Monday News for Dec. 21st

We all had a great time at Colonial Craft Day last Thursday. This was our culminating event for our Long Ago unit and a celebration of the season. Thanks again too all of you who sent in supplies and volunteered at the event. We hope you enjoy "the goods" your child brought home and the pictures below.

This week, we'll be working on story problems in math that use presents (units of 1) and parcels (groups of 10), and we'll continue this work after vacation. We'll be finishing up our writing prompts about our choice to live today or long ago and will be finishing up with holiday/long ago books in our reading groups.

On Tuesday, we'll participate in the Holiday Sing-Along and have a small Holiday celebration (popcorn and a movie) in the afternoon. We hope you have a wonderful break. Perhaps we'll actually have a stretch of winter weather when we return! We look forward to lots of new learning with your children in 2016.

Monday News for Dec. 14th

On Friday the class had an opportunity to participate in The Hour of Code.  The Hour of Code is a global movement to try an hour introduction to computer science, reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Our class learned the beginnings of how to write code.  The children could choose from working on computer websites or apps created for I pads.  I have included a link to the website for you and your child to continue to explore and learn about writing code.  https://code.org/learn

This week we are wrapping up our unit on Life Long Ago.  Our culminating activity will be Colonial Craft Day on Thursday.  Thank you so much for all your generous donations!  It is great to have such supportive parents!  The children will be responding to a prompt about whether they prefer life today compared to long ago or vice versa.  They will need to explain their ideas based on what they have learned during this unit.  

In math we continue to explore the number line and different strategies for adding and subtracting using the number line.  If you are supporting your child at home with their homework and have any questions of your own, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Please don't forget library books on Wednesday.  We will not have Library again until after the break, so Wednesday will be a time when your child can take books home for the holiday break.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.  Have a great week ahead and THINK SNOW!  

Monday News for December 7th

In writing, students are finishing up and sharing writing prompts they have worked on. These prompts focus on a favorite place. We worked on having three reasons it is a favorite place and supporting each reason with details. We also worked on having introductions and conclusions for our writing. This week, students will get to work on another prompt about whether they would rather live long ago or today and why.

We continue to read books and learn about Colonial times, this week focusing on a general introduction of the conflict between the American colonists and Great Britain. We'll also look at some famous Americans of the time including George Washington, Ben Franklin and Paul Revere. Next Thursday will be our Colonial Craft Day from 1:15-2:30. Thank you to all who have volunteered to come in and signed up to send in materials!

As part of our December Number Corner, we've been creating surveys. Last week, we looked at favorite colors and favorite books. This week, students will come up with ideas for another type of survey we can do as a class.

Have a great week!