Weekly Updates

 May 5 - May 9

Reading:

Our learning goal this week focused on retelling the plot of the story in writing.  Students watched the book "Knuffle Bunny" and worked to retell a summary of the story on a slideshow using important characters, events, and details.  The class watched and read several books and identified the theme, or lesson in the story. 

Writing:

The class finished their end of year writing prompt about a time they went somewhere fun.  I was very proud of all the things they remembered that good writers do - include a topic sentence, use the 5 W's, start sentences with time words, use descriptive language, and check for "COPS."

Word Study:

This week we continued to review all we have learned about vowel-r and vowel-r phonogram patterns.  We sorted words, did sound-spelling mapping, used chips to identify different patterns, and again read passages that related to our focus.

Math:

Students finished our learning goal of using multiple strategies to add within 1,000.  The class reviewed all strategies and took the assessment.  This will be the last math assessment of the year, but we started learning about subtracting within 1,000 this week.  Students used base ten blocks to subtract, unbundling 10's and 100's when they needed to.  We also reviewed how to subtract with decomposing.

Science/Social Studies:

The class reviewed all weather concepts and took the assessment on Tuesday.  Our new focus is healthy choices.  The class learned details about how much exercise and sleep they need per day. We discussed the term "hygiene" and what good hygiene looks like.  Students enjoyed watching several Brain Pop Jr. videos about making healthy choices.  We also focused on strategies to help us when we feel sick. 

 April 28 - May 2

Reading:

Our learning goal continued to relate to retelling characters, making predictions, and writing the plot of a story.  The class practiced retelling character traits and writing a retelling of the plot of a story.  Students watched the book "Widget" and worked to retell a summary of the story using important characters, events, and details.

Writing:

The class finished their VIP projects.  They worked on an independent end-of-the-year story about a time they went somewhere fun.  They made prewriting webs to help them organize their ideas.  Students reviewed how good writers add details, time words, descriptive language, dialogue, and check for "COPS."

Word Study:

This week we finished lesson 20 and took a quick check.  Then students started reviewing all we have learned about vowel-r and vowel-r phonogram patterns.  The class sorted words, did sound-spelling mapping, and started the first of two passages.

Math:

Students continued our learning goal of using multiple strategies to add within 1,000.  They first practiced using the number strings strategy and the open number line strategy. We read story problems and used the strategies we learned to solve them.  Finally, the class reviewed the traditional algorithm method for adding and how it relates to base ten blocks.

Science/Social Studies:

The class continued identifying weather and weather patterns.  We started the week learning about the water cycle and sang a song to remember the stages that water can take (ask them to sing it to you!).  They also explored how weather can change throughout a single day, week, month, or season.  We looked at all our "weather watcher" observation pages that we saved from the year and noticed these weather changes.  Students read a weather book on Epic and watched a video to review.

 April 21 - April 25

Reading:

Our learning goal continued to relate to retelling characters, making predictions, and writing the plot of a story.  Students read various short stories to make predictions about what could happen next.  We learned to use our background knowledge and text clues to help us make good predictions.

Writing:

The class enjoyed listening to each other's persuasive letters and mailing their letters.  We then spent this time working on a "VIP" project.  More details will be shared when the students bring this home! :)

Word Study:

This week the class started focusing on vowel-r phonograms (-air, -are, -ear, -ere, -oar, -ore).  Students used sound chips to finger-stretch words and determine which kind of sound was in a word.  They read and responded to 2 passages with vowel-r phonogram words. 

Math:

We finished reviewing all we had learned in measuring and took the assessment on Tuesday.  Students began learning strategies to add within 1,000 this week.  The class reviewed how to draw base ten blocks to solve problems.  We also practiced using the decomposing strategy - breaking down hundreds, tens, and ones and adding each separately.

Science/Social Studies:

The class started learning about weather changes and weather patterns this week.  We reviewed types of weather such as precipitation, temperature, wind, and air pressure.  We watched a video about what meteorologists do.   Students wrote down their observations of the weather outside and did a slideshow relating to temperature, precipitation, and wind. We watched a Magic School Bus video about the water cycle.

 April 14 - April 18

Reading:

Our learning goal continued to be making inferences using our background knowledge and text clues.  The class practiced using clues from a text to make inferences.  This included reading poems and figuring out what each poem was referring to.  We then started to use information in a fiction text to make predictions and understand characters, setting, and plot.  This is a review from the beginning of the year but includes more writing and responding.  We read a book called Strega Nona, and students wrote at least 4 things they knew about the main character.

Writing:

Students continued to practice writing about their opinions. The class started a persuasive opinion project - trying to convince someone to agree with us about something (like later bedtimes!).  We focused on continuing to include a topic sentence, 3 reasons for our opinion, and a concluding sentence.  Students worked on writing this in a letter format and including all parts of a letter (date, greeting, body, and closing).

Word Study:

This week the class continued reviewing ways to spell vowel-r words.  We focused on -er, -ir, and -ur again and noticed that they all make the same sound.  Students used sound chips to practice labeling sounds and spelling words.  The class read a passage about hawks, a hunter bird.  We took a quick check on Thursday.

Math:

The class started the week by measuring their head circumference and comparing it to a partner.  We spent time working on measuring with centimeters and meters.  They reviewed all we have learned about measurement by playing jeopardy and doing a review packet.  Next week will be the measurement assessment.

