News:
Reading: We continued learning how to compare texts on the same topic. We reviewed the difference between fiction and non-fiction books. Each day we read two books on the same subject and then often compared them using an organizer. We compared them whole group, with partners, and individually. Writing: We continued working on our biography projects. We finished synthesizing our research notes. Students started creating their presentations - Google Slides, poster, or Google document for "life replica." Word Study: We continued to learn about how to make words plural. We learned that words that end with f and fe change to "ves," some words become new words when plural (mouse to mice), and some words stay the same (fish, deer, etc.) Students did several different activities to practice making words plural - a singular vs. plural page, word search, and more. Math: We started learning about money this week. Students began examining the names, values, and attributes of each coin. We used various strategies to help us add a collection of coins. This included sequencing in order from greatest value to least, using a number line, and skip counting. Science:
We continued learning about weather. We discussed how the water cycle works. Students reviewed wind and air pressure. Using the weather graphs we had made throughout the year, we discussed how weather changes from month to month and season to season. Students started a STEM challenge. Their goal is to create a device that could "trap" a leprechaun. Read Across America Spirit Week! News:
Reading: This week we finished working on reading texts and answering questions about them. Students read about a prehistoric bird and Post-its. We examined the nonfiction conventions in each article that could help us learn details. Linking with our unit about the past in social studies, students read about the invention of a toothbrush. Thursday and Friday we started comparing two texts on the same topic. Writing: We continued working on our biography projects. Our goal is to study people who have shaped the world we live in. Students continued to research using books and the PebbleGo website. They then synthesized their research from both sources. Students have the choice of creating a Google slides presentation, poster, or first person narrative about their famous American. Word Study: We started learning about how to make words plural. We noticed words that need an "es" to make them plural. These were words that ended in s, sh, ch, x, and z. Students also learned the rule of words ending in a consonant and a y: change the "y" to "i" and add "es." We did different activities to practice and took a quiz on Friday. Math: We finished learning about place value to 1,000. Students practiced adding 10 more/less and 100 more/less to a 3-digit number. We focused on identifying skip counting pattern rules and continuing skip counting patterns. We reviewed the difference between the value of a number and the digit of a number. The class did several activities to practice the place value concepts we have learned. Students took the Place Value assessment on Thursday. Social Studies/Science:
We finished learning about the past and present and made an inventions timeline. On Wednesday, we began discussing weather. We learned about different kinds of weather. Students learned how to measure temperature and precipitation. We learned the three main types of clouds – cirrus, cumulus, and stratus. Looking at old phones during Social Studies! News:
Reading: This week we continued learning about "close reading" (looking at/ examining a text closely to better understand it). We learned how to find the main idea/topic of an article and how to identify supporting details. We practiced this as a group, with partners, and individually. Writing: We finished learning about quotation marks. Students practiced adding commas and quotation marks to several sentences. We discussed our new research project that we are starting next week - biographies. Students learned about several possible Americans to choose from and picked one to start researching next week. Word Study: We continued working on writing contractions. Students played "teacher/student" with contractions and wrote contractions for each two-word card they found around the room. We took the assessment on Wednesday. We spent two days discussing compound words and made a compound word flip book. Math: Understanding place value continued to be our focus this week. They worked on creating different ways to represent the same number. They learned the meaning of base ten numerals (235), expanded form (200+30+5), and number word (two hundred thirty-five). We worked on comparing numbers using symbols and comparing sentences (greater than, less, than, equal to). Students ordered numbers using words greatest and least. Social Studies:
We continued learning how science and technology have changed our daily lives (past and present). Table groups made timelines of different types of transportation. We discussed how communication has changed over time. We explored what life would be like for a student in the future and in the past and did a past and present sort. Students enjoyed exploring the old items I brought in. News:
