Reading: During the day students listen to books on CD and being read by the teacher. They have learned about inferencing this month. During Guided Reading I meet with small groups. Students read at their own pace while I listen in and guide them to solve unknown words using different reading strategies. All have a next step and we work on it together to forward their reading and comprehension skills. During this time the other students are busy learning at a variety of literacy centers. There is poetry on the Smart Board with different activities for them to do, read with a partner, working with words, word games, writing center, Word Wall activity and listening center. I will start a new center next week where students will use the computer to create a story using a voice recognition program.
Writing: Report writing is their focus. In groups they have wrote and shared information they have researched about habitats and an animal. They are learning how to use information from a text and rewrite it in their own words. They plan, write a rough copy, revise, edit and lastly write a good copy. Students use our "Word Wall' words and sounding out to help them write.
Math: Algebra is there new unit of study. They use manipulates such as double sided counters and cubes to learn. For example 5+2 =6+1 or 7+3 = 15-5. Quiz is Friday, April 2nd. Next they will move on to 2D and 3D shapes. Learning about number of edges and vertices. For 3D shapes they will also be able to count and name the faces of the shapes.
Science: Students are learning through hands-on activities about simple machines and how they help us. Also we are learning the positive and negative impact of simple machines on the environment. Quiz will be on Thursday April 8th. Science is also being explored during writing as they have picked an animal of their choice and they will write a report on it and during art they will make a diorama to show what they have learned. During computer time they will learn different programs where they can record their ideas creatively. This will be exciting and new learning for them. This is a long term project that takes their interests and builds on them. It is so great to see how excited they are about their learning.
Health: Students are learning about all aspects of being healthy such as how to eat a balanced meal with good nutrition. We use songs and videos to learn about minerals and vitamins found in healthy foods. Students learn how healthy living helps their bones, brains, muscles, skin, etc. With Physical Education, daily physical activity, outdoor play and Zoomba, students keep active as part of their healthy living plan. Please remember that during first break we promote healthy snack time. Thank you for your help with this.
Drama, Health, Art and Media Study combined: They have fun by acting out plays and they will create a commercial for a Media Study to promote healthy eating. First they will discuss and learn about the tricks of food advertising.
Art: They are exploring different art techniques as they create a spring picture using several art tools, some unconventional ones too. Ask your child what they used as art tools to create their picture.
Computers: Students are continuing to use technology to practice their typing skills to type a letter to Mrs. Hayes and to explore Tumble Books. They also have fun using Language and Math programs as they learn through play.
Social Studies, Physical Education and Music are taught by other wonderful teachers.