Weekly Update- 3/25

I thought we were done with the snow....but apparently not!  We are now down to only 3 days of spring break- Friday 4/22, Monday 4/25, and Tuesday 4/26.  School will be in session Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

In math we have started to learn about fractions.  The students have been using their fraction tiles a lot in order to help them see how fractions work.  This week we focused on finding equivalent fractions and comparing and ordering fractions.  We also learned about unit fractions (fractions that have a 1 in the numerator) and how the larger the denominator is, the smaller the fraction is.

The students are enjoying learning about being smart shoppers in social studies.  They have learned about the steps of smart shopping, their rights as consumers, and the steps to take if they are unhappy with a product.  We will be having a test on these concepts on Wednesday, March 30th. 

In shared reading we read a book called, Lake Critter Journal.  This book was filled with observations of critters that live in and around the lake the author was observing.  This book went along very well with our writing lesson this week which was on writing an Observation Log.  Using Lake Critter Journal as an example, the students went outside and observed different things.  Unfortunately, due to the cold there were  not many critters to observe.  As students observed they focused on using their senses to add description to their logs.  Students' log entries included everything from crows to trees to the crack in the blacktop to a cone.

In guided reading we practiced the skills of recognizing the author's craft (identifying what the author does well in writing the story) and identifying facts vs. opinions.  The students have finished reading the book, Donavan's Word Jar and are now working on the book, The Chocolate Touch.  Their assignment for this book is very similar to the assignment they had for Donavan's Word Jar.  These assignments are meant to help students develop a love for reading, to increase their independence in their work, and to practice responding to prompts and questions. 

In Fundations we have started unit 10 which focuses on the double vowel syllable.  So far we have learned that there are many different combinations of letters that make the long A sound.  These combinations include: a-e, a, ai, ay, ea, ei, eigh.  Next week we will be learning about the different combinations of letters that make other vowel sounds.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update- 3/18

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day!  We had fun celebrating the day by making leprechauns and writing St. Patrick's Day stories.  The students spent the day in green shamrock necklaces from Mrs. Furnari!  Thanks! 

Today we started chapter 9 in math.  This chapter will be about fractions and measurement.  Keep practicing those multiplication and division facts- they will be coming up again!

In shared reading we reread the book, Folk Tales of Latin America.  We practiced tracking quotations to check who is talking, rereading to understand the meaning of a story, and identifying the theme (message) in the story.  In guided reading we focused on the skills of using illustrations, recognizing point of view, and making judgements.

In writing the students completed their illustrations for their How-To's, which are hanging on our classroom wall.  This week the students learned how to write Double-Entry Journals.  Double-Entry Journals have 2 columns.  The left column includes facts, quotes, and interesting information from the text.  The right column contains the students' feelings, connections, and comments about the story.  They each chose a book that we have read this year and used it to complete a Double-Entry Journal. 

In Fundations we have completed our unit on r-controlled vowels.  This unit was a tricky one because so many of the r-controlled vowels make the same sound.  We spent a  lot of time coming up with tricks to help us remember which vowels are used in which words.  One trick was its populAr to get A's.  The students will be having a unit test on Monday.   The next unit focuses on double vowel syllables.

In Spanish we have started to learn about the months of the year.  We listened to how they are said in Spanish, put ourselves in order by our birthday months, and practiced saying the names out loud.  We will continue to practice the months for the rest of March.

In Social Studies the students have had fun learning about being a consumer.  This week we talked about how advertisements work.  After learning about different types of advertisements, the students each created their own and presented it to the class.  I think we may have some future advertisers and infomercial personalities in our class!

Some other interesting happenings in our classroom this week....

The students are making progress on the 750 piece puzzle they have been working on since the beginning of the year.  The puzzle is one activity that they can work on when they have finished all their work.

Aidan is on a quest to have the world's smallest pencil.  I'm not sure how much smaller it can get!

We have spent a lot of time watching the eagle cam located in the Botanical Gardens in Virginia.  Throughout the week the eggs have been hatching.  We weren't able to catch any of the eaglets hatching, but we have seen them being fed many times.  The students love to see the difference between the eaglets and the full grown eagles.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) will be a special full moon- a SuperMoon.  It is called a SuperMoon because of its size and proximity to Earth.  This will be one of the closest moons to Earth in a long time.  Make sure to take a look up at the sky tomorrow night!

