News from Room 102 ... 9/27/15

We are still waiting for our first full week of school.  Luckily, it arrives this week!  We have been very busy in class.  Here is some of what we have been working on in Room 102! 

We worked on division last week! Division works the opposite way of multiplication and starts with a group of things that need to be divided into groups.  We played several games last week that worked on multiplication fluency practice.  We have games called "Toss and Talk" that require students to play with partners and talk about their thinking.  At the same time, they are solving problems such as What is... 4 groups of 5 or 3 X 4? Math homework has been coming back in and students are doing great work.  You will notice that I am sending home things to be corrected when students have not followed the directions. This program is new for all of us this year.  I am hoping to start good math practices by making sure students are reading directions carefully and answering ALL parts of the question.  Assessments we will be using, whether it be MCAS or PARCC, are moving toward answering problems with more than one step and problems with more than one answer. Hang in there!  As we continue to practice, it will become easier and more automatic.  In the meantime, please remind your child to read the directions and the problems carefully.  

We did our first 2 letters in cursive!  

In social studies, we are reading and learning about the Native American tribe, the Wampanoags.  We have seen how their lives followed the seasons, in the way they dressed, where they lived, animals they hunted, and their chores.  They also had a strong relationship with the land and nature. They believed that the land should be respected. They thanked the animals they killed and gave thanks for the food they planted.  We went on a "virtual field trip" of the Wampanoag homesite and are looking forward to visiting it at Plimoth Plantation in a few weeks. 

In reading, we are building up to start The Daily Five.  The Daily Five has students working on five different choices during our

reading time:  reading to self, reading to someone else, word work, listening to reading, and writing.  We have been working on the routines for all five and will start to put them all together this week. 

In writing workshop, we are starting our personal narratives.  The people, places, and events that students brainstormed are our jumping point for getting started.  Upcoming mini lessons will work on using dialogue in our writing, adding interesting details, and getting to the heart of our story.  

Stay tuned... for MORE LEARNING!  

Also don't forget to check out my twitter page for daily updates of our #180daysofawesome!