Reading: This week we continued learning about "close reading" (looking at/ examining a text closely to better understand it). Students identified words on a non-fiction passage where they needed to use strategies to discover their meanings - prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, context clues. We looked at an article we have already seen and reread it to learn how rereading can help us understand a text better. We started working on identifying the main idea of a non-fiction passage. Writing: Our goal this week was to understand and use quotation marks in our writing. We used sentences and dry erase markers to add quotation marks and played a Scoot game to identify which sentence used quotation marks correctly. Students practiced this on several papers. Word Study: We started learning how to make contractions and use an apostrophe in the right place. We worked on identifying the two words that each contraction comes from. We did contraction "surgery" on two words to turn them into a contraction. Math: Our new learning goal is to understand place value to 1,000 including reading and writing numbers, comparing, and skip counting. Students took a pre-assessment on Monday. We worked on representing hundreds, tens, and ones with base ten blocks and in number form. Students played base ten block bingo. They worked on creating different ways to represent the same number. Social Studies:
We collected data about goods/services we would want to buy and plotted them on bar graphs. Students took an Economics Assessment on Tuesday. We started learning about past and present. We discussed the difference between these two terms and watched a video explaining vocabulary like generation and century. Mrs. Hoertz's dad brought his 1930 car for us to examine and compare with today's cars. News:
Reading: Our learning goal this week was to use multiple strategies to solve unknown words. We learned that a synonym is a word that means the same (or about the same) as another word. Students used "synonym rolls" to come up with synonyms for different common words. We learned how prefixes and suffixes can help us learn the meaning of words. Writing: We continued to think about when to use commas in our writing. Students practiced adding commas to different sentences. We took a quiz on commas on Wednesday. Thursday we spent our writing time writing about Valentine's Day. :) Word Study: We finished learning about vowel teams. Students played teacher/student with all the vowel teams we have learned. We practiced spelling on whiteboards and took the quiz on Wednesday. Thursday we did a Valentine's spelling activity. Math: We finished learning about measuring with inches, feet, and yards. We did a review page on Monday and took the assessment on Tuesday. Students enjoyed using pattern blocks to make Valentine's themed shapes and did several other Valentine's math activities. Social Studies:
We continued our learning goal surrounding economics. Students learned about natural resources and created a booklet of things that come from trees. We watched a Reading Rainbow video called "The Lemonade Stand." Students brainstormed different ways we can pay for goods and services. Global Day of Play! News:
Reading: We started learning about "close reading" (looking at/examining a text closely to better understand it). We examined fiction and non-fiction texts and discussed what makes up a paragraph. We also explored "narrator", including what 1st and 3rd person means. Writing: Our learning goal was to understand and use commas in our writing. We looked at different places we might need commas. Students searched their books for examples of commas. Small groups read different sentences and decided where to put commas. We also did a Groundhog Day project on Monday. Word Study: We focused on the long u vowel teams of -ue and -ew. These are words like rescue and few. Students did a "What Looks Right?" page to determine which spelling pattern to use. Math: Students took a measurement quick check on Monday. We compared units of length and discovered why measuring in inches would have a larger answer than measuring in feet or yards. Students found the difference of lengths by using a strategy like subtraction. Social Studies:
We read a book called The Little House to demonstrate how humans can affect the environment in positive and negative ways. We started learning about economics. We learned that most people around the world work in jobs in which they produce specific goods and services. Students wrote about a job they would like to have when they grow up. Thank you Mr. Tocknell for coming in and sharing about his job as a pilot! :) Origami hats that students made in library! News:
Reading: We finished thinking about point of view. We read a book of blind mice who had different perspectives about the "something" they felt. Using an image displayed, students chose one person/thing to take the viewpoint of and describe the feelings of that point of view. Writing: We continued to review how to use apostrophes to show ownership. Students searched for words that needed apostrophes in sentences and wrote a sentence with an apostrophe of their own. Many students enjoyed free writing and working on their own Google Slides presentations. Word Study: We continued to focus on vowel teams, specifically the long o sounds. We examined images to determine how many sounds each contained and determine which vowel team looked right - "oa" or "oe." Students sorted words from sentences and used whiteboards to "hear it, write it, and draw it" with long o vowel team words. Math: Our learning goal was to measure objects using inches, feet, and yards. Students examined which items in our room were more than, less than, and about a yard long. We measured our head circumference with measuring tape. Students used inches to measure things in our room. Social Studies:
