Shabbat Shalom

Reading

This week, the students have been thinking about who is telling their stories and the perspective of that character. For example, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs is told from the wolf’s point of view, so of course, he thinks he is innocent! The students had fabulous theater manners when we saw this play on Tuesday!

Spelling

This week the students studied words containing the long “u” or “ew” sound. We have been calling this phonics pattern the “yuckies” because all of the words say “ew!” This is a difficult pattern, with words like cruise, shoot, group, and blew, so we will review reading and spelling these words throughout the year. Next week, the students will study words containing “th” and “ch.”

Vocabulary

This week’s words are beach, center, finally, idea, ocean, seashell, stack, tiny, wave, and wonder. The students have the opportunity to study the multiple meanings of words like wave.

Writing

The students have continued working on identifying nouns (people, places, or things) and verbs (action words.) They are also learning how to capitalize the names of people, days of the week, months, and holidays.

The students have been writing stories from their lives that they are filling with interesting details! This week the students wrote about playdates, a new puppy, a kickball game, and Thanksgiving with their families!

Math

Unit four of our Everyday Math curriculum focuses on estimation and adding two-digit numbers. The students have practiced making “ballpark estimates” where they are looking for a close but easier to use number. For example, to estimate the total of 38 + 73, the students can use 40 + 70. This way when they solve the problem for real, they know they should have an answer near 110. The students are also working on an addition strategy called the partial sums algorithm. This fancy name simply means you add the tens, then you add the ones, then you add it all together. For example, 38 +73 becomes:

30 + 70 = 100

8 + 3 = 11

100 + 11 = 111

Project Based Learning- Science

Wow! You should hear how much this class knows about natural resources! After two weeks of research (using most of the natural resource books from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system 🙂 ) the students have written the script to their Natural News show. The race is on to practice their lines and record their scenes so that the show will be completed before winter break!