Two and a half days and counting. We have a lot to accomplish in this time.
Spelling
We are learning a spelling principle this week which means that the students will have a spelling test on Wednesday the 21st. We are learning about using the "ed" ending to form words with the past tense. This will be changing a word from meaning something that is happening (present tense) to something that has happened (past tense). We will also be listening to the three sounds that are made by adding the "ed" ending to words.
Sometimes we hear /ed/ as in acted.
Sometimes we hear /t/ as in asked.
Sometimes we hear /d/ as in aimed.
We learn this principle so it is easier for us to remember spellings for these words. If we are using a past tense word and it ends with a /t/ sound it is still spelled with -ed.
Vocabulary
We will complete the unit started last week by completing the study of the words and having a test on those words. As a reminder the words are: anxious, dreaded, masterpiece, ruin, compassion and nurturing.
Math
We will have two math tests - one on fractions and the other on money.
Reading
I will finish testing the students with the PALS test this week.
Misc.
We will also be continuing our study of life cycles. We will be writing about rain and completing two birthday books. We will also do a couple of art projects.
This weeks keyword is "Hyacinthe". On Tuesday look for a note from me concerning things you can do with your child while they are off track that will help them continue their learning. Some will be to help them complete their "Fantastic Falcon Awards" and others will be to help firm up areas where they may need continued practice.
At the beginning of March your children brought Dr. Seuss books to school. One book that belonged to Evan is unaccounted for. The book is "A Fly Went By". Please look through your books at home and see if perchance it got taken home with your child's books. We would appreciate it if you would look for it.
Thanks for all you do to help your child succeed.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Back to the Blog...
So sorry I have been offline for a time. Life happens! I hope all of the blog readers will come back and we can get you needed information through this method.
The keyword for this week is "FRACTIONS". Please read on for more information.
Vocabulary
On March 29th we read a book titled "The Great Kapok Tree". The vocabulary words from that book were: ancestors, lulled, slithered, wither, defenseless and intentions. I hope you have heard your child using or mentioning those words.
This last week we read the book "The Patchwork Quilt". The new vocabulary words are: anxious, dreaded, masterpiece, ruin, compassion, nurturing.
Spelling
Last week we worked on digraphs where two letters form a new sound not a blend of the two sounds. The digraph sounds are: sh, th, ch, wh, and ph.
This week we will be studying the differences between the "ing" and "ink" words. These are hard sounds for the children to distinguish. The hope is that this week they will begin listening better to how they say these words - leading to better spelling of these words. They will be tested on these words on Thursday April 15th.
They will also do one more spelling unit before we track off. They will be tested on those words on Wednesday April 21st.
Reading
The next week and a half I will be administering the PALS tests to your children individually. In this test they are asked to read lists of words. Depending on their success at that task they read a story selection and answer comprehension questions about the story. I also listen for fluency and expression and also time their fluency rate.
Science
We are studying life cycles. They will learn about the life cycles of frogs, butterflies and plants. We also learn about the relationship between plants and animals. This unit will continue when we return from off track.
PE
We have started learning about jumping rope. As you can imagine the children have a great variety of abilities. Some can jump fast and fluidly and others can hardly jump at all. This would be a great skill for them to practice while they are off track. We begin with basic, two legs together jumping while swinging the rope forward. We will progress to basic backwards jumping. Swinging the rope to one side then open to jump and a double swing to each side before opening to jump. We keep progressing with more difficult jumps. If the children practice most can become very proficient at jumping rope in second grade.
Math
We started our unit on fractions and will continue that study, hopefully completing it before we track off.
We began the unit by having the children (pretending they want the biggest piece possible) choose if they wanted 1/2, 1/3, 1/8, or 1/4. All but three members of the class chose 1/8. The other 3 choose 1/2. The children see the 8 and think it is the largest number and think it is the largest piece. This is a great beginning point to drive home the fact that the more equal pieces we break something into the smaller each piece has to be.
The students learn about halves, thirds and fourths. They learn about fractions of a shape (like 1/2 of a rectangle) and fractions of a set ( like 1/2 of a set of 12 balloons). The most difficult task is to understand fractions such as 1/3 of a group of 6. They have to first show three equal sized portions of the six (groups of 2,2,2) then note that 1/3 equals one of these three equal groups. So 1/3 of 6 = 2.
Please use the information I sent home last Friday to help you help your child as we study fractions.
Writing
Your children have been writing about spring. They have written a poem beginning with comparing spring to a color. These are on the bulletin board in the hall. The have also written about what they did on their spring break. This week they will write about rain and their memories of storms.
