Please keep in mind that Monday is Halloween. Lunch will be from 12:00-12:52. If your child is going home for lunch, please pick him/her up from the regular drop off/pick up location for 1-Bu (which is on the blacktop by the glass doors,) at 12:00. If your child is returning for the afternoon, please make sure he/she is back school, in the regular drop off spot, by 12:52. The Halloween Parade starts at 1:30. If you have any questions about the day, please don't hesitate to ask.
Here's what we've been doing in the classroom:
Reading : Last week, we starting talking about decoding strategies. Decoding strategies are strategies that people use to help decode (or read) tricky words. In the classroom, we attach a fun animal to each strategy to help the students remember them. So far, we've learned about 'Eagle Eye' and 'Lips the Fish.' Eagle Eye reminds you to use the pictures in the book to help you figure out tricky words. Lips the Fish reminds you to get your mouth ready to read a tricky word by saying the first sound. Sometimes, the whole word ends up popping out!
Writing : We launched a new writing unit last week, which is focused on writing 'small moment' stories. These are personal narratives (or true stories about things that have happened in students' lives) that are focused on small moments in time. For example, rather than writing a story all about a trip to Disney World, the student would narrow the focus of his/her story and write about the time he/she went on Splash Mountain and got soaked. Narrowing the focus of the students' stories allows us to work on using descriptive language and adding details.
Math : We finished up the end of unit 2 by learning about using number models to represent number stories and how to solve for the unknown. This week, we'll start unit 3, which is heavily focused on addition and subtraction.
Computers : Last week, we focused on another tricky skill on laptop/chromebook trackpads - double clicking. The students played a game to help practice this skill.
Last week, you received information about how your child can access Typing Club, which is the program that we use to practice typing at school. If you child chooses to practice his/her typing at home, please monitor him/her so that you can remind your child to use proper typing techniques (meaning your child's fingers should be on the correct keys).