Pen Pal Skype

We had a great time "meeting" our new, cross-country pen-pals this week. It was also the first time we used my brand new microphone that I won at tech camp over the summer.

Click on the link below to see more pictures from this exciting event! My class was very eager to write another letter to their new friend after "meeting" them.

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Weekly Update - September 27

We are already in the final week of September! How did that happen so quickly?

This will be a busy week in class. Here is what we will be learning:

Math - We will begin working on our "Arithmetic Developed Daily" also known as ADD Math. This is a math skills maintenance program that will be used throughout the self-contained program to keep math skills sharp and fresh. In Math class we also begin our "Three-Minute Addition Challenge" much to the delight of my returning students! Each day students will get a sheet of 100 addition problems (0 - 12) and they have three minutes to complete it. Once they earn 100% in three minutes (or less) then they have passed the challenge and will not take the test any longer. They will also get to choose a prize and we will have a little celebration when we stop doing the addition challenge in a month or so. While these basic math facts are easy for most of the students, this is good test taking practice and gets them to learn their math facts so they know them without having to stop and think about them.  I sent home extra practice sheets on Friday if students want to practice at home.  There is some test anxiety that comes with timed tests but we talk about that in class and will be practicing some calming techniques and deep breathing activities. 

Language Arts - We will be forging ahead with our Roald Dahl author study. Students will complete a Roald Dahl webquest and we will continue reading and discussing several of his books.

We will also be Skyping with our 2nd grade pen-pal class in Massachusetts. They will be mailing us some colorful fall leaves and we are going to compare the differences between autumn in the Sonoran Desert and autumn in New England. Returning students are very excited to have another new long-distance pen-pal for the year!

Social Studies - We will wrap up our study of Johnny Appleseed this week by creating a giant timeline of his life and taking a summative post-assessment.

Science - This should be an exciting week in science! We are going to do an experiment which will demonstrate osmosis. On Friday, ask your student what osmosis is and ask for an example. We will also be learning about the autumnal equinox.

Have a wonderful week! Please email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Wordle!

A wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently. Students also have the ability to change the font, layout, color, background and other details. 

We had a great time learning how to use Wordle this week. Look for Wordle as an option in future homework assignments! 

We're halfway there!

We are officially halfway through the first quarter. Mid-term grades have been posted in Infinite Campus. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Roald Dahl Book Report

The very first book report of the year was assigned today. Since it is Roald Dahl Month each student has an approved Roald Dahl book to read for this report. The detailed assignment and book were sent home today and is due on or before October 18. Students will also take a comprehension test after they have finished reading their book and are encouraged to let me know when they finish so they can be assessed while the material is still fresh in their mind. We discussed the book report very thoroughly in class, but students and parents are encouraged to ask any questions. Our Roald Dahl book report will be grades based on the following rubric:

Poster Book Report Rubric

Thank You!

My amazing schnauzer gift basket! I love it!

Wow, thank you for my amazing birthday gifts! I LOVE the schnauzer gift basket! It is so personal and thoughtful! The kids had a hard time keeping it a secret all week, but they did a great job!

I will be out of the classroom tomorrow, Monday and Wednesday at an L to J training. Every teacher in the school will be trained on L to J within the next few weeks and I am excited to learn more about it and implement it in my classroom.

Please note, next Tuesday, September 21 is an early release day.

Next week instead of spelling homework, there will be various math activities for the students to do. The list will be sent home Monday.

Finally, Maria Goldring (one of the room parents), is compiling information to create a class list with student names, phone numbers and addresses. This should make play-dates and birthday parties a little easier to schedule. If she does not currently have your information and you are interested in being a part of this list, please email her at msgoldring@aol.com.

Thanks again for the wonderful birthday surprise! Have a wonderful weekend and feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.

Thank You SSES PTO!

We are so lucky! We were the very first class to use the amazing, beautiful, brand new MacBook cart. Thank you PTO! We broke in the new laptops learning about Johnny Appleseed by doing a webquest.

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The First Friendly Friday of the Year!

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Labor Day Week

The schedule for the rest of this week:

Wednesday: School store during lunch

Thursday: No school, K-12 recess

Friday: Our very first "Friendly Friday!" Parents are welcome to join us in the classroom from 9:15am - 9:45am to read a book with their child. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Homework is also due this Friday, and was distributed last Friday. Regarding the "Super Bonus Challenge", if students choose this option, that is all they are required to do, but they are expected to do a thorough job and present their work to the class. Sometimes students are eager and zealous for more work though, so of course they are welcome to go above and beyond and do numerous assignments, as several students already turned in today.

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Happy Labor Day!

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Happy Labor Day!

We began studying Labor Day this week as part of our Social Studies unit. We learned about community workers, jobs and the history of Labor Day. On Wednesday, students started working in small groups researching different industries. They learned things like what education and training was needed to do certain jobs, salary information and requirements of the job. Students then presented their findings to the class.

These girls researched the field of broadcasting - my former industry!

This group learned all about becoming a pediatrician. 

We will continue our Labor Day unit through next week. Spelling lists and homework were sent home yesterday and are Labor Day themed. Due to the short week, homework is not due until next Friday, September 10.

We enjoyed growing crystals with epsom salt so much, we decided to grow a different type of crystals this week. This time we used alum which is a slower process than our previous experiment.

This group is observing some alum crystals, just starting to form. 

The crystals are hard to see at this point, but by looking closely these students were able to observe them. 

We are hoping by next week, the crystals will be a bit bigger and we will be able to tie them to a string so they grow even larger!

Enjoy your holiday weekend!