Weekly Photos Here
UOI, How the World Works is in official motion. The students played charades acting out the two forces that make machines do what they do. These two important forces are push and pull. Students acted out brushing hair, kicking a ball, ripping a piece of paper, and so much more. Push and pull are why machines have been created, to make things easier for humans. The simple machines we will be learning about are wheel and axle, levers, pulleys, inclined planes, and wedges. What in your house uses these simple machines? How do theses machines make your life easier? Talk to your children about this to better help their understanding.
In English this week we began looking at procedural writing. Knowing how to give directions is one thing, but being able to write down step by step directions is important when explaining how something works. We began with the simple task of how to make a jam sandwich. Ms. Cora brought in all the ingredients and made a jam sandwich for the students in class. The end result was the students writing their own step by step directions on how to make the sandwich. We will continue this next week by learning the directions on how to brush their teeth. After practicing this skill the students will choose any topic they want to write directions about. Examples of this are how to make a paper airplane, how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, how to bake a cake, how to play a game, and whatever they choose. Ask your child what they plan on writing about.
This week in math we really focused on subtraction with double and triple digits without borrowing. We looked at the standard method, using base ten blocks, using hundreds charts, using our fingers and the expanded notation method. It is important for students to learn what method works best for them. When I check for understanding I want the students to use the method or methods they feel most comfortable with to get the best results for them individually.
Next week we will continue to dive deep into simple machines. We will take a closer look at those machines by doing a walkabout around the school. We will find school equipment that uses these machines, so students see real world examples of them at work. We will study an assortment of these simple machines up close and students will describe these tools that use the wheel and axle, lever, pulley, inclined plane, or wedge.
In English we will continue procedural writing. For our 6+1 Traits of Writing we are still looking at organization, which is perfect when learning about procedural writing. Our focus will be grouping together ideas and details. For phonics we have and will continue practicing our spelling with all the knowledge we have learned. These items include suffixes; ed, ing, est, er, ies, es, and s. Vowel teams included are ai, ay, ee, ey, ea, oi, oy, oa, oe, ow, ou, ue, ew, and oo. Digraphs included are ch, sh, ck, wh, and th. An last but not least the glued exceptions are all, am, an, ank, ink, onk, unk, ang, ing, ong, ung, ild, old, ind, olt, and ost, Students should be familiar with all these sounds and their spellings. Soon the last two vowel teams of second grade will be introduced, the au and aw sound.
In math we will continue with subtraction, place value, and addition. For subtraction and addition we will show the relationship of them being the opposite and you can check your work by doing the opposite. A simple example of this is 5-3=2 so 3+2=5. This will help students when checking their work. When using big numbers this skill will definitely come in handy. Place value is still and will continue to be discussed as it is important when learning all math skills. When adding or subtracting with regrouping the understanding of place value is what makes the concept easier to grasp. Please ask your children about place value and what they know about it.
IMPORTANT DATES!!!
Tuesday, April 22nd Book Swap
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week Student Led Conferences