Weekly Update 12/23

In Math this week we learned the 2, 5, and 10 times tables.  The students made flashcards and we played games to help them start to memorize the facts.  Please continue to practice the facts each night at home.

When we come back from break we will continue to work on multiplication.

In Social Studies we completed our unit on different types of maps.  We will begin our next Science unit on States of Matter when we return from break.

In Reading and Writing we did extension activities.  We read the stories, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins and The Night Tree.  We summarized the stories while also identifying the main characters, problem and solution, and the setting.  The students also worked on answering questions about the stories and did a few different writing activities as well.

In Fundations we continued to work on open syllables.  We learned about one exception to the rule, which is the vowel a.  In open syllable words such as extra, amuse, scuba, and Alaska, the a does not say its own name, but instead makes a sound like the short u.  These would be considered open syllable exceptions.

In handwriting, we began learning some of the uppercase cursive letters and practiced them by writing our classmates' names that began with those letters.  We also worked in groups to make snowmen to decorate the walls leading to the third grade hallway. 

We had another great party!  The students ate snacks, did a craft, and worked in groups to complete different holiday activities such as the Candy Cane Relays, Santa Says, and Snowman Bean Bag Toss.

I want to thank the class moms and everyone who donated supplies for the party.  I also want to thank you all for the generous gift.   Have a safe and happy holiday break!  See you in 2011!

Weekly Update- 12/17

Only 4 more days to go until holiday break!  We are continuing to work hard in school, but are all looking forward to our days off!

In math we have started our unit on multiplication.  The first few lessons have been spent learning how multiplication works.  In these lessons, students have been learning different strategies to figure out how to solve multiplication problems.  These strategies include drawing pictures and arrays.  We will start to learn facts next week. Be on the look out for flashcards to be coming home each  night.  Please practice facts at home with your child.

In social studies we are finishing our unit on different types of maps.  We learned about landform maps, transportation maps, grid maps, agricultural product maps, community maps, and inset maps.  The students have completed different activites for each of the maps.  We even visisted the computer lab to do some research for our activity on inset maps.  Remember to study for the quiz on Tuesday!  When we return from break we will be starting a science unit on the States of Matter.

In Fundations we began unit 6.  This unit focuses on open syllables.  An open syllable is one that ends in a vowel.  In these types of syllables, the vowel makes a long sound.  We also learned how the letter y can act as a vowel and it makes a long i sound at the end of a one syllable word (my, fly, cry), and how it makes the long e sound at the end of a two or more syllable word (party, candy, happily).

In shared reading we read a book called, The Fortune Tellers.  The lessons this week focused on story elements.  We talked about the main character, setting, problem, and solution.  We identified these elements in our guided reading groups as well.

In writing we started a new unit on creative writing.  Students are working on realistic fiction short stories.  These stories have to be fiction stories that could really happen (no aliens, space warriors, or turning into other creatures is allowed!).  This week the students read a few examples of short stories, chose an idea, developed their problem and solution, and planned the details about their main character.  When we return from break students will begin to draft their short stories.

In Spanish we are continuing our practice with numbers 1-10.   We have learned all of the lowercase letters in cursive and will begin learning the uppercase letters next week.  In our grammar lesson this week we learned about singular and plural nouns.  Next week we will continue learning about plural nouns.  We also worked on a special holiday project!

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update- 12/10

In math, we have just finished chapter 4 on time, data, and graphs.  Remember to study the practice test that went home today for the test on Monday.  On Tuesday we will begin our chapter on multiplication.  Look for flashcards to start coming home during this chapter.

We are continuing to work on reading different types of maps.  Students have learned about landform maps and created their own.  They also learned about community maps.  Next week we will talk about inset maps and we will be going to the computer lab for students to do an activity with this type of map. 

In writing this week students practiced writing paragraphs.  The topic was to write about the favorite present they ever received.  We practiced developing a topic sentences, descriptive sentences, and a good ending sentence for their paragraphs.  Students then used different art supplies to create their own packages to decorate the wall along with their paragraphs.

