Weekly Update 10/21

I can't believe we're nearing the end of October already!  I'm looking forward to our first class party on Monday, October 31^st. Children may bring their costumes to school if they'd like to wear them for the party.  Please have your child bring their costume instead of wearing it to school (in a bag marked with their name).  I will give them ample time to change before the party begins.

During the week we were very busy with Daily 5, math groups, writing our personal narrative stories, and exploring our science concepts.  We took a “Rainforest trek” by following a series of short video clips that were narrated by a tour guide.  After the trek the students wrote a blog detailing some of their favorite aspects of the trek. I was very impressed with what they learned through this experience.  I hope you had a chance to read their blogs. They were returned to them at the end of the week.  Our next lesson focused on the desert habitat. Ask your child to tell you about the “Jeopardy” game we played to explore this habitat more deeply!

Thank you for sending in the photographs for the “Looking Back” writing assignment.  This week we began our stories. The students have learned to use an opening, write the events in chronological order using transition words, and to have an ending to wrap up their stories. I am also asking the students to begin revising and editing their stories for word choice, capitals, and correct spelling of high frequency words. I'm very excited about the stories they are writing and the children are eager to share them with their classmates next week.

Math groups continue to go well.  We've added in a new technology component. The children are using a program called Dreambox. This is a program that is directly linked to the common core standards. It is an adaptive program that tailors to your child as they work. This allows children who need a challenge to work at a level that is appropriate for them. It also gives kids more time with the concepts they are having more difficulty with. The goal is that the students work on this program 15-20 minutes, 3 times a week. We will provide them the time and resources they need here at school.  We ask that the children don't use this program at home at this time so that we can closely monitor their progress and usage time.  Thank you for your understanding!

Here is what the kids had to say about the week:

Sangeeta- This week I learned about the rainforest habitat.

Sohana- I really enjoyed making a new friend this week. 

Sofia- My favorite part of the week was writing my "Looking Back" personal narrative. 

Raine- This week I learned that a spider monkey's baby hangs from her body. 

Melanie- My favorite part of the week was getting ready for Star Student. 

Annabelle- I really enjoyed learning about spelling because it helps my brain. 

Malcolm- My favorite part of the week was the spelling word search. 

Nicole- I really liked making the guidance posters. 

Saathvik- I enjoyed writing a pumpkin acrostic poem. 

Allyson- I learned a new math game called "Name that Number." 

Sujit- This week I learned how to make a new friend. 

Weekly Update 10/14

A look at what the kids enjoyed this week:

Nicole- I really liked the Community Meeting.
Omkar- My favorite part of the week was using the field guides during our rainforest trek.
Simra- I really enjoyed learning about Dreambox which is a math computer program.
Raine- I enjoyed doing math rotations.
Patrick- My favorite part of the week was when I went to the assembly.
Melanie- I liked writing my personal narrative story.
Allyson- My favorite part of the week was when Mr. Lacoste read Kindness is Cooler Mrs Ruler to our class.
Sofia- This week I learned about nature.
Sangeeta- I liked the new writing sheet that has us check for capitals and spelling.
Annabelle- I really enjoyed learning about the animals in the rainforest.
Elizabeth- My favorite part of the week was my Star Student time.
Malcolm- This week I learned about habitats.
Mary- I learned about math and how you do number grid puzzles.
Saathvik- I liked writing my personal narrative story which is a story about your life.
Rosalie- My favorite part of the week was Wellness because we got to play basketball.
Brielle- The best part of the week was Math and Daily Five.
Caitlin- My favorite part of the week was learning that there is jaguars in the rainforest.
Alexis- The best part was starting Dreambox which is a fun new math computer game.
Sujit- This week I learned about the things in the rainforest trek.
Tanner- My favorite part of the week was playing catch with Mr. Lacoste during recess.
Nick- I really liked reading books in library.
Sohana- My favorite part of the week was Mr. Lacoste reading our Care to Read book.

