Blog Archives

Magic E

9/26/2015

We worked together on the long vowel sounds this week. Students practiced decoding CVCe words and learned to mark the vowels and consonants to help build their decoding skills. We learned about the “magic e” that teams with the vowel in CVCe words to form the sound. When we added the “magic e" to words such as tap, them, shin, hop, and cut. We made new words with a different vowel sound. We learned to mark the vowels in the word with a horseshoe-shaped loop to show that the two letters together form a vowel digraph to make the sound. In addition, we learned about contractions, discussed how to be a bucket-filling classroom, and learned two new games at P.E. On Friday, we created robots out of shapes and wrote super sentences about our robots.

Grade two

In math students are expanding their skill and understanding of units by bundling ones, tens, and hundreds up to a thousand with straws. The bundled units are organized by separating them largest to smallest, ordered from left to right. We learned to count up and down between 90 and 1000 using ones, tens, and hundreds.
Throughout this module students will be doing a great deal of counting: by ones, tens, and hundreds. As they count up on the place value chart they'll see movement from right to left as the numbers increase. For example, as 10 ones are renamed as 1 ten, the larger unit is housed in the place directly to the left. The goal is for students to move back and forth fluidly between the number line and the place value chart, using either to rename units and compare numbers. Students learned that numbers can be described in unit form (e.g., 5 hundreds 7 tens 6 ones).We will be adding some new terms to students’ math vocabulary in this unit:

Expanded form (e.g., 500 + 70 + 6)
Hundreds place (e.g., the 5 in 576 is in the hundreds place)
Tens place (e.g., the 7 in 576 is in the tens place)
Ones place (e.g., the 6 in 576 is in the ones place)
Standard form (e.g., 576)
Word form (e.g., five hundred seventy-six)
Bundling, grouping (putting smaller units together to make a larger one, e.g., putting 10 ones together to make a ten or 10 tens together to make a hundred)
More than/less than (e.g., 576 is more than 76; 76 is less than 576)
Place value (the unitary values of the digits in numbers)
Renaming, changing (instead of carrying or borrowing, e.g., a group of 10 ones is renamed a ten when the ones are bundled and moved from the ones to the tens place; if using $1 bills, they may be changed for a $10 bill when there are enough)

Grade One

We continue our to hear similar stories from different lands during our listening and learning time. This week we read Tom Thumb and Thumbelina. The objectives of this unit are for students to recognize that these are fictional stories that come from the author's imagination. Also, they should recognize these stories are a type of fiction called folktales.
After reading each story we discuss the characters, setting, and plot. After reading Tom Thumb we discussed the familiar saying "There's no place like home." Ask your child to explain what this phrase means.

In math, students were introduced to doubles facts and double plus one facts. We learned about odd and even numbers and learned that numbers ending with a 0,2,4,6, or 8 are even numbers and the opposite of even numbers are odd. At home, practice making odd and even groups of objects (such as coins, legos, or utensils) and discussing why these groups are odd or even.

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Bucket Fillers

9/19/2015

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We had our first visit from our ABC Reader on Friday. Students heard the book Have You Filled a bucket Today? A guide to Daily Happiness for Kids, by Carol McCloud. The class discussed how kind words and actions create “warm fuzzies” that fill our buckets. Also, we talked about how negative behavior can make others feel poorly and remove “warm fuzzies” from buckets. The goal of the lesson is for students to intentionally choose to fill their classmates buckets by being kind and respectful. It is similar to the lesson from one of our earlier stories to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Discuss the three concepts from the story with your child.

Be a bucket filler -- When you fill someone else’s bucket with a smile, kind word, or hug, you also fill your own. Your bucket can never be too full.
No bucket dipping -- Try not to say or do hurtful things that will dip into someone else’s bucket. If you know someone who dips into other’s buckets often, that’s a good clue that their bucket is not full. If you make a mistake and dip into someone’s bucket offer a sincere apology.
Keep your lid on -- Keeping your lid on means learning not to listen to or believe the mean or hurtful things that are said to you. This helps keep you from letting your bucket become empty.

We will continue to look for ways to fill each other’s buckets in the classroom. We look forward to the monthly visits from our ABC reader. You will find a letter from her in your child’s Friday Folder.