In shared reading we read a book called, More Than Marionettes.  In this book students learned about the history of puppets and about different types of puppets including: finger puppets, hand puppets, shadow puppets, Bunraku puppets, marionettes, and muppets (a combination of a hand puppet and a marionette).  The students shared many of their experiences with puppets.  We watched some clips of shows that use puppets such as Lamb Chops Play-Along and Sesame Street.  The students also made their own hand puppets out of paper bags. 

Since we had such a great week the students earned the reward of being able to watch the movie, Muppets Take Manhattan which went along with what we had been learning all week.  In guided reading the groups practiced the skill of making inferences.  This is a more difficult skill and one that we will continue to practice throughout the year.

In Fundations we finished unit 5 on the schwa sound.  Students will be taking the unit 5 test on Monday and we will then start unit 6.  The practice packet for unit 6 will be going home on Tuesday.

In Spanish we continued to practice greeting each other.  We also started learning how to count in spanish.  We are practicing numbers 1-10.  We made up a dance move for each number and counted while dancing.  The students had a great time!

We will be having our Holiday party on Wednesday, December 22nd.  The students will not need to bring a snack to school on that day.  Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update- 12/3

We have had a really great week in school!  In math, students are having fun learning about different types of graphs and charts such as tally charts, line plots, pictographs, bar graphs, line graphs, and coordinate grids.  Next week they will be using what they learned this week to make their own graphs!  Look for a study guide to be going home on Monday for a chapter 4 test the following Monday (12/13).

We just completed our unit in science on water and atmosphere.  Next, we will be doing a unit in Social Studies about different types of maps.  Students will learn how to read community, transportation, agricultural, landform, and grid maps.  I am hoping to finish this unit before winter break.

In Fundations, students are learning about schwa words.  These are words that have a letter that does not make the sound it is supposed to make.  For example, in the word "button", the o does not make the short o sound /ah/, but instead makes the short i sound.  For these types of words, students are practicing ways to figure out the correct spelling.  One strategy they learned was to write down a few different spellings and see if one looks familiar.  Another strategy is to use the dictionary.

In writing students wrote summaries of non-fiction.  We read a few different sample articles such as, A Baby Named Joey, and Who Started the Great Chicago Fire?.  Students were then asked to write a summary about the second article.  I am very impressed with their summaries.  When we did the summaries of fiction, we came up with ideas together, created a graphic organizer, and students used the information from the class to write their summaries.  With the summary of non-fiction, the students worked more independently to create their summaries.  Look for a copy of these to be going home next week.

In reading we spent the week reading a non-fiction book called, Fossil Seekers.  In this book we learned about three different fossil seekers or paleontologists: Mary Anning, who discovered the first plesiosaur fossil; Barnum Brown, who discovered the first fossil of the Tyrannosaurus Rex; and Jack Horner, who discovered fossilized dinosaur nests and baby duckbill dinosaurs.  While reading this book we practiced identifying important words in the text.  You can tell that a word is important if it is in bold, has a pronunciation key, or is repeated many times.  We also worked on how to figure out unfamiliar words.  In reading groups students practiced the skill of using non-fiction text features (using pictures, headings, and descriptive phrases) to help them better understand the book.

Students have been working hard on their cursive writing.  We are almost finished with the lowercase letters and will soon be moving on to uppercase!  In spanish this week we practiced how to greet each other.  Next week we will be practicing how to count.  In grammar we learned about nouns.  Next week we will continue learning about nouns, with a focus on identifying common and proper nouns.

In between all of the learning we have been doing, the students have also been working to decorate the classroom for winter and the holidays.  They have created snowmen and written acrostic poems about different winter words.  Next week they will be making some sleds to decorate our door.

Thank you to all who donated to the Holiday Toy Drive and to those of you who contributed money for students to create chain links for Caring Kids Week.  The hallways look very festive with the red and green chains hung throughout the school!