Dress Like a Farmer Day

Here's our class on Dress Like A Farmer Day! The kids looked so great and we raised a lot of money for a good cause.

January 26, 2014

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Last week, we started two new activities that the class is very excited about. We are learning cursive and typing. In cursive, we will be learning the lowercase letters first and then we will move on to uppercase letters. The students are doing great so far! We are using a program called Type To Learn in the computer lab once a week to learn typing skills. As we get a little further in the unit, students will be able to work on this at home. It is a lot of fun.

This week...

Reading
I'm so happy that so many of the families are reading Charlotte's Web! The class is having a lot of fun with the trivia and this week we learned the meaning and synonyms of humble. The class should be looking for "radiant" and "humble" in the book! Don't forget to check out the blog and send in any pictures you have of your family reading the book. In class, we will finish our read aloud, The Trumpet of the Swan and will reflect on the book. It has a great message of perseverance and overcoming obstacles.

Writing 
We are still working on informative writing. Students are researching, writing chapters and looking a mentor texts this week. They should write one writer's notebook entry at home this week.

Math
Students got their multiplication tests back on Friday. These need to be signed and corrected by Monday. The class average was an 85 and they worked really hard! This week, we will continue working on division.

Science/Social Studies
In Science, we are doing experiments with electricity. Last week, students lit a light bulb with a battery and copper wire. They really had fun with this. We are also learning about the solar system. In Social Studies, we are learning United States geography and practicing map skills.

Electricity

Here a  few pictures of the class experimenting with electricity. Ask your child to explain how they lit the bulb!

January 19, 2014

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! We did a few activities about Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday and read a book written by his sister called, My Brother, Martin. The class enjoyed learning about what his childhood was like and what inspired him. Thank you for all of the quick responses to the conference times and for your flexibility. Please let me know if you have any questions.

This week...

Reading
Everyone seems to be enjoying the One School, One Book choice, Charlotte's Web! We have been having fun in class answering trivia questions and came up with meanings and synonyms for the vocabulary word "radiant". Make sure to check out the webpage and send in any pictures you have of your family enjoying the book together! In our class, we are still reading The Trumpet of the Swan and discussing the character of Louis. We are reading informational books as we research the solar system.

Writing
Students are continuing their work on informational writing. Students are researching a topic from the solar system and are practicing note taking from books and online sources. They have started writing chapters and are working to follow the practices of good information writers.

Math
Students took a test on the multiplication unit at the end of the week. Even though the test is over, students need to continue their daily practice of multiplication facts. We will start a unit on division on Tuesday.

Science/Social Studies
In Science, we are working on the electricity unit and we are learning about the solar system. In Social Studies, we are working on United States geography.

January 15, 2014

This week...

Reading
Students should be reading each night and recording on the January calendar. We are continuing our read-aloud, The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B.White. Please make sure to check out the blog on the Slingerlands website for One School, One Book! The assembly on Friday was a lot of fun and students were excited to start reading Charlotte's Web with their families.

Writing
Students are continuing the informative writing unit. They are researching topics from the solar system. We have worked on tables of contents and will try out different structures this week.

Math
We will have a Multiplication unit test on Thursday. We will review and a review sheet will be sent home. Students are progressing in their facts, but need continued practice each night to develop fluency.  We will start division next week.

Science/Social Studies
In science finished the plant unit with an open notebook quiz last week. We are starting the solar system unit this week and will also be starting electricity. In social studies, we will learn about te geography of the United States.

Homework:
Reading-read each night and record on calendar
Math-practice facts; study for test
Writing-no homework this week
Spelling-Look, Say, Name, Cover, Write, Check each night; practice test on Thursday

January 5, 2013

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the winter vacation and had happy holidays!

This week...

Reading Workshop
This week, we will continue our read aloud, Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. December reading logs are due on Tuesday January 7th. We will continue to work on fluency and non-fiction in small groups. Next week, we will be starting book groups using books by Beverly Cleary.

Writing Workshop
We are working on informational writing. Students have chosen topics and they will be working on dividing the topic into subtopics to create a table of contents this week.

Math
We have completed all of the times tables 0-10. Students have made flash cards for each and should continue to practice these each night at home to build fluency. This week, we will finish up with activities designed to build fluency and will review the distributive property of multiplication. We will have a unit test next week.

Science/Social Studies
In science, we will be learning about the solar system. In social studies, we will start a unit on cultures and civilizations.

Homework:
Reading-Read 20 minutes each night and record on January calendar. December calendar is due Tuesday.
Writing-Write one entry by Friday
Math-Practice multiplication facts each night
Spelling-Look.Say, Name, Cover, Write, Check each night; practice test on Thursday night