This week in reading, we will finish up Owls in the Family. In math, we will continue with multiplication rotations and speed tests. For social studies, we will work on our northeast region posters, take a NE location test on Wednesday and a NE capitals test on Friday. I sent home a study guide yesterday (11-24) for these tests. In English, we will write to our Adams pen pals and also write to a 3rd grade class in Massachusetts. I will post this week's spelling words on Monday. There will be no more 100 minute reading homework this year (2008). If your child missed a week, this would be the time to make it up. I do take a grade on this homework. I was going to assign it for 2 weeks in December, but decided that December is such a busy month, the children could probably use a break! The week of 11-17 (due Monday, 11-24) was the last week for it.
December is a busy, but wonderful month. We will be doing many Christmas projects! Two of those projects, I need you to help with supplies. If you have not sent the supplies for the gingerbread houses and Polar PJ day, please do so as soon as possible. Gingerbread houses - 1 bag of candy, 6 graham crackers, & 1 round tub of white frosting. Polar PJ day - 1 bar of Ivory soap, 1 box of white sugar cubes. Remember that we will make gingerbread houses on December 12th and have our Polar PJ day on December 16th. We will be doing many more fun things, but those are the 2 that I need volunteers for. I have 1 mom that can help with both days, and 1 mom that can help with Polar PJ day. I still need 4 more volunteers for Polar PJ day and 1 for our gingerbread house day. Gingerbread houses - 1:00 - 1:45 - help with clean up and passing out supplies. Polar PJ day - 9:00 - 11:00 - help with learning stations/crafts. Please let me know as soon as you can, if you can help.
Something else we will work on in the coming weeks, is ARK (ACTS of RANDOM KINDNESS). I feel that we somewhat live in a ME society, meaning what's in it for ME. I want the children to work on doing things for others, and not always thinking of themselves. I hear children for example, say things like: I don't want to pick that up because I didn't leave it there, or If I do this, what am I going to get? I want them to get past the ME/I part and do things simply because it's the right thing to do or it's the kind thing to do. I feel that we need to absolutely praise and reward our children, but not to the extent that it becomes all about extrinsic motivation and there is no evidence of intrinsic motivation. I work on this in my own home with my daughter........trying to find the balance between reward/motivation and simply instilling in Baylee to do things because she should.........it's the right thing to do, not "What am I going to get out of this?" To hopefully help with this thought process, we will be drawing names each week in December. The name that we choose is to be kept secret. All week, we will do nice things secretly for that person. I told the children that the best givers are the ones who give without needing recognition. Nice things could be secretly helping them clean their desk/area, bringing an extra snack, writing a nice note to them. Help us out by brainstorming at home other things we could do. Hopefully, we can all learn a little about giving and kindness in the coming weeks.
If you haven't looked at the previous post and video clip, you might want to. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. God Bless you!
P.S. I wanted to send a Great Big Thank you to Mrs. Howard for sending the awesome OU cookie cake, Mrs. Sturgeon for sending the yummy brownies, and to Mrs. Kang for sending the red chips! You helped make Bedlam Day even better! You rock!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
FYI!
Hey! I wanted to share this cute video of some of your adorable children! If you aren't familiar with our classroom economy system, click on the link at the right. I am trying to help your children apply math to real life situatations. Some of them are really starting to understand that saving money pays off! We have 13 home(desk) owners now! They are finding out that not having payments gives them more money each month, which in turn they can spend, but hopefully they will SAVE too. They are realizing that frivolous spending doesn't leave them with much left either! My goal (DREAM) is for them to someday apply these lessons to their own lives and financial habits.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Week of 11/24
Wow! A two day week will be great for us all! These 2 days, we will be doing Thanksgiving related work. We will also read one more chapter of Owls in the Family and be doing multiplication speed tests. We will be having our Bedlam Day on Tuesday. Don't forget that you can send red or orange snacks/drinks for fun that day! Kids need to wear their favorite team color/shirt. We will also be having our pizza party on Tuesday earned from being the top selling fundraiser class!! Go Corderman's Crew!! The kids will still have their regular lunch. We will have our pizza with a football movie at 1:30.
