Happy Thanksgiving!!

First and foremost, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  I definitely will be counting my blessings and one of them is to be teaching at our great school.  I am thankful for the students I teach and their families as well.  Enjoy your family time!! Here are a couple of the Thankful Trees we made last week.

This week we started a new theme in reading and our essential question was "What do we love animals?" We read several poems about different animals and discussed what the authors liked about each animal. We learned about rhyming poems and how they are different than regular stories.  We also practiced using apostrophes on possessive nouns.

This week in math we actually had a game show.  We played "Guess the Attribute Block."  First, the students were called to "COME ON DOWN" and then they were given a rule and needed to choose the correct attribute block.  The students had fun!  Next week, we will be starting to teach how to add double digit numbers.  We will be teaching the students different ways to add.  Eventually, as the students become more independent they can choose which way they are most comfortable.

Today was a day that many of us look forward to every year.  Our JDRF dances!!  First, we had the Cupid Shuffle.  Cupid even made an appearance.  Then, we had the YMCA.  (This was my favorite especially because I took part in it.)  Finally, the dance the students were waiting for, What Does the Fox Say?  Mr. B once again stole the show as the Fox.  We had a lot of fun and I think the students will remember it for a long time.

Have a great long weekend!!

Walk for a Cause

This week we participated in our annual JDRF walk.  Our school was able to raise over $1500 for juvenile diabetes.  That's amazing.  We had a great time listening to music while exercising our bodies.

Our essential question this week was "How are offspring like their parents?"  We read several stories about animals and their offspring.  Of course, my favorite was the story about the gorillas and their babies.  We read about elephants, penguins, eagles, wolves and bears.  The students were enthusiastic while learning some interesting information.

We took another math fact timed test.  Every student improved their scores from September.  Great job, class!!  These will be coming home next week to be signed although many of you will be seeing them at conference.

We read a book about the girl who saved Thanksgiving.  Then we created "Thankful Trees."  The students drew trees and wrote on the leaves things they are thankful for.  They are displayed in the hall for you to see when you come in for your conference.

Speaking of conference...I look forward to seeing all of you and discussing your child's academic progress.

Have a great weekend.

Animal Habitats

This week our essential question was "What are features of different animal habitats?"  We read several stories about different types of homes for different animals.  We learned about coral reef.  Did you know that it takes one year for the coral reef to grow one inch?

We read about prairie dogs and also sea turtles, too.

We finished up Unit 3 in math this week.  The math test will be coming home on Monday for you to review, sign and return.  In Unit 4, addition and subtraction number stories will be used to develop mental arithmetic skills.  We will be solving number stories, reading and showing temperatures on a thermometer, and working on strategies for adding 2 and 3-digit numbers.

The students have been busy writing their How-To stories.  We read some stories together to discover how these types of stories are written.  Some of our How-To topics are:  How To Draw a Snowman, How To Draw a Cat and of course, How To Make a Rainbow Loom bracelet.

In Social Studies, we started the week by learning about Veteran's Day and how it started and why we celebrate that day. Then, we began learning about different geographic features.  Ask your child if they can name any.  Which features can be found in our community?  We took a science test on Balance and Motion.  Next week we will be talking about the Thanksgiving holiday and doing some fun activities after hearing some stories about it.

You should have received your child's password to the Wonders Student Center.  You will find that this website useful and informative.

Next week is our annual JDRF walk.  Please keep sending in your change to raise money for this cause. If we raise enough money, some of the teachers will be doing dances to entertain the students....

Have a nice weekend.

Happy Halloween

First, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and thank those of you who came by to visit the Wells Cemetery.  My husband and I had a great night and were happy to see so many familiar faces.  In case you missed it, here's what I looked like.

A special thanks to the parents who came in for the Halloween party.  I really appreciate your help in making the party a fun time for the class!!  Thanks to the parents who came out to the parade as well.  The students love seeing people as they are parading their great costumes. 

This week we began to discuss the genre: fables.  We read several stories with a lesson at the end.  One of the stories we read was called "The Fox and the Crane."  In this story, the fox invites the crane over for dinner but does not want to share any of his food with her.  He serves the food in a bowl that Crane cannot eat from.

Crane knowing that she had been tricked invites Fox over for dinner and serves the food in a jar that Fox cannot eat from.

The moral or lesson of the story was:  Do not try to trick others because they may turn around and trick you back.

Our spelling words this week had long u and short u.  We also practiced using commas in a series and recognizing nouns, both singular and plural.  

In writing, we wrote the steps of How To Paint a Pumpkin.  Then using the steps the students got to paint their pumpkins.  

We wrapped up our Balance and Motion Unit in science.  Our final lesson was the runway challenge.  As a class, we designed runways that had loops, curves and hills.  The students discovered ways to make the challenges work.  Great Job, students!!

Also, this week we met with our 6th Grade book buddies again to design a costume for Humphrey the Hamster.  We had some creative costume winners.  

Have a great weekend!!