Grade Two

  Second grade is learning about simple machines and experimented with several different simple machines in class. We learned that simple machines make work easier and that there are six types of simple machines. Look for some examples of simple machines in your home. Ask your child to name the type of simple machine.
In our second grade reader the main character, the Cat Bandit, used different types of simple machines to steal food from his owner.
Second grade has started to learn about the events leading up to the War of 1812 and the major events of the war.
We learned about the writing process through a Scholastic News article on Mo Willems who is the author and illustrator of more than 40 children’s books. In addition, students learned about the differences between fiction and nonfiction books. Ask your child if he or she prefers fiction or nonfiction books and why.
In math second grade students measured and compared to determine how much longer one object was than another. They also measured objects twice using a paperclip and a centimeter ruler to develop their understanding of how the total measurement relates to the size of the length unit. Students were able to recognize that the smaller the length unit, the larger the number of units, and the larger the length unit, the smaller the number of units. Students were introduced to tape diagrams, a method of comparison to solve word problems.

Students learned how author and illustrator Mo Willems makes his books. First, he gets an idea. Then, he sketches the story. Next, he makes the drawings. After that, he writes the words. Next, he talks to his editor about the book and they make final changes. Finally, the book gets printed.

Grade One

Grade one is working on important foundational phonics skills. We studied the short vowel sounds this week. Students looked in the mirror and watched their mouths as they said each vowel sound. Then they looked at a partner and noted the different shapes their mouths made.
Our theme for Listening and Learning is Different Lands, Similar Stories. The students heard The Girl With the Red Slippers. We used a Venn diagram to compare the story to Cinderella. We discussed how the two stories were alike and different. Then, we compared them on the venn diagram. Next, we read Billy Beg, another story with similarities to Cinderella. Ask your child how the princess found Billy Beg and how the ending of the story is similar to Cinderella and The Girl with the Red Slippers.
We learned scientists make discoveries by observing. We discussed how as students we are scientists too by observing and drawing conclusions about the things we observe. We learned about some of the tools scientists use to observe. Ask your child to tell you some of the tools a scientist might use.

First grade is learning about the equals sign and the commutative property of addition. We used pictorial representations to write expressions and to demonstrate that they are equivalent by using the equals sign. We looked at number sentences to determine if they were true or false. For example, 4 + 3 = 5 + 2 is true, but 4 + 3 = 5 + 3 is false. When a problem was found to be false, students were asked to figure out how to make it true. We practiced with filling in missing numbers in number sentences as well. For example 7 + 3 = 6 + ___. Students learned that the equals sign means the same as. So, even if the numbers are not the same, the sum of both sides of the equal sign is the same.

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C Train

9/12/2015

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In foundational skills the students learned about the two sounds of "C". We made a C-train and used the tracks to figure out when to make the /k/ sound and when to make the /s/ sound. Students learned that when C is followed by the letters e, i, or y it will make the /s/ sound. When it is followed by other letters it should make the /k/ sound. This helps students when they are trying to figure out an unknown word. They know to make the /s/ sound in words such as ceiling, cymbal, and circle. This will help them decode words more quickly and reliably.

Grade One

In first grade we finished the fables section of the Fables and Stories domain and are now listening to and discussing longer fictional stories. This week your child heard “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” and “All Stories are Anansi’s.” Anansi stories are from Africa and are also called “spider stories.”
The common theme of all spider stories is a small defenseless creature, like a spider, outwits other characters to succeed against great odds. As we read these stories we discuss character, setting, and plot. At home, talk with your child about the characters, setting, and plot of the stories. Ask questions about the story such as, “How did Peter Rabbit get into mischief?” Also, make personal connections to the stories with questions such as, “Have you ever gotten into mischief?”
Here are some of the new vocabulary words we learned. Try to use these words as they come up in everyday speech with your child.

Fable: A fable is a story that teaches a lesson.
Moral: The moral of the story is the lesson that the fable teaches.
Personification: When animals act like humans it’s called personification.
Fiction: Stories that are not real are fiction.
Balanced: Having weight spread equally so you don’t fall.

Grade one is working on printing upper and lowercase letters and learning to read sight words. We are working on blending and segmenting words as well. We are learning about digraphs such as sh, ch, th, qu, and ng. We practiced listening and feeling the difference between the /n/ and /ng/ sound by saying words such as ban:bang, pin:ping, kin:king. We started to read our leveled reader “Snap Shots”
In math we are working on addition word problems. Students have advanced to adding with the change unknown. Students worked on problems such as "Sal has 5 pencils. He gets some more pencils from the store. He now has 8 pencils. How many pencils did Sal get from the store?" A common error students made was to just add the numbers 5 and 8. Instead, they should count on from 5 until they reach 8 and figure out how many for the unknown quantity. Try some problems such as this with your child for additional practice.

