Tuesday, 9/27/16

The Chicken Group learned more special sounds today and reviewed the ones they learned at home on Friday and Monday. I used the Letters and Sounds Test to gauge how well they are remembering these sounds, and how well they can identify them on their own. Instead of simply grading this test, we stopped and make corrections as we went along. The goal is to help master these phonics sounds so that we can use them as tools to increase our reading and spelling skills, so simply marking the answers right or wrong does not help us meet our ultimate goal!  The class will be working on the next spelling list at home, and we will be playing a spelling game on Thursday. Be ready!

The Guinea Group spent the morning reviewing the new spelling list and practicing their poetry recitation of the first two stanzas of The Duel.  They are doing a really good job with this! We will be continuing to memorize the rest of the poem over the next couple weeks before finally putting it all together.  Although this class has all completely memorized (and continually utilize) the special sounds charts, we always use them to break down the spelling words and help with pronunciation.

Handwriting continues to be a more individualized subject, with Mr. Jim helping each student to make their handwriting the best it can be.  Mr. Jim has been giving each student and individualized assignment based on their needs, and we will continue to work on hand writing not just during hand writing time but throughout the school day.  

In vocabulary, both classes went over what they have learned in the second list of terms. They played a game to help solidify these terms in their mind, and they will be working with these words again tomorrow and over the next couple weeks.

History- Today, the class split into pairs. Each pair came up with a time travel story, where they describe a trip to Ancient Rome. They used many keywords and concepts from their history lesson, and did a wonderful job presenting their stories to the class!

In grammar, the Cow Group learned about commas and how they are used in dates and addresses.  We made up a very catchy little song to help us remember how it fits into an address!  Ha!  We used our grammar cards to quiz each other over the parts of speech, and then added a card to our deck.  Without a grammar book this year, these grammar cards will be used all year long to help make grammar study an easier experience! 

The Horse Group diagrammed their first sentences today!  They learned that you always look for the verb first, placing it on the diagram before looking for the subject.  I explained that the habits they form now with diagramming will help them as things get more complicated in the future!  The Horse Group also worked with grammar cards, and they are trying to memorize the list of pronouns... for a prize!  

Both classes were able to read their stories in writing class.  They talked about the stories, and then took turns in a reading circle, listening to the different snippets from each student.  They absolutely LOVE this part of the day!  I think it is a great time for their minds to relax and their creative sides to take over!

Everyone worked very hard during math study time today!  Thank you, parents, for finding the right balance for their in-class math assignments.  Today worked really well, and the assignments took just enough time!  I will continue to provide fun math sheets for anyone who finishes early.  You can't go wrong with Minecraft Math!

In science today, the kids learned about the different layers that make up the earth.  We colored a diagram that helped them to get a better understanding of the depths of each of the layers.  They were all very shocked at how much of the earth is made up of the mantle!  We will be building on each week's lesson as we continue to make our way through Earth Science!