Weekly Update- 2/25

The students have been working hard in math to learn all of the vocabulary in this chapter.  This week we learned about perimeter, area, and volume.  The students completed different activities including making a floor plan of their dream home and finding the area and perimeter of the different rooms.  We will have our chapter 8 test on Wednesday and then we will be going back to chapter 7 to work on division.

We read the book, The Changing Earth in shared reading.  This week we focused on the use of different nonfiction text features such as diagrams, maps, and satellite images.  This book talked about the ways that Earth has changed over the years due to factors such as the rubbing/sliding of plates and the eruption of volcanoes.  In guided reading the students focused on identifying cause and effect, visualizing, and identifying main ideas and details.

The students have completed their animal/ insect reports!  They did such a great job with gathering their research and writing their final product.  We printed out all our covers today and the students worked on creating a diagram of their animal/insect with labels of the different parts.  Next week the students will  be sharing these reports and also sharing their summary of fiction projects with the class.  Don't forget that those projects are due on Monday!

In Fundations we completed unit 8.  We will be having the unit test on Monday and then be starting unit 9, which focuses on schwa sounds.

We have started our unit on the sun, stars, and moon in science.  This week we talked about the stars and sun.  We learned how the sun affects the Earth.  The students completed a project using the facts they learned.

We also started talking about the moon and how it moves.  The students will be completing an in-class project on the phases of the moon next week.

We had a visit from the people from ShopRite.  They talked about nutrition with the students.  They also reviewed how the students will be preparing for their trip to the store on April 6th.  We will need many volunteers for this trip!  If you are available on that day, please join us!

Don't forget about Young Consumer Math Night on Monday!  Meet in the all-purpose room at 6:00 and then the students will take you back to the classroom to show you what they have learned.  I look forward to seeing you all there!

Weekly Update- 2/18

In math we are continuing to learn about geometry.  This week we focused on different types of polygons, congruent figures, and symmetry.  We used geoboards and shapes to practice these concepts.  The students also used their bodies to demonstrate what the different types of triangles look like.

In Social Studies we completed our unit on government.  Next week we will be starting our Science unit on the moon! 

In shared reading we read the book, Yo-Yo Ma: World Musician.  This book was about the famous cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.  We learned about his life and his love for music.  The students enjoyed hearing the story about how he once left a 2.5 million dollar cello in a taxi by mistake!  While reading the book we practiced using the glossary to define words and the index to find topics in the book.  In guided reading we reviewed the skills of outlining the plot of a book and using nonfiction text features in a biography.

In writing the students are continuing to work on their animal reports.  They have written interesting lead sentences that will hook the reader in.  They also practiced writing topic sentences and adding details to their paragraphs.  We went to the computer lab today so that the students could complete their cover pages.  We will be finishing our reports next week.

In Fundations we continued to work on words with the -le syllable.  We also learned about some exceptions to the rule such as castle, whistle, and wrestle.  These words have a silent t before the -le.  We will be completing unit 8 next week.

We continued to practice the days of the week in Spanish and played a game of charades to learn about verbs in grammar.  On Thursday we celebrated the 100th day of school.  In the morning the students rotated around 5 different stations that all focued on the number 100.  In one center they researched what was happening 100 year ago.  In another center they drew what they thought they would look like 100 years from now.  In the third center they made a list of 100 things they like about school.  They also had an exercise center in which they did different types of exercises 100 times.  At the last station students traced and cut out their feet until we had 100.  Later in the day we saw how far the feet took us, which ended up being all the way through our classroom and part of the way down the third grade hallway. 

We ended our week with an assembly on bullying.  Don't forget that the Summary of Fiction project is due on Monday, 2/28.  To all of our classmates that are a little "under the weather" we hope you feel better soon!  Enjoy the 3-day weekend!

100th day of school!

This is Jeremy & Sammy on the 100th day of school! It's been awesome so far.We did centers like work out, trace feet, draw what we think we would look like at 100 years old, and look up facts from 100 years ago. We didn't finish drawing all the feet at first, but later since we had only 7 kids in class we went back and finished. We are going to measure the feet and see how far it takes us. We love the 100th day of school!

