BRRRR! I hope you are all enjoying some delicious and nutritious 🙂  hot cocoa with your sweet children this weekend! They all know exactly how to make it, as evidenced by their impressive “Hot Cocoa” books this week. They have all become beautiful writers! We are approaching the final countdown to Winter Break and our classroom is bustling with excitement!

Thank you for all of your hard work and generous donations for the Tritt Dash Fundraiser! All teachers have received their classroom’s respective portion of the total raised and I have been busily investing in supplies for our classroom. I have purchased books, an Osmo, some organizational materials, supplies, teaching units, etc. As a teacher, there is never a shortage of things to buy and I am so grateful to have these funds to help me do just that!

Homework This Week: Please spend this week reading fun, holiday books with your children! Also, please review our addition and subtraction facts to 20. You can do this by using flashcards or any other method you prefer. This is so important! There will be NO additional homework this week!

Math: I will introduce, “Balancing Equations,” i.e. 6+7=4+9. Please review addition and subtraction facts to 20 at home! We will also spend this week reviewing addition and subtraction to 20, place value and word problems through fun games and activities.

Reading: We will be reading biographies this week to conclude our Nonfiction Unit and to tie into our Writing Unit where they will be writing biographies on a classmate. We will also continue reading holiday themed books which the children are loving! If your child has any favorites at home, please have them bring them in and I’ll be happy to read them aloud.

Writing: Students will be learning about singular and plural nouns this week. They will also be interviewing a classmate and will then convert these notes into a biography.

Phonics: There will be NO Spelling Test this week!

Social Studies: This week we will continue learning about our 7 continents and 5 oceans. They will create books on our continents and oceans and will continue learning more interesting facts about them. There will be an assessment at the end of the week.

S.T.E.M. Our class absolutely loved creating their animal shelters! They were entirely enthusiastic about their creations and really enjoyed learning about the animals that hibernate, and those that adapt or migrate. Through this hands-on activity, students learned the characteristics of a successful hibernation shelter.

Math: We will be focusing on solving word problems with our addition and subtraction facts to 20. This week we will be solving word problems involving comparisons. For example, “How many more did Joe have?,” and ” If Joe had 8 more that Kim, how many did Joe have?” Please continue to review all addition and subtraction problems to 20 at home using flashcards, or whichever way you prefer!

Reading: We will be reinforcing what good readers do when they read: Go back and reread, Make pictures in their minds, and Make Connections to their prior knowledge. In our small groups we will be focusing on answering higher level comprehension questions, after using these strategies while reading. Please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes a night and are using these strategies!

Writing: Students will be learning about common and proper nouns this week. We will continue our informational writing unit, this week writing about making hot cocoa. We’ll need some this weekend, for sure! Please continue reinforcing capitalization and ending punctuation at home with their homework!

Phonics: We will be learning about words that end with -ck.  Please look for the complete list in their red Homework Folders. As always, there will be a spelling test on Friday on 10 of those words, plus a Bonus word.

Science: This week we will start learning about the 7 continents and 5 oceans. We will be learning them through songs, among many other ways! For example, sung to the tune of, “We’ve Got the Whole World in our Hands,” “We’ve got North and South America, in our hands, We’ve got Europe, Asia, Africa, in our hands, We’ve got Australia and Antarctica in our hands, We’ve got the whole globe in our hands.” There will be an ocean’s song as well, that I’m sure you’ll be hearing at home.

Social Studies: We wrapped up our unti on Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea this week!The students loved learning about them and had a lot of fun doing so! One of my students said that she may cry when we’re not learning about them anymore. This is such a wonderful age to teach!

S.T.E.M. We kicked off our next S.T.E.M. project related to hibernation. We talked about how animal’s needs and people’s needs change as the weather gets colder and ways in which we all adapt. Students will be creating shelters, much like animals who hibernate do. A letter will be coming home Monday with what you will need to send in this week. Our S.T.E.M. showcase will be this Thursday, December 8th. All are welcome to come in!

 

Math: We will continue learning about Place Value and decomposing numbers to 120. Students will have to create and decompose numbers using the ones, tens and hundreds place value.

Reading: We will be reviewing what good readers do when they read: Go back and reread, Make pictures in their minds, and Make Connections to their prior knowledge. Please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes a night and are using these strategies!

