Read Across America and St. Patrick's Day

We have had two full and busy weeks since we got back from Winter Break.  The first week back was Read Across America week.  We began the week with an assembly by Judy Pancoast, a local children's songwriter and performer.  The students enjoyed the song about stinky pickle feet and the one big eyeball.  She talked about how to write the lyrics for songs and where ideas came from.  During Writers Workshop, we wrote our own songs.  Some were even brave enough to perform their original hits.  During Read Alouds we read books from across the country and made a map to show the setting.

  

We have started my favorite reading unit of the year, We Are Avid Readers.  We are talking about how readers read all the time.  They bring books to appointments and in the car.  They read the cereal box.  They just love to read. 

We also started a unit of Opinion Writing.  We began by talking about how words have the power to change the world.  We can change things in our classroom, school, home, and neighborhood.  Some students have made signs about the bathroom (flush the toilet) or around the room (organize supplies). 

In math, we are working on teen numbers.  Students should be able to count to 20, identify numerals to 20, write numerals, and count 20 objects.  You can practice at home by counting steps, finding fun counting songs, writing in the snow with a stick, or counting small snack foods like goldfish. 

Report cards go home Friday, March 23, 2018.  Remember, you can keep the report card, just return the signed envelope.

Miss Jackson is doing her "solo" week so she is running the classroom this week.  I am in and out of the classroom, but she is in charge.  We are so lucky to have her.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We have been doing author studies.  We have learned about Mo Willems and, now we are learning about Dr. Seuss.  We are noticing the characteristics of the authors' books and trying to add those details in their own writing. 

In Math, we finished learning about addition and subtraction.  We will continue to practice fluency.  We are beginning to count to 20, recognize and write the numbers. 

We had a transportation unit and sorted the vehicles into categories like air, land, and sea.  We are learning about the job of a president this week.

We are continuing to practice reading and writing real cvc words.  Now we are adding in nonsense words.  Nonsense word practice helps us apply what we know about letter sounds to read new words.

Here are some of the books we have read: