Harmonica Instruction and Sound
We've had one more session of harmonica instruction with Mr. Milan. The students have learned to play many songs! Mr. Milan brought in a very large harmonica to compare with our ten-hole harmonica. He also brought a large and small drum to reinforce the concept of how we can change the pitch of sound. Ask your child to tell you about this!
The children planned and conducted additional tests in science. They tested how three different size nails would sound when they tapped them with a pencil. They created this test to see if their previous claim about pitch was correct. They wrote their claim and evidence about this tests, then they planned and conducted a test about what objects sound travels through best. They designed and conducted this test with a partner, and they wrote their claims and evidence about this test. Ask your child to tell you what we discovered! Next week, the children will build a musical instrument using the knowledge they've gained about sound!
Please have your child bring a sturdy box to school by Tuesday, Feb. 12 to use for instrument building!
Math
We continued working with stickers to talk about place value and to solve addition and subtraction problems. The children pretended to go to the Sticker Station store to buy stickers in various amounts, such as ones (single stickers), tens (strips of 10 stickers), and hundreds (sheets of 100 stickers). The children continued making sense of the action of different types of addition and subtraction problems and developing efficient strategies for solving them and for recording their work. Students worked with story problems whose actions involved an unknown change and wrote equations such as 34 + ? = 58. They also worked with story problems whose actions involved an unknown start and wrote equations such as ? + 24 = 58. The children are working hard to retell story problems in their own words before they attempt to solve.
Because numbers are getting larger, we also emphasize the importance of fact fluency to 20. Knowing the single-digit addition and subtraction facts helps students a they work to develop efficient strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. You can help your child become automatic, or fluent, with addition and subtraction facts to 20 by posing these facts on a regular basis and asking your child to tell you HOW they knew the answer. This will show you the strategies your child uses to solve facts to 20!
Reading Workshop
The children are working to become better readers in a variety of ways. Because most students are reading longer, more complex books, they need to keep track of what's happening in these books as they read. One strategy for doing this is to ask a partner for help if the book is confusing. Another way to keep track of longer books is to write important events from the story and to make notes to remember things in a Readers' Notebook. Hopefully, students are also stopping to reread if they get off track and are asking themselves questions to be sure they understand the text. Many students are reading the same book as their partners and they can talk about their book during share time. We are also using the strategies for keeping track of longer books with our read aloud, Gooseberry Park, By Cynthia Rylant. The students are becoming deeper thinkers about the text and we are having wonderful conversations about this great book. They are also using thinking strips to keep track of their thinking as we read each chapter. The thinking strip is similar to a sticky note, but allows more room for writing support from the text about the ideas we get as readers.
Writing Workshop
In writing, the children are writing opinion letters to their classmates about their favorite books. The students have learned they can write about characters and need to be clear about their opinions, reasons for their opinions and examples to support their opinions. Many students seem to struggle thinking deeply enough about books to support their opinions with evidence from the text. Partners are working together to rehearse before they write. You can support your child at home by talking about the books they are reading and helping them identify what they like about their books and why. We will also be talking about writing opinions about pictures, favorite parts, lessons learned, etc. in favorite books.
Word Work
Last week we started word sorts that we weren't able to finish due to the cold weather days. We finished the study of those sorts this week. Students continued looking at r-controlled vowel words with the vowel i. They learned that /ir/ makes the engine sound, or rrrrrrrrrrr, as in bird and girl, while /ire/ and /ier/ make the long i sound, as in fire, wire, crier, and drier. This makes spelling very challenging, and requires the children to use their eyes and ears to spell words. They must use their eyes to memorize if a word makes the rrrrrrrrrrrr sound with /ir/ or /er/. They must also listen for sounds in words so they can try different spelling patterns, then see what looks correct! Some students also looked at /ur/ and discovered this, too, makes the engine sound, or rrrrrrrrr, as in fur and spur.
Valentine’s Day in 2 Ma
We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, February 14 with a party from 2:05-3:05. Each child has been writing a thoughtful, personalized valentine to each of the other children in the class. Students have also made an envelope to receive their valentines. Because of this, students need not bring store bought valentines or valentines made at home. However, if your child has already made valentines and would like to bring them, s/he may do so as long as s/he brings in one for everyone in the class. Also please note for the safety of all students that NO CANDY should be included with Valentines. Any candy sent to school will not be distributed. Thanks for your support in making this celebration safe and inclusive for all of our kids.
