The week kind of got the best of me and it dawned on me this morning that I did not send out my Wednesday newsletter. I apologize for that.
The clip system seems to be working. Having that visual of okay I'm off task, seems to push them back in the right direction. I've noticed that the clip system has resulted in me not giving out many dojo points. So, I will try to get back into that. It was mentioned to me by a parent, that I should ask for Dojo Store donations. So, if you want to buy something for the store, feel free to do so. :) I'm sure the kiddos will be excited to get them. We had map testing all week, so we did not jump into anything new. Just reviewed what we've covered so we can become masters. We also had a visit from a storyteller, who told us a lot of cool stories using Pentaamine. He was here last year, and they were all excited to tell me about his previous. Math: We dived into our second unit, which is still focusing on multiplication. However, its focusing on certain factors to help them learn different properties. So far, we learned the tricks of multiplying by 2, 5, and 9. The 9's trick was a little confusing at first, but the more we did it, the better we got at it. We had a couple friends figure out what 22x9 was using the 9's trick. When learning about the factors 0 and 1, we learned about the identity property and zero property of multiplication. We also played our new favorite game, KABOOM! It is a very cool game, and it is helping us with our math fluency and recall ability. Social Studies: For social studies, I've just been going over the information from unit two. Last week, they were the teachers, and they gathered all of the information. I figured they would leave some stuff out, in which they did, so I picked up the slack. :) We covering people that have ties to immigration and migration. We're covering why people would migrate/immigrate. We also learned that some of the people that were immigrants, became very famous writers, artists, and musicians. We've looked at some of their work, and listened to some of their songs. On Tuesday, October 2, we will have our very first social studies test. Science: We completed our first science experiment! Our testable question was "can you make an egg bounce?" There were a lot of mixed answers but we put it to a test. They were broken into groups and each group was given two eggs. They then chose two out of the three options (vinegar, water, or coke) to place their eggs in. We learned that putting an egg in coke, just turns the shell brown, while vinegar can indeed make an egg bounce. Some groups learned that just because it bounces, doesn't mean its a ball, so the eggs popped. We walked through the scientific experiment together creating a hypothesis, procedures, collected data, and drew conclusions. We did get a little rowdy at the end, so we shall see how things go for our next experiment. Reading: In reading we reviewed similes, metaphors, subjects, and predicates. I did not want to introduce anything new because that would be too overwhelming with the language usage and reading map test. We learned a catchy simile and metaphors song, so if you hear them singing it, have them teach it to you. They are getting better at identifying metaphors and what things are being compared. Sometimes they confuse the two, but then I just have them sing the song. We listened to the song Mr. Grinch, and noticed that there were a bunch of metaphors. A few were surprised that many songs use similes and metaphors. Religion: In religion we are focusing on the important of God's word, keeping his word hidden in our hearts, and using His word as a guide. This week we started making our own wordless picture books on our favorite verse(s), chapter, or book in the Bible. They look amazing. When we finish them, I will be putting them up outside on the bulletin board. Important Dates:
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Much better week although, we have not been able to trade in points for dojo dollars and go shopping in the store. Hopefully we can get a chance to do it before the week ends. Their excitement and smiles are a few things that I love! I also introduced a new behavior management tool to them. I do not know the proper name for it, however I call it the clip system. A picture of it can be found to the right. It is a chart that has different sections, outstanding, excellent choices, great effort, ready to learn, think about it, make better choices, and parent contact. It is a visual for them to see that Ms. Watson is giving me to many redirections, I am off task, I am not focused, I am playing/talking when I should not, or something along those lines. Math: We finished up our division chapter to close out unit 1. We spent more time than usual because I wanted to make sure that they understood multiplication, divison, their relationship, and how they relate to addition and subtraction. I also wanted to make sure that everyone knew and understood how to use the many methods that we've learned. Next week, we will continue to talk about multiplication by focusing on a different groups of factors. We will also talk about the different multiplication properties, such as multiplying by 0 and 1. I am excited to jump into unit 2! Social Studies: I enjoyed their community projects! They explained a lot about their communities and were able to have short yet complex discussions about them. This week I decided to switch things up a bit. One of the rewards on the dojo board is teach a lesson. I figured I would give them all a little taste of that. They were broken up into groups, and at first they read their assigned chapters, discussed what they read, and then wrote down the important information, important words, dates, and names. Once each group was finished, I broke them up again and explain that they were now going to teach their lesson to everyone else in their new group. The excitement was at an all time high. Science: We are finally done with our first unit! Yay! The kids were surprised to know that we've been in that unit for a month now. We are getting ready for our science test, which we voted should be Monday. So this weekend, they will bring home their science book, to look over the chapters, and look over the unit review/practice test. While we prepare for that, we will also start our science experiment, that will involve them using the scientific method. They are dying to know what they will be doing, but I am keeping it a secret. They have some speculations since they know we are using eggs. Reading: I love the new essential question for the week because it connects to our science unit this week. The essential question is, how can problem solving lead to new ideas? We had a class discussion answering this question and it made me happy to seem them make the connection to our science unit without me telling them. We are also finishing up our friendly letters. I am looking over the edits that our friends made to our letters before passing them back out. Once we finish our friendly letter, we will jump into our narrative writing project. Our lit circles are going very well! The discussions we had last week were great and they all seem to 1, enjoy the book they were given, and 2, they are reading it with deeper understanding. Other Items: We start MAP testing next week. Please make sure that they are getting a nice breakfast in the morning. We've had a lot of hunger headaches and at some points it brings them to tears because it hurts really bad. We will take three test, Tuesday 9/25, Wednesday 9/26, and Friday 9/28. The homework load next week will be very light, simply because of the stress that MAP testing can bring, and lack of time to truly introduce anything new. Important Dates:
It seems that we are still getting adjusted to routines, and classroom norms. However, things are getting much better! We were able to cash in some points, trade in some points for dojo dollars, and go shopping in the dojo store. They are all so excited about this and I love to see the smiles on their faces.
