New Data, New Goals, New Topics

We had another fantastic week of learning and discovering.  The children took the diagnostic benchmark for Reading and Math in i-Ready.  There are few that need to finish up this coming week, and then we will have results to see their growth and progress.  All in all, the week flew by and there was a lot of learning taking place.  

Morning Routines:

Once we returned from our Holiday Break, some of the routines had to be revisited.  I did introduce a few new ones.  The lunch orders are now up  to the student.  They have to fill in what choice they want.  It is working nicely and they are not forgetting to order lunch.  

We continue with word of the day, similar to a wheel of fortune format.  I did purchase buzzers for the class.  If they choose the correct letter it rings.  If they choose a letter that does not belong I press the buzzer, which is extremely annoying, by the way.  The children love it.  

Once they come in and unpack, I do have a slide up that tells them what the day consists of.  We are falling back into our routines.  The children also work on a writing prompt each morning.  They find these on their Google Classroom.  They are required to write at least 1 paragraph about the topic they are given.

Wonders:

We finished Unit 3 Week 4 last week.  The children listened to the stories, worked in the Reading/Writing Companion, with their group, and worked on responding to the literature.  

We have been working on Linking Verbs in Grammar.  We watched a video and took notes.  This upcoming week they will be assessed on what they know.

i-Ready Update:

The children took the diagnostic both in Reading and Math this past week.  We have new data to show the growth that many have made, some by significant numbers.  They took their time, tried their best and persevered through it all.  I am very pleased with the results.  Many will be getting growth certificates in the next few days.

Amplify Science:

We have started a new unit- Vision and Light.  The children will be working on why the Tokay Geckos are decreasing in numbers in the Rain Forests.  They seem to be enjoying this topic.  We ended Electricity with a Kahoot tournament.  

Spelling Bee, Snow Globes and Vision Boards:

With the New Year well underway, the children have created Vision Boards.  They wrote dreams for themselves and drew pictures of where they see themselves this upcoming year.  

Two of our classmates also competed at the school level to qualify for the district Spelling Bee.  We were able to watch them virtually as the reading specialist, Ms. Gambardella, administered the words.

Our  character trait tree is filling up with quotes about Growth Mindset written on mittens.  The children found some great ones.

 Our Snow Globes are looking great in the hallway.  The children had some great strategies for staying calm.

Group Work:

The children have been working and collaborating  in groups.  The children have been placed in groups to work on Bolivia for International Night.  There are various topics that they will research and create tri- folds.  Some of the groups are Geography, Sports,Traditions, and Food of Bolivia.  This is going to be a great display and I hope that many of you will attend.

Reveal Math;

Our Ricas math practice will begin soon.  There are released items given out by RIDE for us to practice with.  We are also going to pick up with Unit 6 this upcoming week and the children should be practicing their multiplication tables at home.

The children have filled the STAR Jar again and will be rewarded some time this week.

Coming Up:

On Monday, I will be sending home a book project for the children to work on, mostly at home.  They will need to find a chapter book about a famous African American.  Once they find a book, I will need to approve it.  They will be writing an Expository Essay and creating a bottle buddy to go along with the person they choose.  I will have all the information sent to you.  The research/outline will be done during our ELA block, whenever time allows, however, the project itself, will be completed at home.