December 8 - 12

Last Friday we said good-bye to our student teacher, Jane Kim. She had one of her friends from Cornell bring in her adult and baby pet tarantulas. She taught us about the spider life cycle and that spiders are very sensitive to vibrations and light. We got to examine the spiders up close and even see the adult spider eat a cricket! This week in science we made spinning tops and discussed why/how they balance using the vocabulary words axis and torque (scroll down to see pictures with student comments).

This week we became better readers by practicing reading to ourselves (reading the words, or pictures, or retelling the story in books) and we learned about reading with a partner.  Specifically we worked on how to help someone who doesn't know a word by waiting, asking if they want help, and then giving hints or clues and helping decide what would make the most sense.  Sometimes neither partner will know the word and then it's OK to make your best guess and keep reading.  I was really impressed with how well the class worked together!  Along these lines, we have been role playing how to work in a small group and made 4 small signs for each table reminding us to be polite, share, ask questions, and help.

In math this week we used our giant thermometer to practice reading temperatures, learned some new math games to review reading clocks, did "two-fisted penny addition" which reinforces basic addition facts (e.g. 0+6=6, 1+5=6, 2+3=6...), and worked on measuring height/length/width.  We will continue working on two-fisted penny addition and measurement next week.  Your child can review these skills with the Everyday Math Online Games.  

This week we started sharing in Morning Meeting and we listed these expectations: the speaker will tell a true story, using a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, and the audience will listen and respect the speaker (look at him/her and be quiet).  We are using the clown sign pictured here to help draw out all the details of our stories.

Sharing Schedule

Monday: Seneca, Mea, Camila

Tuesday: Abigail, Morgan, Willem

Wednesday: Angelo, Leila, Sophia

Thursday: Sam, Narea, Geoffrey

Friday: Bethany, Isabelle, Zoe

Finally, we are now using Voicethread to capture students' comments on pictures we have taken.  Click on any of the 3 "threads" posted below to hear and see their comments for yourself! 
[Students who haven't had a chance to comment yet will be able to do so next week.]

Next week's sight words: could, have, who, saw, want.

Enjoy the snow!