Week of February 17 - 21

Here is what is happening this week:

Literacy:  Students are working hard on their Reader's Theater scripts.  Students are in one of five groups and have enjoyed working on practicing their lines with fluency, expression, and meaning.  We will be practicing this week with a performance on Friday.  I will be sending home a note on Monday inviting you to be the audience for our performance.  I hope to see you there!

Math:  This week students will be diving into Unit 5.  This unit focuses on telling time and graphing.  We will be engaging in several activities to gain a better grasp of these concepts.

Word Work & Writing:  In writing we are continuing to write opinion pieces.  We are writing letters about books and explaining why others should read them.  A big component to these letters is students providing evidence to help back up their opinions.  The spelling words for this week include:  they're, wrong, pretty, won't, and afraid.  Please help your child practice these words at home.

Special Events:
Tuesday:  Jump Rope 4 Heart
Wednesday:  11:30 Dismissal (PLD) & Spirit Day - Dress in ONE COLOR from HEAD to TOE
Friday:  Reader's Theater Performance

  

Week of February 10 - 14

I am very excited to be back in the classroom after my maternity leave.  I enjoyed my time at home with my two sons, but I am happy to be back.  It's amazing how much the students have grown since I have been gone!  Here is what is happening in our classroom this week.

Math - We are reviewing for our Chapter 4 Test, which we will take on Thursday.  This chapter focusses on addition and subtraction of larger numbers.  We learned several methods to solve these problems including adding up and regrouping.  Problem solving using larger numbers is also a big focus, with comparison problems and 2-step problems being the most challenging for students.  Any help you can provide at home is encouraged.

Literacy -  We have been revisiting Folktales for the last few weeks.  We compared two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood and students even wrote Little Red Riding Hood a letter explaining the lesson they hope she learned.  This week we will be doing Reader's Theater with several different folktales.   In writing we are working on opinion pieces.  Students have been busy writing letters to other student to convince them to read a certain book.  Students are starting to use evidence to support their opinions.    

Word Work - We have been continuing to do word sorts and Wordly Wise to enrich vocabulary.  Spelling words for this week include:  enough, together, second, favorite, and through.  Please make sure to study these words at home.

Valentine's Day - We will be having our Valentine's Day party on Friday afternoon.  Please remember to have your child bring their valentines to school on Friday.

Week of Dec. 9-13

Here is an update of the learning from last week.

• Reading-We're working on conventions of nonfiction (text features). This week we worked on maps, labels, glossary, index, table of contents, heading, comparison, and captions.
• Writing-Students have written and shared their fairy tales.
• Math-We've studied inches, feet, yards, and centimeters.  We've taken measurements  and put them onto line plots. We have just finished this unit. We'll review together on Monday for Tuesday's test. *Please look for the review test to come home on Monday evening.
• Social Studies-We've studied the compass rose and worked on map keys.

Visit

This last week I was able to bring Nathan to school for a visit.  I was very excited and glad to see everyone again.  However,  I am pretty sure the students were more excited to see Nathan than to see me! : )   I also got to talk with Mrs. Wilke about what has been going on in class.  These are the topics studied last week.

• Math - We compared numbers within 200, explored 2-digit addition, used the all totals method in addition, used the new groups below method in addition, practiced addition with sums over 10
• Wordly Wise - We finished unit 4.
• Literacy - Guided reading groups are going well. We have started our fairy tale unit. We've read Cinderella and identified main characters, setting, and plot. We also read another "Cinderella" story entitled, The Rough-Face Girl.
• Writing - We have learned to study other authors to help us with our own writing. We studied similes.

I'm Back!

Well, back to the blog that is.  As many of you probably heard, I had a baby boy last Sunday.  Nathan is doing very well and our family is adjusting to another member.  I still plan on updating this blog every week.  I talk with and email Mrs. Wilke, so I will be able to keep the blog up to date with the learning that is happening in the classroom.  I heard that the class was very helpful this week!  Keep it up!  I like hearing all of the great things you are doing!

Last Week's Learning

Last week in math we continued to work on more complex story problems.  We explored problems with extra information, not enough information, and hidden information.  This week be on the lookout for some homework on these types of problems.  Please have your child explain their thinking to you and explain how they solved the problem.  If everything goes as planned, we should have our Unit 1 Test on Friday.

For literacy we focused on identifying the characters, setting, problem, and solution in several fiction stories.  Please continue reading with your child at home and asking them questions about what they read.  In writing we are still exploring personal narratives and adding details to our stories.  It is wonderful to read stories where the students are beginning to apply this skill.

We had a special presentation put on by the Neenah-Menasha Fire Department.  Students learned about what to do in case of a fire.  They also got to see a fire truck and explore both the inside and outside.  Below are some pictures from the fire presentation.

It was wonderful to see everyone at Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Thank you for taking the time to be involved in your child's education!

Spelling Words for the week of October 14th 

same

also

three

well

such  

Reminder

Wednesday, October 16th is Grandparent's Day and an 11:30 Dismissal.  Please make sure Grandparents have their ticket when they arrive.

A Look Back & Ahead

Last week we learned a little bit about schema (prior or background knowledge).  We discussed why it is important to activate our schema before reading and how it will help us better understand what we read.  We did several schema activities including a lint roller activity, listening to songs, brainstorming, and making connections to what we read.  In writing, we are continuing our work on narrative writing including stretching a story out across the pages and focusing on adding details to our writing.  In the picture below, students used a lint roller to help illustrate that everyone's schema is different because we all have different experiences.

In math we worked on problem solving.  We focused on compare story problems.  Please continue to work with your child on their math facts and on any homework that comes home.  Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

In Social Studies we began learning about communities.  We learned what a community is and about three types of communities.  Ask your child to tell you about communities!  We will be continuing our learning about communities for the next few weeks.  The pictures below show how students worked together to show their knowledge of different community types.

A look ahead...

This week's spelling words are: time, find, long, must, and give.  Since we do not have school on Friday, we will take our spelling test on Thursday this week.  Please make sure to study these words at home.

I will not be sending home a book order for the month of October because of the Book Fair taking place at Spring Road from October 7-11 and October 16th.  Please refer to the Spring Road Website for more information about the book fair and spirit (dress up) days.

Monday: Character Education Lesson
Tuesday: Mrs. Wilke, my long-term substitute, will meet our class and shadow me
Wednesday:  Fire Safety Presentation & Parent Teacher Conferences
Thursday:  2:15 Early Dismissal & Parent Teacher Conferences
Friday:  NO SCHOOL & Parent Teacher Conferences