week has been great! Students are working on choosing books and writing book recommendations. Once we're all done, we'll be putting the recommendations up for all to see when choosing books for reading workshop.
* In math, we finished up units 7 and 8 on hitting target numbers with open number lines and fractions. Today we started another short unit called Ages and Timelines. We will keep using the open number lines to figure out ages of characters from the book as well as members of our own family.
* In science, we've finished up our ramps unit! They loved it! This unit is wonderful and so engaging for them. They built ramps, used friction and weights to change the measurements, used the tape measure for correct measuring, graphed our data, and wrote our predictions and results. On Wednesday, we will be "flying" to China.
Have a great weekend!
A few reminders:
* Next Tuesday, March 18, is a dismissal at 3:00 with a Wednesday schedule so we will have art.
* Next Wednesday, March 19, is a 12:30 dismissal with a Tuesday schedule and we will have physical education.
* Please remember that we are a nut free classroom due to many allergies. Please keep this in mind when sending in snacks. Thank you for your help!
* Thank you for coming in for conferences…it's so good for us to touch base and the students love to share their work!
What's happening in room 235?
* In literacy, we are working on non-fiction again. We focused on reading non-fiction, focusing on what's important to learn versus what's interesting to learn. We also worked on paraphrasing what we read to put it in our own words. Next week, we will work on summarizing. In Fundations, we've been working on -ee and -ea words. Writing this week has been great! Students are working on choosing books and writing book recommendations. Once we're all done, we'll be putting the recommendations up for all to see when choosing books for reading workshop.
* In math, we finished up units 7 and 8 on hitting target numbers with open number lines and fractions. Today we started another short unit called Ages and Timelines. We will keep using the open number lines to figure out ages of characters from the book as well as members of our own family.
* In science, we've finished up our ramps unit! They loved it! This unit is wonderful and so engaging for them. They built ramps, used friction and weights to change the measurements, used the tape measure for correct measuring, graphed our data, and wrote our predictions and results. On Wednesday, we will be "flying" to China.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
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!
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!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Weekly Update 2/28/14
I can't believe it's the last day of February! Where did the whole month go? I hope everyone had a great vacation! Mine was nice…relaxful but by the time it's ending I'm ready to get back to business!
**Important things to remember!
*We will be attending the book fair on Monday. If you would like your child to purchase books during this time, please send in money in a ziploc bag so they can put any change in there.
*Conference schedule went up early this week and many of you have signed up. If you haven't, or haven't received the sign up, check your spam. If you need the link, let me know and I can tell you the times that are still available. This is for you and your child to attend. Your children have lots to share with you and it's a great time to have a good conversation about how the year has been going.
*Field trip information went one yesterday. Please read it carefully and keep the first copy home with you to keep the important information. The total for both trips is $46. Please sign the 2 forms, check off if you'd like your name to be in the hat for chaperones, check with Francie to be sure you have a current CORI, and send the money in an envelop or ziploc with their name on it. I don't have change and can not accept a check, so please send in exact change. More info will come later about specifics. Thanks!
*March 13th is an early release day for conferences.
*March 18th, Tuesday, is a FULL DAY of school with a WEDNESDAY schedule.
*March 19th, Wednesday, is an EARLY RELEASE day with a TUESDAY schedule. This is due to the MCAS 4th grade long composition test.
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been finishing up pourquois by pulling all the ideas together into a story map and we began to write our own group pourquois. It's been very interesting to see their ideas about how things come to the world (such as How spiders got 8 legs? Why dinosaurs breath fire?). We'll be starting to read trickster tales next week. The students are very excited about it! In Fundations, we finished out our unit on -r controlled syllable words. We have started working with ae and ai double vowel syllables. We'll continue this next week. In writing workshop, we've been working with our opinion letters and have begun publishing their letters about the books they've been reading. I am excited to share them with you at conferences!
In math, we finished up unit 6, began working on a subtraction assessment which will help guide us with plus time groups, and started working with compliments of 10 to help us learn how to work with numbers much easier. We also will work with using addition and subtraction strategies for getting from starting to target numbers.
In social studies, we finished out our Mexico unit by writing an alphabet book on Mexico. Once it's all put together, I'll post it for all to see!
