Finding An Appetite for Fractions

It's amazing what you can fit into 4 days and a 2hr delay! :)

This week, our focus in math was on fractions, and we had quite the "appetite" for it!

 

 

We used pizzas to discuss parts of a whole.  There's a great video for that (and for parts of a set) on our math wiki site (link on our webpage) that we watched.  Students then created an order for pizza and "made it", complete with box! 

After reading a great book called The Lion's Share, we also made pies for different kinds of animals. Students then cut their pies into the number of pieces so that each animal could get one slice and created a fraction.

 

Today, we discussed parts of a set and used doughnuts (a whole dozen!) as an example, creating an order and making the doughnuts.

 

Quite the "Fraction Foodcourt"!

We also spent time in our garden today, planting and dreaming of the time when we'll be able to taste our harvest!

 

 

In addition, we did an egg hunt, where students had to follow directions to find their eggs (face north, take 3 steps, turn south, etc.).  We also tried to help a bunny find his friend following similar directions, but it seemed to be a bit harder on paper than real life!

  

I want to wish everyone a happy, fun, and safe Spring Break and Easter!  See you in a week! :)

A Lot of Green!

With St. Patrick's Day and our plants unit, we've seen a lot of green in our classroom lately!

Last week, students wrote to the leprechaun using correct friendly letter format in order to avoid our room being "trashed" by the leprechaun.  It worked!  He left students a treasure hunt where they had to solve math problems in order to get to the "pot of gold" (clover stickers and Rolos!). 

We've also been finishing up our plant unit by decorating our window with lima bean seeds.  We're hoping to see them sprout soon and watch how the roots develop.  I just hope the cold weather lately hasn't put our seeds back to sleep!  We've also been getting our school garden ready to plant!  Check out what we learned about soil and earthworms!

Here are a few other things we've been up to:

Please make sure to send in books for our book exchange (thank you to the parents who already have!).  Stay warm and I hope we're able to avoid our early spring/late winter storm! :(

A Few Famous Americans....Including Dr. Seuss!

What a great week!  We started the week finishing our animal unit and students created a "graffiti wall" using a "mind dump."  What exactly does that mean?  It means they took all the information from their mind about animals, life cycles, habitats, and adaptations and drew pictures and wrote information on bulletin board paper!  It was a fun way to review and brought out the students' creative side!

In the past couple of weeks, we've also finished contractions and sent a shout out to the end of winter with a snowball fight and Valentine's Day.

This week, we also shared our Famous American projects.  We had 9 Jackie Robinsons (!), 4 Helen Kellers, a Billie Holiday (and we listened to her music as well!), Albert Einstein, Morgan Garrett (inventor of the traffic signal), Thomas Edison, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Harriet Tubman.  I loved the variety of people we learned about!

We also celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday with activities all week, including wockets in our pockets, making our own green eggs and ham poetry, what we would say to Horton if we were a Who, and creating a hat using a glyph about what we like to read!

Next week, we will be starting our plant unit (life cycle, parts, uses, and erosion) as well as our friendly letter unit.  It's also back to the homework packets!  Please make sure to keep practicing those math facts with your child, as well as telling time and counting money!  These are basic skills students need to master before third grade! ;)

Building Contractions and Famous Americans Project

This week, we've been focusing on contractions.  A fun way to do this and learn just how to combine the two words with a contraction was this activity.  We called it "Building Contractions."  We spelled out the two words, then had a "bossy apostrophe" tell certain letters to "sit down" and he/she took their cards, then put the apostrophe in that place.  It really helped students visualize exactly how contractions work!

For the next several weeks, homework will be the "Famous American Project."  A letter will be going home on Monday in the homework folder that gives more details about the project, as well as a "how to" sheet and a rubric.

Students may choose any famous American - not just the ones we studied - for the project.  It can be someone modern or from the past.  Below are pictures from some of last year's projects to give you an idea!  Please email or write a note if you have any questions on your child's choice.  I will try to help them narrow it down this coming week in class.

Last Week of January - Hello Mr. Groundhog!

Hard to believe it's the last week in January - make that WAS the last week!  (Today being February 1st).  Well, with two 2 hr delay days to start and end our week, we crammed a lot of things in!

Monday, we discovered fossils......

Tuesday, we got to explore different states (and one country!) as part of the Gingerbread Project!

 Wednesday was the 100th Day of School.....

We studied the Northern Lights on Thursday.....

Friday, we predicted whether the Groundhog will see his shadow or not on Saturday! (We'll check our predictions on Monday).

Can't wait to see what next week holds! :)

There's S'now Weather Like This!

Crazy week, huh?

After losing last Friday, then losing Thursday and this Friday....AND with 60 degree weather on the way next week - it's definitely January in Virginia! :)

We studied abbreviations this week and students had fun playing games such as "I Have/Who Has," "Call Out" and sorting with fish and penguins.

We are continuing our polar unit and have moved from Antarctica to up north and the Arctic Circle.  We'll compare the two habitats, as well as the animals from each one.  We're saving all of our work we've done so far and will put it in a book for our Polar Studies!  Students will also be exploring ice floes, northern lights (aurora), mapping skills, temperature, and animal adaptations (such as blubber keeping animals warm).  The class is really enjoying what we've done so far in this unit!

Another exciting development that, unfortunately, needs to wait until next week:  our Gingerbread Project!  We've received some of them back, and will be looking at the 10 other states (as well as Bermuda) who have sent us their gingerbread!

Check out a picture of one of our 'men below!  Students had fun learning more about our state as much as decorating!

Hope you and yours are staying safe this wintry weather.  I'm sure you're like me and you're looking forward to a little 60 degree treat! :)

Diversity In Our World

Our study this week focused on Diversity - how we are all different, but united as citizens.  After we spent a few days looking at that concept, the other part of the standard is to look at how we, as citizens, choose our leaders.  Students had a blast "voting" for both state and local offices.  Did you see the nametags students wore home?  They were so proud of their positions!  I also stressed how most of the power is put in the hands of the everyday voter!  Don't like the job your representative is doing?  Don't elect them again!  They liked that idea - the power of choice!

We also got back into the swing of things here at school.  We began reviewing skip counting by using pennies, nickels, and dimes and even learned that if you don't have a "buddy" you might be an "odd number"!

In Reading, we started focusing on nonfiction and in particular, biographies.  We read about famous Virginians, such as Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, as well as important pioneers such as Ruth Law, Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, and Ruby Bridges!

Next week, our Science unit will focus on animal habitats.  I'm incorporating a "Polar Unit" across different areas of the curriculum.  I'm excited about some of the activities I have planned for students!  Please be sure to read the weekly homework/announcements for more details!

Have a great weekend! :)