Blood Moon...Wacky Day...PJ Day....Fancy Day.....Wowzers!

This was a great week filled with lots of distractions! :) We still did manage to get a lot done.

Reading: We are working on Book Club this month. In addition to reading and discussing WONDER, the students were able to choose a chapter book that interested them. They are learning how to conduct meaningful discussions about how characters shape our opinions, prompt us to ask questions, and make predictions throughout a story. Ask your child which book they chose...and then ask them to tell you all about the character(s).

Writing:  We are diligently working on writing a personal narrative. We had a breakthrough today when a few friends decided to scrap their original idea and start over with a whole new story! This may seem crazy but I am very happy that our little writer's are thinking like writers! It is a process and it often means that we start over in order to be better. 

Math:  We are finishing up our first unit on addition, subtraction, and place value. We are working on problem solving and focussing on all of the different ways we can arrive at an answer. We have also begun skip counting in order to become fluent with multiplication. Please help your child learn his/her facts! You can use these sites to play multiplication games!

http://www.multiplication.com/games/all-games

http://www.math-play.com/multiplication-games.html

http://www.hoodamath.com/games/multiplication.html

http://www.fun4thebrain.com/mult.html

Science:  We are learning about Pollution and the environment this week and will be moving into Government and Important Historical Figures mid week next week. We have a our field trip to the Georgia Capital on October 14th. 

* We will also be walking to Woodland Garden on October 30th to learn about the process of making apple cider. More information is coming....:)

ELA: We have also been learning about possessive nouns, plural nouns (regular and irregular), and we will begin our word study next week in order to help improve our spelling. 

Here are some fun photos of your kids being WACKY AND FANCY!!

Diorama Awesome..ness....

Thank you very much for supporting the children on their diorama projects! They were all so impressive and unique. We invited Mrs. Yoo's class over for a gallery walk and to ask questions about the dioramas. Ms. Lofstrand, Mrs. Stroud, Ms. Passin, and Ms. Nesbitt also came in to see the work. We will be displaying the dioramas in the library all next week, so stop by and take a look if you can.

If you can't make it,,you can look at my photos!

A Bug (flu) and A Busy Week!

Hello Friends,
   As you my know I was out on Tuesday taking care of Cole. When the children heard he was sick, they made him a card complete with TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)! Such sweeties..

I was able to plan our entire Pollution Unit, gather all of the Math word problem resources I've been wanting to sift through, and I organized our guest room storage closet! I'm slightly Type A...in a good way. 

Science

Even with the change in schedule, we were able to finish our unit on Habitats and Adaptations. I can't wait to see all of the Dioramas! Mrs. Yoo's class will be doing a gallery walk in our room tomorrow to see all of the work you've done at home. Thanks so much for supporting your child while working on this project. All of the students are super excited and pumped to show what they've done. I'll post photos of them all this weekend. :)

  I sent home an experiment for your child to complete DUE OCT. 13th. If you have any questions, please email me.

Reading

We also worked diligently on character's traits which is a theme we will be exploring in depth this term. If you are reading with your child at home, you can discuss your impressions and opinions about characters in your book and provide evidence that supports your thought process. 

Character Traits Flip Book on MISS RUMPHIUS

Character Traits Graphic Organizer for Cynthia Rylant's Scarecrow

WRITING

We are also working extremely hard on crafting our personal narratives. We learned about creating intriguing story leads, and asking clarifying questions with writing partners. I'm so proud of the work they are doing. Writing is such a long process and the students are learning how to work through the process well. Next week we will discuss how to write conclusions. Once the work is published and handwritten, the students will be working on publishing their stories using the laptops and publishing software. We will host an Author's Celebration along Mrs. Yoo's class to show off our books. More Info to come once we are all finished. 

Our LEADS anchor chart......copied from Flamingos & Butterflies blog........

The boys are reading their stories to one another & crafting thoughtful questions for their peers

M is writing a question for her friend's story

MORE questions...

Stretching our writing out........

MATH

We are finishing up our unit on Addition and Subtraction  with regrouping soon. This is a skill that will be re-visited throughout the year so don't worry if your child hasn't quite mastered it yet. We have also started working on problem solving and skip counting. If you don't already own a set of flashcards, please buy a set and work with your child on memorizing his or her facts. I will send a list of websites in the next few weeks.

    Social Studies

Lastly, we are starting our unit on Government in two weeks. The students will visit the Georgia State Capital Building on Oct 14th. Please sign and return the permission slip as soon as possible. It is located in your child's blue folder. 

Have a happy weekend! 

:)