McDonald's News

Class News!

First Grade-

In Math we will continue our unit on telling time as we learn to identify the time to the half hour.  We will use our Smart Board as we play "Watchdog", a time game.

Our vowel pattern this week is the sound of 'ee' as in the word 'see'. We will make a 'tree'  book filled with 'ee' words. The students will enjoy a book titled My Pet, Bobby. It's about a dog who has a boy for a pet. It will be fun to create a flip book describing the beginning, middle, and ending of this story.

Second Grade-

In Math we will use the skills we know about two digit addition as we learn how to add three digit numbers using regrouping. We will use our place value mats and base 10 manipulatives to learn why we need to sometimes regroup to add.

Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of 'oi' as in the words "oil" and "boy". We will read a book about boys and highlight many words containing this sound. We will read a book titled The Big Snow as we learn about making 'text-to-self' connections.

Third Grade-

We will begin our unit on measurement in Math. We will use rulers as we measure classroom objects to the nearest 1/4 inch. Our previous study of fractions should help us understand this concept. We will use the Smart Board to measure objects using a Smart Board ruler!

We have been reading the book Tonight On the Titanic. The children have been making text to text connections as they check out and read other nonfiction books about the Titanic from our media center. The children are also learning about informational writing as they have each chosen an animal from a Georgia habitat to research.

Happy New Year!

It's exciting to begin the year 2012! I hope my students are ready for a busy year of learning!

First Grade-
 We will be learning about fractions in Math. We are using play dough to make pretend cookies. Each child will make a 'whole' cookie and then cut it into half and then fourths.
Our vowel pattern this week is the sound of short "e". We will make a 'jet' book of  words in the 'et' family. Please continue to practice sight words at home with your child.

Second Grade-
 Our vowel pattern is the sound of 'ar' as in the word "art". We'll make a 'car' word wheel as we learn to read and spell 'ar' words. We will also learn about using nonfiction topics as we write.The children are excited about researching and writing about a favorite animal.

In Math we are learning about fractions. We read a book titled All About Fractions. It used everyday objects to explain how fractions work.  We'll  be using graham crackers to understand how fractions are parts of a whole. Please take this opportunity to talk with your child about fractions by using apples, oranges, and even pizza!

Third Grade-

We're excited about a new adventure in reading with Jack and Annie as we read the book Tonight on the Titanic. The students can't wait to begin reading this book! It's fun to see the children checking out other Magic Tree House Books from our media center. This is a great series to help the students develop a love for reading! Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of "or" as in the word "orange".

We are learning about fractions in Math. We will begin with fractions as parts of a whole. We'll read the book Apple Fractions. Each student will have a different type of apple and add a fraction of it to our mixing bowl. Who knows? We may end up with a 'whole' apple pie!

Happy Holidays!

".

At this special time of year: Follow the children. Hear the joy in their laughter. See the love in their eyes.  Feel the hope in their touch."

During this special holiday season, I want to thank you for the gift of your children. It is a pleasure to work with them each day and to watch them grow!  I wish you a peaceful holiday filled with the love of family and friends!

  Anne McDonald

Classroom News!

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 Third Grade -

 We have been working on geometry in Math. We are learning the meaning of vocabulary words, including polygons, quadrilaterals, vertices, angles, and so on, as we make all types of shapes and label them. We  read a story titled Math Fair Blues to help us make connections with shapes to our world.
  We have been reading Midnight On the Moon. As we compare this adventure with Jack and Annie to the other books we have read, we learned that the setting takes place in the future rather than the past. We made a response to literature by writing a letter to one of the characters about their experience in the 'moon buggy'.

Second Grade-
 We have been busy in Math with our Geometry unit. We have learned about plane shapes and their angles. We used geoboards to form the shapes with rubberbands. We also used manipulatives to combine shapes to make new shapes!
  Our vowel pattern is the sound of 'y' as in the word "happy". The students have been working very hard in using the patterns to read new words. We have also been learning about digraphs, bonus letters, and glued sounds as we use 'tapping' to read and spell words!
 We will be talking about a new strategy to help us comprehend what we read. Reading clues can help us recall details from a story through pictures and words. We will read The Surprise Snow and discuss the clues that help us remember parts of the story.