In science, we've been discussing what rolls and slides. This will be the beginning of our ramps lessons. We also now have a lunar moth and we will be observing the changes over the next few weeks. Hopefully it will make it this year! It doesn't eat or drink so we just watch but last year it didn't make it! :(
***Ask your child what rolls and what slides. What stops things from rolling or sliding and what helps get them started? Ask your child what their letter was for the Mexico book and which picture they drew! What is the difference between a pourquoi and a fable? What makes the story a pourquoi?
Any questions, please let me know!
Have a great weekend!
**Important things to remember!
*We will be attending the book fair on Monday. If you would like your child to purchase books during this time, please send in money in a ziploc bag so they can put any change in there.
*Conference schedule went up early this week and many of you have signed up. If you haven't, or haven't received the sign up, check your spam. If you need the link, let me know and I can tell you the times that are still available. This is for you and your child to attend. Your children have lots to share with you and it's a great time to have a good conversation about how the year has been going.
*Field trip information went one yesterday. Please read it carefully and keep the first copy home with you to keep the important information. The total for both trips is $46. Please sign the 2 forms, check off if you'd like your name to be in the hat for chaperones, check with Francie to be sure you have a current CORI, and send the money in an envelop or ziploc with their name on it. I don't have change and can not accept a check, so please send in exact change. More info will come later about specifics. Thanks!
*March 13th is an early release day for conferences.
*March 18th, Tuesday, is a FULL DAY of school with a WEDNESDAY schedule.
*March 19th, Wednesday, is an EARLY RELEASE day with a TUESDAY schedule. This is due to the MCAS 4th grade long composition test.
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been finishing up pourquois by pulling all the ideas together into a story map and we began to write our own group pourquois. It's been very interesting to see their ideas about how things come to the world (such as How spiders got 8 legs? Why dinosaurs breath fire?). We'll be starting to read trickster tales next week. The students are very excited about it! In Fundations, we finished out our unit on -r controlled syllable words. We have started working with ae and ai double vowel syllables. We'll continue this next week. In writing workshop, we've been working with our opinion letters and have begun publishing their letters about the books they've been reading. I am excited to share them with you at conferences!
In math, we finished up unit 6, began working on a subtraction assessment which will help guide us with plus time groups, and started working with compliments of 10 to help us learn how to work with numbers much easier. We also will work with using addition and subtraction strategies for getting from starting to target numbers.
In social studies, we finished out our Mexico unit by writing an alphabet book on Mexico. Once it's all put together, I'll post it for all to see!
In science, we've been discussing what rolls and slides. This will be the beginning of our ramps lessons. We also now have a lunar moth and we will be observing the changes over the next few weeks. Hopefully it will make it this year! It doesn't eat or drink so we just watch but last year it didn't make it! :(
***Ask your child what rolls and what slides. What stops things from rolling or sliding and what helps get them started? Ask your child what their letter was for the Mexico book and which picture they drew! What is the difference between a pourquoi and a fable? What makes the story a pourquoi?
Any questions, please let me know!
Have a great weekend!
Friday, February 14, 2014
Weekly Update 2/14/14
It's vacation! Are you as excited and me and the kids? I hope so!
*We celebrated 100 days of school on Wednesday…we made 100 shaped eye glasses, counted to 100, wrote 100 things, timed ourselves to see what we could do in 100 seconds, read and illustrated a 100 day poem, and shared our bags with 100 items. It was so interesting to see what the class came up with! They loved guessing each other's bags!
*We also celebrated friendship week and Valentine's day. I hope you liked our canvas art work! Thanks to the parents that helped and those that donated items to help us complete this project. We read books about friendship and Valentine's Day as well as thought about people in our lives who we love and care about.
*Conferences will be the 2nd week of March. The first day back from vacation, the 24th, I will post the Sign Up genius for conferences. They will be held the 11, 12, and 13th.
This has been a busy week…we've been working on finishing up our Mexico alphabet book, we completed writing our own fables, and we worked on writing our letters to someone about our opinion about books. We also have been practicing addition and subtraction strategies, estimating to the closest number, practiced some challenge work, and thought about ways to get to 100. In literacy, we've been reviewing the r-controlled syllable, have continued working on pourquois (focusing on the characters and the problem), and read Time For Kids on the presidents.
I hope everyone has a wonderful vacation!
**Our fables are below…the students worked in groups to decide what the lesson would be, who the characters were, where the setting was, what the problem might be, and how it ended. The groups wrote a rough draft, then typed their fables, and finally, added their illustrations.
