Events - 2/3 Newsletter

Habitats

We are continuing to study our CRAYFISH  and learn about their habitats, the adaptations that they make, and all about their different body parts.  There is a NEW crayfish in Ms. Jennifer’s class which is WHITE, a color we haven’t seen before (the other ones have been black and red). 

Keeping in line with learning about habitats, we will read the story Two Days in May, by Harriet Peck Taylor, which is based on the true story of a girl in Chicago who discovers 5 deer grazing in the small garden behind her apartment.  That is not the deer’s “natural habitat” and the story tells how they are brought back safely into the wild.

In writing, we have been adding detail sentences to our paragraphs and expanding upon how to write using facts.  We have learned to write a “power topic sentence,” which means including a “number” in the sentence.  For example, instead of writing “There are a lot of things to know about crayfish,” we can write more specifically, “There are five things you need to know about crayfish.”  Then we can continue explaining in the paragraph those five things.

The teachers look forward to talking with you about your child at Parent Teacher Conferences, held all this week (early release 12:30pm, every day).

Annie and the Old One

We have read the story, Annie and the Old One, by Patricia Miles Martin, about a Navajo girl who doesn’t want her grandmother to die.  The grandmother says she will “soon be a part of the earth” and helps the little girl understand the inevitability of death and the ultimate connectedness with the whole universe.  Sadly and coincidentally, our bearded dragon CJ died this week and will be buried to “become one with the earth” in Hailey McCool’s grandmother’s garden.

On a happier note, we have been watching our new creatures, the crayfish, and making scientific observations.  For example, one crayfish in Ms. Wendy’s room is red and turning black in color because it is “molting,” which means its outer shell will be coming off soon.  We have been writing facts about these animals and other things as well.

We are also learning to write “personal narratives,” which involves writing about our own experiences, as opposed to copying down or writing about facts we have learned.  It’s interesting for us to learn the difference between these two types of writing. 

Very soon, there will be information about our planning for Fall Festival—look for this info to come!

Crayfish, Seeds & Ants!
In the past week, CRAYFISH have arrived!!!  We will be studying these creatures and comparing them to the plant life we have witnessed in the past few weeks.  We will also compare animal life of one kind (crayfish) with life of another kind—ants!  We will not only be starting to study ants, we will also be going on an “ant hunt!”

 

To tie in with our ant hunt, we will be reading both fictional and non-fictional books about ants.  Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg is our fictional story which we will be comparing to a non-fiction book about ants.  We will also be learning about “perspective,” as the ants in Two Bad Ants think grass is very big and are amazed when they get inside a house!  Everything looks HUGE to them!!  We will explore how perspective makes a difference in how you see the world (in more ways than one!).

We have each written a paragraph on “facts” and have learned that “facts” are words you find on the page—as opposed to writing and making up a story from our heads.  It’s important to know the difference between facts and fiction.  This week we will once again be writing a paragraph using facts as we continue learning about this type of writing skill.

Ants, crayfish, seeds—much is happening in 2-3!!!

Hydroponics!!!

WHAT is hydroponics?  Ask your child this week!  We are growing seeds in water and comparing and contrasting the differences between that method and growing seeds in soil.  We are looking at sunflower seeds, beans and peas in our comparisons.  And within this next week, we will be getting LIVE CRAYFISH so our studies will expand to comparing plant life with animal life!

Tying in to our science unit is our language arts story, Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, about a woman who wanted to make the world a more beautiful place—and found a way by planting lupins.  We are reading this book and learning how planting seeds, which grow into plants and flowers, also make the world a more beautiful place.

In writing, we are still working on “friendly letters” and have also been using our science unit to learn about writing facts.  We are writing paragraphs containing these facts which we first look up in our science books.  We can see the difference between facts and opinions when we write in the science journal, vs. when we write in the communicator or friendly letter.

So much learning is taking place in our rooms—and we look forward to welcoming those crayfish!!

Lots to Learn!!!

Ms. Wendy and Ms. Jennifer enjoyed talking with everyone at Back to School Night last week!!!  We hope all your questions were answered; if not, please either email or call your teacher to have specific questions answered. 

We are continuing our science unit, “Structures of Life,” in which we are comparing and contrasting plant life and animal life.  We have been investigating seeds, both in class and in the garden.  We observed celery roots, plum and peach seeds, and noted the differences between them.  Pretty soon, we will be getting live crayfish in our classrooms which will be very exciting to watch!!!

It’s important to learn how to get along with each other, and so we are expanding upon our “Cool Tools” strategies every day.  These “tools” help our children make good choices socially, both inside and outside of the classroom, thus creating a cohesive learning environment on our campus.  While everyone gets to know one another, the teachers will also continue their assessments, so that our classrooms can be geared towards meeting the needs of our particular group of students this year.

The teachers look forward to seeing you every week inside our classrooms!