January 22-25

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we continue our learning about Small Moments.  We will learn to shorten our prewriting as we draw across pages to sketching instead.  We will add details to our writing in words and sentences.  We will also thinking about extending our story beyond just a beginning, middle and end to telling a story across 5 fingers. 

Words Their Way:

Green:  ig, ip, ill word families

Blue:  p, l, pl blends

Red:  Contractions

Reading Workshop:

 In Reading Workshop we will learn about how Media Literacy communicates messages to us.  We will examine newspapers, magazines and advertisements.  We will read and think about the message the author is trying to send the reader.  At the end of our unit we will make our own advertisements!  Be looking in our hallways for our work!

Math:

In math we will continue our unit on Geometry.  We will focus on 3D shapes.  We will learn about the attributes of 3D shapes and what makes them special.  We will focus on vocabulary such as flat surfaces, vertex, and vertices. 

Science:

In Science we will begin our Earth Science unit on Natural Resources, Rocks and Minerals.  A note along with a baggie will be coming home for your child to bring back an artifact.  We will discuss characteristics of living versus non-living things.  We will discuss how natural resources are used and how we can help conserve them.

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

January 31:  Science Fair

February 6:  Early Release Day

February 14:  Valentine Party 

February 18:  No School/Bad weather day #1

March 2:  Family Dinner Night

March 6:  Early Release Day

March 11-15:  Spring Break

March 19:  Skate Night

March 29:  No School/Bad weather day #2

January 14-18

Writing Workshop:
In Writer’s Workshop we will be learning about Small Moments.  We will read mentor texts such as Ezra Jack Keat’s The Snowy Day and discuss how authors take a small piece of time and write about it in detail.  We will focus on writing stories from our own experiences.  We will also be focusing on using and going through the entire writing process.  This is a very exciting time for the kiddos!

Words Their Way:
Green:  Short u word families (ut, un, ug)
Blue:  sc, sn, sw blends
Red:  Short a and ar vowel sounds

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we begin learning how to draw inferences.  We will practice inferring with objects and books.  We will use the clues on the cover of books and in the titles to draw a conclusion about the story.  We will do a special activity during the week!  Look for it in the hallways.

We will also read and study Historical Fiction.  We will read stories such as Apples to Oregon, which is a fiction story with real historical details.

Math:

In math we will begin our unit on Geometry.  This week we will focus on 2D shapes.  We will manipulate shapes, draw pictures and label the parts of each shape and solve problems involving shapes.  We will discuss the attributes of shapes and play “Guess that Shape”. 

Social Studies:

In Social Studies we will continue our unit on Citizens Who Shape our Community.  This week we will focus on contributors.  We will learn about the contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.  We will make timelines to study their lives.  We will put important dates on our timelines to show their achievements.

Thank you! 

Ms. Stevens for all of your help.  You had a great first week!

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

January 21:  MLK Day, No School

January 31:  Science Fair

February 6:  Early Release Day

February 14:  Valentine Party

January 7-11

Writing Workshop:

In Writer’s Workshop we will be writing Snow stories.  Students will have the choices to read a variety of fiction texts about snow and snow men and create their own story.  They can also choose to write a true story about an experience they had on a winter day.  Giving children the ability to choose their writing topic allows them to have creative freedom over their final product.  They will complete their story using the writing process.

Word Study:
Green:  eg, en, et word families
Blue:  sp, sm, sk blends
Red:  short o and or words (r controlled vowels)

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we begin our study of Biographies.  W will learn about what a biography is, what if contains and why it’s an important piece of literature.  We will read a variety of biographies and learn facts about famous people who’ve contributed to our community.  We will also be discussing how and what readers can think about during reading.

Math:

In math we will learn about time!  We will review telling time to the hour, then move on to telling time to the half hour.  We will tell time using analog and digital clocks.  We will make our own clocks to use during our unit and will color code the hands on the clock.  Please practice this skill at home using a clock with hands (analog) and a digital clock.  We will practice approximating time such as does it take about 1 minute or 1 hour to tie your shoes?  We will discuss activities that take about 1 minute, about 30 minutes and about 1 hour.

