Sunday, March 22, 2015
Prizes Needed
Our prize box/eaglet store is in need of some more prizes. Items can be small. It can be something in goood shape from home or items from the store. Party souvenirs and Target's dollar shop are go to spots for me! Thanks in advance for your help!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
School Family Update 3.16
Students and teachers are back into a routine from the many days off of school the past few weeks. Below you can find what we are working on in each subject.
Reading
Last week, students went to literacy centers. In small groups, we read leveled books. Students continue to practice decoding words and answering comprehension questions. We also practiced sounding out words/sentences and matching it to the correct picture. In whole group, we discussed singular and plural words. Students sorted pictures and words into these 2 categories. Students defined singular as only one and plural as more than one. They looked for the clue of an -s on the end to determine if it was plural. However, we also discussed words like bus which is not plural.
This week in whole group we will review opposites and onset & rime. Ms. Fragale our technology coach will visit, and the class will skype with a local libraian. For onset and rime, students will practice breaking a word into 2 parts (beginning then the first vowel and the rest of the word.) Some examples are: brown = br own; dog=d og; butterfly=b utterfly; stamp= st amp. In small group, students will continue to read books. At centers, students will use a new website www.mobymax.com. They will take a pretest and then for every time they log in they will get reading/math practice at their level. I am excited to try this new resource.
Writing
Last week, students wrote about the best superpower. We listened to theme song from The Incredibles and went through the entire writing process. Students practiced editing/revising and LOVED using red pens. They keep asking when they can use them again. On Friday, they wrote their final draft. There work will be displayed in our room.
This week, students will choose a topic for persuasive writing and go through the writing process again. Their final draft will be kept and graded as their assessment for the persuasive genre. I will be looking for a topic sentence/opinion, 2-3 reasons to support their opinion, spaces, capitals, endmarks, and phonetic spelling. An exceeding grade will come from including a closing. We will also be illustrating our book project throughout the next two weeks.
Science
We began our unit on animals. Students learned how to identify living or nonliving things and defend why something is living/nonliving. We completed a chart together where we had pictures of items and asked questions like "Does it need food/water?" "Does it move?" "Does it grow and change?" "Does it breathe?". Students also completed part of the assessment when they sorted pictures by animal parts and animal movements.
Next week, students will complete the assessment on body coverings (fur, scales, feathers). The class will complete a KWL chart about what we know and want to know about animals. The rest of the week will be sent discussing and researching animal habitats.
Math
Last week students practiced different ways to make the same number. On Monday, students shook 2 sided tokens and recorded the result in the form of an equation. They noticed every time they got the answer of 8. On Tuesday, students used cube towers of 9 and 10 and found different ways to make that number with 2 colors. For example, 8+1, 5+3, 4+5, 9+0. Wednesday-Friday we worked with the number 10 to find the missing addend. For example, 2 +___ =10 or 5+___=10. We have worked on a few different strategies to find the answer. Studends learned to count on (put the first number in your head and count how many more you need on your fingers). We used a ten frame, and students learned to put the first number in the ten frame and count the empty spaces to find how many more you need.
The last way students learned was Best Friends of Ten where each pair that adds to 10 had a story. This is a fun way to memorize.
Best Friends of Ten:
10 and 0 are best friends because they have a lot in common.
9 and 1 are best friends because 9 has muscles and 1 admires him so they go to the gym together.
8 and 2 are best friends because 2 counts the number of circles 8 has.
7 and 3 are best friends because they are both open shapes.
6 and 4 and best friends because they both look like noses.
5 and 5 are best friends because they are twins.
Whichever way a student prefers works for us! All strategies may be used on the assessment.
This week we will be reviewing addition and subtraction skills with leveled games and worksheets.
Behavior
Last week many students had to move their clips. The class was extremely talkative and many were "wild" in the lunchroom. Please continue to reinforce expectations for school at home. We are still 3 weeks away from spring break. We will continue to be consistent with expectations in the classroom and reward good choices. Last Friday, students who had green all week were invited to eat lunch and watch a movie in classroom with me.
Important Dates
March 19th Sky Zone
March 26th Picture Day
March 31st Author Party 8:00-8:45am
April 3rd STEM Day
April 6-10th Spring Break
April 13th Field Trip to Cagle Farm
~Mrs. Daugherty
Reading
Last week, students went to literacy centers. In small groups, we read leveled books. Students continue to practice decoding words and answering comprehension questions. We also practiced sounding out words/sentences and matching it to the correct picture. In whole group, we discussed singular and plural words. Students sorted pictures and words into these 2 categories. Students defined singular as only one and plural as more than one. They looked for the clue of an -s on the end to determine if it was plural. However, we also discussed words like bus which is not plural.
This week in whole group we will review opposites and onset & rime. Ms. Fragale our technology coach will visit, and the class will skype with a local libraian. For onset and rime, students will practice breaking a word into 2 parts (beginning then the first vowel and the rest of the word.) Some examples are: brown = br own; dog=d og; butterfly=b utterfly; stamp= st amp. In small group, students will continue to read books. At centers, students will use a new website www.mobymax.com. They will take a pretest and then for every time they log in they will get reading/math practice at their level. I am excited to try this new resource.
