Monthly Archives: February 2013

Feb 22 2013

Research Homework

Posted on by

The kids have chosen an animal or a person in history to research. Please assist your child in gathering facts from books or the internet,  I did come across a couple of great websites with kid friendly articles to help you with gathering information. http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm, http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/black-rhinoceros/, http://a-z-animals.com/

If they chose an animal, they will be expected to gather the following information:

  • adaptations of the animal
  • habitat
  • what it eats and how it gets its food
  • physical characteristics of the animal
  • Fun facts

If they chose a person in history they will be expected to gather information about the following:

  • birth date and place
  • death/or where and what they are doing now
  • a childhood story
  • hobbies or interests
  • why they are famous
  • challenges/problems the person faced
  • Interesting facts
  • greatest achievement/accomplishment of the person

We will be doing lots of research work in class, but any help you can give your child at home would be wonderful.  Please let me know if you have trouble gathering information, so that I can help them here at school.

Feb 6 2013

Writer’s Workshop

Posted on by

“Because of Winn Dixie” was a wonderful story to supplement our personal narrative unit. We often referred back to specific examples that we could incorporate into our own writing. The children were encouraged to:

  • close their eyes to make a movie in their minds of a small moment
  • focus in on exact details and specific moments rather than general sentences
  • zoom in on the most important part of the story
  • leave out the parts that don’t matter
  • story tell the events in their story step-by-step across their fingers
  • tell the internal story by including their thoughts feelings and responses
  • begin with a strong lead (action, setting, description, dialogue, or thoughts)
  • close with a strong ending (action, dialogue, thoughts, images, and whole story reminders that leave a lasting impression)
  • reread the story with a partner, look for confusing parts and revise for meaning
Feb 6 2013

Just a science reminder

Posted on by

We will be taking our reduce, reuse, and recycle assessment tomorrow, February 7th. If your child misplaced the flashcards that they brought home earlier in the week, click on the picture below for another set. I also included a link for a recycle round up game by National Geographic. This is a short test and they have been practicing these terms all week. 

Feb 4 2013

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce

Posted on by

We are focusing on the 3-Rs (Recycle, Reuse, Reduce) in science. This is a very easy unit for the students because it builds on their knowledge about natural resources. Flashcards are coming home on Tuesday, but you can visit the following link in advance if interested: http://www.easynotecards.com/notecard_set/11324 . The test will be on Thursday.

Here are a couple sites that your child can visit for an extra review &  games: http://www.recyclezone.org.uk/home_fz.aspx.html

or http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/

Feb 3 2013

Spelling Words

Posted on by

We are focusing on words with silent consonants or consonants that make a new sound.  Many of the words that we are looking at have the following combinations: kn, wr, gh, or ph. On Thursday, these words will be used in sentences:

known          written          laugh          sphere          wreck          writer

wrong           wrap             wrench       knocked       knot             wring

enough        rough            wrinkle

Challenge words: tortoise, dolphin, sea horse, whale, coral

Feb 2 2013

Valentine’s Party

Posted on by

Our party is scheduled for Thursday, February 14th at 12:45. If you are available to help, please let me know. I will be sending a note for donations once our solo volunteer has a chance to think about it. Here is our class list if your child wants to start writing out a valentine for each student:

Emilie             Bryanna             Luci               Abby             Becca              Isaiah

Dylan             Harrison            Asher            Zach             Maysen          Rachel

Tyler               Landon              Kassidy        Paige             Victoria         Elaina

Elise               Samantha         Braden          Cole

Jackson        Andrew J.         Drew  H.