Mrs. Van Gorder’s Weekly News November 2-6 Check out our class website! Math- This week we focused on finding the missing addend in number stories by using subtraction ie: 7=3+4 and 7-4=3. We used a large class number path to count on to find the unknown part. We continue to take our weekly fact sprints. You will notice what number your child is on, and how many they completed in 2 minutes time. Keep practicing those math fact flash cards that went home last week and have your child log into their xtramath account at xtramath.org for additional fact fluency practice. You can also find the link on our class website under websites we love. All your child needs is their 4 digit personal code. Reading- In reading we used visual pictures to help us decode unknown words in the following order: 1 get your mouth ready for the first sound, 2 sound it out, 3 look at the picture, 4 change a vowel sound, 5 look for a chunk you know. Picture reminders will be coming home in your child’s book buddy soon. Please be sure your child returns their book buddy every day. Writing- In writing this week we practiced writing like Kevin Henkes does by adding speech bubbles, repeating parts and bold words to our writing to show important parts and add drama. We discussed how when sounding out multi syllable words that we can look for a part we know so we only have to focus on the part we don’t know. We started a list of fearless words that we are not afraid to try even though they’re long. We went back to edit our work looking for an uppercase first letter and punctuation at the end of a sentence. Word Study- The snap words of the week were or, us, sit, had, ran, get. The handwriting practice letters of the week were: r, n, m. The spelling patterns of the week were: - op, -ug, -ap, -ip. We completed our Kevin Henkes author study voting and creating a graph of your favorite read aloud. We charted facts we learned about his life and specific characteristics we found in his books. We checked out his website at looking at a video about the process he goes through when writing. Check it out at home, there are many fun games to play. We added -ing to the end of a word to show something that is happening in the present ie: she runs she is running. Science- This week we observed our Painted Ladies learning that they have molted and produced waste as they grew. We keep track of growth on our class time line. We learned a song that describes how an insect has a head, thorax and abdomen with 6 legs. We drew and labeled the Painted Ladies. Social Studies- This week we learned about fact and fiction on our Social Studies Weekly article. We sorted examples of each and answered multiple choice questions about it. Additional Notes - Jacob F.’s 6 th birthday was last Friday. Going home today is your confirmation for parent conferences. Please return the bottom portion at your earliest convenience. There is no school Wednesday, November 11 th for Veterans Day, and a half day on Thursday, the 12 th. There are yellow flash cards going home today with the 50 high frequency snap words. Please cut them up and use them at home with your child. The more they are practiced the more automatic they will become in your child’s reading.