This week students learned all about digital citizenship. We discussed privacy, protection, and cyberbullying. The students had a lot of good insights regarding ways to be safe online, and at the end of the week Mrs. Diehl gave each student an awesome tattoo as a reward for their participation.

In reading, students learned how to identify the main idea and key details of a nonfiction text. Students practiced this skill by reading Wild Animal Families in pairs and retelling the text to one another. At the end of the week, students completed an assessment after reading Rainy Weather Days on BookFlix.

 

In math, students learned about true number sentences and the commutative property of addition. Students demonstrated their knowledge by creating representations of number sentences with linking cubes. As a class, we practiced creating 4 unique number sentences for one picture. 

 

In writer's workshop, Mrs. Chinn taught our class about organization. Students practiced writing the sequence of events, and then shared their work with the class. 

 

In centers, students practiced graphing and tallying using Halloween characters. Students also created short vowel words using Scrabble tiles. Special thanks to Dory's mom for coming in to help with centers!

Christian was our Can-Do Kid this week. We enjoyed learning all the things Christian can do. He likes school, and has 6 brothers and sisters. He chose to read "Oh Say Can You Say!" by Dr. Seuss as his favorite book, which is full of delightful tongue twisters. 

 

Finally, the Irving Fun Run was on Friday! Thank you to all the students and parents who raised money for Irving School. Pledges are still being collected next week, so continue to send them in if you can!

 

There are lots of extra photos this week, so visit the Photo Gallery to check them out!

 

This week students focused on learning all about nonfiction texts. In reading, students studied nonfiction text features such as the title, table of contents, labels, pictures, and picture captions. We read Rainforest Animals and Under the Sea to practice identifying these features and how they help us understand the text. Students then read Friends in Our Community and identified nonfiction text features on their own.

In math, students continued to learn about equations with mystery addends. Students also learned about true number sentences. A true number sentence has equivalent expressions on either side of the equal sign (2+2 = 1+3). This reinforces the math facts students have been practicing since the beginning of the year.

Below you will find an example of our math warm-up problems. Students were asked the following: There are 10 swings on the playground. 7 students are on the swings. How many empty swings are there?

In writing, Mrs. Chinn taught students how to add detail to old pieces of writing. Students taped "spider legs" to these old works, and then shared their ideas with the class. 

 In centers, students practiced their addition using egg cartons and also did a Scarecrow Sentence Scramble. Special thanks to Ian's mom and grandmother for coming in to help out!

For Fun Friday, students used coffee filters, markers, and a spray bottle to create beautiful fall leaves. If you are on the playground, come over to our window to see the leaves displayed on a tree!

 Make sure to visit the Photo Gallery to see more pictures from this week!

This week students had the opportunity to go to the book fair! The students and I created wishlists of books that we wanted, and I received some great books as gifts for our classroom library! Thank you to all the students and parents who donated these books to Room 109.

In reading, students studied the sequence of fiction stories and identified a story's central message. We practiced this skill by reading the classic The Boy Who Cried "Wolf", and students put their skills to use identifying these traits in the story Pig Goes to the Party.

In math, students learned how to solve problems with mystery addends and totals. Students expressed their thinking through drawing, and will continue practicing this skill throughout the year. Students also played "Guess the Partner to 10" with 5-group cards.

In writing, students created idea boards with Mrs. Chinn's help. These boards will stay in their writing folders to serve as a resource for future works. Mrs. Chinn also taught students how to tap the sounds in each word to ensure their spelling represents all sounds. On Wednesday, students used their imagination to finish the writing prompt "If I met a silly scarecrow..."

It was great talking to all of the students' families during conferences this week. Since it was a short week, there are not any extra photos in the Photo Gallery. Have a wonderful long weekend!

This week students learned all about apples! We studied how an apple grows from a seed to an apple tree and read a beautiful story called The Apple Pie that Papa Baked. We celebrated our apple studies with a tasting of five different kinds of apples: Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Gala, and Fuji apples. Ask your child which apple they liked best!

In reading, students read nonfiction texts and made connections between two ideas. Students also learned to identify words and phrases which tell the reader how a character is feeling. We practiced this skill together by reading The Day Leo Said "I Hate You!". Students then identified feeling words independently after watching a BookFlix reading of Chrysanthemum. 

 

In math, students learned how to find a missing addend in addition problems. The class worked in teams to develop illustrations for number sentences. The students had a lot of fun working together, and I enjoyed seeing their unique ideas. 

Students also practiced this skill using the iPad. Watch the lesson below to see their original story problems!

 

In writing, Mrs. Chinn joined our class to teach a Writer's Workshop. She will visit our class three times a week to develop students' writing skills. This week Mrs. Chinn taught our class how to brainstorm. Students also shared their work and offered constructive criticism about how others' writing can be improved. 

 Our Can-Do Kid this week was Barrett! The students and I had so much fun learning all the things Barret can do. Barrett brought his favorite book to share, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge. We also watched a slideshow of Barrett growing up.

Make sure to visit the Photo Gallery to see more pictures from this week!