Mrs. Van Gorder’s Weekly News April Check out our class website! Math- This week we focused on solving number stories with tape diagrams to find the answer. We solved a veriety of problems with part and whole. Finding the missing addend was our main focus. 7+___ = 13. We circled the key words that told us to add or subtract and the numbers provided in the story, then used them to make number sentences, number bonds and tape diagrams to show our work. We concluded the unit and will begin Module 5 on geometry next week. Reading -In reading we have been adding the 100 word list to our word wall. Please practice the flash cards your child brought home. When going through the deck make a 2 piles- words I know and words I need to work on. That way, its easier to focus on the words to work on. Keep using the tiger paw strategies book mark as your child brings books home at their reading level throughout the week. The leveled readers should take no longer than 5 to 10 minutes for your child to read. We continued our Kevin Henkes author study by reading Owen and Chester’s Way. We made text to self connections in Owen by writing about our favorite childhood comfort toy and made text to text connections with Chester. Writing- In writing this week we added voice to our words, so that we reach our to make connections with our readers by posing questions. We continued making posters for the classroom that remind us of rules and why we follow them. We continued writing recommendations for books, movies and shows. Word Study- This week we focused on contractions. We learned that a contraction is formed when 2 words get together to make 1 word that means the same thing. An apostrophe goes in the place where letters disappeared. I am = I’m, do not = don’t Not- don’t, won’t wouldn't, shouldn’t, couldn’t, are- we’re, you’re, they’re will- we’ll, she’ll, he’ll, they’ll Is- he’s, she’s here’s, that’s Have- I’ve Had- I’d, she’d, he’d Science -This week in Balance and Motion we learned about rollers. Key words were: roll, wheel, axel, slope, ramp, runway, loop an spiral. We made our own rollercoasters with a partner. We read The Lorax on Earth Day and wrote about what we would do if we were in his shoes. We also read about the process that garbage goes through at the land fill, and how plastic, paper, glass and metals are broken down for recycling. Scholastic Orders- I f you wish to purchase books from scholastic, please order online by using our class activation code NZW9J on the scholastic website: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Meeting - We learned how to be a good friend to the earth by learning how to recycle, reduce and reuse materials. Additional Notes - We filled our warm fuzzie jar and celebrated with a fun Friday! We made characters from Kevin Henkes books and made a class roller coaster with science materials. Check out the website- pictures from this week are up. Upcoming dates: Stay tuned for the release of the first grade picnic and our field trip to Finch Hollow. Parents are welcome!