Week of September 5th

I trust you enjoyed the long weekend as much as I did! Nothing like an extra day of baby snuggles :) and time with my family. We are jumping right back into the swing of things this week. I am so proud of the students and what they have learned so far. They absolutely love learning and are always eager to try what I am teaching and modeling. We have even earned our second compliment party. Have I
mentioned how well mannered they are???

Last week was our second spelling and vocabulary assessments. I was very pleased. Some of you received a note that included the words your child missed on their spelling assessment from Friday. For those of you who did not, here is how it works. If your child misses a word or words on the spelling assessment, I will send home a sheet with those words on it. Your child is to study them over the weekend and will be given those words again on their pretest that Monday (Tuesday this week). If the child spells them correctly, they will not be added to the next week's spelling list. If the child is still having difficulty with a word or words it will be added to their list. I have already assessed the students on a number of high frequency words for not only recognition but for spelling as well. This is where I am getting the "words in blue" on their sheets. My goal and purpose for this is to tailor your child's list to words that they need practice on and that they will use frequently. Your child's blue words will not be the same as anothers and that is okay!! Remember to refer to the spelling letter I sent home about how to practice spelling words with your kids. Having your child copy the words a number of times is not the best practice. It does work for some, but there are so many other ways to practice. I have added an amazing website to the blog this week that has activities and ways to practice the spelling words. It is called Spelling City. Look for it on the left side of the blog or you can click this link: Spellingcity.com. The students are familiar with the site as they use it in the classroom as well.

The students are on the computer in class at least 4 days a week. One of the amazing skills they are working on is keyboarding. I have also linked this site on the blog. The students can work on their keyboarding at home as well. If they finish a level at home, they will still do it again at school. Continued practice on this skill will greatly benefit them and build a lifelong skill of keyboarding. Not to mention it is fun and the kids love it!

The reading logs are coming in and just making my days! As your child completes their reading logs, they will turn them in to me and be given a new one. This is a practice that will continue for the rest of the year. They will also start keeping a reading log at school to document their reading here as well! Please continue to encourage your child to read 20 minutes a day. It is possible, they can do it here! If your child completes this, please make sure to sign the box on their homework page. I collect these sheets at the end of the week to track their reading. A great way to encourage your child is to make this reading time special. One way to do this is by taking a book out yourself and reading for 20 minutes. We are the perfect models. Kids love to know that you love to read and that it is just as important to you.

Next week we will begin our exploration of North America. This is the first continent that we will study. The past 2 weeks we have been talking about maps, globes and the cardinal directions. We even talked about the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In a few weeks they will be making their very own grid map and directions in the computer lab. Oh, the places we will go! Please work on the poems with your child as well. We already have 8 kids who know the first poem!

Last week in science we continued to discuss the Scientific Method. We had a lot of fun. I gave the kids the opportunity to create their own science experiments. They had to come up with a question (something they were curious about), make a hypothesis, perform the experiment, collect data, and state a conclusion (comparing what happened to their hypothesis). Amazing! That is what your kids are. They were so creative and so excited. They are really understanding the process and enjoying being scientists. Can you tell how proud I am?? We will be starting a unit on Changes next week.

Math, math, math! Oh, how we love math! Last week we started math boxes, working in small groups, created and completed number grids, and learned a new game! This week we are learning about equivalent names for numbers, counting patterns, and relations (<,>,=). You will receive your first Home Link this week and they will continue to come home for homework. These Home Links will directly review and reinforce what we are learning in class. If you would like, after the Home Links are returned, your child can keep them in the rings of their binders until the unit is complete. These will serve as great resources throughout the unit. One thing you can always work on at home with your child is their addition and subtraction facts! I also have sites linked to my blog that have games/activities to help reinforce these skills.

As we continue to settle into the routines of Writer's Workshop, we are continuing to grow as writers. We are starting our Small Moments: Personal Narrative Writing unit. We know that as writers we write about what we know. They are great writers and will continue to grow as the year progresses. You will be amazed at how much they will grow by the end of the year!

In Reading Workshop this week we are continuing to learn "What Good Readers Do". Here is what we have talked about so far:

• Good readers use all of their reading time by getting started right away
• Good readers choose a reading spot by finding a place that will help them do their best reading
• Readers understand how the classroom library is organized by following routines and procedures for book shopping
• Readers choose books to read by finding a book that is just right (not too hard, not too easy, just right)
• Readers help themselves stay focused by making plans for themselves
  

** We read about Goldilocks and the Three Bears and how she didn't eat the porridge that was too hot or the one that was too cold. She ate the porridge that was just right. We talked about how to find just right books. Here are some pointers from our class chart:

It feels too easy:

• You can read all the words
• You can read the pages quickly
• You are not challenged
• You are bored
• You don't have to think
• It is a book you have read a lot of times before

It feels just right:

• You only have to figure out a few tricky words
• It interests you
• You can read it smoothly
• You can read the words without help
• You can understand what you are reading
• You keep reading, and reading, and reading

It feels too hard:

• You can't read the tricky words
• Your reading sounds choppy
• Your reading doesn't make sense

I hope the Shutterfly site gave you a glimpse into our family unit here at school and that this blog gives you incite about all of the wonderful learning that is going on here!

Upcoming Dates:

• Picture Day - September 13
• International Day of Peace - September 21

Current Events start this week:

• Tuesday - Addie and Andrew
• Wednesday - Ashley and Ben
• Thursday - Bill and Bryce
• Friday - Dexter and Iona