With the growing concern over illness and germs lately, I wanted to let you know the class and I have had some in-depth discussions about germs and the things we can do to help keep ourselves and others as healthy as can be. We watched this video and looked at our schedule to add extra times during day to wash our hands. We also talked about the use of sanitizer and so far the students have been doing an excellent job of being mindful of germs. I even got "reminded" (more like scolded) for touching my face 😀! Please know we are doing all we can to make our school safe and healthy!
March 24 & 26: Parent Teacher Conferences-sign up here.
Service Project collection-- Kindergarten was KID'S TOOTHPASTE
March 27: NO SCHOOL
April 6-10: Spring Break NO SCHOOL
April 17: Knowledge-a-thon (KAT)--dress up days to come
Celebration Dance 6-8pm
Here's a peek at the week:
Reading: The nonfiction books have been a huge hit in our room! It's so fun to listen to the students ask questions and share knowledge about the topics they are reading about. This week, readers will keep track of topic words they find while reading non-fiction books. They will use the pictures and words in the book to understand what the words mean and will teach them to their reading partner. We will also conversations about their books with partners. We will use the following conversation starters to help students carry on with their partner.
I wonder....
Maybe...
I agree/disagree because...
We remind students that a having a conversation is like riding a seesaw; you take turns going back and forth!
Writing: I was SO impressed with how the kindergartners were able to use mentor texts to think about how to make their all about writing even better. They came up with ideas like adding diagrams, maps, important vocabulary words and more! Now that we have some great ideas to put in our books, we will set goals for how many topics we will write about in one week. After finishing a book, writers will be reminded to go back to add more key details, make sure it is easy to read, and work with a partner who can ask questions to help them add more information to their books.
Math: Did you know that in order to be fluent adding and subtracting within 5, students need to be able to solve more than 20 equations! An article called "Assessing Basic Fact Fluency" defines fluency as "the efficient, appropriate, and flexible application of single-digit calculation skills and...an essential aspect of mathematical proficiency". In order to determine if a student is fluent in solving a problem, they must show "flexibility, appropriate strategy use, efficiency, and accuracy". So how do we determine that? Students are given a fact fluency interview where we watch and ask questions about how students are solving equations. It is amazing to see how their brains use the strategies to solve problems!
Researcher's Workshop: Our weather unit will come to a close this week. Students will show some of their learning by answering questions with drawings and words. We will share this work on Seesaw. We will also celebrate St. Patrick's day by creating blue prints and building leprechaun traps like engineers!
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Weekly News March 9-13
It was a great week to choose for our mini trip to the mailbox!! Hopefully some homes have received their mail and been persuaded already! Also, some students did choose to send letters back to our classroom or school...we are anxiously awaiting those too!
4K Kids toothbrushes (both toddler and child size needed)
Kindergarten Kids toothpaste
First grade Birthday candles
Second grade Cans of frosting (please check expiration dates)
Third grade Cake mix (please check expiration dates)
Fourth grade Kid’s birthday cards ( no age specific cards and please
Leave them blank)
Important Dates and Reminders:
March 24 & 26: Parent Teacher Conferences--info coming soon
March 27: NO SCHOOL
April 6-10: Spring Break NO SCHOOL
April 17: Knowledge-a-thon (KAT)
Celebration Dance 6-8pm
Reading:This week we will learn that non-fiction readers don't just read to ask and answer questions and keep them to themselves...they share their knowledge with others! We will do this by pretending to be both teachers and reporters to share what we have learned. One structure we prompt kids to use to share information they have learned in their own hand! They can share the main topic and touch their palm and then list key details about the topic on their fingers!
Writing: This week we are starting to write All About books. The goal is for students to write an entire book that teaches about one topic. To kick off this unit we will be using book from our classroom library to study what other authors (we call them mentor authors) do to make sure their writing teaches all it can AND looks easy for others to read!
Math:This week we will focus on using the +1 pattern automatically.