Writing
Last week, students wrote about the best superpower. We listened to theme song from The Incredibles and went through the entire writing process. Students practiced editing/revising and LOVED using red pens. They keep asking when they can use them again. On Friday, they wrote their final draft. There work will be displayed in our room.
This week, students will choose a topic for persuasive writing and go through the writing process again. Their final draft will be kept and graded as their assessment for the persuasive genre. I will be looking for a topic sentence/opinion, 2-3 reasons to support their opinion, spaces, capitals, endmarks, and phonetic spelling. An exceeding grade will come from including a closing. We will also be illustrating our book project throughout the next two weeks.
Science
We began our unit on animals. Students learned how to identify living or nonliving things and defend why something is living/nonliving. We completed a chart together where we had pictures of items and asked questions like "Does it need food/water?" "Does it move?" "Does it grow and change?" "Does it breathe?". Students also completed part of the assessment when they sorted pictures by animal parts and animal movements.
Next week, students will complete the assessment on body coverings (fur, scales, feathers). The class will complete a KWL chart about what we know and want to know about animals. The rest of the week will be sent discussing and researching animal habitats.
Math
Last week students practiced different ways to make the same number. On Monday, students shook 2 sided tokens and recorded the result in the form of an equation. They noticed every time they got the answer of 8. On Tuesday, students used cube towers of 9 and 10 and found different ways to make that number with 2 colors. For example, 8+1, 5+3, 4+5, 9+0. Wednesday-Friday we worked with the number 10 to find the missing addend. For example, 2 +___ =10 or 5+___=10. We have worked on a few different strategies to find the answer. Studends learned to count on (put the first number in your head and count how many more you need on your fingers). We used a ten frame, and students learned to put the first number in the ten frame and count the empty spaces to find how many more you need.The last way students learned was Best Friends of Ten where each pair that adds to 10 had a story. This is a fun way to memorize.
Best Friends of Ten:
10 and 0 are best friends because they have a lot in common.
9 and 1 are best friends because 9 has muscles and 1 admires him so they go to the gym together.
8 and 2 are best friends because 2 counts the number of circles 8 has.
7 and 3 are best friends because they are both open shapes.
6 and 4 and best friends because they both look like noses.
5 and 5 are best friends because they are twins.
Whichever way a student prefers works for us! All strategies may be used on the assessment.
This week we will be reviewing addition and subtraction skills with leveled games and worksheets.
Behavior
Last week many students had to move their clips. The class was extremely talkative and many were "wild" in the lunchroom. Please continue to reinforce expectations for school at home. We are still 3 weeks away from spring break. We will continue to be consistent with expectations in the classroom and reward good choices. Last Friday, students who had green all week were invited to eat lunch and watch a movie in classroom with me.
Important Dates
March 19th Sky Zone
March 26th Picture Day
March 31st Author Party 8:00-8:45am
April 3rd STEM Day
April 6-10th Spring Break
April 13th Field Trip to Cagle Farm
~Mrs. Daugherty
March STEM
March STEM day happened on Friday, March 3rd. This month's book was Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen. The main character, Violet, likes to build things. When the community is having a flight contest, she decides to build a plane and enter the contest. As she is competing, she hears some kids screaming for help in the river. She flies down and rescues them. At the end she receives a medal.
Challenge: Create a device to safe a dinosaur manipulative from the tub of water. You can use any materials found on the kidney table (various size cups, string, pipe cleaners, scissors, tape, legos, lincoln logs, rubberbands).
Students worked with the engineering process and recording their steps in their stemfolio. They drew a picture from the story and wrote about the book. We researched and discussed different life saving devices. Next, students drew a design in their group of 5-6 students. They build their design, tested it, and had a chance to make adjustments and test it out again. Below are their designs.
Challenge: Create a device to safe a dinosaur manipulative from the tub of water. You can use any materials found on the kidney table (various size cups, string, pipe cleaners, scissors, tape, legos, lincoln logs, rubberbands).
Students worked with the engineering process and recording their steps in their stemfolio. They drew a picture from the story and wrote about the book. We researched and discussed different life saving devices. Next, students drew a design in their group of 5-6 students. They build their design, tested it, and had a chance to make adjustments and test it out again. Below are their designs.
There were a variety of designs and all ended up saving the dinosaur. Many students opted for yarn at first but chose to use the pipe cleaners on the second attempt because they are sturdier. I was very proud of how well the students collaborated!
River Eves had some visitors from Gwinnet County to see how we are implementing STEM. I feel our students this year have grown in their abilities to work together, problem solve, and realize not being successful at first happens and is okay.
We have 2 more STEM days left this year. The dates are April 3rd and May 1st. Volunteers are always welcome.
