Merry Christmas

 

The last few weeks we have been busy little elves in room 102. The kids have worked hard at their end of the quarter testing, and they have also been busy writing narratives, reviewing addition and subtraction, and reading various Gingerbread stories. We have have compared and contrasted several versions of the Gingerbread Man and have reviewed various comprehension strategies to go along with our stories (character traits, story elements, and point of view). On Monday, our elf, Kringle arrived along with a letter and picture of Santa. The kids worked on writing their letters to Santa on Monday in hopes that Kringle would take note of their needs and wants. Through this writing activity we talked about the difference between a need and a want, and practiced using commas in a series as we wrote our letter. The kids enjoyed writing their letters as well as completing the elf that went along with this writing project. We ended our Christmas festivities today with a Pancake Party. A big thanks to our Bright Futures Sponsors, Eyecare Specialities for providing and cooking pancakes for our class. The all loved the yummy breakfast and fun saran wrap game.

 

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and relaxing break! I will see all my kiddos on January 3rd. When we come back Mrs. Trebble, will be in our room as a student teacher. I am looking forward to the awesome experience of getting to co-teach with her.   

Weekly News for December 11th-December 15th

This week we will begin reviewing and testing since 2nd quarter is almost over. We will also be doing various activities that go along with Christmas and our story this week, The Gingerbread Man. Please remember tomorrow we will be shopping at the Penguin Patch Holiday Shop. Several of the kids have already brought in their money, but if you have not sent money and would like to, please do so tomorrow. Also, Friday is our Christmas Program at 10:00 in the cafeteria. The kids look forward to sharing with you the songs they have been practicing.  

Week of December 4th-8th

This week we focused on cause and effect and more specifically on how the seasons effect people, plants, animals. We read the story Snowy Day at the beginning of the week and found various cause and effects in the story, and then we also read Four Seasons for Little People and discussed the effects of each season. After building background knowledge about the four seasons and cause and effect, the students used the informational text, Seasons to help them gather facts about Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. The students then used the information they read throughout the week to help them complete their own Books of Seasons. We worked as a class to gather facts and write an acrostic poem about each season. The kids ended the week by writing about their favorite season, and they used facts from their Book of Seasons to help them with their writing.

 On Tuesday, Slugger visited CIS and Henry for an assembly. The kids enjoyed this engaging experience, while learning about the importance of teamwork.

In math, we finished up place value. We spent the week practicing comparing numbers as well as ordering numbers from greatest to least and from least to greatest. In order to meet the needs of each student,  I differentiated the instruction by placing them in small groups to work on specific skills. Some groups worked on place value to the thousands this past week as well as expanded form, while other groups focused strictly on ordering numbers and patterns. Although a lot of math work has not went home, your child is learning and completing lots of stuff in their math journal. Next week we will be reviewing and testing since the end of 2nd quarter is approaching. When we come back from break, we will begin addition to 20. Keep working on those facts to 10 at home.

Congrats to Ellis for being our Student of the Month winner for Kindness and Haddon for earning the reading award!

Wright's Weekly News December 4th-8th

*Please note that the Christmas Program is at 10:00 on December 15th. This is a different time then I sent out last week.*

Under the Sea

                                                     
This week included tons of research and lots of learning as well as excitement. We began our week talking about author's purpose. The kids learned that the three reasons authors write are to persuade, to inform, and to entertain.  Each student created a flip book that included the three reasons why author's write and examples of books that go along with each purpose. The kids enjoyed finding books in the Scholastic Book Order that were written to either persuade, inform, or entertain. After understanding author's purpose the students were ready to apply their knowledge to the text that went along with our theme. After our read aloud, Rainbow Fish, the students had to write a reading response of what the author's purpose was for the story and how they knew that was the author's purpose. Later in the week the students read in partners about turtles or crabs. After reading about these sea animals each pair of students used a web to help them gather facts about the topic. Then, they used the important details to infer what the author's purpose was to their reading.

