Social Studies
On September 23, we took our first field trip to the Lenape Village at Churchville Nature Center.
Children experienced what it would be like to live in a Lenape Village. Children played Lenape games, made rope, visited inside a wigwam, ground corn, and even tried to make fire with the supervision of our guide!
In the classroom, we have been researching Lenape way shelter, clothes, food, family roles and important ceremonies. Our culminating in-class project will be to create content to load onto the interactive nature trail app being created for JP. The purpose of this trail will be share our Lenape research with our community and teach others about the Lenape way of life. For this project, students choose both the topic and mode of communicating information such as brochures, informational videos and historical re-enactments.
In Mid-October, we will begin our first science unit, “Changing Surfaces of the Earth.” In the first part of the unit, we will focus on fossils and rocks in the Earth’s crust. We will go on an exciting field trip to Poricy Park to dig for fossils. Please be on the lookout for an information sheet and permission form in your child’s homework folder next week.
Writing Workshop
In writing workshop, we are learning strategies to generate, develop, plan, draft, revise and edit personal narratives.
Most recently, we have been drafting our personal narratives. We have been focusing on strategies to “show” instead of “tell” in narrative, such as using dialogue, describing the character’s actions, thoughts and feelings, and using sensory detail.
Reading Workshop
In the first weeks of reading workshop, we were busy thinking and talking about our books. We practiced the routines of reading workshop, discussed our favorite books, and learned the habits of strong readers. We learned how to select books that are “just right” for us. When your child chooses a new book to read at home, encourage him/her to ask:
· Am I interested in this topic or story?
· What do I know about this genre or author?
· Does my reading feel smooth (or is it choppy or rough)?
· Does the pace of my reading feel just right (or is it too fast or too slow)?
For the past few weeks, we have focused on strengthening our comprehension skills such as visualizing, connecting, predicting, inferring and questioning as we read. We have developed our ideas about reading by writing post-it notes and discussing them with classmates.
Math
In math, we will conclude our first unit on geometry this week. During this unit, our class studied the geometry of 2-dimensional shapes. Students examined definitions and properties of shapes and the relationships among them. Students used compasses to construct shapes and to create their own geometric designs.
Homework Update
Students will continue to reading an independent reading book, quietly and independently, for at least 20 minutes each night as well as complete one math sheet per night.
Please continue to encourage your child to practice his/her math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication) a few times a week for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. This can be done with traditional flashcards or games on my website.
Students will now study one spelling pattern over the course of two weeks. During the first week of word study, students will be introduced to the spelling pattern and complete columns one through four. On week two, students will receive a new set of words that follows the same pattern. These words will include some words studied the week before and some new words. Students will complete activities in columns five through eight. Descriptions of each activity can be found on the front pages of your child’s word study notebook. Studying one spelling pattern over the course of two weeks will allow students to make more connections, build more vocabulary and internalize the spelling pattern so it can be used for both reading and writing new words.
Lastly, the weekly reading response homework will begin in Mid-November.
On September 23, we took our first field trip to the Lenape Village at Churchville Nature Center.
Children experienced what it would be like to live in a Lenape Village. Children played Lenape games, made rope, visited inside a wigwam, ground corn, and even tried to make fire with the supervision of our guide!
In the classroom, we have been researching Lenape way shelter, clothes, food, family roles and important ceremonies. Our culminating in-class project will be to create content to load onto the interactive nature trail app being created for JP. The purpose of this trail will be share our Lenape research with our community and teach others about the Lenape way of life. For this project, students choose both the topic and mode of communicating information such as brochures, informational videos and historical re-enactments.
In Mid-October, we will begin our first science unit, “Changing Surfaces of the Earth.” In the first part of the unit, we will focus on fossils and rocks in the Earth’s crust. We will go on an exciting field trip to Poricy Park to dig for fossils. Please be on the lookout for an information sheet and permission form in your child’s homework folder next week.
Writing Workshop
In writing workshop, we are learning strategies to generate, develop, plan, draft, revise and edit personal narratives.
Most recently, we have been drafting our personal narratives. We have been focusing on strategies to “show” instead of “tell” in narrative, such as using dialogue, describing the character’s actions, thoughts and feelings, and using sensory detail.
Reading Workshop
In the first weeks of reading workshop, we were busy thinking and talking about our books. We practiced the routines of reading workshop, discussed our favorite books, and learned the habits of strong readers. We learned how to select books that are “just right” for us. When your child chooses a new book to read at home, encourage him/her to ask:
· Am I interested in this topic or story?
· What do I know about this genre or author?
· Does my reading feel smooth (or is it choppy or rough)?
· Does the pace of my reading feel just right (or is it too fast or too slow)?
For the past few weeks, we have focused on strengthening our comprehension skills such as visualizing, connecting, predicting, inferring and questioning as we read. We have developed our ideas about reading by writing post-it notes and discussing them with classmates.
Math
In math, we will conclude our first unit on geometry this week. During this unit, our class studied the geometry of 2-dimensional shapes. Students examined definitions and properties of shapes and the relationships among them. Students used compasses to construct shapes and to create their own geometric designs.
Homework Update
Students will continue to reading an independent reading book, quietly and independently, for at least 20 minutes each night as well as complete one math sheet per night.
Please continue to encourage your child to practice his/her math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication) a few times a week for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. This can be done with traditional flashcards or games on my website.
Students will now study one spelling pattern over the course of two weeks. During the first week of word study, students will be introduced to the spelling pattern and complete columns one through four. On week two, students will receive a new set of words that follows the same pattern. These words will include some words studied the week before and some new words. Students will complete activities in columns five through eight. Descriptions of each activity can be found on the front pages of your child’s word study notebook. Studying one spelling pattern over the course of two weeks will allow students to make more connections, build more vocabulary and internalize the spelling pattern so it can be used for both reading and writing new words.
Lastly, the weekly reading response homework will begin in Mid-November.