Writing: Students will write about their Thanksgiving vacations, which I’m sure they will be bursting at the seams to tell about! We will also be finishing up our books (biographies) about Thomas Jefferson. Please continue reinforcing capitalization and ending punctuation at home with their homework!

Phonics: We will be learning about words with the Long I sound. “Bossy e seems a bit rude, he likes to change the game. When he shows up at the end of a word, he makes the vowel say its name!” Please look for the complete list in their red Homework Folders. As always, there will be a spelling test on Friday on 10 of those words, plus a Bonus word.

Science: This week students created their sound instruments, while reinforcing the concepts of vibration, volume and pitch. They were all excellent and the students had a blast making them!

Social Studies: Learning about Thomas Jefferson set the stage for us to begin learning about Lewis and Clark Sacagawea. I am certain that students will enjoy learning about their adventures!

S.T.E.M. We all had so much fun creating our sound instruments and our hot air balloons. We will now kick off our next S.T.E.M. project related to hibernation. A letter will be coming home when we return to school with more details.

ENJOY your week with your sweet children!

Math: We will start to delve more into Place Value and decomposing numbers to 120. Students will have to create and decompose numbers using the ones, tens and hundreds place value.

Reading: We will be wrapping up our unit on the features of nonfiction text. Students will have to use their knowledge and use the Table of Contents, Glossary, Index, Headings, Captions, Illustrations to navigate their way through different nonfiction books about Thomas Jefferson. At home, please continue to have your children use and explain these features to you! They can use the Nonfiction Text Features books they made as a review. As always,  please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes every night!!

Writing: Last week students finished their very own teaching books on something that they were an expert at. After I conference with them about these books, they will be sent home. This week students will be completing informational  writing about all things Thanksgiving related, such as, “How to Cook A Turkey.” Please continue reinforcing capitalization and ending punctuation at home with their homework!

Phonics: We will be learning about words with the Long E sound. “Bossy e seems a bit rude, he likes to change the game. When he shows up at the end of a word, he makes the vowel say its name!” Please look for the complete list in their red Homework Folders. As always, there will be a spelling test on Friday on 10 of those words, plus a Bonus word.

Science: Last week, students designed their own instruments and took an assessment on sound. This week, students will be creating their own instruments.

Social Studies: Last week students started to research Thomas Jefferson. This week we will continue learning about our impressive Founding Father and former President and Vice President.

S.T.E.M. After creating their sound instruments, students will be designing their very own hot air balloon parade to educate them on the origination and inner workings of the famous, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This will be a creative and engaging S.T.E.M. challenge for all and will probably motivate many to watch the actual parade on Thanksgiving Day!

Math: We will continue to solve word problems with our facts from 10-20. Please continue to work with your children at home using flashcards for memorization (facts 0-20)! It will make their lives so much easier 🙂

Reading: We will continue learning about and using the features of nonfiction text! We will delve more into bold words, headings and captions. If you have any nonfiction books at home, please try to reinforce these concepts! Please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes every night!!

Writing: We will continue writing our informational pieces. This week students wrote their very own teaching books on something that they were an expert at. Ask your students what they wrote about! Please continue reinforcing capitalization and ending punctuation at home!

Phonics: We will be learning about words with the long a sound. “Bossy e seems a bit rude, he likes to change the game. When he shows up at the end of a word, he makes the vowel say its name!” Please look for the complete list in their red Homework Folders. As always, there will be a spelling test on Friday on 10 of those words, plus a Bonus word.

Science: We will wrap up our unit on Sound. Please ask your children about our Sound assembly this week. The students were amazed at all of the sounds that were created from an impressive assortment of tools and instruments brought in!

Social Studies: We will start our unit on the incredible Thomas Jefferson!

S.T.E.M. Students were able to build their very own inventions! Students became problem solvers with these innovative products! A HUGE Thank You to Opal Patel, Anya’s mom, for bringing in all the items the children needed! We couldn’t have done this without you. This week students will be creating their own instruments using what they’ve learned about sound.

