One Big Happy...Success!

Hello Everyone!
I hope you are having a pleasant weekend, despite the yucky weather! We've had a great week at school in Room 13. On Friday morning, the children presented their "One, Big Happy Family" play in the Zeh Cafetorium. It was a truly moving experience and there were many happy tears falling in the audience. I am amazed at how the students learned so many songs in such a short time! A special thanks to Mrs. Sherryl Stonebraker, our music teacher, for helping us to practice.

Waiting patiently...

One last practice...

After the performance, families were invited back to the classroom to view student work. Students shared their "Family Trees", "Family Brochures", and "Family Paragraphs & Portraits." They have worked extremely hard the past few weeks both in class and in the computer lab. A special thank you to Mr. Gervais, our technology specialist, for helping us with the brochures! Take a peek at the class family visit...

We have also started another project in writing this week. We are going to learn about signal words such as: first, next, then, after, and lastly. We will write about how to prepare a Thanksgiving Feast. We began the project by making our turkeys. Our next step will be to take the topic through the steps of the writing process and we will publish using the computer! I am excited to see this project completed. I am sure that they will be most entertaining!

First step: Color the turkey and the feet

Next, add a body and feathers.

Then, add the legs and the feet.

In reading, we are continuing with Corn is Maize. We have read the text and now we are using the text to answer different types of questions. We will also complete some new vocabulary activities.

Mrs. Remillard is also supporting our study of Native Americans by helping us with our research. Every Monday and Friday, we head to the library for a double-block of time (90 minutes) to read and research in small groups. Our four groups include: the Wampanoag, the Inuit, the Southwest tribes, and the Plains tribes. So far, we have explored location/climate, shelter, and food. The students are doing an amazing job gathering facts and developing their nonfiction literacy skills.

In math, we are just about to move into data/graphs. We will have an assessment on telling time and using the calendar this week. Data is a short unit designed to expose children to the different types of graphs and how to collect data. Place value will be our next major unit of study following data.

I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress during parent conferences this week. I will share assessments from early in the year and we can discuss plans for your child's academic success. This will not be a time to discuss the new changes made to the report card. Please address those concerns directly to Mrs. Whitten as they are district-wide changes.

Reminders:

1. 11/18- Half Day Parent Conferences
2. 11/20- Half Day Parent Conferences
3. 11/26- Half Day for Thanksgiving Break
4. 11/27-12/1 Thanksgiving Break and Professional Development Day for Teachers
5. 12/2- Students return to school.

Also, we are experiencing a severe pencil and glue stick shortage in our classroom! Please check with your child to see if he/she needs either of these items. You may also want to check to see if they need a new pencil sharpener or want mechanical pencils. It is advised that you have your child write his/her name on the items with a sharpie marker to keep them from getting lost.

We could also use some plastic spoons for snack time, if you have extras.

Thank you for your help!

-Mrs. JoAnne Gorham