February 4th Update...

Hello Parents and Students,

We've had a fabulous week, as usual! Please remember to check out the extra credit project from last week's blog. I haven't had any parents contact me to schedule a presentation yet! I would love to see some parent/child collaboration on this type of research and writing. Please email me to schedule a time to come in and present to the class if you and your child are interested!

We finally finished our chapter book, The BFG! All of the children took the AR test and our lowest score was a 90%! This book was worth 6 points, so it has really helped the students get those AR points. As promised, the children are invited over to my house to watch the movie. Movie Night will be on Friday, February 12th at 6:45. Please complete the permission slip, found in the blue folder this week, and return it by next Wednesday. We began our new read aloud, Stuart Little, this week also.

This Week's Happenings...

Phonics/Grammar: We reviewed the r-controlled vowels and sounds (-air, -are, -ar, -ear, and -ere). We also talked about the five important parts of a friendly letter and the children wrote a letter to me.

Writing: We've continued our work on informational writing. We listened to a biography about Grandma Moses, then we used an organizer to work on the skill of note-taking. We used our notes to write an informational paragraph. We edited our writing together and rewrote our stories. You will find your child's first draft in the blue folder. The final copy is hanging in our hallway.

Reading: We are working on reading nonfiction passages and strategies for comprehension (paying attention to the title and headings, reading the questions first, proving our answers with the text). We are also working on greater understanding of characters in a fiction piece while reading our chapter selections (Clementine or The Littles, depending on reading level). We reviewed character traits and ways to prove why we believe certain traits pertain to a character in a story.

Math: We are learning about standard measurement this week (inch, foot, yard). We have estimated lengths and determined the best unit of measurement to use for certain objects. We are also continuing to practice our three digit addition and subtraction. Pay special attention to your child' homework. If you see that computation is an area of weakness, it may require some extra help from you at home.

Classroom News....

Make sure to update your personal calendars with the information found at the right side of this blog!

We will have our next Book Club Thursday, February 11th from 2:30-3:30.

Save the date of February 25th. We will have "Curriculum Night", which is an opportunity for you to come to school with your child and learn all about the smartboards that we will all be getting in our classrooms sometime this spring.