I can't believe that September is almost over! What a fast month it has been.
In math we have finished up Unit 1. Next week we will start Unit 2 which focuses on place value and adding 2 & 3 digit numbers together.
In writing we continue to write small moment stories. We are focused on stretching out our small moments. To do this we have practiced acting out with our partners what we want to write about and this helps us know what words we want to write in our story. We also use our partners to talk through what we want to write. Next week we will focus on adding precise language and editing our work. We will also pick one piece to publish.
In Reader's Workshop we have been focusing on character development in stories. We have read several picture books as a class and talked about who the characters are and how the author has developed them through the story.
In word study, we continue to work on separate lists in groups dependent on what we need. We have practiced our words with partner sorts, sort and write, and word hunts. Please ask your child what they do for each of these.
In Social Studies we have continued talking about Community. This week we talked about different members of our community and their jobs. Then the class created a sheet on an ipad app that showed what they want to be when they are older and why. How that person will contribute to the community and how they contribute to our community now. I'll share these at conferences. Next week we will finish up our community unit and will begin our Physical Geography unit.
We are still looking for Hands on Nature Volunteers. If you are available, please let me know.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy
Friday, September 25, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
Week of Sept. 14th
This week we started the week with a writing celebration. We had a special snack and shared our published stories with our tables. Students did a really nice job with their first piece of writing that they took through the publishing stages of editing and making it better. I have these pieces and will share them with you at our October conferences. Students brought home their other pieces of writing at the beginning of the week.
On Wednesday we had Fire Prevention Day. Some Volunteer Firemen came to our team (One of our parents who is a Volunteer Fireman made a guest appearance as well.) and talk to us about what to do in case of fire like throwing a pillow out the window in case they are stuck in their room and yelling for help, having a plan of escape that their family has practiced so they know what to do, checking the door with the back of our hand to see if it is hot before we go out of our bedrooms, etc. We then went outside and practiced Stop, Drop and Roll and crawling through a smokehouse with fake smoke. We then got a tour of a fire truck. The class had a great time!
In math we continue to work on mental strategies to add more efficiently. We also worked on solving story problems that involved adding to, putting together, taking apart and comparing with unknowns in all positions.
In writing we are working on Small Moment stories. Students are learning to generate ideas, act them out and then write down into a story. We talked about what a story needs to be a story. Next week we will pick a piece to edit and make better.
Next week is Picture Day. Our pictures will be taken on Tuesday. Picture packages will go home on Friday. The forms to order pictures are in your child's Friday folder today.
We will have a guest author visiting the school on Thursday, October 8th. Dave Pilkey, author of "Captain Underpants" books will come in to talk to students in Grades 1-4.about being an author. Order forms went home in today's Friday folder if you are interested in ordering one of his books from the Flying Pig. Orders must be back next Friday, Sept. 25th. They will not except any late orders.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy
On Wednesday we had Fire Prevention Day. Some Volunteer Firemen came to our team (One of our parents who is a Volunteer Fireman made a guest appearance as well.) and talk to us about what to do in case of fire like throwing a pillow out the window in case they are stuck in their room and yelling for help, having a plan of escape that their family has practiced so they know what to do, checking the door with the back of our hand to see if it is hot before we go out of our bedrooms, etc. We then went outside and practiced Stop, Drop and Roll and crawling through a smokehouse with fake smoke. We then got a tour of a fire truck. The class had a great time!
In math we continue to work on mental strategies to add more efficiently. We also worked on solving story problems that involved adding to, putting together, taking apart and comparing with unknowns in all positions.
In writing we are working on Small Moment stories. Students are learning to generate ideas, act them out and then write down into a story. We talked about what a story needs to be a story. Next week we will pick a piece to edit and make better.
Next week is Picture Day. Our pictures will be taken on Tuesday. Picture packages will go home on Friday. The forms to order pictures are in your child's Friday folder today.
