February 6, 2026

This week we...

• caught up with each other after our extended February break!

• began reading the literary classic Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.  (More information about this book and our studies to come via Parent Square.)

February 6, 2026

This week we...

• welcomed a pre-practicum student from BC to our classroom. Miss Jordan will be with us on Tuesdays through May.

• created trading cards that represent the frogs we researched.

• compiled and organized all of our work with frogs.

• completed creating our magnetic forces games. We're excited to share them with you next week!

• explored equivalent fractions and observed their relationship to multiplication/division.

  • We noticed that fractions that are equal to whole numbers have numerators that are multiples of the denominator.

• explored the schwa sound in open syllable a. The schwa sound happens in an unaccented open syllable. Whenever a multisyllabic word begins or ends with an a, it says a short u sound.

• continued our focus on using effective effort throughout the day.

• read about important figures in Black History and used our reading to research a person of our own interest. We will share our learning in our own creative way.

Ask Me:

Prove it: 12/3 = 4 

Who did you make smile this week, and who made you smile?

Transition Songs: 

 Letting Go by Angie McMahon  Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.  Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

January 30, 2026

• researched the question, "How does the frog you are researching adapt to survive in its environment?

  • We began answering this question using a four paragraph essay format. Our introductions and proof paragraphs are complete.

• designed games that utilize magnetic forces. We will make them next week!

• explored equivalent fractions and observed their relationship to multiplication.

• explored the schwa sound in open syllable a. The schwa sound happens in an unaccented open syllable. Whenever a multisyllabic word begins or ends with an a, it says a short u sound.

• defined and discussed the importance of effective effort.  Practiced effective effort in all curricular areas.

• celebrated our individual and group successes. We talked about how practicing kindness and inclusion everyday helps fuel our successes. 

Ask Me:

Prove it: 1/3 and 2/6 are equivalent fractions. 

Who did you make smile this week, and who made you smile?

Transition Songs: 

 Letting Go by Angie McMahon  Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.  Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

January 16, 2026

This week we...

• read the story One Word by Jon Gordan and identified a word to help guide us to a great 2026.

  • wrote paragraphs describing why we chose our special word.

• explored fractions greater than 1.

• created chain reactions using classroom materials and identified evidence of a force.

• began exploring non-touching forces (magnetism and gravity).

• zoomed in on how to break up multi-syllabic words into individual syllables.

• learned the clock climber lower-case letter d.

Ask Me:

What word did you choose to guide you in the new year and why did you choose it? 

Transition Songs: 

 Letting Go by Angie McMahon  Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.  Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

January 09, 2026.

This week we...

• researched specific frogs using the book Everything You Need to Know About Frogs and collected inportant facts to answer the questions, "How does where this frog lives affect how it live?".

• began exploring fractions!  We're piloting Desmos by Amplify and will be studying fractions until February break.

• began exploring forces and investigated using different materials to get a block to begin moving.  Our overarching questioning for the unit is how does a floating train rise, float, and fall?

• reviewed classroom routines and celebrated being back together by playing many cooperative games.

• assessed and reviewed our understanding of the schwa sound, the lazy vowel sound that occurs in unaccented syllables.

• wrote poems about the frogs we are studying and published them.

• began learning cursive, starting with the clock climber lower-case letter a.

Ask Me:

What do you think of the math curriculum so far? What are your favorite and least favorite parts of math?

Transition Songs: 

 Letting Go by Angie McMahon  Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.  Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

December 19, 2025.

This week we...

• used nonfiction text features to read sections of Everything You Need to Know About Frogs and retold the gist of each section.

• compared our homes to the homes of the Wampanoag, wetus, of 1621.

• solved two-step story problems and checked for reasonableness using estimation.

• multiplied and divided with tens to solve problems.

• read the article Is This a Good Pet from Scholastic News. The article explores the question, "Across the country, millions of wild animals are kept as pets, but should they be?" Students formed their own opinions and then wrote an opinion paragraph including their reasons and evidence.

• continued practicing using schwa, the lazy vowel sound that occurs in unaccented syllables.

• followed how to directions to guide drawing a tree frog

Ask me:  

• You have $47 to spend.  You decide to keep $14 of the dollars for yourself and to share the rest evenly with 3 friends.  How much would each friend get?  Use estimation to determine if your answer is reasonable.

• What is an amphibian?

Transition Songs: 

 Letting Go by Angie McMahon  Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.  Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

December 12, 2025.

This week we...

• celebrated Inclusive Schools Week by reading The Invisible Boy and reflected on the unique qualities that make us who we are.  We also discussed how we can work together to make sure others are included.

• created posters to share our learning and to teach others about the Wampanoag people and what their lives were like at the time of the Pilgrims (1621).

• wrote a NEW pourquoi tale over two days!

• created and copied pattern block designs to model multiplication and division problems.

• used knowledge of one multiplication fact to determine the product of another.

Find more details in the Topic 3 packet

sent home this week.

• learned about schwa, the lazy vowel sound that occurs in unaccented syllables.

• practiced turning adjectives and adverbs into comparative and superlative words.  

Ask me:  

• What multiplication/division concept did you learn about or explore more deeply this week. (Think of the pattern block copies.)

• Tell me about your new pourquoi tale.

Transition Songs: 

Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.  Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by Ray LaMontange   We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

December 5th, 2025

This week we...

• played a new game, Choose Three, a game that encourages creativity.

• learned about the Wampanoag people and what their lives were like at the time of the Pilgrims (1621). We read about how the changing seasons shaped the way they lived.

• wrote our own pourquoi tales!

• continued to work on breaking up larger multiplication facts into smaller parts (distributive property).

• used knowledge of one multiplication fact to determine the product of another.

  • Find more details in the Topic 3 packet sent home this week.

• practiced adding vowel-suffixes and consonant-suffixes to vowel-consonant-e syllables.

  • This skill is tricky and we're getting better each day!

• practiced turning adjectives and adverbs into comparative and superlative words.  

• added adverbs to our tales in order to make our stories easier to picture in our minds.

Ask me:  

• How can you use the fact 5 x 5 = 25 to help you solve 7 x 5?   

• How did you end your pourquoi tale?

• How is the game Choose Three played?  What was one scenario you had to problem solve and which item did you choose to solve it?

Transition Songs: 

Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.     Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

November 21st, 2025

This week we...

• explored what happens when a group of animals get divided by a large environmental change. 

  • Over many generations, the traits in the now-isolated populations may change so much that they are very different from each other (new species = speciation). Groups of animals that look very different from each other are related if they have the same ancestor. Speciation is very similar to the process by which living organisms develop specialized traits (adaptation).

• planned a pourquoi tale and began drafting the beginning.

• explored breaking up larger multiplication facts into smaller parts (distributive property).

  • Find more details in the Topic 3 packet sent home this week.

• practiced adding vowel-suffixes and consonant-suffixes to vowel-consonant-e syllables.

• read the poems The Polliwogs and The Poison-Dart Frog from the book Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs by Lynette Warren.  We used the poems to create questions about frogs for us to explore.  We also utilized the poems to explore pronouns, adjectives, and nouns used as verbs.

Ask me:  

• Explain why the product of any number multiplied by zero is always zero. 

• What is the title of the Pourquoi tale you are writing?

Transition Songs: 

Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant.     Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

November 10th, 2025

This week we...

• explored a made up creature based on real animals (Piloses) to help answer the question:  How do plants and animals change over time? We learned how animals with beneficial trait variants create more animals with these variants. Over time, the beneficial trait variant becomes more common over generations because these animals tend to be more healthy and have more offspring.

• read pourquoi tales and noticed how they all have vague settings and solutions that answer why something in nature is the way it is.  We talked about how, unlike what we're studying in Evolving Minds, it's not based on science but rather narrative storytelling.

• created line plots to represent data.

• listened to the story Sandwich Swap and used it to pick out narrative craft moves.

• Listened to the beginning and middle of a story and used craft moves to write and ending.

Ask me:  

• What did you learn about how many years students in your class have been attending Zervas?

• Describe the beneficial trait of Piloses that changed this made up creature over time.

Transition Songs: 

Sunday Best by Surfaces Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

October 31st, 2025

This week we:

• continued exploring the question:  How do plants and animals change over time? We observed trait variants in rradish and rootlet and snail shell populations.

• used the Painted Essay format to complete our reading contracts! :)  Students have a lot to celebrate with this accomplishment.  They persevered through many writing challenges and wrote their first essay!

• collected data and created bar graphs, pictographs, and line plots to represent their data.

• observed pumpkins, identified traits, and noted variants in each trait. 

• explored the question, "Does the size of a pumpkin determine the amount of seeds inside it?"