~Mrs. Daugherty
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
March Specials
There is a shift in the specials calendar due to school being open to students now on March 13th. Every special post March 13th will shift up a day. So......Tuesday's special will now be on Monday, etc. It is also below. If you are unsure, pack a pair of tennis shoes in your child's bookbag.
Monday, March 2, 2015
American Symbols
As part of Our Nation unit in social studies, students have been learning about partriotic symbols. The Statue of Liberty and bald eagle have really intrigued the students. Here are the links to sites we visited as a class in class they want to explore more at home.
Statue of Liberty
Contains facts, virtual tours, and webcams. Did you know the Statue of Liberty is made of copper? This means it started out being the color of a penny.
Bald Eagle
Contains facts and pictures.
Statue of Liberty
Contains facts, virtual tours, and webcams. Did you know the Statue of Liberty is made of copper? This means it started out being the color of a penny.
Bald Eagle
Contains facts and pictures.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Dr. Seuss Dress Up Schedule
Reading is fun
with Dr. Seuss!
Dear Families,
We will be celebrating “Read Across America”
the week of February 23rd-27th, 2015. All across America,
parents will be urged to pick up a book and read to their child. It is also Dr.
Seuss’ birthday (March 2nd) and we will be celebrating all week by reading some of our
favorite Dr. Seuss books. We also thought it would be fun to have a different
theme each day, so we would love it if you would help your child participate.
Monday, February 23rd: “Oh the Places You’ll Go”:
Wear a shirt from a different country or a shirt you bought/wear on vacation.
Tuesday, February 24th: “If I Ran the Zoo”: Wear animal prints.
Wednesday, February 25th: “My
Many Colored Days”: Wear as many colors as you can (don’t match!).
Thursday, February 26th: “Fox in Socks”: Crazy or mismatched socks.
Friday, February 27th: “Dr. Seuss’ Sleepy Book”-Wear your pajamas to school with sneakers.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
School Family Update 2.17
This week will be a short 3 day week.
Reading
Students will practice identifying the middle vowel sound. Students will also review phonetic skills at their level: beginning sounds, sounding out words, long vowel sounds. All students will practice listening to a story and bubbling in an answer for comprehension questions. Students will use a dictionary to find j words and practice handwriting. Lowercase j is tricky for many. Leveled readers will not be going home this week. If you have a book in a bag at home, please return it.
Writing
Students will be writing persausive pieces this week. They will choose the topic. The goal of persuasive writing is to make the reader agree with you. Students should share their opinion and 2 or more reasons to support their opinion. They will also get some practice writing a letter.
Social Studies
This week we begin our unit on national symbols. Students will learn about the flag, the pledge of allegience, the bald eagle, and the statue of liberty in this unit. We will be learning about the term symbol on Wednesday. Thursday students will make a flag book, and Friday they will make statue of liberty hats.
Math
Review creating story problems and solving them at home. At the end of last week, students practiced writing an equation to match the story problem. An example will go home tomorrow in their folders. This week students will practice solving addition equations with sums. The kindergarten standard is solving equations with sums 0-10. If students met this standard on the pretest, they will be given a different assignment.
Other
- The students earned 70 stepping stones so they will have their prize of an extra music class next Monday!
- Dad's Lunch is this Friday. Dads are invited to join their child for lunch and sit on the stage. Our lunch time is 10:56-11:26.
- Next week is Dr. Suess/Read Across America week. Check back for updates! I will be asking for some volunteer readers.
- An optional conference paper went home on Friday. Please return by Wednesday. I will be making a schedule Wednesday after school.
I will be out of the building Thursday. I am going to a training titled Number Talks with the CST and a few other teachers. I'm looking forward to some new math ideas!
Reading
Students will practice identifying the middle vowel sound. Students will also review phonetic skills at their level: beginning sounds, sounding out words, long vowel sounds. All students will practice listening to a story and bubbling in an answer for comprehension questions. Students will use a dictionary to find j words and practice handwriting. Lowercase j is tricky for many. Leveled readers will not be going home this week. If you have a book in a bag at home, please return it.
Writing
Students will be writing persausive pieces this week. They will choose the topic. The goal of persuasive writing is to make the reader agree with you. Students should share their opinion and 2 or more reasons to support their opinion. They will also get some practice writing a letter.
Social Studies
This week we begin our unit on national symbols. Students will learn about the flag, the pledge of allegience, the bald eagle, and the statue of liberty in this unit. We will be learning about the term symbol on Wednesday. Thursday students will make a flag book, and Friday they will make statue of liberty hats.
- The students earned 70 stepping stones so they will have their prize of an extra music class next Monday!
- Dad's Lunch is this Friday. Dads are invited to join their child for lunch and sit on the stage. Our lunch time is 10:56-11:26.
- Next week is Dr. Suess/Read Across America week. Check back for updates! I will be asking for some volunteer readers.
- An optional conference paper went home on Friday. Please return by Wednesday. I will be making a schedule Wednesday after school.
~Mrs. Daugherty
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