Week of December 7, 2009

December is going fast--Volunteer requests abound! Please let me know if you can help with any of the following:
~~ Support our young producers & cashiers next Tuesday morning, 12/15, at our Kindness Market is a week from tomorrow!
~~ Supervise a math station (I’ll have the materials & lesson prepared for you) this Friday afternoon, (12/11) from 1: 15 – 2:30.
~~ Help with our Holiday Party on Friday, 12/18, from 1:10 – 2:50. Each student follows a recipe to make his/her potato latke from scratch, so about 3 adults are needed at that station; there are 3 other stations as well, including a Dreidel game.
~~ Buy the supplies for our Holiday party.
~~ Do you have ½ to 1 hour a week to help us (by giving praise & reminders, for keeping fingers in the correct typing position) in the Computer lab ?

Regarding our Kindness Market: Please help your child decide how much their crafts will be sold for and how they will display them. Their desks tops will be the selling area for most students. Please continue to help your child count money and make change at home. We are suspending our Mad Minutes math packets for the next few weeks to concentrate on counting money. A math money packet is coming home for all to do in place of the Mad Minute.

Our final Camouflage selection is “Animal Camouflage” This well-written expository text, with wonderful photographs, gives new information on camouflage as well reviewing what we’ve already learned in our camouflage, or “Look Again” unit. As we read this text, we will summarize, make connections & identify the main idea of each paragraph or section. The vocabulary words are: blend, marsh, mimicry, costume, surroundings. Our spelling words all have the long /o/ sound, spelled in different ways. The spelling workbook gives good practice with the suffixes -er, -est.

Writing Celebration! In the “Author’s Chair” each students will read his/her best writing of the fall to the class.

Math Unit 4 is on developing strategies to do more complex addition and subtraction in our heads. The attached newsletter explains this well, and shows some excellent diagrams to help students organize their thinking, and visualize how to solve math word problems. You can reinforce what your child is learning in school by prompting him/her to use these strategies & tools at home. Also, please do not teach your child how to do pencil & paper vertical addition/subtraction of 2-digit numbers. In this unit your child will be learning other more concrete, 2nd grade level of thinking & understanding as s/he works with these bigger numbers (eg. tally marks, the 100 chart).
In Social Studies we continue our “People at Work” reading, learning about the difference between goods & services. At home, see if you can explain your work to your child – do you produce goods, or provide services?
We finish up our science study of rocks & soil this week by exploring our compost, as well as 3 different kinds of soil: loam, clay & humus.
Homework
Due any day this week: Book report: bring in the book and a creative project related to the book; using either the fiction or nonfiction story map as a guide, tell us about the book, and why you liked it (for further information, see my webpage). As you prepare for your Book Report, you may find it helpful to refer to the story maps & assessment of your last book report that are coming home today. Practice your book report summary at home. “Are you loud, proud and looking at the crowd?”
Daily: practice making change, in preparation for the Kindness Market, Home Link as needed, read aloud for 20 minutes and fill in your Book It calendar; practice your spelling & vocabulary words; use the vocabulary words in your conversations!
Due Wednesday: Go outside & gather these things to bring to school for making soil: sticks, leaves, pebbles, bark, roots! Also bring your library book; Spelling workbook, pages 62-65 (many students used their time well in class today, and were able to finish the spelling book)
For Friday: spelling test, & abbreviated reading/vocabulary test; Math-a-thon participation form due for extra math work/fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hosp.
Due next Monday: money (math) packet
Coming… Tuesday, Dec. 15: Kindness Market--have your home-made, non-food, goods here ready to sell by 8 AM.
Wed, Dec. 16 – Camouflage unit vocabulary test
Also coming home today: spelling words, coin math packet; Camouflage vocabulary & definitions; also I’m returning your story maps & book report feedback;
The first trimester report card will come home on Friday.
More opportunities for Kindness – If you are able, bring in non-perishable food items or cash for Longfellow’s Drive to help care for hungry people.
Winter has begun, bringing more opportunities for fun, as well as flu! Sitting in class in cold, wet pants, socks & shoes is an invitation for all those germs. For snow play, winter boots are needed. For more fun, wear snowpants! Don’t forget mittens & hats.