We Are Hanging On....and Having A Blast!

Our Good Citizenship Scrolls!

Well, we have missed several members of our class this week, including Miss Fate....but we are hanging in there and getting a lot done! We have had an exciting week.

Just a sampling of our paper dolls! WOW you did a great job!

During our language arts block the students learned about cause and effect with Mrs. Waller. We used If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff to illustrate this concept. We had so much fun. We learned that the cause is the why and the effect is the what.......why did the mouse want a straw (what)?.... because he was given some milk (why). The children really grasped this concept.  To extend the students we went on to write some amazing stories. Here are a few examples of some of the titles: IF YOU GIVE A TIGER A CAR, IF YOU GIVE A SNAIL A CUPCAKE, IF YOU GIVE A BALD EAGLE A CUP OF MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM......the list goes on and these stories are amazing! They will soon be published and available to check out!

Just the beginning....

Daniel illustrating the cover of his book....

Hard at work!

Miss. Fate has been working in their theme notebooks and they have been learning all about the United States through a game of U.S.A. BINGO. The children have been locating all 50 states and writing them in on a United States Map. They also read through their research in order to get ready to present their paper dolls and be video taped for our QR code project.....we are excited to share all of this with you.

Independently the students have finished up working on the long A,   _a_ pattern  (ie: make, take, made, wave, etc).  They also continued to explore the iPads. We have introduced them to a recording sheet; while they are using the iPad they have to record the game played and two problems or facts they have learned. They have also created a story using all their spelling words and continued to work in their theme notebooks.

First they framed the long A word, then they highlighted it.....

Highlighting words with the a_e pattern....

A blank iPad recording sheet....soon Evie had it all filled out!

In Math the students and Mrs. Waller have continued to work with the data from the life size graph they created using their very own flat selves.  On Tuesday we transferred the data from Mrs. Waller's sheet of paper onto a bar graph. On Thursday we analyzed the data together as a class. This sheet should come home soon.  We have also started another Flat Stanley book....they love it!

Transferring the data onto a bar graph....

Miss Fate continued to review money and assess their grasp of this concept. They are doing so well. We are excited to continue to review money and give them independent work in this area. The students worked on some math pages that are in their theme notebook with the sub on Wednesday.

How can we make 46 cents?

In social studies we have started presenting the paper dolls. The students are practicing their presentation skills and we are having so much fun learning about each other's famous American.

It was exciting in TNT on Wednesday. The class was broken down into two groups. While one group worked on math with the sub, Mrs. Waller and Mrs. (Ryann) Schubert (our technology expert!) guided the children through the Puppet Pals app. We won't tell you too much....we are hoping to share these projects either via the blog or on the iPads when you come visit the room after the program. More info to come....we will tell you that it involves your child's paper doll, their voice and the story of their famous American!

Evan rehearsing before the final recording......

Mrs. Schubert helping Sloane

In Hands-On Science Mrs. Wiedeman and Mrs. Waller discussed National Children's Dental  Health Month (Feb.) with the students. They observed several different food items and how much sugar makes up each item. They also looked at the affect of acid on a penny and how strong that acid can be, just like the acid that attacks our teeth when sugar and plaque combine to eventually cause cavities. We discussed variety and moderation when it comes to making food choices, as well as the importance of brushing our teeth.

Dipping our pennies in an acid solution....what will happen?

The half that was dipped in the solution was cleaner! That is some strong acid!

Does milk have sugar in it?

Comparing a variety of foods....

In computer lab Miss Fate and Ms. Lorfing guided the students through the website: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ ! The children loved it. They got to place the states on a map of the U.S. They also got to color a variety of U.S. symbols and guide Ben Franklin through a maze to his final destination: Independence Hall. They completed the connect the dots to see the Liberty Bell. Check out the website at home it will keep them busy as they learn all about the U.S.A.


New Spelling Words: become, end, behind, fish, why, car, books, good, help, city
Challenge: president, dollar, hooray, hundred
Surprise the teacher word!!!!!!!

REMINDERS:
Please practice your child's part for our program with your child.  It came home on Thursday this week. They are so excited!
*Please bring in a shoebox for your child for Valentine's Day.  It can be plain, decorated or wrapped; it is your choice.  It must have a slot on the top, the box should be able to open, the bigger size shoebox the better (it needs to hold 50 valentines). It also needs your child's first & last name on the top of it. (please don't bring into school until the week of February 6th)
*On Valentine's Day you can bring in valentines for both classes please don't write people's names on them just have your child sign their names (this will make it easier to pass them out to both classes)
*Valentine's Day Party on February 14th from 2:00-3:00pm
*Hooray for the U.S.A. performance Thursday, February 16th @9:20am in the stage MPR (children dress as their Famous American on this day)

Please get well or stay healthy and have a very good weekend!
Mrs. Waller and Miss Fate!