Thursday, March 27, 2014
Art Night Tonight! March 27th
Come by the gym to see student artwork in frames. They are availalbe for purchase. The money raised goes to buy art supplies for our fabulous art teachers. I will be working it!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Library Checkout March 31-April 4
There will be no library check out next week. The library will be counting inventory from the 31st to April 4th. Checkout will resume the week after Spring Break. Please make sure your child checks out a new book this week. Students should remove their book from their bookbag and put it on the kidney table in the morning.
Thanks,
Mrs. Daugherty
Thanks,
Mrs. Daugherty
Eagle Cam
Berry College has a live eagle camera. We watched some of it while students were working at their seats. Here is the link if you want to watch the eagles at home!
http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Sunday, March 16, 2014
March 16th School Family Update
Writing
Last week, students had a few free writing days. They could choose the topic, but they had to write 3 sentences with capitals and endmarks. Students are working on developing their topic and writing and illustrating for at least twenty minutes.
Lucy Calkins is the name of a writing series the school has provided teachers with this year. She describes persuasive writing as 1) seeing a problem 2) deciding the audience 3) writing about a solution. We used these stages to develop writings on seeing trash on the playground. Sadly, there have a been a few occasions where a student sees a water bottle or something left on the fields. The class agreed this was a problem. Each student chose if they wanted to write a letter to Mr. Pinnock, teachers, or students/kids. Then, they wrote their opinion and reasons trash should be picked up. Talk with your student about the reasons they gave. Students wrote a rough draft and conferenced 1:1 with me where I gave them a compliment and a goal Next week, students will edit and publish this piece of writing.
Reading
Students read animal books in our guided reading groups last week. They brought them home in their book in a bags, and the books are now in their book boxes in the classroom. We continue to work on the five handy helpers when they come to a word they don't know. 1) sound it out 2) look for chunks 3) think about what makes sense 4) get your mouth ready 5) check the picture.
Students visited literacy centers last week and will visit centers again this week.
Science
The past two weeks students have been learning about animals. Students learned to sort animal by their movement and body covering. We built on that topic by learning more about animal habitats. Students worked in groups to learn about a habitat through library books. They studied the pictures to learn about the animals that lived their and aspects of the habitat. Next, students worked together to create a picture representing their habitat. Finally, they taught our class and Ms. Jones class about their habitat. It was a great opportunity for students to learn to work together and share as a group. Pictures will be uploading soon!
Next week, we start our parent/offspring unit. Students will learn to identify similarities and differences between animal parents and animal babies. Most students already have this knowledge so we are extending the curriculum. Each student drew a picture of an animal they want to learn more about. I checked out library books about each animal. Students will read the books and use a website called PebbleGo to gain more knowledge about their animal. What are babies called? What's the animal's habitat? What does it eat? Then, they will take this information and make a small book about their animal. These will be put in our classroom library so students can read and learn about each others' animals as well.
Math
Last week, students learned how to decomopose numbers. We said a chant "Decompose, break a number down, break a number down." Students learned there are multiple ways to make a number. For example, 6+1=7, 5+2=7, 0+7=7, etc. Students rolled counters out of a cup to find different combinations to make the same number.
At the end of the week, students learned the various ways to make ten. This is a separate standard, and students should be able to find the missing number or addend. For example, 8+___ =10. We practiced the counting on strategy, using a ten frame, and learning about the ten best friends. The ten best friends are fun stories to help students memorize combinations of numbers that equal ten.
0 & 10 They are best friends because they have a lot in common.
1 & 9 Nine has muscles and one does not. They go to the gym together.
2 & 8 Two tells eight how many circles he has in his body.
3 & 7 They are both open numbers.
4 & 6 They both look like noses and enjoy talking about noses.
5 & 5 They are twins.
This week students will practice fluently adding and subtracting with numbers 0-5. Now is the time to start practicing these skills at home. You can use flashcards or create a game to review the equations. It is okay if students still use fingers to solve the equation.
Other
Students will be going to the science lab on Monday, March 17th as well as making leprachaun traps!
<3 Mrs. Daugherty
Last week, students had a few free writing days. They could choose the topic, but they had to write 3 sentences with capitals and endmarks. Students are working on developing their topic and writing and illustrating for at least twenty minutes.
Lucy Calkins is the name of a writing series the school has provided teachers with this year. She describes persuasive writing as 1) seeing a problem 2) deciding the audience 3) writing about a solution. We used these stages to develop writings on seeing trash on the playground. Sadly, there have a been a few occasions where a student sees a water bottle or something left on the fields. The class agreed this was a problem. Each student chose if they wanted to write a letter to Mr. Pinnock, teachers, or students/kids. Then, they wrote their opinion and reasons trash should be picked up. Talk with your student about the reasons they gave. Students wrote a rough draft and conferenced 1:1 with me where I gave them a compliment and a goal Next week, students will edit and publish this piece of writing.
