Wow! I can't believe it's already December. I have loved the opportunity to work with every one of my students. My class has enjoyed learning about parts of a story (ie. characters, setting, plot, etc.) while at the same time comparing and contrasting stories, learning about facts, opinions and parts of speech. We've also done a lot of writing in class. I hope you had the opportunity to read your child's opinion papers that were sent home last week! My students did an amazing job writing them. We have done all this while studying the classic story Little Red Hen (and variations such as The Little Red Hen Makes Pizza, etc.), The Gingerbread Boy (and variations of the story from the Gingerbread Baby to the Gingerbread Cowboy.)--I think their favorite was the Gingerbread Man Loose in the School! Last week we studied the Grinch and how people can make positive changes in their lives. This week our learning is based on the Polar Express story and we are also learning about "Holidays Around the World". The students have made a suitcase and are traveling to other countries (classrooms) with their passport and boarding passes. They will have lots of fun learning about how various holidays are celebrated in different countries.
As far as math is concerned, my students are learning to write the numbers 1-120. They are also learning about 2-digit numbers, counting by 10s, the tens and ones places and adding 10s to other tens and ones (ie. 2+4=6, 20+40=60 and 20+4=24). They have learned various ways to "regroup". They are also learning about the "greater than", "less than" and "equal" signs. We will finish up our Math unit with our test on Monday. Wow, Math is sure getting harder, but I'm proud of my awesome students who know they can do hard things and they still keep trying!
Lastly, I'm impressed with the improvement each child is showing in regards to Reading. This next week I'll finish up testing my individual students. Please make sure to have your child keep reading while we are off track. I'll be testing reading levels again the week we track back on. I'm excited to see how each student improves during their off track time. Feel free to take advantage of the public library for fun books (at their reading level). If the books are too hard, frustration takes place and learning is minimized. Also, remember that repetition and comprehension is very important in the reading process. :)
I have such an amazing class of students eager to learn. As we get ready to track-off, I want to make you aware of some upcoming calendar and housekeeping items:
- We track off next Tuesday, December 22. Tuesday is a FULL DAY OF SCHOOL.
- This Friday is our school Polar Express Day. Students in our class are invited to wear pajamas! We have a full day of activities which concludes with the watching of the Polar Express Movie. Our room mother has arranged Hot Chocolate and a treat for our class. We also have some fun math and writing activities planned.
- No Spelling words this week! I'm taking advantage of this week to review High Frequency Words and to retest students for individual Spelling levels.
- As usual, please remember to send a nut-free snack every day Mon.-Thurs.
- With the snow outside, you may consider sending your child with snowboots or an extra pair of shoes and socks. A lot of children had cold, wet feet today. (Shoes must be worn at all times inside the building.) "Inside days" are based on the outside temperature, not the amount of snow on the ground. :)
Have a fun week and enjoy the snow!
~Mrs. Patterick