We've had one more session of harmonica instruction with Mr. Milan. The students have learned to play many songs! Mr. Milan brought in a very large harmonica to compare with our ten-hole harmonica. He also brought a large and small drum to reinforce the concept of how we can change the pitch of sound. Ask your child to tell you about this!
The children planned and conducted additional tests in science. They tested how three different size nails would sound when they tapped them with a pencil. They created this test to see if their previous claim about pitch was correct. They wrote their claim and evidence about this tests, then they planned and conducted a test about what objects sound travels through best. They designed and conducted this test with a partner, and they wrote their claims and evidence about this test. Ask your child to tell you what we discovered! Next week, the children will build a musical instrument using the knowledge they've gained about sound!
Please have your child bring a sturdy box to school by Tuesday, Feb. 12 to use for instrument building!
Math
We continued working with stickers to talk about place value and to solve addition and subtraction problems. The children pretended to go to the Sticker Station store to buy stickers in various amounts, such as ones (single stickers), tens (strips of 10 stickers), and hundreds (sheets of 100 stickers). The children continued making sense of the action of different types of addition and subtraction problems and developing efficient strategies for solving them and for recording their work. Students worked with story problems whose actions involved an unknown change and wrote equations such as 34 + ? = 58. They also worked with story problems whose actions involved an unknown start and wrote equations such as ? + 24 = 58. The children are working hard to retell story problems in their own words before they attempt to solve.
Because numbers are getting larger, we also emphasize the importance of fact fluency to 20. Knowing the single-digit addition and subtraction facts helps students a they work to develop efficient strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. You can help your child become automatic, or fluent, with addition and subtraction facts to 20 by posing these facts on a regular basis and asking your child to tell you HOW they knew the answer. This will show you the strategies your child uses to solve facts to 20!
Reading Workshop
The children are working to become better readers in a variety of ways. Because most students are reading longer, more complex books, they need to keep track of what's happening in these books as they read. One strategy for doing this is to ask a partner for help if the book is confusing. Another way to keep track of longer books is to write important events from the story and to make notes to remember things in a Readers' Notebook. Hopefully, students are also stopping to reread if they get off track and are asking themselves questions to be sure they understand the text. Many students are reading the same book as their partners and they can talk about their book during share time. We are also using the strategies for keeping track of longer books with our read aloud, Gooseberry Park, By Cynthia Rylant. The students are becoming deeper thinkers about the text and we are having wonderful conversations about this great book. They are also using thinking strips to keep track of their thinking as we read each chapter. The thinking strip is similar to a sticky note, but allows more room for writing support from the text about the ideas we get as readers.
Writing Workshop
In writing, the children are writing opinion letters to their classmates about their favorite books. The students have learned they can write about characters and need to be clear about their opinions, reasons for their opinions and examples to support their opinions. Many students seem to struggle thinking deeply enough about books to support their opinions with evidence from the text. Partners are working together to rehearse before they write. You can support your child at home by talking about the books they are reading and helping them identify what they like about their books and why. We will also be talking about writing opinions about pictures, favorite parts, lessons learned, etc. in favorite books.
Word Work
Last week we started word sorts that we weren't able to finish due to the cold weather days. We finished the study of those sorts this week. Students continued looking at r-controlled vowel words with the vowel i. They learned that /ir/ makes the engine sound, or rrrrrrrrrrr, as in bird and girl, while /ire/ and /ier/ make the long i sound, as in fire, wire, crier, and drier. This makes spelling very challenging, and requires the children to use their eyes and ears to spell words. They must use their eyes to memorize if a word makes the rrrrrrrrrrrr sound with /ir/ or /er/. They must also listen for sounds in words so they can try different spelling patterns, then see what looks correct! Some students also looked at /ur/ and discovered this, too, makes the engine sound, or rrrrrrrrr, as in fur and spur.
Valentine’s Day in 2 Ma
We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, February 14 with a party from 2:05-3:05. Each child has been writing a thoughtful, personalized valentine to each of the other children in the class. Students have also made an envelope to receive their valentines. Because of this, students need not bring store bought valentines or valentines made at home. However, if your child has already made valentines and would like to bring them, s/he may do so as long as s/he brings in one for everyone in the class. Also please note for the safety of all students that NO CANDY should be included with Valentines. Any candy sent to school will not be distributed. Thanks for your support in making this celebration safe and inclusive for all of our kids.