Hello Weckie Families!!
It's been a few weeks but boy have we been busy on our end!! Thank you to all who have already sent in donations for our Food Drive at Dublin! Remember, we are collecting for Hospitality House in Walled Lake, to collect non-perishable foods. Our crew has already brought in a bunch of great items! This week your child will be bringing home their Unit 2 Math Assessment as well as some fun Thanksgiving goodies for you to enjoy with your families. The red books are something I have done for years, spanning back to my student teaching year with Laura Kauffman, and something I hope you can truly enjoy, share, and laugh about 15 years from now with your Weckie ... you'll see!
Readers' Workshop & Phonics
In Readers' Workshop we have wrapped up our first unit! We have been able to combine a bit of Phonics and Readers' as they have overlapped on similar topics! We have spent the last few weeks doing things like: working with vowel teams, spelling with familiar patterns, learning new words from the words we know with these patterns, looking at patterns in rhyming words (which can sometimes be spelled the same, and sometimes be spelled different - i.e. poor and more rhyme, but are spelled differently), and then used everything we know about rhyming words to find the rhyming patterns in a silly story called, "Knight School". Students have worked with partners and small groups to practice reading skills too! We are now moving into a non-fiction unit in readers, and a deconstructing big words unit in phonics!
Writers' Workshop
We have finally reached the conclusion of our small moments writing unit... yay! We are going to celebrate on Tuesday with a Publishing Party! Students have been deep in a revision cycle where they have spent time going back to the stories they have created to dig deeper and make sure they have all components of a small moment. Students have used a "Narrative Checklist" to check for things like: a detailed beginning, a setting, characters with feelings mentioned, a story that stretches across many pages, a story that stays in the moment, an ending that wraps things up and even attention to capitals, lowercase letters, spelling and punctuation! I am so excited to celebrate all of their hard work with them tomorrow!
Science
In Science we have successfully grown wheat seeds... in straws!! That's right, you read that correctly. I posed a question, "Can you grow a seed without soil?" and the ENTIRE class said no. We had spent so much time talking about the importance of the soil for our brassica plants that not much attention was given to the possibility of a plant, growing without soil. Yet, several (not all), but several students have successfully grown a wheat seed in a straw. Next we planted grass and alfalfa seeds which we will use to imitate a lawn! Students will be trimming their lawns this week to see if the grass and alfalfa will regrow back! To be continued...
Mathematics
In our Math learning we have dug deep lately with various addition and subtraction strategies. Students are learning to use a variety of ways to solve these problems so that ultimately they can choose the way that works best for them! In the Unit 2 Assessment coming home today, please make sure to take time to praise your child for all of their great work and learning. Please also make sure to review anything that was still confusing to them. Coins are for sure something many of our kids need extra practice with. Helper facts using doubles also comes up on the front page as a tricky things for kids to do, yet they are SO good at rattling off doubles facts and answers! These tests do not need to be returned to school.
Important Dates:
*Wednesday, November 22nd: Field Trip Permission Slip and $16 DUE
*Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24- NO School for Thanksgiving Holiday
*Wednesday, November 29th: Field Trip to the Walled Lake Outdoor Education Center - INFO will come home on Monday with a reminder of how to dress/what to pack, etc. ALL kids will need a brown paper bag type lunch - disposable items only please. Depending on weather, we'll make recommendations closer to the date for clothing attire as we plan to be outside on and off throughout the day!
*Thursday, November 30th: Conferences Sign-Up on Skyward
