Much to Be Thankful For
Much to be thankful for…
We have been in school for almost four months now and the students of 2GW have shown great progress. They worked hard on their personal narratives, turned in some very creative turkeys, and have been exploring new apps on our iPads! They have come such a long way since September and we are looking forward to their continued growth. We want to extend a special thanks to the parents who brought in supplies for our Thanksgiving mini-feast. The students really enjoyed it! We hope parents and students alike had a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving and are looking forward to the winter holidays.
Curriculum Connections
Math: The class is currently working on different strategies for addition. Some of these strategies are new to parents and even to teachers, while other ones may more familiar. Once the students have learned some different strategies, they will be able to choose the one that is most comfortable for them. Additionally, each day during Calendar Math we talk about money and make different combinations to show the same amount. This is a great skill to practice with your children at home, so the next time you are paying for something or counting change, have your children show you what they know!
Social Studies/Science: We will be wrapping up our second unit in social studies in the next few weeks. The students have enjoyed making collages to differentiate between needs and wants and learning about all the goods and services in our community. Next we will turn our attention to science, which is always very popular! We will be learning about features of the earth and slow and fast land changes. The students will get a chance to create landforms, look at rocks, and create erosion models. They will even have an opportunity to erupt some model volcanoes!
Reading: In reading the class has enjoyed learning about things in nature from both fiction and nonfiction stories. When reading about topics such as animals building homes and dangerous storms, they practiced their skills of identifying text features and determining the main idea. They also read stories and folktales such as The Ugly Vegetables and How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, where they practiced identifying the author’s purpose or determining characters’ traits. We really enjoyed their recent WEB entries—what a creative class we have!
Writing: 2GW has been working very hard in writing this month. They wrote letters to their pen pals and are now working on “How To” instructional writing. Some of their essay topics include “How to Set the Table”, “How to Make a Birthday Cake,” and “How to Draw a Dog.” Perhaps next time you sit down to dinner, talk about all the things they know how to do and discuss how they could give instructions to someone who has never done that thing before.
At home connections
We have been using iPads in our classroom every week and working on some apps or websites that your children can use at home as well. During centers, when the students are not in guided reading groups or playing a game, they get the chance to use an iPad. Some apps that are especially useful to reinforce skills are IXL, RazKids, and Spelling City. Students have been using the Spelling City app on the iPads in school to practice their spelling words, but you can also access Spelling City on the computer! You can go to this site: and find our current list as well as all of our old spelling lists. There are lots of fun activities to help practice spelling!
Important Dates
December 4: Spirit Day
December 4: Spelling Test
December 11: Spelling Test
December 11: Picture Retake day
December 18: Spelling Test
December 18: Dress like a PE Teacher Day!
December 21: Grab Bag items due (info on that to come)
December 22: Polar Express Day (wear pjs!)
December 23: Holiday Party at 11:30 (Dismissal at 12:30)
December 24-January 4: Winter Break
We hope you all have a relaxing winter break and a happy and healthy new year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Greenberg & Ms. Welch
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