Social Studies:

In Social Studies our unit of study will be Citizens Who Shape our Community.  For the next two weeks we will examine inventors and contributors in our city, state and nation who’ve contributed to our community.  This week we will focus on inventors.  What is an inventor?  Who are some inventors you know of? How did they contribute to our community?  We will read about 3 different inventors and compare their accomplishments.

Thank you!

*EVERYONE for such a wonderful Holiday party and for the wonderful gifts.  They are all very appreciated!

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

January 21:  MLK Day, No School

January 31:  Science Fair

February 6:  Early Release Day

February 14:  Valentine Party

December 10-14

Writing Workshop:

During Writer’s Workshop we will be writing facts about the holidays that we research.  We will record our learning in our Elf Around the World book.  We hope to gain an understanding of different traditions and cultural celebrations.

Reading Workshop:

In Reading Workshop we will be exploring holiday traditions from around the world.  This unit will correlate with our Social Studies unit on Culture.  We will learn about holidays in other countries as we travel around the world with our elf.

Math:

In math we will continue our unit on Patterns.  The students will create and extend patterns with pictures, numbers and concrete objects.  The students will learn about even and odd numbers and how they are a pattern.  They will also identify rules of patterns.  For example a shape pattern that is square, circle, square, circle is an ABAB pattern. 

Social Studies:

We will continue our unit on cultural celebrations this week with The Elf on the Shelf: Holidays around the World.  Our very own Elf has been busy traveling to different countries and reporting back to us what he learns about their holiday traditions.  We have been keeping track of his travels on the map and in our Elf file book.  Where will he go next?

Thank you!

*Simona Padurean

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

 Dates to Remember:

December 13:  Family Art Night

December 19:  Winter/Holiday party

December 20:  Polar Express Day

December 21-January 7:  Winter Break

We need BOX TOPS!  Please send any from home.  We are in 2nd place right now!

November 26-30

Wow!  It seems like it has been forever since I've been able to post.  It seems like everyone is getting well though.  Lets keep our fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that things stay that way!

Writing Workshop:
This week in Writing Workshop, we will be writing friendly letters.  We will explore and discuss the different parts of a letter as well.

Words Their Way:
Green:  ap and ag word families (nap, flag)
Blue:  s, t, and st blend
Red:  Short vowels before nt, nd, and nk

Reading Workshop:
This week, we will be introducing Envisioning.  This is when a reader pictures something from the book in their mind.

Math:
We will be learning about money.  We will discuss the characteristics and values of each coin.

Social Studies:
We will be discussing the characteristics of maps.  We will even create our own maps!

Thank you!
To everyone for being so understanding while I was out.  I know it was crazy.  I am so glad to be back!

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Dates to Remember:

November 28:  Field Trip to ZACH Scott Theatre

November 28:  Family Spirit Night at Corner Street Bakery

November 29:  Winter/Holiday party planning meeting @ 3:00 in classroom

December 13:  Family Art Night

December 19:  Winter/Holiday party

December 20:  Polar Express Day

December 21-January 7:  Winter Break

We need BOX TOPS!  Please send any from home.  We are in 2nd place right now!

October 29-November 2

Writing Workshop:
During Writing Workshop we will continue to learn and practice writing procedural text.  Last week, we wrote “How to’s” as a class to illustrate the steps of a procedure.  This week the students goal will be to independently choose a subject and write a “how to”.  They will use the writing process to complete their own piece of procedural text.  We will also explore the world of adjectives.  We will brainstorm a list of adjectives, describing words, as we complete our writing projects.

Words Their Way:

Green group: ap and ag Word families (nap, map, wag, flag)

Blue group: s, t, and st blend (sink, tire, star)

Red group:  Short vowels before nt, nd, and nk (print, blend, thank)

Reading Workshop:

During Reading Workshop this week we will explore Halloween Fiction!  We will identify procedural parts of texts as we read fun stories such as It’s Pumpkin Time, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever and Hallowiener!  We will read Time for Kids: Boo to explore non-fiction text that includes current events in and around our community!

