Science - Matter

We've been learning about matter. Yesterday, we learned that matter takes up space and has mass. We also talked about different properties of matter. Today we used balance scales and measured the mass of several items. Good thing Mrs. Stanton stayed around to help because we were very busy measuring with our scales. We posted how much the different things weighed and then we ran out of time. Tomorrow we will have time to talk about the data and put the things in order from greatest to least mass. Check out these photos.

Junior Achievement

Mrs. Stanton taught our Junior Achievement lessons last week and again this week. We learned about how our community works. We learned about community workers and we learned how money moves through a community. The students enjoyed making paper donuts last week. They tried unit production and assembly line production. The best part was today when Mrs. Stanton brought our class chocolate donuts. A special thanks goes out to Mrs. Stanton for volunteering to teach the 2nd grade Junior Achievement lessons. After every lesson, I thought I should have taken a picture and again today I didn't remember until after Mrs. Stanton left. Here's a picture of our community poster.

Xtramath News

Michael has completed addition in Xtramath and is now on subtraction. Congratulations! I know you've worked very hard!

Math Test Tomorrow

Just a reminder that we'll have a math test on Chapter 13 tomorrow.  Students will be counting groups of coins and comparing them too.  Students will have to figure out how much change they'll get back.  Also, the problem solving questions are about estimating which two items they can buy with a certain amount of money. We practiced estimating last week and again today!  We've been practicing counting change a lot too.

100th Day of School

We've been counting since the first day of school and today is the 100th day. We celebrated by making 100 day hats. Students had ten strips of ten stickers on their hats. They loved knowing that 10 x 10 is 100. We completed a little 100 booklet and we read a poem about the 100th day. We enjoyed a 100 Grand candy bar since we're a 100 days smarter! Lots of learning and fun today. Here's a few pictures of our day.

Animal Research

We've been researching penguins this week. The students have been looking on websites and in books to learn more about penguins. They used their iPads and QR codes to watch a penguin video clip and find some interesting facts. The students sorted some sentences about penguins into Fact and Opinion groups. We will be learning more about penguins today.
Next week, the students will learn how to write an animal report. The students picked animal books on Wednesday and will begin their own fact finding on Monday. Throughout next week they'll be working on their report.
Check out pictures of our penguin research.

Xtramath News

Congratulations to Joe and Gabe! Joe completed addition and Gabe finished subtraction! I'm so proud of your hard work!

Xtramath News

Hazel has worked really hard and has finished multiplication! Congratulations Hazel!

Our Dreams

We've been reading about Martin Luther King Jr. We talked about his dream for our country. The students wrote their dreams for our country. Check out their silhouettes and their dreams.

Xtramath News

Tyler finished addition this week. I'm so proud of him.

Magic House Trip

We had a lot of fun learning about how a community works. The students worked at their job sites and were able to take breaks and enjoy the fun in a community. Many students loved their job so much in the beginning, that they didn't even want to take a break at first.
After working in a community, the student worked on a family budget. Of course they had to pay for all the things you need and they also had to save some money too. Oh, they had to pay taxes too. It was great to hear their ideas when they had to make choices. Ask your child about their job and their family budget.
Check out a few of our pictures.

Magic House Today

We are off to the Magic House today and we are taking our iPads. The students will be taking up to 5 photos about the work they're doing at their job site.
Just a reminder to students to bring a wallet or purse so they have a place to put the money they earn. It's always exciting to learn about how a community work.

Collecting Empty Cereal Boxes

Please send in empty cereal boxes from now until February 8th. I'm planning to cut off the top flaps and cover them with colored butcher paper and they'll be our Valentine boxes for the holiday party. If I get enough boxes before February 8th, I'll let you know that we're stopping the collection.
Thanks!

QR Codes and IPads

I've created some QR codes so the students can see some video clips of candy factories, a shoe factory, and a bubble gum factory. We can't take a factory tour as we learn about goods and services, but the video clips show us just what happens in factories.

Math News

We've been working hard counting groups of half dollars, quarters, nickels, and pennies. The students are doing great. We will be reviewing on Monday and the Chapter 12 test will be on Tuesday,
Next week I will be giving timed addition and subtraction tests. The timed tests for 3rd and 4th quarter have only the hard facts on them.

Social Studies

Unit 4 is all about "Working". The students are learning about needs and wants. The students are learning about producers and consumers too. They're also learning about goods and services. Our Magic House field trip is all about working in a community. The students filled out job applications to show where they would like to work on the field trip. There are 9 work sites: Pet Clinic, Hospital, Market, Ranger Station, Restaurant, Service Station, Electric Company, Post Office and Bank. The students will earn a paycheck and when they go on break, they can cash their checks and buy the different things they need or want. It's a wonderful trip and students really enjoy learning how a community works. Our trip is on Tuesday, January 15th.

Prism

I'm encouraging my students to participate in Prism this year. Information was sent home before Winter Break and again yesterday. If your child chooses to participate, please return the form by January 17th. If your child is planning to complete an animal portfolio, we will be writing an animal report in class that can be used as part of your child's Prism project.
We will be choosing animal books next week. The hardest part is finding an animal book that is on your child's reading level so they can read the book independently and take notes. Reading nonfiction books are more difficult because although the students can read the words, they often don't understand the meaning.

Xtramath News

Congratulations to Sydney as she completed addition in Xtramath.