Science/Social Studies:

The class enjoyed finishing our unit on fossils.  We reviewed all fossil concepts on a slideshow, watched a Magic School Bus video on fossils, and took the assessment on Thursday.

 April 7 - April 11

Reading:

Our learning goal was to make inferences using our background knowledge and text clues.  We watched a wordless picture book so that we could infer (make good guesses) about what was going on.  Students read paragraphs and answered inferring questions about each.  The class practiced using clues from a text to make inferences.

Writing:

Students continued to practice writing about their opinions.  They practiced with different prompts and included a topic sentence, at least 3 reasons for their opinion, and a concluding sentence.  We then worked on writing an opinion project about our favorite outdoor activity.  

Word Study:

This week we continued reading and spelling words with vowel-r.  As usual, we read a fiction and non-fiction passage with vowel-r words in them.  Students also did sound-spelling mapping with vowel-r words and sound chips.  We learned two new suffixes this week: "-y" and "-dom" like in words "jumpy" and "freedom."  The -y suffix means having or being.  The -dom suffix means to have or to be.

Math:

The class continued learning about measuring this week.  They measured different line segments to help them figure out which paths would be shorter.  They measured objects using 2 different units and compared which unit would have a bigger or smaller answer (larger units have smaller answers because we need less of them).  Students also worked on finding the difference in lengths of various things using subtraction.

Science/Social Studies:

The class enjoyed continuing to explore fossils this week.  We watched a Mystery Doug video about ways to find fossils (more often found in sedimentary rock than lava rock).  The class analyzed animal skulls to determine if the animal would have been a plant eater, meat eater, or both.  Small groups dug in sand to find "fossil" parts.  They put the pieces together to form a full fossil skeleton.  We learned about animals from the present that might have been related to extinct animals from the past.  Students matched an animal from the past with an animal of the present.

 March 31 - April 4

Reading:

We continued to compare and contrast 2 texts on the same topic.  We read books about squirrels, worms, money, and spring to work on comparing and contrasting.  Students wrote 3 things that were different and 3 things that were the same about both books.  The class practiced recognizing the main idea and details of books and comparing them. 

Writing:

Students spent the first three days continuing to share their biography presentations.  We started a new goal of writing about our opinions and supporting them with reasons.  The class worked on distinguishing facts from opinions and began responding to different opinion prompts.

Word Study:

This week the class spent two days finishing our review of vowel teams.  They took the third unit assessment on Wednesday to show what they have learned about vowel teams like -oo, -ie, -ew, -ow, and more.  The last two days of the week we started reading and spelling words with vowel-r.  We learned that when w- comes before "ar" or "or," it changes their sound (warn, worm).  Students sorted words with -ar, -or, war-, and wor-. 

Math:

The class continued measuring the length of objects using standard units.  Students practiced finding measurements when objects do not start right at the 0 mark.  We used the yardsticks we made on Tuesday to measure different objects in our room.  The class worked on estimating the size of different things in the world and thinking about which measurements would make sense (i.e. would a school be closer to 20 feet or 3 yards). 

Science/Social Studies:

The class started learning about fossils.  We learned how fossils are physical traces of living things.  Students enjoyed learning about how fossils form and about the scientists who study them (paleontologists).  We watched some videos about paleontologists.  The class had fun "excavating" for fossils in a cookie - the chocolate chips.

 March 17 - March 21

Reading:

We enjoyed learning about St. Patrick's Day on Monday.  Students took the CogAt test for two days during this time.  Thursday we read two books on the topic of flies (fiction and nonfiction) and compared them.  Friday was Sharing our Stories day at SCE.

Writing:

Students were excited to continue creating our biography slideshows this week.  We continued to use all the good research and organizers we wrote to help us.  Students practiced adding pictures to each slide, typing their information, and using a checklist to make sure they had everything complete.  We started presenting this week.

Word Study:

This week our learning goal was to finish reviewing vowel teams we have learned.  The class sorted phrases with each vowel team, spelled multi-syllable words, used sound chips, wrote sentences, and read passages.  We also had the CogAt test during this time on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Math:

The class started learning about measurement this week.  Students discussed why we need standard units of measure.  They used foot rulers to compare things in our room to a foot.  We did the same activity with inches.  On Monday, the class enjoyed St. Patrick's Day math with lucky charms - classifying, graphing, and adding.

Science/Social Studies:

The class finished learning about forces and motion this week.  We took an assessment on Google Forms.  They enjoyed watching various videos relating to concepts that we learned.  This included energy sources, gravity, motion, and more.

 March 10 - March 14

Reading:

We finished practicing using strategies to answer questions about a text this week.  Students worked on answering questions from both fiction and nonfiction texts.  Next the class started a new learning goal about comparing and contrasting 2 texts on the same topic.  We first compared fiction and nonfiction stories about the same topic, including dogs and farms.

Writing:

Students worked hard this week to rewrite their information on the google slides organizer page and check for COPS (capitals, order, punctuation, spelling).  We began to create our Google Slides presentations on our famous American.  We used all the good research and organizers we wrote to help us.  Students practiced adding pictures to each slide, typing their information, and making each slide look organized and appealing.

Word Study:

This week our learning goal continued to be reading and spelling words with the "ew" vowel team.  The class used sound chips to map out words and spell them.  We finished reading and responding to our 2 passages that included many "ew" words.  The next unit was a review of some of the vowel teams we have learned - the sounds of "oo", the sounds of "ou" and the sounds of "ie."

