Class Update 1/27/18

Important Reminders:

There are many events going on at Long! Please look over the following information.

The Jump Rope for Heart campaign has started. Information packets went home on Wednesday with the students. All donations need to be returned by Friday, February 9th. The American Heart Association is encouraging online registration/donations this year. By going online, students can learn ways to be heart healthy, even if they are unable to make a donation. Other important dates to remember are:

• Penny Wars will take place starting Monday, January 29th. Students can donate pennies to have a P. E. teacher or principal slimed!
• Friday, February 2nd will be a hat day.
• Our final celebration assembly for Jump Rope for Heart will take place on February 14th.

The Box Tops for Education collection has begun. Please send any box tops you may have in with your child by Friday, February 2nd. This fundraiser helps benefit Long teachers. Thank you!

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming back to Long starting on February 6th. Fliers will be coming home with students this week previewing books that will be offered. In addition, the All for Books coin challenge will coincide with the book fair. Any coins donated will be used to purchase books for students and classrooms in need. Specific information will be attached to the book fair fliers.

The KidStuff Fundraiser is still ongoing. KidStuff coupon books are similar to Entertainment Books. KidStuff  books cost $25 each and additional copies can be ordered. All sales benefit Long Elementary. Sales run through February 5th. Please note, if you do not wish to participate the books must be returned to school with your child. Thank you!

Classroom Updates:

Students have started to learn cursive handwriting. Each child has a cursive book they use in class to practice. So far, they have learned how to form lowercase letters i, u, and t. They are also learning how to join those letters together. The children are excited to learn this new skill!

Students are doing a nice job so far with subtracting three digit numbers in math. This week we will continue to work on Chapter 7, focusing on lessons 7-9. Students will be practicing subtraction with word problems and learning the new skill of subtracting across zeros. 

In reading, the children are continuing to identify character traits for main and supporting characters. We will also be exploring more about how some characters change from the beginning of a book to the end, and that many characters also learn a lesson during the book.

Students finished up their drafts of their first information books in writing. Partners worked to co-edit their drafts and provide positive feedback. During the second part of this unit, students will work on a new draft. This time, they will write on a new topic with a specific audience in mind. Audience choices might include friends, siblings, parents, teachers, grandparents, and classmates. We learned how different types of audiences may want to learn different types of information.

We are exploring the scientific method in science. The children are learning that scientists do a lot of writing when they perform experiments. Students are completing lab manuals to record all of the steps of the scientific method. This week, I guided students through this process, as we tested the question, "Will a toy car travel a farther distance on a bare floor, or on the carpet?" The children helped design the procedure and run several trials. We found that our hypothesis was correct - the car traveled a greater distance on the bare floor! This coming week, we will learn more about forces and motion to learn about why this happened. We will also explore how variables can affect data.

Class Update 1/2017

Important Reminders:

The KidStuff Fundraiser has kicked off. Students brought home KidStuff coupon books and information in their book bags on Friday. These coupon books are similar to Entertainment Books. KidStuff  books cost $25 each and additional copies can be ordered. All sales benefit Long Elementary. Sales run through February 5th. Please note, if you do not wish to participate the books must be returned to school with your child. Thank you!

Don't forget that the Six Flags Read to Succeed Program is underway. Students have until February 26th to turn in their reading logs showing six extra hours of reading outside of the school day if they wish to earn a free ticket to Six Flags. This is a great way to promote some extra reading!

Scholastic Book Orders for January are due by the 26th, which is this Friday.

This Wednesday, January 24th is an Early Release Day with a 1:40 dismissal time. Please make sure your child knows how they are going home that day in case it is different from their normal routine.

Class Updates:

We have finished Chapter 6 in math, and the students are doing a wonderful job with adding three-digit numbers! Now, we will move into Chapter 7, which covers subtracting three digit numbers. This week we will focus on lessons 2-6. The children have been working collaboratively to help each other on problem solving, Front Row, and a variety of review games during math centers.

The students are continuing to learn about character traits in reading. They are describing characters both from the outside (what they observe about their physical appearance) and the inside (their thoughts and feelings). We are beginning to work on inferring traits based on evidence from their text and background knowledge.