We have also been studying compound words, antonyms, synonyms, and a little about prefixes and suffixes.
Misc.
This week is the school Book Fair. You and your child can purchase books, before and after school and during lunch. Remember the Book Fair Diner - come eat with your child on Wednesday. At this point you would need to bring a lunch from home. You can just come during lunch and after your child has eaten you can go book shopping with them. This is a great opportunity as the book fair is a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE SALE.
Your children are creating cute umbrellas and will do another couple of art projects before we track off.
Please keep helping your child Read and Respond nightly. Please also help them complete and return homework by the next day. This is our final Reading Response Journal. When they come back on track the students will be doing mini-book reports weekly. Also, we need to turn in all Math Games before the children go off track. When we return the students will have paper math homework that will either go along with our study or help prepare them for the end of year testing.
Thanks for all you do to help your child be successful.
Keep up the good work.
The keyword for this week is "FRACTIONS". Please read on for more information.
Vocabulary
On March 29th we read a book titled "The Great Kapok Tree". The vocabulary words from that book were: ancestors, lulled, slithered, wither, defenseless and intentions. I hope you have heard your child using or mentioning those words.
This last week we read the book "The Patchwork Quilt". The new vocabulary words are: anxious, dreaded, masterpiece, ruin, compassion, nurturing.
Spelling
Last week we worked on digraphs where two letters form a new sound not a blend of the two sounds. The digraph sounds are: sh, th, ch, wh, and ph.
This week we will be studying the differences between the "ing" and "ink" words. These are hard sounds for the children to distinguish. The hope is that this week they will begin listening better to how they say these words - leading to better spelling of these words. They will be tested on these words on Thursday April 15th.
They will also do one more spelling unit before we track off. They will be tested on those words on Wednesday April 21st.
Reading
The next week and a half I will be administering the PALS tests to your children individually. In this test they are asked to read lists of words. Depending on their success at that task they read a story selection and answer comprehension questions about the story. I also listen for fluency and expression and also time their fluency rate.
Science
We are studying life cycles. They will learn about the life cycles of frogs, butterflies and plants. We also learn about the relationship between plants and animals. This unit will continue when we return from off track.
PE
We have started learning about jumping rope. As you can imagine the children have a great variety of abilities. Some can jump fast and fluidly and others can hardly jump at all. This would be a great skill for them to practice while they are off track. We begin with basic, two legs together jumping while swinging the rope forward. We will progress to basic backwards jumping. Swinging the rope to one side then open to jump and a double swing to each side before opening to jump. We keep progressing with more difficult jumps. If the children practice most can become very proficient at jumping rope in second grade.
Math
We started our unit on fractions and will continue that study, hopefully completing it before we track off.
We began the unit by having the children (pretending they want the biggest piece possible) choose if they wanted 1/2, 1/3, 1/8, or 1/4. All but three members of the class chose 1/8. The other 3 choose 1/2. The children see the 8 and think it is the largest number and think it is the largest piece. This is a great beginning point to drive home the fact that the more equal pieces we break something into the smaller each piece has to be.
The students learn about halves, thirds and fourths. They learn about fractions of a shape (like 1/2 of a rectangle) and fractions of a set ( like 1/2 of a set of 12 balloons). The most difficult task is to understand fractions such as 1/3 of a group of 6. They have to first show three equal sized portions of the six (groups of 2,2,2) then note that 1/3 equals one of these three equal groups. So 1/3 of 6 = 2.
Please use the information I sent home last Friday to help you help your child as we study fractions.
Writing
Your children have been writing about spring. They have written a poem beginning with comparing spring to a color. These are on the bulletin board in the hall. The have also written about what they did on their spring break. This week they will write about rain and their memories of storms.
We have also been studying compound words, antonyms, synonyms, and a little about prefixes and suffixes.
Misc.
This week is the school Book Fair. You and your child can purchase books, before and after school and during lunch. Remember the Book Fair Diner - come eat with your child on Wednesday. At this point you would need to bring a lunch from home. You can just come during lunch and after your child has eaten you can go book shopping with them. This is a great opportunity as the book fair is a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE SALE.
Your children are creating cute umbrellas and will do another couple of art projects before we track off.
Please keep helping your child Read and Respond nightly. Please also help them complete and return homework by the next day. This is our final Reading Response Journal. When they come back on track the students will be doing mini-book reports weekly. Also, we need to turn in all Math Games before the children go off track. When we return the students will have paper math homework that will either go along with our study or help prepare them for the end of year testing.
Thanks for all you do to help your child be successful.
Keep up the good work.
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