May 16-20
The Buzz in Room 615!
Last Week
Boosterthon: Every day, we had a morning huddle with our grade level to go over how much money each class has raised and to hear our new challenges/updates. Friday was the fun run! We all got out there, ran a bunch of laps, and got nice and muddy. I was glad to see some parents out there watching! We raised tons of money, so thanks for all of your pledges. Money will be due the 19th. You can return it in the envelope that went home with your child on Friday.
Writing: Ms. Watson lead the class in an introduction to persuasive writing, as the students shared ideas for things they might want people to do, changes they might want to be made, and what it means to state what you want. (We know they all know how to do that pretty well already. ;) )
Reading: A large emphasis on characters this week taught students to read facial expressions, make inferences and predictions based on what the characters say and do, and helped us practice connecting to characters in stories as well. We read Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too, as well as Have Fun, Molly Lou Mellon! because these have easily identifiable characters full of, well, character! Students also practiced identifying and connecting to characters by partner reading books and discussing them together. Students also got tested in reading by other Kindergarten teachers this week, and the results will be on the final report cards for you to see. Overall, our class did well and everyone has definitely grown this year!
Math: "Number bonds," "decompose," and "compose" were the buzz words this week in math. We practiced our number sense, addition, and subtraction all in one with tons of activities. Students learned the relationship between numbers, and were able to fill in blanks more easily/convert addition sentences into their subtraction sentence counterparts.
Science: We're really enjoying learning about living things, from animals to plants! We've learned how to classify animals based on whether they are invertebrates or vertebrates and mammals, reptiles, amphibians, or birds. Thursday, we went on a nature walk to collect some plants to identify! On Friday, students created a venn diagram comparing the characteristics of plants and animals. (I left this for the sub to do, as I had a doctor's appointment and took a half day Friday.)
Looking Forward
The Week Ahead
We are getting very close to the end of the year, but we are still going strong in the classroom! Here's a peek at what we're doing this week:
Writing: Students will begin writing their own persuasive letters on a topic of their choice. They'll have the option to work from a template or do it themselves. Either way, they may be coming home with a persuasive letter for a new iPad at the end of the week. ;)
Reading: More emphasis will be on characters as we continue to read and learn about the characters in stories. We'll be talking about how some change throughout stories, that some stay the same, and we'll also be comparing the different experiences between characters in text.
Science: Since we have the basics of living/nonliving things down, we're going to start researching individual plants and animals and making posters about them as a class. I'm leaving the exact topics up to the class, but I am excited to learn about some specific animals and plants!
Reminders/Miscellaneous
Due to the Fun Run, we did not have an encore rotation on Friday. This means that Monday will be day 7, so every day will be a day off for the rest of the calendar. (There are a couple more no-rotation days coming up soon, so it is gonna happen again in the near future.)
2. Library
Last day for checking out books is this Tuesday. ALL library books must be returned by the 20th (Friday), or you will have to pay a late fee for whatever books you haven't returned.
3. Special Days
Monday is bring a stuffed animal to school day, and we will also be having lunch in the classroom one day this week because of hwo much money we raised for Boosterthon!
WR Odell Elementary
Email: emily.herring@cabarrus.k12.nc.us
Website: www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us
Location: 1215 Moss Farm Street Northwest, Concord, NC, United States
Phone: 704-785-0601