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.