Weekly Update 10/7

We had a great week last week! It started off with a trip to the Living Lab on Monday. The kids had so much fun and learned about plant and animal survival. The students learned about frogs and the various types of feet that they have depending on where they live. We also had fun exploring the Reed Brook and even saw a real frog! The kids had the opportunity to take on the role of either a plant or animal. They found out how the needs of their plant or animal are met by other brook plants and animals. We are excited to go back for another visit in the spring.

Speaking of science, in the classroom we did a lesson on how plants and animals depend on one another. The kids had a blast working together in small groups to create their own "hand pollinators." This was done with various materials, such as: plastic spoon, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, clay, marbles, paper clips, etc. They even tested them and every groups worked!!! Nice work scientists!

In Math this week we focused on addition strategies. Some of which were: combinations of ten, doubles, near doubles, and making ten. It's exciting to see the children putting these strategies to use while playing games and doing various math activities.

We had a great first week with our reading groups! It's always so much fun to hear them all read! Most of the groups this week had the opportunity to read, discuss strategies for when they encounter difficult words, and to discuss the book through various oral comprehension strategies. Next week we will discuss making predictions before and during reading.

Here's what a couple students had to say about this week:

Melanie- My favorite part of the week was my birthday! I really enjoyed learning about bees. This week I learned that bees help flowers.

Nick- My favorite part of the week was Living Lab. I really enjoyed learning about habitats. The week I learned about living things and how they survive.

Upcoming Events: 
- No School on Monday, October 10th for Columbus Day
- Tuesday, October 11th is School Store for Grade Two

Weekly Update 10/3

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend with your families.  The past two weeks we have really settled into many of our routines, and we are working nicely as a classroom community.  Below are some highlights I’d like to share…

Daily 5 is off and running great!  The children now have 4 choices to make during our language arts blocks.  Those choices include:  Listen to Reading, Work on Words, Work on Writing, and Read to Self.  We are doing 3 “rounds” each day, each lasting 15-20 minutes.  It’s neat to see kids working on a variety of tasks independently for such a lengthy amount of time.  Now that we have our Daily 5 routines down we are excited to begin reading groups next week!

At this time they have 2 choices for Listen to Reading:  Raz- Kids and Tumble Books.  Hopefully you all received your login information for Raz-Kids.  This is a great program to use at home because it is tailored to your child’s reading level.  Also, the kids can use their Raz-Kids time towards their 15 minutes of reading.  Tumble Books is a free program offered through the JV Fletcher Library where children can listen to 100’s of picture books!  As long as you access the website through the library page http://www.westfordlibrary.org/pages/JVFletcherLibrary_JustforKids/index you can use the program without a username and password. 

In Social Studies we completed our Apples Economics Unit this week.  The children had several opportunities throughout this unit to work in groups and do some fun, interactive activities that helped them learn the concepts.  I hope your child enjoyed learning all about apples- what a fun way to start off the fall!!

We have been talking about Personal Narratives during our writing time.  We learned that these are true stories about things that have happened in our lives.  We have begun writing a personal narrative about a celebration as we learn about the structure of personal narrative.  After that the children will be able to write about other topics of their choice.

In Math we have begun our Guided Math rotations and it is going really well! The kids are excited to have 3 different activities during the math block. The various activities are: Teachers Choice, Technology, At Your Seat, Hands-On, and Math Facts. "Teachers Choice" is when small groups of kids working on a similar skill level meet with me. For "Technology" the kids have the choice of Prodigy Math, Games on the Everyday Math website, or various math apps. "At Your Seat" is typically math journal pages that reinforce the day's lesson. Finally, "Hands-On" is usually a math game that is part of the Everyday Math program. 

Over the next few weeks we will be turning our focus back to Science.  On Friday we started an investigation to see if plants need water and sunlight in order to survive. We will be watching our plants throughout the upcoming week. We are also lucky to have a chance to visit the Living Lab at the Day School on Monday to explore more about Plant and Animal Survival.  We will be taking a bus to get there. The permission slips were sent home at the end of the year.  I have already received a signed permission slip from everyone so we should be all set!  We may spend some time outside by the Reed Brook, so please keep an eye on the weather so that your child will be comfortable during the outside portion of our visit.

 Lastly, WEDNESDAY IS PICTURE DAY!!  Our picture time is at 10:15.