We are off to a great week! We have a several projects that we are completing this week. The children will complete the Simple Machines work in Computer Lab and make posters that we will display in the classroom. The children should be working each night on the Geography Project. I am hopeful that all they have left to do this week is create a cover.
This week we have our first Guidance Class. The children always love this time learning about ways to respect and have fun with their friends. This year, the teacher, Kate Fierce, will come visit our classroom since she does not have her own classroom. Our guidance time will be every other week when we do not have a library lesson. I know the children are excited and they are going to love it!
This week in Spelling we are studying words that contains a Diphthong syllable. That is how the list of words are labeled in Spelling City. The rule for a Diphthong syllable is: A diphthong syllable usually has two vowels together that have one special sound. The children are to put the words in alphabetical order tonight on the sheet provided. I will be sending a spelling contract home tomorrow where the children are expected to earn/complete activities that equal or greater than 50 points. Tonight's abc order is worth 10 points. I will go over this contract full of activities with them tomorrow so they can continue the work on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night. Hopefully by the time they have completed a few activities, they will not have to study as hard for the test on Friday. This week they will be asked to write the rule as a part of dictation. They will also have a couple of sentences to write that contain a few of the spelling words both from this week and past weeks.
We are moving along with lower case cursive letters. Tonight they are practicing all the lower case letters that we have worked on in class. The homework states that they are to complete page 38 in the workbook. They are to write each letter 5 times and each combination of letters at the bottom only once. Please make sure when they are practicing at home, that they are sitting properly in a chair with the workbook on a table or desk an not in their lap.
The children have a reading comprehension activity that is due on Friday as well called the Golden Touch. It's a great story about what happens when one makes decisions based on greed. We reviewed what the objective was for this week. The children are to write their own definition or sentence that explains what the vocabulary words means as a result of reading the word in the story using their context clues. They are not to look the word up in the dictionary.
We are continuing our word work with our Lesson 2 Wordly Wise words. The story that goes along with our vocabulary words is about the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque. I believe that if you Google Search this event, you will find a video of some of the balloons going up. Amazing sight!!!
The children also have some map work for tonight's homework. I will often just have them do these activities in class. However, I am sending home a couple of the easier ones so that they can have some practice in following directions on their own. You may want to take a peek when your child is finished and check for spelling and completion of answers which includes that challenge portion of the map.
We are continuing with our study of Florida. We have completed our reading and discussion of the economy and the environment. Today we discussed the importance of the Coral Reefs. You may want to ask your child how long it takes a coral polyp to grow. No wonder there are so many rules for snorkeling at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Tonight the children are to identify certain aspects of the state of Florida. We began the work in class and so they shouldn't have much to complete. I did allow them to take their Florida books home. Please make sure that these books are returned tomorrow. Your child will need that book to continue our scavenger hunt.
In Science, we will learn about variables in an experiment by using a variety of balls according to size and bounce. I have some experiments ready to come home for the children to try that revolve around water and sunlight. They will be expected to complete two of the four. If they choose to go "beyond the call of duty" then they can do more for extra credit.
We have completed Muggie Maggie. Tomorrow our reading work will focus on the main events and character traits. The children will be put into groups and they will have time to create a mind map of all the information they wish to share about the story. They will be working with other classmates so they will all have to contribute. This is an excellent strategy as all the children will benefit from the details that each child can remember. They will be expected to incorporate some of the vocabulary that they have learned by reading this book. We are moving onto Charlotte's Web. I know that they have had this book read to them in first grade and then probably have read this book independently as well. However, the activities that are designed around this book are for third grade minds and will require a little more inferencing and writing. At some point, we will work together with the first graders and complete a project using the Charlotte's Web book. I will make sure that I take lots of pictures to share with you. It is so heart warming to see the third graders and the first graders working together.
In Writer's Workshop, we are publishing our first reflection using Muggie Maggie as our spring board. They had to compare the story to a time when they themselves had to do something that they really didn't want to do, but were made to. These will be out in the hallways tomorrow and you will get to see them at conference time. We are also beginning our personal narratives where the children will be asked to reflect on special moments in their lives.
We are beginning our work in Unit 2 in Math. In this unit, the children will be adding and subtracting whole numbers using basic facts and fact extensions. We will review fact families, What's My Rule, and Parts-and-Total Number Stories. These Parts-and-Total Number is a strategy to help organize information for a word problem. We will even begin our work with Partial-Sums and Subtraction Algorithms. The children will be adding and subtracting large numbers. The Family Letter will be coming tomorrow. You will want to take a look at what your child will be expected to learn.
I decided not to send papers home today. I wanted to go ahead and grade the math test that they took today and send all the papers home at one time. There are quite a few. Please make sure your child looks over them carefully at home so that they can learn from their mistakes.
Please make sure that your child is reading at least 15-20 minutes each night. By the end of this week they should work up to 25 minutes. I am using a time log in school. My hope is that they will become more aware of exactly how much time they are truly focused on their reading. We are continuing to work on choosing "Just Right" books at school. At home, they should be reading books that are easy for them to read. The children should not be struggling with vocabulary. If you are unsure, you can have your child read a page orally to you. If they struggle with more then 3 words on a page, do not read smoothly or without expression, and if they can't tell you one thing they remember from that page, then perhaps the book is "Not Right".
The children did a lovely job with their Peace Rock. I am going to be taking some pictures tomorrow and I promise I will get these pictures on the blog soon.
Please continue to send in Box Tops!!!
Thank you again for your support at home. Have a wonderful week!
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