Weekly Update- 2/11

It has taken since before winter break, but we finally had a full week! 

In Social Studies we are finishing up our unit on government.  This week the students learned about getting involved and helping out their communities.  They also learned about the capital of the United States, Washington D.C. and some of the monuments that are located there. After learning about the monuments, we took some time to sculpt the monuments out of play-doh.  Here are some of the creations:

 

Capitol Building


 

Arlington National Cemetary


 

Capitol Building




Washington Monument



The Wall



Lincoln Memorial

 To conclude the unit, we took a trip to the computer lab so that the students could complete an online scavenger hunt all about our country's government.  Our unit test will  be on Wednesday and we will be spending Monday and Tuesday reviewing for the test.

In math we have started our unit on geometry and measurement.  We learned about solid figures and started learning about lines and line segments.  The students also worked in partners to complete a problem solving lesson using the strategy of "acting it out".  There were 10 stations set up around the room, each with a different problem and with manipulatives to help the students solve the word problems.

Keep practicing those multiplication facts there will be more timed quizzes to come!


In shared reading we read the book, The Buzz About Honeybees.  We focused on using the table of contents to find information, showing how an interview can help a reader gain more information about a topic, and how an author organizes information in a nonfiction book.  In guided reading the students practiced the skill of identifying cause and effect.

In writing we have started our unit on Informational Writing.  The first few weeks of this unit focus on writing reports.  The students used this week to choose an insect or an animal to do a report on.  They have brainstormed 3 questions that they would like to answer and they have started researching their answers to get more information on their topics.  Their 3 questions will turn into their 3 paragraphs and the answers to their questions will be the supporting details of each paragraph.  We went to the computer lab so the students could begin designing the cover pages of their reports.

In Fundations we have completed week 1 of unit 8.  This unit focuses on a new syllable type, the -le syllable.  Some examples of these words are tumble, people, puzzle, and hobble.  For one of the lessons we played charades and each student was given an -le syllable word to act out.  Whoever guessed the correct word got to write it on the SmartBoard to practice the spelling of the words.

In Spanish we continued to learn the days of the week.  The students also practiced using the singular and plural possessive forms of nouns in grammar.  We finished learning all of our cursive letters and I am very impressed with how neatly the students are writing!  The students decorated their Valentine's Day
mailboxes.  Please remember to have students bring in their Valentines on Monday. 

Thank you to all the students who donated to the Strong Kids Campaign to benefit the YMCA.  Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update- 2/4

Another short week!  Despite the 2 days off, we still worked hard to stay caught up!

In shared reading we read the book, Through Artists' Eyes.  It talked about the different reasons that artists paint and some of the different types of scenes they paint.  The book contained a number of different paintings.  The students enjoyed picking out their favorite ones.  In guided reading we focused on the skills of recognizing point of view and using nonfiction text features.  All of the students have had their books approved for the Summary of Fiction project and they should begin reading them if they have not already.

In Fundations we completed unit 7 today and we will start unit 8 on Monday.  Look for the unit 8 packet to be coming home on Monday.

In Social Studies we are continuing to learn about the government.  We have learned about the local government, state government, and today we learned about the setup of the national government.  The students now know that the national government is divided into 3 branches: President, Congress, and Supreme Court.  We also learned about the job that each of these branches is responsible for.  We will continue to learn more about government next week.

In math we will be taking our chapter 6 math test on Monday.  The students are continuing to improve with their multiplication facts!  I am so impressed with how well they are doing.  On Tuesday we will begin chapter 8: Geometry and Measurement.  We will continue to practice our multiplication facts throughout this chapter so that they will be ready when we start division.

In Spanish we began learning the days of the week.  We will be working on this concept for the month of February.

We ended the week with the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser.  The students had a great time getting their energy out and jumping for a great cause! 

The people from the Young Consumer Program will be hosting math nights for students and parents on Monday, February 28th and Thursday, March 3rd.  The night for our class is February 28th from 6-7:00. There will be more information to follow.

Second marking period report cards are available on the Parent Portal today.  Enjoy the weekend!