I know it has been so long since I last posted on here. Inevitably, it gets busy midyear with the amount of things going on in the classroom. You can rest assured though. LOTS of learning has occurred! Every spring, I am amazed at how much growth my students make. Year after year, it's the same. It's like they've been little sponges all year soaking in the knowledge until they're full. At this point every year, they begin pouring out their knowledge and begin to grow leaps and bounds. You should be very proud of your child. Read the updates below to find out what we've been learning and working on in the different subject areas.
Math
Problem solving has been a big focus of ours in math. We have continued to work in our problem solving journals. If you happened to look in the last one that came home, you probably noticed students have begun to solve many addition and subtraction problems. You've probably also noticed we have learned that there are many ways to make each number. Together, we have worked to come up with the various ways to make each number. Did you know that for every number, just add one, and that will tell you how many ways there are to make that number? For example, there are 11 ways to make 10, and there are 7 ways to make 6. My students love to say there are 101 ways to make 100. :)
When problem solving, my students have also learned that there are lots of ways to solve problems. They have had practice with each strategy and have gotten to add these strategies to their math tool boxes along with the corresponding math tool (see picture below). We will continue to use our math tool box from now until the end of the year. One thing we will begin to work on is selecting the strategy that is the most efficient. As the numbers have gotten higher in story problems, students have begun to learn that drawing a picture is not going to be the most efficient way to solve the problem.
Problem solving has been a big focus of ours in math. We have continued to work in our problem solving journals. If you happened to look in the last one that came home, you probably noticed students have begun to solve many addition and subtraction problems. You've probably also noticed we have learned that there are many ways to make each number. Together, we have worked to come up with the various ways to make each number. Did you know that for every number, just add one, and that will tell you how many ways there are to make that number? For example, there are 11 ways to make 10, and there are 7 ways to make 6. My students love to say there are 101 ways to make 100. :)
When problem solving, my students have also learned that there are lots of ways to solve problems. They have had practice with each strategy and have gotten to add these strategies to their math tool boxes along with the corresponding math tool (see picture below). We will continue to use our math tool box from now until the end of the year. One thing we will begin to work on is selecting the strategy that is the most efficient. As the numbers have gotten higher in story problems, students have begun to learn that drawing a picture is not going to be the most efficient way to solve the problem.
In addition to problem solving, my students have worked a lot with fluency. Not only is fluency important in reading; it is also important in math. By the end of the year, students are expected to be able to add and subtract fluently within 5. With the use of games, activities, and problem solving, the majority of my students are already fluent within 5. More than any other year, I have been blown away at my students' ability to add and subtract quickly! We will keep working on fact fluency the rest of the year. Once students have mastered facts within 5, we will move onto fluently adding and subtracting within 10. If you haven't done so already, cut up the fluency math fact cards given to you at conferences. Begin to work with your child on these facts within 5 (addition/subtraction).
Another thing we do every day in math is counting! My students have grown so much in this area. They have learned efficient ways to count (count by tens) and have also learned how to represent their counting with a number sentence. Check out the pictures below of their counting collections. Yes, my students have learned how to write multiplication sentences with larger groups of collections to make it more efficient. For example, instead of writing 10+10+10+3, my students have learned that they can write 10 X 3+3=33. Check out the pictures below to see examples of their counting collections and their corresponding number sentences.
Another thing we do every day in math is counting! My students have grown so much in this area. They have learned efficient ways to count (count by tens) and have also learned how to represent their counting with a number sentence. Check out the pictures below of their counting collections. Yes, my students have learned how to write multiplication sentences with larger groups of collections to make it more efficient. For example, instead of writing 10+10+10+3, my students have learned that they can write 10 X 3+3=33. Check out the pictures below to see examples of their counting collections and their corresponding number sentences.
Writing
In writing, my students have been working hard on writing non-fiction books. We wrote How-To books for about a month, and now we are working on All About books. The purpose of these books is to teach others all about a topic your child knows a lot about. I look forward to reading their books when they are done!
We have been making a list of characteristics we have noticed in All About books. Here is our list.
In writing, my students have been working hard on writing non-fiction books. We wrote How-To books for about a month, and now we are working on All About books. The purpose of these books is to teach others all about a topic your child knows a lot about. I look forward to reading their books when they are done!
We have been making a list of characteristics we have noticed in All About books. Here is our list.
