December 1, 2012 Update...

Good Afternoon Parents,

Below you will find an update of what has been happening in Room 216!  A few special reminders for this time of year...please encourage your child to make good choices while at school.  I am expecting responsible decisions to be made both academically and behaviorally.  Remember what was discussed at Open House; the curriculum this year is much tougher and the light homework schedule is meant to provide time for your child to work on any extra areas that may be challenging for him or her.

Phonics/Grammar: This week, we talked about two new suffixes; "less" and "ful" and how they change the meaning of the root word.  We also worked hard learning our ten spelling words to improve our reading and writing. We worked in small groups to use reference materials (dictionaries) to find the definitions of unknown words. 

Reading: We finished our chapter book read aloud, Stone Fox.  Boy, were the children surprised by the ending!  Ask your child all about Searchlight, Little Willy, and Stone Fox.  We worked on collecting research for our informational writing.  We used the UNRAAVEL strategy to help us pick out the important parts.  We began completing a packet to help us familiarize ourselves with our topics. We visited the library and learned how to use kid-friendly search engines to locate information.  We also worked with an informational book about Mary Musgrove, one of Georgia's historical figures.  We learned how to use headings, bold words, the glossary, and the index to help us find information to answer important questions. The children took an open book test on this book to show that they can use resources to find information.

Writing:  We began collecting information on our organizer for our informational writing.

Math:  We practiced our basic math facts (adding and subtracting). If you notice your child is still using his/her fingers to add and subtract simple facts, additional time at home may be required.  We worked on showing our knowledge of place value to solve addition and subtraction problems when regrouping is required. This has definitely been one of our more challenging topics in math.  It is important to remember that the new requirement is not just that your child can add and subtract (the old way how we all learned in school), but they need to be able to apply various strategies that show me they are using place value knowledge to solve these problems. I've taught the children various strategies and it is important that they are able to communicate through their work what strategies they are using.  We will not teach the traditional algorithm of borrowing or carrying in second grade.  If you are helping your child at home, please make sure that you are encouraging them to show their work.  Our county assessments will require the students to solve one problem in two to three different ways.  I have posters up in our room modeling different ways to add and subtract and the children can always use this as a resource. If you have questions, I am always available and would love for you to stop by the classroom before or after school and I can show you the wonderful new ways we are learning.

Class News...

Stocking Stuffers are due Monday!  Try your best to keep the items a surprise!

We will be having a chapter book exchange as part of our Holiday party. Be on the lookout for a good book for your child to exchange with a friend.  Make sure it is boy or girl appropriate and all the students are able to read 3rd to 4th grade books.  Please wrap the book and indicate who the book is from on the inside cover.  You may begin sending in books as soon as you would like!