Reading
Students read animal books in our guided reading groups last week. They brought them home in their book in a bags, and the books are now in their book boxes in the classroom. We continue to work on the five handy helpers when they come to a word they don't know. 1) sound it out 2) look for chunks 3) think about what makes sense 4) get your mouth ready 5) check the picture.
Students visited literacy centers last week and will visit centers again this week.
Science
The past two weeks students have been learning about animals. Students learned to sort animal by their movement and body covering. We built on that topic by learning more about animal habitats. Students worked in groups to learn about a habitat through library books. They studied the pictures to learn about the animals that lived their and aspects of the habitat. Next, students worked together to create a picture representing their habitat. Finally, they taught our class and Ms. Jones class about their habitat. It was a great opportunity for students to learn to work together and share as a group. Pictures will be uploading soon!
Next week, we start our parent/offspring unit. Students will learn to identify similarities and differences between animal parents and animal babies. Most students already have this knowledge so we are extending the curriculum. Each student drew a picture of an animal they want to learn more about. I checked out library books about each animal. Students will read the books and use a website called PebbleGo to gain more knowledge about their animal. What are babies called? What's the animal's habitat? What does it eat? Then, they will take this information and make a small book about their animal. These will be put in our classroom library so students can read and learn about each others' animals as well.
Math
Last week, students learned how to decomopose numbers. We said a chant "Decompose, break a number down, break a number down." Students learned there are multiple ways to make a number. For example, 6+1=7, 5+2=7, 0+7=7, etc. Students rolled counters out of a cup to find different combinations to make the same number.
At the end of the week, students learned the various ways to make ten. This is a separate standard, and students should be able to find the missing number or addend. For example, 8+___ =10. We practiced the counting on strategy, using a ten frame, and learning about the ten best friends. The ten best friends are fun stories to help students memorize combinations of numbers that equal ten.
0 & 10 They are best friends because they have a lot in common.
1 & 9 Nine has muscles and one does not. They go to the gym together.
2 & 8 Two tells eight how many circles he has in his body.
3 & 7 They are both open numbers.
4 & 6 They both look like noses and enjoy talking about noses.
5 & 5 They are twins.
This week students will practice fluently adding and subtracting with numbers 0-5. Now is the time to start practicing these skills at home. You can use flashcards or create a game to review the equations. It is okay if students still use fingers to solve the equation.
Other
Students will be going to the science lab on Monday, March 17th as well as making leprachaun traps!
<3 Mrs. Daugherty
Safety Town: Fire Safety
Students went into a little room to learn about a firefighter's uniform. They learned about the purpose of each piece. The most important lesson is to not run away from a firefighter when you see them. They look different and sound funny, but you should give them a big hug. Keke was asked to help show the class how to stop, drop, and roll in case your clothes got on fire. The firefighter also reminded students to cover their eyes/face when they roll.
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Last, we went outside to learn more about the firetruck and hear its loud siren.
Safety Town: Police
First, we went into a room and listened to the officer. She told students the importance of knowing your parents' names, your phone number, and the name of the street that you live on. These are appropriate expectations for a 5 year old. Please review these skills with your child at home. They also learned about what to do if they see a gun (don't touch and tell an adult.) They saw pictures of a pink gun, hello kitty gun, black gun, and camo gun. They were all real even the ones that look like toys. Students also briefly learned about good touch, bad touch. Any touch that makes you feel uncomfortable you shoudl tell a parent, teacher, or grown up you trust. Lastly, students learned about strangers. There are good strangers and bad strangers. Always get a grown up if a stranger is trying to talk to you.
Safety Town: Bus Ride & Arrival
We took our second field trip on March 4th to Safety Town. Safety Town is in Roswell and teaches students about safety. We visited with a police officer, firefighter, and then rode and walked around the town. I broke up the posts because there are alot of pictures. Thank you to Andrea, Megan, and Renee for volunteering on our field trip. It is a busy one!
When we arrived, we had to wait for a few minutes for the first group to finish. Students talked and sang songs. Keke and Jesse led the group in Frozen's "Let it Go."
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Book Buddies
We are excited to tell you we have book buddies! We are book buddies with Ms. Ellsworth's 3rd grade class. They have come twice. The first time was on Read Across America Day, and the second was last Friday. The students are paired up and take turns reading to each other. Our class gets to read their book boxes which are leveled books from our reading groups. The goal is for students in both classes to build a relationship and increase their love of reading. They also get to sit wherever which the kids love!
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Dr. Seuss Week
Students enjoyed the themed week. Here is our class on our PJ Day. The silly picture seemed more fitting. We also had lots of wonderful guest readers. Thank you to those who volunteered to read to our class. They loved guessing who the next mystery reader was and hearing new Dr. Seuss stories. Sorry I didn't get pictures of everyone!
At snack time, the kids has a Suess inspired snack thanks to Andrea and Megan, our room parents. It was inspired by Hop on Pop, Green Eggs and Ham, 1 Fish 2 Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The Lorax and Cat in the Hat. The kids loved it! They also received Cat in the Hat hats and pencils.
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