Math:

The class started the week thinking about fractional parts.  Students learned that fractional parts always have equal parts.  They worked on dividing circles, rectangles, and squares into halves, thirds, and fourths.  The class also partitioned rectangles using squares to think about how many rows and columns they make (arrays).  We played jeopardy to review, took a practice test, and had the assessment on Friday.

Science/Social Studies:

The class started learning about the force of magnets.  Students explored with different objects to determine which things were magnetic and why.  We focused on the vocabulary "attract" and "repel."  We learned how magnets have a south pole and a north pole.  The class enjoyed watching a Bill Nye video about magnets.

 March 3 - March 7

Reading:

Our learning goal this week continued to be using strategies to answer questions about a text.  We spent the week practicing the skills we learned.  We read and answered questions about toothbrushes, Post-its, famous African American heroes, and whales.

Writing:

Students have been really engaged in researching and writing about their famous American.  We spent most days this week working on using multiple resources to write down facts.  Students then rewrote their information on a new organizer that will better prepare them for creating their Google Slides presentation.  We will be starting the final steps next week.

Word Study:

This week we finished our focus on words with "ou" vowel teams.  Students learned new high frequency words and took a quick check.  The class then focused on the vowel team "ew."  This vowel team can say /yu/ as in "mew" or /oo/ as in "screw."  We sorted words, read a passage, and learned about the prefix de- (ex: I need to defrost the window).

Math:

The class continued working on recognizing and drawing shapes with specific attributes.  Our focus this week was 3-D shapes.  Students learned that the attributes of 3-D shapes are faces, vertices, and edges.  We used different materials to create 3-D shapes and review their attributes.  The class played a Shape Race Game and reviewed on Friday.

Science/Social Studies:

The class continued learning about forces and motion.  Students learned about friction (which stops motion) and gravity (force that pulls us down to earth).  We created ramps of different heights to explore how to speed up the motion of a toy car.  We watched a Bill Nye video to explore motion.  

 Feb. 24 - Feb. 28

Reading:

Our learning goal continued to be looking closely at a text. We read about wolves and wrote the main idea and details that supported it.  Then students read an article about staying warm in the winter.  They had to independently identify the topic, main idea, and details.  We then started to focus on strategies to help us answer questions about a nonfiction text, like reading the question before reading the passage.

Writing:

Students finished thinking about descriptive language by writing a story of a time they played in or with water.  On Friday, the class was excited to start a new biography research project.  We will be researching and writing informational pieces about famous Americans.  This includes presidents, explorers, inventors, history makers, and more.  Students chose the person they will be focusing on and next week will start researching that person.

Word Study:

This week we continued focusing on words with "ou" vowel teams.  Students answered questions from the "ou" passages we have been reading, learned new high frequency words, practiced with sound chips, and took a quick check.

Math:

We continued our new focus on geometry.  Students described plane shapes using attributes like sides, vertices, and angles.  As we read The Greedy Triangle, the class drew each shape that the triangle became and wrote each shape's attributes.  We made shapes with pattern blocks and explored with quadrilaterals (any polygon with 4 sides).

Science/Social Studies:

The class finished thinking about Past and Present this week.  They watched a video about the history of Dublin, Ohio.  We started exploring how forces change the motion of an object.  Students learned that a force is either a push or a pull.  The class explored with toys to see which ones needed to be pushed or pulled to work.  We used different ramp heights to see how far a toy car would go.

 Feb. 17 - Feb. 21

Reading:

This week our goal was to read articles and identify the topic, main idea, and supporting details.  We read about pets in the White House and determined the topic, main idea, and details of each text.  Students identified the main idea in various popular movies and books.

Writing:

Students continued to work on including descriptive language in our writing.  They practiced writing "strong" sentences by adding describing words and other details.  The class had fun making complete (sometimes silly) sentences.  We learned that a complete sentence always has to have a "who" and a "did what."  Partners enjoyed putting together parts of a sentence to make a complete sentence. 

Word Study:

Our week started by finishing our learning goal about "oo" vowel teams.   The class then focused on the vowel team "ou" which can sound like the -ou in house and the -ou in touch.  We sorted words and sentences by their "ou" sounds, found words in a passage, and practiced spelling them.

Math:

We finished focusing on money this week.  Students did a review packet that was similar to the test and had fun playing Money Jeopardy to review.  They took the test on Thursday.  On Friday, we started learning about geometry. Students sorted shapes to determine if they were polygons or not (a polygon is closed, flat, 2-D, and has straight sides). 

Science/Social Studies:

The class enjoyed continuing to learn about Past and Present.  They had fun exploring old phones and noticing things that were the same and different from phones from the present.  Students learned about how homes have changed over time.  We looked at different transportation vehicles and put them on a timeline.

 Feb. 10 - Feb. 14

Reading:

This week our learning goal focused on strategies to help us solve unknown words.  Students reviewed prefixes - letters that come before a word and change its meaning.  They worked on words with re- (rewrite), pre- (preschool), un-, (unable) and dis- (dishonest).  The class then reviewed suffixes which come at the end of words, like -est (greatest) and -er (teacher).

Writing:

Students focused on using more descriptive language in their writing.  We worked on writing with our 5 senses.  Each student created a book about a color and what that color might look like, feel like, taste like, etc.  The class then discussed how to "share" feelings instead of just "telling" them.  An example of this is "She smiled from ear to ear and jumped up and down" to describe feeling excited.

