Highlights of Week #6

• KG was a really good captain.  (RP)
• KG was a very good captain.  (CM)
• We had our 3rd Mystery Reader.  (FH)
• We played soccer in gym.  (PR)
• We had some Free Choice time.  (RP)
• AD had a birthday.  We made cards.  (MA)
• We put our Sight Word lists in our binders.  (KG)
• We did our first spelling test!  (CVI)
• We had our 3rd indoor recess.  (OS)  We watched the Berenstein Bears Halloween DVD.  (CP and PR)
• We wrote our first Small Moment stories.  (CM)
• We started our 3rd Clementine chapter book for read aloud.  (EB).  It is called Clementine's Letter.  (JMN and PR)
• We had a 'Freeze Dance Party' after indoor recess.  No one got out.  (DS and RP)
• We had time to play mancala.  (JMN)  Everyone is getting better at using strategies.  (Miss D)
• In Reading Workshop we practiced cover previews and bookwalks.  These will make us stronger readers.  (KG and Miss D). 
• During Independent Reading we worked on building our reading stamina.  (JMN and RP)  This means we are trying to read on our own for longer and longer time.  (TM and MA)

Hootie's on the Move

Hootie had a great time at CP's house.  CP passed Hootie along to CN.

Mystery Reader #2

OS's parents were this week's Mystery Reader.  They read and donated a book called Bats in the Library by Brian Lies.  It was a great book!

Peek at the Week of October 5-9

Happy October to all!  At the end of last week we did our first 'seat change'.  Your child is sitting with some new friends this month.  It is a very big deal to move seats and was eagerly anticipated.

October brings the start of our weekly spelling words and Friday Test.  A letter will be coming home with your child on Monday, October 5th explaining the weekly words.  I will list the spelling words in the homework section below.

Math:  We continue to work on Topic 2 which is all about the many ways additon and subtraction can be represented. 

Reading Workshop:  Last week we book shopped for "Just Right" books.  We are working on building our independent reading stamina.  This week we will start our "Stong Readers..." strategy work.  The focus will be on what strong readers do before they read to get their brain ready to read and understand the story.  Reading=Thinking! 

Spelling/Phonics/Skill:  This week we will focus on the sound and spelling of short a words.  The 5 core words are: at, can, and, has, fast. 

Writing Workshop:  Parent Helpers start this week!  We are happy to have volunteers on Mondays and Tuesdays in October, November and December.  It will be great to have another 'expert' on hand to assist our writers with handwriting, grammar, idea development and some editing.  We are working on writing Small Moment/Personal Narrative stories. 

Homework
Monday 10/5
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes.
2.  Spelling Sheet (purple sheet)

Tuesday 10/6
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes.
2.  Math:  Telling Time to the Hour

Wednesday 10/7
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes.
2.  Writing:  Ordering Words in a Sentence

Thursday 10/8
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes.
2.  Study for our first spelling test!  (Words are listed above in blue)

Have a great week!

Highlights of Week #5

AD was the best captain in the class!  (EB)

AD was the best captain in the whole wide world.  (JMN)

I had my birthday on the same day as Highlights of the Week. (OS)

We had 2 birthdays on the same day.  (DS)

We went shopping for books in our classroom library.  We were looking for Just Right books. (MA and RP)

In Writing Workshop we are beginning to write Personal Narratives.  A Personal Narrative is a story written about ourselves.  (RP and EB)

We read a big book called I Am A Leaf.  We practiced doing the "Rule of Five".  This means that a book is probably not Just Right if it has 5 or more tricky words on a page. (KG and CM)

OS mom and dad came in to be Mystery Readers.  They were really good.  (CVI and PR)

We celebrated 3 birthdays.  (Miss D.)

In library today we got to sit in the comfy room and read books.  (CN)

In gym we played indoor soccer.  (TM)

In art we made fall pictures.  (CD)

In computer we got free choice time because it was the last lab of the month.  (FH)

We loved switching seats for the new month of October.  (the whole class)

Happy Birthday

OS celebrates his birthday today.

Happy birthday!

Happy Happy Birthday Birthday

It is a double birthday today.  FH and CN both have October 1st birthdays!