Weekly News Feb 21-24

Brrr....where did that 70 degree weather go? I guess it's back to the reality of winter in Chicago. Take a peek to see what we have been learning in K-2!

All About Me
We loved learning all about Sophia this week and some of her favorite things! We learned that Sophia loves the color purple, and she enjoys collecting Beanie Boos. She likes to play with her "Live Pet" bird, and she had fun using her glow-in-the-dark wand on Halloween too. Sophia also likes to play catch and spend time with her family!

A big thank you to Sophia's mom for reading a Disney favorite!

Math

This week we took a closer look at two-dimensional shapes as we identified some of the similarities and differences between squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles. We also introduced the terms: corner, side, and angle. Students used these terms to describe and name each shape. We even rotated some of the shapes to see if that made a difference and quickly learned that the name of the shape and features stay the same even if we rotate it in different directions.

We also introduced the concept of subtraction this week. Using our interactive whiteboard, we practiced subtracting or "taking away" dragonflies from our jar while playing a game called "Fly, Fly Away!" We recorded our thinking using our mini whiteboards to write a number sentence such as 10 - 5 = 5.

Literacy
Reading Workshop
This week during reading workshop, we revisited the book How Bees Make Honey to help us learn strategies to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Using some of the strategies from our "S-T-O-P-I-T!" chart, we were able to better understand the meanings of the words--cells, mate, and nectar.

We also read the book Healthy Habits and learned how to identify key details that support the big idea of the text. While listening to the book, the students acted like detectives and used good thinking skills as they worked to figure out how all the facts fit together to support the big idea--keeping our bodies healthy everyday. After examining the table of contents, reading the headings, and thinking about the big idea, the students were able to identify the following habits we should do everyday to stay healthy:

1. Eat good foods like fruit, eggs, and nuts
2. Drink plenty of milk and water
3. Clean and protect our skin
4. Brush and floss our teeth
5. Play hard for exerices
6. Get lots of sleep

Writing Workshop
It was great to hear how the children spent their long weekend break as they worked on their weekly weekend writing response. They also practiced their informational writing skills by describing a toy they know a lot about!

Assessments
I have been working with students one-on-one over the past two weeks to gather some assessment information for report cards and conferences. It has been great to see how much progress the children have made! You may have noticed that your child has not brought home a new guided reading book the last two weeks, but books will start coming home again soon once I finish our assessments.

Handwriting
It's official! We have now completed all uppercase letters in our Handwriting Without Tears journals, and we will be moving onto lowercase letters next week!

Indoor Recess
With the rainy weather today, the children enjoyed some indoor recess time!

Teamwork at its finest!

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for reading!