100 Day

This week we celebrated our 100th day of school.  It felt like we were never going to get there with all of the snow days we have had.  In honor of 100 day, we imagined what it would feel like to be 100 years old. They wrote about what they would eat (all soft foods, of course, like pudding, yogurt and mashed potatoes), what they would wear (slippers and pj's) and what they would not like (children). With the help of an app called aging booth, I was able to take each of the students' picture and age them. They really got a kick of what they would look like.  Look for these to be displayed on Best of Heights Night.

This is me at 100 years old

This week in reading our essential question was "How are kids around the world different?"  We read stories about kids from different parts of the world and how they play different games, eat different foods and do different things in school.  I think the most interesting thing to the students was that in Japan, the students take off their outside shoes and put on inside shoes.  We did a lot of comparing and contrasting between customs in our country to customs in other countries.

We learned about similies.  We practiced identifying what was being compared in a similie by reading sentences like:  Andrew was as sly as a fox and; She was as blind as a bat.

In math our focus is still on fractions.  We learned about equivalent fractions this week even played a game with fraction cards.  Next week we will end the unit on fractions.  Then we will be reviewing all of the skills we have learned thus far this year and the students will be given a Mid-Year Assessment.

In social studies, we ended our chapter on service jobs by conducting a "Career Fair."  Each student created a puppet of a specific job.  They wrote a description of that job on the back.  During the "Career Fair" the students walked around and introduced themselves and told each other about their job.

A news reporter

A doctor

In science, we continued investigating our liquids.  We talked about the properties of liquids and compared them to the properties of solids.

In celebration of Black History Month, the students watched a video and read a Scholastic News about Harriet Tubman.  The students were very impressed with the bravery that this woman had.

Next week is Dr. Seuss Spirit Week.  Please refer to the "Class News" tab for what to do each day. Also, just a reminder that book reports are due on Friday, March 7.

Have a great weekend.

Valentine's Day...Again?

Thanks to our snow days we were forced to change our Valentine's party to today.  The students are excited to finally have their party.  Their bags are all ready for the treats and cards from their classmates.

This week we finished up Unit 7 in math and had an assessment.  Look for these to come home next week.  Keep in mind that from here on out this year, many of the skills you will see on test are beginning skills.  Please do not get discouraged when you see your child's math score if it is lower than you had hoped.  On the Unit 7 test, one of the skills that is new to the students is finding the median.  After several reminders from me, many of the student forgot an important step:  putting the numbers in order.

Our next unit focuses on fractions.  This is another one of those skills that is difficult for beginners.  Your child may need more assistance than usual with the homework.  Please let me know if your child is struggling.

In reading this week, our essential question was "How does the earth change?"  We read some interesting stories about earthquakes and volcanoes.  We learned about erosion and what happens to the beaches when they get eroded.  We practiced rereading and learned a new comprehension skill this week:  cause and effect.  To help the students understand I made this chart:

In science this week, we started our unit on liquids.  We observed two liquids, glue and water, and compared their likes and differences.  In social studies, we played pantomimes with different kinds of services jobs.  The students created their own props and acted out their service job.

I hope you all got a chance to see the book report that was sent home on Wednesday this week.  They are due no later than March 7.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about it.

Have a nice weekend.  Enjoy the nice weather because rumor has it that more snow is on the way.

Mosaic of My Heart

This week in celebration of Valentine's Day, the students made mosaic hearts.  Inside the hearts, they wrote special things that they love on some of the red pieces.  Then they wrote about why those things are special to them.  

This week in math we once again focused on addition and subtraction skills.  We played some basketball addition and also a game called Hit the Target.  Remember, keep practicing those facts at home!!

We did some review in reading this week and took a Unit Assessment test.  This test took place over two days.  The students were asked to read passages and then answer multiple choice and short answer questions. If you are interested in seeing how your student scored on this test, please feel free to contact me.

We finished our Social Studies unit about how goods are transported from the farm and factory to the store.  We also played a Guess My Reason game in science.  Each student sorted the solids without telling the other students in his or her group.  Then the other group members had to figure out which property the sort was based on.  

Good News....Today we had an assembly to introduce our new Humphrey book, Friendship According to Humphrey.  Our last Humphrey book was a success so we have decided to read another one as a school.  We will continue to meet with our book buddies and plan some fun activities.

More snow is on the way...Have a great weekend.

Please Groundhog...Don't See Your Shadow!!!

Happy Groundhog Day!  Let's hope the little critter does not see his shadow.  I have had enough of winter. How about you?  We made some prediction about what we would like the groundhog to do.  Most of the students are ready for spring.  Some of the reasons were: so they can ride their bikes, see the pretty flowers, play outside and some are just sick of being cold.

Here are some of our groundhogs we have hanging in the hallway.

This week in reading we finished up Unit 3.  The students were given a weekly assessment test.  They were tested on skills like main idea and key details, prefixes and antonyms.  The next day we reviewed the test to see how well they did in preparation for our Unit Assessment next week.

We also began a technology project with the help of our favorite computer teacher, Mrs. Selby.  We researched a musical instrument.  We found information like when it was invented, what is looks like, what musical family does it belong to and any other interesting facts.  The students took that research and made powerpoint slides which even included a sound byte of the instrument.  Look for this presentation at Best of Heights Night.

In math, we actually started to dabble in some division.  The students were given very simple number stories and asked to draw pictures to begin to understand the concept of division.  We also had our Unit 6 Test.  These tests will come home next week.  We still need to practice subtracting.  Please try to remind your child of our Subtraction Poem.