*We celebrated 100 days of school on Wednesday…we made 100 shaped eye glasses, counted to 100, wrote 100 things, timed ourselves to see what we could do in 100 seconds, read and illustrated a 100 day poem, and shared our bags with 100 items. It was so interesting to see what the class came up with! They loved guessing each other's bags!
*We also celebrated friendship week and Valentine's day. I hope you liked our canvas art work! Thanks to the parents that helped and those that donated items to help us complete this project. We read books about friendship and Valentine's Day as well as thought about people in our lives who we love and care about.
*Conferences will be the 2nd week of March. The first day back from vacation, the 24th, I will post the Sign Up genius for conferences. They will be held the 11, 12, and 13th.
This has been a busy week…we've been working on finishing up our Mexico alphabet book, we completed writing our own fables, and we worked on writing our letters to someone about our opinion about books. We also have been practicing addition and subtraction strategies, estimating to the closest number, practiced some challenge work, and thought about ways to get to 100. In literacy, we've been reviewing the r-controlled syllable, have continued working on pourquois (focusing on the characters and the problem), and read Time For Kids on the presidents.
I hope everyone has a wonderful vacation!
**Our fables are below…the students worked in groups to decide what the lesson would be, who the characters were, where the setting was, what the problem might be, and how it ended. The groups wrote a rough draft, then typed their fables, and finally, added their illustrations.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Weekly update 2/7/14
I hope everyone has had a nice week! We have 1 more week until vacation!
A few important things:
**Right now the 100th day of school is next Wednesday. Next week, I will send home a sheet to write about 100 things you've collected. Start thinking about or start collecting, 100 small items. Examples are cheerios, legos, doll shoes, crayons, pennies, etc. If you collect this weekend, you won't have to be looking for them next week and you'll only have to complete the form.
**Going home today is the valentines information. On Friday, February 14th, we'll be having a Valentine's/Friendship day. We will count candy hearts, write about people we care about, do a craft activity, and pass out valentines. If you choose to pass out valentines, the information is going home today along with a class list. Please keep in mind that we can not pass out candy to eat. If candy is brought in to pass out, it will all have to go home.
**You may have had a chance to use Tumblebooks when you were here for literacy morning. You can also use it home too! Go to tumblebooks.com using the username mspaulding and the password books.
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we continue to work on writing our opinion letters. Some of us are writing about characters…others about our favorite parts…and some of us are writing about parts that are funny. We are using a checklist to help keep us on track and though we just started this recently, we will continue to work on it for another month or two and the end products will be amazing! Thank you to those that came to literacy morning…I'm glad you had a chance to see some of their writing! In reading workshop, we are working on pourquois. Pourquois teach us why the legends tell us something happened. For example, ask your child why chipmunks have stripes. We also continue to work on writing our own fables before we type them and add illustrations.
In math, we are still working on addition strategies such as the open number line, ball park estimates, and partial sums. We will be looking at length and data next week.
In social studies, we have finished our Mexico unit and have been reading Time For Kids about thunderstorms and are working on researching, typing, and illustrating an alphabet book about Mexico.
After vacation, we will go back to science and work with ramps. We will investigate how ramps work, what makes cars go faster or slower down the ramps, and then make our own ramps. I'm looking forward to it…students usually love this unit!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. DeKing
A few important things:
**Right now the 100th day of school is next Wednesday. Next week, I will send home a sheet to write about 100 things you've collected. Start thinking about or start collecting, 100 small items. Examples are cheerios, legos, doll shoes, crayons, pennies, etc. If you collect this weekend, you won't have to be looking for them next week and you'll only have to complete the form.
**Going home today is the valentines information. On Friday, February 14th, we'll be having a Valentine's/Friendship day. We will count candy hearts, write about people we care about, do a craft activity, and pass out valentines. If you choose to pass out valentines, the information is going home today along with a class list. Please keep in mind that we can not pass out candy to eat. If candy is brought in to pass out, it will all have to go home.
**You may have had a chance to use Tumblebooks when you were here for literacy morning. You can also use it home too! Go to tumblebooks.com using the username mspaulding and the password books.
