Thursday, March 27, 2014

Phonics Syllables and a Special Visitor

We are back from spring break, and we're working hard in these last few months of school.

In Phonics, we have been reviewing all of our syllable types for single syllable and multi-syllable words:

closed (c) - ex. cat
open (o) - ex. she
magic e (v-e) - ex. make
r-controlled (r) - ex. cart
double vowel (d) - ex. coin

On Wednesday, the students used cereal boxes that were marked up according to their syllables to help generate their own lists of each type. I was proud of how well they worked together and of all the words they listed on their charts!




We are still hoping for spring, but we are enjoying indoor recess as best we can while the rain and the snow keep coming...




Also, please ask your child about our special visitor from today (Thursday)- my twin sister came and enjoyed learning with us! A second Miss Foyle for second grade!

*Please remember*
First Reconciliation - 6:30pm - Saturday, April 5th - at St. Ann church

Friday, March 14, 2014

Spring Break and Recent Learning

With Terra Nova testing finished, we resumed our normal routines this week.

Among many wonderful read aloud stories, we read a magazine about Dr. Seuss! We "celebrated" his birthday about a week late (birthday = March 3rd) with goldfish (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish) and Dr. Seuss erasers.


In Religion, we talked about ways to be peacemakers in our school and in our homes. Our ideas are written on outlines of our hands and are hanging on the door as reminders to us for ways to act like Jesus.

In Science we've been learning about animal habitats. Check out the group posters about the rainforest, forest, desert, and arctic.




We finished our after-lunch read aloud The Tale of Despereaux, and we compared it with the movie- we found some similarities and also quite a few differences. The students were already asking what great book we are going to read next... They'll have to wait and see!

In writing, we finished up our class report about the Statue of Liberty. I was proud of how the students took the chart with notes and transferred it to an outline/paragraphs. They even added some illustrations and made a simple bibliography to cite their sources. After spring break, the students will get a chance to work on their very own research projects about a topic of their choice! (The picture below is the model I made while the students were working on their own papers.)


Please remember:
Next week is spring break (March 17th-21st). I look forward to seeing your children again on March 24th. Enjoy the time off! Please remember to have your child(ren) read every day. It is very important!

Friday, March 7, 2014

Terra Nova testing finished


Terra Nova testing is finished!

Thank you for bringing your students to school on time, sending snacks, getting them to bed early, and encouraging them to do their best.

We'll be back to a "normal" week next week, and then the following week (March 17-21) is spring break.