Gina's Class

We had a great Valentine’s Day yesterday! Complete with cards, crafts and sugar! Here is a fun writing craft we did in response to the book Love, Splat! by Rob Scotton. If you have not read this adorable book, you should check it out sometime. The kids made their own Splats and wrote about things that make them feel loved. They are hanging in the classroom, so next time you are down our way come take a look!

As we finish our science unit on the night sky, we used a Venn diagram to compare the Earth and the moon. We found a lot of difference between the two. The kids then wrote a report about the differences and made their own moons. They used white glue to draw the craters and when that dried they used watercolors to make a phase of the moon. Here are some pictures of the craft in progress and the finished product.

Today in math we learned a great game for practicing doubles (2+2, 5+5, etc.)  and doubles plus one facts (2+3, 5+6, etc). Just divide a sheet of paper into 12 sections and write the numbers 2 through 13 in the boxes. Each player will need a different colored crayon. Players take turns rolling a dice and doubling or doubling and then adding one with the number they rolled. They then use their crayon to mark the sum they got. The player with the most boxes marked wins. Ask your child to teach you how to play!

Dillon, River and Owen built a very impressive block structure today and wanted to show it off!

Everyone is working hard on our play Squirm! Here are some great shots from a recent practice.

Wow! The days keep flying by and before I know it another week is over. I just wanted to send out a quick reminder about a few things:

1. Please make sure your child is practicing their lines for the play. The scripts are in your child’s folder.

2. Second graders need to be practicing their spelling words for the Friday tests. A few minutes of practice each night makes a big difference on Friday.

3. Tomorrow is another skiing day! Don’t forget to pack all your child’s ski things. Hopefully we will get a few inches of snow tonight to soften things up.

4. We are continuing our unit on the moon and night sky. We have learned so many interesting things. Ask your child what we have learned so far.

5. Finally, remember to have your child read every night for homework. The only way to become a great reader is to READ,READ, READ!

Let me know if you have any questions about anything happening at school!

Check out some of the links I have added!  There are some great science sites for looking at the phases of the moon and to explore the Solar System. The math links take you to a great site for practicing a variety of math skills.  Enjoy!

Our class continues to work on narrative writing. We have been studying the parts of a good story and reading lots of different books so the kids can practice identifying the key elements in the stories. Today the class practiced orally planning stories together, being sure to include all the important parts of a narrative. It was great to hear everyone’s creative ideas!

Over the next few days I will introduce story planning sheets as one pre-writing strategy for organizing their thoughts on paper. They will then use their planning sheets to write their own narratives. Talk with your child about events in their life that they could write about.

Today during our weekly buddy time the kids spent time reading with each other. The first and second graders had a chance to show off their reading skills and then got to listen to a story read by their 5th or 6th grade buddy. What a fun sight watching everyone share in the joy of reading! (click on an image to see it larger)