Safari Room Sentinel!

Safari Room Sentinel! Dear families, we had an awesome week this week and finished on a fabulous Friday field day! woo hoo!

 Next week:
In Language Arts: We will be reviewing consonant sounds that follow the "Flippy Dolphin" rule, such as: c: /s/ or /k/ sounds s: /s/ or /z/ sounds y: /y/ long i or long e sounds g: /g/ or /j/ sounds and working to apply these in our reading and writing. We are also studying the last comprehension strategy of synthesizing. This is hard to say, and we've learned that we synthesize all the time when we read. We've learned that as our thinking changes and we make new meaning in a text based on our schema and our connections, we are synthesizing.
We've been reading stories about diverse families and hardships they go through -- and how things are not always as they seem at the beginning of a story. This has been a lot of fun to hear how your child synthesizes in their own reading, too.

In Math: We are continuing to work on adding two digit numbers. Students are able to use the strategy that works best for them: either drawing all the sticks and circles and grouping them, or making the new group within the equation. I am amazed at their understanding of this concept and we will continue to practice next week! Look for a short show me modeling another strategy for grouping within the equation next week! We have also been working with coins in class. Practicing identifying and counting pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Any chance that you have spare change around and your child can practice counting it is a great way to help them get ready for this in second grade! We use fake money and I know they love it, but nothing is quite as good as counting real change :) hehe.

 In Social Studies: We've studied maps and learned about absolute locations-places with addresses. We've also studied how humans modify the environment to meet their needs and adapt to the environment to survive. We read a very interesting book (all wordless) called, "The Window" that shows how the environment changes over time to meet the needs of humans. We had mixed reactions on whether these modifications are good or bad - it was an interesting discussion to have!

 In Writing: Have you been persuaded yet? We are loving working on persuasive writing and making sure our reasons are "strong" and "juicy." I know I'm working on persuading Mr. Richert to get a puppy, but I'm not sure my reasons have been strong enough yet :) We will continue working on this and incorporating social studies concepts about the environment and taking care of it next week.

 Dates to Remember: May 24: Last Day of the Just Right Book Room
May 27: No School - Memorial Day
June 4 & 5: Half Days of School / Last Day of School

 This has been a great year and I wish your families the best this summer. Hopefully we have a lot of sunshine and your child has a great time with family, friends, Summer Stretch activities and of course, curling up with some great books!