News from Mrs. Drudy's Class
We exist so children can excel.
The Week at a Glance
Weekly Concept: Preserving Our Earth
Essential Question: How can we protect the earth?
After spring break, our class will be focusing on how we can protect the Earth. We will discuss some things we can do to help preserve the Earth’s resources.
Spelling Words: Variant vowel spellings
Sound of "aw", spelled a, aw, au, augh, al, and ough.
1. ball
2. small
3. paw
4. jaw
5. pause
6. sauce
7. taught
8. chalk
9. walk
10. sought
11. new
12. fruit
13. city
14. own
15. read
Challenge Words:
16. awful
17. flawless
18. laundry
19. author
20. already
This is not an easy list! Don't forget...Spelling City, Unit 5 Week 4, offers fun and meaningful practice of the weekly spelling lists.
Report Cards
Report cards are enclosed in today's Friday folder. Please sign the front of the envelope and return it empty to me on Monday, April 1st. As always, if you have questions or concerns about your child's progress or performance, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I always remind students that with each and every grade earned, we tell ourselves, "As good as we are, we can always get better."
Literacy Night
Thanks to all of you who joined us on Wednesday for our wildly successful Literacy Night. The variety of language arts experiences available to our students and their amazing families was fun, fun, fun to watch.
S.T.E.M. Activities
On Wednesday, students shared another of their monthly S.T.E.M. days with their grade-level friends. In our own classroom, though, science has been alive and well. Students conducted an investigation on the effectiveness of various shapes of Iditarod cookers. This was inspired by the classic musher and tinkerer, Jeff King. Ask your child which (s)he found to be the best at conserving heat, and don't forget to check out some of the photos below. Students had no idea they were meeting the following Indiana Academic Science Standard:
- "Analyze data from the investigation of two objects constructed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs."
Math: Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability
In math this week we've been drilling down to some serious problem solving with time. Not only have we been solving elapsed time scenarios, but we've also been looking at relationships of time such as seconds in a minute; minutes in an hour; hours in a day; days in a week; and days, weeks, and months in a year. We've even been challenged by asking ourselves how many minutes are in 85 seconds or how many seconds is 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
Coming up, we will continue to look at graphs and line plots. Both of these concepts will likely come easy to students, as we've integrated these concepts into our instruction all throughout the year. Most recently, you saw where they constructed a graph out of Lucky Charms cereal. Skill such as these help us address the following academic standard:
- "Draw a picture graph (with single-unit scale) and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four choices (What is your favorite color? red, blue, yellow, green). Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in the graphs."
Math Fact Fluency
Did you read the Post-It Note at the top of this newsletter? Unfortunately, not all students are fluent with their math facts, and time is running out. The second grade expectation is that all students leave the school year having passed both addition and subtraction (and hopefully even mixed). If your child has not done that, then this must be a nightly priority for him or her. Consider this homework assigned by me. Click here for an online flashcard site that can be adjusted to your child's needs. Here is yet another online mode of practice. As a parent myself, my children did not have the video game controller in his/her hand until mastery of these math facts had occurred.
Beach Day
As always, students of LES ushered in their spring break in a big way: Beach Day! We prepared for the festivities by writing a narrative about A Day at the Beach. Let me tell you this: They wrote, and they wrote, and they wrote. It's rewarding to see the incredible growth of writing in the students as they work toward these standards in their narratives:
• "Include a beginning.
• Use temporal words to signal event order (e.g., first of all).
• Provide details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings.
• Provide an ending. "
Week of April 1st Share Topic
Siblings! Tell us about your brothers or sisters or other kids that live with you. Do you get along or fight? What do you argue about? You may bring in pictures of them or write a story about a time you did or did not get along. If you don’t have siblings, then how about telling us about your cousins?
It is important to note that satisfactory participation/preparation for the weekly share topics is waning. Too many students are "winging it," and it more than shows. Remember, there are many language arts academic standards that address these assignments, and students cannot afford to dismiss their importance. Please help your child to be adequately prepared (with props to make the presentation more effective/interesting) for this very easy way to chalk up a lot of language arts points. The "refrigerator copy" of April's share topics is enclosed in today's folder. Make sure it is plain sight to serve as a reminder to your child of this academic responsibility.
Have a wonderful spring break and--as always--thank you for sharing your child with me.
Related Arts Schedule
Monday: Art
Tuesday: P.E.*
Wednesday: P.E.* and Computer
Thursday: P.E.
Friday: Music and Library
*Gym shoes required on these days
Coming Up:
March 25-29 Spring break week!
April 1 School Resumes
April 2 Spring Pictures
April 9 Basket Bash
April 19 eLearning Day
April 22 Snow Make Up Day--SCHOOL IN SESSION
To the Beach!
Vernal Equinox
Comparing Cookers
Reading Degrees F
Gridiron Gage
Just Chillin'
Literacy Night Fun
Hardball Hagen
Shell Hunting
Jaws!!!!!!!
Gettin' It Gage
Makin' it Under Maddi
Drudy Kids Championship
3rd Quarter...
Caring Kennedy
I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail!
My Heart!
About Us
Email: tammy.drudy@uc.k12.in.us
Website: http://www.uc.k12.in.us/liberty-elementary/liberty-elementary/
Location: 501 Eaton St, Liberty, IN, United States
Phone: 765-458-5521