  • came up with a system to organize, count, and keep track of the pumpkin seeds.

  • created a line plot to represent the data we collected and then made conclusions based on this data.

Ask me:  

• Did you identify a relationship between pumpkin size and its number of seeds?

• What do the words population and trait mean?  How are they helping you explore how animals change over time?

Transition Songs:Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

October 24th, 2025

This week we:

• began the Evolving Minds science unit where we are exploring the question:  How do plants and animals change over time?

• began using the Painted Essay format to write a reading contract for the year.  This contract identifies two reading challenges we have and strategies we are going to use to overcome these challenges. This week we drafted an introduction paragraph with a topic introduction and focus statement.  We also drafted the first proof paragraph.

• read a book about fossils and identified the main idea.

• continued practicing adding vowel and consonant suffixes to root words. 

• followed all of our classroom expectations, even when Mrs. Gorman was at a meeting.

• organized, represented, and described categorical data. 

Ask me:  

• Tell me two challenges that you have as a reader.  What strategies are you going to try in order to overcome these challenges? 

• How can you sort data collected about favorite places to eat in a way that helps you answer specific questions? (What questions could you answer?)

• What do the words population and trait mean?  How are they helping you explore how animals change over time?

Transition Songs:Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

October 17th, 2025

This week we:

• filled in a map of Massachusetts, adding important bodies of water, land forms, and cities.

• wrote a paragraph describing a learning challenge in Mongolia and how it was overcome. We're working our way up to writing a four paragraph essay!

• Read the biographical fiction book More Than Anything Else that told a story of Booker T. Washington in his boyhood days in Malden, West Virginia.

• revisited how to make words plural, when to use s or es. 

• learned about suffix exceptions to making words plural.

• explored the relationship between multiplication and division and wrote number sentences to communicate the relationship. 

• continued to practice solving division number stories and using diagrams to represent the relationship between the numbers in the story.

• used context clues to figure out the meaning of unknown words.

Ask me:  

• Tell me four number sentences that show the relationship of the numbers 5, 6, and 24.  Be sure to use the words groups of, total,  and divided into .

• How do we write the plural of the word half?  Do we just add an s?

• In the story More Than Anything Else, what did Booker want?  What was getting in his way?  What is the lesson or moral of this story? (Hint:  The lesson has to do with perseverance.) What did the frog in the story symbolize?

Transition Songs:Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.  Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

October 10th, 2025

This week we:

• zoomed in on making sure our talking was on task talking.  We created a goal and decreased the amount of reminders needed throughout the day!

• wrote paragraphs about a learning challenge in Finland or Thailand and described how they overcome these challenges.

• read about a learning challenge in Mongolia, identified the main idea, and answered questions about the text.

• used prefixes and suffixes to change the meaning of root words.

• revisited how to make words plural, when to use s or es.

• explored the relationship between multiplication and division and wrote number sentences to communicate the relationship.

• solved division number stories and used diagrams to represent the relationship between the numbers in the story.

• used context clues to figure out the meaning of unknown words.

Ask me:  

• Tell me four number sentences that show the relationship of the numbers 3, 5, and 15.  Be sure to use the words groups of, total,  and divided into .

• Have you made progress on your October responsibilities?

Transition Songs: Worthy by Mavis Staples Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

September 19th, 2025

This week we:

• took learning risks and supported our classmates.

• compared the stories Rain School, Waiting for the Biblioburro, and Nasreen's Secret School. We noticed that the main characters all solved their problem in similar ways, books and learning.

• discussed character traits and chose one that exemplifies each student.  We created magazine covers to publish our thoughts.

• noticed times when we followed our classroom rules and how our actions helped us as a group. (Act with kindness; Take care of yourself; Take care of our community; Work together)

• began exploring the relationship between multiples of 3 and 6.

• used diagrams to explore how we can use known facts to help us figure out unknown facts.  8x6 = (5x6 )+(3x6) We'll keep working on this skill!

• read JoJo's Flying Side Kick by Brian Pinkney and retold the gists well as the lesson in the story.

• played the game Don't Get Caught in the Photo! (Ask your child about this fun game.)

• celebrated each others' successes by writing shout outs for each other.

Ask me:  

• Show me how to play Double, Double.

• Tell me about a risk you took this week and described how it felt.

Transition Songs:  Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

September 12th, 2025

This week we:

• made mistakes and celebrated our learning.

• read the story Jabari Tries by Gaia Cornwall and discussed what actions each character did to make Jabari successful.

• decided what we wanted our third grade story  to be at the end of the year (hopes and dreams) and published them to use as a reminder throughout the year.

• created our classroom rules. (Act with kindness; Take care of yourself; Take care of our community; Work together)

• began exploring multiples of equal groups.

• read parts of Your Fantastic Elastic Brain and discussed growth mindset and how it relates to learning. 

• discussed how the learning zone isn't always comfortable and created posters to help us in those uncomfortable moments.

• learned a hand game called Double, Double and used it to help us practice make ten facts.

• practiced our leadership teams. (Kindness Crew, Technology Team, Maintenance Crew, Transition Team, Cafeteria Crew, and Clean Up Crew)

Ask me:  

• Show me how to play Double, Double.

• Tell me about a mistake you made this week and described how you moved forward.

• Describe a time you acted with kindness in school this week.

September 5th, 2025

This week we:

• learned about and practiced MANY new routines.

• read the story A Letter From Your Teacher and wrote notes to Mrs. Gorman detailing important information to know about us.

• played "Musical Chairs" as a way of getting to know each other.

• explored math materials and used them to create covers for our take home folders.

• read Carl and the Meaning of Life and discussed the goals we want to accomplish in 3rd grade.

• created a scrabble representation of our classmates.

• worked cooperatively to build cup towers using string and rubber bands.

• learned about leadership teams. (Kindness Crew, Technology Team, Maintenance Crew, Transition Team, Cafeteria Crew, and Clean Up Crew)

Ask me:  

• How did you work with your table mates to build a cup tower?  What was challenging? Which strategies helped your team?

• Which leadership team are you part of to start the year?  Describe the jobs that your team has. How did your team decide to divide up the responsibilities?

Our Transition Songs:  

       We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

June 13th, 2025

This week we:

• shopped at a Farmer's Market.  We received $5 in play money and spent it on fruits and vegetables.

• solved comparison problems in the context of distance traveled. The problems were related to the Oregon Trail and  required finding the distance between numbers in the thousands.

• used an open number line to diagram our mathematical thinking.

• watched the movie Peter Pan and Wendy and the compared it to the retelling we just read.

• completed writing book recommendations for (or against) Peter Pan.

• made paper airplanes and had a flying contest.  Some were great at flying distances; others were great at making loops!

• played Pin the Memory on the Daisy.  (This activity was a great way to reflect on the memories we made this year.)

Ask me:  

• What was your favorite topic to learn about this year? Why?

• Where did Mrs. Gorman hide Zany? Tell me about the game.

Our Transition Songs:  

  Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield     Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

May 30th, 2025

This week we:

• performed in a recorder concert for our families and the second graders!  We did an amazing job taking a risk and doing our best!

• analyzed 3 digit subtraction problems and compared how they relate to each other.  We used this information to solve like problems.

• created diagrams of story problems that show how the quantities (known and unknown) in the problem relate to each other.

• solved multi-step 3-digit subtraction problems.

• constructed viable arguments to explain the reasoning behind mathematical thinking.

• continued reading the classic Peter Pan, focusing on Peter's character traits and how they help the reader to predict coming events.

• continued exploring double vowel syllables.

• completed constructing a model of the Plymouth settlement and began production of our movie tour!

  • We strapped a phone to a model car and moved it through our village while recording.  Students are now creating scripts to add as voice overs in order to create our tour. 

• began reading another story with the character Peter Pan called Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and compared the two stories.

Ask me:  

• Which Pilgrim family did you research and what did you learn about them?

• Describe the latest events in Peter Pan.  How does each chapter build on the one before?  What happened to Hook?  What is your point of view of the latest events?

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

May 23rd, 2025

• added and subtracted multiples of 10 and 100 to 3-digit numbers.

• created diagrams of story problems that show how the quantities (known and unknown) in the problem relate to each other.

• solved multi-step 3-digit subtraction problems.

• constructed viable arguments to explain the reasoning behind mathematical thinking.

• continued reading the classic Peter Pan, focusing on Wendy's character traits and how they move the story along.

• continued exploring double vowel syllables.

• discussed what the Pilgrims experienced when they first encountered land.

• discussed the importance of the Mayflower Compact.

• began constructing a model of the Plymouth settlement.

