October 11th

Math: 

We have been reviewing key concepts from unit 1 which include strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems and graphing. We enjoyed surveying our classmates to collect data about favorite types of candy. Once the data was collected the students created bar graphs to represent their findings. 

Reading: 

This week we read a story called Yeh-Shen. Then we practiced identifying character traits to tell about the main character, and we practiced retelling the important parts of a story including the story elements. We also worked on describing how characters respond to major events and challenges. Our phonics lessons focused on long e vowel team syllable patterns: ee, ea, e, e_e, y, ey, i

Writing: 

We have been working on learning how to write to a text-based prompt that focuses on an opinion essay. The students have completed their planning while using a graphic organizer to share their findings about character traits that best describe Yeh-Shen. They have formulated their opinion, decided on two character traits, and they located evidence from the passage to support their thinking. 

Science: 

Our class worked in small groups to create a prototype of a zoo penguin habitat. The students tested out different materials to see which materials would serve as good insulators. After their prototypes were constructed we tested them out by placing a penguin (ice cube) into their habitat which was placed under a heat lamp. We recorded our observations, and we had a lot of fun!

October 6th

Reading: This week we started our new unit. This unit is called Characters Facing Challenges. We read the story “The Foolish Milkmaid.” Then we looked at the structure of the story and we made inferences about the character Molly in the story. During phonics we are working on long o words.

 

Writing: Our class wrapped up our informational writing about grasslands. In our new unit we are learning about how to write with the objective of stating our opinion while including evidence from a story to help support our opinion about a book character.

Math: This week we practiced reading and creating graphs. Then we began learning how to solve two step word problems. Please make sure to have your child practice the math facts 0-20 at home as often as possible. Thank you!

Science: Students conducted an experiment to observe what happens when an ice cube is under a heat lamp. We also started to test the materials we will use to help keep our ice cube penguins cold in their zoo habitat. We tested felt, bubble wrap, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, foam sheets, and black trash bags to see which materials kept the thermometer the coolest under the heat lamp.

September 27th

Reading: Our focus text in our reading magazine for this week was titled, “Filiberto in the Valley”. We used this story to continue our practice of retelling key details, determining the story elements, and clarifying the meaning of unknown words. We also read Chrysthanthemum to continue using context clues to help with new vocabulary words. Our phonics lessons this week were all about the various spelling patterns for the long a sound.

 

Writing: We continued working on writing our informational writing piece. Students have completed their introductions, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. We wrapped up the week by learning how to revise our writing to make it stronger. We learned about adjectives and then worked to add adjectives to our draft to make it more descriptive. 

Math: This week we learned how to read picture graphs and bar graphs. Students also practiced being able to answer a variety of questions from looking at the data in the graphs. Finally, we have been learning how to make the graphs from data in a tally table.

Science: Students conducted an experiment to observe the various properties of a group of materials. They recorded their observations about color, shape, texture, and flexibility. Then we learned how engineers could combine the materials together to create a pencil. Finally, students practiced how to make a scientific drawing with labels.

September 20th

 Reading: Our focus text in our reading magazine for this week was titled, “Habitats Around the World”. A few skills that we worked on this week include: asking questions, determining the main topic and supporting details, and comparing and contrasting 2 passages with similar topics.

Our phonics lessons worked on the following skill: Open and closed syllables

Math: This week we continued focusing on finding efficient strategies to solve both addition and subtraction problems. We’ve been working on using number bonds, open number lines, and count on / count back strategies. We took our Mid-Unit 1 test, and our next lesson topic is data and graphing.

Class Meeting: We love learning about our classmates during our daily class meetings. On Wednesdays we think it is fun to have the topic of “Would You Rather Wednesdays.” Our teacher leader records our responses and then shares the results at the end of our meeting.

Science: This week we started our first science unit, “A Home for a Penguin!”  In this unit we learn about the 3 states of matter, properties of materials, and insulators and conductors.  This week we have been learning about ways to describe and classify materials by their observable properties. 

Writing: We began our first informational writing piece.  We are all writing about the grasslands.  We have learned about the grasslands in Africa, North America, and Australia and have written notes from a text and a video on the topic.  We then determined subtopics that we will have for our 2 body paragraphs on the Grasslands (Savannas and Prairies).

We visited the library this week for a lesson with Mrs. Levine. The students are welcome to bring back their library books any day of the week so they can exchange them for new ones. We have even been learning how to order library books from our ipads. After using our ipads to order a book from our school library it shows up on the student’s desk. It’s like Amazon for our classroom! 

Our class celebration was so much fun! The students each got to share with the class about the item they brought in. Then we took a little time to play. :) 

September 13th

Reading: Our focus text for this week was titled, Emperor Penguin Habitat.” A few skills that we worked on this week include: asking questions, creating mental images, and rereading to clarify or confirm our understanding. Our phonics lessons worked on the following skills: short vowels, initial and final blends, and consonant digraphs. 

Writing: We began learning how to write to a text based prompt. We learned about how to research and take notes to write an informative essay. We gathered our information from both the passage we read during reading time titled, Emperor Penguin Habitat and a video about emperor penguins, as well. This week we also began learning how to type using our keyboards.

Math: Our class has been focusing on finding efficient strategies to solve both addition and subtraction problems. We’ve been working on using number bonds, open number lines, and count on / count back strategies. If your child would like to practice their math facts at home, they can use the information found in their green take home folder to login on xtramath.com. 

Social Emotional Learning: This week our main topics were showing compassion and predicting feelings.