Classroom Update: December 8-12

I can’t believe that we only have 5 days until Winter Break! The first half of the year has flown by! This coming week will be jam packed with lots of fun activities to help wrap up our 2^nd 9 weeks of school. If you haven’t already done so, please send in your assigned party item by Monday. We are looking forward to a great Holiday Party on Friday at 1:00. Thank you to Mrs. Bivek and Mrs. Hummel for helping organize it.  

The last few weeks we have been working on two step words problems and 2 and 3 dimensional shapes in math.  Students are continuing to impress me with how well they can implement the strategies taught when solving word problems. The biggest mistake I am seeing is the actual computation part. They are making careless errors when adding or subtracting. To help build fluency with their math facts we have started math minute. Students complete these twice a week. They are given 25 problems to solve in 2 minutes. If they solve all 25 in 2 minutes they can move to the next level. Students are also graphing their progress in the Leadership Notebooks.  This past week we really focused on 2 and 3 dimensional shapes. They are responsible for describing shapes according to their attributes like sides, angles, vertices, edges, and faces. We learned about quadrilaterals and how to sort shapes by their sides and angles. Next week students will complete a variety of shape centers to review concepts taught.

In social studies, we have been learning about three different historical figures. James Oglethorpe, Mary Musgrove, and Tomochichi. Students have read weekly readers, biographies, and watched pebble go clips on them. They recorded facts on an organizer and then created a portrait with facts. This week students will choose one historical figure to write an informational summary on. When we return from the break we will begin our unit on Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackie Robinson.

In language arts and writing we have been focusing on non-fiction text features and informational writing. Students just completed a non-fiction text feature in class project. They identified the features in an informational book and used them to complete the project. We have also been learning about adverbs and how they can help us in our writing. This week students will create a gingerbread man. They will use adjectives and adverbs to describe their gingerbread person.

We have also been reading a variety of gingerbread stories during our literacy time. Students are asking and answering questions such as who are the characters, what is the problem, where and when does the story take place, and how was the problem solved on a story chart. We will continue reading stories this week and completing some other gingerbread activities.

Important Dates and Reminders:

Monday, December 15^th- party item due

Friday, December 19^th- Holiday Party (1:00pm)

Winter Break- December 22^nd- January 5^th  

Classroom News: November 3-7

Wow! I was so impressed with the student’s measurement projects today! Each and every project was unique and so creative. I am very proud of them for their hard work and for presenting in front of their peers. Look for your child’s graded rubric to come home on Monday. Projects will be displayed in the Media Center until the Thanksgiving Break.  I am including pictures of the students and their projects below.

This week we wrapped up our measurement centers and worked on using the 100’s chart to add and subtract two digit numbers. Next week, we will continue working on this strategy and we will work on solving one and two digit word problems using the strategies we have learned so far. Be on the lookout for some Thanksgiving word problems! Here are some pictures from our Gummy Worm stretch activity! The kids really enjoyed estimating and measuring gummy worms in centimeters and inches and then making a comparison. 

In science we have just begun to learn about energy. Our focus next week will be on light energy and heat energy. Students will be learning how to do a “close read” with an informational piece of text. We will be integrating non-fiction text features in with our energy study and then will create an informational writing piece that includes the non-fiction text feature elements. Tuesday, we will visit the Science Lab. Ask your child to tell you what energy means!

Below you will find some important dates so get ready to mark your calendars! From now until our holiday break in December we will be very busy.

FYI: Monday, I will be sending home a sheet about sack lunches. This is for our field trip to the Nutcracker. We will actually be eating at school before we go but will have to eat in our classroom. I will need to know if your child will be purchasing a sack lunch from school or will be bringing their lunch from home. Please send these back ASAP. I will need to give the lunchroom a count of how many lunches to make!

Important Dates:

November 13^th  - Chick-Fil-A Night
November 14^th  - FBI Breakfast and Meeting
November 18^th  - Thanksgiving Lunch for K & 5
November 19^th  - Thanksgiving Lunch for 3 & 4
November 20^th  - Thanksgiving Lunch for 1 & 2 (Our assigned time is 11:10 am)

November 24-28^th - Thanksgiving Break

December 4^th – Performing Arts Fieldtrip to the Nutcracker

Classroom News: October 20-24

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I want to thank each and every one of you for attending your child’s conference this week. It was so nice to be able to share with you how your child is doing in class. The students enjoyed sharing their Leadership Notebooks and work samples too! I also want to thank you for being so generous with purchasing books for our classroom library. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and I can’t wait to read them to the class!

This week went by fast. We spent time working on measurement with centimeters and meters and then started working on measuring items using inches. Students have learned how to measure items with a ruler, meter stick or yard stick, and a tape measure. Using our newest strategy, Adding Up in Chunks, students are making comparisons between two different measurements. I will attach a picture of the Adding Up in Chunks strategy below. We will continue to work on measurement next week by talking about feet and yards as well as word problems using the Adding Up in Chunks strategy .

We reviewed adjectives and created a class anchor chart. Students drew a portrait of a partner and wrote adjectives that described that person. Then they shared with their partner. Next week, we will describe pumpkins using adjectives and focus on retelling some Halloween stories before beginning learning about adverbs.

Energy will be our next topic in science. We will attend Science Lab on Tuesday and have an introduction on energy. We will then begin to learn about the types of energy and pushes and pulls. 

Thank you again for all of the pumpkin donations. I will send most of them home with the students on Monday! Enjoy your weekend J

Upcoming Dates and Reminders

Monday, Oct 27^th- Picture Retakes

Thursday, Oct 30^th-Domino's Pizza Night

Friday Oct 31^st- School-wide author visit -Brian Lies!

