We had two more firsts this week - our first counselor lesson with Mrs. Grindstaff (she's wonderful) and a visit with our STEAM buddies, Mrs. Adams' Kindergarten class. Our first visit was a get-to-know-you visit. Each student was paired with a student in Mrs. Adams' class, they made a bookmark together, and got to play outside. They will be "buddies" all year as they discover through STEAM activities, share books, and just have fun together. It is a great opportunity for our older children to be role models, mentors, and just feel important. I loved hearing our students talk about the kindergartners - "they are so cute", "my buddy is adorable", "I played what he wanted to on the playground". In a few weeks our buddies will visit our class and we use See Saw to introduce you to them. PLEASE make sure you have signed up for your child's account with the paper that came home last week. According to See Saw we still have 10 families that need to do this. All of our pictures, videos will be posted on SeeSaw - not the blog - so make sure you sign up! If you have misplaced the paper with your child's QR code please email me and I'll send you another one.
Questions to Ask: Now that the class has finished James and the Giant Peach did you like it? Why? Who was your favorite character and why? Our new book is Full Steam Ahead. We've only read a little, but see if your child remembers the problem the twins in the book are trying to solve. Other books we've read this week as mentor texts for lessons include Painting the Wind, The Best Story, and Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge. See if your child is able to retell any of these stories and maybe even what the lesson was that went with it. What are the 4 traits you've learned that are used to identify different rocks and minerals? Remember: *This Wednesday is Early Release day. Students are dismissed at 12:30. Obviously, our lunch time will be earlier in the day, but students should still bring a snack. *This Friday is our first Math with Parents. If you are on the calendar you will receive a game to practice either Monday or Tuesday. Please be at Tritt with your game ready to begin at 9:00. Thanks! *Your child's parent journal should be in the book bag. Please read the letter to you, write back to your child, and return the journal by Tuesday. Thanks! Next Week: Math - Students will learn several subtraction strategies to help them understand how to subtract numbers within 1,000. Thanks for all the help with the homework last week. I know these strategies are new to you, but I really think they help students understand the concepts instead of just memorizing how to do the algorithm. Also, please help your child practice his/her addition facts. Now that they are adding 3-digit numbers - having to stop and add 3+7 on their fingers is making it more difficult than it has to be. Language Arts - Students have added several reading strategies to our CAFE board. This week we will practice how making different types of connections helps a reader become more engaged. As a whole the class is making great progress building their reading stamina during our independent reading time. In conferences I have met with each child discussing what they know about themselves as a reader and now am hearing each child read aloud to help assess fluency. I love how excited they are when it is time for Writer's Workshop and they get to write. This quarter they are learning how to write a personal narrative bit by bit using a storyteller's voice. Science - Our rocks and minerals study is almost complete. On Friday students will take an "open book" quiz on what traits we use to identify rocks and minerals. We will take this test online in the computer lab to help them practice taking assessments on the computer. This will be a NO STRESS situation and no studying at home is required. Social Studies - We will begin a 3 day launch study about what is social studies and how it is more than just studying history. Have a great weekend!
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Observation and communication - that's what it was all about in science this week. We started our study of the scientific method using trays of rocks and minerals to observe and describe. After hearing the book Everybody Needs A Rock students were excited to bring a rock from home. They wrote descriptive paragraphs about their rock and then were recorded reading their descriptions. MAKE SURE and get the paper out of your child's folder that tells you how to sign up for our class See Saw account. Use the QR code on that paper so you can see your child's video.
Questions to Ask: What do our vocabulary words fragile, pledge, defend, and research mean. Can they also read these words? What is more important in real reading - the text or thinking? Ask them to describe the reading salad we made. Remember: This Thursday is Picture Day. ALL students will have individual pictures taken for the yearbook. * Information regarding the Tritt Tiger Foundation came home last week. Thank you so much for supporting the foundation with your donation and investing in your child's education. Mr. Giunta and his science lab are an amazing addition to your child's education - not to mention the wonderful technology they have to use in our classroom. If you haven't had a chance please remember to help support the foundation. Next Week: Math - students will review/learn addition strategies to use when adding within 1,000. On Monday they will glue examples of the strategies in their journals. The journals will come home with them each night so they can refer to the examples when completing their homework. I will introduce only 1 or 2 strategies a day, so students will have a solid grasp of each. Language Arts - In writing we will continue to discover how writer's gather ideas and begin growing a seed idea into a personal narrative. The CAFE board will be introduced in reading (comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and expand vocabulary). Students will practice how to check for understanding and find clues in the text to support their answers. Science - Using trays of rocks and minerals students will continue the scientific method by ordering and comparing. AND we will have our first visit to our STEAM buddies' class - Mrs. Smith's K class on Friday. What a great way to end our week! Have a super weekend! Our first full week and the class is really starting to feel like a community. It is obvious they have been working in STEM groups for years. They work in teams well together and know how to solve tasks in different ways. It is fun to watch them developing their leadership skills in the group projects.
Ask your child how his group did in yesterday's task - building free standing structures with base ten blocks according to the different place value amounts. See Saw - in addition to this blog and emails the class will communicate with you through See Saw. At the end of next week students will bring home a letter that explains how to sign up either on the computer or the app. This will be where all our class pictures are posted. Students will also make videos explaining group projects and share their writing. You should sign up for the notifications so that you will know when your child posts. Questions to ask your child: -What is the difference in the terms place and value? If they aren't sure- the place is where the number is located ones, tens, hundreds place. The value is what the number is worth in that place - 60 or 600. This is an important distinction when studying place value, so help them review if they are confused and I'll also be helping them in class. -What book are you reading in reader's workshop? What's the most exciting/important event that has happened so far? What was your favorite Bill Peet book? I hope you saw their Jethro/Joel and Whingdingdilly in the take home folder. Ask them to retell a little of those books. They are hilarious! Remember: - to initial your child's planner each night IF she did her 20 min. reading- - check the math homework each night - immediate feedback is most effective Next Week: Math - Students will be using their knowledge of place value to review/learn how to round numbers to the nearest ten and hundred and place them on a number line. They will also continue to practice mental math - what happens to numbers when you add a set of 10, take away a set of 100, etc. Language Arts - Yesterday was so much fun with our first reader's theater! We have some real actors. The play introduced them to Alice(who didn't like to read) and how she learned to use different reading strategies to help her understand the story and enjoy reading. This week I will model how to ask questions about the text while you read and become more engaged with the story. In Writer's Workshop we learn/practice different ways that writer's gather ideas and have fun in their writer's notebooks. Science - Students love our study of rocks and minerals. This week they'll be introduced to the scientific process while examining different attributes of rocks. Remember to email if you have any questions/concerns or there is something you think I should know about your child. Have a great week! What a super three days filled with team building, organizing and LOTS of great books. I hope each child feels like they've met at least one new friend. We have such a wonderful class and I'm excited about our year ahead. This post is brief because you will hear all the other information at Open House THIS Tuesday. The PTA meeting begins at 6:00 in the cafeteria. The first classroom session begins at 6:30 and the next session begins at 7:30. This is adults only, please, since the room will be filled and we have a full agenda. I look forward to seeing you there.
If you didn't get a chance to sign up for our class email list please email me [email protected] and I will add you to our list. Thanks! |
AuthorMrs. Amy Benson Archives
December 2018
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