And the countdown begins...

There is excitement in the air as students prepare for Winter Break...This is definitely a fun time of year...especially when the Redskins pull out two consecutive victories! :-)

Today, in math, we worked on using different strategies to solve division problems. There is a multiplication worksheet for homework. Also, make sure your child is practicing their flashcards EVERY night...they need to memorize the basic multiplication facts.

Good news, bad news...bad news was our art class was cancelled today ...the good news? We had extra time for reading instruction...

We began by reading and discussing an issue of Time for Kids. The students had two pieces of independent work that EVERYONE is responsible for completing this week...a prefix worksheet and a follow up for the Time for kids.

The Junie B. Jones group reread chapter 5 and wrote a summary of the chapter in their reading logs. These were MUCH improved from lat week...YEY!

The Flash group reread their Ships book and answered three comprehension questions in their reading logs.

The Fisherman JGB group discussed their directed notes. They also worked on answering a comprehension question, in their packet, using the post-it notes from their directed reading.

The Ugly Duckling group reread the story using post-it notes to mark places where the ducking was sad or scared (these were marked with an "s") and when the duckling was being treated in a mean way (these were marked with an "m").

Following lunch and recess, we reviewed the organization of writing to inform...primarily we discussed that every piece needs a beginning, middle and end. The beginning introduces the topic and has big ideas...this can be done by stating a generalization, introducing an interesting fact or posing a question. The middle includes all of the details. I told the children this is the place to show off their knowledge! Finally, the ending needs to wrap up the piece, let the reader know it is over...

We ended our day at the media center. Mrs. Rose read Snowflake Bentley to the class. Then they created snowflakes and got to shop for new books.

BTW...I changed the desks around AGAIN...I hated the rows that I had created last week!

Spelling is due Friday...make sure your child continues ton read for 15 minutes EVERY night!

Grandparents Day is Wednesday!