Video of the Week

Study Jams: Solids,Liquids, and Gases

Weekly News May 23-27, 2016

Homework: Continue to work on your timeline homework. This assignment will be due June 3rd. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Please send your child to school with a water bottle. Is is easier for the students to get drinks than to have to leave the room.

Sing and Swing is on Thursday at 2:00.

Language Arts: We will work with oo/oo words in our word work. Our opinion writing focus continues. We will begin to focus on informative writing later this week.

Mathematics: We will begin chapter 18 on lines and surfaces. Please see the School to Home connection sheet.

Cursive: We will finish our kite string letters.

Science: We will work solids this week. Students will learn about the vocabulary words that are used to describe solid materials. These words include flexible, rigid, smooth, rough, soft, hard, colored pointed, flat, transparent, opaque and translucent.

 Ways you can help at home: Read and talk about the most important part in the story and why you think that was the most important. Look for oo/oo words. Identify solid materials. Describe the characteristics that make it a solid.

 

•

Weekly News May 9-13, 2016

Homework: Please see the timeline homework. This assignment will be due June 3rd. Your support is greatly appreciated for this project. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Language Arts: We will be working with au/aw words in our word work.  The children are having fun showing their learning of the continents. In writing we will continue our opinion work. We will also start a piece on where is a fun place to go in Shrewsbury. 

Mathematics: We are working on chapter 17 on graphs and line plots this week. Please read the School to Home Connection on this chapter. The students will be answering questions about picture graphs and will be creating picture graphs. Students will learn that reading the key to find out how much the symbol is worth is very important.

Social Studies: Students will continue to work together to make a project that helps others learn about the continent they studied. We will begin to study timelines.

Science:  The students really enjoyed the presentation from the Museum of Science on the states of matter. Hopefully you saw on your child’s reflection what their learned from the program.

Cursive: We are working on our kite string letters.

 Ways you can help at home: Show your child graphs that you find as you are reading. Together create a picture graph of your child’s toys or crafts. Look for au/aw words in books. Begin to look through pictures or talk about important dates in your child’s life for the timeline project. Write an opinion piece with your child. Talk about the reasons for your opinion on various topics. Ask your child to give you his or her opinion and the reasons why he or she feels that way.

Weekly News May 2-6, 2016

Homework: Our writing homework is due by this Friday. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Reminder: Tuesday is an early release day. We dismiss at 12:15. Please send in a healthy snack for your child.

Language Arts: We will be working with oi/oy words in our word work. We will be working on ways to share what we know about the continents. Opinion writing continues this week. Last week we worked on whether we thought children should have a set bedtime or not. We will be writing about a celebrity that we would like to have lunch with and why. We will also start a piece on where is a fun place to go in Shrewsbury.

Mathematics: We will be reviewing A.M. and P.M. We are also working with elapsed time. Students are working on knowing how to read a time on a clock and know what time is an hour (half hour) before or after this time. Also they will do problems like it is 2:00. 1:30 is ______ minutes before or after. The elapsed time is only expected to be known at a conceptual level. We will be taking the test on time on Wednesday. We will begin chapter 17 on graphs and line plots.

Social Studies: Students will be working together to make a project that helps others learn about the continent they studied.

Science:  We have a States of Matter presentation from the Museum of Science on Friday.

Cursive: We are working on our kite string letters.

 Ways you can help at home: Have your child practice reading his/her writing assignment out loud to you. Practice using expression, speaking loud enough and reading not too fast or not to slow. Look for oi and oy words as you read. Look for sight words that your child could practice. After you read a book together talk about your opinion of the book and back the opinion up with reasons and examples from the text. Talk about AM and PM as you go through the day. Have your child read times from an analog clock and then say what time was an hour (half hour) earlier and what was an hour (half hour) later.

Weekly News April 25-29, 2016

Homework: We are in week three of our writing homework. This assignment is due Friday, May 6th.  The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Language Arts: We will be working with more r controlled vowels. We will continue to practice ir, er, and ur words. We will be reading about Europe for our continent study. We will work on identifying cause and effect relationships as we read our Scholastic News article on Penguin Protectors. We will read and discuss our school’s book of the month I’m Here. This will be reviewed in our All school Meeting on Friday. In writing we will be working on opinion writing for the next several weeks. We will begin by reviewing what we remember about this genre.

