Reading: We enjoyed How the Grinch Stole Christmas in reading focus lessons. Kids compared and contrasted the original black and white version with the updated color version, listed adjectives to describe the Grinch at the beginning and the at the end of the story, and made text-to-self connections about what makes us grumpy and happy. Making connections is part of reading testing once kids reach level C/4.
Math: We started Topic 7 "Exploring Subtraction". Kids are learning how to show that a number of items have been taken away, then record the equation. They are realizing that the symbol for minus is a line and that it means "take away". It is awesome to see that they now understand counting one item at a time and what each number means. Writing: We learned how to make strong beginnings and endings in our stories and revise planning pages to publish for our writer’s celebration this week. Kids are using everything they have learned about writing to make their books the best they can be. Capital letters only at the beginning of sentences and special words are a must. Correct punctuation and in the correct place is expected. Word wall words have to be spelled correctly. Finally, the book should tell a true story from the child's life. Those who have a finished book will get to share during our Writing Celebration next week as well as receive a special prize. Sight Words: We practiced words from lists A and B using a program called "Fridge Magnets," and letter mats woth lowercase letters. We added new sight words to our word wall for reference. Our class goal for 16 of 20 students to know ALL 23 sight words from lists A and B by December 19 has not been met. Seven children have met our goal: Laura, Christian, Ryley, Landon, Clarity, Addison, and Jaylynn. Two are only four or five words away from reaching our goal. Our new goal for March is for 16 of 20 students to master lists A, B, and C. Kids must know these words to master reading level C/4 and D/6 by May. The word lists are under the parent informational links tab under the tab High Frequency Word Lists. Developmental Reading Assessments: I am currently completing reading testing. Many of my kids have moved up at least one level. Some who were not reading at all are now on a level. I'm proud of my kids who are reading well, and equally as proud of those who are at "Basic" or "Below Basic" because everyone starts with different skills and learns at a different pace. I did not do this on my own! YOU MATTER! Thank you for all of your hard work. Level C/4 is a difficult leap because I don't read the first page for the kids and there isn't a repeated pattern to the words. Keep reading and helping your child think about strategies used to decode words. Talk about the story before reading and after to be sure that they don't forget what they have read. A complete retell is part of passing level C/4. Applause: Everyone in the class has met our goal to master alphabet letters, capital and lowercase, as well as letter sounds. I haven't told the kids yet, but I will be bringing a special treat next week. This is a huge leap toward reading and writing! Important Dates to Remember December Book It Lists due before December 21st. November can still be turned in. If you and your child are reading, I want to give you credit with the free pizza. Wednesday, December 14th - Writing Assessment - Kids will be given an hour to write a narrative story using everything they have been taught: beginning, middle, end, capital letters at the beginning of sentences and special names, punctuation, word wall words, spacing, elaborate pictures, elaboration in writing. Thursday, December 15th - The Polar Express movie and pj day for our class only. We can use 2 gallons of milk, styrofoam cups, hot chocolate mix, and marshmallows. If you are able to send an item, please email me. Tuesday, December 20th - Topic 7 Math Assessment Tuesday, December 20th – Tiger Pride Assembly @ 2:45 Wednesday, December 21st - Christmas party 9:30-10:15 **Please send $2 - $3 next week to help our room mom with supplies! December 21st - Early Dismissal at 12:30, School-Wide PJ Day December 22nd - Christmas Break begins Weekly Theme: The Gingerbread Man
Shared Reading: Several versions of Gingerbread stories: The Gingerbread Boy, The Gingerbread Baby, The Gingerbread Girl, The Gingerbread Cowboy. Communication Arts: We worked with the following skills…
Our goal is for 16 out of 20 to master both lists by December 19th. Handwriting and Word Work: To go along with the weekly letter book we have started listing words that begin with the letter. The kids gave me words beginning with Nn and helped me spell them. We added pictures to help us read the words. These charts will be posted in the classroom as "anchor charts". Kids practiced forming Nn correctly. Writing: I told a story about putting our Christmas tree up, then only drew a tree for illustrations. Boy did the kids catch on that I needed to add me to the picture. They shot questions at me asking if I had ornaments, a star, presents. And where were the kids??? This turned out to be a fun lesson because they need to be adding elaborate details to their pictures - and they taught me how to do it! We talked about getting words to the page to tell the story that goes with their pictures and how to turn a boring beginning into an exciting beginning that grabs the reader and makes them want to hear more. Kids will have an hour next week to begin and complete a story for their narrative writing assessment. I'm doing this early so I have time to give kids a second chance if needed before the end of the quarter. You can help at home by asking your child to write a few sentences about their day. Help with stretching words to hear all of the sounds. Watch for spacing between words, capital letters only where needed, and sight words spelled correctly. Math: Kids revisited how to use patterns to solve addition. We practiced all we have learned in this unit in preparation for the assessment that was given Thursday. Scores are entered in Mastery Connect. Several students missed #4, #6, #7, and #8. I will be reteaching and re-assessing when I can to be sure kids understand the concepts. New scores will be updated in Mastery Connect. Our new unit beings Monday with Topic 7 Understand Subtraction. Flipping to subtraction is going to be confusing. Any time you can complete the homework page will help strengthen your child's understanding of the symbols and words. Ways to help at home: I've started second quarter reading assessments. To be considered on grade level your child will need to be reading at a level B2 or above. Have your child read to you every night. Focus on tracking print, reading exactly what is on the page (no adding words), and using the strategy Lips the Fish & Eagle Eye as the first means for decoding unknown words. We have used "Chunky Monkey" to look for chunks we know within a word to help us. Upcoming Events: Tuesday, December 6th – Hat Day Thursday, December 8th - Make It Take It Night @ 6:00 Friday, December 9th - Book orders are due Thursday, December 15th - Our classroom PJ Day and The Polar Express movie Wednesday, December 21st - School-wide PJ Day Classroom Christmas Party 9:30-10:15 Dismissal 12:30 |
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May 2019
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