May 4, 2018

It's hard to believe it's May already!  We have a packed month ahead of us, including some really fun trips to Crisafulli, an exciting enrichment program (Day in Ghana), and our all-school Field Day.  We are sure to really enjoy all of these special things and more this month!

We have been very busy since we returned from April break.  It was great to hear the many places children visited or the fun activities they participated in over the break.  Everyone had lots to share!

Here are some other highlights from the past two weeks...

During our Reading time we got back to reading some more fiction texts with our guided reading groups.  We discussed and practiced some of the skills we’ve talked about throughout the year.  Our discussions focused on vocabulary, predicting, and re-telling. 

We had a great couple of days doing ancestor research in the library.  The kids were really excited to begin looking at the books about their country.  Everyone had a chance to find information about some things they were wondering about their country (food, animals, holidays, famous landmarks).  Thank you to all the parents who have helped out so far- your support has been wonderful for the children. We have two more sessions planned in the library to research our next questions.  

This past week during our Writing time we began using the information we found in our research to write informational paragraphs.  We talked about how to begin a paragraph by indenting and using an introductory sentence.  Then, we demonstrated and practiced how to turn our notes into fluid sentences.  The children are doing so well.  I am very impressed at how quickly they are learning to write their paragraphs.  

We have spent the last 2 weeks learning about Antarctica.  What a fascinating place!  It's been fun to learn about what it's really like to be in Antarctica and discuss why no one actually lives there.  We also watched a video about penguins and did a lot of learning in the classroom about the different types of penguins all throughout the world.  Hopefully you're child has been coming home teaching you some new things about Antarctica!  Next week we will travel from the very cold continent of Antarctica to a MUCH different place, South America.  Sadly, this will be the last stop on our journey around the world.  We will spend the next 2 weeks learning about South America before making our final "flight" home.

The past 2 weeks in Math we completed unit 8 and began unit 9.  Our lessons looked at Equal Groups and Arrays (an introduction to how multiplication works).  We also reviewed what we’ve learned during this unit about 2-D and 3-D shapes, Polygons, and Equal Parts.  All of this work helped prepare the children for the Unit 8 Assessment, which we did on Monday and Tuesday.  During the rest of the week we began unit nine, which is all about equal shares (Fractions!).

Thank you so much for all of your generous donations to our Rainy Day Family Fun Basket.  Our basket is very full and looks awesome!  I hope to see many of you next Friday at the Family Fest at Crisafulli School where our basket will be raffled off to raise money for our school.  

The second Distance Learning folder came home with your child today.  Please check your child's backpack to make sure the folder got home.  Just like the previous assignment, you will have two weeks to complete the activities.  All folders are due back Friday, May 18th.  Have fun!