Weekly Update 5/23/14

I can't believe there's only 20 days left of school!  Oh my!  As we think about the last few days of school, there are many things going on…we'll have Color Day, presentations for parents, last day of school, our Museum of Science field trip, and so much more!
Things to remember:
* Going home today is information about special homework project coming up starting next week.  Please be sure to read it carefully and allow your child to guide the process and complete the work on their own as much as they can.  They love showing their work that they've accomplished!  Thank you! Look for the info in your child's folder!
* There is no school on Monday, May 26th.
* Don't forget about the silent auction!  It's all set up by the front door.  I'm offering pancake breakfast with a friend one morning.  Go bid and raise money for the school!
* Monday, June 2, is our field trip to the Museum of Science.  More info will go home next week but just wanted to remind you that students will need a packed bag lunch as there's no fridge and difficult to carry lunch boxes around.  Also, send food that's easy to open and easy to eat as we have a quick lunch so we can get back to the museum exhibits.
* Wednesday, June 11th, at 2:00 is our end of year parent presentations for you!
* Tuesday, June 17th, is Color Day (more info going home soon about that).
* Please send in 2 brown paper bags to carry artwork and classwork home.  Your child has a notice about it.
* Friday, June 20, is our last day of school.  Please keep me updated if your child will not be here as I have things that need to go home. Thanks!
* If you have any tissues, please send them in!  Even though cold season seems to be over, allergy season has begun!

A few thoughts about the end of year…

What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we continue to focus on poetry.  We've read many poems with rhythm, poems with a beat, onomatopoeia, poems with sound, poems with connections to us, poems with verbs and nouns, and describing words.  We wrote the poem below for you using nouns and adjectives.  We hope you enjoy it!  In writing workshop, we've been working on writing poems, making poetry observations, describing the difference between scientific and poetic observations, and we turned our science observations from Kayla's Garden, into a poem to share with our friends. Ask you child to share some words they chose to use for their observation poem.

In math, we worked on subtracting larger amounts of money and started talking about arrays and chickens and eggs.  We also started unit 12, which is a review of all we've learned this year! Ask you child what chickens and eggs have to do with math!

In science, we've been observing the chrysalis that we have for the Painted Ladies butterflies, the caterpillars we have for the Cabbage White butterflies, and talking about whether a chrysalis is alive or not and what a habitat is.  Next week, hopefully we'll have some butterflies to observe!

I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend!  Enjoy the weather and time with your families!  When we return we'll only have 19 days left!  Where did the time go???

Weekly Update 5/16/14

It's been a beautiful week overall!  I love this weather and I hope you do too!
It's been busy in room 235 this week as well.
Important information:
* It is so important that students are very fluent in their addition and subtraction facts as they move on next year.  If they don't do Xtra Math, that's total fine.
* With the nice weather…please be sure your child has sandals that are appropriate for the playground and remember sneakers on PE days.  Please try and leave flip flops at home.  Thanks!
* Monday, 26, there is no school for Memorial Day.
* Tentatively our end of year celebration is set for Wednesday June 11th at 2:00.  We will send you an invitation once the date is official.
* June 17th will be Color Day with a rain date on the 18th.
* The last day for students is June 20th with a dismissal at 12:00.  If your child will not be here the last day of school, please let me know as I have things to go home with them.

What's happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been working on poetry.  The students love it!  We have worked on noticing elements  of poetry such as rhythm, alliteration, line breaks, recognizing some poems rhyme and some don't, some are long and some are short, and what descriptive words the author uses to pull us in.  We even wrote our own alliteration poem (which is at the bottom of this blog for you to read)…they giggled away and loved working as a whole class to write it!  In writing, we've been writing opinion pieces on our favorite places and favorite day.
* Ask your child what their favorite place is?
* Ask your child what they know about poetry so far in our unit?

In math, we've been working on subtracting and having the students understand the way subtraction and addition  work together.  We've also been working the very basic concepts of multiplication.  We've been focusing on groups of items and how many in each group.  We may have 4 cups, each cup has 2 buttons.  How many altogether?  4 groups with 2 in each group.  Our answers look like this: 2+2+2+2=8 button and 4x2=8 buttons.  Recognizing that understanding how multiplication works, groups and how many in each group, will help them later in 3rd grade.
* Ask you child some addition or subtraction word problems.

In science, we are growing brassica plants, have added butterfly eggs to the plants, have caterpillars eating food and we will be watching their transformation to butterflies as the next few weeks go on, we've been observing and measuring our plants, observed the inside of a lima bean, and we started working on plant structure.
* Ask your child what living things need to live.

Weekly Update 5/9/14

This has been a busy week!   We started a new poetry unit and life cycles.   We also had a fabulous presentation today from the Museum of Science on life cycles.  The students loved it and the presenters had lots of information to share.
A few reminders:
*As the weather gets warmer, you may choose to put sunscreen or bug spray on your child before they leave in the morning.
*If you have any paper towels or a cleaning wipes container that's just laying around, please send it in!  *With the end of the year coming, we use quite a bit cleaning out lockers, student bins and cubbies, etc.
*Monday, May 26, there is no school for Memorial Day.

