November 25

Happy Thanksgiving, Rock Stars!

Here is an update of what has been going on in Portable 2:

In Reading, we have been working on visualizing. That is a reading tool the students can use in all subjects! We practiced visualizing through poetry. I would read the students a poem and they had to draw a picture of what they saw. We had a poem about scarecrows, flowers in a garden, and even a giant purple dog. It was amazing to see how alike the pictures were from all of the students! That helped them to see that details are important in writing! We practiced the skill of visualizing in math as well. This really helps with word problems. By doing a quick sketch of what is happening in a word problem, it is easy to see what needs to be done- multiplication, division, addition, or subtraction!

In Skills Block, we have been having a ton of fun learning about adjectives! Sounds impossible, right?! Well it isn't when our "magic book" gives us more exciting words for those boring ones! The kids worked in parters to explore their thesauruses and look for more exciting words to replace boring ones! They quickly realized that all the describing words they were finding were adjectives! They can't wait to use those "magic books!"
 

Math has been a challenge, but one we are facing head on! We are learning to write improper fractions and mixed numbers.
Here is an example the students might see and how to solve it:
There are three bags of oranges. Each bag needs to have 5 oranges in it to be full. Two bags have 5 oranges and one bag has 3. Write a mixed number and an improper fraction for the number of oranges.
To solve: How many bags are full? 2. What fraction of oranges is in the third bag? 3 out of the 5 total, so 3/5. The mixed number is 2 and 3/5. To change the number into an improper fraction, follow these steps:

So for the improper fraction for 2 and 3/5, you would multiply 5x2=10 then add the numerator 10+1=11. Put that number over the denominator, 5, and the answer is 11/5.

 

Stay tuned for pictures of the Thanksgiving feast coming up soon!!

The secret word is feast!

November 18

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Sorry for the short break, but man was last week busy!

This week we are being introduced to fractions. At this point of the week, the students should understand the difference between a shape that is divided into equal parts versus one that is not divided equally. Students should also know how to name a shape based on how many parts it is broken into. Students should name and idendtify halves, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, eighths, and tenths. As we move through the week, students will understand how to represent a fraction with both numbers and an illustration. For example, draw a pizza with 3/4 shaded in. Here are some more vocabulary terms we are working on.

 

In skills block, we are working on comparative adjectives. This includes the endings -er and -est. Students should be able to choose the correct ending for the situation. Remember, -er ending adjectives (taller, happier, etc) are comparing two people or things. -Est endings are for comparing lots of items (happiest of all, quietest in the class, etc).

 

 

These words are also the students' spelling words!

 

Have a great night and I will be back with more updates later in the week!

 

*The secret word is: fractions. Write it in your child's planner for Nov. 18th!

 

November 6

Today we were all about alliteration!

Alliteration is a type of figurative language we study to help improve our writing! The kiddos have a ball with this because alliteration is what tongue twisters are all about! Alliteration is when the same beginning sound is repeated several times closely within a sentence or phrase.

Here is a rap our class sings in skills block- take a look and sing along with your child!:

 

We also made "Alliterainbows." We took the first letter of each color of the rainbow and wrote an alliteration for it. The projects were practically perfect!

*Tonight's secret word is: alliteration!

November 5th

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

We are quite busy in the math department! This week we are studying strategies for division. This is an anchor chart of ways to solve a division problem:

We also have been memorizing chants and songs to help us memorize our multiples! Here we are singing our three's song!

 

In reading, we are focusing on Main Idea. We have practiced this using real world example to make things fun! We started by looking for the most important things. I told the students I was going to exercise outside but I didn't want to bring my purse. The students then discussed how to to determine what was important to bring (sunglasses and keys). Today we listend to "Coat of Many Colors" by Dolly Parton and looked at the lyrics. We discussed what message the singer was trying to convey. The students decided that the most important message was that the coat of many colors was an important, special item for the singer. They then discussed how all the other lyrics to the song supported that idea. This transitioned so well into the texts we are reading. The kids are now noticing the different messages and main ideas in everything they read! It is amazing how meaningful lessons really get the students relating what they read!

 

 

Today, we also got to see the "America" concert put on by the chorus and instrument ensembles. The older grades performed songs all created in America by Americans. They ranged from Amish songs to Toby Keith! It was very entertaining! A great way to get in the spirit of Veteran's Day! Here are some shots from the event:





*Our secret word is "America." Please write it in your child's planner for tomorrow!
Have a great night!

Fall Center Time!

We had an absolute blast at our literacy parade and fall centers!

All the kiddos looked adorable in their book character costumes!

Our center time was full of mad science, spooky treats to eat, and mad lib fun! We even had our meet the artist, Picasso!

The kids loved the lunch full of mummy hot dogs, gummy worm punch, ghost rice Crispy treats, vegetables, cheese sticks, jack-o-lantern oranges and more!

Thank you to everyone who donated or volunteered to make this super fun event possible! A special thank you to Olivia's mom, aunt, and grandma who all helped to put the event on! You are so appreciative of you all!

Here is a sweet slideshow to give you a glimpse into our day of spooky fun!

*The secret word is Spooky.* Write this word in your child's planner on November 4th and your child will earn an extra Star Buck!