Party rock during one of our recent indoor recesses. Ah, the joy of youth.
Hello,Here's what we're working on this week:
Reading: We will continue to work on retelling in our shared and guided reading. I am now routinely meeting with our reading groups to discuss reading strategies, features of texts, and other areas that will improve decoding and comprehension.
Oral: We will be doing some choral reading activities that will target high frequency words.
Media: We will finally return to our commercials. Our class will be presenting an assembly on Responsibility this week and we will create various media texts to show how we will be highlighting ways to be responsible to the ecosystem.
Writing: Students have started working on their planning of their personal recount. We will also be working more as a class to write a simple recount together.
Math: Subtracting, subtracting, subtracting. This is proving to be a big concept for our class - especially for the Grade 1s who are just learning about what it means to "take away." We will go slowly. Please support what we are doing in class by helping your child with subtraction questions at home. Use number lines, or homemade counters such as dried beans or buttons. Grade 1s can make piles of 10 and you can say: "What's 10 take away 8?" Have them take 8 away and count the difference. Grade 2s can do the same thing, but with slightly higher numbers e.g. up to 20.
Social Studies: This week, Grade 1s will learn more about community helpers and our 2s will begin investigating Celebrations and Traditions when they learn about Dia de los Muertos (Mexican Day of the Dead). We will be getting crafty. Should be fun.
Science: What are all the things a plant needs to survive? What are all the things an animal needs to survive. Last week, students filled out their very first Venn Diagrams with a partner. I was very pleased with the results. This week, they will hypothesize what will happen if we trap a plant inside a pop bottle. Can it survive if it is only watered once in its life? They will create a pop bottle terrarium and find out.
Homework:
Grade 1s
1. Printing the letters k and l
2. Math sheets - adding and subtracting
3. Book reading 10+ minutes a night
4. Spelling words -at family, along with three other words
Grade 2s
1. Is it fiction or non-fiction?
2. Math sheet - adding through problem solving
3. Reading 15 + minutes a night
4. Spelling words -eck family, along with three other words
That's all. Have a terrific week.
Erin Hawkins
