Here is a fabulous video on place value.  This will be a great review for those students doing a retake test on this skill in Chapter 2.  The retake test will not take place until the week of 10/7/13.  Your child can view it often between now and then!

Weekly Update 9/30/13 - 10/4/13

     I hope everyone is enjoying the nice long weekend!  I feel badly that I didn't actually get to Grant's Farm Night.  No one told me that the trains stopped running at 7:00 PM, so when  I arrived at 7:10, the parking lot was closed.  The attendant said the park was closed.  So there I was with no way to get in even though everyone was still there and enjoying the event.  This was a big disappointment for me as well as my daughter who volunteered to join me for the evening.  My apologies for not being there!

Now for this week's curriculum and events:
Writing - We will continue to write about a small moment in our lives.  Very soon we will need to bring one of our stories to the point of publishing.  Mechanical skills that we will focus on are ending marks, capitals at the beginning of sentences, for names, and in titles, indenting paragraphs, and using a comma when combining two sentences with the word and or but. 
Math - Students will learn to round to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, and nearest dollar.  I am planning that we will test on Friday over Ch. 3.
Reading- I am really enjoying the reading groups.  Such great thinkers with thoughtful responses to what has been read. We will continue the visualization skill and begin to visualize the book characters by relating to their personalities which unfold through their actions.
Spelling- Everyone will take a spelling test this week!
Science- We have studied plants that are classified by either flowering or nonflowering.  Monday we will talk about plants that come from spores.  We will fill out a review page on Tuesday and take a quiz over lesson one on Wednesday.
S. Studies - I have found one of our class talents!  The community pictures that go along with the community letters are absolutely lovely.  We should wrap up by the end of the week!

Dates to Remember:
Mon. - Library
Tues. -
Wed. - Yellow Spelling Test;  science quiz; math study guide will come home;
Thurs. - Green spelling test;
Fri. - Blue spelling test;  Math test Ch. 3;  Community project should be complete!  Sappington Bingo Night at 6:30;

Video to Help with Comparing Numbers!

Watch this video to reinforce comparing numbers!

Buddy Day!

It is our first day to meet our kindergarten buddies, and wow -are we ever excited!

Weekly Update 9/23/13 - 9/27/13

     We have another very busy week ahead even though it is only a four day week.  Please remember that students do not come to school this Friday.  We teachers have all day professional development.  

     The first part of the school year is filled with lots of review from second grade, but as we move forward, students are experiencing many new skills.  In math, new skills are introduced daily.  There is a lot to learn in a short amount of time.  Please pay attention to all the skills as they come home and check your child for understanding.  There are only six lessons in a math chapter, so tests roll around quickly.

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Here is what is planned for this week:

Writing - We continue to write in our writers notebooks at home every Mon.- Thurs.  In class we will study techniques for writing interesting narratives.  The anchor chart has helped students to remember to write about one small moment in their lives.

Math- We are practicing comparing and ordering numbers.  This is difficult because the number we are ordering are large!

Reading- some groups are working on decoding and fluency.  However, all groups are working on visualizing what they are reading to help with comprehension of what has been read.  Our second reading letter is due this Friday.  Please look for your child's first graded letter in the home folder tomorrow!

Spelling - All students receive new words this week.  View our spelling rotations!

Science - We will do an ongoing experiment with seeds starting tomorrow.  Partners will "plant" their seeds in see through sandwich bags to observe what happens to the roots when the bags are turned upside down.

S. Studies -We are continuing our writing project for communities;

Don't forget we have library on Monday and no school on Friday!

Busy Classroom Workers

Weekly Update 9/16/13 - 9/20/13

     Did you know that our class has had perfect attendance since the first day of school this year!  I  think that is pretty impressive.  As most of you know from our talk on Curriculum Night, I will not be at school these next three days as my daughter and her family are in town this week.  Since they live in Turkey, and I rarely get to see them, I saw no other way than to take my personal days all at once.  It feels strange to be absent before any of the children.  I'm sure that is a first!  Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Now here is what is happening this week:
Writing - Students have selected one of their seed stories and are already expanding them.  When I return I will be showing the class examples of interesting leads and then give them a chance to revise and try some of the techniques in their own stories.
Math - We will wrap up chapter 2 this week and test on Thursday.  Look for a study guide on Tuesday. Remember, the test is very much like the study guide - no surprises.  However the study guide is multiple choice and the actual test is open ended, and that can make it more difficult!
Reading - Reading groups are beginning.  I have already met with two groups and will continue to meet with the other groups this week.  We are enjoying using sticky notes to write down our thoughts about the books we are reading.
Spelling - Our first tests are this week.  Please be sure to study the words that were sent home!
Science - We will begin chapter 3, which is a study of plants.  Our first lesson is about classification.
Social Studies - Our community project continues!

