February 1-5
The buzz in Room 615!
Last Week
ELA: We did a lot of writing, which definitely demonstrated the improvements many students have been making in their independence and stamina. Many students are writing upwards of four sentences with minimal help! We're really starting to get into conventions of writing as well, including using capital letters at the beginning of sentences, lowercase letters otherwise, spacing between words, and proper punctuation.
Reading was spent wrapping up patterns and focusing a lot on guided reading since we now all have new reading levels. Don't forget to practice the books the children bring home, since they should be generally around their level. By now, the students should be doing almost all of the nightly reading to you!
Math: We have been wrapping up our additon/subtraction units, and did a lot of mixed review these three days. Don't forget to reinforce these skills at home whenever possible! :)
Social Studies: We kicked off our locations unit on Thursday, which should be fun. On Friday, the students drew maps of the classroom and put a star where their seat is located. We discussed that a lot of times on maps, you'll see a star where you are/where a certain place is that you're looking for. We also talked about the point of view map has, which is something that children don't often think about on their own.
Check out the pictures below for a few insights into our week - sorry I've been slacking on the pictures overall!
Ordering the Alphabet
Subtraction Strategies
Guided Reading
Looking Forward
The Week Ahead
Reading is going to be a lot of review/practice with some essential skills, including how to retell, decoding and comprehension strategies, and making inferences.
There was no time to do sight word tests today, so we will test last week's (make, my, not, play) along with next week's new ones next Friday. They are: run, see, up
Math: Monday starts a new unit in math as well: 2-D and 3-D shapes! Most student already know their basic shapes, but we're going to get technical by learning about edges, sides, vertices, and more. This week will be a realtively simple introductory week, but should be a nice change for everyone.
Social Studies: Between Groundhog's Day, the Superbowl festivities, and our current locations unit, our week will be full of Social Studies. Luckily, it is pretty easy to tie almost anything into location!
Miscellaneous/Reminders
The deadline for spellebration has been moved up to next Friday, the 5th. This means your child has more time to pledge and more time to practice! It is simple information that they should be learning anyway - first and last name, address, phone number, sight words, alphabet, and numbers. All proceeds go to Odell's PTA, which greatly helps and supports all teachers and students.
Upcoming Holidays and Events:
February 2: Groundhog's Day
We will be learning a little bit about the history of this unique holiday, doing some writing, and a groundhog craft to celebrate.
February 5: Superbowl Celebration
As if the Superbowl isn't always a fun time, it has been made 100x better by the Panthers making it! (I know I'm from Pennsylvania, but I'm still pretty excited.) All week has been declared Panthers Pride Week as per Dr. Helf, so students are welcome to join in the fun during the whole week! On Friday, I ask that our class either dress up as a cheerleader or football player. (Gender doesn't matter - girls can be football players and vice versa if anyone wants!)
February 9: 100th Day of School
This is going to be a fun day - students are going to be asked to dress up like they're 100 years old, we're going to pop 100 balloons in the hallway, and do a bunch of fun activities related to the number 100!
February 12: Valentine's Day celebration
Get ready to celebrate Cupid's holiday! As part of the homework beginning next week (or if you want to get a head start this weekend), students are going to be asked to make/decorate a Valentine's box at home. This can be made out of anything you want - a cereal box, a tissue box, whatever works! Here are some ideas from Pinterest:
You can bring them in anytime starting February 5th. More detailed information will be sent home about bringing in Valentines for the whole class and the activities we'll be doing this day.
February 15: President's Day
Initially, we were to have a staff development day and no school for students this day, but we will have school due to the recent snow days. Some President's Day history and activities will be incorporated into reading and social studies on this day.
March 1: Blood Drive
Odell is hosting a blood drive on Tuesday, March 1. Contact the school for an appointment to save a life!
Report Cards:
Report cards were sent home today, Friday the 29th. Please sign and return only the envelopes and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.