One way we will be working on the +1 pattern is by playing the game speed. Students play as a pair and hold 5 cards each in their hand, they then flip one card over from the deck and need to lay down the card the comes after that card as quickly as they can. This is a fun way for them to practice using the +1 strategy and to recognize that addition pattern automatically. We will also work on using strategies for equations that do not have a pattern (2+2, 4-3, 2+3, 3-2...). We will learn that using fingers and tools can help use to visualize what happens in these equations. We will also make our own bead racks use as a tool. Stay tuned to see how we use these on SeeSaw!
Researcher's Workshop: This week we will use our knowledge of weather to create an art project that shows the 4 seasons. We will focus on making our art work match the sky, temperature, wind and precipitation for each season. This will be a great way to use our creativity and also tie in some direction following in a playful way!
NDLC Spring Service Project
We are excited to announce our 2020 spring service project Happy Tooth - Day - a collection for St. Joseph’s food program in Menasha. We will be collecting and creating birthday bags and dental hygiene bags for kids in need.
Each grade has an assigned item to collect. Donations are OPTIONAL. If you wish to donate, please bring NEW items to conferences on March 24 &26.
Families are invited to fill the dental and birthday bags at the Knowledge-athon dance on April 17th.
Kindergarten Kids toothpaste
First grade Birthday candles
Second grade Cans of frosting (please check expiration dates)
Third grade Cake mix (please check expiration dates)
Fourth grade Kid’s birthday cards ( no age specific cards and please
Leave them blank)
Thank you for your participation in this important project.
Important Dates and Reminders:
March 24 & 26: Parent Teacher Conferences--info coming soon
March 27: NO SCHOOL
April 6-10: Spring Break NO SCHOOL
April 17: Knowledge-a-thon (KAT)
Celebration Dance 6-8pm
Reading:This week we will learn that non-fiction readers don't just read to ask and answer questions and keep them to themselves...they share their knowledge with others! We will do this by pretending to be both teachers and reporters to share what we have learned. One structure we prompt kids to use to share information they have learned in their own hand! They can share the main topic and touch their palm and then list key details about the topic on their fingers!
Writing: This week we are starting to write All About books. The goal is for students to write an entire book that teaches about one topic. To kick off this unit we will be using book from our classroom library to study what other authors (we call them mentor authors) do to make sure their writing teaches all it can AND looks easy for others to read!
Math:This week we will focus on using the +1 pattern automatically.
One way we will be working on the +1 pattern is by playing the game speed. Students play as a pair and hold 5 cards each in their hand, they then flip one card over from the deck and need to lay down the card the comes after that card as quickly as they can. This is a fun way for them to practice using the +1 strategy and to recognize that addition pattern automatically. We will also work on using strategies for equations that do not have a pattern (2+2, 4-3, 2+3, 3-2...). We will learn that using fingers and tools can help use to visualize what happens in these equations. We will also make our own bead racks use as a tool. Stay tuned to see how we use these on SeeSaw!
Researcher's Workshop: This week we will use our knowledge of weather to create an art project that shows the 4 seasons. We will focus on making our art work match the sky, temperature, wind and precipitation for each season. This will be a great way to use our creativity and also tie in some direction following in a playful way!
Friday, February 28, 2020
Weekly News Mar 2-6
We had such a fun week together! There is lots of fun in store for next week as well! As a class we have been trying hard to think about how our words and actions can affect others feelings or learning. Here is a chart we created together!
Important Dates and Reminders:
March 2-6 Read Across America Week Dress up days
3/2: Cat in the Hat- wear stripe or a hat
3/3: Grinch/ Green Eggs and Ham day- wear green
3/4: Wacky Wednesday
3/5: Red Fish, Blue Fish- wear red and blue
3/6: Twin/ Thing 1 and Thing 2- dress like someone else
Here's what's happening in K this week!