Mathematics: The boys and girls did a fantastic job on their measurement test. They will be coming home this week. Please sign and return your test. We will begin chapter 14 on time. Please see the School to Home Connection Letter for this chapter.

Social Studies: Before break students read about one of the following continents: Asia, Africa, South America and Australia. They completed a study guide to help them focus on key features of the continent. Students will be sharing what they learned. We will continue to read and explore this week. We will all be studying Europe.

Cursive: We are working on our kite string letters.

 Ways you can help at home: Read a fiction book with your child that has a setting in another continent. Talk about the special features from place. Practice telling time with your child. Have  your child read analogue clocks and express the time different ways. For example, ten minutes after eight and 8:10. Have your child write the time in words and in digits. Later in the week we will practice elapsed time. You can have your child identify how long they spent doing something to the nearest five minutes. Read the School to Home Connections letter for more ideas.

Weekly News April 11-15, 2016

Homework: We are week two of our writing homework. This assignment is due Friday, May 6th. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Language Arts: We will be working with more r controlled vowels. We will focus on ir, er, and ur words. Friday the boys and girls learned about writing from author April Jones Prince. We will write her thank you cards this week. We will be working on main ideas and details as we read a Scholastic News. In writing we are working on adding details to our main event. We are also working on editing our work.

Mathematics: We are working on solving one and two step word problems involving measuring. We will be reviewing measurement and will probably be ready to take our test late this week.

Social Studies: We will be focusing on continents and oceans. We will begin to explore North America. We will be talking about Earth Day and what we can do to help our planet.

Cursive: We have finished our clock climbers and are working on our kite string letters.

 Ways you can help at home: Explore which country your child would like to read and write about for the writing assignment. Have your child practice his/her narrative story about a ride out loud for you. We are working on stretching out the main event with thoughts, observation, action, dialogue and sounds. Read and discuss stories together.

Weekly News April 4-8, 2016

Report cards:  Today you will receive your child’s report card. Please sign and return the envelope by Tuesday. You may keep the report card. Returning the signed envelope lets me know that you have received it. Please let me know if you have any questions about your child’s progress.

Tissues:  Our classroom supply of tissues needs restocking. We are currently out of tissues. Thank you to anyone who is able to bring in a box to help us out.

Tuesday is an Early release Day. We dismiss at 12:15. Please send your child to school with a healthy snack to enjoy. We will be taking a snack break in the morning.

Homework: A new writing assignment will be sent home today. We will be writing about a country. Please let me know if you have any questions. This assignment is due Friday, May 6th. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Language Arts: The boys and girls are very excited about their narrative writing about a ride they have experienced. Ask them to tell you about it. We will have a visit from local author April Jones Prince. We will read a few of her books this week. We will be reviewing or and ar words.

Mathematics: The boys and girls did a great job on our fraction unit. Their test will be coming home this week. Please sign and return it to me. We will be working on using inches and feet to measure height and length. We will be measuring to the nearest inch and nearest foot. Please see the Home Connection Letter for ways you can support your child at home.

 Ways you can help at home: Explore which country your child would like to read and write about for the writing assignment. Have your child practice his/her narrative story about a ride out loud for you. We are working on stretching out the main event with thoughts, observation, action, dialogue and sounds. Read and discuss stories together.

Video of the Week

Continents and Oceans

Weekly News March 28- April 1, 2016

Homework: We are on the final week of the writing assignment. This assignment is due Friday, April 1st. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Language Arts: We will be studying r controlled vowels for the next several weeks. We are beginning with or and ar. We are going to be revisiting Two Bad Ants. We will reading closely to identify all the descriptive language the author used. We will also be discussing the author’s message. We will be working on narrative writing for the next few weeks. We will begin by writing a story about a ride they have experienced. We will read the mentor text Roller Coaster to kick off this writing.

Mathematics: We will be finishing up chapter 12 on Fractions this week. The children have really enjoyed learning about fractions. We will work more on adding and subtracting like fractions.

 Ways you can help at home: Talk about what you think the most important event is in a fiction book you are reading with your child. Explain your reasons one. The important event ties to the solution or author’s message. Look for the r controlled vowels or and ar. Have your child share what he or she knows about fractions. Look for fractions in real life. Gather writing ideas for about a ride.

Video of the Week

Understanding Fractions

Weekly News March 21-25, 2016

Homework: We are on the third week of the writing assignment. This assignment is due Friday, April 1st. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Language Arts and Science: We will be studying long i. The students will be learning how igh makes the long I sound. We will be reading Two Bad Ants. We will work on inferring. We will be writing some poems this week and reflecting on our trimester 2 writing as we put our pieces in our binders.

