What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We learned about persuasive writing this week! After reading and comparing The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, we wrote a persuasive paragraph supporting our reasons why we believed the characters. We also began our poetry unit! We wrote a descriptive All About Me poem, a comparison poem using our favorite colors, and an I Wish poem. Our new word wall words were: because, children, second, people, grade.

Math: This week we completed Unit 8, Twos, Fives, and Tens. This unit focuses on addition, subtraction, and the number system. We will begin our last unit next week!

Our math focus points this week included:

• using cubes in tens and ones to represent a two-digit number
• adding a one-digit number or 10 to a two-digit number
• Adding a multiple of 10 to a two digit number
• subtracting a multiple of 10 from a multiple of 10

Science & Social Studies: We began learning about different traditions and holidays in Japan, India, China, and Sri Lanka. Don’t forget that the homework letter to our class explaining a family tradition is due back to school on Wednesday, May 22^nd.

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We worked very hard to complete a very special Mother’s Day writing project, I hope you enjoyed it! We continued to be very busy with fairy tales! We read and completed activities for Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs.Our new word wall words were: animal, friend, night, quit, can’t.

Math: This week we continued working on Unit 8, Twos, Fives, and Tens. This unit focuses on addition, subtraction, and the number system.

Our math focus points this week included:

• counting by groups of 10s
• developing fluency with 2-addend combinations of ten
• solving a problem about combining equal groups
• comparing two two-digit numbers and using notation (<, >) to record the results of the comparison
• using objects to represent a number
• adding and subtracting 10 to/from two-digit numbers

Science & Social Studies: We continued our third social studies unit this week! This week we learned more about wishing customs and traditions around the world. We read Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World and gained an understanding that traditions may be the same but the way they are celebrated can be very different. We wrote about a favorite way we make wishes. We also read a Weekly Reader about traditions around the world and discussed their similarities and differences. An important social studies homework assignment will be sent home this week. Please be on the lookout for it in your child’s home folder! We also had a great field trip to the Botanic Gardens. Thanks to our parent chaperones for helping out!

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: Our focus this week was on the -oo and -ew sounds. We read A New Roomby the Sea and Sandcastle in our readers. We were very busy with fairy tales this week! We read SleepingBeauty, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk.Our new word wall words were: little, once, pretty, eye, watch.

Math: This week we continued working on Unit 8, Twos, Fives, and Tens. This unit focuses on addition, subtraction, and the number system.

Our math focus points this week included:

• adding single-digit numbers
• thinking about numbers to 20 and how they relate to 10
• determining equivalent expressions for a given expression
• counting by 10s
• organizing objects to count them more efficiently

Science & Social Studies: We began our third social studies unit this week! Our lessons this week focused on the question, “How are people around the world the same and different?” To help us gain more understanding of people around the world, we read A School Like Mine and Wake Up, World! A Day in the Life of Children Around the World. We completed a Venn diagram illustrating things that are the same and different about schools around the world. We also read Throw Your Tooth On the Roof, a book on tooth traditions from around the world. We learned about many fascinating traditions! Next week we will learn more about wishing customs and traditions around the world!

Important Notes:

*Don’t forget to be working on your fairy tale diorama! You may send dioramas and sheets in at any time!

*We will be heading to the Botanic Gardens on Thursday, rain or shine! We will be eating lunch on our trip so please remember to pack a disposable lunch and drink for your child. Don’t forget to label it with your child’s name. 

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: Our focus this week was on the -ou and -ow sounds. We read What Brad Found in our readers and hunted for words with these sounds. When reading Little Red Riding Hood, we talked about adjectives that describe Little Red and the wolf and then wrote descriptive sentences using these words. We also finished our Cinderella activities! Our new word wall words were: left, right, does, jump, kick.

Math: This week we continued working on Unit 8, Twos, Fives, and Tens. This unit focuses on addition, subtraction, and the number system.

Our math focus points this week included:

• counting by 2s, 5s
• counting and combining things that come in groups of 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10
• developing strategies for organizing sets of objects so that they are easy to count and combine
• recording strategies for counting and combining

  Science & Social Studies: Our focus this week was on the lifecycle of a plant and flower! We created our own lifecycles and celebrated Earth Day! We will begin our last social studies unit on Monday!

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We completed learning about the long u sound this week. We also read Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and did some activities related to the story. Our new word wall words were: first, spring, summer, great, many.

Math: This week we began Unit 8, Twos, Fives, and Tens. This unit focuses on addition, subtraction, and the number system. In math workshop we played What’s Missing, Ten Turns, and Missing Numbers. Our math focus points this week included:

• identifying, reading, writing, and sequencing numbers to 120 and beyond
• identifying and using patterns in the number sequence and on the 100 chart
• counting and keeping track of amounts up to 120

Science & Social Studies: Our focus this week was on seeds! We read from Seed to Plant and learned how seeds travel. After reading The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, we discussed things that can help and hurt seeds. We also dissected lima beans and learned about the three main parts of a seed: the seed coat (outer covering that protects the seed), the embryo (the part of the seed from which the plant grows), and the cotyledon (food storage tissue of the seed). Next week we will learn abou the life cycle of a plant!

Important Notes:

We had Art in Action Day today! Thank you to the many volunteers who helped make this day a success! Your child may be bringing home some artwork from the activity they participated in this morning. Be sure to ask them about what they learned!

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We learned about the long u sound this week. We read two new stories in our readers, Duke’s Work and Amazing Animals. While reading, we hunted for long u words. We also reviewed contractions and began our fairy tale unit! We read The Frog Prince and did some activities related to the story. Our new word wall words were: other, rain, zoo, school, too.