Reading: This week we kick off a new reading unit called Growing Expertise in Little Books. This unit has a focus on non-fiction reading and really reading to gain understanding and learn from the books we read. This week we will sort our classroom library to get all of our informational books organized so they are easier for us to shop for. We will learn that as we read about a topic we become experts on it and learn to share that information with others by telling the main topic of a book and giving key details learned in the book. We will also work on stopping and asking questions while we read.
Writing: On Monday, we will finish up our letters, using these checklists to make sure that our letters have everything persuasive writing needs and that is easy to read:
On Tuesday, we will walk to the post office to send our letters out into the world! Don't be surprised if you receive some pretty convincing letters:)
Please return the signed permission slip by Monday!
Math: This week a major focus in math will be identifying and quickly recalling partners of a number or two numbers that combine to form a larger numbers. Students will play a game called Missing Partner where they will have a set number of tools (2-5) and a part of the group will be removed and they will need to say the quantity that remains and then figure out the quantity that is missing. Ex. I see 2, 3 are missing, 2 and 3 are partners of 5.
Researcher's Workshop: After building knowledge about different kinds of weather, students will be rotating through the following centers:
- Reading Center--Students will look through books on weather to learn even more!
- Writing Center--This center will have supplies ready for students to write about what they have learned about weather
- Photo Center--Scientists will sort, uncover, label, and title weather photos
- Technology Center--scientists will explore weather using the Pebble Go app
Friday, February 21, 2020
Weekly News Feb 24-28
I love this time of the year! Although the temps are low, they kids are on fire lately! They are making huge jumps in their learning and are so proud!
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 27: PAC Field Trip
February 28: 1/2 day 11:30 dismissal
March 2-6 Read Across America Week Dress up days
3/2: Cat in the Hat- wear stripe or a hat
3/3: Grinch/ Green Eggs and Ham day- wear green
3/4: Wacky Wednesday
3/5: Red Fish, Blue Fish- wear red and blue
3/6: Twin/ Thing 1 and Thing 2- dress like someone else
Math: The mathematicians will learn about being flexible with writing equations. They will learn that they can write an equation like 10+3=13 or 13=10+3. We will begin to explore comparing groups of numbers to tell whether the group is greater or less than another group. Finally, we will work on acting out math story problems using a grocery store scene. Be on the lookout for a video on seesaw!
Reading: This week we will become avid readers of poetry! We will learn how to make our reading sound smooth and will also work to show emotions in the poems we read. We will end the week with a Poetry Extravaganza where we will perform, illustrate and even write our own poems using the beat of poems we know well.
Writing: Our focus will switch to writing persuasive letters this week. As students are writing letters to solve problems, they will learn that they can study the work of a mentor author and then try to incorporate what they have learned into their writing. Writers will also learn to think about their audience when writing and add possible ideas for how to fix the problem they are writing about.
Researcher's Workshop: This week we will study the sun and the impact it can have on temperature as well as the way it provides light. We will learn about a city in Norway that is situated in a way where it can receive no light and will hypothesize and experiment with ways we could create light. We are in need of flashlights for this experiment! If you can lend us some, please send them to school by Thursday!!!
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 27: PAC Field Trip
February 28: 1/2 day 11:30 dismissal
March 2-6 Read Across America Week Dress up days
3/2: Cat in the Hat- wear stripe or a hat
3/3: Grinch/ Green Eggs and Ham day- wear green
3/4: Wacky Wednesday
3/5: Red Fish, Blue Fish- wear red and blue
3/6: Twin/ Thing 1 and Thing 2- dress like someone else
Math: The mathematicians will learn about being flexible with writing equations. They will learn that they can write an equation like 10+3=13 or 13=10+3. We will begin to explore comparing groups of numbers to tell whether the group is greater or less than another group. Finally, we will work on acting out math story problems using a grocery store scene. Be on the lookout for a video on seesaw!
Reading: This week we will become avid readers of poetry! We will learn how to make our reading sound smooth and will also work to show emotions in the poems we read. We will end the week with a Poetry Extravaganza where we will perform, illustrate and even write our own poems using the beat of poems we know well.
