November 14, 2014

Classroom news:

• I'm looking forward to meeting with everyone on November 24 for parent teacher conferences. - Please let me know if the time I scheduled doesn't work for you.
• Library is on Monday - don't forget your library books
• Homework is now going home on Mondays. Make sure to send it back on Friday. 

Literacy:
We had a teacher from the Flynn come in this week and run an acting workshop to prepare us for the shoe we are going to see this week on the field trip: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Chester's Way, and Julius Baby of the World. 

The kids did a great job participating and we all had so much fun! We are definitely ready for the show on Tuesday. 

 
We also started reading some books by Jacky Davis and David Soman. We read Ladybug Girl goes to the Beach. This coming week we will ready about Bumblebee Boy.  

Math: 
The question we have focused on this week: How do mathematicians use addition to solve subtraction? 

The mathematicians in the room have figured out that we can use fact families and adding on to help solve subtraction problems. We will continue working with this throughout the week. 

Special Performance:
We had a trio from the VSO called Symphony Reel come and perform for the school on Thursday. One of our students was picked to waltz with one of the musicians! 

November 7, 2014

  Classroom News:

• Permission slips went home on Friday for our field trip. Please send back on Monday
• Parent/teacher conference forms went home on Friday also. Please fill out and return.
• Library is on Monday - don't forget your library books
• Homework is now going home on Mondays. Make sure to send it back on Friday. 

Literacy: The children are doing so well discussing the characters, problems, and solutions in their own independent reading! I'm so proud of them! We model the thinking and talking about books during our read aloud, then they apply it to their own reading.

Books we read this week:
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Rosco Riley: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs, by Katherine Applegate (this is a chapter book we have started reading each day)
 
Want to know about great books? Check out our librarian's YouTube channel.  Laura Abbene, our librarian has books trailers for picture, tween, upper elementary, and young adult books. A great resource!

PBL:  Project Based Learning 
Driving Question: What kind of classroom do we need to help us learn?
We finished our list of questions and experts! Next week we start our group work and set up interviews with our experts.
 
Math:
This  week we sorted addition, subtraction, and combination problems. Then we worked on proving true/false equations. Our mathematicians are really pushing their thinking and love challenging problems!
 
Social Thinking:
One game the class loves playing during transitions is our Pass the Ball game. This game actually works on some social thinking skills. We often talk about how you need to let people know you are thinking about them. One way is to look at them when they are talking. The class has also discussed how facial expressions and body movements can change the meaning of what you say.

We  play this game in complete silence. You only communicate through your eyes and facial expressions/body movements. We sit in a circle and one child has a ball. That child passes the ball to someone who is looking at him/her. Before passing, they make eye contact and nod heads to let each other know they are thinking about each other.

The class does a great job with this game!

October 31, 2014

 Classroom News:

• Library is on Monday - don't forget your library books
• Homework is now going home on Mondays. Make sure to send it back on Friday.

It's been a busy 2 weeks since my last website update!

The class did so well on Halloween! They worked hard all day and I surprised them at the end of the day with zucchini eyeballs! It was a healthy Halloween treat that was also delicious! The kids loved them!

Literacy: We are still thinking about characters and now we are also thinking about the problems and how the character tried to solve the problem.

Books we read this week:
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes
Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes 
Vanishing Pumpkin, by Tony Johnston

Big Pumpkin, by Erika Silverman

Shake dem Halloween Bones, by W. Nicola-Lisa


We love Big Pumpkin! The children will be taking turns bringing home a copy of the book and the CD. 

 

 
 PBL:  Project Based Learning 
Driving Question: What kind of classroom do we need to help us learn?
We are developing our list of experts and interview questions. We can't wait to start the interviews!

Math:
The students spent this week analyzing story problems and sorting them into addition and subtraction problems. Then they used the appropriate strategies to solve each problem. This week we will be adding a third type of problem!

Wellness:
Diane Polson came in and taught us how important our teeth are to us. She talked about brushing, flossing, and going to the dentist. 

 Officer Dean came in and talked about Halloween safety. I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!