We will have a guest author visiting the school on Thursday, October 8th. Dave Pilkey, author of "Captain Underpants" books will come in to talk to students in Grades 1-4.about being an author. Order forms went home in today's Friday folder if you are interested in ordering one of his books from the Flying Pig. Orders must be back next Friday, Sept. 25th. They will not except any late orders.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy
Friday, September 11, 2015
Week of Sept. 7th
I hope everyone has gotten off to a great start of the year. It's wonderful to have your children back in my class again this year and to Welcome our two new students. This blog is where I let families know what is happening during the week in our classroom. I try and update it weekly on Fridays. I hope in the future to have an additional way of communicating what your children are doing using a program called SeeSaw where I can post pictures of what your children are doing that only you will be able to access. I often post pictures to this blog as well of things we are doing. I will begin to do that after I have double checked permissions of who is allowed to have their picture and who is not.
This week in writing we are working on editing one story from the ones we have written this year. We are making the stories better by adding details, punctuation, capital letters when appropropriate and making sure we have an introduction and a wrap up. We will have a mini celebration among ourselves on Monday to celebrate their great work!
In math we are practicing using mental math strategies so that we can solve math facts more efficiently. Some of the strategies we are using are doubles, halves, and doubles plus or minus one. We have also practiced decomposing numbers to make multiple facts that represent a number such as 5+6=11 and 7+4=11 and 8+3=11, etc.
In Reader's Workshop we are reviewing our reading strategies so that we know what to do to figure out unknown words while we are reading independently. We have also spent a lot of time talking about picking Just Right Books and I am checking in with each student to make sure they are reading those Just Right books to help them become better readers.
On Tuesday, we had Hands on Nature. We talked about the sun and how the earth revolves around the sun. To show this we traced our shadows on the sidewalk with chalk. We out about 40 min. later and traced our shadows again and discovered that the shadows had moved. We also went out and experimented with ice in the sun and shade to see which area was cooler. Our hypothesis was that it was cooler in the shade and the ice would melt slower. After leaving it outside for 40 min. or so, we went back out and discovered that our hypothesis was correct. It was cooler in the shade so the ice melted less. Thank-you to Janet Franz for coming in and leading this on her own. We are still looking for Volunteers to help her out. It is not a requirement to attend the training to help out with Hands on Nature. Hands on Nature is always on a Tuesday afternoon. It is the Tuesday after the 1st Thursday of the month. If you can help out, please let me know and I will get you in touch with Janet.
Next week is Fire Prevention.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy
This week in writing we are working on editing one story from the ones we have written this year. We are making the stories better by adding details, punctuation, capital letters when appropropriate and making sure we have an introduction and a wrap up. We will have a mini celebration among ourselves on Monday to celebrate their great work!
In math we are practicing using mental math strategies so that we can solve math facts more efficiently. Some of the strategies we are using are doubles, halves, and doubles plus or minus one. We have also practiced decomposing numbers to make multiple facts that represent a number such as 5+6=11 and 7+4=11 and 8+3=11, etc.
In Reader's Workshop we are reviewing our reading strategies so that we know what to do to figure out unknown words while we are reading independently. We have also spent a lot of time talking about picking Just Right Books and I am checking in with each student to make sure they are reading those Just Right books to help them become better readers.
On Tuesday, we had Hands on Nature. We talked about the sun and how the earth revolves around the sun. To show this we traced our shadows on the sidewalk with chalk. We out about 40 min. later and traced our shadows again and discovered that the shadows had moved. We also went out and experimented with ice in the sun and shade to see which area was cooler. Our hypothesis was that it was cooler in the shade and the ice would melt slower. After leaving it outside for 40 min. or so, we went back out and discovered that our hypothesis was correct. It was cooler in the shade so the ice melted less. Thank-you to Janet Franz for coming in and leading this on her own. We are still looking for Volunteers to help her out. It is not a requirement to attend the training to help out with Hands on Nature. Hands on Nature is always on a Tuesday afternoon. It is the Tuesday after the 1st Thursday of the month. If you can help out, please let me know and I will get you in touch with Janet.
Next week is Fire Prevention.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy
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