Writing: Our focus will switch to writing persuasive letters this week. As students are writing letters to solve problems, they will learn that they can study the work of a mentor author and then try to incorporate what they have learned into their writing. Writers will also learn to think about their audience when writing and add possible ideas for how to fix the problem they are writing about.
Researcher's Workshop: This week we will study the sun and the impact it can have on temperature as well as the way it provides light. We will learn about a city in Norway that is situated in a way where it can receive no light and will hypothesize and experiment with ways we could create light. We are in need of flashlights for this experiment! If you can lend us some, please send them to school by Thursday!!!
Friday, February 14, 2020
Weekly News Feb 17-21
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 17: NO SCHOOL
February 18: Family Night 5:30 pm
February 27: PAC Field Trip- permission slips due 2/18
March 2-6 Read Across America Week Dress up days
3/2: Cat in the Hat- wear stripe or a hat
3/3: Grinch/ Green Eggs and Ham day- wear green
3/4: Wacky Wednesday
3/5: Red Fish, Blue Fish- wear red and blue
3/6: Twin/ Thing 1 and Thing 2- dress like someone else
Math: This week we will begin Unit 4. The main concepts of this unit are finding partner numbers for 6-10 and identifying 3 dimensional shapes. The unit also reinforces teen number composition and decomposition. Please note that any partner work within 6-10 is expected to be done with math tools and drawings and students are by no means expected to be fluent in knowing their facts or partners to 10. We will continue to work toward automaticity with addition and subtraction within 5. So far we have learned these poems to help us solve +0/-0 and +1 facts!
Reading: We are having fun being avid non-fiction readers! This week we will learn that acting out or pretending with non-fiction books can help us to better understand them. We may even do a little acting on SeeSaw...keep your eyes peeled! This week we will also become avid readers of poetry! We will learn how to make our reading sound smooth and will also work to show emotions in the poems we read.
Writing:I hope your child has shared with your some of the important topics they are writing about to persuade others. Please know you may receive some books or letters regarding "problems" your child might want to persuade others to fix at home or in your neighborhood. We are really working on using our words as a way to let people know about a problems see and ways we think it can be fixed. This week we will work on keeping our writing stamina up by thinking of lots of causes to write about and will work on revision and spelling strategies.
Researcher's Workshop: This week our study of weather will lead us to discussing the 4 seasons. We live in the perfect place to be able to really understand these weather differences and changes! I am sure we will feel like WI is perfect right now, right?! We will become data collectors and determine how many class birthdays occur in what seasons and will continue to weather watch using this chart!!
February 17: NO SCHOOL
February 18: Family Night 5:30 pm
February 27: PAC Field Trip- permission slips due 2/18
March 2-6 Read Across America Week Dress up days
3/2: Cat in the Hat- wear stripe or a hat
3/3: Grinch/ Green Eggs and Ham day- wear green
3/4: Wacky Wednesday
3/5: Red Fish, Blue Fish- wear red and blue
3/6: Twin/ Thing 1 and Thing 2- dress like someone else
Reading: We are having fun being avid non-fiction readers! This week we will learn that acting out or pretending with non-fiction books can help us to better understand them. We may even do a little acting on SeeSaw...keep your eyes peeled! This week we will also become avid readers of poetry! We will learn how to make our reading sound smooth and will also work to show emotions in the poems we read.
Writing:I hope your child has shared with your some of the important topics they are writing about to persuade others. Please know you may receive some books or letters regarding "problems" your child might want to persuade others to fix at home or in your neighborhood. We are really working on using our words as a way to let people know about a problems see and ways we think it can be fixed. This week we will work on keeping our writing stamina up by thinking of lots of causes to write about and will work on revision and spelling strategies.
Researcher's Workshop: This week our study of weather will lead us to discussing the 4 seasons. We live in the perfect place to be able to really understand these weather differences and changes! I am sure we will feel like WI is perfect right now, right?! We will become data collectors and determine how many class birthdays occur in what seasons and will continue to weather watch using this chart!!