More on Top, no need to stop;

More on the Floor, go next door and get 10 more;

Numbers the same, zeroes the game.

Today the students were given another math fact test.  I gave an incentive to beat the previous score.  Any student who beat their score received a homework pass.  Great job for those of you that earned it.  The homework pass looks like this:

This homework pass can be used for one night of homework.  The students are responsible to hold on to this pass and use it when they want.

This week in science, we tested our solids to see if they are magnetic or not.  The students were surprised to see that some of the solids even though they were metal did not stick to the magnet.  In social studies, we learned about how a product goes from a farm to a store to be sold.  We even  pretended to be different forms of transportation, and transported our clown toys from last week from the "factory"(front of the classroom) to the "toy store" (back bookshelf).

The weather should be getting a little warmer.  Have a great weekend.

SNOW days!!

3 snow days so far!! Hopefully, we will not have anymore this year.  Because of the holiday, the half day and the snow day, this was an even shorter week than what was expected.  With that being said, we were still able to accomplish a lot this week.

In math, we have started multiplying.  Yes, multiplying.  We began by solving number stories and drawing pictures.  Drawing pictures as simple as circles or boxes with tallies or dots in them help the students begin to understand multiplication.  By the end of the year, the students will begin learning multiplication facts.  Keep in mind that they should still be practicing addition and subtraction facts.

Our focus this week in reading was finding the main idea using key details.  We practiced by reading several stories like "Why People Drum", "They've Got the Beat" and "Many Ways to Enjoy Music."  We also reviewed prefixes, using punctuation in sentences and combining sentences.

We took something we learned about in reading, alliteration, and used that in our writing lesson this week.  Each student took there first name and create a sentence using alliteration.  Some of the sentences were very silly.

We were able to fit in two of our favorite lessons this week in social studies and science.  In science, we tested our solids to see if they floated or not.  Some of our solids actually did both.  In social studies, the students went to work in the Wells Toy Factory.  They became assembly line workers to create a clown toy.  They had a tough "boss" who wanted to production line to move faster.  It was interesting to see how thw "workers" began to change their work to keep up with production.

Look like more snow on the way!  Try to have a great weekend.

MAP Testing...Round 2

This week we spent two days taking the MAP test.  The students worked hard and patiently through this round of MAP testing.  Many of the students are on track to meeting their goal in the spring.  Good job class!!  Look for these results as they will be coming home soon.

In reading, our essential question was "How does the weather affect us?"  Isn't it funny how appropriate that is at this time?  We read all about several kinds of weather like tornadoes, blizzards, thunderstorms and hurricanes.  We practiced using the verb "have" correctly and learned that a book title should have capital letters and also get underlined.  We also practiced identifying the important or key details to help us determine the main idea.

I'm sure many of you were happy to see the subtraction math homework come home this week using the "old" algorithmn.  Many of the students were impressed that their parents knew how to subtract that way.  The students will continue practicing this way in class.  To help them remember we use this poster....

 In writing, the students have been working on opinion/persuasion letters.  Last week, they wrote letters to Mrs. Gansert asking her to change some things about school.  She responded to every letter.  Thanks Mrs. Gansert.  This week, the students wrote to some special people asking for other kinds of changes. You may be receiving a letter??!!

In science, we are continuing to observe the different properties of our collection of solids. In social studies we discussed air, water and land pollution and how they affect nature.

Today we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.  We watched a video and read a book called "Martin's Big Words."  I am so proud of the students as they were outraged by the things they learned about from the past. They each came up with a dream for the world for themselves.

Have a great long weekend!!

Wild Weather Welcome Back!

So far 2014 has come in with a bang.  Last week, we had our second snow day of the school year and today we had an icy start.  Let's hope Mother Nature is kinder to us for the rest of the winter.

Last week, Mrs. Taylor (or should I say) Dr. Taylor and I (Dr. Wells) teamed up to perform our annual contraction surgery.  We came dressed and ready for surgery.  The "medical" students were excited to witness the event and even more excited to learn they would be performing surgery as well.  One of our patients "Mrs." She Will came in to become She'll.  Dr. Taylor and I carefully removed her 'wi' and stitched her up good as new.

 
The students completed their own surgeries and all of the patients were sent to the recovery room as seen below...

This week we started right back in reading with an essential question.."How can people help out their community?"  We heard a story about one town in Arizona and how they tansformed their drab, crime-ridden community by painting a beautiful mural.  We read a story called "Biblioburro" about a man named Luis who loved reading books.  His problem was that he too many books in his house so he decided to take some of the books to different communities by burro, or donkey.  

In math, we learned about 3-dimensional shapes and parallel lines.  We also learned about symmetry.  As you know, we had another unit test that was sent home already to be signed.  Next week in Unit 6, our focus will be once again on addition and addition/subtraction number stories. 

We started our Solids, Liquids and Gases unit in science.  To begin the unit, we start observing just the solids and discussing their different properties.  In Social Stuides, we played a game of survival.  We imagined that we were dropped into a deserted island and what things we could use for food, clothing or shelter.  

This week in writing, we wrote letters to Mrs. Gansert trying to convince her of changing some things at school.  Some of the suggestions were having a class pet, having more recess, no homework, more homework, etc.  I wonder if she will consider some of the options.

It would not be winter without some winter decor, so I decided to give our door a winter theme.  The students helped out by making the snowflakes (after a snowflake making lesson).  

Have a great weekend!