Math:

This week in math we will be reviewing skills/concepts taught during the first nine weeks of school.  We will apply all the skills/concepts to Halloween problem solving.  Each child will be encouraged to choose a strategy, sometimes two and use their own words to explain their thinking for the problem.  Although this may seem easy, to some it is very difficult to put their thoughts on paper and explain how to solve the problem step by step!

Science:
This week during Science we will be exploring and investigating heat as a force of energy.  We will utilize engaging video clips from BrainPopJr and United Streaming to learn.  We will explore energy you can feel, see and hear!  We will use graphic organizers to record our learning and thoughts in our Science Notebook.

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

Thank you!

Vedula Family- Tuesday Folders

Simona Padurean- Hanging work in the hallway

Fatima Valimohammed- Classroom Chores

Conferences...If you have not signed up for a conference with me, please do so soon!  I would like to have all of them done by the end of this month.  Thanks!

Dates to Remember:

November 3:  PTA Harvest Festival

November 14:  Thanksgiving Lunch in the Cafeteria

November 15:  Skate Night

November 21-23:  Thanksgiving Holidays

November 28:  Family Spirit Night at Corner Street Bakery

December 13:  Family Art Night

December 21-January 7:  Winter Break

If you have any Box Tops, please send them to school with your child.

October 22-26

Writing Workshop:

During Writing Workshop we will transfer what we’ve learned from our reading experiences to our own writing.  We practice writing the step of a “How to” as a class.  We will reflect on our experience of making spiders during our spider investigation last week.  Together we will illustrate and write a How to make a spider.  The students will choose a subject that they could explain how to do something.  These could include how to make a basket (Basketball), how to ride a bike or how to make a necklace.

Word Study:

Green group:  an and ad Word Families (sad, mad, fan, pan)

Blue group:  sh, ch, th, and wh Diagraphs

Red group:  Short Vowels before ng and mp (rang, bring, stump, lamp)

Reading Workshop:

During our reading workshop time we will continue to focus on Expository text but will transfer our focus to Procedural texts.  We will read a variety of literature that outlines “how to…” complete a task.  We will use our Reading Workshop time to focus on the study of Pumpkins.  We will read The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons and focus on the portion of the story that outlines how to grow a pumpkin.  We will discuss the elements of “how to…” writing as we examine different author’s work.

Math:

This week during math we will explore data and graphing.  The students will be expected to make graphs with real objects, picture graphs and bar type graphs.  We will explore how to collect data through our “quick surveys”.  The students will ask each other questions like, “Do you like your ice cream in a cup, or in a cone?” They will ask their classmates and record their data on a tally chart.  After the students collect their data they will make a picture graph or a bar graph to display their results.   We will answer questions such as, “are there more of our friends who like ice cream on a cone?”

Science:

 This week during Science we will be exploring and investigating magnets as part of our unit on Force, Motion and Energy.  We will record what we may already know about magnets on a KWL chart.  We will ask questions about the things we don’t know.  As we begin our investigation we will watch magnets in action on BrainPopJr.  We will explore what magnets attract, what they repel and if they work in water. 

Reminders:

We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Tennis shoes are required on these days.

We have Art on Tuesday and Music on Thursday.

Library is on Tuesday.

Please remember to send the red Take Home folder and reading bag back every day.

This week is Red Ribbon Week!

Monday:  "Sock it to drugs"  Wear mismatched socks

Tuesday:  "Drugs and I don't mix"  Wear mismatched clothes

Wednesday:  "Say No to Drugs"  Wear red clothing

Thursday:  "Boot out Drugs"  Wear boots or western clothing

Friday:  "Say BOO to Drugs"  Wear a Halloween shirt

Thank you!

Vedula Family- Tuesday Folders

Conferences...If you have not signed up for a conference with me, please do so soon!  I would like to have all of them done by the end of this month.  Thanks!

Dates to Remember:

October 25:  Family Science Night

November 3:  PTA Harvest Festival

November 15:  Skate Night

November 21-23:  Thanksgiving Holidays

November 28:  Family Spirit Night at Corner Street Bakery

December 13:  Family Art Night

December 21-January 7:  Winter Break