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Weekly News Feb 10-14
We has SUCH a fun 100th day of school!! It was fun to switch up our schedule and make everything all about 100!!!
All of the 100 year olds!!
Making 100 gumballs!
Can you build something with 100 legos??
100 cup stacking challenge!
Each group worked SO well together they were able to stack 200 cups!!
How many licks does it take to get to the end??
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 14: Valentine day celebration-Here is our class list.
We will be making valentine bags as class, so no need to send in a separate Valentine box
February 17: NO SCHOOL
February 27: PAC Field Trip
Reading: This week as Super Avid Readers we will look more closely at non-fiction or informational texts and how we can really learn from what we read in them. To pique our interest in looking more closely at non-fiction topics we will watch this video. The kids do seem to really like this video and learn so much from watching it, but some may find it a tad scary a first. There will be lots of discussion around it so I wanted it to be available to you as well :). Some of the ways we will work with non-fiction books this week we will be: to use new vocabulary we have learned about our topics when talking about our books, finding multiple books on a topic that interests us and comparing and contrasting various books we read
Writing: Opinion writing is up and running in Kindergarten! This week we will learn that we can voice our opinion about problems we see around us and write as a way to try to fix it. We will use the following chart to help us:
1. See a problem
2. Think
3. Write
This work will lead us to writing letters, making signs and even creating petitions to make our school a better place. The big goal for Kindergartners in this unit is to understand how powerful their words can be to persuade others.
Math: One way that mathematicians become more fluent in solving addition and subtraction equations is to study patterns. Students will start by exploring +0 and -0 equations and discover that it doesn't matter if you're adding or subtracting, when their is a 0, the number stays the same. Then, we will begin to study the +1 pattern, which is just like forward number counting! Students will practice solving equations quickly by using flashcards. We will continue to look for patterns to strengthen our fluency!
Researcher's Workshop: This week we will begin an exploration of weather. We will become "weather watchers" and will learn important things to be on the look out for when studying the weather. We will be spending time outside to observe and write about the weather and will begin to discuss how the weather impacts people and the things they need.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Weekly News Feb 3-7
We have been working as a classroom family to solve problems that may come up between us! We call small problems bummers in here! We created and have been practicing using this chart every day before play workshop! I am impressed at how this is allowing the students to be assertive and solve problems in a calm and respectful way! I am sharing in case it could be useful or spark some conversations at your house!!
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 7: 100 day of school- dress like you are 100 years old
February 14: Valentine day celebration- here is a list of names for valentines
February 17: NO SCHOOL
February 27: PAC Field Trip (more info to come)
Reading: Every reader that solves a word, monitors to see if the word makes sense in the context of the book, if it sounds right (like something we would read or say) and looks right (has the correct letters). This week, we will be digging in to how to check for those three things as we solve words. Stay tuned for a chart we will make a a class to help us support our reading process!!
Writing: Kindergartners begin writing opinion pieces this week! As you may have seen in your child's folder, each student is welcome to bring 4 items from home that they have strong feelings about. For example, it could be their favorite toy OR a picture of a food that they do NOT like. We will use these items to start discussions and generate ideas for our writing. The goal is for students to start their writing with "I like/do not like_____" and then add reasons to each page of the book. I can't wait to learn more about the opinions in our classroom!
Math: This week we will be wrapping up Unit 3. We will be reviewing teen numbers, partners and doing some work with composing and decomposing shapes! We will also take some time to discuss the number 100 and will build it by making ten groups of 10 many times during our 100 day celebration. The kids have been anxiously awaiting for the day since day 1 of school!
Researcher's Workshop: Students will be wrapping up self study centers and learning how to use Seesaw to share our learning. Your child will have his or her own learning journal, and you can get notified when your child adds new items. It's completely private -- only you can see your child's journal outside of class. I will be sending out a link to access Seesaw later this week!
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