Hello Room 32 Parents
We made it through February and I am hoping there are no more big snow storms in the forecast. Last week was a long week for all of us since it was our first full week in a long time. I am excited to begin another week with the class without any snow days or delayed openings. (Keeping my fingers crossed!!)
I am amazed at the progress the students have been making. They have become so much more familiar and comfortable in their subject areas and are beginning to be more independent learners.
Below is a brief summary of what we have been up to over the last month:
Literacy:
Students should be continuing to practice any sight words they may have in their reading bags along with their books. Encourage your child to practice writing sight words as well as reading them. This is a much harder task but will help them in their writing. In the classroom we continue to work in small literacy groups to focus on reading strategies and word work. We have been working a lot with word families and trying to find familiar chunks in words.
We have begun a new unit in our writing curriculum called "How-To" books. Students are learning to correctly order and write steps to teach their readers how to accomplish different tasks. Please help your child brainstorm some ideas that they may like to write about for this topic. Some examples are: riding a bike, making your bed, making a PB&J sandwich, getting ready for school, brushing your teeth, etc.
Math:
In math we have been working on number sentences both addition and subtraction. We have also been practicing solving word problems by drawing and labeling pictures to match and trying to write the number sentence that goes along with it. We have also been learning about volume, more than/less than, and comparing numbers.
Science:
We had an in class field trip for science and the company High Touch High Tech came and taught the class about magnets. The students were very engaged in the experiments and they all had a great time!
We are nearing the end of our properties unit and will begin learning about shelters and constructing our own shelters for humans. You will be receiving a letter shortly regarding this. We will be asking for some supplies to be donated to the classroom to support this unit.
Social Studies:
We are just finishing up our topic on Our School Community. We learned about the many people who make up our school community and the many jobs we all have within our school community. We have also discussed how we each can help each other accomplish our jobs at school and listed ways we could be helpful school community members.
Other News:
I just wanted to thank all of you for all that you do to foster your child's learning at home and for making sure they are ready for school each day!
On Friday as a school we were giving the book "Masterpiece" by Elise Broach. The class was very excited as I read the first two chapters to them. Included in the letter that came with the book was a link to a podcast where you and your family can listen to the chapters being read. The link is http://fhbigread2014.weebly.com
Our second marking period is coming to a close and progress reports will be issued towards the end of March and conferences are the first week in April.