Math: This week we completed Unit 7, Color, Shape, and Number Patterns. Our math focus points this week included:

• identifying the unit of a repeating pattern
• identifying what comes several steps beyond the visible part of a repeating pattern
• determining the element of a repeating pattern associated with a particular counting number
• extending a number sequence associated with a situation with a constant rate of change

   

Science & Social Studies: We began learning about plants this week! We read How a Seed Grows and From Seed to Plant. We wrote facts about plants, learned about plant parts and their functions, and what a plant needs in order to grow. Next week we will focus on seeds! 

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We reviewed the long A and long I sounds this week. We read two new stories in our readers, What is in the Hedge? and The Mystery of the Night Song. While reading, we focused on drawing conclusions by using details from the stories. We also learned about contractions! Our new word wall words were: mother, father, teacher, make, made.

Math: This week we began Unit 7, Color, Shape, and Number Patterns. This unit focuses on patterns and functions. Our math focus points this week included:

• identifying what comes next in a repeating pattern
• using the word pattern to describe some kind of regularity in a sequence
• identifying the unit of a repeating pattern
• associating counting numbers with elements of a repeating pattern
• identifying what comes several steps beyond the visible part of a repeating pattern
• comparing repeating and non repeating sequences
• extending a repeating pattern by adding units to the pattern

Science & Social Studies: We continued learning about different types of weather. We read Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons. After reading this book, we wrote about our favorite types of weather. We also created our own weather word booklets and read a Weekly Reader about spring storms!

Important Notes: We had a great time on our field trip to see Goldilocks and the Three Bears! Thank you to our parents who helped chaperone our trip. 

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We finished learning about the long I sound this week. We read two new stories in our readers, Night Flight and Blast Off. While reading, we focused on the plot, setting, and characters. We learned that the plot is what happens in a story, the setting tells where the story takes place and the characters are the people and animals in a story. We will learn more about these important story elements when we begin our fairy tale unit after spring break! We celebrated the beginning of spring by reading The Hunt For Spring! We completed a word web and sequencing activity related to this story. Our new word wall words this were: sister, brother, eat, end, new.

Math: This week we completed Unit 6, Number Games and Crayon Puzzles. In math workshop, we focused on subtraction and played Roll and Record and Five-in-a-Row.

Our math focus points this week included:

• developing strategies for solving addition and subtraction story problems
• developing strategies for recording solutions to story problems
• solving addition and subtraction story problems
• recording solutions to story problems
• using numbers and standard notation to record

Science & Social Studies: This week we began our last science unit! This unit focuses on spring weather and plants. We learned about the water cycle and began learning about different types of clouds. After spring break, we will complete our study of clouds, learn about spring storms, and study different types of weather!

Important Notes:

We had a chance to check out some new math apps (math bingo, flash to pass, fun adding, and math bug lite) on the iPads this week! The students really enjoyed them!

*Have a great Spring Break! See you on April 1^st!

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We began to learn about the long I sound this week. While reading Mike and Spike Hike, We’re Going on a Picnic, and Slide, Glide, and Ride, we hunted for long I words. We also made little words from the big words leprechaun and St. Patrick’s Day! We read a story about a lucky leprechaun and then wrote how lucky we are! After reading Dear Deer, we learned about homophones! Our new word wall words this week were: under, after, down, house, ride.

Math: This week we continued Unit 6, Number Games and Crayon Puzzles. math workshop, we focused on subtraction and played Roll and Record and Five-in-a-Row.

Our math focus points this week included:

• subtracting one number from another with initial totals up to 12
• adding 2 or more single digit numbers
• visualizing, retelling, and modeling the action in a subtraction situation
• developing strategies for solving addition and subtraction story problems
• developing strategies for recording solutions to story problems
• using numbers and standard notation to record

Science & Social Studies: This week we completed our second social studies unit! We completed learning about Habits 6 and 7 in The Seven Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey. Next week we will begin learning about spring weather, clouds, and the water cycle!

Important Notes:

*Botanic Garden field trip money is due by March 18^th. The cost is $7.30 per student. Checks may be made payable to Avoca School.

Have a nice weekend and think spring!

What Did We Do This Week?

Language Arts: We continued to learn about the long a sound this week. While reading The Baby Who Got All The Blame, we hunted for long a words. We also read The Missing Cake and performed a Reader’s Theater play called Flake, the Missing Hamster. We wrote about our favorite Dr. Seuss characters and shared our books! Our new word wall words this week were: more, only, then, time, use.

Math: This week we continued Unit 6, Number Games and Crayon Puzzles. In math workshop, we played Five-in-a-Row with Three Cards and Dot Addition.

Our math focus points this week included:

-visualizing, retelling, and modeling the action in an addition situation

-adding two or more single-digit numbers

-using numbers and standard notation to record

-finding combinations of numbers to 20

-finding a solution that fits several clues

-reasoning about more, less, and equal amounts

-finding a solution that fits several clues

Science & Social Studies: This week we read Habits 5 and 6 in The Seven Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey. We worked on listening with our eyes and our hearts when we shared our special items from home. We also listened to the story Owl Moonand discussed how the main character illustrated Habit 5 in the story. Synergize, Habit 6, taught us that working together as a team is important and how to value other people’s strengths and learn from them. We identified times we have had to work with other people and things that bother us when working with others at home or school.

Important Notes:

*Botanic Garden field trip money is due by March 18^th. The cost is $7.30 per student. Checks may be made payable to Avoca School.

*We had a great time sharing our favorite Dr. Seuss stories! The students brought in some great children’s literature to share with the class!

*Please remember to send snow clothes to school if your child would like to enjoy the snow during recess. Snowpants, boots, hats, coats, gloves/mittens should be labeled with your child’s name. Thanks!

Have a nice weekend and think spring!