Weekly Update for March 13th-17th

​Hi Families,
I hope students enjoyed their day off while we teachers spent the day as learners. Our class had another great week of learning. They continually get compliments for their great behavior in the hallways, and I’m very pleased with how they are all growing and developing. 

Keep logging those reading minutes for the Read-a-thon! We logged a number of sessions this week during in-class reading.

​Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, March 20th: Second term Report Cards will be emailed home to you.
• Wednesday, March 22nd: I have a full-day math workshop, so there will be a substitute; however, the class will see a special in-school performance by The Fairy Tale Players of “The Princess and The Pea.”

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Below, students working on math through partner practice and games.

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Community Building
This week we had a conversation about using our words to solve our problems, not our bodies. Trying to solve problems by getting physical only makes things worse. We discussed other behaviors, like eye-rolling, getting upset, pouting, walking away, and so on that can also make the problem worse. I explained that the best way to solve a social problem is to talk it out calmly, clearly, and respectfully. We’ll do more practice with that next week. It is certainly not an easy thing to do, even for adults!

Literacy 
We continued learning about Fairy Tales this week, as well as our reading fluency. Our highlights:

• Read aloud a 2nd version of Beauty and The Beast and compared the characters, settings, and plots of each version;
• Practiced reading with expression by using our eyes to scoop words into meaningful phrases;
• Applied our knowledge of the various syllable types, particularly vowel-r syllables, in a decodable passage about the planet Mars.

Writing
We continued writing within our study of fairy tales. Highlights:

• Expanded simple sentences about fairy tales that we have read using the sentence expansion technique;
• Answered literal and inferential questions about our fluency reading to demonstrate comprehension.

Phonics
We began Unit 9 of Fundations focusing on vowel-r syllables. Highlights:

• Practiced reading and spelling words that have the sound /er/, such as “swirl,” “fern,” and “turn;”
• Learned new trick words: learn, earth, and picture.

For at-home Phonics information and practice:

• Next: Fundations Home Support Packet for Unit 9
• Review:  Fundations Home Support Packet for Unit 8

Math
We launched Unit 5 on Numbers to 1,000. Highlights:

• Used base-10 blocks to model numbers in the hundreds;
• Learned how to compose tens into hundreds;
• Used expanded form to write equations to represent the values of each digit in a number in the hundreds.

For at-home Math information and practice:

• Next:  Illustrative Math Family Support Materials for Unit 5
• Review: Illustrative Math Family Support Materials for Unit 4

Science
We wrapped up our study of the properties of matter. Highlights::

• Reviewed concepts about matter, its properties, its states (solid, liquid, and gas);
• Learned about reversible and irreversible changes to matter (ex. burning, cooking, mixing, melting);
• Watched episodes of The Ruff Ruffman Show on “Kitchen Chemistry,” as well as NBC Learn videos about all of the above concepts, including how special effects professionals and product designers consider the properties of matter for their jobs.

​​Thank you for taking the time to read the entire update! Please reach out with any questions, or to connect to discuss your child’s progress. Have a great weekend!