Schaffer's Snippets
February Newsletter
Reading
Reading: Non-fiction
This past week we have been working on the reading strategy of cause and effect. After reading our Journey's story about the seasons. The students read books about winter and what animals do to keep safe. The students learned new vocabulary: migration, hibernation, and adaptation. The students read the books and took notes and decided which category the facts supported. The students learned a lot about animals and enjoyed taking notes.
Questioning
Good readers ask questions before, during, and even after reading. We worked together to answer questions after reading one of our Journey's stories. Some of the questions were easy to find the answers by going back to the text. Other questions needed answers that used both the text and our own background knowledge to answer. The students worked together well and thoughtfully answered the questions.
Read Across America
This coming week we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss and Read Across America. We will be doing something fun and educational all week long to celebrate this beloved author.
- Monday- students wear crazy socks for Fox In Socks
- Tuesday- Synthesizing with If I Had Duck Feet
- Wednesday- Read Across the School and First Grade ( a school wide reading break)
- Thursday- Rhyme Time - an exploration of rhyming words
- Friday- Green Eggs and Ham and a little green eggs and ham to eat :)
A fun week and a great way to celebrate reading!
Math
Raisin Explorations
We really enjoyed counting raisins in a 1/2 ounce box by 10's and 1's. Then we were presented with a 1 ounce box. The students used good strategies to estimate the number in the bigger box. They said the amount would be double or twice as large. Then we counted them by 10's and 1's. Then we ate them....of course!
Buddies and Marshmallows and Toothpicks
We met our Buddies and created structures with marshmallows and toothpicks. Then we got into groups and tried to make the tallest freestanding structure. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed problem solving together.
100 Day
We had a lot of fun celebrating the 100 day of school. We read a story About the 100 Day Worries. Everyone looked great as a 100 year old! And we played games and went on a hunt to find 100 pigs. We are sure 100 Days Smarter!
Place Value
We have been studying tens and ones. So we played a game where the students were the tens and ones. If they were tall they were a ten. If they were a small they were a one. I taught them a little song where we counted all the tens first and then the ones. If you want to hear the song ask your child to sing it for you.....It starts: I don't know but I've been told- Tens are tall and Ones are small. :)
First you count up all the tens
Then add all
the babies on to the end!
Thank You!
I hope you have a great weekend! Looking forward to some warmer weather in March! :)