• Sep262009

    POSTED AT 11:55 AM

    WHATS HAPPENING IN OUR ROOM?
      
    What We Worked On This Week:
     
    Wow! What a week! Even though we had a short week, we were very busy!
    I am glad to hear that everyone survived the floods this week. I am sure you are aware that others were not so fortunate. We will be donating school supplies to the students of Clarkdale Elementary this week. If you have any supplies at home or would like to help donate please let me know.

    Math:
    EQ: How can I make fair trades with coins to 30 cents?
    We will begin rotating through money centers on Monday, with the hopes of finishing those by the end of the week. Please remember to work with your child at home as well. They need to be able to make fair trades up to 30 cents by the end of this nine weeks.
     
    Language Arts: EQ: How do I become a great reader?
    This week we read a story about Shadows. We focused on making predictions. We took a picture walk through the story to help us understand that pictures help us make predictions about the book. Students shared their predictions by talking and turning to their partners. We also talked about main idea. When you are reading at home with your child, have them make a prediction about the story and tell you the main idea and setting.
     
    Social Studies: EQ: What is my global address?
    This week we continued working on our address, city, county, state, country and continent.  Next week we will label and identify the seven continents and oceans on a map and learn two songs to help us remember them. We will also begin our landform study. Students need to be able to describe mountins, deserts, valleys, plains, plateaus, and coasts.
     
    Apple Day:  EQ: How did Johnny Appleseed contribute to our country?
    Apple Day was a huge success! We worked with Mrs. Hossenlopps class to complete several activities about Johnny Appleseed and apples. The students solved apple word problems, used their 5 senses to do an apple investigation, made a class tally chart, took the information from the tally chart to create their own bar graph, and made up a question that could be answered about their graphs. We also had an apple taste test, drank warm apple cider, and sampled apple sauce. Ask your child to tell you some "facts" they learned about Johnny Appleseed!
     
    Spelling: I was so excited to see how well the students did with their spelling words this week! I could really tell that you worked with them at home and completed the spelling activities. On Thursdays, I will give the students a spelling pre-test. If they spell all of their words correctly they will not have to take the spelling test Friday. You will see the pre-test come home on Thursdays and know whether your child needs to practice a little more.  You can also check out the website www.spellingcity.com. You can type in your child's spelling words and choose an activity to do with them. This would count as one of the activities for the week.
     
    Thank you!
    1. Thank you parents for sending in apples for Apple Day!
    2. Thank you Mrs. Spencer for agreeing to be our Garden Mom this year. Mrs. Spencer sent home a letting regarding a scarecrow project. If you are able to help out, in any way, please send the items in by Tuesday!

    Reminders:
    1. Please remember to send in items for our class scarecrow!
    2. Don't forget to initial your child's reflection sheet daily and empty out their folder nightly.
    3. Check out the wishlist link that has new wishlist items posted!
     
    Specials Schedule: Sept 28-Oct.2
    M- PE
    T- Computers
    W- PE
    Th- Art
    F- PE
     
    This page will be a means of communication with you about things going on in the classroom as well as at school.  It will be updated every week. Of course, if you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.  The easiest and quickest way to do that is through my email.  My email address is elizabeth.england@cobbk12.org 
     
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    Sep212009

    POSTED AT 06:51 PM

    Parents,
     
    I am sure most of you know by now that Cobb County has closed school for Tuesday, September 22, 2009.  Please try to stay dry and safe during this horrific weather. 
     
    Below are a few updates from our room:
     
    1. Today, I sent home spelling words for your child as well as spelling activities that need to be completed with homework. Students should choose two activities to complete each week. Every Friday, the students will have a spelling test. Most of these words are high frequency words that are on the high frequency word list.
    2. Last week students began "Math Minute". This is a timed addition activity to help the students master their addition facts. Students have one minute to complete their sheet accurately.  You will see their sheets coming home daily. I have marked the problem to indicate how far they made it in one minute. As they complete each page they move towards the next level. They are very excited and are really enjoying this new math activity!
    3. Today, we began practicing our address and county. I was very pleased that most of the students knew their address. You can help at home by having them tell you their address, county, state, and continent. Ask them what country we live in, how many continents there are, and the names of the 4 oceans!
    4. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!!!! We have been working hard making fair trades to 30 cents. I would really appreciate it if you could work with your child at home too! Ask your child to show you how "hairy" money works! Each hair stands for 5 cents. They can label their coins with "hair" to help them count.
    5. I have added some items to the Class Wishlist section, so take a look when you have a chance! Mrs. Lighstone, our guidance counselor, has been working on cooperation with the students. We will be making cooperation soup in two weeks so I will be asking for some donations to help make our soup!!
     
    Thanks again for all of your support! We are off to a great start this year!!
     
    Miss England
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    Sep182009

    POSTED AT 03:09 PM

    WHATS HAPPENING IN OUR ROOM?
     
