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| This is a picture of the children after our class election, wearing their "I VOTED!" buttons. |
The children have been presenting their Landmark Challenge Projects the last few days! I can’t stress enough what a valuable learning experience this has been, and the children will remember it for a long time. The children who completed their projects are invited to have their lunch with me in the classroom on Tuesday. They will also receive a “no homework pass” for all of their hard work on these projects. They can use it for one night of absolutely no homework. Simply attach it to the reading log the night your child chooses to use it, so that I can tell it is being redeemed!
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| Aleksandra is now a Mount Rushmore expert! |
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| Michael told us all the interesting details about Mount Rushmore! |
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| Eric illustrated and labeled his own Golden Gate Bridge! |
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| Nicolette studied the Statue of Liberty |
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| Matthew researched the Liberty Bell |
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| Noah visited Mount Rushmore! |
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| Peter described The Alamo, complete with his Davy Crockett-style cap. |
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| Jack presented Mount Rushmore. |
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| Logan taught us about the Golden Gate Bridge. |
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| Azan took us on a tour of the White House! |
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| Christine learned all about Mount Rushmore. |
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| Emily created her own miniature Mount Rushmore! |
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| Alya designed a pamphlet about the Golden Gate Bridge. |
Spelling
Next week we will focus on words with the /u/ sound, spelled u, u-e, ie, and ou.
Reading
We started off the week listening to a story to build our listening comprehension and oral vocabulary, called “Feathers in the Wind.” It was about a little girl named Mina who loved to gossip about everyone around her! A wise old woman taught her a valuable lesson when she asked Mina to cut open her feather pillow and bring it across town to her. Of course, the feathers blew all over town. The woman asked Mina to collect the feathers. Mina found that it was impossible to collect even a fraction of the feathers that escaped. We learned that our words can travel just like the feathers and they are impossible to get back, so we decided to think carefully before we speak. New oral vocabulary words include: gossip, recall, regret, communicate, and opinion.
We then read a whole group story together called, “Head, Body, Legs.” It is a folktale from Liberia. In this story we found that the Head, Body, and Legs were not able to accomplish much without each the help of other. Together, however, they were very successful! Through reading this story we were able to identify many examples of cause and effect. We also practiced determining the meaning of unknown words using our context clues. Our vocabulary words from this story as well as our guided reading texts were: attached, breathe, delicious, frantically, gasped, and swung.
Grammar
The children practiced action verbs and abbreviations during their grammar lessons this week! We played a few minutes of “charades” each morning- having the children guess each other’s actions (swimming, reading, smiling, laughing, skipping, etc.) to remind the children that verbs are things we do!
Writing
We have taken some time this week to review the "Think, Draw, Label, Write," structure of the writing program. The children have been starting off with a minute to simply think about the topic we are going to write about. Then, they are given a few minutes to sketch the images that come to mind as they think about their topic. From there, the children label their picture with as many words and descriptions as they can think of. Finally, they are ready to write. I have been modeling this process for the children as we become more familiar with it. Just as we are working to build the children’s reading fluency, we are also working to increase their writing fluency. The children are excited about this new method, and they are writing more than I have seen them write all year! They enjoy taking a minute to share their writing with a neighbor at the end of our writing time, and then with the class! Topics the children wrote about this week included: 1) How to build a snowman, 2) ways to stay warm in the winter and 3) writer’s choice! Their writing is so much fun to read!
We also had our long awaited Writer's Celebration! The children were able to share their narrative writing with their classmates as we moved around the room reading each other's work. The children wrote down their thoughts about each other's work on large post-it notes that we attached to the stories. This not only encouraged the children to read each other's work carefully so they could come up with some thoughtful comments, but they were also excited to read what their classmates had to say about their work!
