April 11, 2014

 This update is written by Miss Borowski:

This week was the first of my two weeks of solo teaching. It has been a great experience so far! We began a new science unit as well as continued to focus on the importance of working in a group.

Literacy Focus:

This week we began our author study of Leo Lionni. Leo Lionni is one of my favorite children’s authors. I was very excited to be able to share his books with the class. So far, we have read Swimmy and Alexander and the Wind – Up Mouse. We will read three more of his books next week. We also voted for our favorite Red Clover book.

Math Focus:

We are continuing to add to our Additive Reasoning Strategies chart. This chart lists of all the strategies that we can use to solve story problems and addition or subtraction problems. This week we learned how to Make 10. By using a friendly number like ten, students are able to solve addition problems. In this example, the student has to solve 7 + 6. In order to do it, they first add 3 to the 7 to make friendly number 10. Then add the remaining 3 to the ten.

 

Science/Social Thinking:
On Monday, we began our new science unit on sound and sound waves. We learned that sound is made by vibrations. We watched a video that helped us learn more about sound: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/energy-light-sound/sound.htm. On Wednesday, we participated in an interactive SmartBoard activity where students were able to explore sound by plucking guitar strings and grouping loud and quiet sounds.

Next week, students will begin participating in Complex Instruction rotations regarding sound waves. We have been learning how to work in a group and the importance of working together to achieve a common goal.