    What We Worked On This Week:
     
    Math
    EQ: How can I make fair trades with coins?
    This week we began our unit on money. Students began trading pennies for nickels, nickels for dimes, and nickels and dimes for quarters. The students also sorted their coins and created their own bar graph to represent their coins. Next week we will continue making fair trades and begin money centers. Ask your child to sort and count the change in your wallet!
     
    Language Arts
    EQ: How can I read to become a more fluent reader?
    This week in language arts we continued to work on a story of the week. The students listened to a story about the cycle of our life and the importance of family. We also began literacy centers this week. Students rotated through "have to" centers and "choice" centers. Beginning next week, I will  meet with students in their guided reading groups while students are at centers.  Ask your child which centers they visited this week.
     
    Writing
    EQ: What does a good writer look like in our classroom?
    This week in writing students completed their writing assessment. We also made a class list of topics we could write about and learned that by answering simple questions we can create a story. Students completed the Questions and Answers activity and made their own story.
     
    Social Studies
    EQ: What is my global address?
    This week in Social Studies we began our unit entitled "Our Country, Our Earth." We learned about the difference between a map and a globe and we began talking about our city, county, state, nation, and continent. Please review your address and phone number with your child. Ask your child if they can tell you the city, county and state where we live. Next week we will continue learning about these items and began talking about landforms.
     
    Important Dates to Remember:
    Monday, September 21- Stevi B's (4-8 pm)
    Friday, September 25- PTA Dinner with Dads (6pm)
     
    Specials Schedule for the week of Sept 14-18
    M-Art  T-PE   W-Com   TH-PE   F-Music
     
    ~REMINDERS~
    Library Day- Tuesday is our day to visit the library. Students enjoy a lesson with Mrs. Hailey and also have the chance to check out books. Please help your child remember to bring their library books back so that they can check out new ones when we go to the library.
    Baggy Books- Please remember to return baggy books. Students should be checking out new ones a couple times a week.
    High Frequency Words- Please continue to practice sight words with your child. I will begin reassessing students in the next couple of weeks. Your child needs to know at least 50 words by the end of the first nine weeks.
     
    This page will be a means of communication with you about things going on in the classroom as well as at school.  It will be updated every week. Of course, if you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.  The easiest and quickest way to do that is through my email.  My email address is elizabeth.england@cobbk12.org 
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    Sep152009

    POSTED AT 07:15 PM

    WHATS HAPPENING IN OUR ROOM?
     
     
    We another great week in Room 108! The students did a wonderful job taking the CogAT this week. Make sure to give them an extra hug for all of their hard work!  
     
    THANK YOU
    A special thanks to the parents who sent in extra snacks this week for our snack box. Thank you also to Mrs. Bitzis for sending in cheese cubes, ham cubes, and grapes for the students during the CogAT. The students thoroughly enjoyed them!
     
    What We Worked On This Week:
    Math
    EQ: How can I model and write numbers using base ten blocks?
     
    This week in math, students rotated through 8 different Place Value centers. Each center is designed to help reinforce concepts taught and give the students extra practice to help master each skill. The students have done a wonderful job in each center and worked very well with their partners. Ask your child which center was their favorite. Next week we will finish our place value centers and begin our unit on money.
     
    Language Arts
    EQ: What are the elements of a story?
     
    This week we began talking about the elements of a story. We focused on the characters, setting and four events from the story. Students listened to the story "Arthur Writes a Story" and completed a story map. Next week we will begin a new story of the week about Life Cycles and focus on the short vowel O.  

    Writing
    EQ: What does a good reader look like in our classroom? What are the parts of a sentence?
    This week we talked about what good writers do. Students listened to the story "Library Mouse" and learned that they can become "authors" to.  We also began learning about the parts of a sentence. Ask your students if they can name the five parts of a sentence! Next week we will complete our writing assessment and continuing working on parts of a sentence.

    Science
    EQ: How can water change? How can I observe and record changes in water with the weather?                                                                     
    Students continued to record weather data in their weather journals this week. We also began learning about the water cycle. Next week we will finish up our unit on weather and water and begin focusing on our social studies unit entitled "Our Country Our Earth".
     
    Important Dates to Remember:
    Monday, September 14- please remember to send in a special photo or object for a writing activity.

    Specials Schedule for the week of Sept 14-18
    M-PE   T-Com   W-PE   TH-Music   F-PE
     
    ~REMINDERS~
    Library Day- Tuesday is our day to visit the library. Students enjoy a lesson with Mrs. Hailey and also have the chance to check out books. Please help your child remember to bring their library books back so that they can check out new ones when we go to the library.
    Baggy Books- Please remember to return baggy books. Students should be checking out new ones a couple times a week.
    High Frequency Words- Please continue to practice sight words with your child. I will begin reassessing students in the next couple of weeks. Your child needs to know at least 50 words by the end of the first nine weeks.
     

    This page will be a means of communication with you about things going on in the classroom as well as at school.  It will be updated every week. Of course, if you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.  The easiest and quickest way to do that is through my email.  My email address is elizabeth.england@cobbk12.org