Monday, October 31, 2016
Halloween Fun
Thanks so much to Mrs. Hegdal for planning a super fun Halloween Party for the class! Students enjoyed playing games and dancing. They also enjoyed cider and donuts, cheese and crackers, and fruits and veggies. Students went home with a bag of goodies including a spiderweb craft to make at home as well. Thanks also to all of the parent volunteers who joined us on Monday to help out with the party!
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Weekly Update
Math Workshop
Now that students are gaining fluency with multiplication facts 0-5, we have been working on our trickier facts--6s, 7s, and 8s. We use the 5s shortcut often to solve these more difficult facts. For example, if we need to solve 8x7, we can use the 5s shortcut by thinking about 5x8=40 and 2x8=16. Then we add 40 and 16 to get 56. Or we can think about 5x8=40 and continue counting by 8s from 40 until we've counted by 8s seven times (40, 48, 56). We will continue to practice our count bys in class. It will help your child if he/she practices his/her count bys at home as well. Don't forget, your child takes a math fact quiz every Tuesday and Thursday in class. Below are pictures of students practicing count bys before taking a quiz.
Reading Workshop
Last week we focused on strategies readers use to solve tricky words while reading (see anchor chart below). We also focused on questions readers ask before, during, and after reading. Students practiced asking and answering questions by completing a reading response in OneNote. Students are sometimes assigned a reading response in OneNote after meeting with their guided reading group. Typically a group meets with a teacher at the table. The teacher gives the group some background knowledge about the book to help get their minds ready to read. Then students in the group go off to their book nook to read independently. The teacher listens to 2-3 children individually read the book to give explicit reading instruction. Below are pictures of Aastha and her reading response in OneNote and Brynlee reading her group's book independently.
Writing Workshop
We are getting close to wrapping up our first unit of personal narratives. Students have selected a personal narrative to take through the revision and publishing stages. We learned how to write an ending which completes our stories. Students also learned to elaborate details of their story by using their 5 senses. We looked closely at a mentor text, Owl Moon. We identified words and phrases the author, Jane Yolen, used to help readers make a movie in their mind. Students then tried to add sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell details to their own narratives when appropriate.
Science
We are working through our third set of investigations--evaporation and condensation. Students know water evaporates and turns into water vapor. They have also learned water evaporates more quickly in warmer locations. Currently students are watching an investigation where they put 25 ml of water in four containers of various sizes. By Tuesday they will see the water from the container with the largest surface area has evaporated the fastest. Your child will complete a study guide in class and bring the study guide home. Review the concepts on the study guide with your child. The Water Test will be on Tuesday, November 8.
Now that students are gaining fluency with multiplication facts 0-5, we have been working on our trickier facts--6s, 7s, and 8s. We use the 5s shortcut often to solve these more difficult facts. For example, if we need to solve 8x7, we can use the 5s shortcut by thinking about 5x8=40 and 2x8=16. Then we add 40 and 16 to get 56. Or we can think about 5x8=40 and continue counting by 8s from 40 until we've counted by 8s seven times (40, 48, 56). We will continue to practice our count bys in class. It will help your child if he/she practices his/her count bys at home as well. Don't forget, your child takes a math fact quiz every Tuesday and Thursday in class. Below are pictures of students practicing count bys before taking a quiz.
Reading Workshop
Last week we focused on strategies readers use to solve tricky words while reading (see anchor chart below). We also focused on questions readers ask before, during, and after reading. Students practiced asking and answering questions by completing a reading response in OneNote. Students are sometimes assigned a reading response in OneNote after meeting with their guided reading group. Typically a group meets with a teacher at the table. The teacher gives the group some background knowledge about the book to help get their minds ready to read. Then students in the group go off to their book nook to read independently. The teacher listens to 2-3 children individually read the book to give explicit reading instruction. Below are pictures of Aastha and her reading response in OneNote and Brynlee reading her group's book independently.
Writing Workshop
We are getting close to wrapping up our first unit of personal narratives. Students have selected a personal narrative to take through the revision and publishing stages. We learned how to write an ending which completes our stories. Students also learned to elaborate details of their story by using their 5 senses. We looked closely at a mentor text, Owl Moon. We identified words and phrases the author, Jane Yolen, used to help readers make a movie in their mind. Students then tried to add sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell details to their own narratives when appropriate.
Science
We are working through our third set of investigations--evaporation and condensation. Students know water evaporates and turns into water vapor. They have also learned water evaporates more quickly in warmer locations. Currently students are watching an investigation where they put 25 ml of water in four containers of various sizes. By Tuesday they will see the water from the container with the largest surface area has evaporated the fastest. Your child will complete a study guide in class and bring the study guide home. Review the concepts on the study guide with your child. The Water Test will be on Tuesday, November 8.
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| Students learned water evaporates into the air. Each cup contained a wet paper towel. The cup on the left has a lid on it, while the cup on the right was left open. The paper towel in the cup on the right began to dry out while the paper towel in the cup on the left remained wet. |
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Weekly Update
All-Star
Lana had a great week as our All-Star! She shared several items in her share sack such as an AGM trophy for piano and an electronic puppy that the class loved. The class genuinely enjoyed her favorite book-Three Cheers for Tacky, and Lana had a wonderful lunch with both her Mom and Grandma.
Ford Field and Detroit Renaissance Center
Our first field trip of the year was a huge success. We had a beautiful day in Detroit as we toured Ford Field and the Renaissance Center. In Ford Field, students were able to view multiple suites, the inside of the home and visitor locker rooms, the press area, and run down the tunnel and out onto the field. After Ford Field we enjoyed lunch on the water. Although a bit windy, the sun felt great and students enjoyed being outside. We strolled all the way down the riverfront to the Renaissance Center. Students felt their ears pop as we traveled up the elevator to the top of the Ren Cen. Views of Detroit, Belle Isle and Windsor were enjoyed as we walked a full circle around the top. We also got a glimpse of the USS Detroit as it was docked here for a ceremony.
Math
Students recently finished our first math unit of the year. We have now started working on higher level multiplication and division problems, and building our number sense within those areas.
Writing
We continue to write personal narratives while focusing on using dialogue within our writing, adding descriptive detail and learning the structure of paragraphing. Students know to start a new paragraph when a new person is speaking, time has passed or when writing about a new subtopic.
Lana had a great week as our All-Star! She shared several items in her share sack such as an AGM trophy for piano and an electronic puppy that the class loved. The class genuinely enjoyed her favorite book-Three Cheers for Tacky, and Lana had a wonderful lunch with both her Mom and Grandma.
Ford Field and Detroit Renaissance Center
Our first field trip of the year was a huge success. We had a beautiful day in Detroit as we toured Ford Field and the Renaissance Center. In Ford Field, students were able to view multiple suites, the inside of the home and visitor locker rooms, the press area, and run down the tunnel and out onto the field. After Ford Field we enjoyed lunch on the water. Although a bit windy, the sun felt great and students enjoyed being outside. We strolled all the way down the riverfront to the Renaissance Center. Students felt their ears pop as we traveled up the elevator to the top of the Ren Cen. Views of Detroit, Belle Isle and Windsor were enjoyed as we walked a full circle around the top. We also got a glimpse of the USS Detroit as it was docked here for a ceremony.
Math
Students recently finished our first math unit of the year. We have now started working on higher level multiplication and division problems, and building our number sense within those areas.
Writing
We continue to write personal narratives while focusing on using dialogue within our writing, adding descriptive detail and learning the structure of paragraphing. Students know to start a new paragraph when a new person is speaking, time has passed or when writing about a new subtopic.
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