Students explored how the jobs people have can be influenced by the human and physical characteristics of where they live. We looked at three different cities and compared their popular jobs. We used the Pebblego website to learn about more areas and jobs they may have. We discussed how humans can have positive and negative effects on their environment by watching "The Lorax." News:
Reading: We continued learning about characters' points of view and how they can be different from each other. We read a book titled Voices in the Park and students recorded the 4 points of view and the character traits for each. We read The Pain and the Great One and students answered questions about which character had certain thoughts/ideas. Writing: Our learning goal this week was to understand and use apostrophes in our writing. We discussed how we can use apostrophes to show possession/ownership. Students determined the difference between singular possessives, plural possessives, and plurals (e.g. dog's, dogs', dogs). Word Study: The class continued to learn about vowel teams. Students focused on long i and long 0 patterns. We read, underlined, and sorted words with the -ie and -igh vowel teams. The class made words with different letters and practiced which vowel team spelling "looked right." On Friday we played an "i" vowel team Boggle game. Math: Students took the subtraction strategies assessment on Monday. We started learning about measurement. The class discussed the need for standard units of measure. We measured the length of our classroom with different people's feet. We measured objects in our room to see which things were more than, less than, or about a foot. Friday we did 100 day activities! Social Studies:
We reviewed continents and oceans and took the quiz on Tuesday. Students explored how the jobs people have can be influenced by the human and physical characteristics of where they live. We looked at three different cities and compared their popular jobs. Students used the Pebblego website to learn about more areas and jobs they may have. News:
Reading: We continued to identify the points of view of characters in books. We read a book about the point of view of ants in a kitchen. We compared the perspectives of Stellaluna (a bat) with her friends the birds regarding food and sleep. We saw how a story changes based on which character is telling the story (Three Little Pigs vs. The Wolf). We read The Day the Crayons Quit and discussed the point of view of each of the crayons. Writing: The class enjoyed going to the Publishing Shop to publish their small moment stories. Some students spent time finishing their stories, and others had time to free write. We shared our stories with the class and took them home on Friday. :) Word Study: We reviewed that vowel teams are two vowels that go together and say the sound of the first vowel. Students played teacher/student with "a" vowel teams (ai, ay) and "e" vowel teams (ee, ea). We learned about the "ie" vowel team. Math: The class continued to work on strategies to subtract within 100. We reviewed decomposing the smaller number to make it easer (45-26: break 26 into 20 and 6 and subtract them separately from 45). We used an open number line to subtract, remembering to take away tens and ones to find the difference. Social Studies:
Students created a map of their choice which included a map key, compass rose, and at least 6 symbols. We started learning about the 7 continents and 5 oceans. We listened to a song, used laminated maps, and answered questions about the continents and oceans. News:
Reading: We started a learning goal of understanding differences in the points of view of characters. We read a book Duck, Rabbit and reasoned why the picture looked like a duck or a rabbit. We also read It Looked Like Spilt Milk to help us identify different perspectives we might have when looking at the same thing. We read a book about the point of view of ants in a kitchen. Students wrote how birds vs. bats would feel about eating bugs or flying at night. Writing: We worked on a 2019 goals mobile on Monday. Many students continued to finish publishing their Small Moment Stories - Dedication page, About the Author page, Cover page. We will be starting to go to the Publishing Shop next week. Word Study: We worked on spelling the 158 high frequency word list again to see how much students have grown so far this year. Once I grade these, I will send home the updated list for your child. We also did the mid-year Development Spelling Inventory. Math: Our learning goal is to subtract numbers within 100 using multiple strategies. We started looking at ways to subtract 2-digit numbers. Students worked with and drew base ten blocks to represent exchanging/trading a ten back into 10 ones. We used hundred charts to subtract. We reviewed decomposing the smaller number to make it easer (45-26: break 26 into 20 and 6 and subtract them separately from 45). Social Studies:
Our learning goal this week was to use maps to help us understand locations of places. Using a compass rose, students worked on remembering tips for north, south, east, and west and drawing symbols in correct locations. We used directions to create a "Royal Castle" floor plan. We played a directions board game to continue learning the cardinal directions. |
dates to rememberMarch 16-April 3: No
School April 10: No School April 13: Spring Photos May 1: COSI Field Trip May 15: Springtacular Related Arts ScheduleApril 6 - April 10
Monday: P.E. Tuesday: Library Wednesday: Art Thursday: Music Friday: No School Books we
|