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!