Pumpkins, Pumpkins Oh My!

This week, pumpkin faces filled our halls dressed as some of our all-time favorite characters as well as some brand new ones too!  It was amazing to see such variety and creativity.  Believe me when I say...I could not believe my eyes!  The children should be so proud.  ​

In Language Arts...

• This week's genre focus was on traditional literature, particularly fables.  Students learned that fables are short stories, alway teach a valuable life lesson, and most times will have animals as main characters.  Students learned about Aesop fables.  We read The Fox and the Crane.  Majority of the children identified the moral as "treat others the way you want to be treated."  While this was a very fitting author's message we also talked about the following version of that message: He who plays a trick on someone, should expect to be tricked in return.  We also talked about other famous fables like The Tortoise and the Hare and The Lion and the Mouse. ​​

• After taking the children through the thought process of comparing and contrasting two versions of the same story using The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Wolf Wolf!, students did some practice on their own!  They used the classic folktale The Three Little Pigs and compared it with an Italian version called The Three Geese.  We talked about comparing key details.  Key details may be basic story elements such as characters, setting, and problem & solution or key details may also be more complex events that deal with the development of the story.  Something insignificant to the development of the story, would not be considered a key detail.   ​​

• In writing, we reviewed the writing process and created our very own anchor chart that will helps us throughout any future writing endeavors.

• Students learned about the following suffixes: ly- means "in a way that is" and -ful means "full of."  We practiced using these suffixes to create new words and talked about how words change when adding them.  
• We finished are read aloud War with Grandpa and have started reading the classic Bunnicula by James Howe just in time for Halloween.  

In math...

• Students wrote addition and subtraction equations to form fact families.  Students used math stories to help them understand the relationship between the equations.  
• Using non-standard units of measure such as connecting cubes, students practiced various measuring skills.  They learned that the unit needs to line up with one edge of the object, you measure to the nearest whole unit, there should be no gaps between each unit, and the units should be the same size.  For example if you're measuring using cubes, all cubes should be the same size: a pencil is 6 - 1 inch paper clips long.  
• After learning about non-standard units of measure, students were introduced to standard units of measure.  We talked about why using this common language of standard units of measure, such as inches, are important.  When you buy a piece of lumber from the store or need to get a suit tailored to your size, we use customary standard units of measure.
• Students practiced using their rulers to measure objects around the classroom in inches and in feet.  They learned to align the first scale on the ruler with the starting point of the object.  
• Then students compared lengths of objects using keywords like difference and how many more.

REMINDERS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

• There will be early release at 1:05pm everyday until Thursday the 10/31 to accommodate Parent teacher conferences.  Wednesday will remain the same 12:52 dismissal.
• There is a Costume Parade in which your child can participate in on 10/31.  Click here for costume guidelines.
• 1-minute Oral Fluency starts this week.  Please time your child for 1 minute as they read the passage.  Log down how many words they read correctly.  Repeat this everyday until Thursday.  After the 1-min is up let them read to the end for their own benefit.  
• No School on Friday 11/1 due to teacher professional day.