We now have 1000 hits on the blog! Yeah! We will have a 1000 hits party in December. I will let you know when that will be.
We now have 1000 hits on the blog! Yeah! We will have a 1000 hits party in December. I will let you know when that will be.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
It's Bedlam Time!
Bedlam is coming up! We will have Bedlam Day in the classroom on Tuesday of next week. Make sure to wear your favorite team shirt or color! It would add fun to our day if you would send a Bedlam type snack or an orange or red snack to school to share with the class. We will learn about the history of football, poll the school on their favorite team, and make large graphs depicting the poll info! It will be a fun day!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
FYI
I just wanted to let you know of some important dates coming up!
Friday, December 12th - We will be making gingerbread houses! I will need a couple of parent volunteers. We will do the project at 1:00 that day. It usually takes about 45 minutes. I just need some help with passing out stuff and clean up. I also need some parent volunteers to make the ziplock bags of mixed candy to be ready for the project. Those can be made anytime that week.
Tuesday, December 16th - Polar Pajama Day! I need volunteers to help from 9:00 to 11:00 with learning stations. I need 5 or 6 volunteers.
Please let me know by posting a message or sending me a note, if you can help. I greatly appreciate it!
Friday, December 12th - We will be making gingerbread houses! I will need a couple of parent volunteers. We will do the project at 1:00 that day. It usually takes about 45 minutes. I just need some help with passing out stuff and clean up. I also need some parent volunteers to make the ziplock bags of mixed candy to be ready for the project. Those can be made anytime that week.
Tuesday, December 16th - Polar Pajama Day! I need volunteers to help from 9:00 to 11:00 with learning stations. I need 5 or 6 volunteers.
Please let me know by posting a message or sending me a note, if you can help. I greatly appreciate it!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Week of 11/17
Hi Families!
This week in reading, we will continue with our owl unit. We will be reading Owls in the Family and I will be checking for literal and inferential comprehension, as well as working on vocabulary. For our spelling words, we will use vocabulary from the Owls in the Family book. I will post them at the end of this post. For math, we are beginning the all important multiplication! Please, please, please make sure your child knows his/her facts! I can not stress enough how important it is. I am sure many of the children already know their facts, but I can tell many do not. As I have told the kids, this is something that takes work. I can't simply slide the facts into their brains through their ears! If only we could!! If your child does not know the facts, you have got to practice at home with him/her..........over and over every day. Reward your child if you have to. Whatever it takes!! I told the kids that I myself as a young child struggled with learning my facts, but once I learned them, everything else with math seemed to fall into place. My mom thought she was about to die getting me to learn those facts!! We will be taking speed tests every day, and practicing using a variety of manipulations. We will spend about2 weeks on this, before moving on to double digit multiplication, which will lead to even bigger problems, and then we will move on to division. In social studies, we will learn more about the Revolutionary War this week. I will send home a study guide tomorrow for our test over this topic on Thursday. We will also be making northeast region posters this week. In English, we will finish putting our dog report posters together. We typed our info in computer lab last week. Now all the computers are hooked up to the printer, so we can print out the info this week.
Parents, if you have any toy magazines, could you send them to school? I need them for a project next week. Your child can have them back when we are done. Thanks!