Ask me:  

• What is the Mayflower Compact, and what is it's significance in history? (A written agreement created and signed by 41 adult male passengers of theMayflower that held the signers responsible for following the laws created.  It established a system of self-governance.)

• Describe the latest events in Peter Pan.  How does each chapter build on the one before?  What can we learn about life in London in the early 1900s from reading this story? How do you think the story will end?

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

May 9th, 2025

This week we:

• went to the Franklin Park Zoo and attended the Amazing Adaptations program. We lucked out and had dry weather for most of our trip, AND the gloomy day kept many people away giving us plenty of room to wander.  

  • Students learned what unique adaptations animals have developed to survive in their environment.

  • We met a Splendid Tree Frog and a Prehensile Skink, both from Australia.

  • The gorillas were very active and we enjoyed watching them play.

• continued reading the classic Peter Pan, focusing on recounting important details and making connections to the historical context.

• practiced for the math MCAS by completing released questions from previous tests on the MCAS practice website. We focused on using the digital tools.

• continued exploring two more vowel teams that can say long a (eigh, ea).

Ask me:  

• What was your favorite part of your trip to the zoo? Describe one adaptation of the Prehensile Skink.

• Tell me about Peter Pan so far.  How does each chapter build on the one before?  What can we learn about life in London in the early 1900s from reading this story?

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

May 2nd, 2025

This week we:

• learned about the two groups (Separatists and Strangers) of people who made up the Pilgrims that came to the New World in 1620.

  • We discussed the reasons each group wanted to travel to a new land and the many obstacles they encountered before even setting sail.

  • We researched Pilgrim families using the website mayflower400.org.

• began reading the classic Peter Pan, focusing on recounting important details and making connections to the historical context.

• practiced for the math MCAS by completing released questions from previous tests. We focused on geometry and fraction questions.

• began exploring two more vowel teams that can say long a (eigh, ea).

• noticed that some of out tadpoles have hind legs!

Ask me:  

• Who is the Pilgrim you are researching and what have you learned about their family?

• Tell me about Peter Pan so far.  How does each chapter build on the one before?  What can we learn about life in London in the early 1900s from reading this story?

• When comparing fractions how can you easily tell the larger fraction when the denominators are the same?  When the numerators are the same?

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

April 4th, 2025

This week we:

• took the ELA MCAS for the first time!  We did an amazing job staying focused, persevering through tricky parts of the test, and using our best effort. 

• created scientific drawings of the frogs we are studying.

• edited and revised essays describing the unique physical and behavioral adaptations of frogs.

• explored different ways to share 4 "brownies" among 5 people.

• placed fractions on a number line, compared them to fractions of an area, and discovered different names for the same fraction.

• discussed how climate affects vernal pools.

• observed our tadpoles; they all hatched!

• tested our knowledge of r controlled syllables.

Ask me:

• What are the unique physical and behavioral adaptations of the frog you researched? How do these adaptations help it to survive?  

• How does the climate affect vernal pools?

• Tell me about a mistake you made this week.  How did you learn from this mistake?

• Name some fractions that are equal to 1/2.

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

March 28th, 2025

This week we:

• practiced the process of taking MCAS. 

• worked through an MCAS tutorial.

• wrote essays describing the unique physical and behavioral adaptations of frogs.

• explored different ways to create one whole with the fractions 1/2, 1/4, 1/3, 1/6.

• placed fractions on a number line and compared it to fractions of an area.

• read about vernal pools and why they are so important to wood frogs.

• observed frog spawn brought to us by Newton's science coordinator. We get to observe them throughout their life cycle.

• reviewed r-controlled syllables and learned how double r after a vowel does not change the vowel sound (They are too busy bossing each other around:).  Discussed r-controlled syllables in combination with other syllables.

Ask me:

• What are the unique physical and behavioral adaptations of the frog you researched? How do these adaptations help it to survive?

• What is a vernal pool?

• Tell me about an important woman from history.

• Tell me about a mistake you made this week.  How did you learn from this mistake?

• Make a number line from 0 to 1.  Place the fractions 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/3, and 1/6 on it.

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

March 21st, 2025

This week we:

• continued to practice reading and analyzing passages, answering questions about the passages, and responding to our reading.  The kids are doing a great job building their writing stamina and confidence. 

• researched the question: Why are Poison Dart Frogs so colorful?

  • wrote a paragraph explaining the answer to the question.

• explored how halves of a "brownie" can look different but are the same amount of brownie.

• read an article and poem about penguins and used the paired texts to build background knowledge about penguins.

• independently read Balloons Over Broadway, a book about Tony Sarg and his roll in the Macy's Day Parade.We then wrote an essay to explain how Tony was a clever person.  This was a great test of perseverance and writing stamina, both necessary for the MCAS.

• reviewed r-controlled syllables and learned how double r after a vowel does not change the vowel sound (They are too busy bossing each other around:).  Discussed r-controlled syllables in combination with other syllables.

Ask me:

• Why are Poison Dart Frogs so colorful?

• Tell me about an important woman from history.

• How did you feel about the practice MCAS? What did you do when you came across frustration?

• What is a fraction? Can halves of a whole be different shapes?

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

March 14th, 2025

This week we:

• continued to practice reading and analyzing passages, answering questions about the passages, and responding to our reading.  The kids are doing a great job building their writing stamina and confidence. 

• researched the question: How does where a frog lives affect how it looks and how it acts?

  • Water-holding frogs of the deserts in Australia - absorbs water into its body

  • Amazon horned frog - large horns above its eyes that look like leaves when on the forest floor

• made sense of multiplying multiples of 10 by one-digit numbers and utilized our understanding to solve multi-step problems.

• read two articles about the importance of washing hands and then used both articles to describe their theme:  Washing hands is important to staying healthy.

  • The Dirty History of Soap tells how and why attitudes toward keeping clean has changed over time.

  • Lending a Clean Hand  is the story of Jayden Perez, a boy who donated hand sanitizer to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

• began reading about important women in history.

• reviewed r-controlled syllables and learned how double r after a vowel does not change the vowel sound (They are too busy bossing each other around:).  Discussed r-controlled syllables in combination with other syllables.

Ask me:

• How does the Water-holding frog adapt to its desert environment?

• How does the Amazon Horned frog adapt to its desert environment?

• What types of written responses are asked on the MCAS?

• Why can you just add a zero to the product of 3 X 7 in order to solve 3 X 70?

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

March 7th, 2025

This week we:

• researched the questions: Why do polliwogs wiggle and why are Glass Frogs so hard to see?

  • used our research notes to write paragraphs that answered these questions.

• used patterns to explain the relationship between multiplication and division.

• read about the history of video games and wrote about the main idea of the article.

  • brainstorms reasons arguments for and against kids playing video games and then wrote opinion pieces arguing our opinions.

  • (Watch out...these third graders have some great reasons arguing their opinions.)

• continued to share research projects about important figures in Black History.

• reviewed reading, writing, and marking up words that end with syllable consonant-le and the suffixes sion and tion.

  • (This unit was the trickiest so far.  Students were given optional homework for extra practice.)

Ask me:

• What makes Glass Frogs unique? Where do they live and how do they survive?

• What is the theme of our new transition song (Letting Go by Angie McMahon)?

• What multiplication arrays can you use to help you solve 4 X 16?  (4 X 8) + (4 X 8)

• Use a multiple of 3 to help you get to the number 11. (4 X 3) -1

• Why did Mrs. Gorman wear a toy duck on her head all day Thursday?

Our Transition Songs:

Letting Go by Angie McMahon   Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

February 28th, 2025

This week we:

• began researching frogs by utilizing nonfiction text features to search for answers to specific questions

• explored attributes of quadrangles.

• used patterns to gain understanding of the meaning and structure of multiplication and division.

• shared research projects about important figures in Black History.

• practiced reading a poem and using comprehension strategies to gain meaning from it.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that end with syllable consonant-le.

• used our syllable and phonics knowledge to correct Mrs. Gorman's spelling errors.

Ask me:

• What are amphibians and why is water so important to them?  How are amphibians different from reptiles?

•  What do you love about your classroom and classmates?

• Draw some examples and non-examples of quadrilaterals and tell me why they are or are not examples. 

• Describe how a quadrilateral, rectangle, square, rhombus, and trapezoid are similar and how they are different. 

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

February 14th, 2025

This week we:

• wrote a second, independent pourquoi tale and practiced reading them aloud fluently.

• explored attributes of triangles.

• created a heart using only triangles and then found the perimeter and area of it.

• used comprehension strategies to solve a mystery.

• wrote scientific explanations to describe how a floating train rises, floats, and falls back to the track.

