Beyond the Classroom Walls
It is so great to take our learning outside! Despite a few rainy moments this week, we were outside as much as we could be. Your child is welcome to bring sunglasses, a hat, and beach towel to school. They will keep these items in their backpack until they are needed for the outdoor classroom. Please remember to sunscreen your child in the mornings and have them dress in layers to easily adjust to the temps throughout the day.
Working and learning in our outdoor classroom space is such a special privilege! I heard a few students take note that not all classrooms get to do this, and that they wished they could stay here forever. Be still my teacher heart!! I wish I could keep them forever, too!
Sometimes, Mrs. Powell will teach a lesson inside, and then we will do our guided practice and independent work outside. Sometimes, we will do the entire lesson outside; it just depends! Soon, students will be enjoying their reading time outside as well during the "read to self" and "read to someone" stations. We can't wait!
We also use this area for play! When it is time for a brain break, we head outside. THANK YOU to the families that donated jump ropes, footballs, playground balls, frisbees, velcro catch games, etc. These are coming in super handy when we take breaks between lessons and activities.
MATH
We are nearing the end of our geometry and measurement unit. We have had lots of fun with shapes and measuring with non-standard units of measure. Our next unit will cover addition. We will be adding 2-digit numbers to a 1 digit number, and also adding two 2-digit numbers---both with regrouping and no regrouping.
Loving the creativity!!!
We continue to practice math fluency - which is more than just memorizing standard math facts. Much of the time, we are practicing our automaticity with various skills. If you have seen some of these fluency pages come home, you might be wondering what we are doing with them! It doesn't look like much, but Here are some examples of students in action practicing their automaticity with number recognition when the number is written as a numeral, words, and a picture.
This type of fluency practice involves subitizing. Subitizing is when students see numbers in a collection of dots or pictoral form. This is important for students to develop number sense. Through each round of fluency practice, students will visualize, look for smaller groups (part-part-whole), and quantify. If you have your child show you how we do these at school, you may see them "count all" - which takes awhile. However, with additional daily practice, your child will move to the stage where they automatically quantify the group of dots/pictures.
Reading
We ended our Fairy Tale unit with a fun STEM project where students worked in teams. The challenge was to construct something to deliver the golden eggs from Jack and The Beanstalk without climbing the beanstalk. So, how did they get the eggs from the top of the beanstalk to the ground without breaking the eggs? Check it out!
We also had a super fun day when Mrs. Powell's dog, Gigi, came to school for the day! Part of the reason Gigi could come to school was because of the persuasive writings students wrote to convince Mrs. Powell to bring her. They showed their understanding of persuasive writing by providing excellent reasons and examples in their writings. The other reason Gigi came to school was to have lunch with Elijah and 2 of his friends from winning the silent auction item from Fun Night!
As you can imagine, Gigi got a ton of attention and felt incredibly loved all day! She was exhausted when she got home, but looks forward to her next visit!
Oh, one more thing. We had a fun assembly that focused on the S.T.A.R student traits, and our friend Andrew got slimed!
Please check the Forest View Calendar and the calendar on the main page of our classroom website for important dates in May and June! Also, please remember to VOTE on MAY 8th - TUESDAY!!!!