Here are the spelling words:
camera
raptor
talon
migrate
plumage
range
species
perch
hatch
pellet
opinion
prey
soar
habitat
rodent
hover
owlet
roost
clutch
endangered
Spelling Enrichment words:
abdicate abhor accentuate acclamation accumulate acknowledge adjacent advocate aggravate algae amnesia anchovy apathy arctic audience
This week in reading, we will continue with our owl unit. We will be reading Owls in the Family and I will be checking for literal and inferential comprehension, as well as working on vocabulary. For our spelling words, we will use vocabulary from the Owls in the Family book. I will post them at the end of this post. For math, we are beginning the all important multiplication! Please, please, please make sure your child knows his/her facts! I can not stress enough how important it is. I am sure many of the children already know their facts, but I can tell many do not. As I have told the kids, this is something that takes work. I can't simply slide the facts into their brains through their ears! If only we could!! If your child does not know the facts, you have got to practice at home with him/her..........over and over every day. Reward your child if you have to. Whatever it takes!! I told the kids that I myself as a young child struggled with learning my facts, but once I learned them, everything else with math seemed to fall into place. My mom thought she was about to die getting me to learn those facts!! We will be taking speed tests every day, and practicing using a variety of manipulations. We will spend about2 weeks on this, before moving on to double digit multiplication, which will lead to even bigger problems, and then we will move on to division. In social studies, we will learn more about the Revolutionary War this week. I will send home a study guide tomorrow for our test over this topic on Thursday. We will also be making northeast region posters this week. In English, we will finish putting our dog report posters together. We typed our info in computer lab last week. Now all the computers are hooked up to the printer, so we can print out the info this week.
Parents, if you have any toy magazines, could you send them to school? I need them for a project next week. Your child can have them back when we are done. Thanks!
Here are the spelling words:
camera
raptor
talon
migrate
plumage
range
species
perch
hatch
pellet
opinion
prey
soar
habitat
rodent
hover
owlet
roost
clutch
endangered
Spelling Enrichment words:
abdicate abhor accentuate acclamation accumulate acknowledge adjacent advocate aggravate algae amnesia anchovy apathy arctic audience
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Reading Project due tomorrow!
Don't forget that the reading project on setting is due tomorrow. It is worth 200 points.
Today was fun when the SPCA came to visit! Have your kids share what they learned and show you the freebies they got!
I have a teacher friend that has a blog too, and she shared a great idea with me. She suggested that we have a 1000 hits party when our blog counter gets to 1000 hits! I thought that was a great idea! I showed the kids where the blog counter was. We are at 876 right now! Oh so close! If we can get to 1000 in one more week, we will have our 1000 hits party the Monday before Thanksgiving! I will tell you more about the party when we get closer to obtaining it.
I added a word of the day and the game of hangman, as well as the temperature and forecast to the blog. Hope you and your kids enjoy!
Please take a minute to vote on the poll. :)
Today was fun when the SPCA came to visit! Have your kids share what they learned and show you the freebies they got!
I have a teacher friend that has a blog too, and she shared a great idea with me. She suggested that we have a 1000 hits party when our blog counter gets to 1000 hits! I thought that was a great idea! I showed the kids where the blog counter was. We are at 876 right now! Oh so close! If we can get to 1000 in one more week, we will have our 1000 hits party the Monday before Thanksgiving! I will tell you more about the party when we get closer to obtaining it.
I added a word of the day and the game of hangman, as well as the temperature and forecast to the blog. Hope you and your kids enjoy!
Please take a minute to vote on the poll. :)
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Week of 11/10
Hey all!
This week starts our unit on Owls! It is one of my favorites! I will be reading the book Owls in the Family. It is a wonderful and funny story. I will be checking for literal and inferential comprehension each day of the story. We will begin the story on Wednesday. The first 2 days of the week, we will be reading some info about owls and distinguishing between facts and myths. Our owl unit will cover both reading and science PASS skills. For math, we will test over our graph unit and study mean, median, mode, and range. Next week begins multiplication! Does your child know his/her facts? If not, he/she needs to learn them this year. It is crucial for future math success! Start studying those facts. Next week, I will give you ideas on how to practice with your child. In social studies, we will begin to cover the history of the Northeast Region. It is very interesting! We will begin to talk about the Revolutionary War and key figures, such as George Washington. On Monday, our very own Mrs. Osgood, who is from Maine, will be our guest speaker! She will give us a better feel for the region! Your child will need to learn the 11 states in the Northeast region too, as well as the capitals of those states. Your child should have brought home a map of those states at the end of last week. Hopefully, you still have it, but I will be sending home a study guide soon. The tests won't be until after Thanksgiving, but it is never too early to learn them! :) In English, we will be finishing up our dog report posters, and work some more on adjectives. Tuesday will be a test over Spanish. I will send home a study guide on Monday for the test. We will also watch the Spanish review on Monday. Spelling, this week, covers months, days, and times in the year. The words will be posted at the bottom of this post, as well as the enrichment words.
