Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah!!!

Greetings from Room 10,

            Wow!  We had a vey busy week in Room 10!  I was out two afternoons this week and thankfully, Mrs. Landrigan was my substitute.  We have worked together for years, so it’s a very smooth transition from Betor to Landrigan.  The District offered two professional development opportunities, both of which focused on Common Core math standards.  I got good reports from Mrs. Landrigan both days.

            It was really nice having the opportunity to have so many of you stop into class on Monday.  The kids loved it!  I mentioned to them on Wednesday that they are wonderfully enthusiastic singers.  They LOVE going to the piano each morning to sing.  Of course, there is a method to my madness.  Reading lyrics to a song helps with reading fluency.  So doing readers’ theatre and singing songs strengthens my reading program!!

            This week in geography the children learned about latitude and longitude.  Ask your child how they were taught to remember the difference.  It is actually very effective but very annoying!  On Friday they worked in groups and, using globes, located various cities using latitude and longitude.  We also continued to play the cardinal direction game.

            As a part of our reading program, I taught the children how to read a textbook.  Reading non-fiction, especially a textbook, is quite different from reading a novel.  The children focused on the non-fiction text features as we maneuvered through the text.  Each year I focus on the skills required for reading a textbook so that the children can easily transition to this type of reading when they become middle school students.  In addition, Ms. Casucci worked on cause and effect in small, guided reading groups.  We bid Ms. Casucci farewell as she begins her career in education.

            By Tuesday of next week, I expect all of the children to have completed drafting their historical fiction story.  I have given them plenty of class time to work on their drafts, and some of the children have taken it upon themselves to work on it at home.  After Thanksgiving, I will need help in the classroom to edit the pieces.  Details will follow.

            Next week, because we will only be in class for two days, there will be no spelling, no weekly reflection and I will not update our class blog.    Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah to those of you who celebrate.