Word Study:

Our learning goal was to read and spell words with the sounds of "oo."  We learned that "oo" can sound like the word "moon" or "book."  Students sorted words by the sound the -oo was making and found words in reading passages. The class also reviewed spelling multi-syllable words.  On Thursday they used the letters of Valentine's Day to make new words.

Math:

We continued learning about money this week.  Students learned about different kinds of bills.  The class did an activity to see how many toys they could buy to get to $30.  Students reviewed on a slideshow by "filling a piggy bank" with different amounts.  On Thursday, they did some Valentine's day math with a hundred chart and pattern blocks.

Science/Social Studies:

The class enjoyed continuing to learn about Past and Present. Students learned about different forms of transformation and when they were invented.  They watched a video about what life was like in the past.  Mrs. Elfers did a guidance lesson on Monday.

 Feb. 3 - Feb. 7

Reading:

This week we continued to look closely at texts.  The class enjoyed thinking about narrators and identifying if texts are written in first person, second, or third.  We practiced reading articles on the ReadWorks site and answering questions about them.  Students then focused on strategies to help solve unknown words.  We learned that synonyms are words that mean about the same thing.  We also learned antonyms (words meaning the opposite).  The class enjoyed making "synonym rolls" with starter words and synonyms of those words.

Writing:

Students took time this week to write a middle of the year writing assessment about a time they celebrated something.  We worked on adding details, using time words, including the 5 W's, using our best handwriting, and checking for COPS (capitals, order, punctuation, spelling).

Word Study:

Our learning goal was reading and spelling words with "ea." Students read a passage about sea glass and a boy named Neal.  We used sound chips to help us map the sounds in words and spell them.  The class practiced writing words with "ea" in sentences.  We took a spelling check over the 2 sounds of "ea."

Math:

We continued our learning goal of identifying coins and counting collections of coins.  The class used open number lines to help them add amounts.  We practiced this with different money activities.  Students also learned how to use subtraction to find out how much money we might still need to buy something.

Science/Social Studies:

Students enjoyed learning about groundhogs and Groundhog's Day on Monday.  We then worked on making graphs and answering questions about different goods and services data.  The class reviewed all that we have learned about economics and took the assessment on Thursday.  Friday we started a unit about past and present.  I showed the class a photo of my great grandmother and her class from 1909.  We compared how schools have changed or stayed the same over time.  

 Jan. 27 - Jan. 31

We had the 100th Day of School on Thursday!

Reading:

This week we finished learning about point of view.  Students wrote from the perspective of an animal/child/plant from an image. They read about the point of view of a brother and sister and answered questions about who might be thinking each statement.  We read several more books to help us think about the point of view of characters.  We also read a 100 day poem and book about the 100th day of school.

Writing:

Students enjoyed working on our parts of speech unit.  This week we focused on verbs.  They learned that a verb is an action word and completed various pages to identify verbs.  We also created pictures of verbs to display on our "verb valley."  We had fun writing about what life would be like for us when we are 100 years old (coupled with an aged photo of each student!).

Word Study:

The class continued to focus on the "ow" vowel team.  We reviewed the two sounds this vowel team can make - the long o sound like in "snow" and the ou sound like in "owl."  Students sorted words, spelled words, and found words in passages.  The class also practiced spelling two-syllable words with many of the syllable types we have learned (closed, open, long vowel silent e, vowel team).  We then transitioned to the "ea" vowel team. This can say "e as in eagle" and "e as in bread."  

Math:

Last week students reviewed all the strategies we have learned to help us subtract within 100 (base ten blocks, hundred chart, decomposing, open number line, and traditional algorithm).  We took the assessment last Friday.  The class then started a new learning goal about money.  They explored different types of coins and wrote things they noticed about each coin.  They practiced skip counting and using a number line to find the total amount of coins.  For the 100th day, we had fun doing different activities like seeing what things we can do in 100 seconds (how many times we can write our name, solve facts, find words in a word search, etc.). 

Science/Social Studies:

Students finished learning about maps.  They enjoyed making "Barefoot Island" maps and included symbols, map keys, and compass roses. We started a new learning goal relating to economics.  The class learned that jobs provide income.  They wrote about a job they would like to have when they grow up.  We learned that jobs provide either a good or a service.  I shared different ways I can pay for goods and services (cash, credit card, gift card, check, Venmo).

 Jan. 13 - Jan. 17

Reading:

This week our learning goal continued to be understanding the point of view of different characters.  Students discussed the point of view of a bat compared to birds.  After reading a version of The Three Little Pigs from the wolf's point of view, the class made a craft based on whose point of view they believed.  We read a book from the point of view of ants in a house.  Students enjoyed watching "The Day the Crayons Quit" and writing to their favorite crayon why they want them to not quit. 

Writing:

Students continued naming and using different parts of speech.  The class reviewed nouns and then learned about adjectives.  We sorted words into nouns and adjectives, created an "adjective alley" with different adjectives, and made "adjective flowers" with adjectives that described themselves. 

Word Study:

The class finished our learning goal about the 2 ways to say "ie."  We did sentence dictations and took a quick check about "ie" words.  We also worked on 2 new suffixes ("-ly" and "-ness") which can be added to the end of words.  Students started learning about the 2 sounds of "ow" (ow says the long o sound and ow says "ou" like in out).  Students sorted words and phrases with the 2 sounds. 