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we continue to work on writing our opinion letters. Some of us are writing about characters…others about our favorite parts…and some of us are writing about parts that are funny. We are using a checklist to help keep us on track and though we just started this recently, we will continue to work on it for another month or two and the end products will be amazing! Thank you to those that came to literacy morning…I'm glad you had a chance to see some of their writing! In reading workshop, we are working on pourquois. Pourquois teach us why the legends tell us something happened. For example, ask your child why chipmunks have stripes. We also continue to work on writing our own fables before we type them and add illustrations.
In math, we are still working on addition strategies such as the open number line, ball park estimates, and partial sums. We will be looking at length and data next week.
In social studies, we have finished our Mexico unit and have been reading Time For Kids about thunderstorms and are working on researching, typing, and illustrating an alphabet book about Mexico.
After vacation, we will go back to science and work with ramps. We will investigate how ramps work, what makes cars go faster or slower down the ramps, and then make our own ramps. I'm looking forward to it…students usually love this unit!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. DeKing
Friday, January 31, 2014
Weekly Update 1/31/14
I can't believe it's the end of January already! It's gone by very quickly I have to say!
Here's some important information for you and your family:
* There is an early release day on Wednesday, February 5th. Dismissal at 12:30.
* There is an early release day on Wednesday, February 5th. Dismissal at 12:30.
* Literacy morning: Please join us on Thursday, February 6th for literacy morning. From 8:30-9:00, you'll be in the auditorium hearing about literacy at Memorial Spaulding and from 9-9:30, you'll be in the classroom working on a folktale activity with your child.
* Don't forget to send your child in with hats, gloves, and boots for recess (snow pants if you'd like) because they will go out unless it's too cold or rainy.
* Expectations for reading response - students will complete the reading response each week and it's due on Friday. If for some reason, they can not get on, they can send me an email or write it on a piece of paper a response (could be a prediction or a connection if you don't know the prompt). Please start this early in the week so it is completed. Working on skills we are working on in class is very important!
* Continue practicing those math facts, however you have chosen to do it. I can really see improvement since the beginning of the year.
* Progress reports will be ready on Monday, February 3. They are electronic just as they were last year. If you have any questions, please check in with Ms. Sheehan in the office. I really enjoy teaching every child in this class and I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with them and see them grow and change. They have come so far this year and I look forward to seeing their continued progress from now till June. They are amazing!
* Don't forget to check out "What did we learn this week?" It's a great conversation starter!
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we finished up the fables section of our folktales unit. We've worked a lot on identifying the characters, setting, conflict, and lessons in each story. We also started working on writing group fables. I'm am very impressed with how well groups have worked together, made decisions as a group about the lesson, setting, characters, and problem, and began writing their fable. We will continue this into next week and then begin typing them and adding illustrations to make a final book. Next week, we'll also start learning about pourquois. In Fundations, we've been working on the r-controlled syllables. These syllables have -ar, -er-, -ir, -or, and -ur. We will continue working on this next week as well. In writing, we continue to work on our opinion writing around books. You'll see some of this work at literacy morning. We've also been taking time to write back to our pen pals in NY.
* Ask your child the elements of a fable.
In math, we finished up the Art Show lessons by focusing on addition strategies they can use when working with larger numbers. We've learned 3 strategies that can help them. In unit 6, we will continue to focus on addition strategies and place value.
* Ask your child 1 to show you 2 ways to add 43+58.
In social studies, we have finished our Mexico unit! We learned about the painter Diego Rivera, watched a video of children in urban and rural areas, and wrote a postcard listing the important facts we've learned.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Weekly Update 1/17/14
It's been a busy week in room 235!
A few reminders….
* A homework expectation is that students complete the reading log online 1x a week. This week, many students did not complete it. Please help your child organize their time to complete it each week.
* There is no school on Monday, January 20.
* Don't forget to keep practicing those math facts at home! Whether it's extra math, flash cards, or worksheets…the more practice the better!
* Please let me know if your child is getting picked up by someone other than the usual. It's very important to know dismissal routines. Thank you!
* Don't forget to check out "What did we learn this week?" each week! The students spend time typing and thinking about what they want to share with you so please see their wonderful comments! It's on my website!
What's happening in room 235?