Math: We exited the world of multiplication and entered the world of division! We are learning many ways to solve both types of equations. We have learned how to use pictures or objects (Erasers, pencils, etc,.) to help us kinesthetically. We also practiced skip counting while skipping around the room. This is one of their favorite things to do :). Our math books gifted us with bar diagrams. Those help with thinking of putting a set number of objects into a set number of groups. Our book also did a very good job at introducing both topics as repeated addition and subtraction. I taught them the box and lattice method. It was a method that they used in a previous grade with addition, so they were excited and shocked to see it done with multiplication. We've taken a few days to review and practice what we've already covered. I personally do not want to move on until I feel that they truly understand both topics and feel confident in answering questions about them. Our test will be Tuesday, September 18. We will review on Monday, and they will bring home a practice test to help them review. Social Studies: I cannot wait to see their community presentations. They all have shared little pieces of what they've learned so i'm excited to see them all. We started a new topic, "People of the Community." We started off talking about how it feels to move from country to country and state to state. We also discussed some possible reasons people would move. From there we will being to discuss why people move to America, when people moved to America, traditions that they brought with them, and any customs that they may share with their new community. Science: We are still in our first unit which we are slowly coming to a close. We did a few small experiments inside of the classroom. I am slowly putting together an activity that we will do outside, that will involve them using some of the steps from the scientific method. So far, we've measured our hands to discuss the importance of models, we using cylinders, funnels, and water to discuss the importance of using units, charts, and materials. I am excited for us to begin the outside activity, because the last two in class activities they enjoyed. Reading: So far we have discussed how traditions can teach us about cultures, and how can people from different cultures can contribute to the community. So far it seems that our reading and social studies curriculums are connecting ver well which makes class discussions great! Our spelling test will be Friday. Starting next week, everyone will be given an opportunity to spelling the challenge words. It will not be a mandatory thing, it will be completely up to them if they would essentially like the extra credit. I can continue to tell them the two words, or I can just have them practice all the words and just be prepared for the test. Let me know what you think would be best. I am open to all suggestions. Important Dates:
Reading/ELA: We worked on our reading routines, such practice spelling test, discussing essential question, whole group reading, partner reading, and reading centers. Most weeks, the pre-spelling test will come home in their Tuesday folders, as they will bring home a list with them in the spelling packet. So far, the plan is that if they do not get any wrong on the pre-test, then they receive two challenge words. Getting two challenge words have been a drive for most of them, and it's exciting to see them want to achieve that. However, I am considering opening it up to the class and having them practice all 28 words, and decide the day of the test which words I will have them spell. If there is a way that you prefer, feel free to let me know.
Math: We entered the world of Multiplication and it scared them at first. When we eventually got going, they seemed to calm down. We started off by learning it by repeated addition, before progressing to number lines. The number lines confused some, and helped others. We spent a couple days going over that, before doing multiplication using arrays. The arrays were easier for them because they did them in second grade, however, explaining their answers were a struggle. We were introduce to our first property, communicative, and how it connects yo multiplication. We will continue talking about multiplication before we move into Divison. Our first math test, will be next week. Religion: We are still in the book of Ephesians. We started off by discussing how we are apart of God's family and that he has a plan for each of us (1:3-5,13). We continue that discussion into how we can follow in the foot steps of Jesus (4:22-32). We will finish up Ephesians by discussing obedience and wearing God's armor. Science: Our first unit is somewhat of a review with a mixture new information. We started off by discussing what kind of questions do scientists ask, before moving into the skills that they used. Once we learned those, we moved into HOW scientist answer questions and were introduced to the scientific method. We will take what we've learned so far, especially the kinds of questions and how they answer questions and apply it to some STEM activities. Social Studies: We started off our week with learning about communities and what they are. We wrapped up our unit by discussing traditions, customs, and important facts about three different communities. This tied in perfectly with our essential question in reading, which is, "what can traditions teach us about customs." Thursday, when the children come home they will have a physical copy of their community research project details. I will also email an electronic copy, and post it on the website. They will have a week to do it, and we will present what we've learned. OTHER ITEMS: Nightly homework, such as math, social studies, science, or reading, are due the next day unless specified. Please make sure that they are doing their homework. Right now the load is light, but I do not want them to swim in homework as the year goes on. I have talked to them about this in class, so they are all aware of what is expected of them. I will have to start taking points if this becomes an issue. We have struggled with following directions, staying on task, blurting out, and behaving in line. We've had a number of classroom discussions about it, so hopefully things will turn around. I want us to have fun, and do fun things, but if we can't follow directions and get through the important things, then we cannot do that. We've also struggled with using kind words sometimes, and understanding that accidents happen, and there is no need for retaliation or "get backs." Our first hot lunch will be on Friday (September 7) and orders should have been placed with the office or during Registration Night. If you did not order hot lunch, or would rather send a packed lunch for your child, please let me know. Important dates:
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