April 25-29

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Welcome back to school!  I hope everyone enjoyed the vacation.  Fingers crossed for a smooth transition back to school routines!

Tomorrow is a camp out day!  Team Howard earned their reward and will be invited to wear comfy clothes, bring blankets, stuffed animals, and flashlights.  They will be given time to create tents and then we’ll have some quiet reading time.

This week is the book fair.  Come by the Russell School library and pick up some new and exciting books!

Mrs. Thibodeau will be visiting us on Wednesday.  I was mistaken about her previous visit.  I had mentioned that, during her last visit, she would be showing the good touch/bad touch video.  Instead, that will be the focus of Wednesday’s guidance session.  If you have any questions about the video, you can contact Mrs. Thibodeau.

Today, we had a wonderful author come to visit us!  Her name is Sharalyn Morrison Andrews.  She shared her new book Brave Nellie with us and even gave us an autographed copy for our classroom!

THIS WEEK IN...

Spelling:  We are working on unit 18.  The new words are:  another, came, come, work, and three.

Phonics:  We are working with the bossy r sound.  The patterns we will be working with are /ur/, /er/, and /ir/.  Our focus words are:  clerk, term, herd, skirt, sir, stir, churn, burst, turn, and hurt.

Vocabulary:  Our new words are:  saddest, balance, deserted, freezes, and imagine.  We’ll define these words and build connections to them.  Then, we’ll search for the words in the short story called “Bill Helps Geese Survive” by Anthony Estes.

Comprehension:  This week, we will focus on identifying the cause and effect in a story.  The cause is why something happened and the effect is what happened.  We’ll practice this skill while we read Goose’s Story by Cari Best.

Grammar:  This week’s message will focus on homophones and contractions.  Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently.  Contractions are two words that are combined to make a new word.  An apostrophe takes the place of any missing letters.  Some examples of contractions are:  can’t, don’t, we’re, you’re, etc.

Writing:   This week, we will be working on completing a personal narrative that will be shared with our third grade teachers.  We will begin this week by using a mentor text (Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee) so we know what good writing looks like.  Then, we’ll have some time to practice our writing with teacher support.  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will be dedicated to giving students time to independently finish the writing piece that will be shared with third grade teachers.

Math:  New things are beginning in math!  Today, we received an urgent message from the MGB (Math Goal Bureau).  We were given a series of top secret missions to help us meet our time and money goals.  Students were given top clearance levels as new secret agents.  They were also given finger lasers for some added fun!  Ask your child all about “Mission Possible” today!

We’re also beginning new math switcheroo groups.  These groups are based on what students need.  Everyone’s goal is to be able to fluently add and subtract within 100 and 1,000 using strategies based on place value.  These are the strategies that were shared with you at parent-teacher conferences in March.

Science:  We’re continuing in our life science units.  Lessons this week will focus on habitats.  We’ll learn about different kinds of habitats and the diversity of life within each habitat.

Read Aloud:  We continue to read the hilarious Dodger and Me book.

Words to Think About:  Whatever you do, be all about it!

Have a great week!

April 11-14

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

WE ARE PUBLISHING A BOOK!  Today, you will find an order sheet in your child’s backpack.  This is for you to choose whether or not you would like to order a copy of the class book we will be writing and illustrating this week.  You DO NOT have to purchase a book if you don’t want to.  However, if you choose not to purchase a book, please check the “NO” box at the bottom of the page and sign and return the paper.  The envelope requests that you return the paper and payment by tomorrow.  This is best!  However, if you need a little more time, you may turn in all papers by Thursday, April 14th.  We need all papers signed and returned (whether you want to buy a copy or not) to allow us to order a copy of our book for our classroom library.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

This Wednesday is Literacy Night!  I hope you all can make it!  I’ll be dressed as Miss Frizzle and Miss Davis will be my lovely sidekick, Liz!  The evening will be a fun celebration of all things literacy.  

This Wednesday is also an early release day.  Please plan accordingly.

A new homework packet went home today.  This homework packet is for the next two weeks.  With this packet, you and your child can turn your spring break into a STEAM break!  Inside the packet you’ll find all kinds of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) projects to do this week and also over vacation.  Have fun!

There is no school on Friday!  Enjoy your vacation!

Your child’s biography project also went home with them today.  They worked incredibly hard on this project and I’m so excited for them to share it with you.

THIS WEEK IN...

