Kindness Counts!

The foundational guiding principal in our room is the golden rule.  We do unto others as we would have done unto us.  The golden rule provides the opportunity to practice this valuable skill daily.  I hope you are also enjoying the kindness calendar that went home as a focus for this month.  Our students also signed up for a collection share day.  This calendar went home this week as well.  

Our math focus is on subtraction.  We are working with and without the number line as a tool to help us subtract.  We are problem-solving, subtracting over decades and centuries as well as subtracting with single and multi-digit numbers.  This week we introduced an online tool called Dreambox.  We will use this interactive, individualized tool during our math and menu time.  As soon as I'm aware, I will let you know about at home use of this tool.

Word study groups are back in our routine.  We meet daily for 20 minutes to practice our word study skill and then reflect and quiz on Friday.

Our winter creative arts schedule started this week!  Our class was out cross country skiing on Tuesday, before the snow day!  Hopefully, it will be warm enough by Tuesday of this week that they can go out and cross country ski with our recent snowfall.  

We are writers!  Our class loves to write and they have a lot to feel proud about.  Our focus this week was on "how to" or procedural nonfiction writing.  During this unit, our students have learned to write non-fiction chapter, question/answer & procedural books.  During this upcoming week, we will focus on completing drafts, editing and revising.  

Our readers have reader's notebooks!  We are now recording book titles, authors and dates of the books we are reading.  We are also looking forward to writing about our reading in a variety of ways that will enhance our ability to think about and understand what we read.  

Flat Stanley!  Our current read aloud is Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown.  This character will help us begin our study of maps and the United States.  This weekend your child brought home a note about the possibility of sending a copy of Flat Stanley to a friend or relative that lives in another state.  Please return this note this week so we can coordinate our mailing.  

The following is an overview from Mrs. Wheeler and Ms. Bedell about our unit called Changing Perspectives:

Our school has chosen the theme of “Changing Perspectives” to help our students gain a better understanding of differences and disabilities. We are collaborating with Sam Drazin, Executive Director of Changing Perspectives { www.cpne.org} and former teacher. He will be presenting to all our students in grade level meetings on Friday 1/18. Each week, Mrs. Wheeler and her intern Ms. Bedell will be incorporating their curriculum into their weekly class time with us. They will read a book with our class and discuss the importance of the uniqueness and value of each member of our school community. While we will be learning about various disabilities, our focus will be on recognizing each person’s strengths. To celebrate our learning, we will be organizing a disability awareness hands-on workshop. We will set up stations to simulate various disabilities and invite students to experience daily activities without being able to see, walk, hear, or use their fingers. In first and second grades, each student will create a booklet to demonstrate their learning.

Thank you for all you do,
Jen Belisle