Math:

We continued learning strategies to help us subtract 2-digit numbers.  Students worked on decomposing the part and then subtracting the tens and ones from the whole.  We then worked on using an open number line to subtract.  On Friday, the class reviewed all the strategies we have learned.

Science/Social Studies:

Students continued learning about maps and map tools.  They created maps of their bedrooms and learned about map scales. On Thursday and Friday we focused on learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and why we honor him every year.  Students created an earth craft describing how they would want to make a difference in the world.

 Jan. 6 - Jan. 10

Reading:

We started by sharing what we did over break and making a 2025 goals craft.  Then we focused on understanding the point of view of different characters.  We compared our points of view about different things in the world (like football, sushi or the dentist!).  We read several books and discussed different perspectives.  

Writing:

Students first wrote about their winter break.  Then we worked on naming and using different parts of speech.  The class enjoyed creating a "Noun Town" in our room with people, places, and things.  We did different activities to strengthen our understanding of this part of speech.  

Word Study:

The class started learning about the irregular vowel team "ie."  We learned that "ie" can say the long e sound (like in "chief") or the long i sound (like in "tie").  The class practiced sorting "ie" words by their sound.  We read a passage and underlined words with this pattern.

Math:

We started learning strategies to subtract within 100.  Students worked on using base ten blocks to subtract.  They draw the whole, unbundle a ten if they need to, and then can take away ones and tens.  We then learned how to use the hundred chart - doing the opposite of adding - by going up and to the left to subtract.

Science/Social Studies:

Students began learning about maps and map tools.  The class enjoyed creating pictures and rooms in a castle using cardinal directions.  We discussed symbols and map keys.

Dec. 16- Dec. 20

Happy Holidays!

Reading:

This week we finished comparing and contrasting versions of Cinderella from different cultures.  Students chose one version and wrote the story elements from it - characters, setting, problem, solution, and magic involved.  They then compared two versions, writing things that were similar and different.  We culminated this unit by watching the 2015 movie Cinderella, discussing it with our other versions. 

Writing:

Students used this time to finish up our Cultures Around the World Packet and learn about Kwanzaa.  We also enjoyed some free writing time and time to create a special gift for someone in our family.  The class wrote cards to Mr. Graham as well since he is retiring.

Word Study:

The class spent some time doing a mid-year high frequency word spelling list.  We also had completed this at the beginning of the year.  We will use this updated list in the new year to help us practice words we still need to learn.

Math:

We finished learning about strategies to add within 100.  Students took the assessment on Monday.  We spent the rest of the week reviewing things we have learned and going on Xtramath and ST math.

Science/Social Studies:

Students enjoyed celebrating Mr. Graham this week.  We even had a visit from Brutus!  We also used this time to create a special gift for someone in our lives.  Look for this at home in a white bag!

Dec. 9- Dec. 13

Reading:

This week the class transitioned from learning about folktales to comparing and contrasting fairy tales.  We looked at several versions of Cinderella from different cultures.  After reading each version, we charted the story elements and compared them.

Writing:

Students continued our combined writing/social studies unit about cultures around the world.  We learned about the inventions, food, and holiday traditions in Mexico and China.  The class enjoyed making a poinsettia craft and a Chinese New year dragon puppet!  We also wrote about each culture in our cultures around the world packet.

Word Study:

The class started the week by taking an assessment over the past 5 lessons, focusing on vowel team patterns.  Students then started learning about the irregular vowel team "ie."  We learned that "ie" can say the long e sound (like in "chief") or the long i sound (like in "tie").  The class practiced sorting "ie" words by their sound.  We read a passage and underlined words with this pattern.  We also worked on 2 new suffixes ("-ly" and "-ness") which can be added to the end of words. 

Math:

We reviewed the addition strategies we have learned so far - base ten blocks, hundred chart, decomposing, number strings, and open number line.  We then discussed the "traditional algorithm" method for adding which is the strategy that most adults learned in school.  The class explored the relationship between this strategy and the strategy of drawing base ten blocks.  We did a review packet on Friday.

Science/Social Studies:

Students shared their animal research presentations this week.  The class loved learning about each animal and showing their own slideshow with everyone.  They did a wonderful job on these!

Dec. 2- Dec. 6

Reading:

This week the class learned about folktales.  We learned that folktales are stories or legends handed down from generation to generation.  They usually contain a lesson and it happened long ago.  We read several folktales and recorded their characteristics.  Students focused on identifying the moral of the story and text that supported our ideas.

Writing:

Students started a combined writing/social studies unit this week about cultures around the world.  They learned about the food, art, inventions, and winter holidays celebrated in 2 of 4 countries we will focus on - France and Israel so far.  They had fun leaving shoes out for "Pere Noel," playing a Dreidal game, and writing about the culture and traditions of these two countries.

Word Study:

The class reviewed all the vowel team patterns we have learned.  We sorted words by the vowel teams "ee," "igh," "oa," and "oe."  Students read a fiction and non-fiction passage with words with these patterns.  We finger stretched words to review closed syllable words, long vowel silent e words, and vowel team words.  The class learned about suffixes like "ful" (ex: helpful) and "less (ex: helpless).