• practiced finding the area of rectangles and found how rectangles can have the same perimeter and different areas OR the same area and different perimeters.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that end with syllable consonant-le.

• explored the suffixes tion and sion.

Ask me:

• Use force vocabulary to describe how a float train rises, floats, and falls. (balanced forces, unbalanced forces, electromagnetism, gravity, pull, repel) 

•  What do you love about your classroom and classmates?

• Draw some examples and non-examples of triangles and tell me why they are or are not examples of a triangle.

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

February 7th, 2025

This week we:

• engaged in many activities that helped us get to know each other better.

• completed our pourquoi tales.

• practiced reading our pourquoi tales with fluency.

• read about important figures in Black History and used our reading to research a person of our own interest. We will share our learning in our own creative way.

• explored unbalanced forces by investigating a "floating" paperclip.

• found the area of rectangles and found how rectangles can have the same perimeter and different areas OR the same area and different perimeters.

• created are robots using square units.

• made vocabulary trees to share our understanding of forces.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that ending syllable consonant-le.

Ask me:

• How did you destabilize the "floating" paperclip? 

•  What does it mean when two forces are unbalanced?

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

January 31st, 2025

This week we:

• welcomed a new student to our classroom.  Welcome Ahmad and family!  We are so glad you have joined our community.

• read about and discussed Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Snake!

• planned and drafted individual pourquoi tales and discussed how to utilize craft moves from a mentor text.

• used folktale transition language to elevate the interest of our pourquoi.

• began exploring area using square units and half units.

• examined the relationship between the areas of rectangles and triangles.

• made a paperclip "float" using the science of balancing forces.

• wrote about how two forces can act on an object at the same time and create a stable object.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that ending syllable consonant-le.

• read The Cat and The Rat and discussed its elements of a pourquoi tale and craft moves.

Ask me:

• What two forces are acting to stabilize the "floating" paperclip? 

•  What does it mean when two forces are balanced?

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

January 24th, 2025

This week we:

• wrote a class planned pourquoi answering the question Why do polliwogs wiggle?

• used folktale transition language to elevate the interest of our pourquoi.

• began exploring perimeter using standard units.

• found unknown side length of a polygon when given the perimeter and some side lengths.

• created different shapes with the same perimeter.

• explored how two forces can act on an object at the same time and created models to show how this works.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that end with y as an open syllable and have a suffix.

• practiced reading with fluency poems about frogs and utilized word solving strategies to uncover the meanings of new words.

• utilized evidence from each poem to determine and infer meaning.

Ask me:

• How did you show another force being exerted on a magnetic force? 

•  How are gravity and magnetism alike? (both are non-touching forces)

• Tell me about the Diamondback Rattlesnake poem.  How was the word tail being used in the poem and what is your evidence?

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

January 17th, 2025

This week we:

• read pourquoi stories and identified that they are stories that answer questions about why/how things are the way they are in nature.

• wrote a pourquoi tale answering Why Polliwogs Wiggle.

• came up with one word to use a guide for the new year. We then wrote a paragraph to explain our  choice.

• solved addition problems with 2- and 3-digit numbers by using strategies that involve breaking each number apart by place or adding on one number in parts.

• discussed how using 100 as a guide while adding and subtracting can be helpful.

• analyzed when adding up from the smallest number is a more efficient strategy to solve difference problems.

• created models to show how a floating train might fall back to its track. (gravitiy)

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that end with y as an open syllable and have a suffix.

Ask me:

• What word did you choose to guide you in the new year and why did you choose it? 

•  How are gravity and magnetism alike? (both are non-touching forces)

• Tell me your pourquoi tale. :)

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

December 20th, 2024

This week we:

• shared with our reading buddies our 4 paragraph painted essays that describe two reading challenges and the strategies we're going to use to overcome the challenges.

• read Clever Jack Takes the Cake and identified his character traits.  We then talked through how we'd use the painted essay structure to help us describe how he is persistent.

• watched Disney Nature:  Penguins and searched for evidence of the the main penguin's character traits.  We then began to describe this penguin, Steve, in writing.  

• used place value knowledge to round numbers to the nearest tens and hundreds.

• solved addition problems with 2- and 3-digit numbers by using strategies that involve breaking each number apart by place or adding on one number in parts.

• compared non-touching and touching forces.

• investigated the non-touching force, magnetic force. 

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that end with open syllable a that sounds like short u.

• played the game Capture 5 on a 300 Chart to practice the skill of adding and subtracting multiples of 10 and 100.  

Ask me:

• Describe the game Capture 5 o the 300 Chart.  How do you use place value to compare numbers? 

•  How do you think the floating train begins to move? What force do you think is acting on it?

• Describe how you know Jack in Clever Jack Takes the Cake is positive.

• What do you know about Steve (the Adelie Penguin from the movie) so far?  What traits would you use to describe him?

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

December 13th, 2024

This week we:

• completed typing our 4 paragraph painted essays that describe two reading challenges we have and the strategies we're going to use to overcome them.

• created bookmarks to remind us to work on overcoming our reading challenges.

• used fact power to help us solve Mini Nerdles (NYT math game).  

• used our knowledge of place value to solve story problems involving adding two three-digit numbers.

• explored chain reactions and defined a force as a push or a pull and noticed that an object starting or stopping a movement is evidence of a force.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words that begin with an open syllable.

• read Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco and discussed the learning challenge Tricia had and how she overcame this challenge.

• played the game Go Collecting to practice the skill of comparing numbers.  

• discussed how labels can be helpful in communication, but that when labels are used negatively they are harmful to individuals and groups.

Ask me:

• Describe the game Go Collecting.  How do you use place value to compare numbers? Round 123 to the nearest ten.  Round 123 to the nearest hundred.

•  How do you think the floating train begins to move? What force do you think is acting on it?

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

December 6th, 2024

This week we:

• completed our 4 paragraph painted essays that describe two reading challenges we have and the strategies we're going to use to overcome them.

• used our typing skills to type our essays in a Google Doc.

• created a 1,000 chart and used our knowledge of place value to plot landmark numbers on it.

• wrapped up our Evolving Minds Unit by discussing the important point of each lesson.

• began our Balancing Forces unit.  We began investigating floating trains by trying to make a wood block move with a variety of materials.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words with schwa syllables.

• read Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco and discussed the learning challenge Tricia had and how she overcame this challenge.

• played the game Get to 100 to practice the skill of using complements of ten to add up to 100.  Some of us extended our thinking by playing Get to 1,000.  

Ask me:

• How is the game Get to 100 played?  Why is using two digits to that will add up to 9 in the tens place a good strategy?  What digits would then be good to place in the ones place value?

•  How do you think floating trains work?

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

November 27th, 2024

This week we:

• analyzed a four paragraph essay, marked up each part, and identified the purpose of each part.

• identified two reading learning challenges and added them to a note catcher to help us plan our own essays.

• wrote the introduction paragraph to an essay that will describe how we will overcome our learning challenges.

• began extending our knowledge of place value by adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers, focusing on using most efficient strategies to match the problem at hand.

• used the made up species, Piloses, to understand the concept of natural selection, how species change over time, AND how they can change so much that a new species evolves.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words with schwa syllables.

• explored the Wampanoag and Pilgrim perspective of Thanksgiving.

• played the game Capture Five to practice the skill of adding and subtracting multiples of ten to and from numbers.  This game also utilizes strategy and planning skills.  

Ask me:

• How Can We Explain How Anoles Evolved Bigger Toe Pads?

City anoles with bigger toe pads could climb higher, so they were healthier and

had more offspring with bigger toe pads. After many generations this trait became dominate.

•  How are Piloses related to Miroungas? Use the six steps of natural selection to explain.

1. Variation in traits. (Piloses have trait variances- tail size, trunk length, foot size) 

2. Environments change.  (Some Piloses get separated from the rest of the species and end up in a water environment.)

3. Depending on the environment, certain trait variants may be beneficial. (large feet, short trunks, anf sort tails are beneficial traits)

4. Individuals with beneficial trait variants are healthier and have more babies

5. This process happens again and again over many generations

6. Over time, populations look different than they used to look. (The variants became so great that a new species evolved.)

• What are some small things for which you are grateful?

November 22nd, 2024

The past two weeks we:

• read More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby and determined the gist and lesson of the story.

• discussed the structure of a paragraph and used this structure to write about the theme of our read aloud. 

• identified learning challenges we come across and strategies to overcome them.

• analyzed fluent reading and came up with descriptors to guide our fluency practice.

• began our Evolving Minds science unit where we explored trait variants among species.

• used the made up species, Piloses, to understand the concept of natural selection, how species change over time.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up words with schwa syllables.

