Game Day Tomorrow - Sept. 30th

The class earned their first Game Day!  We have filled our marble jar to the brim.  The class gets marbles when we get compliments from other teachers and when I see them making good choices as a group.  Sometimes we lose marbles so it can take a while to fill the jar.

Game Day is a day when students can bring games from home to play with their peers and it's a great time to practice social skills.  I ask that you keep electronic games at home along with trading cards (because of their value).  It will also be a great way to celebrate a birthday we have in the room and to celebrate finishing our first big test (in Science, don't forget).

Also, thank you for supporting the Wildfire Penny Drive.  We added a lot of pennies to the jug today just from our class.  Your kindness is greatly appreciated and the students were so happy to contribute.

Pennies For Wildfires

While we were in the library today, I couldn't help but notice the grade level jugs for the penny drive.  We are collecting pennies (or other denomination) for Texas Wildfire victims   The grade level with the most will get a popcorn and juice party.  I think the jugs the student council made are too cute!

Ours

The competition

LIbrary Day Tomorrow!

Don't forget to bring your books to school tomorrow...even if you want to recheck them.  We must bring them in each time to renew them or exchange them.  We get to keep a trophy if everyone in our class remembers to bring their books on the correct day!

Our Special Lesson Today

Can you guess where we went today?

Here's another clue!

Ok...one more!

You guessed it!  We went to the computer lab.  It was our 2nd official visit of the year.  Each student practiced logging on with their own id numbers. We started making a publication using Microsoft Publisher that will help us remember what we learned today about the Past, Present and Future of League City (thanks to Mrs. Littlejohn). We also practiced saving and renaming a document. They did a great job and they are excited to finish the project next time we go.  

Library Expectations and Open Library

When we go to the library, there are a few expectations I have and try to stick by each visit.  The students are to select two "just-right" books to check out and I give them approval on the level of the books.  They are to read the first page and preview the book to determine if it's a match for them.   Sometimes, the first page is the easiest page in the book and the rest of the book turns out to be too challenging. Occasionally, a student will forget and not bring me their books for approval or we run out of time.

I encourage students to utilize our open library opportunities.  Since they keep 5 of my classroom library books in their desk and have 2 from the school library, they should have plenty of new material to read weekly.  As they finish their library books, they are allowed to go to the library with a pass and check out a new book.  Please know that I am not there to check their levels and it is possible they may come home with a book that is too easy or too challenging if they go to open library.  If I see that a student is making incorrect choices over a period of time, they may not be able to go to open library time until we review the rules for selecting a "just-right" book.  You can help your child remember to get new books with a reminder in the morning.  It always helpful to know that you want them to get new books because then I'm sure you are done with them at home, but it's not required they say you told them to go.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

Book Order Thank You

After our 1st book order, our class earned over 100 bonus points plus $10 in free books instantly!  These are the 3 books I selected.  I can't wait to add them to our classroom library.  We still have lots of books that are in need of repair.  I can send these home with students a few at a time if you think you have the time to give them some TLC.

Communities...Chapter 1

Chapter 1 in Social Studies focused on places where people live, work, solve problems and play.  The students drew examples of each and combined them to make city maps.  Above are some examples of their maps and one example of each type of place. Can you identify them?

Guess Who Went To The Library?

Today the class went to the library for the 2nd time this year!  We were so busy that when we came back, we didn't have time to put the books away so they laid them on the rug and jumped right into Science.  This week in Science they are learning that good scientists make predictions based on observations.  They made plans and tested ways to separate beans from sand using different types of colanders and slotted spoons.  In the end, the students learned that the best tools were the ones with many holes that were just smaller than the beans themselves. They also learned that the tools in the shape of a spoon or cup worked better than the flat tools. Most importantly, they learned to work in cooperative groups.

Math Tools

Our first unit of math is wrapping up!  The students have spent the last 4 weeks leaning math routines, making plans for math, and testing out different ideas using a variety of math tools.  In my class, all of my students have played the Hiding Game (with blocks, but you could use anything you can count and hide in your hand).  Ask them to show you how to play!  It's a great way to show if you know all your combinations to 10.