Week of 11/28/2016

Ahoy! Sorry for the late post! I hope that your week has been off to a great start! We are working feverishly here at school to wrap up some of our learning before the Holiday Break. Here is what is going on.

Reading: We are continuing our unit on finding the central message or main idea of a text. Yesterday we finished reading Treasure in the Trees and worked on finding its central message. We teach the kids that the central message is what the author is trying to teach the reader. Today we will start with a new book titled About Earth. The end of next week we will be taking our reading assessment for this unit.

Math: This is our last week of Unit 2. The students are doing a great job of understanding the concept of multiplication. This week we are working on the concept of doubling and halving. We will be taking our unit test next week!

Writing: Students are continuing to work on their informational essays. We might be sending work home if we feel that it would help your child get their work done. Kids are working on the idea that there needs to be an intro, 3 details, and a conclusion. This works both for the entire essay as well as each paragraph!

Spelling: (Test Friday)
life
little
left
without
once
thought
another
house
took
animal
there
enough
know
something
these
find

Mystery Questions:
1. What's the birthstone for someone born in December?
2. What day is the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in Hawaii during World War ll?
3. On what day in December did the Write Brothers make their first flight?
4. "Jingle Bells" was originally written for what holiday?
5. If the Farmer's Almanac prediction states there will be snow fall on Christmas Day, what weather is predicted for Easter Sunday?
6. What is the first day of winter?

Stuff the Bus is happening this week! Please bring in cans! 

Thanks, 

Miss Irwin 

Week of 11/14/2016

Ahoy! Welcome to the last full week before Thanksgiving Break! I can't believe how fast time is flying by! Here is what you need to know for this week and next!

Reading- We are focusing heavily on main idea and central message in rooms 204/205. The focus of the last few days is finding text evidence that supports our main idea or message. We need to be able to "prove" why we believe what we believe. Today we started a new book titled Treasure in the Trees. As your students what they think Nisha's secret is!

Writing- Students are working on informational writing. This week they are picking and researching their topics. As your student what their topic is and what their subtopics are.

Math- We are continuing to power through Unit 2 in math. Our focus for this week is using our strategies of repeated addition, skip counting, and arrays to solve multiplication problems.

Spelling- (test Friday)
large
form
land
from
side
its
feet
without
home
different
boys
their
around
too
could
been

Mystery Questions:
1) What year was the first Thanksgiving celebrated?
2) Who organized the first Thanksgiving?
3) In what year did Thanksgiving become a legal holiday?
4) What does it mean when one lucky turkey gets a pardon every year on Thanksgiving?
5) What famous parade is on Thanksgiving Day?
6) What chemical is in turkey that makes people sleepy?
7) Which state consumes the most turkey on Thanksgiving?
8) What famous Thanksgiving food did Campbell's soup create 50 years ago?

Dates to Remember:
11/18 @ 6:00- Finding Dory Movie Night
11/21- Inventions are due
11/22 @ 12:50- Inventions Presentations

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 11/7/2016

Ahoy! What a beautiful week we are having. It feel like April not November! Here is a peek at what is happening in 204!

Reading: Today students took their Module 1 assessment. We will be starting Module 2 on Thursday. Module 2 will be looking at more non-fiction pieces of writing. I am excited to dive into the new materials!

Writing: Students are continuing to work on figurative language. Along with the new reading unit they will be starting a new writing piece on Thursday.

Math: We are continuing to work on the introduction to multiplication. We have been looking at how we can use multiplication to find the length of something (the door is 3 times as tall as the chair). We are also looking at multiplication as groups of something! Please start working with your child to learn their multiplication facts!

Spelling: (test Thursday)
which
children
important
form
keep
food
their
want
great
until
went
again
more
always
because
first

Mystery Question:
This week we are switching it up... instead of mystery questions please write a paragraph about why you think it's important to honor our country's Veterans on Veterans Day. Please include ways we can honor them besides our assembly.

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 10/31/016

Ahoy!

Can you believe it is NOVEMBER! Where did the time go? We have some great things coming up in the next few weeks.

Reading: This is our last week of module 1. We will start working on informational reading and writing here in the next week. The students have done a good job of understanding characters; their traits and motivations.

Writing: Students are learning all about figurative language. Yesterday the students learned about idioms. Yesterday Mrs. Blair passed out the students fictional narrative. As to be expected at this time of the year some students were surprised by the scores. Do not fret, students scores will improve the more they write :)

Math: This week we are beginning our unit 2 in math. We are focusing on the very beginnings of multiplication. We are looking at the idea that multiplication is just groups of things. Math homework will not be coming home the next few weeks, however, if you would like some work so that you can help your student at home please email me!

Homework: Over the next three weeks students will be working on their inventions. The first paper for the invention project is due TOMORROW!!!! We will be giving students an envelope to store their papers in over the course of this project. If you have any questions please feel free to email me. There will be no homework journal or math during this time.

Spelling: (test is Friday)
what
asked
always
want
world
help
school
each
going
show
right
important
around
there
write
another

Mystery Questions:
1) What is the purpose of Veterans Day?
2) What is the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day?
3) Where is the ceremony held in the U.S. to honor all who have died in war?
4) List three wars our nation has fought in.
5) What was the original name for veterans Day before the 1940's?

Events to Remember:
11/2- First handout for inventions due
11/3- School Picture Retake
11/10- Veterans Day Assembly @ 2:30
11/11- No School
11/21- Inventions are Due
11/23-11/25-Thanksgiving Break

Thanks,
Miss Irwin