Math:

We began to focus on adding 2 digit numbers. Students discussed what it means to "bundle" 10 ones into 1 ten.  They drew base ten blocks to show this trading/bundling.  We used hundred charts to solve addition problems (start at the first number and add the tens and then the ones of the second number).  The class then learned about decomposing numbers to help us add (breaking apart a number into tens and ones).  Students also learned how to use "number strings" - string the tens together, string the ones together, get each sum, then add the answers.

Science/Social Studies:

Students enjoyed working on making their animal research slideshows.  They learned how to change font, add pictures, include transitions, and more.  We will start taking turns sharing the presentations with the class next week.

Nov. 18- Nov. 22

Reading:

This week our learning goal continued to be "knowing and using text features to locate information efficiently."  We focused on timelines, maps, and charts and graphs.  Students made a timeline of something true.  The class reviewed with a slideshow and will take the assessment on Monday.

Writing:

Students spent the week trying to finish all the steps of their small moment story - rewriting it, drawing illustrations, creating a cover, and adding a dedication and about the author page.  They have turned out so well!

Word Study:

The class began focusing on the teams "au" and "aw."  They read passages with words that contained these teams, like "paw" and "Paul."  We sorted words with these spellings and did sound-spelling mapping practice.  The class also reviewed spelling two-syllable words and words with prefixes.

Math:

We continued learning about time this week.  The class discussed and wrote about activities that might be done in the A.M. and P.M.  Students kept practicing writing and telling time to the nearest 5 minutes and did a review packet.  We took the time assessment on Friday.

Science/Social Studies:

Students started a research project about Ohio animals.  They chose one animal to research.  We started learning about the animal's habitat, food, and how they adapt to their environment using PebbleGo and books. 

Nov. 11- Nov. 15

Reading:

This week we continued learning about non-fiction conventions.  Students explored how photographs help you see exactly what something looks like.  They wrote captions on a slideshow with different photos.  They also learned about cutaway images and close up images.

Writing:

Students were excited to continue publishing their Small Moment stories this week.  We discussed the many things involved in publishing our stories.  Students worked on rewriting their stories in their best handwriting, adding detailed illustrations, including a dedication page, and writing about the author.  The class also did a writing project about what they are thankful for and made turkeys!

Word Study:

The class continued reading and writing words with vowel teams.  We continued focusing on "ai," "ay," "oi," and "oy" teams of letters.  Students sorted words with these vowel teams, practiced with sound chips, and used them in sentences.  Core 95 also focused on prefixes this week - when we add letters to the beginning of a word and they change their meaning (examples: reread, undo, preschool).

Math:

We finished our learning goal this week relating to place value.  Students reviewed with a review packet and jeopardy and took the assessment on Tuesday.  The class started learning about time.  We discussed the parts of a clock - face, hour hand, and minute hand.  We worked on identifying times to the nearest 5 minutes using an analog clock and writing times on analog and digital clocks.

Science/Social Studies:

Students enjoyed celebrating Veteran's day on Monday and hearing from various veterans.  Thank you to Henry's grandfather and Emma's uncle for coming!  We also celebrated World Kindness Day on Wednesday and wrote Tootles for each other and kindness notes to our 5th grade buddies.  We learned more about how plants and animals adapt in the fall.  We learned about hibernation, camouflage, and reviewed why leaves change colors and fall down in autumn.  Students hid camouflaged butterflies around the room for each other to find.  Partners worked on finding ways that plants and animals made changes to the environment in a picture (i.e. footprints, dropping leaves, etc.).

Nov. 4- Nov. 8

Reading:

This week we continued learning about non-fiction conventions.  We learned about an index and how it helps a reader find pages for specific vocabulary. The class searched for glossaries in books around our room.  Students learned about types of print and used slideshows to change some important words to make them bold and stand out. 

Writing:

Students spent some time creating things for our school Veteran's Day celebration.  We also continued going through the writing process with our small moment stories.  The class had peer conferences where students gave each other 2 stars and 1 wish.  We started the publishing stage of our stories.

Word Study:

The class finished the first Core 95 workbook and brought it home.  We focused on "ai," "ay," "oi," and "oy" teams of letters.  Students found them in texts, practiced spelling them with sound chips, and unscrambled words with these teams.

Math:

Understanding place value continued to be our focus this week.  Students had fun making a math "monster" using place value.  They practiced adding 10 more/less and 100 more/less to a 3-digit number.   We learned about "pattern rules" and how to find out how to continue a number pattern using place value to help us.

Science/Social Studies:

We learned about habitats and classified plants and animals by the environment that would best meet their needs.  ​We discussed the changes in weather during different seasons and the reason for this change.   We thought about "What do plants and animals do when the weather changes?"  Students learned that animals adapt to their environment through migrating or foraging.  We foraged for smarties!  Next week we will learn more ways that plants and animals might adapt.

Oct. 28- Nov. 1

Happy Halloween/Harvest!

Reading:

We discussed the difference between fiction and non-fiction.  The class noticed how fiction texts contain story elements (characters, setting, etc.) and non-fiction contains text features (glossary, index, etc). We started exploring these text features and how they can help a reader find and understand information quicker and easier. We learned about table of contents so far. The class has enjoyed focusing on reading more non-fiction texts!

Writing:

Students continued working on their small moment stories.  We reveiwed to edit and revise this week.  The class used an editing checklist to check for "COPS" - capitals, order, punctuation, and spelling.  Students then went through their stories to add words, change words, and take out words (ACT).

