Keeping Up With Kindergarten
It was another busy couple of weeks here in K! We have finished up our math unit on sorting. We talked about different items we sort in our daily lives and different ways to sort them. We sorted pattern blocks, snap cubes, buttons, erasers and other objects in our classroom. We sorted them by color, size, count and many other ways. This week we began our unit on shapes. So far, students are loving the shape poems. They have met “Suzie Circle,” “Tommy Triangle” and many more! The students are making connections to our last chapter by recognizing the shapes and sorting them by sides and vertices! They are quite the mathematicians!
In Mrs. Lakeway’s Reading and Writing Workshop, we have focused on Retelling. Students have talked about familiar stories and retold them by using the pictures and from their memories. Then they spent their independent reading time retelling the stories in their book boxes. We even wrote some of our “Retells” down during Writer’s Workshop. We began using transition words such as “first, next, then & last.”
Ms. Staruch’s class did a close read of the bookThe Little House. We discussed the characters, settings, and events in the story. We also discussed and wrote about concepts such as “then” and “now”, the four seasons, and the country vs. the city. We were all so happy that the story had a happy ending and the little house was brought back to the country!
This Week’s/Last Week’s Sight Words: Went, up, down, jump, run, go
This Week’s/Last Week’s Fundations letters: lowercase v, w, x & y
Learning and Fun in Grade One!
It’s all about the baseword, the baseword in Fundations!! Students learned what a baseword and suffix are in words. Knowing the baseword makes it much easier to spell when a suffix is added. Tricks words for this week were: who, what, when.
In Math, we completed up our unit on addition strategies. This past week’s strategies were: making 10 to add, adding in any order, and adding three numbers. Please continue to practice your math facts/doubles at home. Our next unit is Subtraction Strategies to 20.
In writing, the children wrote independently about a special time or special birthday they experienced. These pieces will be shared with you during Parent/Teacher conferences.
Last Friday was Fifties Day, everyone was “Rockin Around the Clock”. We had lots of fun “50’s” activities along with listening and dancing to the “50’s” music. Everyone looked great and we appreciate your support in all we do. Loved the poodle skirts, Pink Ladies, slicked back hair, t-shirts and leather jackets!!! Our classes looked just like a scene from “Grease”!!
As we approach Thanksgiving of 2019, everyone has much to be thankful for, especially Mrs. David and Mrs. Keenan who wish to thank all the parents for sharing their wonderful children with us each and every day! Enjoy, rest, and relax this holiday with family and friends and don’t eat too much turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
What's New in Grade Two
This week we took an ELA adventure with superheroes!
We read different books, watched a short video, and identified all the components of a strong superhero story.
We talked about everyday characters that transform into superheroes, the setting, special powers, villains, problems, and solutions.
In addition, we talked about sequencing events to lead up to the "happily ever after" solution.
With the aid of an organizer, we started to map out/create a timeline for us to use as we develop our sensational superhero stories!
In math, we are working on double digit addition with and without regrouping.
Also, we are learning different ways to "show our thinking" when we problem solve. We have been working on xtramath.org and zearn.org
on the Chromebooks, as well. Please remind your second grader to practice their addition and subtraction facts daily.
In order to solve more complex problems, these facts need to be mastered.
As always, thank you for all your do at home!
We hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving!
Thrills in Third
We have been very busy in 3rd grade. In math, we celebrated the end of the trimester with a culminating project to practice our addition and multiplication skills. Students planned an entire Thanksgiving dinner and calculated how much it would cost. They even got to create what their meal would look like. In writing, we continued to practice continuing a narrative story. We ended the week with our Trimester 1 writing assessment. Reading time was spent reviewing all the skills we learned this trimester and working on a character traits escape room. Ask your child if they were able to crack all the codes and escape! In science, we wrapped up our study of how muscles and joints help our bodies move. A notice went home recently about our upcoming “Holidays Around the World” unit. We are in need of some materials in order to make this as enjoyable as possible for the children. We will be sending out an email with directions to sign up if you are able to donate any of the items. Thank you in advance and have a wonderful weekend!
Learning More in Grade 4
This week Mrs. Grace came back after recovering from surgery. She was so glad to be back and see all of the kids! Miss Chabot did an amazing job watching them while she was gone, and it was really appreciated.
This week the children continued to learn how to multiply bigger numbers by multiples of 10. They will be learning more about this process next week. It is crucial that they know their basic facts as we move on to multiplying and dividing bigger numbers!
The students have been reading a book called Sarah, Plain and Tall together this week. They have also been making notes about the characters and making predictions about what will happen next. It’s amazing how excited they can get about a historical fiction classic! We have also been perfecting their use of the RACE strategy to answer bigger reading questions. Ask them what this stands for!
We are coming to the end of this trimester. On Thursday, December 5, we will be having Parent- Teacher Conferences. If you have not signed up yet, you can access an app called “Sign Up Genius” using the links below! Once you have opened up your teacher’s link, check the available time slots, choose the sign up button next to your preferred time, and then click submit and sign up at the bottom of the page. You can then enter your child’s name, and you will be signed up! We are looking forward to sharing your child’s progress with you!
Conferences for Mrs. Grace- https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050d45acad28a3f94-parent
Conferences for Mrs. LaChapelle-
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040d4bacad2ea3fd0-mrs
The Fabulous Five
In reading workshop, we have begun our Nonfiction Unit. As we explored some nonfiction texts, we discussed how nonfiction reading can change you. Also, while reading several nonfiction articles in class, we learned that the world is resource rich, so as readers of informational text we need to be resource hungry. We want our students to understand that they can be an expert on something and we can be changed by what we read and learn. As we move through more complex text in the unit, we will learn strategies such as reading for the gist, Source, “T”itle, Author, right verb, topic (S”T”Art), carefully sifting the information we absorb, and getting to the heart of what the text is about.
In our new unit on decimals, the students continued to work with the concept of rounding numbers as they explored rounding decimals. They applied their prior knowledge to estimate sums and differences. The students also learned to add and subtract decimals that occur in real-world situations using the standard algorithm. In practicing this skill, the students realized that a strong understanding of place-value positions is necessary when adding and subtracting decimals in order to appropriately line up the numbers and arrive at a correct answer.
We wish our families a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you enjoy your time spent with family and friends!
Winsor Music Makers
Winsor students blew us away during our Veteran’s Day Assembly a few weeks ago. When an unexpected technical difficulty resulted in the students singing their patriotic songs a capella, our Winsor Wildcats showed how responsible and ready they were when presented with a problem. Even without the background music, the students’ voices were highlighted, and rang throughout the building. I am so proud of their tenacity and ability to be flexible! It doesn’t get much better than when our school is filled with beautiful singing! A reminder for all fifth grade parents and family members: Fifth graders will be performing at the RI State House on Wednesday, December 4th at 11:30 am as part of their holiday performance series. Any and all family members are welcome to meet us at the State House to watch our performance. The fifth graders are sounding wonderful, and I can’t wait to hear them on the staircase in the State House!
Food Drive With National Honor Society
Judging by the pictures below, the canned food drive to support those in need during this Thanksgiving season was a huge success. Thank you to our families for helping our community members. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for being our partners in education. Have a wonderful weekend.