Mathematics: We are learning about fractions. The students will be reading, writing and identifying unit fractions for halves, thirds, and fourths. Students will learn that fractions are equal parts of a whole. We will be comparing and ordering fractions. Students will learn about adding and subtracting fractions. Students will not be expected to have complete mastery of comparing, ordering and adding fractions. This chapter is laying the foundation for next year.

 Ways you can help at home:? Look for long i words in your reading. Be on the lookout for words spelled with igh. Continue to read aloud to your child and have conversations about what you read. Talk about fractions of shapes. Maybe your child only ate half of their bread at dinner.

Video of the Week

Fractions, Fractions

Weekly News March 14-18, 2016

Homework: We are on the second week of the writing assignment. This assignment is due Friday, April 1st. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log.

Language Arts and Science: The boys and girls will be reading Reason for the Seasons by Gail Gibbons. We will be identifying the key details of each season stated in the text. We will be observing our experiment on the water cycle and reviewing the process. We will be writing our observations of the weather. Students will continue to practice the oa vowel team.

Mathematics: We will be reviewing chapter11 on money and taking our test on Wednesday. Students will practicing writing money amounts in both cents and dollar notation. We have talked about taking their time to carefully count money amounts. It is very easy to keep counting by value even when the coins change. For example they will keep counting by tens even when they get to the nickel. Students will need to figure out how much more is needed to get to a stated amount. They will need to figure out how much is left if they spend a certain amount. We will be beginning Chapter 12 on fractions late in the week.

Reminders: The fun fair for Spring Street School is on Sunday. It is also a lot of fun for the children and helps raise a lot of money for our school. I hope you can make it. Please see Mr. Mabie’s Spring Link for more information.

It is Spirit Week at Spring Street School. The Student Council planned fun days of dress for the week. Tuesday- Twin Day/Wednesday Inside Out or Mish Mash day Thursday- Book Character Friday – Sport Day. The Student Council planned fun days of dress for the week. They are also encouraging students to donate NEW children’s size pajamas, socks, and/or baby blankets to benefit Friends of Families in Transition who help those in central Massachusetts. There will be collection box in the front entrance area.  And on Friday Bring in like-new or gently used baseball or softball equipment…bats, mitts, pads, helmets, baseballs/softballs for Jordan’s Furniture Double Play Program.

 Ways you can help at home: Practice counting coins and bills. Talk about how to write it in dollar and cent notation. Show different ways to make the same value. Give your child real world stories to solve. Like you have a QDN and dollar. You spend 50¢. How much do you have left? Or I have $2.25 and want to buy a notebook for $3.00. How much more do I need? Look for long o words in your reading. Be on the lookout for words spelled with oa. Continue to read aloud to your child and have conversations about what you read.

Video of the Week

Water Cycle Song

Weekly News March 7-11, 2016

Homework: There is a  new writing homework assignment in your folder. This assignment is due Friday, April 1st. The reading log and math packet are due on Friday. Please return them in the yellow folder. Please make sure you sign your child’s reading log..

Basket Raffle for the Fun Fair: There is still time to help our class build a wonderful arts & craft basket to raffle. Please bring send in any supplies for our basket. Thanks to those who have already contributed to our basket.

Language Arts and Science: Students are working on writing an informative piece on the storm they researched. We are going to record our weather observations this week. We will study the long o vowel patterns. We will review the CVCe pattern and learn that oa can also make the long o sound.

Mathematics: Please sign and return the Chapter 10 Math test. Let me know if you have any questions about your child’s progress. We are working on writing money amounts in both cents and dollar and cent notation. We are learning how to compare money amounts using the <,> and = symbols. Student will be working on solving real world word problems involving money. We will focus on the problem solving steps of Understand, Represent, Solve, Answer and look back.

Ways you can help at home: Help your child as he/she explores a new topic of interest to read and writing about for the writing assignment. Continue to watch the weather together. Describe your observations. Watch a meteorologist on tv together. Talk about the key words he or she used to tell about the weather. Read books and poems about the weather or seasons. Practice counting coins and bills. Talk about how to write it in dollar and cent notation. Show different ways to make the same value. Look for long o words in your reading. Continue to read aloud to your child and have conversations about what you read.