First Grade-
 We have learned the sounds of the short vowel sounds and now are learning to use them in our writing through spelling. We will read and spell new words with the sound of short 'e'. We will read a fiction story about a cat named Ginger who is looking for a home. We will make a story wheel to help us sequence the events into the beginning, middle, and ending of the story.
 In Math we have been working with shapes. We are learning about the corners and sides of many kinds of shapes. We will be tracing, cutting, and pasting shapes to create new designs!

Welcome Back!

   I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday spending time with family and friends!  I'm sure the children are ready to get back to school to visit with their friends and continue learning new skills in a fun way!

 Third Grade-
 We will complete our unit in division. We have used manipulatives to help us in understanding the concept of fair shares. Please continue to practice the multiplication facts at home. It is important for students to have a solid understanding of multiplication in order to relate this operation to division.  Encourage your child to sequence count by 2's, 3's, 4's and 5's and to retell the multiplication stories I have sent home with their flashcards. The students need this weekly review of their facts to commit them to memory.
 In Reading we will begin a new adventure with Jack and Annie as we read Midnight On the Moon. The students will discover that this adventure takes place in the future, unlike the previous chapter books we have read. We will continue to work on responding to literature during our writing workshop.  Our vowel pattern this week is the sound of /y/ as in the word 'fly'. We will read and spell many words that end in 'y' as we discover that 'y' can sometimes be a vowel.

Second Grade-

We have been learning how to tell time in math! We are talking about the minute hand and the hour hand as we identify the time to the hour, half hour and in five minute intervals. We have been using clocks, puzzles, games, and computer software to learn this new skill. As we complete this unit, we will begin a new study of shapes through geometry. We will continue with many hands-on activities as we learn about the many characteristics of the shapes in our world!

Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of 'oo' as in the word 'book'. We will make a 'foot' book of words in this word family. We will read a book titled The Great Race  and compare the two main characters in this fiction story.

First Grade- 

In Math we are learning about number patterns as we identify numbers to 100. We will use our hundreds board and number tiles as we order and compare many two digit numbers.

Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of short 'u' as in the word 'up'. We will make a 'pup' word wheel of short u words to read. We'll enjoy reading a book titile The Little Pup as we search for short 'u' words within this fiction story.

                            

Happy Thanksgiving!

    As I count my blessings at this time of year, I am always thankful for the opportunity to work with my students each day. I wish you and your families a very special Thanksgiving holiday!

Our News!

First Grade-

Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of short 'o'. We will have fun as we make a 'pot' of short o words and pictures. We will read a book titled Spot and then make a 'doghouse' to identify the beginning, middle, and ending of this book about a playful dog.

In Math we will continue subtracting facts from 12. We will learn to 'count back' using the number line and to 'count up' using counter cups. We'll have fun playing 'baseball subtraction' on our Smart Board.

Second Grade-

We have been busy making smart predictions during guided reading. One of the stories we will read is titled The Birthday Surprise. This book is filled with many opportunities to predict what event will happen next! Our vowel pattern is the sound of long o as in the word 'road'. We will make a 'boat' word wheel.

In Math we will use the Smart Board to create a Venn Diagram. We will compare a variety of shapes to organize the information into specific categories.

Third Grade-

We are off with Jack and Annie on another great adventure as we read the book titled Thanksgiving On Thursday. We will learn to draw conclusions as we  read this fiction book. Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of "oo"  as in the word 'smooth'. We will use this in our Fundations program as we read and spell new words.

We will complete our unit on multiplication this week. The children have enjoyed learning several new multiplication games on the Smart Board. The students have learned many new strategies to solve the multiplication facts. Please continue to practice these facts with your child and encourage them to retell the visual stories to you that are related to the more difficult facts.

Happy Fall!

 

 

Third Grade-

We are working on multiplication in Math. We have learned to use skip counting by 2's, 3's, 4's, and 5's to solve these facts. We are now learning to solve more difficult facts through a program called "Multiplication the Fun Way". The children will bring home cards and stories to relate to facts, such as 6x6, 7x8, 7x7, and so on. Please ask your child to share these with you. It's a fun way to learn our multiplication facts!

