Mrs. Henry's Classroom: Newsletter 11/17

We activated another super power in Reading Workshop this week: PATTERN POWER! Sometimes we can find word patterns within texts and that can help us read. We hunted for sight words and patterns that would enable us to read fluently, instead of sounding like a slow robot. We read poems and books about Thanksgiving this week, too.

We began a new unit in Writing Workshop: "Writing for Readers". This unit will teach us how to write true stories that are easy to read. We learned how to plan our story across a packet of 3 pages, planning out the beginning, middle and ending. Ask your child about his/her story.

We have learned all of the "Starting Corner Capitals" in our handwriting lesson. Look for the practice sheet coming home today.

Social Studies is all about Thanksgiving these days! We began by learning the history, why the Pilgrims came over, where they landed, how the Native Americans helped them learn how to plant, etc. Then we formed our tribe! Everyone gave themselves a Native American name. We worked on our feast costumes all week long.

We took apart a new Exemplar in math this week, comparing amounts and showing how we know the answer. We built manipulative models with color tiles to help us solve the problem and it was so interesting to see how various strategies (see photos) all came up with the same answer! Then, we made a diagram to show our thinking. Lastly, we learned how to use a ten frame to solve the problem as well.

We are also working on patterning in math. We made patterned Native American noodle necklaces with pasta!

News and Notes:

please let me know if your child will be missing any school next week. I want to make sure that everyone has their costumes for Thanksgiving with you.
please note, due to space limitations, guests/parents are not attending our feast on Tuesday. Only the two volunteers will be there, but I promise to take a lot of photos!