Valentine's Day Cuties!

I just adore these kiddos!  We had such fun exchanging our cards and spreading some love today!

On another note, please encourage your child to submit a piece of writing, photography, or artwork to our school magazine, The Pond.  I know there is so much talent in this classroom, and I would love to see their work published.  Please see the flyer below for details.  The deadline is March 15th.

A Visit from Ben Franklin!

On Friday we all enjoyed a Ben Franklin presentation from Historical Perspectives.  Students were taken throughout Ben's life to learn about his experiences as a child, a young man, and then an adult.  Even our own Leah C. was brought up to help with a static electricity demonstration.  Way to go, Leah!

What's New in Room 8?

Argh!!! I apologize for not updating our blog in such a long time.  Time truly does fly by!  December passed in the blink of an eye and now it's February already!

I'd like to present this month's update in a more user-friendly manner.  In an effort to be less wordy, I'll simply bullet some of the highlights for each of the subject areas.  Hopefully, this will give you a clear idea of what students are learning without giving you so much to read! 

Reading:

• Using nonfiction text features like: diagrams, captions, headings, table of contents, glossary, etc...
• Identifying main ideas and details
• Comparing and contrasting nonfiction facts 
• Setting reading goals and learning to read for specific information and facts
• Building our oral reading fluency skills with a focus on word attack skills and expression

Writing:

• Distinguishing fact from opinion
• Understanding the structure of an opinion essay
• Essays written so far have included the following topics:  1) Should we eat bugs?, 2) Personal heroes, 3) School uniforms for students?, and 4) Our favorite foods.

Math:

• Multiplication facts - PLEASE KEEP WORKING ON THESE EACH DAY
• Multiplying and dividing whole numbers by multiples of ten
• Multiplying three-digit numbers by one-digit numbers with regrouping
• Basic division as well as division with remainders
• Time skills - Telling time to the minute and using number lines to calculate elapsed time
• Finding the area of irregular figures by counting squares
• Finding the area of squares/rectangles by multiplying L x W

Science:

• Force and motion
• Electricity and magnetism

Social Studies:

• Wampanoag - We will wrap up this unit by the end of the week with a short assessment.
• Next unit:  Pilgrims