An Early Post!

Hello! Thanks for bearing with me these last few months. I am now officially DONE with my Ed.S. program and I couldn't be more thrilled to graduate and have more time to do the things I love. As always we have been very busy in Room 212!

Important Info:

1. MAP testing will be complete by week's end. Most children are done they are just finishing up anyone who missed school.

2. We will be giving our Kindergarten book buddies a thank-you gift next Friday 12/16. If you have any gently used K appropriate books you'd like to send in, we will wrap them and present them to the children during our Buddy time.

3. We are not having any sort of celebration in the classroom, however, I am going to have game time next Friday (12/16) morning. So send in a board or card game if you like!


Here's what we've been up to:


Interactive Timeline: The children built a timeline to include our 9 historical figures' DOB, birthplace, and photo. We will be adding their contribution to society to the timeline next.

Book Buddies: We helped our buddies create a story on Book Creator to extend their reading unit on Gingerbread Stories.

MATH: We are tiling AREA, ordering plane figures by area, and relating it to multiplication.

FALL! We had a blast in the leaves last week!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Hello!
  I wish all of you a very lovely and restful Thanksgiving! Your children have been wonderful and amazing these last few weeks. They were especially kind and caring today since I lost my voice from this crazy weather!

We had an exciting last few weeks with a trip to the High Museum and the Decatur High School Musical:School House Rock performed at our school.

We ate "Stone Soup" with our kinder buddies from Mrs. Wertz class!

We learned about our historical figures and shared knowledge by playing "Give One, Get One". Ask your child what he or she learned!

We are working hard to learn our multiplication facts with fluency. Here is a little screencast made by Junot & Sho to help you get your children practicing at home!

November...and still 80 Degrees!

Hello Friends,

   It's never easy to start a week with Halloween on a Monday, but we made it through! Thank you very much for the flowers and cards!

 We had an amazing time hosting you for our Writing Celebration! The students were very proud of their work and they are already asking when we can host you again!

Our case studies are in full swing. We have had quite a few exciting activities and expert visitors. In addition to the adaptation stations a few weeks ago, we've learned about Global Warming from our CDC expert. We've also tested the creek (see results below) and talked with Mrs. Ericson and Mr. Blackburn (EPA expert and dad). Last week we hosted Mr. Pope (also from the EPA) and learned about groundwater. AND we are studying air pollution with our pollution catchers!

We are working on how to identify main idea and supporting details in non-fiction text using "boxes and bullets" and we started free choice writing this week! There are lots of comics and songwriters in room 212!

In math we are still plugging away at the relationship between multiplication and division. The students have also decided to make a "sticky note" window with encouraging words right next to our list of NF text features...and we love birthday selfies at recess. 

AND....camping with Cole and Halloween fun!

**Creek Results***

Temperature  60 degrees F /16 degrees C
pH- 7.5- GOOD
Nitrate- 20 ppm POOR
Dissolved Oxygen- 8  - Students can calculate % saturation using dissolved oxygen and temperature  
Phosphate-   3 ppm GOOD
Turbidity- 0 JTU- Excellent

The results for the two bacteria samples taken in the morning and afternoon:

E.coli morning sample:  300 cfu (colony forming unit)

After lunch:    167 cfu

EPA recommends no more than 235 cfu for swimming activities.  So a little high, but pretty normal for an urban stream.  Interesting that the morning sample was higher than the after lunch. 

We've made it to October 21st!

Hello Friends,
 We've been busy as usual in room 212! If you are interested in being a chaperone for an upcoming field trip, be on the lookout for the sign ups via shutterfly coming soon.
Also, look for our Writing Celebration invitation...your child will bring it home in the next few days! It will be on Halloween/Monday October 31st at 1:15!

In Science:
      Our expedition is in full swing. The children have been researching the habitats of Georgia and learning about the landforms, weather and plants and animals in their region. They have also been studying the adaptations of the animals and plants that allow them to thrive in their habitat. We kicked off with our adaptations stations a few weeks ago and since then we've met with an expert from CDC, The Wylde Center, and the EPA! We've been in creek to look for critters and test the water and we hope to petition to name our part of the creek this year!

In math:
      We've been learning about multiplication and division using concrete models and manipulatives and we will begin learning about geometry and measurement very soon.

In Reading:
   We've worked in Book Clubs to generate questions about text and make predictions based on character's thoughts, dialogue and actions. We've also been brushing up on the parts of speech and how to spell words that end with -ed and -ing.

In Social Studies:
  We are going to visit the Dekalb History Center  (Nov. 9th) to 'meet' and learn about historical figures: Paul Revere, Mary McLeoud Bethune and Susan B. Anthony.

A fly on the wall view:

MATH STATIONS

RESEARCH

OIL SPILL SIMULATION

EXPERT PRESENTATIONS

WORKING WITH MULTIPLICATION

WACKY TACKY DAY

Halloween at our house.....

Happy Fall!

Hello Friends,
   Cooler temperatures are here and the children (and teachers) are savoring every moment of recess! We have had a successful week of learning and fun!

Calendar:

***It's Readathon Week! Your child will not bring home his/her regular reading log, instead, you will see a blue readathon folder. After that, the reading log will stay at school and we will log nightly reading each morning.

*** Friday is Creek Exploration Day! If you are available to volunteer from 9:30-10:00 or 10:00 to 10:30, send me an email! We need help with supervision and walking students in small groups to the creek for the lesson.
*****If your child has knee high rain boots, send them in. If not Mrs. Ericson will have some for the students to wear.

Curriculum:

Math: We finished our work with rounding numbers and we are moving into multiplication!
We will be using a 3-step framework called the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) approach. This week and next week , we will focus on building models using objects. This process will take time, but in the end your child will understand multiplication. 

Science: We are in the midst of our Habitat research. Students are learning about plant and animal adaptations in the regions of Georgia and they are creating expert presentations on their group topics. 


Reading: Book Clubs have begun! Students are working on making 'jots' to express their predictions, questions, and connections in order to discuss their reading. 

ELA: We have begun working on the doubling rule in spelling and will move to ways to make/spell long vowel sounds.

Art: Students are finishing their yearbook cover art designs and will be making masks next. 
IF YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS...SEND THEM IN FOR ART!!! *cereal boxes, cardboard tubes, small plastic lids 

Here is your "fly on the wall" view:

MATH

Yearbook ART!

Spanish