Weekly Update- 3/11

This week in shared reading we read the book, Mysterious Magnets.  This book talked about the different uses of magnets and offered examples of experiments that the students could perform using magnets.  While reading this book the students took notes in a graphic organizer.  They later used their notes to complete a summary of the entire book.  In guided reading the students read the book, The Legend of the Bluebonnets.   The skill we practiced was understanding plot.  The students completed a graphic organizer that outlined the problem, main events in the story, and solution.  Today the students worked with partners in the computer lab to make a PowerPoint presentation about this book.  They used their graphic organizers to help them complete their presentations.  The students had fun editing the color of the slides, and adding animation and clip art!  The students also continued to work on their Donavan's Word Jar assignment.  They are doing an excellent job responding to the questions.  Next week we will begin a new book, The Chocolate Touch.

In writing we began our unit called: Writing to Explain and Learn.  The students learned about and wrote their own how-to paragraphs.  The students also illustrated their work.  Next week the students will learn how to write double-entry journals.

In science we completed our unit on the sun, stars, and moon.  We watched a few videos on space and the moon, reviewed for the test by playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and took the test today.  Next week we will begin a social studies unit called, Kids are Consumers.  The students will learn about advertisements and shopping smart!  This unit will lead us right into our meal planning for ShopRite and our trip on April 6th.  Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered!  We are really looking forward to this day.

The students are doing a great job with division in math.  The fact that they learned their multiplication facts so well really helped them with this chapter.  This week we played some games to  practice our facts.  The students' favorite game is Battle.  Here are some pictures of students "battling" with their facts!  We will be having our chapter 7 test next Thursday the 17th.

In Fundations we have continued to learn about r-controlled vowels.  We will be finishing our unit next week.  In grammar we continued talking about verbs and learned about the helping verb, be.  In Spanish we finished learning the days of the week.  Next week we will begin to learn the months of the year.

Today we watched a live feed of an eagle's nest in Virginia on our SMARTBoard.  The eggs are supposed to begin hatching tomorrow.  The students were very excited to watch the nest and to see the parents taking turns warming the eggs.  If you want to take a look at home the link is: http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html

Have a great weekend!  Don't forget Daylight Savings Time on Sunday- Spring Ahead!

Weekly Update- 3/4/11

In math we have started our chapter on division.  Since the students have done so well with memorizing their multiplication facts, they have started off very strong with this chapter!  We learned how division is repeated subtraction, how to write division stories, and practiced our division facts by playing Bingo.

Thank you to those of you who came out for Young Consumers Math Night.  The students had so much fun showing you how to do the tangram and pancake puzzles.  We still need a lot of volunteers for our trip on April 6th.  If you are able to chaperone our trip, please let me know!

In shared reading we read the book, Lon Po Po, which is the Chinese version of the story, Little Red Riding Hood.  This week the students learned about taking notes while they read and using different types of graphic organizers.  We learned about using venn diagrams to compare and contrast information, a story map to plan the beginning, middle, and end of a story, and a fishbone diagram to show the cause and effect relationships in the story.  As an extra assignment the students also made "Wanted Posters" for the wolf in the story. 

In guided reading the students read the book, Discovering the Titanic.  They learned lots of new information about the sinking of the "unsinkable" ship.  We concluded our study of the book by watching a short video about the ship.  We also took a trip to the computer lab and the students researched to find the answers to questions such as its size, how long it took to build, and how many people were on board.

In addition to our guided reading groups we have also added an additional reading project to our daily schedule.  The students are reading the book, Donavan's Word Jar and completing an assignment for each chapter.  The students were told that they have 2 weeks to complete the book and the assignments, and they are working at their own pace to complete their task.  So far they have been doing an excellent job of managing their time and they are really growing in their independence.  Donavan's Word Jar is about a boy who collects words that he thinks are fun, funny sounding, and interesting.  We started our own class word jar and the students have been adding to it each day.  As we have time we will look at the words and try to figure out what they mean.

In writing the students spent the week presenting their Summary of Fiction projects to the class.  The students did such a great job coming up with creative dioramas to go with their books.  Now that the students have finished presenting their projects, the dioramas are going to be on display in the school library.

In science we spend the week learning about the phases of the moon.  The students learned all 8 phases and worked in pairs to make a poster illustrating the phases.  We will be having a test on the sun, stars, and moon on Friday, March 11th.

This week was Love of Reading Week.  We had so many parents volunteer to come in and read to our class.  The students really enjoyed having you there and we appreciate the time that you took out of your day to come and visit with us!  Have a great weekend!