Report cards were sent home today!  Please, if you can, send your child to school with a water bottle.  It does not need to be anything fancy.  Many of the kids are asking every period (sometimes a few times in a period) to go get water and are missing a lot of instruction.  I do not like saying no to bathroom or drinks, but I am becoming concerned with the loss of learning. 

We did a little rehearsal today to make sure all of the kids know how to get into Google Classroom and Google Meet. Please check out the link to important information about Remote Learning.   

• In language arts we are reading the novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio and will be reading this in class over the next few weeks.  The kids have been volunteering to read (which is awesome) and Mr. Wood and I have also been reading the book and discussing it with them.  They seem to all be very interested in the story.  

• Our math unit this week was: Find the sum or difference of whole numbers between 0 and 100 without regrouping; show an understanding of the relationship addition and subtraction .   After Thanksgiving we will be doing a unit called: Find the sum or difference of whole numbers between 0 and 100 with regrouping. 

• In social studies we finished learning about the Sioux tribe by making a book showing a few of the over seventy different items the amazing buffalo could provide for the Native Americans.  We started learning about the Navajo of the southwest and will continue to learn about them next week.    

• In science class this week we learned about the fifth group of vertebrates, birds.  We did a few Mystery Science mini-lessons and learned about "Why do owls say “hoo”?", "Why do penguins have wings?", & "Why don’t people eat ostrich eggs?".  We did a fun review game for candy to get ready for our quiz on the five groups. of animals  We started to learn about how vertebrates change as they grow and will finish this topic up next week with a Mystery Science investigation.  

Wow, what a quick week!  We will go to the library next week during language arts class to get some new books.  

Every week the students with the most minutes and best score on their iReady math & reading earn a prize.  Last week I started a new contest with even better prizes!  This time I looking at how many lessons the kids have passed for the year.  I have charts hanging on the bulletin board outside my office.  Many of the kids have hit the first goal of 25 lessons passed and earned their choice of a full size candy bar.  The next goal is 50 lessons passed and the reward is their choice of a donut from Dunkin Donuts!

• In language arts we started reading the novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio and will be reading this in class over the next few weeks.  The kids have been volunteering to read (which is awesome) and Mr. Wood and I have also been reading the book and discussing it with them.  They seem to all be very interested in the story.  

• Our math unit this week was: Know the addition facts (sums to 20) and the corresponding subtraction facts and commit them to memory.   Next week we will be doing a unit called: Find the sum or difference of whole numbers between 0 and 100 without regrouping; show an understanding of the relationship addition and subtraction.

• In social studies we learned about the Sioux of the Plains.  Next week we will finish learning about the Sioux tribe by making a book showing a few of the over seventy different items the amazing buffalo could provide for the Native Americans.  Then we'll be learning about the Navajo tribe.  

• In science class this week we learned about the fourth group of vertebrates, mammals.  We did a Mystery Science “Why do dogs wag their tails?”.  In this lesson, students discover why dogs’ expressions, like tail wagging, are so useful when living in a pack.  In the activity, Field Journal, students watch videos of different animals that live in groups to simulate observing them in their natural habitats. They discuss and record their observations, and construct an explanation of how living in groups helps these animals survive.  Next week we will learn about the last group of vertebrates, birds.