* In literacy, we've finished up mid-year assessments and have started reading groups around Mexico to correlate with our social studies unit. We are learning about the land, the people, activities, and children's lives. We have finished up our unit on questions and inferencing and will be moving on to folk tales next week. In writing workshop, we've been working on writing friendly letters. We've started writing letters about our favorite character and favorite parts. It's important for students to identify which part is their favorite and be able to give evidence or reasons why it is. Simply saying, "This is my favorite part because it's funny." is not enough. I'm encouraging students to tell which parts are funny to prove the book is funny and to convince me it's funny. In Fundations, we've worked on trick words and -or or -ar words. We will continue practicing the -r controlled syllables next week as well.
* In math, we continue to work on "The Art Show" project. We've completed measuring the papers with cubes and a blue print and have now started working on adding tens and ones and talking about addition strategies for larger numbers. We will continue working on this next week.
* In social studies, we talked about the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead, and why it's important to the people of Mexico. We also talked about what a marketplace looks like on Saturday in Mexico. We compared it to a flea market or farmer's market around here.
**Ask you child how school went today and if it was any different? Today we talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and how he wanted all children to be able to play together regardless of skin color or background. When students arrived, they saw signs saying "No blue eyes children can sit here." or "Only blue eyes children can sit here." We continued this throughout the day during whole class lessons or lining up for recess. We read a book about Martin's life and talked about how the people may have felt. We also talked about how they have felt today. Some said they felt it was unfair, they felt lonely, sad, mad, and unsure of what to do. We agreed that's how many people have felt in the past, and maybe still today. We created an animoto video for you…click on the link below and it will take you there! We drew our portraits and typed ourselves what our dreams were. Hope you enjoy it!
We all have a dream.
A few reminders….
* A homework expectation is that students complete the reading log online 1x a week. This week, many students did not complete it. Please help your child organize their time to complete it each week.
* There is no school on Monday, January 20.
* Don't forget to keep practicing those math facts at home! Whether it's extra math, flash cards, or worksheets…the more practice the better!
* Please let me know if your child is getting picked up by someone other than the usual. It's very important to know dismissal routines. Thank you!
* Don't forget to check out "What did we learn this week?" each week! The students spend time typing and thinking about what they want to share with you so please see their wonderful comments! It's on my website!
What's happening in room 235?
* In literacy, we've finished up mid-year assessments and have started reading groups around Mexico to correlate with our social studies unit. We are learning about the land, the people, activities, and children's lives. We have finished up our unit on questions and inferencing and will be moving on to folk tales next week. In writing workshop, we've been working on writing friendly letters. We've started writing letters about our favorite character and favorite parts. It's important for students to identify which part is their favorite and be able to give evidence or reasons why it is. Simply saying, "This is my favorite part because it's funny." is not enough. I'm encouraging students to tell which parts are funny to prove the book is funny and to convince me it's funny. In Fundations, we've worked on trick words and -or or -ar words. We will continue practicing the -r controlled syllables next week as well.
* In math, we continue to work on "The Art Show" project. We've completed measuring the papers with cubes and a blue print and have now started working on adding tens and ones and talking about addition strategies for larger numbers. We will continue working on this next week.
* In social studies, we talked about the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead, and why it's important to the people of Mexico. We also talked about what a marketplace looks like on Saturday in Mexico. We compared it to a flea market or farmer's market around here.
**Ask you child how school went today and if it was any different? Today we talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and how he wanted all children to be able to play together regardless of skin color or background. When students arrived, they saw signs saying "No blue eyes children can sit here." or "Only blue eyes children can sit here." We continued this throughout the day during whole class lessons or lining up for recess. We read a book about Martin's life and talked about how the people may have felt. We also talked about how they have felt today. Some said they felt it was unfair, they felt lonely, sad, mad, and unsure of what to do. We agreed that's how many people have felt in the past, and maybe still today. We created an animoto video for you…click on the link below and it will take you there! We drew our portraits and typed ourselves what our dreams were. Hope you enjoy it!
We all have a dream.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Weekly Update 1/10/14
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful break! We enjoyed seeing friends, teaching Lily to ice skate, and relaxing. I hope you had time to do the same.
We've been very busy here in room 235 this week! A few reminders…
* Please continue to send in snow gear, even if it's just cold out.
* There is no school on Monday, the 20th.
* If you have any cleaning wipes, tissues, or hand sanitizer you'd like to send in, please do! It's that time of year for colds.
* I was so excited to be able to spend some of the gift cards over break. I picked up some books for the classroom boxes as well as whole class read alouds. I also picked up some new games/activities for recess time as our other games were wearing thin.
