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Conferences I start parent-teacher conferences next week. If you are scheduled to meet with me next week I am sending home a reminder today with your child. I look forward to talking with you. Since I am conferencing over the next 2 weeks, bi-weekly behavior reports will not be sent home until the first week in December. W.O.W. Our words of the week were it, go, my, like & play. Our chunk was –it. If/when your child practices writing these words at home, please remind him/her to use lowercase letters when writing the WOW words. This will reinforce what I am teaching in the classroom. Thank you. J Science We had fun testing what materials a magnet was powerful enough to attract a paperclip through. We tested a magnet through water, a desk, a dictionary, and several other items. We also discussed the uses of magnets in the home. Your child is bringing home some homework related to this lesson. Please complete it with your child over the weekend and have your child return it by Monday. Thank you! Math This week in math, we learned about even and odd numbers. The children learned that even numbers end in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 and that odd numbers end in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9. They also saw how even numbered items can be divided into pairs and odd numbered items cannot. We also learned about patterns and practiced making simple patterns. Even/Odd Number Song (Sung to the tune of Happy Birthday) 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 Even numbers are really great! 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 Odd numbers are fine! Guided Reading During Guided Reading, we have been learning the comprehension strategy of making connections. As readers, we do many things to help us better comprehend what we are reading. When reading a book, we may make a text-to-text connection. A text-to-text connection occurs when you read a story and it reminds you of another story you have read. Knowing what happened in one story may give you insights to what may happen in another story. We made text-to-text connections last week using Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? This week we used the books Jam & Jelly by Holly & Nelly and A Chair for My Mother to make connections. The children also learned what schema is. Each of us has a different schema. Our schema is the things we know and the different experiences we have had. Our schema is what influences the connections we make when reading a story. Ask your child to sing this song (to the tune of Are You Sleeping?): Schema, schema Schema, schema What I know, Watch it grow. I can make connections, Meaningful connections. Text-to-text. Text-to text. Writing The children are really enjoying Writing Workshop. We have learned that writer’s write about things they know. We have also been working on stretching out unfamiliar words as we write. I have spent a lot of time teaching the children how to this and I am impressed with how well they are doing. Thanksgiving The children have begun learning about the history behind the Thanksgiving holiday. This week we learned who the Pilgrims were and what life was like or them. We compared our chores to the chores that Pilgrim children did. The children also learned that the Mayflower voyage was a difficult journey. Ask your child to share what s/he has learned so far. Have a great weekend! |