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The children had a wonderful week! Read all about it below.

Literacy

This week during reader’s workshop the children continued working with fiction stories (traditional tales and fantasy stories). While we were reading, the children  worked on the following skills:

-Retelling familiar traditional tales

-Identifying transitional words in traditional tales

-Comparing two tales

-Identifying elements of fantasy stories

-Discussing a charter in detail using a character web 

Writing

This week, the children continued to work on their small moment writing pieces. They reread their story and worked on adding detail. The children have worked very hard to be “brave spellers” and stretch out the words that they don’t know how to spell. Later in the week, they had a chance to meet with a writing partner. Each partner had the opportunity to share their story, after they discussed what they liked about each others stories and shared ideas for zooming in even further. Next week, the children will begin publishing their small moment stories.

Math 

In Math, the children were introduced to change to more number stories and change to less number stories. The children also learned how to write addition and subtraction number models. 

On Wednesday, the children reviewed all the concepts from Unit 2 using Mimio vote. They enjoyed reviewing different strategies to help them solve the different math problems. On Thursday, they took their Unit 2 math test. I am proud of how hard the children worked, they did an excellent job on the test!

Science

The scientists completed three science lessons this week. On Monday, the scientists were introduced to living things that are neither plants nor animals, but members of a third living kingdom called fungi. They viewed photos and video clips showcasing fungi and mold. 

On Tuesday, the scientists examined roots. They explored the structure and function of roots. Each scientist had their own seedling, they observed it using a magnifying glass and identified the roots and root hairs. Then they compared the weight of plant parts that grow above the ground to those that grow below the ground. They recorded their observations and findings in their science journal. 

On Friday, the scientists observed, compared, and dissected flowers. They learned about flower parts and worked together to identify the different parts. 

Pumpkin Math and Pumpkin Carving

On Thursday morning, the children enjoyed a trip to the Dryden Pumpkin Patch to select their very own pumpkin. They had so much fun!

Then, on Friday they became a pumpkin investigator as they used their pumpkin to complete a pumpkin math packet. The investigators began by estimating the height, weight, measurement, and number of lines on their pumpkin. Then using their investigative tools they found out the correct height, weight, measurement, and number of lines on their pumpkin. They also, drew a picture of what they wanted their carved pumpkin to look like.  

In the afternoon, the children loved having a family member or volunteer come in to help them carve their pumpkin. What a sight it was to see the children and volunteers hard at work carving so many pumpkins. Thank you to everyone for coming and making this an enjoyable event for the children. The pumpkins looked great! Thank you also to all of you who helped clean up the classroom after pumpkin carving, I appreciate all your help! Enjoy a slide show below of the day’s activities. 

                              

Star Student

Isabella was our star student this week. Thanks Isabella for sharing all about you!

Royal Reader

Thank you to Isabella’s Mom, she joined us this week as our Royal Reader. The children enjoyed listening to the two wonderful books she read, Library Lion and Extra Yarn.

Birthday 

On Thursday we celebrated Isabella’s birthday. Happy Birthday Isabella!

Notes:

-Friday, October 3oth is the Halloween Parade. It will start at about 1:15. We will parade out the front doors and head north on Dryden to Fairview, west on Fairview to Bristol, south on Bristol to Rockwell, east on Rockwell to Lincoln, returning to the school playground area. Following the parade, the students will have a brief recess period, then return to our classroom for some fun activities. For more information on Halloween lunch procedures and costume questions read this weeks Dolphin Splash.

-Character counts week continues. Everyone is invited to wear a special color each day of the week to promote each Character Counts pillar:

*Monday, October 26—Wear RED for CARING

*Tuesday, October 27—Wear BLUE for TRUST

*Wednesday, October 28—ORANGE for FAIRNESS

*Thursday, October 23—Wear PURPLE for CITIZENSHIP

Have a great rest of the weekend!