Hawker-Shipley Newsletter
Week 1 and Week 2
In The Classroom Week 1
What a wonderful bunch of children you've sent us! We are so excited to have them all in our class. We've spent our week getting to know each other, learning the expectations, doing basic tests and remembering how to be back in school! It's been fun but we are excited to move into a more structured, subject based schedule next week.
Our newsletters will highlight what we have covered during the week so you will know exactly what you're child is learning.
What's Up in the Classroom?
Writing
We answered this question: What are the different types of writing?
Writers Workshop has started this week and it's been going very well. We have some fine developing authors in our classroom and we are excited to watch them grow. Writer's workshop is a basic model for teaching writing instruction that follows a format like this:
Mini lesson - 10 minutes
Status of the class - 2 minutes
Writing and conferencing - 20-30 minutes
Sharing - 5-10 minutes
We have also started our "What is it book?" Ask us about this!
Reading
We've been learning about different questioning techniques that readers use. The four question type are 1) Right There, 2) Think and Search, 3) Author and Me and 4) On My Own. Ask your child more about this.
Language
Synonyms and Antonyms - Students created a Telestory or Chatterpix project to share their knowledge of synonyms and antonyms. Please ask your child to share these with you!
Shades of Meaning - this is a vocabulary activity that students will work on weekly. Students will be expected to pick a word from our Shades of Meaning list each week to develop their own vocabulary for reading and writing. They will be encouraged to use this word in their daily speaking and writing.
Math
We took our Unit 1 pretest and students have started in their "Good Fit Math Class". This will allow them to be with other students that are working at their level so all students can advance at a faster pace. Unit 1 is on place value and we have spent time reviewing rounding, writing numbers in different forms and adding.
Spelling
We've been testing our "No excuse" words this week on the Spelling City App. Students do 25 words a day until we are done with all 500 words. Needless to say, they can't wait to be on number 500! We will be starting our word sorts next week as well.
Chatterpix App
Simply take any photo, draw a line to make a mouth, and record your voice. Then share your Pix with friends and family as silly greetings, playful messages, or creative cards. We chatted and learned synonyms with this app. Ask us to show you our creation!
TeleStory App
1. Pick a theme, then mix and match over 30 animated scenes to film your own story
2. Craft a script using our playful TV tropes (or write your own)
3. Dress up in 50 different digital costumes with face tracking
4. Perform and record your own show with animated settings and special effects
5. Broadcast your by exporting it to the camera roll and then sharing your creation with family and friends around the world! We told the story of synonyms with this app! Ask us to share what we did!
Synonyms and Antonyms
Important Information
iPads
- iPads must by charged to 100% every night!!
- We spent some time last week getting them set up. Unfortunately, there were a few hiccups but we're working through them. Thank you to those of you that had to make new passwords. We appreciate the extra time you spent.
- Mrs. Sorenson met with the students last week and let them know that they would not be allowed to have anything on their devices except what the school puts on. That will avoid any unnecessary distractions.
Website and Agendas
You may have noticed that the students don't have a paper agenda this year. That's because it is electronic. It is linked
Student of the Week
Starting September 21st, we will have a "Student of the Week." This student will be the teacher's special helper all week. They will get to pass out papers, lead the line, run errands, etc. We will both start at the top of our class lists and work our way down. When your child is the "Student of the Week," they can bring something to share with the class. This item should be something that has special meaning to them that they'd like to share with the other children. It could be a special toy, pictures, stuffed animal, etc. If your child does not feel comfortable bringing things in, they do not have to. They can simply be the helper for the week!
Madison Field Trip
We will send out information next week with payment information, chaperone lists etc.
Sara Hawker and Janette Shipley
Location: 1935 Cardinal Lane, Green Bay, WI, United States
Phone: 920-662-7958
Twitter: @hawkershipley