Must See Film!

Please take a moment to watch this locally produced video to learn more about the schools in our town, surprising facts about school funding, and information about what the budget might mean for you. For more information about next year's budge please click here

Reading in a Series: Pinky and Rex Go to Camp

We have finished our first book in the Pinky and Rex series, Pinky and Rex Go to Camp. We learned a lot of new information about Pinky, Rex and Pinky’s sister (Amanda).  We learned about these characters by what they do and don’t do, say and don’t say, think and don’t think, and feel and don’t feel.  During our mini-lesson we brainstormed the traits of these characters and how we determined them (we backed up our thinking).  Below are our anchor charts from our mini-lessons.

Literacy Breakfast

On Monday, March 10, 2014 our classroom will be hosting a Literacy Breakfast. The Literacy Breakfast will begin at 8:15. Students have been working hard to complete their “From Personal Narrative to Realistic Fiction” books and are excited to share them during this Literacy Breakfast. Family members, friends, grandparents, etc. are all welcome to our Literacy Breakfast on March 10th. We hope to see you there! A light breakfast will be provided!

Valentine's Day Party

Our re-scheduled Valentine’s Day Party was a huge success. Thank you to all of the families who sent in food and other supplies

Our Week in Review 2.11 - 2.13

Wonder of the Week: Does the Olympic Flame Ever Go Out?

Does the Olympic flame ever go out?

I think the Olympic flame goes out when the Olympics are not going because it doesn't make sense for the flame to be burning if the Olympics are not going on.  (Xander)

I think the Olympic flame has to go out because every two years they light a new flame.  (Talan)

I think the Olymoic flame goes out every hour because when I was watching the opening Cermonies the news guy said this happens.  (Spencer)

What does the Olympic flame symbolize?

I think the Olympic flame represents the opening ceremonies. (Caitlin)

I think the Olympic flame symbolizes the special time when people from around the world come together.  (Madison)

Think the Olympic flame symbolizes when people that have never been to the Olympics come for the first time. (Peyton) 

http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/does-the-olympic-flame-ever-go-out/

I learned that the flame is lite to get people excited about the Olympics. (Nick)

I learned the flame is light several months before the opening Cermonies (Roma)

I learned the Olympic flame goes out on the last day of the closing Cermonies (Bradyn)

I learned people run around the five continents of the world with the torch in their hand. (Caitlin) 

I learned the famous snowboarder Kevin pierce carried the torch through Russia this year.  (Josh d) 

Wonder of the Week: Winter Olympics

What are the Olympics?

The Olympics are when people compete against each other for certain kinds of sports. (Nadja)

 The Olympics are events that people compete in. (Luke)

 I think the Olympics are different teams that compete against each other. (Caitlin)

 I think the Olympics are sports that people compete in that have difference challenges. (Nathan)

 One Sport in the Olympics One sport in the Olympics is snowboarding. I think that this sport is where they try to beat other peoples's scores.( Gavin)

 One sport in the Olympics is figure skating. I think that figure skating is when people twirl and jump and try to get the highest score, and try to beat other teams scores (Caitlin)

One sport in the Olympics is figure skating. I think that figure skating is when you try to be the best, you also try not to fall. (Iris)

 Click here

Our Week in Review 2.4 - 2.8

Book Club Closure

Sadly, this is our last week of Book Clubs. The students have been doing an incredible job with this unit. It has been wonderful to watch the groups take ownership of their book clubs and conduct respectful, thorough book talks. This week we have learned about ‘in the book’ versus ‘in my head’ questions and how to discuss and find the answers to both of these types of questions. We also had an extremely powerful lesson where we discussed disagreeing politely and how using nice words and a kind voice helps us share our differing opinions and thoughts. Today as a culminating activity for Book Clubs we are focusing on how to wrap up a book discussion. We are also treating the students to a book club snack because we know as adults, sometimes the snacks are the best part of a Book Club! Although we are sad to see Book Clubs wrapping up, we are very excited for our next unit which focuses on character traits and reading in a series. Look for more information to come about this in the Sunday email!

Realistic Fiction - Endings to our Stories

This week in Writing Workshop students have been creating drafts of the pages for their Realistic Fiction stories. To do this they have been creating illustrations to match each page of their text. We have been practicing using lots of details in our writing and identifying the important information to include to help move a story along.

Introduction to Science Notebooking

This week in Science we began our Science Notebooking Unit. This unit combines writing and science to help students practice detailed and descriptive writing. Through this unit we will be exploring States of Matter, a topic that most children are relatively familiar with from first grade. So far we have introduced the different states of matter (solids, liquids and gases) and have begun describing different objects by discussing their properties (texture, shape, color etc). Students are very excited to continue to explore these concepts through experiments and writing!

Our Week in Review 1.27 - 1.31

Wonder of the Week 2.3 - What is the difference between a solid, liquidand gas?

 

Does Matter Really Matter?

What is the difference between a solid, liquid and gas?

I think the difference between a solid, liquid and gas is that a solid is hard.  Example of a solid is a break. (Caitlin) 

I think liquids are gooey.  An example of a liquid is water. (Roma and Peyton) 

I think gases are something that is like exhaust, for example air. (Dana) .

I think that solids are hard things that you can make other things from. An example of a solid is a house. (Madison) 

What is matter?

I think that matter is something that changes the shape of an object. (Gavin) 

I think that matter is liquid, gases and solids. (Spencer) 

I think that matter is something that's really important and it matters if it is right or if it's wrong. (Roma) 

I think that matter is something like clay, that is moldable. (Dana) 

I think that matter is stuff that you used to make other things. Like you use hard things and soft things to make other things. (Madison) 

I learned 

I learned that matter is everything and everywhere. (Josh L.)

I learned matter can be living things and non-living things. (Caitlin)

I learned that matter is everything that takes up space. (Kaitlyn) 

I learned you can classify matter into three main groups: liquids, gasses and solids. (Nick) 

I learned a solid have its own shape. (Ilona) 

 I learned that solids are matter and stuff that takes up space. (Talan)

I learned a liquid is something that doesn't have its own shape. (Bradyn) 

I learned that some liquids can be wet or sticky. (Peyton) 

I learned that liquids can be slippery. (Selena) 

I learned that a gas can smell. (Nicole)

I learned that gases can have a smell and be invisible. (Iris) 

I learned that gases are just like liquids because they take the shape of a container. (Iris and Nadja) 

I learned that the sun is a gas. (Gwen) 

I learned that liquids take the shape of its container. (Kaden) 

I learned that matter is almost everything! (Spencer) 

Alaska - PicCollage

As we wrap up our study of Alaska we asked students to created a digital representation of one new thing they learned. We have been focusing our study around the question “How do geography, environment, climate and culture affect daily lives of people?” For this project, students picked one area to focus on (animals, weather, plants, etc.).  Students then looked for photographs which represented their area focus in texts.  After finding a photograph students used the Pic Collage app to create a visual that combined the new information they learned with the photograph they have selected. Look for the finished products on your students’ blog soon!