March Update
Esther's Class
Reading Workshop
Happy March Everyone! There are just sixteen more days until spring officially begins! As readers, we continue to think about connections because making connections helps a lot with reading comprehension. We might connect to a character or to a specific event in the story. This month we will also pay attention to connections between texts. We will compare two compelling characters, Oliver Button, in Oliver Button is a Sissy and Grace, in Amazing Grace. Students will have a chance to make Venn Diagrams and get to know these courageous characters. Later in March, we will be focusing on understanding and think about how we self-monitor for understanding while we read.
Math
This month in math we will work with place value, adding and subtracting numbers over twenty, and preparing for multiplication. Students are always encouraged to notice groups of ten when they add and subtract numbers over twenty. Later in the month, students will be adding with more than one addend. (2+2+2) This will introduce us to.... multiplication! As always, we continue to practice our math facts and our story problems.
Social Studies
This month we will be finishing up our study of the Pueblo Indians. We will have our folktale presentations, which we are so excited about! We will add the finishing touches to our Hopi Village mural and continue to work on craft projects that teach us about the Hopi and other Southwest tribes. We will be writing about our Kachinas, learning about Southwest pottery, and symbols. Before the month is over, we will also make dream catchers, and think about the habitat, climate and kinds of animals that live in this region.
Writing Workshop
First, we want to congratulate our writers! They completed their All-About books, and read them with confidence to their second grade friends. The first graders are very excited to be able to share them with their grandparents or to their special friend on Thursday as well!
This month during writers workshop, we will be focusing on writing realistic fiction. Students will draw from their past experiences in writing small moment stories. Some of the mini-lessons will involve descriptive writing, inventing characters in a small moment, creating exciting endings, using ellipses, working on spelling, using speech bubbles, stretching out a chapter from beginning to end, and of course, editing! Likely, this unit will extend into next month. I am looking forward to hearing how these stories evolve!