In writing, the students are doing excellent work on their first attempts at informational books. They are writing about a wide variety of topics, including Girl Scouts, dogs, Christmas, Minecraft, and volleyball. We spent this week working on writing three subtopic sections in our books and making corresponding illustrations with text features like captions and diagrams. Coming up, we will be working on conclusions, tables of contents, and author pages.

We wrapped up our study of matter this week in science by exploring the question "Why are so many toys made from plastic?" Using Mystery Science, we learned about a new property of matter - whether or not a material is meltable. Students tested different types of candy to see whether or not they melted in hot water. They recorded their data and compared their results. We discovered that chocolate melts very easily, but some candy like Gummy Savers did not melt at all! Next, the children learned how other types of materials like plastic, glass, and metal can be used to make a variety of good easily because they can be melted.

Math Test Update

Students are doing such a good job with Chapter 6 in math, that we are going to go ahead and move our math test to this Friday, January 19th. Review pages will come home tomorrow to help the students study. Brushing up on basic addition facts is also a good way to practice. Thank you!

Class Update 1/14/18

Important Reminders:

Scholastic Book Orders for January went home this week. If you would like to place an order, please return the form with payment by Friday, January 26th or order online with the classroom code provided on the form. Points earned from Scholastic help provide more books for our classroom library. Thank you!

Class Updates:

In math, the students have been doing an excellent job with adding three digit numbers together! They have been regrouping in both the tens and hundreds places. We will continue to practice this skill, as well as work on problem solving strategies with word problems this week. We will finish the lessons in Chapter 6 and begin reviewing for a test, most likely on Tuesday, January 23.

We read Pinky and Rex in reading to help us get ready for our unit on characters and to review things good fiction readers do, such as read dialogue with expression. The children are beginning to explore what emotions characters are feeling and how those emotions can change throughout a book. We will move more into character traits this week. Our Scholastic News article taught students all about the different traditions people participate in to celebrate the new year.

The children celebrated the winter season by doing a quick write about whether they would rather be a snowman or a snowflake. They had to give five reasons for their opinion. Their writing paired beautifully with snowman art the students created in art class! We also started our informational writing unit, which students will be working on for most of the quarter. The children brainstormed topics they already knew a lot about to prepare for writing an "all about" book. So far, they have learned to fill out graphic organizers to help web out subtopics and facts. The children have also written introductions to their books.

Our study of matter continued this week in science. We focused on the properties of materials being either insulating or conducting. Using Mystery Science, the kids were able to continue to brainstorm solutions for being stuck on an island. This time they had to figure out how to cook food and create "oven mitts" that would allow them to touch hot metal without getting burned. The students tested foil, styrofoam cups, and cotton socks (items that washed up on shore from luggage) to see which had insulating properties. They closed their eyes as their partners gave them either hot or cold bottles of water to see if they could tell the difference and feel the temperature come through.

Science experiment update

Good news families...I was able to obtain the socks and water bottles needed from this week's science experiment from another source. So, no need to have the students bring any in. Thank you!

Class Update 1/7/18

Important Reminders:

Six Flags Read to Succeed Program:  Reading Logs were sent home with students for the Six Flags Reading Program. If students record six extra hours of reading outside of school time, they can earn a free ticket to Six Flags at the end of the school year! If your child would like to participate, fill out and sign the reading log and send it back to school with your child by February 26th.

School will be closed on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

We are in need of a few items for a science experiment this week. Please have your child bring one pair of socks with them on Wednesday. The socks will not be damaged in any way, and students will be able to bring them home again on Thursday. Donations of empty plastic water bottles are also needed by Wednesday. I am looking for 10 bottles. Thank you!

Class Updates:

We had a great first two days back from break! Children had a chance to share about what they did during the holidays by playing "Find Somebody Who...". The students also took some time to refocus and set new goals for the rest of the school year. Take a look at some the resolutions they made.

Coming up:

In math, we have started Chapter 6, which focuses on adding three digit numbers. This week we will cover lessons 3-6. The children will be starting new units in both reading and writing. In reading, the students will study characters in fiction books. They will also begin to learn about informational writing by creating "all about" books on a variety of topics. We will continue to learn about matter and its properties in science.