Reading Workshop
Last week the students chose individual goals and worked in groups with other students who had chosen the same goal. They planned their work and met daily to discuss their progress and share their books. They told me they really enjoyed sharing with classmates this way. We also finished reading Gooseberry Park, by Cynthia Rylant, and the children completed an activity that identified their favorite parts of the book. These are on display in the hallway.
This week, we began reading January's Sparrow, by Patricia Polacco. This amazing story is set during the time of slavery in our country, and the protagonists are slaves who run away from their master. The children are asking and answering questions as we read, and they are striving to support their thinking with evidence from the text when they write. The story has initiated lots of wonderful discussions.
We also began a research study for Black History month. Each student chose a famous black American to study using books, videos, ebooks, and other digital research tools. They began the study by listing what they thought they knew about their topic in a schema packet. Next, they started researching. The children have learned that to take notes from a book, video, or ebook they have to stop and think and write their ideas. They are recording their ideas in their schema packet. When they finish their research, they will create a project about their topic. They will choose their project next week! Ask your child to tell you about his/her topic!
Writing Workshop
Last week the students began writing nominations for book awards. For example, they chose a book they felt strongly about and wrote what a judge might need to know to give that book an award. The children discovered that quotations from the text are helpful in supporting their opinions. We brainstormed awards they thought their books might deserve, such as Best Book About History for Kids Award, Laugh Out Loud Award, Most Colorful Pictures Award, etc, I am very impressed with their growth in opinion writing since we started this unit!
Math
We began working on Unit 4 in Investigations Math which involves the collection and representation of data. In this first investigation of this unit, students identified and sorted data by common attributes, including overlapping attributes, as they play Guess My Rule with the class and with Yekttis, a fictional set of creatures with a defined set of attributes. They organized and represented data, and they learned the conventions of picture graphs, bar graphs, and Venn diagrams. We will begin the second investigation next week. The students will work with numerical data as they collect information about the number of pockets worn by their classmates and the number of teeth lost by second graders and other elementary-age students. They will organize and represent numerical data, and learn the conventions of line plots. The children are having a lot of fun with these concepts!
Social Studies - Geography
Last week, the students learned about landforms and made a Landform book using the Book Creator app. Hopefully you've seen this on Seesaw. Next, they read their text book and watched videos about natural resources and how to conserve our resources. We did some activities to support this learning. They will take the written test about Geography next week.
Word Work
Last week’s word sort was the last of our study of r-controlled vowels. The children discovered that /ur/ says the engine sound, or rrrrrrrrrrrrr, just like the /er/ and /ir/ spelling we’ve already discussed. This makes spelling very challenging, and requires the children to use their eyes and ears to spell words. They must use their eyes to memorize if a word makes the rrrrrrrrrrrr sound with /ur/, /ir/ or /er/. They must also listen for sounds in words so they can try different spelling patterns, then see what looks correct! The children compared the /ur/ pattern with /ur_e/, which also says rrrrrrrrrr, and /-ure/ which makes the long u sound. Some students also learned that /ear/ can also say rrrrrrrrr, and -ere, ear, and eer make the long e sound.
This week, the children compared words that are spelled oy or oi. They discovered these two spelling patterns make the same sound, however the /oi/ spelling comes at the beginning or middle of a word or syllable. The /oy/ spelling comes at the end of a word or syllable.
Last week the students chose individual goals and worked in groups with other students who had chosen the same goal. They planned their work and met daily to discuss their progress and share their books. They told me they really enjoyed sharing with classmates this way. We also finished reading Gooseberry Park, by Cynthia Rylant, and the children completed an activity that identified their favorite parts of the book. These are on display in the hallway.
This week, we began reading January's Sparrow, by Patricia Polacco. This amazing story is set during the time of slavery in our country, and the protagonists are slaves who run away from their master. The children are asking and answering questions as we read, and they are striving to support their thinking with evidence from the text when they write. The story has initiated lots of wonderful discussions.
We also began a research study for Black History month. Each student chose a famous black American to study using books, videos, ebooks, and other digital research tools. They began the study by listing what they thought they knew about their topic in a schema packet. Next, they started researching. The children have learned that to take notes from a book, video, or ebook they have to stop and think and write their ideas. They are recording their ideas in their schema packet. When they finish their research, they will create a project about their topic. They will choose their project next week! Ask your child to tell you about his/her topic!
Writing Workshop
Last week the students began writing nominations for book awards. For example, they chose a book they felt strongly about and wrote what a judge might need to know to give that book an award. The children discovered that quotations from the text are helpful in supporting their opinions. We brainstormed awards they thought their books might deserve, such as Best Book About History for Kids Award, Laugh Out Loud Award, Most Colorful Pictures Award, etc, I am very impressed with their growth in opinion writing since we started this unit!
Math
We began working on Unit 4 in Investigations Math which involves the collection and representation of data. In this first investigation of this unit, students identified and sorted data by common attributes, including overlapping attributes, as they play Guess My Rule with the class and with Yekttis, a fictional set of creatures with a defined set of attributes. They organized and represented data, and they learned the conventions of picture graphs, bar graphs, and Venn diagrams. We will begin the second investigation next week. The students will work with numerical data as they collect information about the number of pockets worn by their classmates and the number of teeth lost by second graders and other elementary-age students. They will organize and represent numerical data, and learn the conventions of line plots. The children are having a lot of fun with these concepts!
Social Studies - Geography
Last week, the students learned about landforms and made a Landform book using the Book Creator app. Hopefully you've seen this on Seesaw. Next, they read their text book and watched videos about natural resources and how to conserve our resources. We did some activities to support this learning. They will take the written test about Geography next week.
Word Work
Last week’s word sort was the last of our study of r-controlled vowels. The children discovered that /ur/ says the engine sound, or rrrrrrrrrrrrr, just like the /er/ and /ir/ spelling we’ve already discussed. This makes spelling very challenging, and requires the children to use their eyes and ears to spell words. They must use their eyes to memorize if a word makes the rrrrrrrrrrrr sound with /ur/, /ir/ or /er/. They must also listen for sounds in words so they can try different spelling patterns, then see what looks correct! The children compared the /ur/ pattern with /ur_e/, which also says rrrrrrrrrr, and /-ure/ which makes the long u sound. Some students also learned that /ear/ can also say rrrrrrrrr, and -ere, ear, and eer make the long e sound.
This week, the children compared words that are spelled oy or oi. They discovered these two spelling patterns make the same sound, however the /oi/ spelling comes at the beginning or middle of a word or syllable. The /oy/ spelling comes at the end of a word or syllable.