*** FYI: Students will bring home a measurement project on Thursday, October 30^th. It will be due the following Friday. This will serve as their homework for the week!
 

Classroom News: October 6-10

Compound Word Day was a huge success! I was so impressed with how many different compound words the students came dressed in. We tried to guess as many compound words as we could as each person stood up. Then we shared our words and the students told us if we missed any. They were so creative! What a great way to celebrate all that we have learned about compound words.

Students continued to amaze me this week with how well they are mastering these new math strategies. We spent some time working on the expanded form strategy and then worked on solving word problems using the expanded form strategy. We did a Close Reading of word problems to help us stop and think about what the problem is asking of us and how we should solve it. This will really come in handy as we move into two step word problems with addition and subtraction. Students modeled and solved a fall word problem and took their post- test. Everyone did EXTREMELY well. Our next unit will be on measurement. Students will learn how to use a ruler and measure items in centimeters and meters. I will be working with students in small groups to teach our next strategy, adding up in chunks to subtract. Stay tuned for a picture of the strategy.

In Social Studies, we spent our week learning about Sequoyah. Student’s partner read a biography about his life and created a bubble map with character traits describing him. They read the Social Studies Weekly and highlighted important facts and then used their resources to create a flipbook about his life. This is a great lead in to our next topic. Next week we will be learning about the Creek and Cherokee Indians.

In writing, students have been conferencing with me to complete their first official narrative writing piece. I have met with students to edit, correct, and discuss their narratives. They are so excited to share them with you at your scheduled conference time!

Important Dates and Reminders:

Friday, October 17^th- Fall Festival (5-8pm)

Monday, October 20-24- Conference Week (12:30 Early Release)

Classroom News: September 29-October 3

Leader in Me Shirts! 

      Math Strategies- this week we continued learning about a variety of math strategies. Your child should now be able to model the making tens, doubles, and expanded form strategy. I have been so impressed with how quickly they are able to master these somewhat tricky strategies. The newest strategy, Expanded Form, is used when adding 2 two digit numbers together. Next week we will begin learning how to do a close reading of a word problem to help us better understand what the problem is asking us. Students will then use one of the previously taught strategies to solve the problem. Here is a copy of the Expanded Form strategy.

        In Language Arts we have been working on our narrative writing. Students chose a character, setting, and problem to help them in creating their narrative. I modeled expectations of a narrative piece and will continue working with each student to edit their writing before writing their final copy. Your child will have the opportunity to share their writing with you at their scheduled conference time. We will also be working on expanding or stretching our sentences in our writing and reviewing compound words.

       In Social Studies, we spent time learning about Georgia’s 7 major rivers. Students identified them on the map and learned about the important resources they give to us. We “polluted the Hooch” and learned what happens if we do not take of our rivers. Students then wrote about 4 uses of our rivers and discussed why it is important for us to take care of them. The next few weeks will be spent learning about Sequoyah and the Creek and Cherokee Indians.  

Important Dates and Reminders

October 6- conference forms will come home

October 17- Fall Festival (5:00-8:00 pm)

October 20-24 Conference Week (early dismissal) 

Classroom News: September 22-26

This week in math, we learned a new strategy. It is called the Doubles Strategy. We spent time working on building our fluency with our doubles facts too. We listened to the song “It’s Doubles Baby” and played several math games to build our fluency with doubles facts. Your child should know their doubles facts to 20. Here is a picture of the strategy and the doubles facts your child should work on memorizing.

We finished learning about the 5 regions in Georgia. Students really enjoyed learning about each  region. We took our post assessment today and the students did great! We focused on each regions location as well as the type of land, weather, and activities that take place there. Students created a Regions flipbook to show their knowledge on each region.  Ask your child to share which region we live in!

This week we talked about leadership and being part of the Student Leadership Team for our school. If students were interested in being the representative for our class they were asked to write a speech that explained why they thought they would be a good representative/leader. Students shared their speeches with the class and then we voted (secret ballot) for our choice.  I was so proud of the 4 students who chose to participate. They did an awesome job reading their speeches in front of the class. Each student would make a great leader for our class. After counting the votes, our SLT leader this year is Emmy and our alternate is Brady! Congratulations to all 4 students for showing their leadership qualities and for wanting to represent our class this year. I have attached each child's speech below. Please take a minute to watch them.

                                                                                                                                                      

Important Dates and Reminders:

1.    Please make sure you are sending a snack daily.

2.    Be on the lookout for your scheduled conference time next Thursday.

3.    Munch and Mingle 8:30am and 5:30pm on Tuesday, September 30th with Mrs. Hallmark and Mr. Cohen 

Fall Break Reading Challenge

During the break, students have been challenged to take some time and read. Fliers were sent home on Thursday explaining all of the details. If your child reads for at least 20 minutes 6 out of the 9 days that we are on break, they will win a reading award. Have them color a gator for each day they read. Then you will sign the bottom of the form and return it by Wednesday, September 24th. I can’t wait to see who takes on the Reading Challenge!

When we return from the break I will be sending home a conference request sheet. Please list the best days and times that would work for you. I will try my best to accommodate your schedule. I will be available to meet before school at 6:45 am if needed.  

This week we went to the Science Lab. Students made Goop and Silly Puddy. The students were able to explore and understand what happens when you mix different solids and liquids. Here a few pictures from our day.

      I hope everyone has a wonderful Fall Break! See you in a week!