Newsletter 4/27

Happy Earth Week!  We did so many fun activities to celebrate this week.  We colored outside with chalk, brainstormed ideas on how we can make a difference, and made posters with our 5th Grade Buddies.  The Earth Balloon on Tuesday was SO cool!  It was as high as the gym ceiling!  We got to go inside it and learn all about our planet.

We began our unit on Avid Readers in Reading Workshop.  What is an "avid reader"?  We looked at photos of readers and studied the difference between an avid reader and a "blah" reader.  Ask your child what an avid reader looks like and does.  We are trying to be just like them!  An avid reader feels empathy for the characters in books.  Ask your child how s/he is feeling for a character as you read books aloud.

In Writing Workshop this week, we learned that we should be powerful, persuasive writers, but we should also be polite!  We added "please" and "thank you" to our word wall.  We are publishing pieces and putting them out there!  Some are displayed in the class, others in the hallway, and some are coming home to you!

We are working on numerals 50-79 in math.  We built them with cubes and filled in missing numbers from a number line.  We discussed how many tens and ones were used to form each number.

We also did a problem solving Exemplar.  Students worked on showing how they solved a problem by using a diagram.  We reviewed the importance of making a key and labeling our work/answers.

Besides Earth Day fun, we also observed the tree outside our window, and recorded our observations.  We've been watching it change all year!  Now, it has small green buds on it!

We really enjoyed a Mad Science program about matter.  We made a mess, but it was super fun!

News and Notes:

• Book Sleeves due on Monday
• Remember our field trip next Wednesday.  Please refer to the email sent home.

The amazing Earth Balloon!

There's Connecticut!

Looking at photos of avid and "blah" readers.  How are they different?

We are trying to be avid readers!

Published persuasive writing

Earth Day posters with our buddies

Mad Science experiments

Fun with static cling!

Newsletter 4/20

We finished our reading unit on non fiction this week.  We looked at various text features that one may find in a non-fiction book, and then we hunted for them on our own.  We read our nonfiction books like experts and then taught our peers all the we learned.  Lastly, on Friday, we recommended our favorite book to our friends.

We learned an important phonics rule this week.  Do you know when to begin a word with a letter C and when to use a K?  There's a rule to help you know!  Ask your child (or look below).

Our writing is getting very persuasive!  Your child may be writing a note/letter to you, so be on the lookout for persuasive writing coming home.  We looked at mentor authors who are very persuasive, like Mo Willems and his pigeon character, and we noticed what writing tools they used to strengthen their work.  Then, we tried to do the same!

We are working on understanding numbers 20-49 in math this week.  We built numbers using cubes and noticed how many tens and ones there were.  We studied how the numbers are written, with the first numeral representing the tens and the last representing the ones.  Knowing this helps us identify large numbers!

We finished our unit on geography today this week.  We made maps for friends to follow, of the classroom and of the school, and we had fun examining digital maps, too!
News and Notes:

• Next week is Earth Week!  Please check this week's Hoot for information on what your child should wear/be expecting each day.
• Ox Ridge is having a recycling challenge next week!  The grade that produces the LEAST AMOUNT OF TRASH AT LUNCH will win lunch outside and an extra recess!  Please be aware while packing your child's lunch next week.  Use water bottles and food containers that can be reused each day.
• Kindergartners will not be buying snacks from the cafeteria next Thursday and Friday.

Finding items on local maps

Making a map for a peer to find a hidden object in the classroom

Using maps to find hidden items!

Fun with digital maps!

Spelling sight words and handwriting work

Building numbers with tens and ones and putting them in counting order

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Nonfiction text characteristics 

Newsletter 4/6

In Reading Workshop this week we focused on deepening our level for partner discussions.  The class was amazing!  We used our 4-star system, which we have been using for group discussions, to improve our conversations with peers.  During our private reading, we thought of questions to discuss (I notice___ and I wonder____, etc).  Then, during our partner time, we would share our "wonderings" with our friend and then ask "What do YOU think?".  Partners realized that they really had to LISTEN to one another to deepen the level of discourse. 

We launched a new unit in Writing Workshop called "Persuasive Writing of All Kinds".  Watch out, your child may be writing you letters to solve problems or get things s/he wants!  We're learning how to be persuasive!  See the anchor chart below for more information.

In our math lessons, we're working on understanding numbers 1-100.  This week, we focused on the tens.  We found the tens on a 100s chart and played a game that goes "I'm thinking of a ten that is (ten more/ten less) than__" (i.e. I'm thinking of a number that is 10 more than 50.  What is it?)  We used the 100s chart to play.  We also made sets of tens from large amounts of objects.  Then, we had to count by 10s to figure out the total number of objects.  This took a lot of teamwork and communication at our tables!  We also played a 3-D shape game called "What's my sorting rule?" where students sorted shapes by multiple attributes.

In science, we played a magnet game and in social studies we learned about natural resources and types of communities.

We have learned the correct formation of ALL of the letters, capital and lower case!  Now we're working on using that knowledge any time we write!  Be on the lookout for lowercase review "homework" which is optional.

We used our Chromebooks to begin a keyboarding program this week: Keyboarding Without Tears.  It corresponds with our handwriting curriculum.  Your child is learning basic mouse and typing skills.

News and Notes:

• The bus./transportation coordinator asks that you make sure your child has his/her bus tag on his/her backpack AT ALL TIMES.  New and/or substitute bus drivers need this information.
• Look for the index cards your child brought home yesterday, along with the email from me, regarding the optional activity for Teacher Appreciation Day.
• 4/19  Feeling Safe Talks in Kindergarten
• Have a great vacation!

Magnet Games

"What's my sorting rule?"

"I'm thinking of a number..."

Creating sets of 10

Overheard: "I notice this wasp is building something, and I think it's made out of clay, because it looks like clay from Art."
Partner response: "I disagree, because I don't know where it would get clay.  I think it's dirt." 

The beginning of our Persuasive Writing anchor chart