            

We continued our informative research and writing on Thursday and Friday. The students read, Sea Animals in their journeys book independently, and then as a class we used the information we read about to create a web. The students then got to choose based on this text if they wanted to do further research on one of the four Sea Animals: turtles, fish, sharks, or coral reefs. After picking their topic of interest, each student created a web of facts using various informational books. The students worked collaboratively to read and find various facts to help support their main idea. After finding facts, the students used their web help them write an informational writing piece. In their writing they had to include a topic sentence and at least three details. Some students wrote more than three details and even included an ending sentence. After writing their informational pieces, the students presented their writing to the class. I was so impressed by the kids hard work on this project and their excitement!

In math, we began place value. We focused this week on the importance of using place value to help us count on and compose numbers. At the beginning of the week we practiced making groups of 10 and counting on. The kids inferred how much easier and faster this was then counting one to one. We also spent time building various numbers using a place value chart. The students used their own place value boards to build numbers 10 to 20. In addition to building number we also learned how numbers are made. For instance, 16 is not 1 and 6. It is really 10 and 6 that make 16. The students practiced using the correct vocabulary this week as they composed numbers. It is important that students see that a number, such as 16, is really 1 group of ten and 6 ones. This concept is so crucial as we begin comparing numbers next week.

November 27th-December 1st

Giving Thanks

The last week and half has been full of learning, fun, and giving thanks. We have focused a lot on the Pilgrims and Indians as well as the First Thanksgiving. To start our week, we discussed various events and people we celebrate throughout the year, and we learned the importance of why we celebrate these important events and people. Then, after defining and discussing what the word "celebrate" means, we began researching and reading about the Pilgrims. We read aloud a book that explained about the Pilgrims voyage and their eagerness to find freedom. After reading together about the Pilgrims, the students read in partners "A Pilgrims Day." Then, as a class we discussed the similarities and differences of life as pilgrim child long ago and the life as a child today. By using a venn diagram students were challenged to think even more on their own of how food, houses, toys, and clothing long ago compared to those things we have today. We also wrote an informational writing piece about Pilgrims and focused more specifically on improving our topic sentences. After learning about the Pilgrims, we focused on the Wampanoag Indian tribe. The students were intrigued by this group of Indians and their role in helping the Pilgrims as they came to America. In addition to reading various non-fiction texts about the Native Americans, we also played a trivia game. This opportunity brought about good discussion and teamwork as the kids had to work together in their teams to agree upon if the various statements about the Wampanoag Indians were facts or opinions. The kids loved getting to learn about the Indians and really enjoyed making their vests and headbands for the feast using the Native American symbols and signs.

The last two days we have focused on The First Thanksgiving and why it was celebrated. Not only did students use the read aloud text to help them build their knowledge of this event, they also used their background knowledge of Pilgrims and Indians to help them make inferences about the First Thanksgiving. After reading and learning about the First Thanksgiving, the students each created their own web about this event and used their web to write a topic sentence with 3 details. After much discussion, questioning, reading and writing the students definitely understood better the significance of Thanksgiving. Finally, to end our week each student reflected on what they were thankful for, and then they wrote about one specific thing using details to support their reason.

On that note, I want to express to you how blessed I am by your kiddos. I consider it a privilege to teach your child each day, and I am so grateful to have such a rewarding and fun job that doesn't feel like work at all. Thank you for trusting me with your most precious gifts and giving me the chance to love, inspire, and teach them. I appreciate your confidence in me and your support. Your children have already left a special mark on my life, and I have realized I need them more then they probably need me. I consider it great honor having the opportunity to teach your child, and I count it as one of my greatest blessings this Thanksgiving. My heart is full!

  

P.S. - We did do other stuff the last week and half like reading and writing "l" blend words, making patterns using shapes, and using ordinal numbers, but the highlight has been our theme, The First Thanksgiving.