Word Study:

The class continued to work on words with vowel teams - when letters work together and make one vowel sound.  We reviewed the vowel teams "igh" and "oa" and took an assessment on them.  Our focus then changed to "ee" and "oe" vowel teams.  Students finger stretched the sounds in words in order to help them spell.  We sorted words with vowel teams and without vowel teams.

Math:

Our new learning goal is to represent numbers in multiple ways.  Students worked on the meaning of base ten numerals (235) and expanded form (200+30+5).  They used a "Spooky Place Value" slideshow.  We learned how to represent numbers with number words (two hundred thirty-five) and worked on comparing numbers using symbols and comparing sentences (greater than, less than, equal to).

Science/Social Studies:

We used this time to do a STEM project about creating an elevator to raise a mini pumpkin.  They did such a great job! We learned about Halloween, Diwali, and the Day of the Dead in Mexico.

Oct. 21- Oct. 25

Reading:

We used this week to review all that we have learned about retelling a fiction story.  Students described the themes of several fall/halloween related books and videos.  Partners worked on reading and answering comprehension questions about a fiction passage.

Writing:

Students continued working on including a "catchy beginning sentence" and a "wrap it up sentence" to their small moment stories.  We looked at titles and covers of well-known books and discussed what makes a good title/cover.  The class added titles to their drafts.  They enjoyed doing a "Who Am I?" clue ghost craft as well.

Word Study:

The class started a new learning goal about reading and spelling words with long vowel patterns.  We learned that "igh" says the long i sound and "oa" says the long o sound.  Students sorted words with these patterns, used sound chips to help us map out spelling words, and read vowel team words as well.  We reviewed multi-syllable words and rules about adding -ing and -ed to verb endings.

Math:

Our learning goal about focusing on subtracting within 20 finished this week.  Students worked on a review packet and took the assessment on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, the class started a new learning goal about place value.  We learned how to draw base ten blocks efficiently.  Students enjoyed playing Base Ten Block bingo and challenging themselves with Egyptian place value problems.

Science/Social Studies:

We finished our learning goal about air, wind, and the atmosphere.  Students did a review packet and took the assessment on Tuesday.  The class then discussed what makes something living.  We went outside and collected living and non-living things.  Students learned about the 5 needs of plants and animals.  

Oct. 14- Oct. 18

Reading:

We continued learning good things to retell in a story.  The class worked on telling the story in sequence using time words (ex: next, then, after that).  Partners worked to retell the important parts of a text using a "five finger retell" with these time words.  We started discussing "theme" and how it is the lesson or moral of a story.

Writing:

Students continued working on a small moment story.  We reviewed the writing process and how to use a draft to record the 5 W’s (who, what, when, etc.).  Students wrote about 5 main events from their story on their organizers and wrote a sentence of why this story was special to them.  We worked on including a "catchy beginning sentence" and a "wrap it up sentence."

Word Study:

The class finished practicing adding word endings to verbs.  On Wednesday and Thursdsay we took an assessment on all that we have learned so far in word study - closed syllable, open syllable, long vowel silent e syllable, and blends and digraphs.

Math:

Our learning goal is still using multiple strategies to subtract within 20.  We learned how to write 3,3,2, 1 subtraction stories (3 sentences, 3 capitals, 2 periods, 1 question mark).  The class enjoyed reading each other's subtraction stories.  Students read various word problems, chose what kind of problem it was (joining, separating, or comparing), and solved using a strategy or math tool.  We reviewed what we have learned using a Google Form and review packet.

Science/Social Studies:

We continued exploring the properties of air.  Using an experiment of putting a paper towel inside a plastic cup, students were surprised to learn that the paper towel does not get wet if you put the cup upside down in water.  This helped us discover that air has volume, it takes up space.  We discussed that air has pressure and watched several experiments to prove this.  Students reviewed what we had learned about air on a Google Form and by playing Jeopardy.

Oct. 7- Oct. 11

Origami Hats from Library!

Fort Day!

Reading:

We continued learning good things to retell in a story.  Students learned the word “plot” and how to retell the important parts of a story.  We talked about how to tell a story in sequence using time words (ex: next, then, after that).

Writing:

Students began learning about small moment stories.  We discussed how a small moment is something small that happens in our lives but has special significance.  We read several mentor texts to help us see how to add details and write about a "seed" story not a "watermelon" story.  Students chose one small moment story from their lives to write about. 

Word Study:

The class finished reviewing the long vowel silent e pattern (words like "make" or "cute").  They explored inflected endings - when we add s, es, ed, and ing to spell a verb in the present or the past.  Students worked on spelling words with the prefixes "mis" and "dis."  We also worked on spelling 2 syllable words.  The class did word chains to practice changing parts of a word to make a new word. 

Math:

Our learning goal continued to be multiple strategies to help us subtract. Students focused on the "Making 10" strategy to subtract.  We can subtract until we get to 10, then take away the rest (for example, 16-9: take away 6 to get to 10, then take away the last 3 to get to 7).  The class reviewed the 3 strategies we had learned and then balanced equations using a Google Slides presentation (when there are numbers on both sides of the equation).  We then worked on solving subtraction problems with symbols.

Science/Social Studies:

We worked on identifying and describing the properties of air.  The class learned that air has direction and reviewed the four main directions of north, east, south, and west.  Students created windsocks to help us observe the direction the wind is blowing.  We discussed that air has temperature.  Students learned how to measure with a thermometer.

