Week of December 19th

Tyton got a new haircut! I am obsessed - he wasn't as thrilled ;)

This week in reading we will be answering the essential question: How can one person change the way you think? We will be focusing on the genre of Historical Fiction with the stories "A Great American Teacher" and "Finding Lincoln." We will be focusing on the skills of visualizing, cause and effect, idioms, and prefixes (un-, re-, and pre-).  Our vocabulary words for the are:

In math, we will finish us Chapter 7, which is focusing on division. Here is a glimpse at what we've been working on:

Soon we will begin Chapter 8, which will focus on fractions! Some students have started working on fraction concepts in ST Math, so they should have some great foundational knowledge. 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Stay warm! I plan on NOT leaving the house!

Code Word = Fractions 

Week of December 12th

Sam and his family made my Friday much brighter --- thank you for the coffee and treats! :) 

We performed our Reader's Theater, "Name that Character" for the kindergarten, first, and second graders on Friday. I was so proud!

Thanks to Addison, Grant, Sam, and Myra for the Toys for Tots donations! Makes my heart so happy!

Addison spent an evening doing ST Math at home --- look at all those puzzles solved!!!!

Laurel ROCKED her ST Math time on Friday! You go, girl!!!!

For our Reader's Theater Marissa played the part of Pippi Longstockings. Look at her cute "Pippi" hair she sported on Friday! :)

A day in the life of Bennett :)

This week in reading we will begin Unit 3! Our essential question is: What makes animals unique? Our genre is folktales and we will be reading "Martina the Beautiful Cockroach," "Get a Backbone," and "Inchworm's Tale." We will be working on the skills of visualizing, problem/solution, synonyms, sentence fluency, and contractions. Our vocabulary words for the week are:

In math, we will begin Chapter 7: Division Facts and Strategies. This week we will focus on dividing by 2, 10, 5, 4 , and 6. Each child should be able to solve division problems using: equal groups, repeated subtraction, arrays, and fact family knowledge.  

Don't forget that Wednesday December 15th is the stduents Christmas program.  There will be two idetical programs one at 10:00 and the other at 1:30, so please come to the program that is most convienent for you. It is one of my favorite days of the year -- you won't want to miss it!

Code Word = Spread Kindness 

Week of December 5th

Evan (also known as Ivan and Ethan ;)) got an Eagle Eye card (this is given out by adults in the building when students are caught doing something unusually helpful or thoughtful). Proud of you, Evan!

We had a PILE of lunch baskets one day!

The students did a fabulous job of dressing in black in honor of Mrs. Meier's epic birthday! Was fun to see!

Some students ROCKED at completing a record-setting amount of ST Math puzzles this week! Way to go, guys!

LOVE Marissa's outfit (and that amazing smile, too!).

Santa sent his elf, Enrique, to watch over us for the month! :)

Jackson did a "random act of kindness" and brought snack for a classmate!

Laurel and Marrissa donated a toy for Toys for Tots. Thanks, girls!

Eden made my morning by giving me a sweet, glittery card! 

This week (on Thursday the 1st) I sent home two things that I would LOVE students to work on through the month of December: our Kindness Calendar and a Christmas Book Bingo activity. Please encourage your child to spread kindness this month! It really is the reason for the season, right?!?  If you take a picture of your child completing one of the "random acts of kindness" please snap a picture so I can add it to the blog!

This week in our Wonders reading series we will be on our "review" week. So, their will be no spelling words. We will be reviewing the skills discussed throughout the chapter, as well as conducting a short research project and performing a reader's theater! Our learning objectives this week are to: cite relevent evidence from a text, summarize the text, interpret information presented visually, gather relevant information from digital resources, write an informative text, conduct research, and select reliable sources. 

In math we will continue on in Chapter 6: Understanding Division. Last week we looked at division using equal groups, bar models, and repeated subtraction. This week we will model divison with arrays, relating multiplication and division, writing related facts, and division rules for one and zero. By the end of the week, we should be ready for the Chapter 6 Assessment. It really helps students to recall their multiplication facts quickly, so please encourage your child to work on their flash cards or Xtra Math for even a few minutes a night. Thanks!

Also, we are in need of a few items in our classroom: rolls of paper towels, Dixie cups, markers (for our classroom art supplies), and reams of computer paper. Any donations would be greatly appreciated!

Lastly, if you could please make sure your child has a water bottle and a healthy snack for school each day, I would deeply appreciate it. However, if you are reading the blog, you are probably one of the parents that already does a fabulous job of this, so thank you! ;) 

Have a great weekend!

Code Word = Enrique the Elf