Remember no 100 minute reading homework this week. Instead, your child should be working on his/her book project. Hopefully, your child brought the directions home. I will briefly explain the choices:
1) Diorama - create a "setting" scene in a shoebox from your mystery - include a 2 to 3 paragraph description of the scene - you can glue it to the outside of the box
2) 3-D Model - basically the same as the diorama, except on a cardboard piece instead of in a shoebox
3) Map - draw a map of 2 or 3 of your mystery's settings - include a brief description of each setting under the illustrations - include a map key, title, and compass rose
This project is worth 200 points and is due on Friday.
I will be gone to a teacher's workshop on Tuesday, but Mrs. Osgood will be there.
Book orders are due Wednesday.
Here are the spelling words:
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Saturday
January
February
July
August
September
November
month
year
holiday
autumn
season
calendar
second
minute
northeast
Thanksgiving
Spelling Enrichment:
saunter subtle perish valiantly variegated obliged assortment menacing ascent scholarly flourish disregard mussed obsequious gnawed
This week starts our unit on Owls! It is one of my favorites! I will be reading the book Owls in the Family. It is a wonderful and funny story. I will be checking for literal and inferential comprehension each day of the story. We will begin the story on Wednesday. The first 2 days of the week, we will be reading some info about owls and distinguishing between facts and myths. Our owl unit will cover both reading and science PASS skills. For math, we will test over our graph unit and study mean, median, mode, and range. Next week begins multiplication! Does your child know his/her facts? If not, he/she needs to learn them this year. It is crucial for future math success! Start studying those facts. Next week, I will give you ideas on how to practice with your child. In social studies, we will begin to cover the history of the Northeast Region. It is very interesting! We will begin to talk about the Revolutionary War and key figures, such as George Washington. On Monday, our very own Mrs. Osgood, who is from Maine, will be our guest speaker! She will give us a better feel for the region! Your child will need to learn the 11 states in the Northeast region too, as well as the capitals of those states. Your child should have brought home a map of those states at the end of last week. Hopefully, you still have it, but I will be sending home a study guide soon. The tests won't be until after Thanksgiving, but it is never too early to learn them! :) In English, we will be finishing up our dog report posters, and work some more on adjectives. Tuesday will be a test over Spanish. I will send home a study guide on Monday for the test. We will also watch the Spanish review on Monday. Spelling, this week, covers months, days, and times in the year. The words will be posted at the bottom of this post, as well as the enrichment words.
Remember no 100 minute reading homework this week. Instead, your child should be working on his/her book project. Hopefully, your child brought the directions home. I will briefly explain the choices:
1) Diorama - create a "setting" scene in a shoebox from your mystery - include a 2 to 3 paragraph description of the scene - you can glue it to the outside of the box
2) 3-D Model - basically the same as the diorama, except on a cardboard piece instead of in a shoebox
3) Map - draw a map of 2 or 3 of your mystery's settings - include a brief description of each setting under the illustrations - include a map key, title, and compass rose
This project is worth 200 points and is due on Friday.
I will be gone to a teacher's workshop on Tuesday, but Mrs. Osgood will be there.
Book orders are due Wednesday.