* Earlier this week, we did an activity called, "What's in my teacher's bag?" I brought items in that were important to me or helped describe me and the students had to infer what each item said about me. For example, from a Starbucks gift card, students inferred that I liked coffee. From a picture of my family, they inferred that family was important to me. Also, from a running magazine, they inferred that I like to run and be healthily.
A little homework: I would like each student to bring in a bag next week with 3 items. Each item should help us to infer what the student likes or help us to describe the student. Please send these items in a bag (plastic bag is just fine), Monday through Wednesday and we will share at meeting time. Thanks for your help!
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been focusing on mid-year assessments as well as questioning and inferring. Both of these skills are important for students to learn as they become better readers. The better they can question, the better they are understanding the story. Next week during reading workshop, we'll be doing guided reading groups using books about Mexico to tie in our social studies units. In the past, students have really enjoyed these books. We will also finish up our questioning unit and move to Folk Tales the following week. In writing, we've been reviewing some grammar, such as common and proper nouns and punctuation. We also did some creative writing about snow. On Friday, we wrote an opinion piece on a topic we care about. This is the beginning of the opinion unit, which we will get into more in the next few weeks.
*Ask your child what they wrote about!
In math, we finished up our geometry unit on polygons, solid figures, and comparing/contrasting shapes. We began a 10-day unit on measuring and addition called The Art Show. We began by measuring with cubes and comparing our answers. Some of the paper is small, some of it is very large and students loved measuring each one! We will begin to have discussions about how we measured, our results, why measurements may be different, and other ways we could measure more accurately. We will begin making a blue print for each piece of paper next week.
*Ask your child how big the yellow paper was!
In social studies, we continue learning about Mexico. We have learned about the geographic regions, compared the rights and responsibilities of children in the U.S.A and children in Mexico, and shaded in a map of Mexico to show different landforms and areas.
*Ask your child to share one fact about a region they learned about.
We've been very busy here in room 235 this week! A few reminders…
* Please continue to send in snow gear, even if it's just cold out.
* There is no school on Monday, the 20th.
* If you have any cleaning wipes, tissues, or hand sanitizer you'd like to send in, please do! It's that time of year for colds.
* I was so excited to be able to spend some of the gift cards over break. I picked up some books for the classroom boxes as well as whole class read alouds. I also picked up some new games/activities for recess time as our other games were wearing thin.
* Earlier this week, we did an activity called, "What's in my teacher's bag?" I brought items in that were important to me or helped describe me and the students had to infer what each item said about me. For example, from a Starbucks gift card, students inferred that I liked coffee. From a picture of my family, they inferred that family was important to me. Also, from a running magazine, they inferred that I like to run and be healthily.
A little homework: I would like each student to bring in a bag next week with 3 items. Each item should help us to infer what the student likes or help us to describe the student. Please send these items in a bag (plastic bag is just fine), Monday through Wednesday and we will share at meeting time. Thanks for your help!
What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been focusing on mid-year assessments as well as questioning and inferring. Both of these skills are important for students to learn as they become better readers. The better they can question, the better they are understanding the story. Next week during reading workshop, we'll be doing guided reading groups using books about Mexico to tie in our social studies units. In the past, students have really enjoyed these books. We will also finish up our questioning unit and move to Folk Tales the following week. In writing, we've been reviewing some grammar, such as common and proper nouns and punctuation. We also did some creative writing about snow. On Friday, we wrote an opinion piece on a topic we care about. This is the beginning of the opinion unit, which we will get into more in the next few weeks.
*Ask your child what they wrote about!
In math, we finished up our geometry unit on polygons, solid figures, and comparing/contrasting shapes. We began a 10-day unit on measuring and addition called The Art Show. We began by measuring with cubes and comparing our answers. Some of the paper is small, some of it is very large and students loved measuring each one! We will begin to have discussions about how we measured, our results, why measurements may be different, and other ways we could measure more accurately. We will begin making a blue print for each piece of paper next week.
*Ask your child how big the yellow paper was!
In social studies, we continue learning about Mexico. We have learned about the geographic regions, compared the rights and responsibilities of children in the U.S.A and children in Mexico, and shaded in a map of Mexico to show different landforms and areas.
*Ask your child to share one fact about a region they learned about.
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