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!
Monday, April 14, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
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.
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.
Friday, March 28, 2014
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
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 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.
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