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

Week of 10/24/016

Ahoy!

We have a very busy schedule this week with conferences. I am enjoying my time getting to sit and chit chat with you all.

Reading: We are finishing up the first Module in Unit 1 this week. We will be working on comparing and contrasting the stories we have read. We will continue working on a character's motivation and how it drives the story.

Writing: Students should be finished with the fictional narratives. If they are not they are coming home tonight to finish. Please return tomorrow. They will be in the purple folder if they are not finished and can be returned in the purple folder.

Math: We are starting unit 2 this week. This unit focuses on the basics of multiplication. The concept that multiplication is simply groups of something is a hot topic for the next few weeks. This week we are finishing up our Array Cities and then diving in the to first couple of lessons.

Spelling:
No spelling this week!

Homework:
No homework this week!

Reminders:
-Early release all week
-10/29 is the Harvest carnival. It is from 4 to 7. They are still in need of volunteers. You can sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48aeaa2aa1fe3-2016

Mystery Questions:
1) What are Mrs. Blair's two dogs named?
2) What big purchase did Miss Irwin buy recently?
3) What are Mrs. Blair's two daughters names?
4) What was the name of the rogue hamster who lived in the Blair family's wall?
5) What is the big event called where everyone gets to bid on items with Blairwin Bucks?
6) What is Mrs. Blair's favorite place to go in the whole world?
7) Where did Miss Irwin go to visit her sister last year (hint: it's in Europe)?

I will award $20 on Wednesday and Thursday if students would like to come ask me or Mrs. Blair a question.

Have a great week!
Miss Irwin

Week of 10/17/2016

Ahoy!

We have a wet and rainy week ahead of us! Here is what is happening in the classroom.

Reading:
This week we are studying a text called Thunder Cake. We have really been focusing on a character and their motivations, this week we will take a turn and look at how actions in a story change the character. Ask your student to retell the story to you!

Math: This is the last week of unit one! We are taking our unit 1 assessment this week and will be doing our unit 2 pre-assessment the end of this week! I am excited to move on and start diving into 3rd grade math!

Writing: This week we are really focusing on writing our realistic fiction narratives. Writing full pieces in 3rd grade is a big jump from writing in second grade. We are working on writing paragraphs in our pieces. We are also working on character/setting/problem/solution plan for our stories. Our workshop model supports having students at different stages of writing, but there is a general timeline that pieces need to be finished. If class time is not used efficiently you may see writing work come home in the purple folder.

Homework Prompt: What would happen if you could fly whenever you wanted? What would it be like? What would you do?

Spelling Words:
they
what
their
said
many
over
our
think
also
those
large
often
together
asked
house
don't

Reminders:
-Read n Quiz is up and running. If you go to the Lacamas Heights website and click on library links you will be able to access the Read n Quiz login page.
-I have 8 people currently signed up for conferences. Please fill out the pink form that went home on Thursday and return it in your child's purple folder.
-Next week is conference week, students will be released at 1:10 everyday.
-This is the last week for our box top competition.
-Friday is the Human Carwash.

Mystery Questions:

1)What three forms of precipitation can fall from the sky?
2)Which continent is the driest on earth?
3)What are forests that experience high levels of rainfall called?
4)Where are there rainforests in the world? Name three locations.
5) What's the record amount of rain ever recorded in Camas, WA?
6) How many inches of rain fell on Clark County this past weekend (Sat/Sun)?

Have a great week!
Miss Irwin

Week of 10/10/16

Ahoy!

Hope your week is off to a great start! With it being a short week here at school we are working hard to fit everything in! Just a heads up the cold is going around school. We are continually cleaning desks and washing hands. Please help your child get enough sleep to fight this stuff off! Here is what is going on...

Reading:
We are still focusing on a character's motivation and how it helps to move the story along. This week we are also starting to focus on the character's point of view. Our weekly focus this week is evaluate, this will come in handy as we are finishing up the Case of the Gasping Garbage. 

Writing:
This week we are finishing up our final drafts of the fall walk. Students are starting to write a fictional narrative. We will be breaking down each part of the narrative and diving in deep with characters, setting, and events in a story.

Math:
This will be our last week of Unit 1! Yay. The students have been doing very well. We have been working on double digit addition and subtraction; as well as choosing a strategy that helps them to solve the problem.

Spelling:
No spelling this week.

Homework Journal Prompt:
Write a scary story. Include characters, setting, beginning, middle, and end.

Mystery Questions:
1) Name the four oceans and seven continent (please spell them correctly).
2) What region of the country do we live in?
3) What is the object called that shows you direction?
4) Mexico is what direction from the United States?
5) Canada is what direction from the United States?
6) Which state is directly south of Washington?
7) Which state is directly east of Nevada?

Events to Remember:
Now-10/31: Box Top Collection
10/13- Human Carwash
10/14- No School

Thanks,
Miss Irwin

Week of 10/3/16

Ahoy!

Happy 5th week of school! We did a great job making it through the craziness of last week!

Math: This week we are continuing to work on adding and subtracting within 20. We are working on choosing strategies that are most accurate then efficient. One strategy that I am really trying to get students to have a deep understanding of is a number line. Stay tuned for an example of how to use a number line.

Reading: We are still working on how characters motivations drive a story forward. We are continuing to read The Case of the Gasping Garbage. When you are reading with your students at home ask them to explain the characters to you. Our weekly focus is on retelling. We are also working on turning nouns in to plural nouns.

Writing: Students are finishing their first pieces and will begin working on starting their fall walk pieces. They will be encouraged to use vivid vocabulary to explain what the saw, heard, smelt, and touched while on the walk.

Spelling: Mrs. Blair and I decided not to do pre-tests any more. So students will write their words in their planners on Monday afternoon. The spelling test will still be on Friday.

there
their
about
out
very
know
too
because
found
read
might
few
those
always
show
large

Homework Journal:
This weeks prompt is to describe one time that you felt proud of yourself. Please work with your students on using correct punctuation. Have you child read what they are writing out loud to help hear were the breaks need to be. Mrs. Blair and I would like to see the students really working on writing in paragraph form with more complex sentence structures.

Mystery Questions:
1) What is a Harvest Moon?
2) What weed causes the most common fall allergies?
3) What is the name of the hurricane going towards Haiti this week?
4) Which color leaves are actually caused by the presence of sugars from sap that is trapped inside of the leaves?
5) What kind of trees are those that lose their leaves?

Thanks!
Miss Irwin

P.S. We are starting to collect box tops! Please make sure to send them in with your student!