Math: We will start to recognize math equations as True or False. This will be a fun and different way to review our addition and subtraction facts. Please continue to work with your children at home using flashcards for memorization (facts 0-20)! It will make their lives so much easier 🙂

Reading: We will start learning about the features of nonfiction text! We will start to learn about the Table of Contents, Index and Glossary this week. If you have any nonfiction books at home, please try to reinforce this concept! Please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes every night!!

Writing: We will continue writing informational pieces. This week students will write about what they are an expert at. This could be a sport, an animal, their favorite game, etc. Continue reinforcing capitalization and ending punctuation at home!

Phonics: We will be learning about words with 3-letter blends, i.e.spring. Our tapping technique will come in handy with these words. Please look for the complete list in their red Homework Folders. As always, there will be a spelling test on Friday on 10 of those words, plus a Bonus word.

Science: We will start our unit on Sound!

S.T.E.M. We learned this week about the inventions that kids have created: earmuffs, the snowboard, popcicles. They were so excited to learn that they too can become an inventor, even as a kid! They designed their own invention. We will build our inventions using household items this week!

Math: We will continue our math facts with subtraction from 10-20, i.e. 16-9=7.  We will also start to use these facts in word problems. Please continue to work with your children at home using flashcards for memorization! It will make their lives so much easier 🙂

Reading: We will continue working on Main Ideas and Supporting Details this week. We will be taking the R.I., Reading Inventory assessment this week to gauge their growth since the beginning of the year. Please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes every night!!

Writing: We will continue writing informational pieces. The students learned the acronym for capitals, M.I.N.T.S. (Months, “I“, Names, Titles and Starts of Sentences). We will continue working on this and you can and should correct this if you see it improperly written in their writing at home!

Phonics: We will start our unit on words with the wh and th digraphs. Please look for the complete list in their red homework folders on Monday. As always, there will be a spelling test on Friday on 10 of those words, plus a Bonus word.

Science: We will wrap up our fun unit on Magnets!

S.T.E.M. I will be attending a S.T.E.M. conference at UGA on Monday. I’m excited to bring back some great ideas. This week students will be introduced to creating an invention with reusable items from home!

Math: We will start our Math Facts from 10-20, i.e. 8+7=15. Please continue to work with your children at home using flashcards for memorization! It will make their lives so much easier 🙂

Reading: We will be focusing on Main Ideas and Supporting Details this week while reading fun, bat books (fiction and nonfiction). Please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes every night!!

Writing: We will continue writing factual pieces. We will also start learning about and focusing upon Capitalization, at the beginning of sentences and those tricky proper nouns!!

Phonics: We will start our unit on words with the ch and sh digraphs. Please look for the complete list in their red homework folders on Monday. As always, there will be a spelling test on Friday on 10 of those words, plus a Bonus word.

Science: We will start our fun unit on Magnets!

S.T.E.M. We observed our water containers and learned that some prevented evaporation better than others. We reflected upon our reasons for this and discussed insulation, etc.

Math: We will continue solving word problems this week. We will focus more on subtraction word problems this week, but will review addition as well. We will have an assessment at the end of the week.  We will focus on the process: underling the information, circling the question, and drawing out the solution. Many students followed these steps with their homework this week!

Reading: We will continue identifying the problem and solution of stories as well as summarizing and retelling skills. This is such a fun month of the year to read engaging, fall-themed stories that the children love! Please make sure your children are reading 20 minutes every night!!

Writing: We will change gears a bit from our narrative unit, and will start writing informational pieces about fall. The students blew me away with their family journals this week. It is amazing to see how much they have grown as writers!!

Phonics: We will start our unit on words ending in -ft, -lp, -lt, -mp. There will be another spelling test on Friday, October 14th. Now that students are becoming pros at the spelling test routine, I’m going to increase the words they are expected to know. However, I will still only test them on 10 words.  Please look for the complete list in their red homework folders on Monday.

Social Studies: We will continue learning about the amazing Benjamin Franklin! The children are absolutely loving learning about our brilliant founding father, and it is so much fun to watch! They have been working hard all week creating their Ben Franklin books. Please look for these books to come home Tuesday and please read them with your child. We will have an assessment on this unit Thursday.

S.T.E.M. We will emulate Benjamin Franklin by designing our own useful creations out of recycled materials from home. I will send a note home Monday soliciting materials for this creation.