• created line plots to communicate data collected in class.  

• solved a Connections puzzle created by Ms. Gorman.  The categories were types of graphs, multiplication vocabulary, trait variants, and words that describe groups.

Ask me:

•  Why did the trunk of a Piloses change from short and wide to long and skinny over generations?

1. Variation in traits

2. Environments change

3. Depending on the environment, certain trait variants may be beneficial

4. Individuals with beneficial trait variants are healthier and have more babies

5. This process happens again and again over many generations

6. Over time, populations look different than they used to look

• What was Booker's challenge and how did he overcome it?

• What are some small things for which you are grateful?

Our Transition Songs:

Live for You by Thee Sacred Souls.   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant

 Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

November 8th, 2024

The past two weeks we:

• read all about pumpkins and created our own artistic versions of a pumpkin.

• discussed how different geographical features create learning challenges for different areas. 

• wrote informational paragraphs that describe the learning challenges some children face and described how they overcame them.

• created bar and pictographs and used these graphs to answer questions about data.

• completed a poster to teach others about one Wampanoag season. Next week, we'll write paragraphs that tell the main idea of each season and provide details to support the main idea.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up multisyllabic words ending in a v-c-e syllable with vowel suffixes.

• observed pumpkins and used many math skills to answer questions about the pumpkins.  

• engaged in data talk using this map as a springboard.

• created bar graphs and pictographs using data collected from our data talk.

• Solved a Connections puzzle created by Ms. Gorman.  The categories were parts of a paragraph, nonfiction text features, parts of a pumpkin, and Wampanoag vocabulary.

Ask me:

•  How many seeds were in the pumpkin you observed?  How did you share the seeds evenly among your group?

• How many ribs did your pumpkin have?

• What are some interesting facts you learned about pumpkins?

• Tell me the main idea of the Wampanoag season you researched.  WHat details support the main idea?

Our Transition Songs:

Just Fine by Mary J. Blige   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

October 25th, 2024

This week we:

• read sections from My Librarian is a Camel:  How Books are Brought to Children Around the World and wrote about the gist of each section. We discussed how the examples we are reading about do not represent all people from an area but are unusual ways people have overcome challenges.

• discussed how different geographical features create learning challenges for different areas. 

• used cause and effect compound sentences, identifying the subjects, predicates, and the conjunction because to express the gist of a story.

• began sorting data in order to find answers to mathematical questions.

• researched one season of the Wampanoag seasonal cycle and began creating a poster to teach others about the season.

• practiced reading, writing, and marking up multisyllabic words ending in a v-c-e syllable.

Ask me:

•  What are the learning challenges in Bulla Iftin, Kenya and how are they overcome?   (The only access to this remote, nomadic, desert village is a sandy road that even 4-wheel drive vehicles cannot traverse.  Camels carry boxes with about 400 books to remote villages.)

October 11th, 2024

This week we:

• read Nasreen's Secret School Jeannette Winter and discussed its central message after summarizing the story.

• wrote reading responses to our independent reading books to help us further understand how people overcome learning challenges. 

• explored cause and effect compound sentences, identifying the subjects, predicates, and the conjunction because.

• used known multiplication facts to help determine other facts.  

 Ex:  8 X 7 =  ? , ( 4 X 7) + (4 X 7) =56 

• discussed different perspectives and how perspective impacts history. 

• learned the 1:1:1 DOUBLING RULE for when to double a final consonant when adding a suffix.

• created home learning goals for ourselves and learned about our "October Responsibilities."

• worked in partners to discuss math solutions.

Ask me:

•  Who are the Wampanoag?  

• What is the central message/moral/lesson of Nasreen's Secret School? (Education is so important that some people do dangerous things to go to school.)

Our Transition Songs:

•   Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

October 4th, 2024

This week we:

• read Rain School by  James Rumford and discussed its central message after summarizing the story.

• picked independent reading books to help us further understand how people overcome learning challenges. 

• continued exploring the relationship between multiplication and division, using arrays to help us identify and relate the numbers in a fact family.

• completed a map scavenger hunt of Massachusetts. 

• reviewed plural suffixes es and s.

• create home learning goals for ourselves and learned about our "October Responsibilities."

• worked in partners to discuss math solutions.

• responded to our reading with our first reading response.

Ask me:

     What are some neat features of Massachusetts that you discovered on your       map scavenger hunt?  

What is the centeral message/moral/lesson of Rain School? (While overcoming challenges you can learn new skills along the way.)

Our Transition Songs:

  Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

September 27th, 2024

This week we:

• read Hello, My Name is Ruby  by Philip C. Stead and discussed how having the courage to be vulnerable helps us to learn and to make better connections with others.

• followed step-by-step directions to complete a blank map of Massachusetts, adding major rivers, towns, and land features. 

• explored the relationship between multiplication and division, using arrays to help us identify and relate the numbers in a fact family.

• encouraged each other during recess and work times. (Super proud of this group for how they route for each other.)

• reviewed closed syllable exceptions.

• began module one of EL:  Overcoming Learning Challenges Near and Far.

• practiced using strategies and sentences starters that help guide and develop group discussions.

Ask me:

     Describe Massachusetts using land and water vocabulary.  

What are you most proud of this week?

What is a Biblioburro and where can you find one? (A portable library used in farming villages of Columbia. A librarian brings books carried by donkeys!)

Our Transition Songs:

  Worthy by Mavis Staples      Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

September 20th, 2024

This week we:

• began to practice typing with typing.com.

• read a non-fiction article about why people around the world have told stories about dragons for many years.

• drew our own dragons and wrote descriptions of them.

• refined our lunch/recess routines.

• discussed the relationships between the multiples of 5 and 10. 

• looked at the multiples of 3 and 6 together and discussed the patterns and relationships we see.  

• solved related problems involving groups of 3 and 6.

• reviewed basic geography concepts from second grade and began to zoom in on Massachusetts.

• participated in a "book tasting" where we explored books from many genres and created a list of books we're interested in reading.

• read The Colors of Us by Karen Katz and mixed paint to match our own skin colors. We're getting ready to create self portraits!

Ask me:

     How are you feeling about learning to play the recorder? 

What are you most proud of this week?

Our Transition Songs:

Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

September 13th, 2024

This week we:

• cooperatively tried to save Fred, the gummy worm.

• wrote about our hopes and dreams for third grade.

• began exploring multiples of equal groups and writing sentences and equations to match pictures of these groups.

• continued to practice working in leadership groups to help take care of the classroom and each other. We keep refining our system to make it work better for the classroom.

• reviewed syllable types and practiced Fundations routines.

• explored accessing materials for lessons by navigating to our Google Classroom. 

• used Google Slides to create a magazine cover showcasing students.

Ask me:

What happened to Fred, the gummy worm?  How did you rescue him? What adjustments did your team have to make?

Did you find a book you are interested in reading while at library?

What are you most proud of this week?

Our Transition Songs:

Step Into Your Power by  Ray LaMontange      We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

September 6th, 2024

This week we:

• cooperatively built cup towers without touching the cups with our hands!

• played name games to learn each others' names.

• learned about third grade routines, procedures, and jobs.

• practiced working in leadership groups to help take care of the classroom and each other.

• went to our very first recorder class.

• learned and practiced new lunch/recess procedures.

• logged into our Chromebooks and navigated to our Google Classroom where we explored resources posted there.

• Explored many books that focus on building community and learning about others as well as having the confidence to share about ourselves.

Ask me:

How is lunch/recess different this year?

How did you work with your team to stack cups into a pyramid?

Tell me about the book Carl and the Meaning of Life. What did Carl learn? 

Carl is a worm who is seemingly insignificant, but learns that he has a vital purpose. 

Describe the game Pass Zany. What is the class record?  Describe what helped your class achieve this record.

Tell me about the student led awards.

Our Transition Songs:

 We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes

August, 2024

Welcome to the new school year!  You have found the space where I update what's going on in our classroom. Please visit this page once a week to learn about your child's week.

June 14th, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*practiced being researchers by asking and answering questions about fruits.   

*wrote captions for our flower models.

*solved double-digit comparison story problems and represented the relationships between  the quantities by drawing diagrams.  We noticed which subtraction strategies are most efficient based on the problem.

*created water color visualizations of different regions of Ghana (savanna, rain forest,  coastal plains, Lake Volta). 

*dissected a lily and Wisconsin Fast Plants and found the different parts of the flower  (stamen, pistol, stigma, pollen, and ovule). 

*engaged in science talk to describe why flowers are important.

*celebrated our year by playing many games at Richardson Park. Abig thank you to all of the parents who helped make it happen!