One of the things we worked on before starting All About books was a fun question and answer writing activity. Students were able to write clues about an animal and then the reader had to guess what the animal was. The picture of the animal was covered up by a flap. These flaps have also been a fun addition to some of their All About books. Check out some of their question and answer writing pieces. See if you can guess the animal based on the clues given!
Another fun project we worked on was writing letters! Each student wrote a letter to send out. Some of you may have received this letter in the mail. I love that students are learning that there are so many purposes to writing. Students learned that there are many reasons you might write a letter. They also learned the structure of a letter and were challenged to ask a question in the letter with the hopes that a letter might be sent back. Check out the pictures below to see one letter I received. It was such a sweet letter! I also included a pictures of our mailbox in the classroom. Students had such a fun time putting their letters in the mailbox.
Reading
My students have taken off with their reading! They have come so far with their fluency, accuracy, comprehension, and vocabulary. I would say fluency and accuracy have come the furthest. They have learned that punctuation changes and enhances our voice when we're reading. My students understand that when they see quotation marks, they are supposed to make their reading sound like the character talking. I look forward to seeing how far their fluency improves from now until the end of the year.
As far as accuracy goes, my students have gotten so much better at cross-checking. My students have learned to ask these three questions when they come to a word they're not sure is accurate: Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense? This cross-checking strategy has definitely improved my students' accuracy. If you get a chance, have your child show you the actions we have put to this strategy. It's pretty cute!!
My students have also learned how important it is to get their mouth ready to say the first sound of a word and then look through the whole word. Students are getting a lot more proficient with this strategy and have really been able to apply it when reading unknown words. Students also continue to take off with sight words. If you haven't worked on these in a while, now would be a great time to do so. The more words a student knows, the less work he/she needs to do when reading. Just like fluency is important in math, it's also important in reading.
My students have taken off with their reading! They have come so far with their fluency, accuracy, comprehension, and vocabulary. I would say fluency and accuracy have come the furthest. They have learned that punctuation changes and enhances our voice when we're reading. My students understand that when they see quotation marks, they are supposed to make their reading sound like the character talking. I look forward to seeing how far their fluency improves from now until the end of the year.
As far as accuracy goes, my students have gotten so much better at cross-checking. My students have learned to ask these three questions when they come to a word they're not sure is accurate: Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense? This cross-checking strategy has definitely improved my students' accuracy. If you get a chance, have your child show you the actions we have put to this strategy. It's pretty cute!!
My students have also learned how important it is to get their mouth ready to say the first sound of a word and then look through the whole word. Students are getting a lot more proficient with this strategy and have really been able to apply it when reading unknown words. Students also continue to take off with sight words. If you haven't worked on these in a while, now would be a great time to do so. The more words a student knows, the less work he/she needs to do when reading. Just like fluency is important in math, it's also important in reading.
Science
Students learned so much about weather last trimester. Students learned about different types of weather (sunny, rainy, cloudy, partly sunny/cloudy, snowy, and windy). They also learned that weather is constantly changing and that it affects what we do and how we dress. We have had to learn the hard way this winter and some days this spring that when the temperature is below 10 degrees, it's too cold to go outside. We became "weather watchers' and have begun recording in a weather journal what the weather is like on random days. Even though our weather unit is done, we will continue to record in our weather journal to see how the weather continues to change.
Our next unit in science involves learning more about the needs of plants and animals. We have just started to learn what animals and plants need to survive. We will soon learn the relationship between plants and animals and how many animals need plants to survive (for food and for protection).
Students learned so much about weather last trimester. Students learned about different types of weather (sunny, rainy, cloudy, partly sunny/cloudy, snowy, and windy). They also learned that weather is constantly changing and that it affects what we do and how we dress. We have had to learn the hard way this winter and some days this spring that when the temperature is below 10 degrees, it's too cold to go outside. We became "weather watchers' and have begun recording in a weather journal what the weather is like on random days. Even though our weather unit is done, we will continue to record in our weather journal to see how the weather continues to change.
Our next unit in science involves learning more about the needs of plants and animals. We have just started to learn what animals and plants need to survive. We will soon learn the relationship between plants and animals and how many animals need plants to survive (for food and for protection).
All in all, it has been so fun to watch my students take off the last month or so. As I said earlier, they have learned so much all year long, but they have just sprinted full speed ahead lately. I look forward to seeing how they do on their spring testing coming up at the beginning of May. I am sure they will continue to blow me away. Thanks for everything you do to support your child at home. It is very clear they have such caring, supportive families.