Class 2B News
November 9, 2014
From Ms. Jackie
Hello Families,
I hope that you are doing well. October was a great month for us, and we are continuing to learn as we move forward in Quarter 2. As you know, we will be celebrating International Day this Friday, November 14. Below is more information about this special day.
Class 2B International Day Schedule
8:10 – Leave classroom and walk up to track. Children will join up with their country for the flag parade and then rejoin the class in our seating area for remarks. Ms. Meron and I will have a sign so that we can be easily spotted in the crowd.
9:30 – 9:50 – Break
10:00-10:30 – Entertainment at Basketball Court
10:30 – 11:00 – Food Tents - Tickets should be purchased in advance.
11:15 – 12:00 – Cultural Show and Tell in class - more information below
12:00 – Dismissal
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Event Chaperone – Because all members of the ICS community (and many others) will be attending Friday's festivities, we may a few extra hands on deck, especially at the food tents. Please let me or Ms. Meron know if you can join us as a chaperone.
Cultural Show and Tell – In conjunction with International Day and our current unit of inquiry – Cultural Connections (read more below) – we are inviting students to bring in a simple artifact or object that represents their culture(s). This could be traditional dress, a piece of art, a dish, or a photograph of a holiday or special cultural event. We will share these items in class Friday after we return from the food tents (11:15-12:00).
Here's what we're learning in class!
Reading
We are currently working on “Fix-up Strategies” that can help us when we become confused or don't understand what we've read. These strategies include:
- Reread
- Ask Questions
- Make Predictions
- Visualize
- Summarize
Encourage your child to use one or more of these strategies as they are doing their daily reading at home. Soon we will be starting our next unit on reading nonfiction texts. In this unit, children will learn more about the structure of nonfiction books, common text features they'll see in them, and strategies that can help them figure out vocabulary in nonfiction books.
Writing
Our next writing unit will be on research and report writing. In conjunction with our Cultural Connections unit and our nonfiction reading unit, students will choose a culture that they would like to learn more about. Through texts, websites, videos, interviews, etc., students will learn how to collect and organize information. We will also focus on effective use of paragraphs and how to write simple introductions and conclusions.
Math
This week we will finish our unit on place value, money, and time. Continue to practice these important skills by asking your child to tell you the time, letting them count out correct amount of money at a store, etc. In Unit 4 we will revisit addition and subtraction, this time with an emphasis on multi-digit numbers, regrouping (borrowing), and deciding which operation to use in solving a number story.
Unit of Inquiry
Our current unit of inquiry is Cultural Connections. In this unit, we will be exploring questions such as “How are people of various cultures alike and different?” and “Which ideas, experiences, and values exist no matter where or when someone lives?”.
Dates to Remember
November 27 - No school for students - Teacher work day
November 28 - No school - Midterm long weekend