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| The children are reading each other's writing, writing down compliments on the large yellow post-it notes. |
We also had our long awaited Writer's Celebration! The children were able to share their narrative writing with their classmates as we moved around the room reading each other's work. The children wrote down their thoughts about each other's work on large post-it notes that we attached to the stories. This not only encouraged the children to read each other's work carefully so they could come up with some thoughtful comments, but they were also excited to read what their classmates had to say about their work!
Coming up next: our unit on Poetry!
Math
We practiced using a tape measure to measure lengths and distances to the nearest inch and centimeter. The children practiced estimating this week. After much practice, I am pleased to see how comfortable they have become when deciding if they should round up (numbers ending in 5 or more) or round down (numbers ending in 4 or less). We are also beginning our practice with the “Partial Sums” algorithm. Here’s a brief explanation: When adding two digit numbers, start in the TENS place, then adding the ONES place, and then combining the two together. (Ex: 46 + 27. Tens: 40+20=60, ones: 6+7 = 13, combine: 60+13=73.) This strategy will take some getting used to, but I’m so pleased with the way the children are using this method already. We are encouraging the development of the “problem solving” mentality, as opposed to learning one method and focusing solely on it. The children will learn to “carry the one” but that method doesn’t build number sense in the same was as the Partial Sums algorithm. The children will have exposure to both methods.
We continue to practice our addition math facts! Many of the children have successfully completed 100 problems in 5 minutes, and are now at 4, 3, and even 2 minutes! If your child is still working to complete their 100 problem test in a 5 minute time period, please spend a few minutes over the weekend or after school during the week reviewing their facts. We will be moving on to subtraction after the holiday break, and it will help them greatly if they already have their addition facts firmly in place. It will also help them during our daily math lessons, and prepare them for skills that are coming up, too!
Social Studies
The children learned so much during their unit on citizenship. After discovering the meaning behind the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, we learned about symbols that represent our country including the bald eagle, the Great Seal, Uncle Sam, the flag, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Bell! We also figured out what the colors of our flag stand for: red – bravery, white – goodness, and blue- liberty.
In order to deepen our understanding of the voting process, we also had a mock election this week! A few students volunteered to help me develop 4 characters to run for the office of President of our class. These characters were “Fair Frank,” “Healthy Harry,” “Silly Sally,” and “Tough Tiffany.” Of course there were benefits to choosing each of these candidates. After listening to a speech that each of the candidates gave to their constituents, the children were asked to make a preliminary selection as to who they would choose for office. They made a campaign button that they wore all day at school, and they created a campaign poster for their candidate stating why they were the best person for the job. They hung their posters in the classroom for their classmates to view. Later that day, we had a debate. The children stood on one of the four sides of the classroom based on their candidate selection. They talked about why they thought their candidate was stronger than the others. They came up with some very thoughtful ideas! (Yes, Silly Sally offered McDonald’s in the lunchroom and video games during the day, but we would be very unhealthy and have to stay in school longer if we played all day!) The children were given the opportunity to switch candidates after listening to the ideas of their peers. (They had to share why they made the switch!) Finally, the children registered to vote by completing their Voter Registration cards, and they voted for Class President one at a time in our “makeshift” voting booth. We tallied up the votes together as a class and found that Fair Frank won the majority of the votes in the election. Fair Frank stated he would listen to the people, make sure everyone is treated equally, and would combine hard work with fun learning experiences. Great choice, class!
The children really enjoyed our 2nd grade version of the voting process, and I think they gained a lot from the experience!
Book Exchange
Our book exchange is coming up on Friday afternoon. Remember to wrap up a book that your child has already enjoyed reading, and bring it to school. We will drop the wrapped books into a grab bag for a fun swap! It will be an exciting way to “grab” a new book to read over the long winter break!
Coming up:
This is our week to say the Pledge of Allegiance! Perfect timing!
Tuesday, December 14: 3rd grade musical, Landmark Luncheon (regular lunch routine, different location to eat it :)
Friday, December 17: Winter Book Exchange; Last day before break!
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