What's been happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've started doing some sight words and Fundations assessments to see student progress in reading the words.  Students are doing fabulous so far!  We will start the reading assessment, DRA's in the next few weeks.  It's wonderful to see all their progress.  All students have made progress this year!
We've been working on words with /ou/ and /ow/ in Fundations and will move on to the different /u/ sounds next week.   We started working on poetry this week and focused on what poetry sounds like, how to read poetry fluently, and choosing a line of poetry that speaks to them and illustrating that line.
We have been writing back to our pen pals and also have been writing opinion pieces about recess and the playground structure.  We even went outside at the end of the day to do our writing.  It was so nice to get out and just write in Kayla's garden at the tables.  Perfect place to end the day!
In math, we've been working on dollars and cents, place value, and learning how to think about the multiple ways to solve number sentences.  They know the answer often but explaining the answer and solving it a new way, only increases their math flexibility and understanding.
In science, we planted brassica plants and are waiting for them to grow!  We will be receiving butterfly eggs next week which will live on the plants and continue to grow.   We got off to a slow growing start for the plants, but now it looks like they're taking off so hopefully we'll be all set for the eggs.  Students love this time of year because they can see the eggs, the caterpillars, and later butterflies!

Weekly Update 5/2/14

Hi Families!
It's been a busy week!  I hope all of you had a wonderful vacation.  The students were so excited to share what they did, where they went, or who they visited!
Important information:
* We have visitors from the Museum of Science coming next week to talk about life cycles.
* CAP permission slips went home and we will have our workshops the last 2 Tuesdays of this month. If you haven't sent in the slip, please do so on Monday.

In literacy, we've spent this week reviewing character traits, questioning before, during, and after read as well as working on story maps.  It's always important to review information we've learned this year.  Next week, we'll be starting poetry!
In math, we finished up our unit 10 on coins, making change, place value, and adding tens and ones to make a new number.  We also working on problems solving with money.
In writing, we've finished up our book reviews!  Yeah!  They are awesome!  I'm so impressed with all the hard work they've done!  If you have a chance, come visit our lockers and see our work!  Next week, we'll work on writing opinions about recess and lunches, as well as our ABC China book.  We will write it, illustrate it, and also type each page.
In science today, we planted brassica plants in preparation for our butterfly eggs to arrive next week.
In social studies, we've been finishing up China and learning about what a day is like for a child there compared to what a day is like for us.  We also talked about foods and other products from China.  Today, we had a special presentation!  We had visitors today from Ghana who shared their life and told stories.  The students loved it!  I sent you some pictures and a video…they were great!

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update for week of 4/14/14

Hi Families!  I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather this past weekend!  My daughter and I spent lots of time outside…riding scooters, playground, and play time with cousins.  I love Spring and hope it continues!  I apologize for no blog last week!  My computer was having some password issues which needed to be taken care of.  Now that it's back, I thought I'd just update you quickly on last week and this week.
Important information:
* We have no school this Friday 4/18/14 and none next week for school vacation.
* If you have any tissues or cleaning wipes you'd like to donate…we'd love them!
* Hopefully we'll be getting out more and more for snack/recess so if your child needs bug spray or sunscreen, please apply that at home.  Thanks!
* When we return from break, that Thursday, May 1st is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.
* I sent an email last week regarding book orders…if you'd like to order books, please do so by end of day Thursday.  I will send it over the weekend so hopefully it will be in the week we return.
* In light of the Jewish holiday and a shortened week, we will not be having homework.  Please still encourage your child to read and practice their facts this week and over the break to keep them fresh and on target!

What's been happening in room 235?
In literacy, we've been focusing on biographies and learning how to determine what's important, date of birth and death, why that person is famous, and how to write a summary.  The students have picked wonderful people!  This week, we're working on our illustrations to be sure they match the time period and then we'll add our writing to the poster.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  In writing workshop, we've been completing our book reviews and they are fabulous!  You'll have to read these books when they're done!
**Ask you child which person they are learning about!
In math, we finished up unit 9 and are now onto unit 10, focusing on place value.  We are also focusing on money again and working with dollar signs, cent signs, and decimals.
In social studies, we have been talking about the Yellow and Yangtze rivers as well as the Great Wall.  Today we watched a video showing us how children in different areas of China live.  Our field trip to the Chinese Cultural Center was wonderful!  The students learned so much and the had many ideas to write about when we returned.  Thank you again to the chaperones for helping!  I hope you enjoyed it as well!

I hope everyone has a wonderful April break…get out and play, have some family time, see old friends…and most importantly…have fun!

Weekly update 4/4/14

Hi Families,
I think it might actually be Spring!  The snow has finally disappeared from my front lawn and the sun has been shining to make the days feel warmer!  We only have 2 more weeks until April vacation!
Important information:
* Monday, April 7, is our field trip to the Chinese Cultural Center.  We will be having lunch there so students need to bring a bagged lunch where everything can be thrown away.  Bringing lunch boxes is bulky and there's chance of them being lost or mixed up when we're out.  To avoid this, send in a bag lunch with their names on it.
* After school creative arts starts next week.
* Don't forget to check out "What did we learn this week?"  We wrote about our biographies and what we've learned so far.

What's been happening in room 235?
* In literacy, we've been working on biographies and focusing on important versus interesting information, picking out events for a summary, listing information about the person's life in a written timeline, and determining ages.  We've also continued to work on writing our book recommendations to share with each other.  When they are complete, we'll post some for all to see.  We also wrote our pen pal letters back.  Next week, we will keep working on our biographies and complete a poster showing the person's life.
* In math, we've been working on measuring.  I really like unit 9 because it's very hands on for the students to practice measuring with centimeters, inches, feet, and meters.  The loved measuring each other and different objects in the classroom.  We'll finish up unit 9 with story problems and the test next week and then begin unit 10 on place value.
* In social studies, we've been working on China.  We've been learning about the location of China, buyers and sellers in China, and the capital city, Beijing.  We will learn about the important rivers and the Great Wall next week.

Weekly update 3/28/14

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

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.

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!

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!