Happy Veterans' Day!

Despite the fact that we only had 3 school days this week, we were very productive!
A few notes before I get into our activities this week:

Recess
Please make sure your child brings a nice, warm jacket/coat for recess.  It is starting to get pretty chilly – and children won’t be able to go outside without an appropriate coat!

Meeting of the Eagles
You are all welcome to come to the next MOTE (November 23) to see students perform a special song - Toe Knee Chest Nut - with Miss Winters' Class!!  The Meeting starts at 9:30.  Hope to see you there! :)

Students have been asking me to post the link to Toe-Knee-Chest-Nut online so they can practice at home.  Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gESxPhlJbX0&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1

Math Lab
We are having a Math Lab next Thursday at 12:30.  If you would like to volunteer, please let me know!

Our Week in Review
READING
Due to the short week, I decided to skip ahead in our reading anthology to a shorter story - a Time for Kids selection titled, A Trip to the ER.  This week, we read stories all about doctors, emergency rooms, and hospitals.  Students had MANY stories to tell about personal experiences related to this topic.  It sounds like you have all spent more than enough time in emergency rooms!  Yikes!

The strategy we worked on this week was sequencing.  Students have been practicing retelling and creating/writing stories in order - beginning, middle, and end.  They have also been experimenting with the use of Time-Order words.  Time-Order words help sequence events and stories.  Some examples include:

First           Next          Then            Last
Second       After          Before         Soon
Later          Finally       Beginning     Middle
End            (and more!)


SPELLING
In spelling this week, most students learned about two other ways to spell the long A sound.  We already learned that a_e makes the long A sound, and now students know that ai and ay do as well. 

Students noticed that the long A sound in the middle of a word and/or syllable is usually made with ai.  The long A sound at the end of a word or syllable, however, is typically made with ay. Take a look:

     train          day
     chair          maybe
     maid          stray


GRAMMAR
Who knew there was so much to learn about nouns!  By now, students should know what a noun is (a person, place, thing or animal) and know that all complete sentences must have at least one noun.  They should also know that some nouns are common (everyday, ordinary) and some are proper (special, unique).  Common nouns begin with lower case letters, while proper nouns are capitalized - because they are special!
<>   <><>  <><>   <><>  <> <>   <><>   <><>  <><>  <>

Common nouns	Proper nouns
boy	Joey
cat	Mittens
school	Elmwood School

WRITING

This week, students were introduced to the concept of a Writer's Notebook.  A Writer's Notebook is a place in which an individual can write his/her ideas, thoughts, feelings, and stories!  Each student is now using his/her composition notebook as a Writer's Notebook and I'm excited to see what they will do with it!

Later in the week, students were introduced to similes with my favorite childhood story, I'm as Quick as a Cricket, by Audrey and Don Wood.

After reading the story, students were "invited" to try to use one in their writing.  Here are a few of their ideas:

 snoring as loud as a chainsaw

 scared as a mouse

 fast as lightning

Aren’t you impressed??  (I am!) 

MATH
As mentioned last week, Unit 3 begins by reviewing and expanding upon some basic math concepts, including place value, time, and money.  This week, we focused primarily on time and money.

Time – I have noticed that some children still “mix up” the hour and minute hands on the analog clock.  With all the digital clocks everywhere (on the microwave, in the car, etc.), it’s hard for students to understand why they need to learn how to tell time on an analog clock.  Please encourage them to use an analog clock whenever possible! (A watch is a great gift idea…) J

Money – At this point in their academic careers, students should be able to quickly and accurately identify coins (front and back) and their values.  Students should also be comfortable with combining coins and determining the total values.  The only way to solidify this understanding is through practice! I will continue working with money here at school … and it would be great if you do the same at home!

No Mystery Reader this week (since we didn't have school on Friday!)