Here are the spelling words:
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Saturday
January
February
July
August
September
November
month
year
holiday
autumn
season
calendar
second
minute
northeast
Thanksgiving
Spelling Enrichment:
saunter subtle perish valiantly variegated obliged assortment menacing ascent scholarly flourish disregard mussed obsequious gnawed
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
FYI
Remember that Show and Tell is tomorrow for odd numbers! Friday will be even numbers. I am sorry I haven't posted the Halloween slideshow yet, but I have been busy. I will make it and post it when I can.
Spelling test tomorrow.
$6.50 for Christmas project due Friday (optional)
Spelling test tomorrow.
$6.50 for Christmas project due Friday (optional)
Monday, November 3, 2008
Spelling Words
follow
matter
summer
million
dollar
scissors
cattle
address
office
suppertime
blizzard
penny
wrapper
wallet
occurrence
village
collide
battle
Mississippi
Appalachian
Enriched words are the same as last week. Halloween was too busy to fit it in! Look in last week's post for them.
matter
summer
million
dollar
scissors
cattle
address
office
suppertime
blizzard
penny
wrapper
wallet
occurrence
village
collide
battle
Mississippi
Appalachian
Enriched words are the same as last week. Halloween was too busy to fit it in! Look in last week's post for them.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Week of 11/03
Wow! I can't believe it's November! 2008 has flown by! Halloween is fun, but I am glad it is over! Believe it or not, Halloween Day at school was the best day of the week! The kids were great! I think they were so excited all week about Halloween, they were restless, and when it finally got here, they calmed down. Here is what's ahead:
Math - line plots, line graphs, and coordinates
Reading - vocabulary, mysteries, setting - The children should finish up their mystery books this week. Many already have! They will get a setting project of their choice when they are done. These projects are homework and due next Friday, November 14. This project will count as their reading homework next week instead of the 100 minutes. (100 minutes is still assigned for this week.) Your child should bring home directions for the setting project after they have picked one out.
Spelling - double consonants (I will post the list tomorrow.)
English - dog reports
Social Studies - Northeast region of the US - intro to that region, its geography, products, and the states that make it up
If your child would like to make our Christmas present project, the money ($6.50) is due on Friday.
Pressed leaves are due on Friday as well. The leaves are worth 100 points in science.
I will be contacting the SPCA this week to come visit our classroom. I will have them talk to the children about taking care of pets and also what the SPCA does. We have quite a collection of pet products to donate to them! Thanks to all who donated!
Hopefully, the children will get another 25 fish in the bowl for 25 good and productive days this week. We only need 2 more! If the children earn it, they will get to have show and tell this week! Your child has a class number. If he/she is an odd number, he/she may bring show and tell on Thursday, and then even numbers will go on Friday.
Thanks to all the parents who helped or sent treats for Halloween! The party was great because of you!
I will be posting slideshows this week of new pictures. So be looking!
Math - line plots, line graphs, and coordinates
Reading - vocabulary, mysteries, setting - The children should finish up their mystery books this week. Many already have! They will get a setting project of their choice when they are done. These projects are homework and due next Friday, November 14. This project will count as their reading homework next week instead of the 100 minutes. (100 minutes is still assigned for this week.) Your child should bring home directions for the setting project after they have picked one out.
Spelling - double consonants (I will post the list tomorrow.)
English - dog reports
Social Studies - Northeast region of the US - intro to that region, its geography, products, and the states that make it up
If your child would like to make our Christmas present project, the money ($6.50) is due on Friday.
Pressed leaves are due on Friday as well. The leaves are worth 100 points in science.
I will be contacting the SPCA this week to come visit our classroom. I will have them talk to the children about taking care of pets and also what the SPCA does. We have quite a collection of pet products to donate to them! Thanks to all who donated!
Hopefully, the children will get another 25 fish in the bowl for 25 good and productive days this week. We only need 2 more! If the children earn it, they will get to have show and tell this week! Your child has a class number. If he/she is an odd number, he/she may bring show and tell on Thursday, and then even numbers will go on Friday.
Thanks to all the parents who helped or sent treats for Halloween! The party was great because of you!
I will be posting slideshows this week of new pictures. So be looking!
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