Important Events:
Mon.- Library; Yellow Group spelling test;
Tues.- Green Group spelling test; math study guide comes home;
Wed.-Early Release Day at 1:40;
Thurs.-Math test Ch. 2; Blue Group spelling test; 
Fri.-

Back to Football Friday

Our Back to Football Assembly encouraged 60 minutes of real play and exercise.  Please help us in promoting this!  Hope you enjoy the pictures for our assembly!

Weekly Update 9/9/13 - 9/13/13

     Sorry to be a little late with this week's information.  Last week was a whirlwind as we prepared to take our first two major tests  - one in math and one in social studies.  You are beginning to see grades on papers that will be entered into the grade book.  I will begin putting these grades into SIS for you to see.  Don't worry, as I will send you an email informing you of the SIS updates so that you can get in to look.  In the meantime, continue encouraging daily reading and writing.  Also look over the math skills being presented daily.  A quick review at home is always helpful!

Here's what is happening this week:
Writing - After learning the difference between a seed story and a watermelon story, we will learn to develop small moments in our lives and play them back on paper as if they were a movie.  The small details from our lives will make our writing both interesting and memorable.
Math - Chapter 2 is an extremely important one.  Students will learn places and values up to 100,000 and will need to be able to read large numbers.  This is challenging for many students.  The digit "0" causes problems for many when trying to read large numbers.  Practice at home to help your child to be more fluent in reading numbers.
Reading - We are writing response letters this week, as well as taking our first Reading Evaluate Test.  I will be anxious to see how well students respond to what they have read through the letter, and how well they answer questions about what they have read through the Evaluate Test.  I will try to send to information concerning their starting point in the Evaluate testing process.
Spelling - Words are coming home to be studied for the spelling tests next week.  The testing date is at the top of the word list.  The Yellow and Green groups took their words home today.  The Blue group will take their words home tomorrow for study.
Science - We will wrap up chapter 1 this week.  We have taken a couple of quizzes along the way.  However, there will not be a test over this first chapter which mainly talks about what it means to be a scientist.
S. Studies - Today we started a project that will use the knowledge attained in chapter 1.  The class will write postcards describing their visit to either an urban, suburban, or rural area.   The project will also feature a picture of the area described in the postcard.

Important Events this Week:
Mon. -  A Day;  Library;  Look for spelling words for the Yellow and Green spelling Groups;
Tues. -  B Day; Reading Evaluate Test;
Wed. -  C Day;
Thurs. - D Day;  Math Evaluate Test;  Counseling Class today;
Fri. - A Day;

Readers Workshop

Students are doing their best to follow the reading workshop guidelines!

Weekly Update 9/3/13 - 9/6/13

     I enjoyed spending time with so many of you on Curriculum Night!  Thanks for coming out and supporting the classroom and your children.  I know I can be a little long winded, but you were very kind not to let on that you noticed!  I truly enjoy your children and want to be able to further them academically.  Anything and everything you do to aid in the process is greatly appreciated.

Here is what is happening this week:

Writing - On Tuesday we will celebrate the culmination of our writer's notebook training.  From here we will build our stamina as writers.
Math - We have finished chapter 1 and will be doing a practice test study guide in class on Tuesday.  Please study from this in preparation for the test on Wednesday.  Students need to be able to add and subtract 2 digit numbers with regrouping and should also be able to find missing addends.  Both of these are difficult skills for several students.  Students will also need to be able to choose the correct operation when doing simple addition and subtraction word problems as well.
Reading - This week students will continue learning about fiction and nonfiction genres.  They will also begin to learn how to respond to what they have read by writing letters that demonstrates their comprehension. Students will be held accountable for what they have read in class, and the letters help me to assess their progress.
Spelling - I am really excited that we will begin our spelling groups this week!  However, words will not come home until the end of the week.  The testing date will be posted at the top of the word sheet.  It takes more than five days to go through all of the word work activities, so tests do not occur every week.  Test dates will also be on the blog and in the planner.
Science -    We will continue our study of what makes a good scientist!
S. Studies - We should finish chapter 1 this week and test on Friday.  We will work on our study guide on Tuesday and Wednesday and that will give students Wed. and Thursday to study from the guide.  You may also want to review lessons 1-3 and the map skills using the book.

Important Events:
Tues. -  Library; 
Wed. - Ch. 1 math test;  Wed. folders come home;
Thurs. - Spelling Groups begin!                       
Fri. - Social Studies test (tentative);  Back to Football Assembly - wear Rams gear!