 Our transition songs:   Here Comes the Sun  The Beatles,  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

Show me your flower model. Tell me what you know about each part that you labeled.

Would you add up or subtract back to solve 64 - 17 = _____?  Why? 

Describe the coastal plains of Ghana.

June 6th, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*practiced reading and spelling words with /oi/ syllables. 

*practiced being researchers by asking and answering questions about flowers.   

*created a model of a flower to help us explain how flowers make seeds.

*solved double-digit comparison story problems and represented the relationships between the quantities by drawing diagrams. 

*practiced working efficiently by tracking work production. 

*prepared our classroom for guests by cleaning, organizing, and brainstorming ideas for our share. 

 Our transition songs:   Here Comes the Sun  The Beatles,  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What are the parts of a flower and how do flowers make seeds?

May 31st, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*practiced reading and spelling words with /oi/ syllables. 

*practiced being researchers by asking and answering questions about plants.   

*observed Wisconsin Fast Plants and recorded our noticings.  We used science vocabulary (germination, roots, shoot, stem, leaves ) to describe our observations.  We also noticed the two different leaves growing on the Fast Plants.

*completed publishing poems that show craft moves that poets use, and wrote a new poem about saying goodbye to our butterflies. 

*completed our unit on multiples of equal groups.

*practiced working efficiently by tracking work production. 

*used nonfiction text features to help us locate information that helped us to label a diagram of a butterfly. 

 Our transition songs:   Here Comes the Sun  The Beatles,  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What are the first leaves of a plant?

How did Ma change throughout the book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon? 

How do you feel about the end of the story?  Which of Minli's adventures did you enjoy reading most and why?

May 24th, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*checked in on our ability to write and apply the patterns e, ea, ee, ey, e-e to words with the long e sound. 

*began a new module in our EL curriculum with the guiding question, How do we get the fruits, vegetables, and flowers we enjoy? This guiding question pairs nicely with our science unit exploring the life cycles of plants and butterflies.   

*saw our butterfly pupae hatch into adults!

*began to publish poems that show craft moves that poets use. 

*explored multiples of equal groups by creating cube buildings with many floors. We noticed patterns and used these patterns to describe our buildings. 

*created models of animals from Mexico using Model Magic. 

*used a variety of texts about Mexico to learn more in depth information. We collected facts we learned and created sketches to help us remember details. 

 Our transition songs:  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

How do you play Close to 100?

Which region of Mexico would you like to visit and why? 

May 17th, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*practiced writing and applying the patterns e, ea, ee, ey, e-e to words with the long e sound 

*listened to the mentor text The Maiasaura Dig: The Story of Dr. Holly Woodward Ballard, created a chart of action verbs, thoughts, and feelings based on the text  

*used the mentor text to help us write compelling narratives from the perspective of a paleontologist

*learned strategies poet’s use such as line breaks, poet’s eyes, precise words, list poems, and conversation poems to create our own poems 

*explored two different strategies ( adding tens and ones or keeping one number whole) to solve addition story problems 

*attended a caterpillar lab (Friday, May 10th), observed a larva AND a chrysalis, and recorded our observations 

*explored the geography of Mexico and learned about different animals that live in Mexico  

 Our transition songs:  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

How do you play Plus or minus 10 or 100?

What do you know about Mexico and what do you wonder about it? 

April 26th, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*discussed the definition of a friend and reflected on what we do well as friends and how we can improve. about the same topic.

*experimented with poetry structure by writing list and conversation poems. 

*explored adding tens and hundreds to three digit numbers.

*practiced reading poems fluently, using line breaks and punctuation as our guide.

*"flew" to Mexico City and explored basic geography of Mexico.

*discussed references to Chinese culture in Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. 

*explored double vowels that can say the long a sound.

 Our transition songs:  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

How do you play Plus or minus 10 or 100?

What do you know about Mexico and what do you wonder about it? 

April 12th, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*looked at objects through poet's eyes. 

*used line breaks to help add feeling and meaning to a poem.

*added two 2-digit cent amounts and found how much more to a dollar.

*practiced combining double digit numbers that equal 100 in the game Close to 100. 

*discussed cause and effect in Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. 

*created designs to explore how we can stop soil from washing away

*began a design challenge:  Save the Sand Towers.

1. identified the problem

2. identified project constraints (limits) 

3. designed a solution to the problem

4. tested our solutions and made revisions based on our observations

*assessed our knowledge of multisyllabic words with r-controlled syllables.

 Our transition songs:  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

How do you play Close to 100 and what is a great strategy to help you get closest to 100?

Describe your design to save the sand towers?  How might you alter it to make it work better? 

If you have 64 cents and you need a dollar to buy some candy at the corner store, how much more money do you need   and how do you know?

April 5th, 2024🎉  

Although we will not be viewing the solar eclipse as a class on Monday, students will review how to stay safe during the solar eclipse and will be exploring what happens during a solar eclipse.

This week we:

*answered questions about fossils using text evidence. 

*determined the big idea of each section of the article "Digging Up Fossils."

*were tricked by an article about a fake bird, the Lirpa Loof.  We examined the article to help us learn how to spot fake news.

*zoomed in on the importance of following directions. 

*discussed the character traits of main characters in Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. MinLi's adventure to find Never Ending Mountain is just beginning.

*learned three math games that practice place value skills.

*explored the effects of water erosion using sand and water tables. 

*investigated the effects of different interventions using models:  tongue depressors as retraining wall, cotton balls as sand bags, sponge and bolt as trees, and toothpicks as grass.

*practiced reading and writing multisyllabic words with r-controlled syllables.

 Our transition songs:  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

How are the games +9 or -9 Bingo played, Capture 5, and Make a Dollar?

What model did your group try when investigating erosion and how did your designs work? 

Why do you think the author of "Digging Up the Past" wrote it?  What did you learn from reading the article? 

Tell me about the fake Lirpa Loof.  How did you and the entire second grade try to catch one?

March 28th, 2024

Will be updated next week due to conferences. Thank you for your patience.

March 12th, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*used nonfiction text to learn about the first two steps of fossilization. 

*used evidence to make a claim about the similarities and differences between soil and sand.

*explored the effects of wind and water on land.

*collected data about favorite weekend activities and represented this data in a bar graph.

*discussed the character traits of main characters in Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. MinLi's adventure to find Never Ending Mountain is just beginning.

*created PlayDo 'fossils' and used our observations to make inferences about the imprints.

*learned about Amanda Gorman and discussed using our voices to encourage and to advocate for ourselves and others.

*practiced reading and writing multisyllabic words with r-controlled syllables.

 Our transition songs:  Better When I'm Dancin'  by Meghan Trainor    What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What is fossilization? (the process of an animal or plant becoming a fossil)

Who is Amanda Gorman?  What did she do that is important? (She is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. She has dedicated herself to mastering the skills needed to navigate her auditory processing disability and speech impediment.)

Describe your leprechaun trap. How did you collaborate to design and construct your trap?

March 1st, 2024🎉  

This week we:

*read and wrote about famous paleontologists (Mary Anning, Barnum Brown, Othniel Charles Marsh, and Charles Doolittle Walcott).

*answered questions about famous paleontologists using key details from the text Curious About Fossils.

*read multiple resources about each paleontologist and identified key details.

*wrote a paragraph that included a focus statement, at least two details, and a closing sentence.

*solved add to and take from story problems with unknown starts.

*visually represented numbers in the hundreds using sheets of 100, strips of 10, and single stickers. 

*used these representations to model what happens when 10 is added to or subtracted from numbers in the hundreds.

*organized our learning about China and created representations of our learning.

*celebrated Black History by learning about Carter G. Woodson (The Father of Black History) and by reading about a variety of important Black Americans.

*practiced reading and writing multisyllabic words with open syllables.

 Our transition songs:   What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     

  Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

Tell me about a famous paleontologist that you read about this week.

Who was Bessie Coleman?  Why is she an important historical figure?

The letter y can say /e/ and /i/.  When does y say /e/, /i/?

February 23rd, 2024🎉          

This week we:

*engaged in a book study about Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record.

*collected character traits for both Ivy and Bean.

*determined cause and effect of important events.

*used perseverance to create the tallest tower possible using 5 inches of tape and 15 straws.

*tried to complete 100 math facts in 15 minutes.

*engaged in silly 100 second trials and used these trials to work for personal records, emphasizing creating goals and sticking     with tricky tasks.

*read about The Forbidden City and created Sharpie and watercolor representations of one of its buildings. 

*practiced reading and writing words with vowel-consonant-e and open syllables.

*used visualizing, representing, and diagraming to solve add to and take from story problems with the change unknown.

