The Fox Kits have been gaining and extending many skills this week. They are showing more independence and self-regulating behaviors during work time too! This is awesome!
In readers workshop we continue to build good reading habits. This week we focused on why we reread books: to see more and more, to smooth out our voice, to scoop words into phrases. We also reviewed more decoding strategies at the word level: tap to spell, use picture clues, think of a word that makes sense, look for a part you know, be flexible with your vowel sounds (try short and long sounds), take off an ending.
In writers workshop students have been excitedly adding to their small moment stories by adding details to their pictures and words. We talked about the writing process: planning, drafting, revising, proofreading, publishing. Once finished with a story we check that it has all the story elements for a narrative (since small moment stories are really personal narratives) and then do some editing to check for spelling, spacing, letter formation and punctuation. On Friday we had our first "author's chair" where I asked 2 students to read their published stories to the class to highlight skills they did well that the class has been working on in our daily mini-lessons: writing a good beginning to set the scene and writing the story with just one little part on each page to stretch the small moment into a whole story.
We wrapped up unit 2 CVC (consonant-short vowel-consonant) words in FUNdations. Now we're adding digraphs to the mix. Digraphs are multiple letters that stick together to make a different sound. Right now we're working on: wh, th, sh, ch, ck.
We introduced one last concept in our first math unit. Now we're working on combinations. Instead of solving a story problem with just 1 answer, we try to come up with all the possible combinations to solve the story. Here's an example: I have 7 things on my plate. Some are peas. Some are carrots. How many of each could I have? Students use manipulatives (two tone counters, cubes), colors, or pictures to help them find as many combinations as they can. Then they must make a representation and write an equation for each one.
We were excited about the snow this week! It's that time of year to make sure your child comes to school with appropriate outerwear. Please send you child to school each day with: a warm jacket, snow pants, mittens or gloves, a hat, winter boots for outside, sneakers or shoes for inside. Having all of these things makes it easier to have fun in the snow at recess! We do go outside for recess any day we can! If the "feels like" temperature is less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit we do stay indoors that day.
Do you have any old/outgrown coats, boots, snow pants, gloves or mittens? If so, you could donate them to our classroom. When children don't have adequate outerwear they need to borrow some in order to go outside. I keep lockers for extra winter gear for kids to borrow. If you have any old winter wear feel free to send them in as extras for our classroom--they might fit someone else!
On Friday we went to a special presentation: the 6th Grade Circus! It was fun to watch this kid circus and see all the cool circus skills they have learned.
Another special event coming up is Thanksgiving with the Abbey Group. The annual community thanksgiving lunch will be November 14 from 10:50-12:15. Lunch is free for all students and $3.85 (pay at the door) for any family member who wants to attend and eat with their kids. If you want to attend please send back the RSVP slip at the bottom of the notice so they can plan accordingly!
Last week I sent home notices about our upcoming parent/teacher conferences. On Thursday 11/21 conferences run from 11:45 am - 7:30 pm. On Friday 11/22 conferences run from 11:30 am - 2:30 pm. Time/date preference forms were due today, 11/8. Next week the staff will meet to schedule multi-kid family conferences.If you have multiple children at JFK we do our best to schedule you back-to-back conferences so you only have to come for one block of time in your day. I'll send home your conference time slot on 11/15 once all the scheduling is complete.
Dates to Remember:
- November 13 - PTO Meeting
- November 15 - All School Morning Meeting 8:15
- November 16 - PTO Craft Fair
- November 21- Early Dismissal 11:00; No student activities; Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:45-8
- November 22- Early Dismissal 11:00; No student activities; Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:30-3
- November 25 - 29 - No School for Thanksgiving Break
Have a great weekend!
❤ Mrs. Fox
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