Friday, December 15, 2017

Classroom Summary for December 11 - 15



Here's what we did this week...

In math we completed our fifth unit: working with subtraction up to 100. We observed that all of the strategies we learned working with double-digit addition worked "in reverse" for this subtraction unit. We used open number lines, but we counted up to subtract tens and counted back from right to left to subtract ones. We drew pictures as models using tens and ones drawings (sticks for tens and circles for ones) and crossed out what we subtracted instead of drawing more. When we needed to regroup, instead of making a ten with ones and trading them in for one ten, we were breaking a ten and to trade in for ten ones. We solved one and two-step problems too. Sometimes we needed to subtract in the first step and sometimes we needed to add. Sometimes we needed to do the opposite operation in the next step! We will continue working with addition and subtraction problems throughout the year; we will sometimes add money labels and sometimes we will add measurement labels! As we improve our math fact fluency our confidence with multi-step problem-solving will also improve.

In Miss Varrell's Fundations group, students finished working on their suffix unit and began working on the next unit about reading and spelling multisyllabic words. Students will learn how to "break apart" (syllabicate) longer words for more advanced decoding skills and will learn to spell (encode) multisyllabic words by applying learned spelling rules and patterns. This week we learned the "ic" spelling pattern: multisyllabic words ending with the sound "ick" are not spelled "i-c-k" but "i-c." In a monosyllabic word, it would be spelled "i-c-k." For example,

tick                mim/ic             sick             a/scor/bic           pick             com/ic

In Miss Varrell's reading group (and during writing workshop), students continued to work on their reading assessments. All elementary students take these district-mandated assessments throughout the month of December. These teacher-given "check-ins" are used to more accurately determine strengths and weaknesses in reading to help inform and target specific instruction. They are not computerized and children are given as much time as they need to complete their assessment.

When not working on their reading assessments, students learned more about two specific parts of speech: nouns and verbs. We learned about tenses (past, present and future) and how the endings of verbs must match the tense they are being written in. When we work with nouns we will be focusing on what a noun is and what it means when it is in its singular form or when it is in its plural form.

In Social Studies this week we made some of our culture presentations by sharing the information we collected on our family culture surveys. We haven't finished our presentations yet but we have learned that we have A LOT in common even though our family backgrounds may be very different--including having ancestors from different continents! We have talked about celebrating similar holidays, participating in similar traditions and religions, eating similar food and even having similar flag designs! We did, however, notice some differences between different cultures but the differences we noticed were interesting and we were curious to learn more (we sent some students home to ask more questions to bring us back more answers)! We will continue our exploration of culture next week. In many ways, it really is a small world!

F.Y.I. for Parents

  • First, second and third grade winter concert is Thursday, December 21st at 9AM. This concert is no longer than 45 minutes and children will return to class immediately following the performance. Children are asked to dress up. Parents are welcome to attend. It is usually a packed house... :)
  • Room 211's Secret Santa Activity begins this weekend (thank you for allowing your child to participate in this annual event). Please be sure to read the letter enclosed in your child's homework folder. It explains your child's responsibilities this week regarding homework messages and a gift. I have attached an example of a homemade gift that was actually made by a student for her secret pal (me!). You will notice that it is made with cardboard, covered in tin foil and decorated with illustrated pieces of construction paper and ribbon. The helpful hints that were given to the student for gift ideas were the following: favorite hobby--listening to music (see illustrations),  favorite food--pizza (round ornament) and favorite color--green (green illustrations). I still treasure this ornament. It is one of my all-time favorites. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. This activity is meant to be a fun and rewarding not stressful and overwhelming.  :)







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