Monday, February 24th

Welcome back from Mid-Winter Break! We had a busy couple of weeks leading up to break and will be picking right back up from where we left off in the coming weeks! Please make sure to pay special attention to the Important Dates at the end of this news blog post.

Reader’s Workshop

In Workshop the past couple weeks we have zoomed in on text features that are helpful to us as both readers and writers! We have taken a look at transition words, juicy words, supporting details in texts and illustrations that match the text. We have used several different mentor texts to demonstrate these different features. Our students have been challenged to find their own examples in their independent and partner-reading books. Our Share Time at the end of workshop has been vital in reviewing our learning target for the day, helping students to show their understanding of the text features. As we move into our personal narrative unit in Writer’s Workshop, being familiar with: transition words, juicy words, supporting details and illustrations that match the text will help our writers’ to be more successful.

Just a reminder – goal bags are NOT expected to be returned the next day and really should remain home for several days. Please take time reviewing the book(s) in the bags and focusing in on the goal. We are setting long-term goals. So while your child might be able to for example, read with great expression noticing punctuation with the text they brought home, please keep practicing this same goal with each additional book that comes home.  Most goals are strategies students need to be practicing with an adult at home.

Writer’s Workshop

In Writer’s Workshop we have been working on drafting our own personal narratives. Students generated seed lists for different experiences and events that have happened in their own lives (such as a plane ride to visit Grandma or a trip to get ice cream on a hot summer day). Students then worked on illustrating a storyboard that gave details from the beginning, middle and ending of their stories. Next we moved our writers’ into a series of lessons about “Good Leads”. A lead is something a writer uses to hook their audience. We have been working with writing: dialogue, setting, action, sound, wondering and questioning leads for our narratives. It has been exciting to confer with your children and see all of the growth they are making in their writing. They too are eager to share their narratives with myself and with the class.

Word Study

In Word Study we have taken time to practice working on making contractions. While our students are able to piece together two words, such as I and am to make “I’m” we are also looking to see a carry through in their writing with this skill. We have spent time looking at ways to break contractions apart into two words and how to put two words into one. We also took a look at the –er and –est endings that you can add onto words. We drew pictures to illustrate this concept.  Last we took at look at writing words in the past tense where you double the consonant and add the –ed ending. Students had practicing making words where they needed to do this. An example would be “skip”. To make the word “skip” in the past tense you simply double the “p” and add “ed” to make skipped.

Math Workshop

We spent these last few weeks immersed in two and three-dimensional shapes! We have talked about the features of both two and three-dimensional shapes. We learned key vocabulary words like: parallel, line segment, vertice, vertex, side, edge and face, as well as the names of many common two and three-dimensional shapes. We have built shapes from marshmallows and toothpicks. And we have compared three-dimensional shapes in a shape museum. We have taken a lot of time in workshop to write about shapes – noticing similarities and differences between shapes. Our students took their Unit 5 Assessment right before break.

Social Studies

In Social Studies we have been focusing on resources – human, natural and capital resources. Students have learned the differences through the homemade ice cream activity we did at school right before break. We talked about all of the ingredients that went into making our ice cream as our natural resources. We talked about the people involved in making the ice cream, our human resources. Then we talked about the tools we used to do this, our capital resources. The students LOVED making their own ice cream and many asked for the recipe at home, so here goes:

In a gallon Ziploc bag, fill it half way with ice cubes and 6T of Kosher salt.

In a small, sandwich size Ziploc bag you need 1/2c. milk (white or chocolate), 1T sugar and ¼ t. vanilla.

Zip up the smaller bag and place it inside of the big bag. Then zip up the gallon sized bag and proceed to shake it for a minimum of 5 minutes. After awhile you will notice that the ingredients within the smaller bag are getting a thicker consistency. Once you are done shaking up the big bag, remove the smaller bag and wipe off all of the excess water and salt! Then, you can open the smaller bag and enjoy the ice cream treat!

Science

Air and Weather is the focus for the last science unit.  The kids explored air using cotton balls, feathers, straws, baggies, paper, styrofoam balls, and balloons.  Many interesting inventions were made… a dancing cotton ball in the baggie and sucking up the objects using the straw, just to name a few.  The next lesson we made parachutes with napkins.  We discussed how air is ALL around the parachute, which helps it to land softly. 

Important Dates/Events

Monday, February 24- SCHOOL RESUMES!

Tuesday, February 25 –

Wednesday, February 26 – Market Day in Social Studies for 203 and 204. Please make sure your child returns the bottom portion of the flyer that came home for this day. Without a parent’s signature, your child will not be able to participate in our Market Day. We will not be making phone calls home if students are missing this paper. Your child should have 10 small objects to sell for no more than $2. Please make sure all items are labeled with a price tag. They can also bring $2 with them in change for shopping purposes.

Thursday, February 27 – 100^th Day of School! More info will come home, but your child will need to dress up as if they were 100 years old on Thursday! Nana Weckstein can’t wait to hang out with your old ladies and gents on Thursday. Start thinking now about those outfits – get creative and have fun!

Friday, February 28 – Economy Social Studies Test for 204. Study Guides came home before break. Please make sure your child has reviewed the concepts and is able to identify the terms in the glossary at the back of the packet.