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!
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