Bi-weekly update October 23rd

Reader's Workshop
We did a crossword puzzle with words that have the letter o in them. Some were the short o sound (as in hot), some were the long o sound (as in home), and some were the ow sound (as in now).

We continued to work in our spelling groups, practicing words with rainbow writing, making them with tiles and stamps, and checking ourselves with Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check!

We discussed the types of features found in informational texts. These include a title, maps, photographs, illustrations, diagrams, captions, cross-sections, labels, and others!

We compared two authors, Gail Gibbons and Peter Brown, using a Venn Diagram. We identified areas of commonality and difference in their genres and styles.

Writer's Workshop
We wrapped up our first narrative writing unit by changing the beginnings of our stories. A good way to start a story is to use an action, a thought, a sound, or dialogue. Everyone picked one of these strategies and wrote a new beginning to a story they were working on.

We also practiced using a checklist to check our writing work.

Next, we will be writing informational pieces about bees!

Math
These two weeks, we worked on addition some more. We are doing 3-digit addition with regrouping in all places. Students are becoming very accurate and quick!

Please practice addition and subtraction facts to 20 at home! Some of the mistakes children are making have to do with simple addition facts such as 3 + 2.

Science
Our work this time focused on liquids and solids. We compared the two with a Venn diagram, came up with a definition of a liquid, and thought about what happens when you heat up a liquid.

Next, we worked on floating and sinking. See our other blog post for more details on that!

Social Studies
We continued to look at maps and geography. We talked about keys, made maps of the playground, and looked at Massachusetts, our neighborhoods, and our country. Try looking at a map (even one on a computer) before taking a drive or a walk somewhere, and show your student where you plan to go and how you chose that plan. You can even have them come up with a plan, and track your progress as you go.