 Our transition songs:   What About Your Friends by TLC    Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,     

  Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant      Respect by Aretha Franklin   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes  

  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

If you had 36 stickers and bought some more at Sticker Station, how many did you buy if you ended up with 83? 

The letter y can say /e/ and /i/.  When does y say /e/, /i/?

February 16th, 2024🎉          

This week we:

*used inferencing skills to complete a scavenger hunt to find valentines from Mrs. Gorman.

*continued our critical literacy learning by reading Speak Up  by Brad Meltzer. 

*read and practiced retelling The Dog that Dug for Dinosaurs by Shirley Raye Redmond. 

    *wrote a retelling of The Dog that Dug for Dinosaurs.

*learned that fossils are the evidence of a living animal or plant from a long time ago. 

*discussed that some fossils are parts of an animal like bones, shells, or teeth. Other fossils are like molds created by a decayed object but the shape remained. 

*read about China's "First Emperor" (Qin Shi Huang Di) and used facts learned about his rule to debate his leadership skills. 

*read about The Great Wall of China and collected facts we learned. 

*practiced reading and writing words with vowel-consonant-e syllables.

*solved double-digit story problems with one addend unknown.

*practiced adding up to 100 and developed efficient strategies for adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers.

 Our transition songs:     Just Fine by Mary J. Blige     Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,       Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant     

  Respect by Aretha Franklin Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

When two adding 2-digit numbers that add up to 40, why will any digits that aren't 0 in the ones place add up to ten? 

The letter y can say /e/ and /i/.  When does y say /e/, /i/?

Where did you find your valentine from Mrs. Gorman?

January 12th, 2024🎉          

This week we:

*read I Am Martin Luther King Jr. by Brad Meltzer. We used text evidence to determine character traits that describe him. 

*read and practiced retelling Stone Girl, Bone Girl, A Story of Mary Anning of Lyme Regis by Laurence Anholt. 

*asked and recorded questions about fossils.  

*examined small sections of text and thought about words that help us create meaning.

*explored and learned from maps of China.

*estimated the age of China and compared it to the age of America. 

*practiced reading and writing words with vowel-consonant-e syllables.

*solved double-digit story problems with one addend unknown.

Our transition songs:  Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,       Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant     Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What did you do this week that makes you proud? 

If you have 36 stickers and want to collect 70, how many more stickers do you need?  Use tens and ones to help you solve.

January 5th, 2024🎉          

This week we:

*discussed our goals for the new year and came up with one word to help encourage us to stick with trying to reach our goal throughout the         year.

*Wrote a class book inspired by Margaret Wise Brown's The Important Book.  Each student wrote a page about a classmate.

*found as many different combinations of a two-digit number as possible, using only tens and ones.  

*discovered that FOSSILS will be the next topic study during EL. We used pictures and a journal entry to collect details that help us predict what we will be learning.

*"flew" to China and got a sneak peek of what we will be learning on our journey through China.

*attended a CAS performance, Painting the River, by Shaw Pong Liu. The students used music to help them visualize and draw Chinese characters.

Our transition songs:  Unwritten by Nathasha Bedingfield   Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,       Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant     Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What is your one word and why did you choose this word? 

How many ways can you make the number 35 using only tens and ones? How do you know you have found all of the ways? 

December 22nd, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

*wrote informative compare/contrast paragraphs.

*used creative writing skills to write If I Lived in a Snow Globe stories.  We then created snow globes to match.

*created fraction flags to further explore halves, fourths, and thirds.  

*met with our reading buddies.

*completed a unit 5 Fundations quiz.

*completed a collaborative poster that says, "Choose to be YOU!"

*played collaborative games with the entire 2nd grade in the cafeteria.  

Our transition songs:    Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,       Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

Would you rather give a gift or receive a gift and why? 

What might it be like to go to school on a boat? 

December 15th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

*Read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and used critical literacy skills to determine which character was being treated unfairly and to think of ways other characters could have advocated for her.

*Discussed how actions and words can make people "wilt" or "bloom" and then brainstormed ways we can help each other bloom.

*Collaboratively created a flower with petals that remind us to act in ways that help those around us "bloom."

*Determined that fractions are equal parts of a whole.

*Explored the fractions 1/2, 1/4, and 1/3.  

*Used fraction vocabulary and notation to describe fractional parts of a whole. (one fourth, 1/4)

*Continued practicing reading, tapping, and marking syllables in multisyllabic words WITH SUFFIXES.  Feel free to practice this at home with your student using the unit 5 guide sent home or using the list linked to the website. 

*Used Venn Diagrams to write paragraphs describing how boat schools of Bangladesh are similar to and different from Zervas.  

*Edited and revised our paragraphs with a partner.

Our transition songs:    Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,       Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

Would you rather give a gift or receive a gift and why? 

What might it be like to go to school on a boat? 

December 8th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

*Learned about what Hanukkah celebrates and how it is celebrated.  We played Dreidel  and listened to Hanukkah music.

*Learned about Kwanzaa by reading Together for Kwanzaa by Juwanda G. Ford. We created kinaras (Kwanzaa candle holder) and wrote a fact we learned about the holiday.

*Continued practicing reading, tapping, and marking syllables in multisyllabic words.  Feel free to practice this at home with your student using the unit 5 guide sent home or using the list linked to the website. 

*We compared Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and discussed the importance of light to both holidays.

*Brainstormed verbs, nouns, and adjectives and then played charades using action verbs. 

*Began exploring the fraction 1/2 and showed how it is breaking one whole into two equal parts.  

*Researched boat schools of Bangladesh and wrote our findings on a Venn Diagram.  

*Used our research to write focus statements that compare and contrast the boat schools of Bangladesh with Zervas.

Our transition songs:    Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,       Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What did you learn about the boat schools of Bangladesh?  What problem was solved by the boat schools? 

Why is the skill of comparing and contrasting an important one to practice?

December 1st, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

*Made winter crafts. Thank you to the many parents that made it happen!

*Practiced reading, tapping, and marking syllables in multisyllabic words.  Feel free to practice this at home with your student: bathtub, himself, sunset.  

*Read Odd Velvet and discussed which character was being treated unfairly. We also talked about how we can take action to promote social justice (take action to support people who are treated unfairly).

*Brainstormed verbs, nouns, and adjectives and then used these parts of speech to write complete sentences. 

*Compared and contrasted a short clip of Happy Feet to March of the Penguins, then partners compared and contrasted two topics using a Venn Diagram. 

*Explored 2-D and 3-D shapes and used key vocabulary terms to describe rectangles. Vocabulary: vertices, sides, angles, quadrilateral, polygons.  

*Learned and played a new math game called Double Array.  

*Defined Rural, Urban, and Suburban and applied what we learned to complete a sorting activity and talked about which community we would want to live in and why.

Our transition songs:    Safe and Sound by Capital Cities,       Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

How did you adjust your balloon design once you began constructing it? 

How did the Chalan Beel community overcome the problem of flooding keeping kids from going to school?

November 22nd, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• Wrote a problem/solution paragraph about what gets in the way of children going to school in the Chalanbeel Region of Bangladesh.

• Read Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. It is the story of the puppeteer of the Macy's parade.

• Designed and created our own parade balloons then shared with our reading buddies.

• Sorted polygons by attributes.

• Continued exploring shapes and discussed 3-D attributes:  edges, sides, vertices, and faces to help us talk about shapes.

Our transition songs:   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

How did you adjust your balloon design once you began constructing it? 

How did the Chalan Beel community overcome the problem of flooding keeping kids from going to school?

November 17th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• Read about what gets in the way of children going to school in the Chalanbeel Region of Bangladesh.

• Used sentence starters and a model to help us write informative problem/solution paragraphs. Next week, we'll collect details about how the Chalanbeel community overcame their problem.

• Played the game Candles and Dice (we used markers in place of candles:) to celebrate Diwali.

• Continued exploring shapes and discussed 3-D attributes:  edges, sides, vertices, and faces to help us talk about shapes.

• Practiced adding suffixes to base words. 

• Researched United States landmarks by watching a video and reading about them.

• Discussed how choosing unkind words when we're upset affects others and that apologizing is important, but pausing to think before acting in the first place avoids hurt feelings.  We saw how repeated unkind words affect people long term.

• Thanked our classmates for their amazing traits.

Our transition songs:   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What can get in the way of children going to school in the Chalanbeel Region of Bangladesh? 

How do you think the community will solve this problem and what clues from the text and pictures helped   you to make this prediction?

November 9th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• Planned and shared with a writing partner information about a school in Xixuau´, Brazil. 

• Learned about informative problem/solution paragraphs. Next week, we'll write begin writing our own, starting with a with focus statement.

