Important Update

TODAY IS A 12:40 RELEASE DUE TO WEATHER! PLEASE SEND NOTES OR CALL THE OFFICE WITH ANY DISMISSAL CHANGES. 

Have a safe and happy vacation!

Review Week & Air Rockets!

Hello Families!

Last week we wrapped up units in math and reading, so this week will be devoted to review and retention of the skills just learned. In ELA we will be working on long vowels, open syllables, complete vs. incomplete sentences. I will also be slipping in more read alouds and plan on reading all of my gingerbread books with the class. In math we have done a unit on addition and one on subtraction, but in isolation. Teachers have noticed some students have a difficult time switching back and forth between the two, so this week, we will slip in extra practice with raw numbers and story mixed problems (+/-). We will also have the opportunity to play review games.

In science we will be wrapping up our unit on air and students will be building balloon rockets. Look for students' science journals to come home with them before break as a way to ask your child what he/she has been learning about air, resistance, compression, gas, matter, etc.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMX7zgaLC0w

On Friday, our early release, students will see reading buddies and then have a surprise. If you would like to send something special for snack, feel free on this day. 

Looking ahead... we will have a field trip on 1/31 in downtown Amherst from 10-12. We will be looking for chaperones, so let me know if you are interested. Students will visit restaurants downtown and then write an opinion piece about the restaurant.

Keep up the reading over vacation! Students are making great progress! Thanks for all of your support at home!

Winter Wonderland

Hello Families! Hope you all enjoyed the first snow of the season. Here's a look at our learning for this week:

ELA: 

Students will continue to work on long and short vowel sounds. Students will continue to work on open and closed syllables. Words that end with vowels will make the long vowel sound (say their own name), which is called an open syllable. A closed syllable is when the vowel is closed in with two consonants (cvc), such as "cat". There are, of course, always exceptions to the rule. We will be learning the cvce syllable pattern with a lone vowel after the winter break.

Math: 

In math students will continue their work with subtraction and tally marks. We will take class data and practice recording and graphing the data. We will also practice counting backwards, which can be tricky going over the decade. I will be pulling students this week and next to do an AVMR check in, focused on "structuring". We will wrap up this unit this week and end the week with an assessment. 

Science: 

In science students will be looking at air pressure and resistance, working with syringes and tubes. Students will participate in several hands-on activities and will respond in their science journals. We will also be doing some read alouds that focus on air and watch a short video that teaches about air and air resistance.

Wish List: 

• classroom snacks (we are running low)
• glue sticks
• large white construction paper.

Learning About Air...

Hello Room 4 Families,

This week students have started their study on air. We have discussed that air is a gas and that air is made up of matter. We have also talked about how air can move things. Students used straws to blow objects. Students are building parachutes and discussing how air pushes against things and fills up space. We are combining our writing and science together, as students are participating in hands-on experiments and explorations and then recording, as scientists, their observations in their science journals. 

In reading students are working on the -ing and the -ed ending. Knowing that they must have 2 consonants before adding the ending to the base or root word can be tricky. Students will also be learning about the long vowel sounds and the word patterns that create this this sound. The pace of Superkids will be picking up over the next two weeks as we will be doing less review from last year and most material will be new, with review for students who need it and differentiation as seen fit.

In math students continue to work on subtraction. This week students are working on solving subtraction story problems. We want all students fluent within 10 and are challenging students who are ready, to subtract with larger numbers and across.

We continue to work on mindfulness weekly and students are starting to incorporate mindfulness into each day. Thank you for all your support at home with reading. Room 4 would love some extra snack and glue sticks, if you are able to donate.