Sept. 30- Oct. 4

Reading:

We continued to learn about retelling stories.  We discussed the setting of a story - when and where a story takes place.  Students described different settings and drew the setting of one story after listening to the author's description. We worked on retelling the problem and solution. 

Writing:

Students finished their "Best Part of Me" stories this week.  They worked to publish their stories by rewriting them in their best handwriting.  We did a checklist to make sure we did our best work.  Students shared their stories.  We will hang these in the hallway with a photo of our favorite body part.

Word Study:

The class finished exploring phonograms on Monday.  We then focused on spelling with the long vowel silent-e pattern.  Students reviewed that a long vowel is when a vowel says its name.  We practiced sorting words by their long vowel silent-e pattern (like "kite" and "these") and practiced spelling words with this pattern.  The class read a fiction and non-fiction passage and identified words with the long vowel silent-e pattern (like "lake").

Math:

Our learning goal shifted to strategies to subtract within 20 this week.  We focused on fact families first, learning how we can think addition to help us subtract.  Students completed a fact family slideshow on our Google Classroom to practice.  We reviewed how to use the "Counting Back" strategy and worked on using open number lines (no numbers already on it).

Science/Social Studies:

We continued learning about air.  Students learned ways that wind can be helpful and harmful.  They read about Wind Power on the Readworks website.  They also wrote and drew ways that wind can be both these things and watched a Bill Nye video about storms.  The class began discussing the properties of wind. Students used anemometers to measure the speed of wind. 

September 23-27

Johnny Appleseed Day!

Reading:

We started learning about how to retell stories. We discussed reasons why we might need to retell and brainstormed story elements. We focused on characters and how we can visualize and describe them.  After reading a book about a girl named Arizona, we retold at least 4 things we learned about her as a character.  Partners wrote character traits for famous cartoon characters. Students picked one character from our read aloud book Alvin Ho, described them, and created that character using paper plates and construction paper.

Writing:

Students continued learning how to use the writing process to make their stories better. They learned how to revise their work (ACT - add, change, take out). The class took part in peer conferences where they read each other's work and gave 2 stars and 1 wish. Next week we will begin the final stage of publishing.

Word Study:

The class focused on "phonograms" this week.  Students learned that a phonogram is when there is a vowel followed by 2 consonants and the vowel makes a different kind of sound (like "ank").  We found phonogram words in a reading passage, sorted words by their phonogram, practiced finger stretching sounds and spelling words with phonograms.

Math:

Our learning goal of using strategies to add within 20 was completed this week.  Students first focused on the difference between odd and even.  They completed an odd/even slideshow on our google classroom. We reviewed what we have learned by playing jeopardy and doing a review packet.  The class took the assessment on Friday.

Science/Social Studies:

We started the week with an assessment in science, writing and drawing at least 3 things that scientists do.  We then began a science unit about air. The class learned that the atmosphere is made up of air. After learning that wind is moving air, students used straws and cotton balls to create wind.  We had fun celebrating Johnny Appleseed Day on Thursday.  Students taste-tested apples and described what they learned about this famous American. 

September 16-20

Reading:

We continued learning how authors use word choice to add interest and meaning to their texts.  We read Doodle Dandies to see how authors use interesting illustrations, formats, and text sizes. Students played a jeopardy game and did a Google Form to review all the features we have learned.  They took an assessment on Word Choice on Friday.

Writing:

Students finished thinking about writing conventions this week and using "COPS" to help us make our writing better.  We focused on the S for spelling.  The class got a new Word Book to help them spell and did a scavenger hunt for words in it.  They learned how to use "Try It" pages to practice finger stretching a word and see what looks right.  Students had to edit sentences and find "COPS" mistakes in each.

Word Study:

The class reviewed blends this week.  Students used sound chips to continue practicing words with initial 3 letter blends and blends at the end of words.  We read comprehension passages and sorted words based on how many sounds they contained.  Students practiced writing words with blends in sentences and took a quick check on Friday. 

Math:

Our learning goal continued to be using strategies to add within 20.  We worked on using doubles to help us solve "Near Doubles" equations.  Partners played a Near Doubles chutes and ladders game.  We discussed "missing addends" and used counters and cups to practice finding the missing parts.  We used our strategies to balance equations, solve problems with symbols, and add 3 numbers.

Science/Social Studies:

We finished exploring what scientists do and how they use inquiry skills.  Students measured items and read several books about being a scientist. They created models of a bridge using various materials in our classroom.  Tuesday was Constitution Day.  Students learned about when the American constitution was formed and what it means to our country.  Friday we had an assembly with other second grade classes to learn about car and seat belt safety.

September 9-13

We celebrated Patriot's Day on Wednesday!

Reading:

We continued learning how authors use word choice to add interest and meaning to their texts.  Students explored books with alliteration (same sound at the beginning).  The class created alliteration sentences using the first sound in their names.  They drew their mental images of four different onomatopoeia words (buzz, click, crash, and clack). 

Writing:

Students started learning how to use the writing process to make their stories better.  This week we focused on ways to help us edit our work.  We started with capitals and punctuation.  Students reviewed what gets a capital and when to use different types of ending punctuation.  On Friday, the class enjoyed using this time to celebrate international "dot" day and make dot crafts with coffee filters.