• Learned that Veterans Day celebrates people who have served in one of our 5 branches of the military..

• Began to explore shapes and discussed how 2-D shapes are similar to and different from 3-D shapes. Used the words edges, sides, vertices, and faces to help us talk about shapes.

• Practiced adding suffixes to base words. 

• Watched The Reflection in Me and then created our own "mirrors." We then traveled the room writing all the wonderful things we notice in our classmates.

Our transition songs:   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

Why did Ms. Gorman do a headstand when talking about trapezoids? 

 Tell me about the new school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti that you are reading about during EL.

November 3rd, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• Used close reading skills to learn about a school in Xixuau´, Brazil. 

• Practiced identifying key points in a text and taking notes to help remember these ideas.

• Learned that Diwali is a Hindu holiday celebrating the start of the Hindu New Year.

• Solved comparison and putting together story problems with 2-digit numbers by creating diagrams showing how the quantities in the problem relate to each other.

• Discussed the suffixes s and es and determined that they add meaning to base words by making them plural. 

• Read about the seven continents and collected facts about them as well.

• Created a 3-D model of an imaginary continent that includes many land and water features (hill, valley, mountain, cliff, lake, island, peninsula, plateau, etc.)..

Our transition songs:   Kind and Generous by Natalie Merchant                   Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What is a community? Describe the remote village of xixuau´, Brazil.

  How do you know when to add s or es when pluralizing a word? 

October 27th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• Discussed the meanings of the words respect and compassion.  Identified examples of both in our close read book, The Invisible Boy.

• Identified learning compassion and respect as an important part of school.

• Recognized that the first digit of a 2-digit number designates the number of groups of 10 and the second digit designates the number of ones.

• Solved comparison story problems with 2-digit numbers.

• Identified respectful behaviors. 

• Read about the seven continents and collected facts about them as well.

• Identified how to find our place on the world.

• Observed pictures of landforms and bodies of water and determined the meaning of each.

Our transition song:  Respect by Aretha Franklin

  Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What is germination?

Why are the glued sounds ild, ind, old, olt, and ost exceptions to the closed syllable rule? 

October 20th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• Participated in a close read of the book The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig.

• Responded to questions using details from the text to support our answers.

• Described how characters  respond to events by looking closely at illustrations and text.

• Practiced mindfulness by sending friendly wishes to others. 

• Played the math game Beat the Calculator.  This game helps students practice adding strings of numbers in an efficient order.

• Practiced identifying coins and finding the value of a group of coins.

• Noticed the great in others by recognizing classmates for their helpful behaviors.

• Identified that unexpected behaviors make people uncomfortable and worked hard to remember that following the rules takes care of others.

Our transition song:   Try Everything by Shakira  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What is germination?

Why are the glued sounds ild, ind, old, olt, and ost exceptions to the closed syllable rule? 

October 13th, 2023(underlined words are linked) 

This week we:

• We continued work on our self portraits and we are close to finishing! 

• Practiced mindfulness by sending friendly wishes to others. 

• Began module 1 of the EL curriculum. This module focuses on reading about the importance of school. 

• Played the math game Five in a Row Subtraction with 3 Cubes.  This game helps students practice math facts and uses a bit of strategy.

• Practiced adding strings of numbers.

• Noticed the great in others by recognizing classmates for their helpful behaviors.

• Practiced focusing on one thing at a time by putting all of our thoughts on to  raising our arms as slowly as possible. We noticed how it felt and that external noises occurred, but that they were in the background we couldn't really determine the details of them.

Our transition song:  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What is germination?

When do we add bonus letters f, l, and s? 

Can you add a string of numbers in any order?  If you add 7, 2, 3, and 8 in different orders will you come up with the same answer?

October 6th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• We mixed paint to create our skin tones and used it to build the base of our our self-portraits. 

• Celebrated Hispanic Heritage month by reading Areli is a Dreamer,  A True Story, written by Areli Morales and illustrated by Luisa Uribe. We discussed how Areli is a dreamer. 

• Observed a corn kernel, lima bean, and grass seed.  We noticed how different they looked and decided to begin growing the seeds to see if they grow similarly and if their insides have similar structures. 

• Played the hand game "Double, Double" and used it to help us practice facts that add up to ten (complements of 10).

• Practiced adding strings of numbers.

• Practiced using talking stems to share during peer discussions.

• Talked about how we can deal with big emotions:

Be the Pond. 

Our transition song:  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

What is germination?

When do we add bonus letters f, l, and s? 

Can you add a string of numbers in any order?  If you add 7, 2, 3, and 8 in different orders will you come up with the same answer?

September 29th, 2023(underlined words are linked)

This week we:

• Read The Color of Us by Karen Katz.  We began the process of creating self-portraits. 

• Read Jo Jo's Flying Sidekick by Brian Pinkney. We discussed Jo Jo's goal and how she achieved it. We also noticed how she was a little afraid of trying to reach her goal but very proud when she stuck with it, tried, and succeeded in the end.

• Explored how seeds travel.

• Learned two new greetings (cheer greeting & baseball wave greeting).

• Continued to practice using sentence starters that help make friends want to listen to us when in a disagreement.

• Practiced being kind to ourselves through mindfulness:

Be Kind to Yourself. 

Our transition song:  We are Going to be Friends by The White Stripes    Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

Describe the baseball wave greeting.

What is something you learned about a classmate through their picture share? 

What is something you struggled with this week?  Why is struggle important to the process of learning?

September 22nd, 2023

This week we:

• Read Salt in His Shoes :  Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan.  We talked about how Michael Jordan used patience, practice, and a growth mindset to achieve his dreams.  We then identified our goals for the year and discussed how we will reach them.

• Read I Promise by Lebron James. We made our own promises to keep throughout the school year.

• Practiced using accountable talking stems to help us share and respond to others during whole group discussions.

• Began sharing our pictures with the class during morning meeting.

• Practiced using sentences starters that help make friends want to listen to us when in a disagreement.

• Continued to practice mindfulness:  Mindful breathing and mindful hearing.

Annaka Harris, Mindfulness for Children. ~Annaka Harris

Our transition song:  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:

Tell me about a mistake that you made this week.  What did you do that helped you move forward?

Tell me about the cheer greeting.

Which classmate celebrated a birthday this week?  What do you admire about this student? 

Is school feeling more like home in any ways?

September 15th, 2023

This week we:

• Worked in partners and discussed what we like partners to do and what we do not like partners to do.  We then practiced putting into action positive partner work.

• Determined our classroom rules: Take care of yourself; Take care of others; Take care of our classroom; and Believe in yourself.

• Read Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patti Lovell. We identified examples of Molly Lou Melon following our classroom rules.

• Used observation skills to create scientific drawings of our hands.

• Read a debate in Storyworks 2 titled Should Kids Have Assigned Seats at Lunch?  We used the reading to help us create arguments for and against assigned seats and wrote about our own opinions.

• Explored the many ways we need to cooperate in school and determined how cooperation takes care of ourselves and others.

• Continued to practice mindfulness:  Mindful breathing and mindful hearing.

Annaka Harris, Mindfulness for Children. ~Annaka Harris

Our transition song:  Home by Phillip Phillips 

Ask me:  

What is something new you learned about a classmateand/or Mrs. Gorman?

What do you think about about assigned seats at lunch; what are your reasons?

How do you feel about math workshop? 

What is the class record for the game Pass Zany? What do you think you could do as a class to improve the record?

September 8th, 2023

This week we:

• Welcomed the new school year by singing a welcome song of Liberian and Nigerian origin, Funga Alafia.  Click on it to learn more.

• Practiced transitioning from work time to listening time.

Home by Phillip Phillips  Funga Alafia (Our transition songs)

• Read Our Class is a Family. Discussed how we are going to make our class a family. Students came up with many ways to take core of others, themselves, and the classroom.  From this discussion we created classroom jobs and practiced them. Next week we will create classroom rules to help us take care of each other.

• Read The Day You Begin  by Jacqueline Woodson and discussed how we are beginning to build our community by uncovering common interests  and finding out how we are fabulously different.

• Played many games to get to know each other in order to build the trust that is necessary for students to feel safe taking learning risks. 

• Explored math manipulatives and tried out our math workshop routine.

• Learned about Mindfulness:  (What is it, and why is it important?)

What is mindfulness. ~Annaka Harris

Ask me:

What is something new you learned about a classmate?

Tell me about a few classroom jobs.  Which jobs are you interested in doing for the class?

What is Circle of Trust?

How do you feel about math?

What happens when Mrs. Gorman taps the chime one time... two times?  

How are you feeling about second grade right now?