Grade Two

We began to cover concepts about the ruler in grade two. First, we related physical length to various objects using multiple centimeter cubes. This helped students to create a mental benchmark for the centimeter. Then, they created their own rulers using the one centimeter cube. This gave students a deeper understanding of distance on a ruler. On Friday, we used meter sticks and centimeter rulers to measure. Ask your child when to use a meter stick to measure and when a centimeter ruler would be a better measuring tool. Ask your child to explain his or her thinking.

Grade two finished the module on tall tales. Here are some of the new vocabulary words we learned. Try to use these words as they come up in everyday speech with your child.

•legendary—Paul Bunyan was a legendary figure among real lumbermen on the frontier.

•feat—Tall tale characters always have adventures where they accomplish one amazing feat after another.

•admiration—Pecos Bill had a great deal of admiration for his horse, Lightning.

•tame—Tall tale characters rarely lead tame and unexciting lives.

We reviewed using the past tense suffix –ed. It can be pronounced three different ways:
• /e/ + /d/ when it follows the /t/ sound or the /d/ sound, like busted or added
• /t/ when it follows a voiceless sound, like kicked or huffed
• /d/ when it follows a voiced sound, like planned or strummed
In addition we began the Reader for Unit 1 called "The Cat Bandit." The stories tell of the adventures of a hungry cat and the increasingly clever ways he gets food items seemingly out of his reach.

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New Friends and Learning

9/4/2015

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Today we created new friends Venn diagrams. Students were paired with a partner and did a getting to know you interview. Then they created a Venn diagram featuring themselves. They noted things they both liked that were the same and the ways they were different. The final product will be on display outside the classroom next week. Be sure to take a look at all the wonderful student work that is on display inside the classroom as well. There's more great student work inside their Friday Folders that came home today.

Grade Two: Math

Grade One: Math

Grade two students took the module one assessment and will begin module two on Tuesday. In Module one students focused on sums and differences to 20 and strategies for addition and subtraction within 100. In module two we will use these skills and apply them to length units.

Tall Tales Time

This week second graders heard several tall tales about characters from the American frontier.   We learned the elements that make a tall tale such as use of exaggeration, humor, and unbelievable adventures.
    We read “Paul Bunyan,” who was a fictional logger known for his large size. Paul Bunyan did everything more intensely than most people. He had an ox named Babe for a pet. In the story he and Babe used their great strength to straighten rivers and create the Grand Canyon.
We also read “Pecos Bill.” This is the story of a fictional cowboy from the old west who was raised by coyotes. In his adventures he lassoed a tornado and rode a mountain lion. In the story “Casey Jones.” we heard about a steam train engineer who prided himself on always being on time. Casey became a hero when he tried to stop the train from crashing. He lost his life, but saved the lives of everyone else on the train. The story grew into a tall tale through many years of retelling.   All the tall tales we have been reading contain examples exaggeration and humor. Also, tall tale characters have unbelievable childhoods and do amazing deeds as adults.

Grade one students are learning different ways to compose and decompose number bonds for 6, 7,8,9, and 10. They are discovering the different ways to make the number and look for connections between them. We made Rekenrek bracelets to help us visualize the different ways to make 10. The bracelets serve as tools for students to practice all the ways to make 10. This activity helped the students to represent all the number pairs of 10 as number bonds and generate all expressions equal to 10.

Stories with Lessons

Grade one continues our unit on fables and stories. The lesson in The Little Half-Chick (Medio Pollito) is “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Students should also be able to recall that the unfortunate man in The Crowded, Noisy House realized that he wasn’t so unfortunate when things kept getting worse at his house. The lesson is not to get so upset when things are going badly because . . . it could always be worse! After listening to The Tale of Peter Rabbit we learned that we should listen to our parents and obey them to stay safe.

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Magic E

Grade two

Grade One

Bucket Fillers

Grade Two

Grade One

C Train

Grade One

Grade Two

New Friends and Learning

Grade Two: Math

Grade One: Math

Tall Tales Time

Stories with Lessons

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