Spelling:  We will be working with Unit 17.  The words are:  right, look, think, also, and around.  Since there is no school on Friday, our test will be on THURSDAY instead.

Writing:  We’ll be doing a lot with writing this week!  First, we’ll be reviewing what small moments are and how they make a great personal narrative.  For example, if we wanted to write about going to the beach, a small moment story would be about jumping the waves or building a sandcastle.  This week, students will pick a topic, brainstorm a story, and write a draft.  Then, we’ll use a mentor text to help us learn how to make our stories better.  We’ll be reading Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee.  She uses so many tools to make the story exciting!  Team Howard will be encouraged to use similar tools to improve their small moments story.  Finally, we’ll use the second grade writing rubric to assess Marla’s book.  This is done primarily to show the students what is expected of them and how to demonstrate that in their writing.  All of the skills practiced this week will be assessed the week after vacation.  Team Howard will be given an on the spot writing prompt.  They’ll be given 90 minutes in total to write a personal narrative that demonstrates where they are as writers.  This writing piece will be shared with their future third grade teachers.

Scholastic News:  This week, we’ll read an article about mysterious blue honey.  When we finish reading the article, we’ll answer questions about how bees actually make honey.  We’ll continue our nonfiction reading skills with a text-feature hunt.  

Publishing Our Book:  This early release day, we will be writing and illustrating our very own book.  We’ll be using The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose to inspire our very own animal story.  We’ll be using our very best handwriting and illustrating skills to create this special book.  I’m so excited to see how it all turns out!  Remember, you are also invited to purchase a copy of this book as a keepsake if you’d like!

Science:  This week, our mini-lessons will focus on habitats.  A habitat is a place for an animal to live.  An animal needs a habitat to provide space, food, water, and shelter.  We’ll turn to the great Miss Frizzle to help us learn more!

Read Aloud:  We are loving the book Dodger and Me!  This blue chimpanzee is one entertaining character!

Math:  We’ll continue our focused lessons around telling time and money.  We’ll also have a meet and greet time with our new math switcheroo groups.  These new groups will focus on using strategies to help us solve addition and subtraction problems within 100 and 1,000.

April 4-April 8

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

Ms. Austin will be visiting us tomorrow morning!  She’ll be administering a check-in that will show us what kind of thinkers we are.  The activity will have students identifying and completing many complex patterns.

I will be out on Thursday for a professional development opportunity.  If you have any notes about your child’s dismissal, please be sure to email them to Connie Holland directly or send in a paper note. 

This Friday is our Biography Day!  Please help you child come to school dressed as the person they have been studying.  These are simple costumes and I’m happy to help out in any way that I can.  Please let me know if you need any help with ideas or even a costume itself.

Mrs. Thibodeau is back in room 10 this week!  On Wednesday, Mrs. Thibodeau will be sharing the good touch/bad touch video with Team Howard.  We’ll review what a good touch is and what a bad touch is.  We’ll also review what to do if you feel like there was a bad touch.  This is always, always, always talking to an adult that you trust.

We are so lucky to have author, Sharalyn Morrison Andrews coming to Russell School on Friday!  She will be sharing her new book, Brave Nellie with the team.  We are so excited!

Spelling practice this week will consist of your child's individual review/challenge list.  There will be a test on these 10 words on THURSDAY!

THIS WEEK IN...

ELA:  Our main focus this week will be on our biographies.   This is our final chance to finish organizing all of the information we have gathered into a book.  In this book, students are expected to write in complete sentences that begin with a capital letter and have correct ending punctuation.  They are also expected to have good spelling and neat handwriting.  Students will also be asked to provide illustrations that add to their facts.  Another important part of the biography projects are the presentations.  Students will be given time to practice what a good presentation should look like.  They will be asked to stand straight and tall with their body facing the audience.  They will also be asked to project their voice clearly and with expression.  They will also be asked to make occasional eye contact with the audience.

Math:  This week, we will focus on time, money, math facts. To review, our goal for time is to be able to tell time to the nearest 5 minutes with an understanding of a.m. and p.m.  Our goal for money is to be able to solve word problems that ask us to add coins with sums up to $2.00 while also using money symbols appropriately.  Our goal for math facts is to memorize all sums and differences within 20 in a snap.

Read Aloud:  We have started a new book called Dodger and Me.  

Science:  Miss Gilmour will be leading the class through an engineering project involving spaghetti, string, and marshmallows!  It’s definitely going to have a fun one!