Week of September 10th

Happy Monday! The students were very excited to experience their first Monday. Today we had Technology and Spanish. The kids have been doing an amazing job with technology. Within the classroom they have completed tasks on Kidspiration, navigated blogs and a Symbaloo page, and even created their very own Avatar to be used in their Electronic Portfolios. In the lab, they explored the iPads and Google Earth. We will be working with Mrs. Baralt on our first project on North American landmarks. I look forward to telling you more about this in the weeks to come.

Math, math, math! Oh, how we love math! This week we will be working in small groups, working with number grids, talking about equivalent numbers and counting patterns. Next week you will receive your first Home Link and they will continue to come home for homework. 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 as well as coin recognition and counting money! 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 continuing to work on 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 are some things we have and will be talking about:

• 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

Here are some pointers from our class chart regarding Just Right Books:

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

Reminders for this week:

· School Picture Day tomorrow

· Library checkout tomorrow – have your kiddos bring their books back

Have a fantastic week!