We started a new unit last week on Opinion Writing. Students are working on differentiating opinions versus facts. Sentence frames that we are using include: I feel, I think, I like, My favorite. In reading, students are working on Summarizing the Test; Include Sequence of Main Events. In math, students are learning about money: pennies and nickels; facts to 5; number writing; and numbers to 20.
We finished up our unit on making crystals today and everyone got to take home a borax snowflake crystal. We will begin our unit on Oceans and Ocean Animals this week. Late Openings and No School - I will be out tomorrow for a Professional Development training. Kristina Engstrom will be in to sub for me. On Wednesday, there is a two hour late opening, so students will begin the day at 10 a.m. There is no school for students next Friday, Jan. 30th.
I posted pictures on our classroom shutterfly account of Harper and Mosley who were knighted last week by Mr. Galati. Nancy, Gabriel's mom, is planning our class Valentine's Day Party, which will be held on Friday, Feb. 13th from 12:15-1:15. She has posted a volunteer sheet outside of our classroom where parents can sign up to bring items for the party and help out at the party. Students are welcome to bring in their Valentines to hand out beginning on Monday, Feb. 9th. I will give them time during explore each day that week to pass out Valentines. Cards can be store bought or home made. All candy/food items that are attached will come home and not be eaten at school. Please let me know if you have any questions! We will be celebrating our 100th Day of School on Friday, Feb. 20th. Students are encouraged to bring in 100 items that they can fit on their desk. In the past, students have brought in 100 origami paper creations, a book made with 100 drawings, 100 paper airplanes, 100 pennies, 100 legos... We have begun our science unit on crystals. So far, we have made salt crystals and baking soda crystals. This week, we will make borax snowflake crystals and briquette crystals. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday! It was a busy, first week in Kindergarten. We finished building boats and tested them out in a tub of water. Every boat floated! We then tested each boat to see how many dinosaurs it would hold before it sank. Students discussed why some boats worked better than others and the types of materials that seemed to work best. I will post more pictures on our shutterfly account. Students will take their boats home tomorrow, some are a little waterlogged, but students could try out their boats at home to see if they still float or add materials to make it better.
Last week I started assessments in preparation for report cards early next month. I love seeing the progress that students make between fall and now, it's amazing to see their growth in all areas! In writing, we have begun a new unit on informational writing. Students will continue to develop their skills around informational writing during this second teaching of the unit. Writers will:
This unit will continue the students’ exploration into informational writing about familiar topics. We did a winter art project on Monday with our fourth grade buddies. The projects are hanging outside of our classroom. Tomorrow, we will have Parent Led Art. There is no school next Monday, January 19th in observation of MLK Jr. I will be at a training on Tuesday, January 20th. |
AuthorThis is my sixth year teaching Kindergarten at a wonderful school in SE Portland. Archives
April 2016
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