We will be exploring the traits of traditional literature as we learn about tall tales, fairy tales, and fables. We will read The Fox and the Crow and discuss the lesson learned from this fable.We have a great Smartboard activity related to the vocabulary in this story.  Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of short u. We use the vowel patterns to decode multisyllable words.

Second Grade-

In Language Arts our vowel pattern is the sound of 'long o' as in the word 'rope'. We will use magnetic letters tiles and manipulate sounds to build lots of long o words. In guided reading we will use descriptive words as we talk about the characters in our stories. We will create a "Wanted Poster" to describe the characters we read about.

We are learning how to regroup in subtraction. We will continue to practice this skill as we work with manipulatives, white boards, and the virtual manipulative site on our laptops. Ask your child about using a stoplight as a visual reminder to help remember the steps of regrouping. We learned about this using our Smartboard.

First Grade-

We will continue to work with addition facts through 12. We will begin to learn how to 'count on' to add facts . We will use a number line and our counters as we 'put the big number in our heads and then count on'.

We will continue working with the sound of short i as we learn to blend sounds to read and spell new words. We'll make a 'pig' word wheel if words in the 'ig' word family. The children will enjoy a special short i blending game on our Smartboard.

 

 

Conference Week

                              This week is conference week and I look forward to meeting with parents to discuss the many successes your child has experienced this school year. I encourage you to continue to challenge your child to practice reading and math skills each evening as you complete homework, review math facts, and read together!

 

First Grade-

We are working on addition facts to 12 in Math. We will learn the 'counting on' strategy to help us solve these facts. We'll use the number line and counters on the Smart Board to have fun learning this new skill!

Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of 'short i' as in the word 'sit'.  We'll make a 'sea of fish' containing short i words. The students will read a book titled I Want a Pet and sequence sentence strips to order the events of the story.

Second Grade-

We are working on two digit subtraction in Math. We are learning about regrouping and will play the game "Race to 100". It's a fun way to make trades in Math while thinking about regrouping.

Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of 'long i'. We'll make a 'slide' book of long i words. We will read the story titled Hand Me Downs as we learn about making connections to a piece of literature to help us remember what we read.

Third Grade-

We are working on multiplication in Math. We have learned to use skip counting by 2's, 3's, 4's, and 5's to solve these facts. Encourage your child to practice the multiplication facts at home.

Our vowel pattern of the week is the sound of 'oa' as in the word 'coat'. I am proud of the way my students are using these patterns to read and spell new words. We will begin a new adventure with Jack and Annie as we read Thanksgiving On Thursday.

What's New!

Second Grade-
The students have done a great job counting coins and bills. They have been using the Touch Money program as a strategy to work with money. We will complete this unit this week as the students have an opportunity to use a cash register and purchase items in our classroom store as a culminating performance task.
In Reading we will be working with both fiction and nonfiction books. We will read a set of 'pair-it' books titled A Surprise Trip to the Store and Count Your Money. The children will learn to make connections between the two books and how they relate to their world of money.
Our vowel pattern this week is the sound of /ea/ as in the word 'eat'. We will make a book of homophone pairs, including 'meet' and 'meat', 'see' and 'sea', as well as 'beet' and 'beat'.

Third Grade-
Wow! I am so proud of my third grade students! They worked very hard and tried their best as they completed the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. We are all ready to get back to our regular schedule and continue learning our third grade standards.
In Math we are discovering the meaning of multiplication by creating groups and making arrays. We are multiplying by 2 and 3 using the sequence counting strategy. Encourage your child to practice multiplication facts at home beginning with the 2's.
Our vowel pattern this week is the sound of long /o/ as in the word 'drove'. The students are beginning to recognize these spelling patterns in their everyday reading and writing.
In Reading we will read a book titled Fossils. We will create a flow map to help us in sequencing facts from a nonfiction book. We will also have the opportunity to pretend we are digging for fossils. The children will then write about their experience.