Dear Families,
We can’t believe that we’ve already been in school for
almost one full month! This is the first of many Blogs that you will receive.
This is a way for you to get a glimpse of all the wonderful things going on in
our classroom.
In math, we have been exploring place value with whole
numbers and decimals. This includes comparing and ordering numbers,
rounding/estimating and powers of 10. We have utilized math games in the
classroom and the computer lab to help reinforce concepts. We even had a visit
from Mr. P.! Next week the children will take their first math test.
During our shared reading time, we use a variety of texts to
model and practice specific strategies and skills of proficient readers. Our shared
reading so far has included a newspaper article, magazine article, and
restaurant review (as you know).
Our first read aloud is Schooled by Gordon Kormon. It
is about a boy who grew up on a commune and is suddenly thrown into modern day
life when his grandmother can’t take care of him anymore. Life in a public
school sure is different than being homeschooled by his grandmother. We have
been examining character change through this novel. We are very eager to meet
Gordon Kormon on October 7th at Jericho Public Library.
In social studies, we have reviewed the big ideas of
government and democracy by having the children take the naturalization test
for becoming a US
Our Science Lab is a very exciting place. We have been
learning about the ocean through various hands-on experiments. In the computer lab we’ve been working on
ocean animal research. The children will be presenting their research to the
class next week in the form of a PowerPoint or a Prezzi.
During Writer’s Workshop, we decorated our notebooks and
wrote our first entry. It was a letter of advice to somebody starting a new
school. We will shortly be started a unit on persuasive writing.
We wish you a great weekend. Your children will be writing
our next blog!
Thank you for all of
your support!
-Alites
Thank you so much for all the information about what is going on in class. It looks like a wonderful start to the year!
ReplyDeleteBest,
Lisa and Kevin Davis
It is so exciting that you are going to meet Gordon Kormon! He is an amazing author of so many novels. I can't wait to see the PowerPoint or Prezzi presentation on the ocean animals! It sounds like it is going to be an exciting school year!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the info on what has been happening in class. I know Carly is really enjoying the book Schooled, even though is not her usual genre. I am sure it will be special to meet the author.
ReplyDeleteSue Singer
Dear Alites,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your latest blog post with me - I really enjoyed learning about all the wonderful things you are learning about in class! I am really intrigued by the fact that you are reading lots of nonfiction during your Shared Reading experience - that is a great focus. Based on your study of restaurant reviews and the ones you are currently writing, what would you say was the most powerful thing you've learned about what goes into a review? I am curious!
Keep up the great work - I am so proud of you!
Mr. Sinanis
Thank you for your question Mr. Sinanis. We learned so much about restaurant reviews. The most powerful thing we learned was the importance of being fair when you are critical. You must have evidence to support your opinion.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning more about what topics you are covering in your classroom. The trip on Monday should be really great. Can't wait to read more!
ReplyDelete