December is here and Christmas is quickly approaching! We are wrapping up our learning in several areas before the end of second quarter. Here are some things we've been working on:
Reading: This week we began our study of holidays around the world. Students got their passports stamped for the United States and Mexico. We read articles about Christmas and Las Posadas. Students learned about the differences and similarities between the two holidays. Next week we will travel to Sweden (St. Lucia) and also learn about Hanukkah.
Writing: This week in writing we worked on adding some special features to our informative books. We talked about adding transition words to make our writing sound smoother. We also practiced adding interesting titles to our books. We compared some titles of books and talked about which one was more interesting and why. We like titles that have descriptive words and use words that begin with the same letter. We will be taking our summative writing prompt next week!
Math: This week in math we finished up Topic 6, which focused on data and graphing. It was a fairly short topic and students enjoyed looking at different survey questions. This topic provided some much needed relief after a very challenging Topic 5. However, I am happy to report that all students improved their test scores on the Topic 5 assessment after reteaching and retesting. Woohoo!! We also started Topic 7 this week. This topic focuses on the counting sequence. Students will be working on counting by tens and ones to 120.
Social Studies: In social studies, we learned about the difference between needs and wants. This fits in very nicely with Christmas time! Students learned that a need is something you must have to survive (food, water, clothing, and shelter) and a want is something that's just for fun (games, toys, movies, etc). This led to some interesting conversations in our classroom! Is toilet paper a need or a want?? What do YOU think? :)
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
Reading: This week we began our study of holidays around the world. Students got their passports stamped for the United States and Mexico. We read articles about Christmas and Las Posadas. Students learned about the differences and similarities between the two holidays. Next week we will travel to Sweden (St. Lucia) and also learn about Hanukkah.
Writing: This week in writing we worked on adding some special features to our informative books. We talked about adding transition words to make our writing sound smoother. We also practiced adding interesting titles to our books. We compared some titles of books and talked about which one was more interesting and why. We like titles that have descriptive words and use words that begin with the same letter. We will be taking our summative writing prompt next week!
Math: This week in math we finished up Topic 6, which focused on data and graphing. It was a fairly short topic and students enjoyed looking at different survey questions. This topic provided some much needed relief after a very challenging Topic 5. However, I am happy to report that all students improved their test scores on the Topic 5 assessment after reteaching and retesting. Woohoo!! We also started Topic 7 this week. This topic focuses on the counting sequence. Students will be working on counting by tens and ones to 120.
Social Studies: In social studies, we learned about the difference between needs and wants. This fits in very nicely with Christmas time! Students learned that a need is something you must have to survive (food, water, clothing, and shelter) and a want is something that's just for fun (games, toys, movies, etc). This led to some interesting conversations in our classroom! Is toilet paper a need or a want?? What do YOU think? :)
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
- December 12-Make it Take it Give it, 6:00-7:30
- December 21-Early Dismissal (Students will be dismissed at 12:30)
- December 22-January 3- NO SCHOOL (Merry Christmas!)